#some of the copy is dated but the 'you never stopped me :3' line still has me in stitches.

[kradeelav]

your ruin, my ruin (epilogue) // a fe: fates gunter/corrin doujinshi side strip; revelation route. based on the final scene of this fanfic.

after everything - the fight against anankos, the possession, peace between nohr and hoshido - gunter and corrin have one last decision.

site link: https://kradeelav.com/diary/tegalog.cgi?postid=277

link’s dead or see more art: kradeelav.com

⚠ this strip will be part of a printed gunter/corrin r18 doujinshi called ashes and ghost

[maya-matlin]

Since we've talked a lot (but never enough!) about both OTH and Degrassi lately...

If you had to choose one or two Degrassi characters who are most similar to Lucas, who would they be?

One or two Degrassi characters who are most similar to Peyton?

One or two Degrassi characters who are most similar to Haley?

Same question as above for Nathan

Same question as above for our beloved Brooke (sorry for not writing out the whole question again - this site isn't letting me copy and paste, and you know I'm extraordinarily lazy!)

If you had to choose...OTH overall or Degrassi overall?

Choose your top three Degrassi OTPs, top three OTH OTPs, and then rank all six of those ships in order from your favorite to least favorite with no ties allowed :)

Three things you prefer about OTH to Degrassi AND three things you prefer about Degrassi to OTH! Or four or five or six... :)

Aw, you're so sweet. <3

1.) Similar to Lucas.. hmm. My immediate thoughts are Craig and Miles. Both have definite parental issues, particularly involving their fathers. All three of these guys move from partner to partner very quickly, rarely ever satisfied with staying single for long. They have zero shame when it comes to dating their way through the same friend group. All three like to pull out the old "you're the one for me" or "you're the only one who understands me" cards. It's not always a line, but due to the frequency it becomes less and less believable as time goes on. Both Lucas and Craig had a big, dramatic love triangle early on involving them sneaking around behind their girlfriend's back with another girl. They vowed to change their ways, never wanting to cheat again, if only they could have a second chance with Brooke/Ashley. But the minute the second relationship failed for whatever reason, they went back to their affair partners. After that, both seemed to give up on remaining faithful. Craig and Lucas both cheated on their live-in girlfriends with someone from their past. You can't make this shit up. The writers protected Miles to some degree. He didn't technically cheat on Maya with Zoe. His best friend just yelled at him until he stopped trying to make out with his barely conscious ex girlfriend, allowing his conscience to kick in just in time. He also slept with Lola and had a full on emotional relationship with her while his boyfriend was in a coma, but of course the excuse was that he couldn't be sure Tristan would make it. But in Miles's defense, he's mostly self aware. He doesn't fully understand that he enters each and every relationship in the hopes that this one person will understand him completely, never judging or putting any sort of pressure on him, only for that to inevitably fall apart, causing him to be bitter and quickly find someone new (or old, as the case may be). But he does at least realize he can be a mess and self destructive during times of turmoil, not even fully blaming his significant others when they can no longer deal with him. Lucas truly seems to still think he's the hero of his own life following his second breakup with Brooke. Who the hell knows what Craig thinks? He's so out of focus after leaving the main cast that it's impossible to know what exactly he feels or doesn't feel for Ellie. Also, all three express themselves in some sort of artistic way. Lucas becomes an author while Miles planned to attend a writing school at the end of Next Class, suggesting he'll also become a writer. Craig was first a photographer, and then most notably a musician, writing his own songs.

2.) This is going to be so brief after the book I wrote about Lucas vs Miles vs Craig, but since I answered the ask about Peyton and Ellie already, I'll mainly say that Ellie is similar to Peyton for reasons I already stated. But also, Grace gives off a similar vibe. Unlike Ellie, Grace isn't afraid to get involved. She's always the first to educate others and the one to speak out about injustice. For one reason or another, both Grace and Peyton were hesitant to put themselves out there and spent most of their lives being extremely guarded. For Peyton, it was the loss of her mother and reluctance to own up to feeling romantic love for Lucas, so used to being in a toxic relationship with Nathan. For Grace, it was her having cystic fibrosis and feeling that it's not even worth it to fully open up to others when she won't live for very long. Apparently Grace's version of Peyton's feelings for Lucas is... Zig?! Which is completely unbelievable, but the writers seemed to want us to think she'd been pining for him all along and she didn't say his name just because he conveniently entered the room at the right moment. Oops, I said I was going to be brief.

3.) As stated before, I believe that Maya and Haley have many similarities. But Haley is also similar to Clare. Haley sets goals for herself, almost always doing the rational and responsible thing rather than being carefree and letting herself experience life as it comes. Clare does the exact same thing. Arguably, their transformations into more relaxed people willing to be impulsive from time to time relate to falling in love for the first time. As much as I don't want to admit it, Eli had the same effect on Clare's life as Nathan did on Haley's. He was someone very unlike her who encouraged her to try new things and put herself out there rather than remaining the same, stagnant person. Granted, I do think Clare was already beginning to embrace new things following her breakup with KC and had become much more confident by the beginning of season 10. But I don't think Eli's effect on Clare's life should be understated. And like Nathan and Haley, Eli and Clare got in extremely deep very quickly, resulting in a pretty emotionally devastating breakup where the girl had to leave the guy due to the timing being wrong and the relationships not being what they should be. That's where the comparisons personally end for me in regards to the relationships. Other than the fact both couples viewed each other as their future. Both Haley and Clare got pregnant during their senior years, throwing their future plans completely off. Haley was able to carry her pregnancy to term, resulting in her raising a son as a barely legal adult. Clare miscarried, losing her son. Also, somehow I almost forgot the fact that both initially wanted to wait until marriage to have sex. Haley technically waited, mostly because she got married at sixteen. Clare didn't, eventually shifting her beliefs enough to feel comfortable having sex in a loving relationship outside of marriage. And with Drew, once. I'm sorry. I still love that.

4.) Miles is such a Nathan to me that I think even their actors, Eric Osborne and James Lafferty, have a similar vibe and mannerisms. I don't know what it is, but it's uncanny to me. To begin with, they're known for being good athletes. Although, Miles being into sports mostly goes away after season 13. He self destructs pretty quickly after that, eventually becoming more interested in things like student council and creative writing. Nathan continues to pursue a career in basketball during every season, first as a player, briefly as a coach, and then later as a sports' agent. Nathan's passion for sports is an integral part of who he is. And obviously, both Nathan and Miles had complicated relationships with their abusive fathers, struggling to live up to their expectations only to never be enough. Both broke free of their dads, choosing to receive validation outside of their families. Nathan found the love and stability he was looking for with Haley. Miles tried multiple times to find this kind of love, and his relationship with Tristan was his longest and most consistent pairing. But they were never anywhere on the same level as Nathan and Haley. In other relationships such as Miles's with Maya or his fling with Lola, either the girl never fully let him in because of her own issues as well as feelings for a guy from her past or because he was settling for something simple that made life easier in the present even though he truly wanted someone else, they didn't work out. This is getting so long. I'm sorry. But other than Miles, Nathan also has similarities to Jimmy. We talked before about this, I think. Jimmy was also under pressure to become a professional basketball player from his father. Much like Dan pretty much demanded Nathan play basketball at all costs, Jimmy's father struggled to accept the reality that Jimmy's life had changed following his paralysis. Both guys ended up in wheelchairs following a violent altercation, though Nathan's was temporary while Jimmy's fate is left ambiguous since we never find out what came of the stem cell surgery. Regardless, Jimmy's mental health following the shooting and negative emotions were rarely ever the focus. He alludes to feeling suicidal and depressed during episodes centered around Craig and Spinner, but by the time we get back into Jimmy's head he's found a way to adjust. Nathan seems to take his accident much harder, remaining in a very negative, depressed headspace for 4+ months, relying heavily on alcohol to cope with his day to day life. Eventually, Nathan just.. kind of snaps out of it. Because he cuts his hair, learns to walk again, and starts helping out with the Ravens, we're meant to infer he's all better. You have to love OTH's hit or miss writing. Lastly, Nathan and Zig are similar in regards to Naley's season 2 arc and Zaya's in Next Class season 1. Both guys are threatened by the girls they love growing closer to a musician who might connect with them on a level they can't reach. Uncomfortable with the challenge to their relationship, both guys grow somewhat possessive and jealous, even briefly asking if they or the music are more important.

5.) It's hard to compare Brooke to any one character. I realize she's basically the archetype of the mean girl who eventually softens up, but there are so many things that make Brooke 'Brooke'. To start with, Manny. Both spent a lot of years allowing boys to define their worth. As a result, they were often shown competing with other girls. Both Brooke and Manny were left with trust issues involving love triangles with their first loves. Brooke spent years overcoming the betrayal of Lucas and Peyton. Manny also took years and multiple, mostly throwaway relationships to get over Craig after he deceived her into believing he'd broken up with Ashley so that they could be together. Honestly, these incidents probably weren't comparable, but I loved Manny too much to question it and Cassie Steele did a really good job playing up that subtext. By the time the girls graduate, they've mostly become more confident in themselves, putting their ambitions first. For Manny, it's her acting. For Brooke, it's the fashion line. Both girls faced rejection from their parents. But while Manny was raised by strict parents, resulting in her rebellion, Brooke was left almost completely alone, resulting in a similar outcome. Because of this, their best friends (Peyton and Emma) are much more like family than their biological families. In the end, both end up with someone unpredictable who conveniently was linked to their best friend once upon a time. Other than Manny, there's obviously Fiona. Both had an interest in fashion, spent years being a queen bee, and eventually learned a sense of responsibility and stability both by living alone and being on student council.

6.) Degrassi. It's not close.

7.) Ooh okay.

Degrassi:

(1) Zig/Maya

(2) Joey/Caitlin

(3) Sean/Ellie

One Tree Hill:

(1) Nathan/Haley

(2) Lucas/Brooke

(3) Jake/Peyton

Combined:

(1) Zig/Maya

(2) Nathan/Haley

(3) Lucas/Brooke

(4) Joey/Caitlin

(5) Sean/Ellie

(6) Jake/Peyton

8.) My brain broke LOL

Things I prefer about OTH:

(1) Better focus on character development due to having a smaller cast

(2) Stronger love stories. Degrassi was first and foremost a show about messy teenagers. For the first half of the series, no one was endgame. It wasn't until Eclare that the show started to realize that maybe they should service their fans in that way. But on One Tree Hill, a lot of time and energy was dedicated to developing the relationships between Nathan/Haley, Lucas/Brooke, Lucas/Peyton, Brooke/Julian, Jake/Peyton, etc.

3.) Better soundtrack, even though I honestly love Degrassi's too

4.) It has a truly platonic friendship between a male and female character without any romantic past or one of them being gay (Lucas/Haley)

(5) More focus on parent/child dynamics

(6) They never spent a handful of episodes in green screen Paris, dragging down the entire show for like two months straight

Things I prefer about Degrassi:

(1) It's more realistic.

(2) This kind of goes along with #1, but it's a show about teenagers played by actual teenagers. It's a much different experience watching these kids figure things out than it is watching twenty somethings do the same thing.

(3) Representation. I won't pretend like Degrassi is perfect or that it equally distributes focus to queer and POC characters. It doesn't. There's a clear hierarchy, and unfortunately white, straight characters were generally at the center of the story lines. But an attempt was at least made. OTH had an almost all white cast and rarely ever featured any LGBT representation. One of their sole gay characters filmed himself having sex with a woman without her knowledge or consent, then leaked the tape, all to hide his sexuality. So, not the greatest representation.

4.) Degrassi's school shooter was someone who physically abused his girlfriend and displayed many red flags rather than a victim of bullying who suddenly snapped after one too many insults or physical assaults. Sadly, OTH continued to perpetuate the misinformation that most school shootings are committed by kids who are bullied. To be fair, Rick was also bullied, but it wasn't a black and white scenario. Kids weren't just being unfair to him. He came back to the school and seriously asked the friends of the girl he put into a coma for forgiveness.

(5) The characters mostly had limitations and were forced to follow the same rules unlike on OTH where 4/5 of the core five could basically do whatever they wanted. This is one thing that sets Degrassi apart from many other teen dramas.

(6) The friendships were more believable and realistic. While I think there were occasional instances where one friend forgave another too easily, the instances where the friends fell out with one another only to later make up were overall well done and didn't feel forced. Brooke and Peyton, I'm looking at you.

(7) The girls actually seemed to like each other! They could mostly interact without constantly referring to each other as "bitches" and "whores". During moments when the girls would turn on each other, it was being written in a very realistic, true to life way. On One Tree Hill, an entire punchline would be that one girl degraded another.

[shurisneakers]

harmless (epilogue)

Summary: Bucky volunteers to go stop a small time villain, but nothing can prepare him for what exactly he has to deal with. (Bucky x villain!reader)

Warnings: cursing, frustrated bucky, dramatic reader, obnoxious flirting, mention of tax fraud, money launderig, etc. you know. the usual

Word count: 5.8k

A/N: oh hi. no i didnt disappear for two months what? anyway. for a story to have a conclusion, there should be a plot. and since there is no plot, just have some good vibes and idiots <3

shoutout to my sparkle anon for the can opener slander <3

also to my love currently in another continent on video call with me as i post this. i love you. thank you for all the non-decisions decisions and sitting with me for 8 hours and hearing me complain. this is for you mwah. now send chips ahoy

if you want more of them, check out Harmless Mini Drabbles to catch up on what we’ve done so far!

okay now for the last time!!

Previous Part  || Series Masterlist

It was a fine day.

A good day, even, to watch your lair descend into complete chaos after your plan to take over the tri-state area with an army of clones fails.

Not to mention the unperformed musical number.

It smacks Bucky in the face right as he enters-- an ocean of teal shades and a chorus of his name squawked at him like the seagulls from Finding Nemo. If he wasn’t so damn used to it, he would have maybe had a faint blush at the occasional “you’re pretty” thrown in there.

In greeting, he presses his lips into a thin line. A rather pathetic excuse for a smile, if you could even call it that.

“Well, hello. What an unexpected surprise.” One of the voices is agreeably louder than the others, and so he diverts his eyes to the circular platform raised from the floor. “And by unexpected I mean completely expected.”

“Y/N.” He ignores the multitude of ‘yeah?’s to zero in on you in the centre.

“Bucky.”

He can tell it’s the original-- not because of the ultramarine tuxedo you have on, accessorised with a sparkly dance cane and definitely more feathers than should ever be on something that’s not a bird-- but because of the additional top hat. No one else in the crowd had one.

“Clone army? You serious?”

“You can’t blame me, Bucky.” You throw him a wide-toothed grin, eyes still hidden behind the masquerade mask you’ve got covering half your face. “I gave you the chance to destroy the blueprint and you never took it, so now we have to deal with it.”

“Deal with what?”

“Us taking over the tri-state idea,” you say, bringing your foot down loudly on the metal platform.

Scarily in sync and in a manner that leaves him speculating how long you had to practise this, your doppelgangers do the same before falling into the first position of a dance number.

He winces. Hands in the air, no one else moves.

“Where’s Nico?”

“He said he was gonna get ribbons to tie around everyone’s wrist so we can differentiate between the orignal and the copies.”

Bucky stares at you.

“Wouldn’t it be easier to just tie one around your wrist?” he asks slowly.

You blink at him, arms lowering. “He was excited so I gave him twenty dollars, leave me alone.”

“You’re the only one with a hat,” Bucky continues emphasizing.

“You’re the only one with a hat,” you mock, voice high pitched and muffled. “Stop focusing on the technicalities, you killjoy.”

“There is not a single person in this lair who thinks.”

“And that includes you.”

Rightfully, he walked straight into that one. If he tried hard enough, he could place the blame for the profound loss of his critical thinking ability on hanging out with you.

“You don’t deserve our performance.” You sigh dramatically.

“Thank God,” he deadpans.

All of a sudden it’s his one, lone metallic middle finger against an army of white-gloved middle fingers challenging him.

“Can you please finish with… whatever this is.” He checks his watch. “We got somewhere to be.”

“A hot date?” You lean forward on your palms, bodyweight precariously balanced on the cane.

“You wish.”

“I do, actually,” everyone echoes back at him. He wonders if they’re only programmed to hit him with insults and pick up lines.

A smile slips past his otherwise well-maintained, time tested facade of annoyance. “Get it over with.”

“Alright, everyone. Just as we practised.” You straighten out your spine, arm holding the cane high in the air with your head tilted to the sky. “One, two, three--”

“Attack,” your clones say in unison.

“What?” You look down quickly. “No, not that. The other one.”

They look up at you. “Unclear chain of commands.”

“Not Battle Plan #3, execute Dance Routine #2.”

They look at each other. Bucky, too, watches them look at each other.

“Unclear chain of commands.” They tilt their head up at you.

“What the hell is unclear about-”

“Executing Battle Plan #3.”

“For fuck’s sake,” you curse, crouching to leap down from the platform. “Not Battle Plan #3.”

“Confirmation received. Battle Plan #3 in motion.”

“I said not-” You land gracefully on the ground, already in a defensive stance.

Hot, he thinks. Not a good time to let you know, however.

“Abort Battle Plan #3.”

“Plan set in action.” They march eerily into straight lines, easily at least two hundred of them populating the lair. “Clownproof Protocol activated.”

“Oh, my God, you idiots-- deactivate Clownproof Protocol.”

But they’ve shifted positions already. Backs stiff as a cardboard and eyes a nice, bright red that doesn’t go well at all with the shade of blue they’re dressed in.

“No,” their voice, robotic and gravelly, is a sharp contrast from before.

Right.

“Hmm,” he notes, unsurprised and unimpressed. “Your clones are malfunctioning, sweetheart.”

“I can see that.” You grit your teeth, spinning around to watch them as they reach behind their backs.

“Should do something about it.”

“Ya think?” you shout when they swiftly brandish their weapons.

“I do, yeah.”

Long cylinders tubes of foam and small tubes of translucent material.

He doesn’t have to spend too long racking his brains on what they as they hold up the smaller sticks. A beat passes before a crack sound reverberates through the lair, neon colours of blue, green, pink, and yellow bright in your palms.

The lair goes dark.

There’s a long silence before--

“Are you kidding me?”

Bucky doesn’t wait for the collective, loud battle cry to finish before he calmly makes his way to the corner of the room to stand.

“Your plan was to take over the tri-state area using pool noodles and glow sticks?” he snorts, vaguely making out your silhouette through the flashes of pink and purple on your face.

“This was for the fucking dance number,” you seethe, top hat giving away your location like a lighthouse. “Everyone stop it. I swear to God if you even breathe at the espresso machine, I’ll--”

Bucky checks his phone. Two texts from Steve that he leaves on read and a video from Clint on the group chat that he doesn’t even open.

He can hear the chaos upholding in front of him. Pool noodles fly across the crowd, glowsticks thrown up in the air and down before getting kicked around the floor. More of a fucking rave than an actual plan gone wrong.

“We got an hour left.” He locks his phone and slips it back in his pockets. “D’you think you’ll be done by then?”

“You can help, y’know.” You duck under a pool noodle being flung at you.

"I'm not gonna fight you, Y/N.”

"Bucky, baby, these are my evil clones.”

"I'm not gonna hit your clone," he argues back from his place in front of the wall. “Make them not look like you or something. Maybe then I’ll help.”

“That’s very sweet, and you’re adorable.” You jump to land a dropkick against your carbon copy, whipping around to glare at him. “But I hate you.”

It’s almost on instinct that the exact opposite nearly slips out of him, but he bites it back. Considering that he hadn’t ever said it to you before, saying it in the middle of a clone battle with yourself didn’t seem like the most opportune moment. He’s been holding onto it for weeks, a little more time wouldn’t hurt, would it?

“I know,” he says instead, crossing his arms over his chest again. “Pay attention. You’re behind you.”

You swing around, kicking the feet out from under a clone. The sharp clang of metal on the tiles of your floor is reassuring.

The lair door swings open. All activity comes to a halt when the darkness temporarily lifts.

Someone stands at the doorway, light casting a halo around his broad figure.

“Hey boss,” your new assistant says cheerfully. “And boss, and boss, and boss, and boss--”

“Hey Nico,” you cut in from the middle. “Hit the reverse button on the clone machine, please.”

And the glowsticks resume flying through the air.

“Yes, ma’am.” He salutes, veering through the crowd with soft ‘excuse me’ and ‘coming through’s. The little cloth bag he carries when he goes shopping finds itself tied to his belt, for safekeeping in case things get too ugly.

Nico was ridiculously tall, easily towering over all the clones. His shirt is about two sizes too small and the seashell necklace he kept around his neck because it reminded him of his home and his mom looked like tiny beads in comparison.

Despite Bucky’s initial cynicism, the guy seemed to fit in rather well at the lair. He was clearly just as fascinated as you were with the wacky tech ideas, doing his part by taking on all the heavy lifting which previously was managed by you and your several levitation rays.

“I couldn’t find enough colours for two hundred people so I just picked up some coffee for us and Christmas lights,” he informs loudly, letting out a small ‘oof’ is courtesy when one of you thump his chest with a pool noodle.

Not to forget, Bucky also appreciated how Nico’s spring cleaning got rid of years’ worth of junk from the lair, the new windows he had you blow into the walls to allow in more sunlight because he believed it helped productivity and the fact that the furniture always smelled of lavender.

“That’s great, buddy.” You struggle against one of them in a swordfight and Bucky briefly considers stepping in until you deftly disarm them, flipping them over your shoulder before springing up. “Did you get the Tekton set?”

“No, they were all out.” He takes a large leap to the raised stage at the end of the hall, the floor vibrating where he lands momentarily. “But I got some new screwdrivers because I broke them last week.”

“Broke them? I thought you lost them.” You throw him a glance in the middle of shoving a clone aside.

“No, that was the previous previous set. I broke the ones we got after that.”

And the guy apparently had an aversion to screwdrivers, it looked like.

“How did you break vibranium sc-”

“Wrap it up, Y/N, we gotta go.” Bucky reminds over all the noise, back still very much pressed against the wall.

“Oh, hey Sergeant Barnes!” Nico calls out, ducking to avoid a glowstick thrown at him. “I didn’t see you there.”

“Afternoon, Nico.”

“Would you want some coffee?” he asks politely.

“I’m good, thanks.”

“I only brought two cups but you can have mine. Or maybe if we mix it together we can form one mega drink--”

“Nico, the switch,” you intervene.

“Sorry, boss.” He hurriedly turns back to the machine, gently picking one of your clones up and setting them aside like they were made of nothing. Maybe he could be an Avenger.

“It’s okay.” You let out a noise of irritation when someone thunks you on the head with a glowstick. “Any day now.”

“Um-” Nico’s eyes dart over the control panel. “Which one’s the button again?”

“The big red one that says ‘reverse switch’, probably.”

“That’s-” he pauses. “That’s not here.”

“What d’you mean that’s not there?” Your arms hold back the attack of a noodle. “Check the emergency panel.”

“Okay.” He momentarily disappears behind the gigantic box until his voice comes back muffled. “It says we need a password.”

“A password?”

Bucky sends a text to Steve that they might be late.

“What the fuck is th- okay, fuck that. Just hit any switch that’s not green.”

“Gotcha.” He waddles back to the front, shaking his fingers out. “Is yellow okay?”

“Any colour, Nico,” you whine.

“You got it, boss.” He slams his palm down on the button.

Bucky can feel the giant wave that runs through the lair, the hair on his arm standing straight.

Mechanical groans and the noises his laptop makes when it powers down soon follow as the red eyes return back to normal. Instead of just falling over, which he’s sure would haunt his nightmares for days, every clone just plops themselves down on the ground, crossing their legs and sitting as he remembers he did in middle school.

“Yay.” You lean against the railing for support, breathing heavily.

“You did it, boss.” Nico gives you a large thumbs up. “It all went according to plan.”

“Sure it did.” You nod. “Definitely. That was the plan.”

Bucky scoffs out a laugh, pushing himself off the wall and making his way to you. He makes sure to flip the switch on his way to you, bringing light back into the lair.

“Why-” you hold up a finger, still trying to catch your breath “-why did we put a password on the emergency panel?”

“Because, uh-” Nico gestures towards Bucky in what felt like an apology.

Bucky looks back at him strangely.

“It was to stop him,” he adds. “No offence, Sergeant B.”

“None taken,” Bucky reassures because it was literally his job.

“Fine, whatever.” You ignore the whole exchange, dragging yourself to behind the machine. “What’s the password?”

“I dunno.” Nico scratches the back of his head. “Did you try ‘password’?”

Your head pops around to stare at him unblinkingly. “Our password is ‘password’?”

“No, wait.” He snaps his fingers in a moment of realisation. “I think maybe it’s one two three.”

Bucky nods along, mouth pursed inward. It seemed pretty on-brand.

“It’s not working.” You glance up at Nico.

“One two three four.”

He can hear the chime of the keypad as you punch in the numbers, mumbling to yourself.

“You’ve gotta be shi- why did that work?” You throw your hands up when there’s a woosh of air following a small click. “Who decided that?”

Nico shrugs. “We didn’t. It just came with the system.”

“The system?”

“You guys don’t change the default password?” Bucky’s eyebrows furrow. “Even I do that and I’m six hundred years o-”

“Okay,” you interrupt, pulling off the panel and letting it fall to the floor with a clang. “No more password-based stuff, Nico, make a note of that.”

“Noted.” He pulls out a tiny little book, scribbling in it with the pencil attached before flipping it closed.

A second later the machine whirs to life, blue light emanating from it. The sounds of a generator overpower what he’s sure is Bye Bye Bye by *NSync playing through the speakers.

Each of the clones gets up, dust their blue suits off before obediently lining up in a queue. He can hear them shoot compliments at each other, either for the wrinkled suit or the glowsticks in their pockets.

“See you later.” You give them a small wave. “Or not.”

“Bye,” Nico says to the first person who walks through the door and disappears. “See you. Nice meeting you. See you around. Bye--”

With the determination of a person too polite to be alive, he makes sure to bid farewell to every person who walks through the machine.

Your eyebrows upturn at him but you say nothing.

“Hey,” Bucky says, stealing your attention. “Did you have fun?”

“Loads.” You wipe the sweat off your brow, ditching your post to come stand in front of him. “You ever been in a battle against yourself? Should try it sometime.”

“No, only one of us can be the designated idiot at a time.” He presses a kiss to your forehead. “You good?”

“It’s your turn next week.” You let out an exhale before giving him a bright smile. “All good.”

“Told Steve we’re gonna be late.”

“Oh, good. I need a shower.” You scrunch up your nose, picking at your suit. “Maybe a nap. How about we don’t go?”

“Sure, if you’re the one to break the news.”

“Coward.” You poke at his chest. “Fine, but we’re taking the bike.”

“Why would we need to take the bike if you’re gonna cancel?”

“Because-” you open your mouth to begin, only to be cut off by a sound of utter distress from across the platform.

From the side, you see Nico standing over his espresso machine that lay in pieces on the floor.

You look at Bucky. He already knows what you’re gonna say.

He shakes his head. “Just go.”

“It’ll only take twenty minutes.” You flash him a smile. “You’re my favourite person in this room. Maybe even this street.”

“Yeah, yeah.” It nearly escapes him again, the words hanging at the top of his tongue. Shouldn’t be this easy to say, should it? “Go on. He looks like he’s about to cry.”

You blow him a kiss before stalking towards Nico, placing a hand on his shoulder. The smile he gives you doesn’t quite reach his eyes, and you gently dismiss his insistence that it’s okay before bending down to assess the damage.

Bucky lets out an exhale before pulling out his phone to hit play on the video Clint sent at least two days ago.

“You did what?”

Bucky crosses his arms over his chest. “Stop being dramatic.”

“I’m being dramatic?” you scoff. “You bought a house.”

“So?”

“I was gone for twenty fucking seconds and you bought a house without telling me.”

He rolls his eyes. “Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t think it was necessary--”

“Not necessary? We’re together and you’re-”

“Guys,” T interrupts. “It’s just Monopoly.”

Steve nods from his place on the couch.

“T, he bought a house without telling me.” You turn to her immediately, voice shrill in complain.

“It’s a fucking board game.” Bucky leans back. “It’s your fault you left.”

“To get your thirsty ass some apple juice, you loser.”

“Did I a-”

“I don’t even buy apple juice. Where did you get that?” T points to the glass in front of you, half full.

“I have resources.” You cryptically count the fake currency in your hands, glancing at the board in front of you for your properties.

“Are they allowed to team up?” Steve’s voice is low when he asks his girlfriend.

“No.” T narrows her eyes at you slipping Bucky a wad of cash, an unnaturally high sum.

“She just gave him cash.”

Bucky silently takes it, looking his best friend right in the eye. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Right.” You clear your throat, getting up from your place and pretend to dust yourself off. “I’m going to the kitchen for some orange juice--”

“I don’t have orange juice.”

“Does anyone want some?” You place your hands on your hips. When you get a round of declinations in return, you nod. “Alrighty. Be right back.”

“No more chips, we need to get dinner,” T calls out. “You won’t find any, but still.”

“Yes, ma’am.” You throw her a salute before marching on to your quest.

Bucky counts the money he has left. It’s a few seconds of silence as it dawns on him that he has more money than he realised initially. The obscene amount he had procured made no sense, even if he counted the amount you’ve been slipping him all evening.

“I’ll be back.” He pushes himself off the couch, shoving the bills into his pocket for security while he investigated.

In hushed tones from what he left behind, he hears, “They’re strategizing. It’s a team meeting.”

The reply, however, comes back at a normal volume. “It’s literally just a board game, what is wrong with you people?”

“You’re doing what she told you not to, aren’t you?” Bucky finds you amidst a kitchen full of half-open shelves.

“I’m definitely not looking for chips.” Your head was tilted up as you scoured T’s cabinets for her extra stash you know she kept hidden. “Would never do that.”

“Sure you’re not.” He leans his weight against the counter, watching you blindly reach about the space. “Check behind the cereal box.”

“Checked.”

“Check inside the cereal box.”

“Oooh,” you exclaim, pulling the box out and flipping open the cardboard lid. “Only an evil genius would know that. What are you not telling me, Barnes?”

“I live with like, thirty people. You learn to hide things.” He watches you pull out a brand new packet of nachos stealthily. “Are you actually mad at me?”

“Fuck no,” you respond immediately. “I’m just gonna use my public meltdown to our advantage. Throw ‘em off their rhythm, they’ll never see us coming.”

Which reminds him, “We’re not on the same team, I don’t know why you keep giving me money.”

“You’re my sugar ba-”

“Stop,” he interrupts.

You grin at him, tearing open the packet gently. “I’m embezzling funds and stashing them at your bank. Some of the notes are from my game back home.”

“You brought your own currency?”

“Sure did,” you sing. “You’re my fall-man. You’re going to take the blame-”

”No, get your illegal money out of my bank, what the fuck?”

“Go to jail-”

“I refuse.”

“And then I’m going to bust you out of there and then we’ll live on an island or something.” You shake the bag gently, well out of her earshot, shuffling the chips toward you.

“No.”

“Go team, I’m so proud of us.” You pop a nacho in your mouth and smile at him widely.

He shakes his head, reaching into the bag you hold out for him. “Not a team.”

“Hold on now, what happened to Team Dumbass? Bracelet Bitches my beloved?”

“It died when you tried to get me sent to jail for money laundering and tax fraud.”

“If that’s all it takes to break us apart then it wasn’t that strong in the first place.” You sigh, placing a hand on his chest before retracting it quickly to shove it into the bag again.

But it has been. Strong, he means, for months now. He would never be able to say it out loud but he’s pretty sure it’s the most content, happy even, he’s been in nearly a hundred years. Also, it’s the most absurd mix of distress and fun he’s ever chosen to be subjected to.

“Steve thinks we’re strategizing in here.” He hums.

“I already have a strategy.” You stand close enough beside him to have your elbows touching. You’ve found that likes some sort of physical contact, no matter how small it may be.

“S’ppose it involves me.”

“Obviously. Maybe if you didn’t betray me then I’d tell you what it was.”

He scoffs. “It was one house that I bought with my own non-illegal currency.”

“Without telling me,” you reiterate. “And all your currency is illegal, I’ve been swiping it out the whole evening.”

His eyebrows cinch together at this new piece of information but he doesn’t pursue it further.

Instead, he takes another chip. Counts the number of tiles between the countertops on both sides of the room. Revels in the feeling of your skin grazing against his metal arm.

He hears you reach into the bag, snapping his mind out of the little trip it was taking.

“Hypothetically, in real life,” Bucky begins, breaking the momentary silence, “if I ever did buy a house-”

The smile drops from your face instantly. “Did you actually-”

“No,” he adds quickly. “Hypothetically. In the future. Not now.”

You eye him skeptically, all other movements put on halt for that brief period.

“I didn’t buy a fucking house, I swear.”

You press back a smile at his degree of seriousness, feeling relief flood into your system. “Go on.”

“You’d be open to that?” Bucky looks at you out the corner of his eye.

“Sure.” You shrug casually and he lets out a short breath he didn’t realise he was holding. “But I got some hypothetical conditions.”

“Course you do,” he mumbles.

“Number one,” you announce, holding your hand up with a chip pinched together between your fingers, “No can openers.”

“Okay, hypothetical plan cancelled,” he says immediately.

“No can openers, I’m serious.” Your laugh is short, teasing.

“It’s the first thing we’d hypothetically get.” He rolls his eyes. "You call me over every time you need me to open one."

"Because those pieces of shit are hard. And I just call you over to see your face."

He knows.

“And your arms. They look great while you do it.”

Okay, moving on.

“Second--” You do it before he can “--Jake.”

“What about him?”

“Hypothetically, he’s gonna be happy that I moved out and I can’t have that.”

Bucky quirks an eyebrow.

“Let’s fake my death.”

A little too dramatic, he thinks.

“Give him something to be sad about.” You grin. If he knows you, then he knows there are at least three plans already formulating in your head.

“He won’t be,” he reminds.

“You’re right, he won’t.” The smile vanishes slowly, narrowed eyes taking its place. “Fine, then fuck Jake. He can starve after he realises I’m the one who restocks his stupid yoghurt.”

Bucky’s pretty sure Jake knows. It’s also why your roommate buys your favourite pasta sauce even though just the mere sight of it makes him want to, in his words, projectile vomit.

But remembering Jake brings up another detail.

“What about Alpine?”

“Alpine 2.0.” Your answer comes back startlingly fast. “I’ll clone her.”

“We’ve already seen what happens to your clones.”

“Just because a few of them went rogue-”

“We’re not cloning Alpine.”

“Fine.” You huff. “I’m pretty sure Jake’s more attached to A.N.K.L.E.S. now anyway.”

“The murder Roomba?” Bucky picks up nacho. Dinner wouldn’t be an issue for him, his metabolism was much higher than the average human’s.

“It’s not a fucking Roomba, it’s a droid and its name is A.N.K.L.E.S.”

Bucky scorns. “Since when?”

“Since forever. The A stands for ABBA and the rest I don’t know yet.” You pop a chip into your mouth. “Either way, I don’t think he’d care much.”

“Okay, so hypothetically we get Alpine.” Bucky chews slowly, thoughtfully. “She gets a room.”

“Alpine gets two rooms. One for the day and one for the night.”

“The cat doesn’t need two rooms.”

“She deserves two rooms.”

“No, she doesn’t.”

“You feed her enough to need two rooms.”

“Shut up, she’s a growing cat,” he murmurs. He just pinned a new recipe to try out for her on his Pinterest board.

“She’s grown.”

“Alpine can pay rent if she wants two rooms.”

“Jerk. Don’t subject my cat to capitalism.” You take a pause. “Cat-pitalism.

He stares at you. “Hypothetical plan cancelled.”

“Third,” you continue regardless, “I’m gonna fill the entire place with traps and fake doors and shit, it’s gonna be so cool.”

He gets vivid flashbacks to pen swords and almost-mushroom clouds. His nose twitches.

Bucky pushes himself off the counter’s edge to get some water. “You get one room to invent and none of it ever leaves that space.”

“How do I take it to lair then?”

“Figure it out.”

“What if you sneak into the room and steal the plan and ruin my inator?”

He had an all-access pass to the lair and it had never happened before. There was no reason to believe he was going to start now.

Still, he kisses your cheek on his way past you. “Figure it out.”

“Okay, well then hypothetically I’m gonna build a portal in one of the rooms.”

“I will burn your hypothetical portal to the ground.”

“You can’t do that, I have a hypothetical force shield.”

“Your force shield has a hypothetical battery that I’m gonna remove.”

“That was one time.”

“One room to invent on the weekends and you use your teleporting shit to get it to the lair.” Bucky’s been here enough for dinner parties and game nights to know where T keeps her all her dishes.

“Okay, new hypothetical plan,” you say as he holds his glass out under the tap. “I’m gonna build a lair in our garage.”

“Garage?” In this economy? Fuck no.

“Fine, dungeon, then.” Your eyes shine. “We’re gonna stay in a castle.”

He shuts the tap off. “You’re gonna stay there alone.”

You continue excitedly, “A big, dark castle and you will never see me again because there’s gonna be so many rooms.”

“Great. Let me know when you’re moving,” he says dryly. “Gotta move all your stuff out of the Tower.”

“Yeah, lemme call a moving van for my fucking toothbrush.”

“Your other stuff.” The water disappears in a few strong gulps. The glass, he decides, can be the alibi he needs for being there, just in case T comes at you for stealing from her stash. If he was going to jail for money laundering, you could go for theft.

“What other stuff?” You squint.

“Y’know…” he trails off when he realises you very much don’t know, setting the glass down. “Your inators and stuff.”

Your head tilts inquisitively. “Thought those go to S.H.I.E.L.D..”

"Well, yeah. They’re supposed to." Bucky shoves his hands in his pocket. "I don’t know, just had a feeling you'd want 'em back one day."

“Wait, so you kept them?” You fight the smile that threatens to spread across your face. “Since when?”

“Freeze gun, I think.”

“Wasn’t that-- wait--” Your eyebrows knit together before your jaw drops. “Wasn’t that the first time we met?”

“Don’t remember.” Yes, he does. Yes, it was.

”You’ve had a crush on me since our first meeting?”

“No.”

“Oh my God, you’ve had a crush on me since our first meeting.”

He drags his palm across his face. “They’re getting recycled first thing tomorrow.”

“Not before I see them first.” You jump up with a renewed interest in this conversation. “Where even are they? The storage? On a ship?”

“My room.”

“I’ve been to your room, I’ve never seen my inators around.”

“You’ve seen the shelf,” he argues, crossing his arms over his chest.

“You mean that fucking drawer in the corner?” You cross your arms too, in retaliation. “The one you’ve stuck together with tape?”

“Why do you think it’s like that? I ran out of fuckin’ space, it’s too full.”

“I didn’t know it had my inators, I thought it was just like that.”

“You thought it’s barely hanging together because it was just like that?”

“Like owner, like cabinet.” You laugh when he rolls his eyes at you. “I’m kidding. Here, have a chip.”

“No,” he says as he takes the one you’re offering. “Hypothetical plan cancelled.”

“Okay,” you move on. “So in our castle, there’s gotta be at least one hypothetical room for all our friends.”

“Right, so that’s zero rooms for you then,” Bucky notes.

“We’re literally in my best friend’s kitchen right now.”

“Ask her if she feels the same.”

“T,” you call out and he gives a short exhale in disbelief. “Are you my best friend?”

Her voice comes back loud and clear. “No.”

“See? She loves me.” You turn to Bucky.

“You’re missing a few steps there.”

“No, I think I got all of them.” You nod. “T, Jake, Alpine and her three rooms.”

“Oh, so Alpine gets three rooms now.”

“Yeah, duh.”

He’d disagree but Alpine really was the royalty in this house. It was only time till she took over the entire house. The Tower had been claimed months ago anyway.

“Fine. But then hypothetically, if we’re doing this then you need to do it properly.” Bucky pauses. “Castle’s gotta be all-black.”

You reel back. “It certainly does not.”

“Black walls, black furniture--”

“Pink walls. Blue furniture.”

“...black cushions. Black curtains--”

“Yellow cushions. Purple curtains.”

“No garlic, no mirrors--” he continues to list out.

“We’re not vampires, Bucky. The castle has to look like a Barbie dreamhouse or I’m not staying.”

“I guess it’s just me and Alpine then.”

“You’re going to steal my child and stay in a castle that I made without me.”

Bucky’s lips press inward. “Yeah, sounds ‘bout right.”

“Bitch. I’ll leave all my inators in every room. They will be the first thing you see in the morning and the last thing you’ll see at night.”

“...black kitchen. Black floor--” he continues in revenge.

“Alpine’s going to get four rooms. Morning, afternoon, evening, night.”

“Black doors. Black bed. Black can-opener--”

“No can-openers.”

“Black wardrobe. Black--”

“I will evict yo--” You stop abruptly. “Why are we arguing about this?”

It’s not like you ever needed a solid reason before.

“Let’s just build a treehouse and stay there,” you propose instead.

“Deal.” He holds his hand out for a handshake, which you grab firmly.

“You guys done in there?” Steve calls out. “Neither of us wanna check if you’re fine, so please just get out.”

Bucky rolls his eyes, dropping your hand.

You gesture to the bag of chips. “D’you think I should take this out th-”

“Hide.”

“Good call.” You stash it back in the cabinet for later. Not in the cereal box, since it was your bag now.

You can tell game night’s gonna go on for longer, given that your plan to bankrupt Steve so hard he’d never be able to play the game again without tearing up had still not been put into action.

“Get your money out of my bank.”

“We’ll see.” You grin, cupping his cheeks and giving him a quick kiss before taking a step past him. Only, he tugs you back for one more, just a little longer than the last. It’s nice that it still leaves him feeling things in his stomach he refuses to put a name to.

You hum as you pull away with a small smile. “Wait three minutes before showing up so people don’t think we came together.”

Bucky’s eyebrows furrow. “What the fuck even are you talking about?”

“Actually, you know what? I think it’s time we let them know we’re-” you drop your volume “-official.”

He stares at you. “We’ve been together for months.”

“Shhh, they’ll hear you.”

“There’s nothing to hide.”

“Yeah, only ‘cause we’ll tell them.” You roll your eyes.

“They already fucking kn-” he shuts his mouth. “I’m not gonna do this again. Stay here if you want, I’m leaving.”

“You’re just gonna ditch me? Traitor.” You change stances immediately.

“You just s--” For the love of God. “--you’re insufferable.”

You stifle a laugh. “Go on, say it.”

"Say what?" he asks wearily.

"Say, 'God I hate you', or something like that."

He should say it. It's tradition, and you're waiting there, arms crossed across your chest. There's a mock glare on your face but a twinkle in your eye.

"I love you," he says instead.

It’s a second before your face pulls into the biggest smile he’s seen.

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thank you for all the memes, the playlists, the hundreds of asks, the ideas, the artwork, things that reminded you of this series, your miss villain headcanons, people who contributed towards the clone discourse, tried to start a tiktok revolution, lurked around on my blog and in general, just your love for this ridiculous fic. i am so grateful.

team dumbass/bracelet bitches ftw

[differentkettleoffishalltogether]

An Inconvenient Affection [Chapter 2]

Summary: When a couples’ therapist is suspected of murdering his own patients, Y/N and Spencer must go undercover as a feuding married couple to draw him out.

Chapter Summary: Spencer and Y/N try to prepare during their last week before the mission

A/N:  Thank you so much for the incredible response to chapter 1! I love every last one of you! I’ve added everyone who asked to the taglist, I hope you guys enjoy, and any feedback is always appreciated! ❤️

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Fem!Reader

Category: Fake Dating, Friends to Lovers, (Eventual) Smut, Fluff, Angst

Warnings: NSFW language, sexual themes, language, alcohol consumption

Word Count: 4.7k

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Read it on AO3

The credits roll at the end of the episode and Y/N makes a move to grab the remote to put on another before Spencer reaches out his hand to stop her.

“Wait Y/N. Have you thought about it?”

“What?” one of her eyebrows hooks as she turns to him.

“Uh, what Derek—” he takes a moment, “What Derek was talking about?”

She knew what he meant, realistically she knew he was going to ask her the second she’d answered Derek’s question. The problem was that she didn’t have a real answer.

“Oh, the whole, ‘our sex lives’ thing?” she puts it in air quotes as she forces herself up from the deep sofa. He just nods in return, somehow both eager and apprehensive all at once as his doe eyes look up at her.

She circles around the sofa to line herself up behind him, her hands making their way to his shoulders instinctively, thumbs digging into the muscles around Spencer’s shoulder-blades harshly. Whether he knows it or not he lets out a deep sigh in response, humming ever so slightly, like he always does when she rubs his shoulders like this.

“By now you’ve gotta know I’m always one step ahead” she jokes, leaning down just a little so she can whisper it to him like it’s a secret. He lets himself drift just a little, the tiredness and the sensation of her fingertips digging into his shoulders relaxing him so steadily that he might fall asleep then and there.

“Wait,” he jolts, “have you?” he reclines his head, resting it on the back of the sofa and looking right up at hers, albeit upside down.

“Well, I’ve thought about it.” She hums, which isn’t strictly a lie, “How about I type up the details and I’ll give you a hard copy in the morning?”

Her hands leave the tense muscles and drift upward to rest on either side of his face. “But for now I think you might need to get some sleep, I ought to head home”

“You can stay here” he says, it’s low, almost to the point that she shouldn’t be able to hear it. She’d done it before, slept on his sofa, it wasn’t a big deal before, why should it be now?

“Pfft, I’m like 10 minutes away” she waves off the gesture, “Plus you’ll be sick of me by next week Mr. Green” she jokes as she heads for the door.

“Never Mrs. Green”

— — —

There was something that felt perverse about typing up a detailed document about her faux sex life with her friend/colleague/husband. By its very nature it felt like an invasive task, made all the more worrisome by how much she found herself imagining the scenarios she was detailing.

How early in their relationship the sex had been nonstop, they could barely keep their hands off each other, but over time things changed etc. Y/N decided she could have a little fun with their fake dynamic, the second bullet-point on the page reads:

I’m the dominant one

And it feels silly, but it feels right at the same time. Spencer had always followed her lead, she was the one that had to invite him to hang out for almost the entirety of the first 3 months of their friendship. Spencer’s never been the ‘take charge’ type, but that’s one of the many things Y/N liked so much about him.

We do still have sex occasionally, but it’s less passionate, less frequent, and less satisfying

She knew that a progression like that could happen in a marriage but it felt almost wrong to think that she would ever tire of Spencer if they were really married. Just imagining him beneath her, hands laced in his fluffy brown curls, was enough to send her into a daze. She had to snap back to the task at hand.

Spencer’s job had gotten more demanding, and I didn’t feel like I was getting the attention I deserved so I looked for it elsewhere

That was believable, well it better be.

— — —

“I’m the dominant one?” He corners her at the coffee machine, placing the file she’d given him down on the granite countertop.

“Mmhmm” she nods, stirring her cup with a thin wooden stick, stifling a smile at what was either annoyance or confusion from Spencer.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” He huffs, trailing behind Y/N as she walks away, sauntering to the conference room for a more private place to have this discussion. Placing her coffee down on the round wooden table she leans back against it, bracing her hands on the edge to steady herself. Spencer follows behind, shutting the door softly.

“What it means dear Spencer, is that I’m the one on top” she tries to say it in her best sultry voice but it just comes out as a sort of low giggle.

“I know what dominant means in this context Y/N” he rolls his eyes back and huffs out a short breath, “What I’m confused about it why you get to be the dominant one?”

She almost lets a laugh escape before thinking the better of it, “Why do I— Spence? C’mon!” she can’t really fathom what he’s trying to suggest.

“Are you trying to insinuate that you, Spencer Reid, would be the dominant one in the sack?” she crosses her arms over her chest defensively as she says it.

“Don’t call it that” his face scrunches up but he takes a step closer to her.

“What ‘the sack’?” she lets a small laugh escape this time, “You’re such a softie” her face relaxes as she looks up at him, his expression still hardened, trying desperately to put up a tough exterior. “You’re the type to call it ‘making love’ and it only happens on high thread count sheets by candle light” she jokes.

“Well, what are you then, the type to call it ‘fucking’ and it only happens in the back seat of a car?” he moves right in beside her now, his lips just teetering against the edge of her ear, “or bent over the conference room table.” it was so low it was almost a whisper, hushed and gravely as the words passed his lips.

She wasn’t sure she’d ever even heard Spencer curse before. Even if he was quoting an unsub he’d usually skip over the curse words. It stopped her in her tracks, she almost forgot she’d been trying to tease him, not the other way around.

“I—” her breath was caught in her throat as he pulled back, eyes locking with hers after taking in her flustered face.

“If it’s really that important to you I can change it” she rushes out as she tries to get the rhythm of her breathing back under control.

The corners of his mouth lift up in a smile, not smug, but soft and almost sweet. “That’s alright, you being the one in charge makes sense for our backstory, and I’m sure it’ll agitate Dr. Harris all the more.”

She takes a moment to process the whiplash of the conversation before speaking.

“So why the fuss?” she peers over the top of her coffee mug, taking a prolonged sip.

“I just didn’t know that’s how you saw me is all” he shrugs moving to open the door once again. She couldn’t help but blurt out the question that was dancing on the tip of her tongue before he left and the moment was lost.

“Is that how you see me?” turning to look at her she almost looked worried, and she sort of was, she was playing the part of someone who would cheat on a guy like Spencer but that couldn’t be further from how she actually felt. “As someone who has sex with no emotional attachment?” she elaborates.

His brows furrow with confusion, “God Y/N I never said that!” it comes out soft and soothing as he walks back towards her. “I was just trying to get a rise out of you, I didn’t mean that.” he coos as he wraps her in a warm hug, a gentle hand rubbing up and down her back.

“I didn’t mean it either” he could hear her mumble into the fabric of his shirt, “I was messing with you I’m sorry” she pulls back a little so she can look up at him and her wide eyes were enough to make him melt.

“No need to apologize.” he chuckles, “You were sort of right anyway, I do like soft sheets.” she lets out a proper laugh at that.

They just manage to pull away from each other as Penelope peers her head through the door and rolling her eyes.

“There you are! Hotch has had me running around the office looking for you two newlyweds. He wants to talk in his office, like 10 minutes ago!”  

Both of their eyes bulge as they look at each other. No matter how long you’d been at the BAU there was still an ever present fear that came with an invitation to Hotch’s office. They both give Penelope a thank you and race down the hall together, steeling themselves in anticipation of whatever news awaited them behind the door.

“Take a seat” Hotch says as he beckons them in, sorting through a stack of files on his desk before even looking up at them.

“Knowing what we know about this unsub and his propensity for stalking his victims, we think it would be safer and more appropriate if you stayed together in a new location.” he says it so plainly that she’s not sure she’s even understood.

“A new location sir?” she leans forward a little in her seat, and he pushes a small file across the desk, Spencer grabs it first without really thinking about it. He’s pretty sure he already knows what’s in store but it’s got his stomach in knots already.

“We’ve rented an apartment in the city for the two of you to stay in for the duration of this case, fully furnished and stocked. We thought it would be safer in the eventuality that he does watch your movements.”

As Spencer thumbs through the file, memorizing the alarm codes, the street names, he sees something that confirms his fears, ‘one bedroom’. He doesn’t say anything about it as he hands the file over to Y/N for inspection.

“It’s also walking distance from the bar you’ll be working at Y/N, which should give him easy access to your movements when the time comes that we need to establish your infidelity.” Hotch explains, but none of it seems to want to stick in Spencer’s brain, it just floats in one ear and right out the other as he thinks about what the apartment must look like. How small it probably is, how big could that one bedroom possibly be, would there somehow be two single beds, or perhaps they’d thought about it and there was a pull-out couch? He gulps down the lump in his throat as he tries to force the thoughts out of his head.

“When— uh, when do you want us to start staying there?” he asks, his tie feeling suddenly very tight around his neck.

“As soon as possible agents. You should spend some time becoming acquainted with the space and the area, pack up some of your own belongings and get settled in there. We don’t want our unsub to think that anything is out of the ordinary with your living situation.”

“Of course sir, we can start this evening” She says, closing the file and laying it in her lap. It takes everything Spencer has not to snap his head to look at her, she seemed so calm at the proposition. That just made him feel worse, of course she wasn’t thinking about it like that.

— — —

She waits on his sofa, rereading through a hefty file about this unsub, almost absentmindedly taking in the information at this point. Spencer had been rifling through his wardrobe for what felt like hours, packing up a suitcase with his ‘essentials’.

“We can always find a way to get stuff from our apartments if you forget something Spence, it’s not the end of the world” she calls out to him, not looking up from the pages in front of her. “It’s not like it’s going to take months, well, probably not.” she sighs. Something about the idea of being trapped in an apartment with Spencer for months on end sounded both like ecstasy and torture all at once.

“I know, I know!” he groans, dragging his suitcase out into the living room, “I just don’t want to be the one to mess this up, y’know?” she looks up then and he’s towering above her, his hair a mess at the top of his head like he’s been tugging at it for the past hour. But when she grins up at him his frustrated expression softens.

“You’re not going to mess this up, I promise” he nods his head at her reassurance, but it still doesn’t satiate him completely.

“C’mon, let’s get you ‘home’. You can get a start on unpacking while I go and grab my own stuff, sound good?”

He nods again as she places her hand on his back, gently guiding him out of his apartment. He doesn’t even think about it until the door is closed behind him, but that might be the last time he sees his home for weeks.

— — —

“Honey, I’m home!” she calls out into the apartment to no response. Gathering her bag up further from her slipping grip, she kicks the door closed gently with her foot. Dumping the bag on the sofa she roams around the apartment and its precious few rooms. She can hear nothing, but Spencer was here, she’d seen him walk inside.

Before she can think she pulls her gun from the holster hidden on her ankle. Her mind beginning to race at the scenarios that could’ve transpired in the time she’d been gone. What if they’d been followed somehow and she’d just left Spencer all alone. She pushes the thought down deep as she nudges open the bedroom door. It lets out a small whine in the process. There’s no-one there. Walking with achingly soft footsteps she moves toward the bathroom door, before she can reach it the doorknob twitches and the door swings open.

Y/N grips her gun, ready to point it straight into the perpetrator’s face. But instead only a half-clothed Spencer Reid is in her line of fire.

“Jesus Christ!” he yelps at the sight, “Put the gun down Y/N! What are you doing?!” he raises his hands up in defense. He looks ridiculous, a towel wrapped snug around his hips, his saturated hair dripping down his neck and shoulders.

“Y/N quickly discards her gun on the bed rushing towards Spencer and pulling him into a tight damp hug. His hands hang confused in mid air for another moment before coming down to rest on her back.

“You scared me!” she huffs into his ear.

He pulls back in disbelief, “I scared you?! You scared me!”

She just bursts out laughing, “God I’m an idiot” she confesses, “When I came in I called for you but no one responded, I knew you were home but I was scared we’d been followed or something. I thought you were in danger.” she rambles, trying to trace back her own train of thought.

“You thought I was in danger?” his eyebrows furrow together.

“But you were just in the shower” she waves her hand up and down, gesturing to the sight of him.

“Well actually, the bathroom is the most dangerous room in the house! Of the thousands of bathroom-related-injuries admitted to the ER every year, over two-thirds of them are attributed to the bathtub or shower. But good to know that if I’d slipped and fell you would’ve— uh— shot me?” He’s got a cocky expression on his face now, he knows he’s probably pushing it but it might help calm Y/N’s nerves, or at the very least make her laugh.

“Haha, very funny” she balks, stifling a genuine laugh in the process, and snatching her gun back from the bed to tuck it into it’s holster. “Put on some clothes before you catch a cold”

Y/N stumbles out of the bedroom, softly shutting the door behind her to give Spencer his privacy. She lets out a pent up deep breath that had been lingering in her chest since she’d seen his bare torso, and his shaggy wet hair. Her heart was beating faster than she’d like to admit but she could pin that on the seemingly stressful situation right before if Spencer said anything. He had a strange habit of counting her resting heart-rate. She didn’t know how he was that perceptive, but he was.

Y/N took the opportunity to get changed into some sweats from her bag. She took off her ankle holster but brought her gun back towards the living room with her, leaving it on a side table, just in case.

“Still on edge I see” Spencer wanders into the room in his pajamas rubbing a towel against his curls before tossing it into a laundry hamper behind him. “You’re probably not going to need that anytime soon, this guy won’t try to hurt either of us before abducting us, it would break his pattern.” He was trying to comfort her, in a strange role reversal, and it worked a little.

“You’re right, I know you’re right” she nods. Standing up off the sofa to put her gun back in her bag. Telling him she was going to relax.

“Dinner?” She asks.

“You order, I’ll fill the team in” Spencer grabs his phone and settles down into the sofa to make the call.

——

“Do you even know how to bartend?” Spencer pipes up as they finish their food.

“What?” Y/N responds, leaving her empty container down on the coffee table to stretch out along the sofa, letting her legs drape over Spencer’s lap. He gladly accepts them, leaving his own container to one side so that he can rest his hands on the soft cotton of her sweatpants.

“That’s your cover, is that something you know how to do or are you gonna have to learn on the job?”

Y/N sits up a little, propping herself up on her elbows defensively. “Hey I’ll have you know I’ve got plenty of bartending experience” One of his eyebrows quirks up, responding just as antagonistic.

“Well then how come I’ve never heard about it then?” he teases. She swings her legs down, off his lap this time so she can stand up off the couch.

“It was back in my counter intelligence days, it was an old cover I used a few times. If I told you any more about it, I’d have to kill you”

He stands up with her, picking up their containers to bring to the kitchen. “I don’t know if I believe you” he giggles.

As he throws away their trash Y/N starts to rifle through the kitchen cabinets, standing up on her tippy toes to look thoroughly at all of the shelves she can reach.

“What are you doing?” he catches her reaching up for a bottle tucked away on one of the top shelves. He reaches up to pull it down for her, it’s an unopened bottle of gin.

“I didn’t think they’d have the place stocked with any alcohol?” he muses, studying the label, “Maybe they’ve used this place for missions before?”

She snatches the bottle off of him before he can linger on the thought, they were off the clock this evening. There’d be plenty of evenings spent very much on the clock in this apartment, and she wasn’t about to waste this one.

“If you don’t believe me I’m just gonna have to show you” she states like it’s obvious. “Have they got anything else knocking about?” she places the bottle on the countertop, rooting out some glasses from another cabinet.

“Um I think I saw a bottle of champagne in the refrigerator. I don't know how old it is though?” he digs for a minute before he finds the aforementioned bottle tucked in the back, presenting it to her.

“Oh perfect!” she examines the bottle before grabbing a lemon out of the little fruit bowl. They must’ve stocked the place in anticipation of their arrival. “Okay, I’m gonna need a bit of sugar, some ice, and I’m gonna assume they don’t have a cocktail shaker laying about for us?”

He shakes his head, ��You assume correct”

She pulls a large glass and a plate from his cupboard and examines them for a moment. “This’ll have to do for now, help me bring all this in” she scoops up some of the supplies in her arms and waits for him to follow her back in the the living room where she's left them all on the coffee table, kneeling down on one side of it.

He joins her, an apprehensive look on his face as he sits on a cushion on the floor opposite her.

“Welcome to my bar” she says, gesturing to the coffee table between them, “what can I get for you sir?” she jokes.

He plays along, looking contemplatively at the few ingredients in front of him before clicking his fingers. “I know, I’ll have whatever your favorite is.” he smiles up at her.

“Excellent choice sir” she begins to assemble the ingredients in her make-shift shaker. Dumping the gin, lemon juice, and sugar in on top of the ice and shaking it gently. She spills a little on the coffee table pouring the mixture between 2 wine glasses and then tops them off with the champagne.

Spencer makes move to grab one of the glasses but it’s only met by Y/N swatting his hand away. She cuts a small segment off the lemon, separating the flesh from the rind and twisting it into a neat spiral, perching one twist on the rim of each glass.

Then she takes one glass and hands it to Spencer, picking up her own and clinking the glasses together. He takes a small tentative sip and his eyes go wide.

“What is that?” he asks, despite the fact that he saw everything that went into it. She takes another swig from her own glass before responding.

“It’s called a French 75, or just a ‘Soixante Quinze’ in French” she explains, “It’s more of a brunch cocktail, and you’re supposed to serve it in a champagne flute, not a wine glass, but you do what you can with what you got” she shrugs.

“Well it’s delicious, maybe I should doubt your skillsets more often” he says thoughtfully, taking in another sip.

“Well making drinks isn’t the only skillset a bartender possesses” he looks at her quizzically. “You gotta be able to talk to people, or let them talk to you I guess. It’s part of the appeal, getting people to trust you, to like you, and maybe a few drinks in you get them to confide in you, slip up and spill something if you’re lucky” she explains.

“You really have done this before” he raises his eyebrows in mock surprise.

“I told ya so, and on that note, tell me what’s on your mind, what brought you in here this evening?” She takes a dishcloth and begins to wipe up the little spill on the table. Spencer just lets out a small chuckle but stifles it when she looks at him. Her eyes are trained on his, awaiting his response.

“Oh! You’re serious.” He takes a beat, “Well, um, I guess my wife and I have been going through a bit of a rough patch lately” he tries his best to make it sound genuine, but something about the bubbles in the drink and Y/N in her sweats opposite him has him feeling a little giddy.

“Oh that’s terrible I’m sorry to hear that” she sympathizes quickly, encouraging him to keep talking.

“Yeah she’s been sleeping around behind my back, should’ve seen it coming really” he takes a long gulp from his glass, staring into the fizz at the bottom.

“What do you mean?” She probes, “Was she the town bicycle before you got hitched?” She says it as a joke but Spencer’s head just snaps up to look at her with confusion.

“What?”

“Everyone got a ride?” She wiggles her eyebrows as she explains and he can only roll his eyes in response, his face screwing up a little with distaste.

“No, nothing like that” he shakes his head, “It’s just something that would happen to me, I’ve never had much luck in that department” he confesses, and it even catches him a little off guard that he says it.

“What do you mean?” she takes a small swig from her own glass and leans in. He seems reluctant to talk at first but after a deep breath he forces himself to continue, this was just a game, it didn’t have to get serious.

“Nothing really, I think it’s just this job, or maybe it is just me, but I can never seem to keep anyone around for very long. Something always gets in the way.” he sighs, taking a large gulp from his drink this time in an attempt to wash the taste from his mouth.

“Spencer, there’s nothing wrong with you” she says, breaking the facade. Reaching out a hand to touch his arm, resting it there gently. As much as he wished it didn’t, her touch soothed him so easily.

“I know this job is stressful, and strange, and takes up a lot of our time, but that’s not going to be an obstacle with the right person”

For a second he wants to tell her that it’s not true, that it really doesn’t feel that way to him. But he pushes those thoughts down. Maybe she could be right, eventually.

“Yeah, I guess so” is all he manages to say though.

“I’m serious Spence, I know the feeling. Like the person who you’re supposed to be with doesn’t— might never come along”

Despite the sentiment she looks at him with a soft smile, “But we gotta hold out hope, don’t we?” he nods at her then, because if he opens his mouth he wont be able to stop himself from telling her how he really feels. And then that would be the end of all of this. And for all of the agony of it, he’d still rather have her as a friend than as a stranger.

“I think it might be bedtime?” she asks, pulling her hand away from his so she can stand up. And his eyes can’t help but watch her as she gathers up the things from the coffee table, bringing them back to the kitchen and returning with a glass of water for each of them.

She moves through the space like she’s already lived there for years, making it her home so quickly. And it makes him think of how this would feel if it were their home. But it’s not, and he’s painfully aware of the double bed that’s waiting for them on the other side of that bedroom door, and he’s just not ready to face it quite yet.

“I think I’m gonna do a bit more reading, make sure I’m ready for our appointment tomorrow” he says, reaching for the stack of files he could pretty much recite at this point.

“Oh, okay.” she doesn’t contest him, she can tell from his body language that he’s a little uneasy, and she can piece together why, she just hoped he wouldn’t stop to think about it.

“Well, come join me whenever you’re done out here, we should be well rested for tomorrow”

“Yeah, of course” he nods, and she knows it’s a lie.

“Night Spence”

“Goodnight”

——

Let me know what you thought about this chapter here <3

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[nobodies-png]

👋👋 this is my first time asking for something Im curious on how yandere repliku would react to his S/O being a guardian of light and would he kidnap them before the war?

ooo, welcome to the blog then! I’m just noticing that there’s quite the backlog for yandere stuff, hohohohoho 

general warning for usual yandere topics!

First, some context for the guy as a yandere! Repliku strikes me as one of the most common types - jealous, overprotective, possessive and aggressive, but oddly enough, it’s extremely easy to calm him down? Any affectionate gesture from his darling is enough to distract him from all of his anguish, even if all you do is meet his gaze and smile or pat his back. While he's starved for your attention, he knows better than to be greedy and force you to indulge him - it's way easier to keep everyone else at bay, after all. You have permanent scary dog privileges whenever you’re with him! It’s almost like having a cat that is mean to everyone except you for a pet.

But it’s very, very different if you’re actually dating him. The only thing that kept you relatively safe all this time is that fine line Repliku would never dare to cross - you are not his, so he understands that he has no right to demand your time nor attention, even if he still pouts and tries his best to drive your friends and loved ones away. But once it’s established that you are his partner, it’s fucking over for you, bestie </3.

Repliku is now your self-appointed and permanent knight in not-so-shiny armor. It gets worse the longer you date, because he stops from holding back and acts on every impulse to keep you by his side, feeling justified by your own choice to date him. You chose this. You did this. You wanted him, so clearly you’ll be okay with every measure he takes to keep you safe and happy. It’s also harder to please him now, he’s so clingy. Repliku feels entitled to every breath you take, every second you spend awake. And while his mind games have nothing on Vanitas’ guilt tripping and manipulation, Repliku still retains Riku’s keen eye - he can read you like an open book and say the right things to make you doubt yourself, make you feel like you need to depend on him.

It’s almost a miracle you wound up as a guardian of light with him orbiting around you, pulling you back every time you go somewhere he can’t follow. Repliku loves that spark within you that dares to oppose him, all so you can follow whatever bullshit you believe in about justice, light or the kindness of people’s hearts - he adores that side of you. And he’s fine if you want to be on the losing team (he’ll be there to take you back where you belong once you’re done playing around), he’s fine if you face him in battle (he’ll graciously accept every attack and scar you leave on him, marking you with his own as well). But the one thing he can’t stand is seeing people like Sora, especially Sora, breathing in the same direction as you.

That’s when it all comes crashing down for Repliku. If he sees you have a single positive interaction with Sora, he’ll lose it. It doesn’t matter if all you did was say good morning to him, or wish him luck in his adventures or just mention his name in passing conversation. Your name in Sora’s mouth is blasphemy, but for you to look so genuinely happy when talking to him? When he’s already eeryone’s favorite starchild? That’s unbearable, it’s enough to remind him that he’s not even the original copy, so there’s no way he can even compare to someone like Sora. 

What does he have that sets him apart from Riku? What does he have that makes him better than Sora? Is there anything in his made-believe life worth clinging to? Why yes, yes there is. It’s you. He has you. You and your love for him, the two things that define his entire existence. Repliku, so incredibly delusional and desperate, would absolutely steal you away way before the final encounter against Xehanort - hell, the guy would gladly leave the real Organization hanging way earlier if it meant having you locked up. He’d lure you with whatever is most efficient, maybe you respond better to threats, maybe you’ll fall for his act of begging for redemption.

Once he has you in his grasp, he’s not going to let go. He’ll provide food, shelter, entertainment and all you have to do is keep him company - hell, you can literally say anything you want or escape and fight him to your heart’s content, Repliku won’t mind. He still adores that spark in you and he’ll be there until that fire is snuffed out and all you can think of is him. Everything else is temporary - at some point, you’ll come to understand that it’s your turn to be a supportive partner. He let you play the role of hero, after all! It’s your turn to indulge him. Sure, he might lash out during particularly bad days, but never directly at you - he redirects that fury to the outside world. Sometimes, you wish it were you instead of all your loved ones.

[childofsquidward]

Books I Read In 2022 (and by read I mean actually liked)

She Drives Me Crazy by Kelly Quindlen

“Would you believe the last one wasn’t even real? I didn’t even hit the girl’s hand!”

“Mmm, I’m gonna call bullshit on that. You claimed you didn’t hit my car either.”

“I hate you,” I say. Then I kiss her and kiss her and kiss her.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (5.75 STARS)

SPOILERS BELOW!!!

I’ve made my feelings about this book pretty clear, but I’ll screech about it again because that’s what it deserves! THIS. BOOK. IS. SO. GOOD. I’m crying just thinking about it, I don’t think I can hold a physical copy because I’m worried about ruining it via tear drops, but I’ll still buy it (no one touch it, don’t even breathe on it). 

I read this entire book in 4-5 hours and the only reason it took me this long was because I had to pause to cry. I'm not kidding, I was sobbing, my vision blurred - I had to finish crying before I could continue reading the book, which happened at least 3 times.

Imagine taking some classic, fan-favourite tropes (aka fake-dating, enemies-to-lovers, "jock"/cheerleader) and actually having them be more grounded and heart-wrenching and honestly, realistic. Oh, and it's about an interracial gay couple instead of straight, white couple #186489. You watch these girls be petty and mean and fall in love and it's FUN! But then you get to see them grow as people and put that growth before their relationship (AS THEY SHOULD) and it breaks your heart over and over again. And it’s not just Scottie and Irene that you fall in love with, it’s everyone around them too because the dynamics in this book are just that amazing.

Pros:

The characterization. One of my favourite things about this book was that we were introduced to these characters via qualities instead of appearances. We are introduced to our narrator, Scottie, with her basketball game that kind of shows us where her head's at. And it's Scottie who then introduces us to everyone else because we see this world through her eyes. (take a shot every time I use some variation of the word introduce) That's why Tally was introduced with Scottie telling us how they first met. That's why Danielle was introduced as a leader and that's something that is consistent throughout the book (Danielle Vision is a brilliant term, the writer in me is so upset that I've never thought of something like this before.) That's why Irene is introduced as the mean cheer captain. My favourite introduction though, hands down, was Honey-Belle - she was introduced to us as a very sweet girl because she's the only one to ask Scottie if she's okay and she's the first one to be at Irene's side after the accident. Like a Care Bear magicked to life - best line of the year, everyone else go home. (Yes, I'm a full year late, I still stand by what I said.)

Setting. Grandma Earl is one of those settings that can be considered as a character of its own. This town is so well-represented by its people who are protective and proud and honestly incredibly petty when it comes to Grandma Earl. (Scottie's mom and Irene's mom first bonded over how much they hate Candlehawk and it was brilliant.) Grandma Earl feels like an extension of Scottie herself. Every time she spoke of how she felt Tally never respected or loved this town as much as Scottie did, you just knew Scottie was referring to herself and hiding behind the town so she didn't have to come to terms with her own insecurities. She loves this town and it represents who she is, so for Tally to reject the town was pretty much the equivalent of her rejecting Scottie. And then the best part of it all, which everyone kinda' saw coming but it was still the best thing ever, was that Irene loves Grandma Earl just as much as (if not more than) Scottie does. It was probably only like a three-sentence conversation, but the second Scottie said something along the lines of "not everyone does," Irene was so quick to say that they should, they absolutely should, and I could not stop crying for at least ten minutes just blubbering "Scottie she loves you, come on!" Also, shout out to this very minuscule moment that meant the world to me (context - they're talking about Scottie's parents): "Sorry about them," I mutter. "I love them," she says easily. I loved this little exchange so much because I feel like apologizing for her parents being embarrassing became second nature to Scottie while dating Tally, but Irene being so quick to reassure her, not knowing the weight that her words hold, is something that is so personal to me. This is what brings me to my next point…

The aftermath of Scottie's breakup with Tally. Something that I really enjoyed about this book was how the little cracks in Tally and Scottie's relationship were things that Scottie was definitely aware of and acknowledged, but then she'd remember these fleeting moments in their relationship that meant everything to her (usually because she'd see/think of Tally) and that's one of the most honest portrayals of a toxic relationship that I've ever seen. You know that this person is bad for you and they make you doubt all these things about yourself, but how can you truly hate someone that once made you feel like the luckiest person in the world? There was this one brief line where Scottie described dating Tally as "viewing my [her] life through a photo filter" which I think is absolutely brilliant. The imagery of that makes me actually see all these sweet moments that Scottie describes with Tally through Instagram filters, especially because there is such an emphasis on Tally being so obsessed with appearances and Scottie feeling as though she would never measure up to what Tally wants, which is why she felt like she had to apologize for just being herself. I think Thora definitely described it best when she said, "You've been a walking insecurity since you dated her." It was harsh and it came from a place of both love and frustration, but it was needed because when Scottie starts to finally heal, Thora's words are the first to come to mind. Also, every time you think that 'okay, there is no way for Kelly Quindlen to find yet another unique way to describe how hurt Scottie is and thus putting my heart through an industrial shredder', YOU'RE WRONG. There is absolutely another way for her to break your heart, there's always a way.

I don't really know what to call this except a list of moments that really stuck with me because I cried hysterically before the sun was even up and I didn't how to stop. There were tons of moments of realization on Scottie's part, both big and small. You can see the beginnings of her realizing that when she lost Tally, she lost herself as well, yet to understand that she lost herself before Tally even broke up with her (I'm absolutely paraphrasing and I just really hope I didn't completely misunderstand everything about this book.) The moment she realized that yes, she does have feelings for Irene, but she has yet to truly deal with the grief that this breakup has imposed on her. I also like that as soon as Scottie realized her feelings for Irene, her immediate thought process was that she couldn't truly be with Irene before she could heal from this breakup, and I appreciate that Quindlen chose to emphasize this because a lot of times in media you see characters that try to "get over" their breakups rather than go through this process of healing that you later see Scottie go through. And it's not just about her doing this because she wants to date Irene, she's also doing this for herself because a part of her feels so broken and now I'm sad again. When Scottie, hopeless romantic extraordinaire, wanted to do the whole grand gesture thing at first but ultimately did understand that she would only be doing so to benefit her and not Irene, ergo she does what she thinks Irene would do/want her to do which is be upfront and honest about her feelings and her intentions. She also does do the whole grand gesture thing and it's very sweet and very much the big, splashy ScottiexIrene moment that everyone was waiting for, and the best part is that it was just very them. I would also like to add that Irene also performing a cheesy, grand gesture of her own for Scottie was the cutest thing ever, I will never be able to stop thinking about these two.

I would also like to add that there were 3 specific scenes from this book that affected me so much that I think it will take me at least a month to recover. I would love to re-read this book, but I also don't want anyone to mention it to me until, like, March.

The Christmas gift scene. Irene Abraham, you are my all-time favourite character and you were the second that you started critiquing European History (AS YOU SHOULD), I am so sorry that you're hurting. Scottie Zajac, I love you with all my heart and I understand what you're going through, I hate that you're still hurting.

The parking lot fight. Yes, I know they had 10 billion of those, but when you get to the one that makes you cry nonstop, you'll know exactly what I mean.

When Scottie sits down to talk to her family. Kelly Quindlen really said, "YOU GET A SUPPORTIVE FAMILY. YOU GET A SUPPORTIVE FAMILY. EVERYBODY GETS A SUPPORTIVE FAMILY," and we should all thank her for it. There was disappointment, yes, but there was no judgment which is really important. I also think that their disappointment wasn't 100% directed towards Scottie, it was also directed towards themselves because it came from a place of "I wish you felt that you could talk to us and I wish that we could've helped you more/sooner." Everything about that entire moment was so gut-wrenching and I just think it's incredibly rude to have these three scenes be so close together.

Cons:

I'm so sorry, y'all really think that after all that I've said, I'd have a bad thing to say about this book? Fine, I'll say this: Tally and Charlotte, I hope that you can somehow find happiness in the little things in life and not in making other people feel utterly miserable.

I love this book so much! I think that people should definitely read it and probably already have since it came out so long ago, but regardless, I will be recommending this book to every single person that I encounter as soon as I'm done being a complete mess. 

I have a lot more to say (believe it or not), but I think that I might cry again, so I won’t. In the mean time, feel free to come obsess over Irene and Scottie with me on Spotify. x

[imagines-all-day-everyday]

Madripoor

Requested by: MEEE cause this plot popped into my head the second I watched this episode

Summary: Bucky was just following Sharon’s advice to enjoy the party when he meets *yn*, what he isn’t counting on is that he most definitely won’t be staying out of trouble.

Warnings: THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER EP 3 SPOILERS YOU’VE BEEN WARNEDDDDD, fluff, swearing, violence

PART TWO (NAGEL)

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

“Lay low, blend in. Enjoy the party.” Sharon spoke as she made her way up the stairs. “Oh and try to stay out of trouble, I’ll see what I can find.” 

“Trouble?” Zemo smirked. 

--------

Sharon’s words echoed in Bucky’s ears as he made his way through the party. Sweaty bodies were pressed up against him as he ducked and weaved through the crowd. It felt like the pulsating music was drumming against his skull as he made his way up to the bar.

“I’m way too old for this.” He huffed out once he reached Sam, gesturing to the bartender for two shots.

“Old or lame? There’s a big difference.” Sam remarked as the pair simultaneously clinked their glasses together and skulled the liquid. Bucky smirked as he watched Sam cough and splutter.

“Now who’s the lame one?” Bucky chuckled, the liquid burning his throat.

“Maybe we both are. Look at Zemo, the dude may be weird but he’s got game.” Sam answered once he’d recovered. 

Bucky followed his gaze to see Zemo dancing in between two women, both giggling and chatting animately. He watched as Zemo suddenly began pumping his arm enthusiastically to the beat as the girls watched him wide eyed, before exchanging glancing and slipping back into the crowd without another word.

“On second thought dude’s just weird.”

Bucky let out a chuckle as he leant forward and grabbed the beer that the bartender had left out for him. He took a swig as he turned back around to face the party. He automatically swept over area, his eyes sliding over the hundreds of faces as he looked out for any threat.

He paused as his eyes fell on a flash of bright red material. 

Upon closer inspection he noted that the bright red material was in fact a silk dress that was covering the slender figure of a young woman. It was a halter dress that had a deep slit down the front and was almost completely backless, the silk material falling down almost to her ankles with another deep slit also running up her leg that exposed her thigh. 

He felt his grip on his beer tighten as his eyes fell on her face, revealing a pair of eyes framed by thick lashes and lips painted with a deep plum lipstick. She was snaking her way through the crowd, gracefully dodging drunken people as they stumbled their way around on the dance floor. 

As if she sensed his gaze her eyes flickered up and locked with his. The pair eyed each other for a few moments. She shot him a small smile before breaking their gaze.

“Now who would you be checking out hm?” Sam’s voice broke Bucky out of his almost trance like state. 

“No one.” Bucky answered gruffly, glancing over at Sam to see him smirking at him. 

“Sure Buck.”

Bucky ignored him and turned his head back to where the woman had been only moments ago. She was gone. He scanned the crowd and let out a small huff when he couldn’t see any sight of her. 

“Now, I need you to educate me on this art so I can impress some of the ladies.” Sam spoke up again, dragging Bucky’s attention from the crowd.

“What’s that one?” He asked pointing at a nearby painting.

“That’s the Wedding at Cana, painted by Paolo Veronese in 1563.”

“1562 actually.”

Bucky swivelled around, a breath catching in his throat when his eyes fell on the bright red dress. He had no idea how she’d managed to somehow appear beside him without him noticing. He swallowed and ran a hand through his hair as he composed himself before answering, ensuring his face stayed void of emotion.

“I’m pretty sure it’s 1563 actually.”

His answer made her brow quirk up in amusement as she took a sip of her drink, her wrist twinkling due to a very expensive looking diamond bracelet dangling from it.

“Actually I think you’ll find it’s 1562. The copy in the Louvre might say 1563 but I suggest you take a peak at the original.” Her words made his eyes narrow as he studied her features. 

“Well maybe I will.” 

“Before you do that please feel free to continue educating your friend, I’m happy to sit here and correct you when you make another mistake.” She spoke, shooting him an overly warm smile which caused Bucky to grit his teeth. 

Sam let out a low whistle as the smirk on her lips widened. “Damn Buck I think you might’ve met someone more cultured than you.” 

“We’ll see about that.” Bucky muttered, taking a swig of his beer as he eyed her. 

“So how does someone like yourself become so knowledgable about stolen art?” Sam asked her, his eyes darting between the pair in amusement.

The girl shrugged as she took another sip of her drink before motioning to the bartender. “I know a lot about a lot of things.” 

“Really?” Bucky mused, this time it being his turn to raise a brow. “And does ‘miss knower of all things’ have a name?” 

“Miss knower of all things does.” She answered as she grabbed the shot glass and pressed it to her lips. Bucky eyed her profile intently, noting the way her plump lips wrapped around the lip of the glass and her eyes screwed shut as she slung her head back to let the liquid slide down her throat. 

“I love this song.” She remarked, finishing the remainder of her other drink before she rose from her seat. Bucky’s eyes followed her figure as she begun to make her way back to the dance floor. She paused and glanced over her shoulder, a smirk still present on her lips.

“You coming to dance with me or what Buck?” She queried, Sam’s nickname for him rolling off her tongue, amusement evident in her tone.

Bucky eyed her for a few moments before glancing over at Sam. “Sharon did say to enjoy the party.” Sam grinned.

“Try not to be too lame or old huh?” He continued, patting his shoulder encouragingly as Bucky rose from his chair. 

“Thanks.” Bucky muttered as he cautiously approached the woman in red. Her smirk widened as he made his way towards her. “C’mon.” He heard her say as she leant forward and took his gloved hand in hers and tugged him into the crowd.

If she was saying anything to him, he couldn’t hear as he felt himself become engulfed in the crowd as she pulled him deeper into the dance floor. After a few moments she came to a stop and swivelled around to face him. He felt himself grow slightly red as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer, swaying her hips to the beat.

“Are you really not going to tell me your name?” Bucky spoke, practically shouting to make himself heard over the thumping base.

“Why do you want to know? You never danced with a stranger before?” She answered back.

“No I just- I usually know people’s names before I dance with them.” He replied which caused her to let out a small laugh. “Back in my day we used to go out to dinner first.” He added silently in his head. 

His heart thumped against his chest as she pulled him closer to her and leant up so her lips brushed against the shell of his ear. “My name’s *yn*.” 

“*yn*.” Bucky echoed, her smile widening at the sound of her name rolling off his tongue. “And what brings you to a place like Madripoor?” 

“You ask a lot of questions.” She observed matter-of-factly.  

Before Bucky could open his mouth to respond, *yn* twisted around, keeping one arm slung around his neck as she pressed her back up against his body. Bucky bit his lip to prevent a hiss from escaping his mouth as *yn* began to rotate her hips to the rhythm of the music, the fabric of her dress pressing against the material of his black suit pants.

This certainly beat online dating.

“Just relax, enjoy the party.” *yn* laughed breathlessly, echoing Sam’s words from before as she pressed even harder against him. Bucky let his eyes flutter shut as he felt his hands automatically move to grip her hips as he started to move his own body in time with the thumping bass. 

His grip on her hips tightened as she lolled her head back against his chest, her hot breath fanning onto his neck as the pair moved in sync. 

If only Steve could see him now.

As he grew more comfortable he let his gloved hands begin to wander, trailing over her lower stomach before gliding down her thighs. “What do you say we go find somewhere quieter to talk?” He heard *yn* murmur into his ear. 

He felt *yn*’s body stiffen as his hands crept lower to just below her panty line. Before he could answer, her hand suddenly shot out to grip his wrist and cease his movements but not before his hand suddenly brushed over an unexpected bump on her leg. 

A shape that felt suspiciously like a-

A hand suddenly clamped onto his shoulder causing him to jerk his hands away in surprise just as *yn* pulled away from his grasp. “I’m sorry to break up the party but Sharon’s found our guy-” Sam cut himself off as Bucky swivelled around to stare at him, his eyes wide in surprise.

“You good man?” Sam asked, concern written on his features when he noticed Bucky’s look of surprise.

“I-” Bucky cut himself off before looking back to *yn*.

His brow furrowed as his eyes instead fell on a drunk man currently sculling a beer out of a shoe. He frantically looked around, muttering a curse under his breath when he realised *yn* was no where to be seen. 

It was like she had vanished without a trace.

“Oh painting girl pulled a runner? Don’t worry about it man happens to the best of us.” Sam comforted, patting his shoulder once more. 

Bucky felt a ripple of suspicion wash over him but he decided against telling Sam about it as he finally pulled his gaze away from the crowd to look at Sam. “Let’s get Zemo. We should talk somewhere private.”

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

“Alright what have you found?” Sam asked. Zemo, Bucky, Sharon and Sam were all piled into a private coat room located directly above the party. The bass was still so loud that Bucky could feel the vibrations through the tiled floor. The door was locked with a few security guards located outside and on the stairs leading up to the room. 

Bucky sighed, his mind swimming with thoughts of *yn* as he ripped his gloves off. He couldn’t shake a feeling of suspicious that was gnawing at him that there was something off about *yn*.

“I’ve spoken to a few buyers and I’ve got a location on Doctor Nagel.” Sharon spoke, interrupting his thoughts. “He was pretty hard to track down but he’s definitely still here in Madripoor. He’s at the shipping yard.”

Bucky stiffened when he swore he head a thump outside the door, a thump that didn’t correlate with the sound from the party. He strained his ears and sure enough, another thump followed suit a few minutes lately. 

“Bucky?”

“You sure no one can get up here?” Bucky queried, looking over to Sharon. 

“I’m sure. This is a restricted area, I’ve got all the entrances guarded.” She answered, watching him as he made his way to the door.

“Bucky? What’s going on?” Sam asked.

Bucky held his hand up to signal everyone to be quiet as he pressed his ear against the wood. He held his breath as he listened intently. There were a few moments of quiet until he head another thump and a small moan. 

Without warning Bucky ripped open the door and stepped out into the hallway. He nearly tripped over when his foot hit a solid form. He glanced down to see one of the guards lying at his feet, letting out low moans of pain. His eyes travelled down the hall to see all of the guards were either unconscious or were too dazed to get to their feet. 

He froze when his eyes fell on an all too familiar red dress. 

Bucky locked eyes with *yn*, her lips parted in surprise and chest heaving up and down as she tried to regain her breath. The pair stood frozen for what felt like an eternity, the silence almost deafening as they eyed each other. 

“Bucky!” Sam called out, shattering the silence.

Bucky was only distracted for a split second but *yn* took it, turning around and sprinting down the stairs. “Hey!” Bucky shouted, taking off after her ignoring Sam’s shouts from behind him. 

Bucky leapt down the winding stairs, catching brief glimpses of the red material before it disappeared around the next corner. Finally his feet planted on the lower floor. His eyes scanned the crowd, locking onto *yn*’s figure as she pushed through the crowd.

His jaw locked and he could feel himself enter into winter soldier mode as he stormed forward and plunged into the throng of people. He ignored protests and exclamations of surprise as he shoved people out of the way, parting them like the red sea as he kept his eyes focused on her like a laser beam. 

*yn* glanced over her shoulder and the pair briefly locked eyes before she turned around once more and broke out of the crowd, sprinting towards a door with a neon exit sign hanging above it. 

Bucky was hot on her heels, shoving the door open revealing another set of stairs. He hurried up the stairs and got to a landing revealing two doors. He noted that the left door was slightly ajar and he pushed through it revealing a large hall.

He sprinted into the centre of it, coming to a stop when he saw no sight of *yn*. He did a 360 of the room, craning his neck to look around. The room was empty except for a few large wooden boxes covered in tarps. Clearly this was where Sharon kept the less impressive stolen art.

“Come on.” Bucky muttered under his breath as he looked around. It was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop but his senses were telling him that he wasn’t alone in this room.

*yn* was here, if that was even her name.

He let out a grunt of surprise as a sold object hit his back, nearly knocking the wind out of him. He could feel limbs wrapping around his neck and his torso as slender arms pulled his neck into a headlock. He let another grunt as he brought his hands up to grip onto the arm that was around his throat.

He furrowed his brow in surprise when he pulled at the arms and found them unbudging. He tried once more, mustering all the strength he had but *yn*’s grip remained unmoving. He gritted his teeth and took a couple steps before shoving his back into one of the wooden crates.

He heard *yn* let out a small moan of pain as her body smacked against the solid mass with full force. Sure enough, her grip loosened slightly which allowed Bucky to pull her arm from his neck and throw her body over his head and off him. 

She twisted her body in the air so that she landed in a crouched position but still on her feet. Bucky watched her as she rose to her full height, her body slightly gleaming with sweat under the sterile light. She took a few steps back from him and leant down to spread apart her dress, revealing a black thigh garter.

Just as Bucky had suspected on the dance floor, sheathed inside the thigh garter was a small blade. He watched as she pulled it from her thigh, gripping it tightly in her hand.

“You picked the wrong dress tonight doll.” Bucky tutted as he took a few steps towards her.

“You don’t like it? I’m hurt.” *yn* pouted, placing a hand over her heart mockingly. 

“Trust me doll, I like it.” Bucky answered, letting his eyes briefly dart from the dagger in her hand to her dress. “But it’s not exactly the best dress for blending in and slipping away unnoticed.” 

“Who ever said I wanted to slip away unnoticed?” *yn* answered, a mischievous glint in her eye as the pair began to slowly circle each other. Her words made his forehead crease in confusion as he studied her intently. 

“So you know who I am?” 

“I do.” *yn* nodded as she twisted the knife in between her fingers. “The зимний солдат.” 

Her answer made Bucky’s lips part slightly in surprise. “That is what they call you, isn’t it?” She mused.

“Who are you?” Bucky snapped causing her to smirk to widen.

“What were those magic words again, Желание, Ржавый, Семнадцать-”

Bucky suddenly lurched forward, taking *yn* by surprise. She reacted instinctively, bringing the blade up from her side towards his stomach. Bucky gripped her wrist using his right arm, stopping the knife only inches from his flesh. He pulled her closer to him and raised his metal arm to strike her. With lightning fast reflexes her other arm shot up and her hand enclosed around his fist.

He glanced up at her in surprise when she pushed against his metal arm, stopping his fist from colliding with her jaw. He grunted as he mustered up more strength in an attempt to break out of her grasp to no avail. They were evenly matched in strength. 

He had no idea who she was but now he was certain of one thing. They both had super soldier serum running through their veins. 

*yn* took advantage of Bucky’s surprise and lifted a leg up, kicking him squarely in the stomach, her stiletto heel digging into his skin. Bucky spluttered as he felt the wind get knocked out of him, loosening his grip on her arms. *yn* reacted quickly, knocking his feet from underneath him and jumping on top of him. 

Bucky groaned as his back hit the concrete floor and *yn* straddled him, pinning both of his arms above his head with one hand and pressing her dagger to his throat with the other.

“I think I liked you better when I was showing you up in front of your friend.” She remarked as she pressed the blade firmly against his skin.

“And I think I liked you better when you were dancing on me and not trying to kill me.” Bucky spat back as he squirmed underneath her causing *yn* to cock her head to the side, an amused expression on her features.

“Now whoever said I wanted to kill you?” 

“Hmm I don’t know, could be the knife you’ve got against my throat.” He growled, wincing as the metal dug even further into his flesh. *yn* let out a breathy laugh as she leant down towards his face.

“Trust me pretty boy, if I wanted to kill you, you’d already be dead.” 

The sound of footsteps approaching and Sam calling Bucky’s name made both their heads jerk towards the door before Bucky could answer her. This time it was Bucky’s turn to take advantage of *yn* being caught off guard. He managed to wriggle his metal arm out of her iron like grip and instantly lurched up to grab her around the throat. 

*yn* spluttered in surprise, instinctively dropping her dagger to use both her hands to struggle against his vice like grip. Bucky used all of his core strength to push her off him and roll himself on top of her. Now he was so close up to her and under bright light, he could see that her skin was littered with small scars and bullet holes. 

*yn*’s face was slowly growing red as she desperately gasped for air, her body squirming underneath him as she clawed at his metal arm. “I’m not going to ask you again, who the hell are you?” Bucky spat, glaring down at her as he desperately searched her eyes for some sort of answer.

“I don’t-” She spluttered, “I didn’t come here to hurt you, please-” She continued, her voice barely a whisper as her airway grew more restricted. For the first time since Bucky had locked eyes with her, he could see some form of fear and desperation reflecting back at him. The pair eyed each other for a few moments before Bucky slowly eased his grip around her throat, just enough for her to regain some air. *yn* gasped at the feeling of oxygen entering her lungs once more.

“Woah, what the fuck-” 

Bucky looked up to see Sam, Sharon and Zemo staring at the pair with wide eyes, all three of them with their weapons raised. 

“What part of stay out of trouble did you not understand?” Sharon queried, an exacerbated expression on her features.

“Trouble found me.” Bucky answered gruffly as he looked back down at *yn*. The fear that had been present on her features only moments ago had vanished, the cocky and flirtatious mask had been slipped back on. 

“Not that I really mind this position, but given that the cavalry’s arrived, do you mind getting off me?” *yn* asked Bucky coolly. 

Bucky’s lips pressed into a thin line, clearly unamused at her remark as he studied her. “You’re not going to try and kill me again?” 

“I already told you, I don’t want to kill you.” *yn* huffed, rolling her eyes. 

Bucky studied her for a few moments before finally relenting and releasing her throat from his grip. He pushed himself off her and rose to his feet but not before grabbing her dagger and sliding it into his suit pants. 

*yn* got herself up from the ground, her breathing still ragged as she ran a hand through her hair and tucked her strays behind her ears. 

“You wanna tell us who this is Bucky?” Sharon asked, eyeing *yn* up and down.

“Supposedly her name is *yn*-”

“-not supposedly, it is *yn*.”

“-she seems to like not answering questions about herself.” Bucky ignored *yn*’s input. “Oh and she’s had the super soldier serum.” 

“Might want to keep an eye on your friend over there, I know he’s in the habit of murdering anyone who’s come within walking distance of the stuff.” *yn* remarked dryly shooting Zemo a dirty look. 

“Hello to you too darling.” Zemo grinned causing Sharon to roll her eyes.

“Who are you? Who the hell do you work for?” Sharon quizzed her.

“I don’t work for anyone.” *yn* snapped back.

“The flag smashers?” Sam asked causing *yn*’s face to contort into a look of disgust. “Fuck no, I don’t work with those amateurs.” 

“Just tell us what you want or I’m going to have to detain you.” Sharon spoke. There was a brief pause as *yn* studied Sharon before looking over to Bucky.

“You’re not the only one looking for answers, зимний солдат.” She answered quietly, her features softening for a moment as she looked at him.

“Well then maybe we can help each other get answers then.” Bucky murmured back.

The pair studied each other for a few moments before a loud honk suddenly sounded outside. Gun shots rang out from underneath them followed by loud screams and shouts. Bucky, Zemo, Sam and Sharon looked around in confusion as the sound of hundreds of footsteps began to grew louder and louder. 

“Sorry kids, that’s my ride. Gotta fly.”

Within a few seconds the door burst open and hundreds of party goers flooded the room, shouting for help as they fled from the gun fire. Bucky glanced over to where *yn* had been only a few seconds ago to see that she was sprinting towards the only window in the room. 

Bucky pushed through the panicked crowd, watching helplessly as *yn* reached the raised window. She clambered up onto the ledge and shoved the window open. She glanced over her shoulder and the pair locked eyes when Bucky was practically within arms length of her. 

“I’ll be sure to send Doctor Nagel your regards, Buck.” She taunted. “We should do this again sometime, maybe without trying to hurt each other.” She smirked, sending him a wink before leaping off the ledge. Bucky scrambled up onto the ledge and poked his head out to see *yn* sliding down a pipe fixed to the outside of the building. 

He watched helplessly as her stilettos hit the ground. She approached a waiting motorcycle, the driver holding out a helmet for her expectantly. She took the helmet and slung her leg over the seat, sliding her helmet on as the driver throttled the engine. She looked up to the window and gave Bucky a wave before wrapping her arms around the driver’s waist.

“Fuck.” Bucky cursed as he watched the motorbike peel off into the bustling street, going completely unnoticed by the rest of the public amid the chaos. 

“She’s gone?” Sam queried as the other three appeared beside Bucky at the window.

“Hm.” Bucky grunted, clenching his jaw in annoyance as he watched the motorbike disappear from sight. 

“She was kind of terrifying.” Sam remarked matter of factly. 

“I thought for sure she was going to gut you, James.” Zemo observed.

Bucky stayed silently, clearly brooding as he stared out into the street as Sam studied him in amusement. 

“I think Bucky’s in love.” 

PART TWO (NAGEL)

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

зимний солдат = winter soldier

Желание, Ржавый, Семнадцать = Longing, Rusted, Seventeen.

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

I ACTUALLY LOVE THIS FIC SO MUCH!?!? As always feedback is appreciated!!!! Please give it back here xx

[arcstar-silco]

Based off the @sweatandwoe post about modern day Silco/reader, where Jinx and Sevika set up a dating profile for Silco. We love some well-meaning meddling (even if Silco doesn't) <3

“You did what?” Silco asks, voice tipping just on the edge of genuine anger. The only thing keeping it at bay is Jinx, smiling up at him from his office chair, her legs kicking out. He deliberately takes a breath.

“A date!” she says. “I wasn’t so sure about it before, but it’s okay now. I decided I’m ready to have a mom again.”

Silco blinks down at her beaming face for a long second, anger dissipating by the second. He runs a hand through his hair with a sigh. Well. That’s a good thing, he supposes. He worries, sometimes, that what happened was going to follow her through her entire life. But she’s always been resilient.

Still.

“That's a very kind thought, Jinx, thank you.” And then he turns a harsh glare to Sevika, who’s pointedly looking away from him with a smirk. “Where did you get the idea for this… date?”

“One of my friends!” Jinx says, oblivious, turning the chair out of his grasp to point at the computer. “She said she saw her dad making one a week ago.” She frowns. "But it’s supposed to be a secret, so you can’t tell her I said."

“Of course not, darling.” Which doesn’t solve his current problem at all, and doesn’t stop Sevika snickering while she knows he won’t yell at her.

“The thing is, Jinx,” he says, turning the chair back away from the computer and the damnable website that’s pulled up. She looks up at him with big, proud eyes, and he fights back his own wince, crouching down to her eye-level. Best to nip this in the bud before it escalates into something truly out of his control. “I’m not looking to date anyone right now.”

Her face scrunches up in confusion. “You’re not?”

“No, child.” He pinches her chin, the corner of his mouth twitching up when she giggles. "What need do I have for anyone else in my life? I’ve already got you.”

He lets her pull out of his fingers when she tries, hand dropping to the arm of the chair as her face sets into serious concentration, thinking over what he said.

“So you’re not lonely?”

Lonely? He frowns. “With you around? Never.”

And that should be it. He stands, ruffling her hair as she giggles again, nodding her head up at him with a grin. All is right once more: Jinx and him against the world.

“I don’t know, boss,” Sevika says, voice sly in a way that immediately sets him back on edge. "Your date’s gonna be pretty disappointed when you stand her up.”

Jinx’s eyes widen again, and Silco tightens his grip on the chair, shooting a warning look towards Sevika.

“I’m sure she’ll understand once I explain the confusion.”

But Jinx is biting her lip, eyes downturned in a way that forms a pit at the bottom of his stomach. “She was really excited,” she admits, quietly, peeking up at him from under her bangs. “She said she liked talking with you at the play last month."

The play. And just like that, Silco can feel the pit in his stomach fill with lead. “Jinx,” he says, voice careful. Measured. “Who, precisely, did you set me up with?"

“Tov's mom,” Jinx says, thankfully oblivious to whatever face Silco can’t quite keep himself from making. Which can’t be said for Sevika, unfortunately, based off the huff laughter she gives out. “From the play, remember? Tov was the monster!"

Tov’s mom. Of course. He remembers her: the one who’d complimented Jinx on her acting after the show, while Jinx and her kid were piling their plates with cookies. She’d given him a copy of the play she recorded, afterwards, saying she’d ended up at a great angle to catch most of Jinx’s lines. She’d been right, even. Her spot at the left of the stage had coincided perfectly with Jinx and her mad scientist lab. She’d even zoomed in during the most emotional part of Jinx’s monologue. He fell asleep with the recording playing, sometimes.

“I see,” he says, heart beating loudly in his ears.

“She was excited to meet someone else who likes Jericho’s.” Sevika adds, looking much too pleased with herself as she moves towards the computer. “But I suppose we’ll have to tell her it’s off, since you’re so happy on your own.”

Silco narrows his good eye at her. “No, that won’t be necessary.” He can't ruin the relationship he's built with another parent from Jinx's school–Ketra and her little following already had it out for him, after their little brat children found out about Jinx's sister. He didn't need one of his allies abandoning him over hurt feelings, as well.

And besides, he owed her that brownie tin back.

Sevika pauses to raise an eyebrow at him, and his scowl deepens.

“I can speak with her myself on the matter. You’ve helped quite enough already, Sevika.” And then he turns back to Jinx, who’s still blinking up at him with her wide eyes. “Perhaps I can still meet up with her, since she’s your friend’s mom. We can make a playdate out of it.”

Jinx erupts in a giant smile, launching herself out of the chair to wrap her arms around his waist. He stumbles for a moment, hand reaching out to brace against the wall as the other wraps around her shoulders.

“That would be awesome,” Jinx says, gap toothed smile grinning up at him. “Can I tell Tov? Can we still go this Saturday? Their mom said that was the best day for her, I bet Tov can go! I don't think they have any plans, originally I was gonna ask to sleep over, but then I thought you deserved a fun Saturday instead, since normally I get them."

He can't help the fond smile that falls across his face. "That's very considerate of you, Jinx."

Saturday. Two days from now. He’d been planning to talk with a couple people from the mines about the delay in product shipping out since the raid. He mentally moves around his schedule. He could go after dropping Jinx off at school tomorrow. The paperwork he still had piling up could wait until Saturday evening, at least.

“I’ll see what she says,” he promises, and Jinx spins away from him with a grin.

“Thanks dad! I gotta go tell Tov, love you, bye!”

He watches her sprint out of his office, shaking his head lightly. And then he turns to Sevika, eyes narrowing again.

“I told you to watch her.”

She shrugs. “I did.”

“And yet here we are. I thought you, at least, were beyond the point of needing me to spell out simple commands.”

It speaks to their decade of working together, that he doesn’t respond to the dramatic roll of her eyes, or the way she’s already heading towards the door without any word of dismissal from him. “You tell me to watch her, I’ll watch her. But, Silco,” she says, flashing him a look of her own as she opens the door. “I’m not a fucking babysitter.”

A fair point, children had never factored into the reasons he'd hired her. And yet, he's still left with a mess. “Sevika.”

She stops, turning to look towards him. 

“You are,” he says, slowly, eye narrowed, “whatever I tell you to be. Don’t forget your place.”

She sighs, once, shrugging a shoulder. “Enjoy your date, boss.”

And the door swings shut.

He frowns at it a moment longer, before turning towards his computer. Now, how does he explain this?

[script-nef]

How their relationship gets revealed (iii)

Characters: Akaashi, Oikawa, Sakusa, Tsukishima, Ushijima

Category: fluff

Akaashi Keiji

You’re a best-selling novelist and incredibly famous

Akaashi has been your editor for 3 years now

He’s such a hardworking and dedicated worker

You buy him a lot of presents and he does as well

Constant uploads onto social media with new gifts and meals together

Which happens a lot because you need constant feedback and reviews

And so your readers kind of ship you with him

Lightly, like “Y’all are cute together” and “I wish I have this kind of support”

They don’t actually think you’re together and also don’t want to force it on you

But little do they know that you’ve been dating for over a year now

Because Akaashi is:

1. Kind and caring 

2. Really hot/pretty 

3. The gentlest person you’ve ever met and 

4. Is incredibly professional and can separate work from personal feelings 

5. Just look at him

He confessed his feelings for you after your last book sold over a million copies

Because he was drunk after the celebration

But you also liked him and a new relationship was born

Mainly kept on the down low because it’s just easier

You and him both have meddling people around you

But feelings grew day by day

And you desperately want everyone to know your boyfriend is such a wonderful and amazing partner like scream it from the top of your lungs

And so a new book was made

In the dedications page, you wrote “To my other half, thank you for taking care and loving me”

Reader are surprised at the relationship update

But are super happy for you even though they don’t know who it is

The book is a really sweet and cute novel

Readers think it sounds kind of familiar for some reason…

And at the end of the book, it says “To Akaashi Keiji”

(Turns out it was loosely based on yours and his relationship)

The reading community is flipped and your book reaches bestsellers in record time

Oikawa Tooru

Oikawa comes to Japan for a match against the Schweiden Adlers

His return was met with thousands of fans and plenty of photographers and reporters

Every one of his fans were saying how much they love him and hope he wins

And tons of gifts are given left and right

He gives his ever-so charming smile and gracefully accepts them

An interviewer asks him what he missed most in Japan

He rattles off a list

“My family, my friends—Iwa-chan isn’t here though—Japanese food. There’s this wonderful ramen place in my hometown! I also have to see Mattsun and…”

The reporter smiles and nods to his replies

His fans are screaming how they’ll buy anything he wants in the background

He thanks them but that just makes them scream louder

Then his face goes soft, like he’s remembering a really happy thing

“...but I missed [Name]-chan the most.”

The reporter’s eyes widens along with all his fan’s

Even hardcore, and I mean hardcore, fans didn’t know about this

“They’ve been supporting me so much and it’s been ages since my last visit… I just want to see and hug them.”

His small smile is so full of love and affection, even a blind person could see he’s in love

They had zero idea he was in a committed relationship

Most of his fans scream that they hope he has a good relationship

(He ignores the ones that are shrieking“No!”)

Photos of you with him are uploaded after he wins against Schweiden Adlers 

He’s smiling like the sun in every single one of them

Sakusa Kiyoomi

Sakusa hates interviews and reporters

Because they keep sticking microphones, which is covered with theirs and everyone else’s germs, into his face

And expect him to be polite when he’s so uncomfortable

So he has a reputation for being a little (read: extremely) difficult for post-match interviews

Nearly everyone had given up

And then all of a sudden, he’s actually civilised in interviews

Like, answering questions and even smiling a little

Everyone’s thinking 

“Is he okay?” 

“What’s happening?” 

“Oh god he’s finally lost it after being in a team with 3 crackheads #PrayForSakusa2020”

In reality, it’s because you’re the one interviewing him

He doesn't want to do it for anyone else, but you insisted that he has to

And now he responds to other reporters as well (albeit incredibly unwillingly)

But he only smiles for you

Fans start noticing after 3 – 4 interviews

“Is it me or is Sakusa really nice when that reporter asks him” 

“No I noticed as well” 

“DOES HE LIKE THEM ASDISJDW IS MY BOY IN LOVE” 

“WHY IS EVERYONE DATING OR IN LOVE WHEN I’M SO ALONE”

After a match, you finish a live report which people can chat on (just say there is one)

It’s in a sheltered place so currently not a lot of people are around

And he doesn't walk away, just keeps standing there

He thinks the camera is off now, and so do you

But is isn’t it’s still on and going live

You’re about to pack up and walk away

But a small tug stops you

It’s Sakusa and the people are going wild because holy shit, is Sakusa actually touching someone??? Our clean freak?? Are my eyes deceiving me??

You take his hand (“What the hell?”) and softly ask “Kiyo? What’s wrong?” (“DID THEY SAY KIYO UGH CARDIAC ARREST”)

He mumbles about how he doesn’t want you to talk to his teammates, even for the sake of interviews (“IS SAKUSA JEALOUS??? OUR DETACHED BOY???”)

You giggle and ruffle his hair, kissing him over the mask (“I AM FAINTING CALL 119”) while saying you need to do your job

And then look over to the cameraman

Whose jaw is on the floor

And you can see the red blinking light from the camera

“Ah, shit”

Tsukishima Kei

His teammates (*cough* Koganegawa *cough*) outed him on social media

You were working overseas and came back after months

The day coincided with a practise match, but Tsukishima was able to excuse himself

So you’re having the time of your life with your saltTM

He’s actually a really nice and sweet boyfriend underneath all that salt and sass

Even made a date course to explore the city

Had a good lunch and some strawberry shortcake in his favourite bakery

You enjoy it immensely, so he was smiling secretly

But then his phone starts blowing up for some reason

When he checks it, there are thousands of questions flooding his messages and social media

Turns out Koganegawa slipped up

He was doing an Instagram Live and when someone asked where Tsukki was

Did he come up with a good excuse?

Nope, he immediately said “Oh, he’s out on a date!”

Everyone’s confused because our salt has a partner?? Since when??

And then he realises he screwed up, especially with how private Tsukki is

The only thing stopping the exposed boy from returning to the gym and throwing hands with the setter is you

You kept saying it’s fine and it’s okay

He reluctantly gives up on planning his revenge (not really though)

You distract him enough to go to the museum he’s going to be working at

And he later uploads a photo of you from behind while you’re reading a dinosaur’s description

(And a separate one where Koganegawa is in a dogeza pose)

Ushijima Wakatoshi

Schweiden Adlers won another match

Ushijima answers interviews, like he does every match

One particular reporter asks the root of his energy and passion

They expected an answer like “thirst for success” or “pride and honour” or something along those lines

But he smiles softly, which breaks everyone watching because they have never seen that before

But the next thing breaks them even more

He says “[Name], my spouse.”

His teammates knew about you but not everyone else

People are spitting their drinks out and absolutely flabbergasted

Even his own teammates because he didn’t seem like the person to say that

He says it’s your first anniversary as a married couple

But he’s overseas so he can’t be with you today

Says that he sent a present and he hopes you’ll like it

Then bows and just walks away to change

Like he hasn’t said the most scandalous thing since the start of his career

Tons of articles and Twitter posts are made about him and this new revelation

To the point where it’s trending #1

He doesn’t care though, and you really don’t either

It wasn’t that big or important of a secret

He just didn't mention it up to now because he didn’t see the need

He doesn’t have to publicise the extent of his love for you because you already know that

The present was a brand-new, top of the line laptop along with a new phone

The same brand as his (awww couple items)

So that he can FaceTime/video call you with HD quality

His teammates have to listen to him being sickeningly cute every night now

And complain about it on interviews 

#BestHusbandUshijimaWakatoshi starts trending

[hikarimiyanaga]

Loving You (Part 4)

Part 1 I Part 2 I Part 3

I want to celebrate since I just finished another exam... there are more to come but Wanda comes first so here's an update.

Warning : Omegaverse. Beta!Reader x Omega!Wanda Maximoff. Curse Words. Mentions of Bullying. S*x Talk.

Also, just tell me if I need to add more warnings so I can edit as quickly as I can.

Taglist : @mitchiesdungeon / @upsidedowndanvers

You wake up with a startle and pant. You flinch at the sound of your loud alarm and see that it was right next to your pillow.

“Jesus, what the fuck?” You took your phone and open it. You see the messages between you and Wanda. You grin and charge it before getting ready for school. Both of your parents note your chippy behavior as oppose to your usual calm.

“Morning, Ma, Mom!” You greet and grin as you get your breakfast. You eat quickly and get your bag with your phone on it. You put on your jacket and smile as you wave them goodbye.

-

You yawn as you trudge the halls, now on a mission. You see Wanda and notice that even though there is no scent coming from her, she’s not wearing a jacket. You take off yours and smile as you approach her.

“Y/N!” She smiles and you offer up your jacket.

“Want to-“ She takes it before you could finish and puts it on. “put it on?” She sniffs it and nods.

“I really like your scent.” You blush and your heart beat faster at her words. She smiles and takes your hand. “Thanks for the jacket.” You gulp and nod as she drags you to your own locker. You get your books from your locker when someone closes it with force. You manage to keep it open but glare at the owner of the hand. Janine. You get Wanda behind you.

“Y/LN.” She says and you roll your eyes. You get the last book from your locker and lock it.

“What the fuck do you want? Rumlow’s scent isn’t enough? Fucking him isn’t doing it anymore?” Janine glares and pushes you but you stay firm. Determined in not letting her get closer to Wanda.

“Shut the fuck up, Y/LN. You fucking Beta.” Wanda glares at Janine as Angel and Pietro go to her. They stop Wanda before she does something to Janine. You roll your eyes and sigh.

“Just say it and get it over with.”

“My friend, Nina is on your AP Class.” You raise an eyebrow as the said girl is dragged by Janine to you.

“So? The fuck that-“

“She needs to copy your homework. We were busy with practice and she hasn’t done it.” You look at Nina.

“What homework? Which class?”

“Um… Latin? The research one?” You scoff and shake your head.

“The one where I spent days on? The one where I had to hole myself up in the library? No fucking way. I can help with references but that’s it.”

“Oh? Really? That will be-“ Janine pushes Nina out of the way and grabs your collar. You make a face as you can practically smell her heat. Jesus, what the fuck? Compared to Wanda’s cinnamon and citrus scent. Janine’s overwhelming heat scent disgusts you. You gag and turn away.

“What the fuck, Rivera?” You open your locker and snatches a bottle from the box and hold it out to her. “At least do something about your scent! It’s making me want to vomit!” Janine growls and tries to grab you again but you dodge her. She faceplants into the ground and everyone gasps. You give the bottle to her friend and you get a piece of paper from your notebook. You write the references and give it to Nina as Janine groans and some of her goons help her stand. You sigh as she glares at you.

“T-thanks.” Nina manages to get out before running away. Janine growls and you roll your eyes.

“Want to get raped on the street? Used by asshole Alphas that have nothing better to do than prey on Omegas like you? Omegas who like to flaunt that they’re in heat and therefore can’t stop their primal instincts?” She stops and you get the bottle from her friend. You hold it out and she stares at it. “If no, then take this and spray it on yourself. I swear to god, your scent is overwhelming.”

“Rumlow wi-“

“You sure?” You cross your arms and sigh. You take her hand and put the bottle on it. “Spray it if you’re not. Trust me.” You turn and hold Wanda’s hand and you both leave as everyone just stares at you. You yawn again as you get to your first class.

-

Lunch comes and Wanda was waiting for you by the courtyard. You try to greet her but she glares at you.

“Why did you help her?” You raise an eyebrow… is she jealous? And who? You tilt your head and she scoffs.

“Who?”

“Janine.” Ah. Your bully. The one who tried to ruin your life on several occasions but never succeeded.

“Ah.” You shrug. “I meant what I said. Omegas should get help when they’re in need.”

“She-“ You hug her and smile as her scent and yours combine and hit your nose. You like this combination. You rub her back in comfort and she clings to you. You hum and carry her to the bench. You kiss her forehead and sit besides her. You take her hand and kiss it.

“Wanda. I won’t ever stop even if a person did bad things to me. Omegas deserve to be treasured. It’s unfair that they’re the only ones who get heat. That you suffer for it. So even if Janine did bully me doesn’t mean I won’t help her.” She sighs and hugs you. You rub her back.

“Why are you so nice?” You chuckle.

“I’m not nice… just.” You pull away and you get the lunch you brought for the both of you. “Let’s eat?” She knows you’re avoiding the question but shrugs it off. You’ll tell her when the time comes.

-

You’re in your final class and just like yesterday, Angel sat besides you.

“And so the project for our midterms will be in pairs.” You can hear several groans but you and Angel stay quiet. “Y/LN and Garcia.” You both turn to the professor. “You can both do it so-“

“No.” You both reject the idea and shake your heads. The professor sighs but relents.

“Okay. Dismissed.” You gather your things and Angel waits up. You stand and look at her as she holds her hand out.

“Partners?” You and Angel are the top students of this class, no doubt, so it seemed cheating to the others if your partnered up… But she’s the only one willing to pair up with you so accept it. Everyone else is either an Alpha or Omega and you’re the only Beta in this class… in Any AP class, for that matter. You take her hand and shake it.

“Deal.”

“Baby.” Natasha calls out and you both turn to her. You both go outside. Angel hugs Natasha as you get your phone out.

“Put in your number so we-“ Before you could finish, Natasha has already pushed Angel behind her and is growling at you. You raise an eyebrow and Angel can’t decide if your stupid or brave… or both… tired can be there too. It’s a known fact throughout the school that you don’t mess with any of the Avengers because of their families and each other.

“BACK OFF.” Natasha’s voice can be heard by everyone and they all stop and stare as you sigh. This is one of the things that you hate. Having attention when it’s not at all needed. You try to look at Angel but Natasha pushes her away from your line of sight.

“Romanoff, this is for our big project.” You try to reason, she still is an Alpha and you would probably break several… many bones if she did attack you. Your eye twitch as she doesn’t move. “The one where at least a quarter of our grade rides on?” She’s still growling and you groan. You couldn’t stop yourself as you cursed. “FOR FUCK’S SAKE!” No one has ever heard you shout before. Not the angry one, at least. Not even your siblings or parents did. You avoided being angry because you knew it would make the worst of yourself to come. They all flinch and Natasha gulps. Angel holds Natasha’s hand and gets to her side. “I’m not stealing Angel! She’s all yours!” You run a hand through your hair. You turn away and take deep breaths to calm yourself down. Angel pulls Natasha away and approaches you.

“Y/N.” You turn to Angel with a glare but she doesn’t get fazed and she holds out her hand. “Your phone.” You give it to her and she quickly saves her number. “Text me.” You nod and she leaves with Natasha. You sigh as you leave for the library. Everyone else disperses but with more murmurs.

Wanda spots you as you enter the library. Thankfully, with no Angel around but you seem tense. You sigh as you sit beside her.

“Are you-“ She didn’t even get to finish before you cling to her arm. You breathe in her scent and you already feel calmer. You smile as you let her presence wash over you.

“Sorry. Need to calm down.” Wanda nods and you relax as you breathe her in. After a few more minutes you pull away and sigh.

“What happened?” You groan as you put your arms on the table and lean on it.

“Natasha got jealous because I was getting Angel’s number.” Wanda tenses and you flick her forehead. “Because of a project. Don’t get jealous too.”

“Oh. What did you do?”

“Got angry and yelled.” She raises an eyebrow and closes her book.

“And?” She’s curious now.

“It’s not something I usually do.” You answer simply and look away. It was something you didn’t like talking about and Wanda picked up on it.

“Ah. Are you okay now?” You nod and smile at her.

“Thank you, Wanda.” She smiles and kisses your hand.

“You’re welcome.”

-

You hum as you get inside your house. You would stay up all night reading but you remember you made plans for tomorrow.

“You seem in a good mood.” You turn and see… both Valerie and Alsie eating with your parents. The hell are they doing here? On a Friday, no less? The hell is going on?

“Al? What?”

“Came to visit, sis. Hey.” Alsie waves at you and you nod.

“And Val?”

“Came back too. I kinda forgot something.” You sigh as you realize.

“You know.” They all flinch and look away from you. You run a hand through your hair. “How?” They all look at Valerie who groans.

“I was going to pick you up so we can follow Ma and Mom on the fancy restaurant when that girl asked… no demanded.”

“Her name is Wanda. And yes, we’re going on a date tomorrow.” Alsie cheers and you shake your head. You go to your room to change. You get down and you see that all of them are looking at you so you tell them all about her.

How she’s the most beautiful girl you’ve ever seen. How her scent and presence can calm you right down. How she’s a reader like you. How you can talk to her about everything.

“When are we going to meet her?” Alsie asks and you choke on your dinner. Val chuckles and Zale glares at her as Dahlia helps you.

“Why?”

“Because? First friend and possibly girlfriend. Maybe even soulmate.”

“How do you know?” You ask and Alsie raises an eyebrow at your question.

“Know what?”

“That a person is your soulmate?” Valerie groans and Zale smacks her in the head. Alsie smiles at you.

“Simply put, sex.” Zale shakes Alsie while Dahlia looks murderous. Alsie is trying to calm Zale down while Valerie is holding in her laughter.

“She is right.” Dahlia sighs. “When two people have sex, do you know of knotting?” You nod as you finish your food.

“When an Alpha cums inside of an Omega or a Beta. Their penis gets larger and would need at least half an hour or an hour to get it back to normal before they can take it out.”

“How about marks?”

“When a person bites their partner’s neck during sex.”

“Yep. There are two kinds of marks. A mate mark and a soulmate mark. And even though only one person bites the neck. The two will have it at the same time.”

“A mate mark is smaller and would only stay for either a day or a week. It’s kind of a brand.”

“Like this.” Valerie shows hers and you hum.

“Is that from that girl?”

“Yep.” Zale sighs and Valerie sweats as she looks away.

“A soulmate mark is a permanent one.” Zale takes off her shirt. A bigger and clearer mark is on her chest and you gulp. “Like this, Your Ma gave it to me.”

“While you were making me?” Zale glares at Alsie who raises her hands.

“It appeared during our first time. It never disappeared.”

“And also, every mark is the same if it’s the first time between two people, only time would tell if they are soulmates or not.”

“So… if Wanda ever marks me… or if I even have the courage to ask her to do it with me then if it doesn’t disappear means-“

“She’s your soulmate.” You groan.

“I can’t ask her to do that! I don’t want to!”

“And that’s totally fine!”

“Are you an ace?” You glance at Valerie who is serious and you sigh.

“No. I don’t think so… but isn’t it too early for us… we haven’t even-“

“Feelings is a good indicator as well.”

“Yep. I just felt like the world stopped when I first saw Venus it was amazing.” Alsie smiles and you reciprocate it. She just looked so in love and happy. “She was just so beautiful then she smiled and I felt my heart burst. That was when I knew I had to chase her.”

“Chase?”

“Something an Alpha does whenever they find someone attractive.”

“Seriously?”

“Yep. Venus thought I was annoying but decided to give me a chance.” You chuckle and Alsie ruffles your hair. You grunt as she grins at you.

“Good luck tomorrow sis.” You sigh. Good luck indeed.

-

You put on your clothes for the date and hum as you get ready. You get your phone and the flowers you bought earlier that day.

“Looking good, Y/N.” Alsie says in approval when you got down.

“Thanks.” You look at the time and go to the door. “Bye, sis!”

“Yep. Bye!” You wave goodbye before leaving and closing the door.

-

You arrived at the spot 10 minutes earlier than the agreed time but she was already there and wearing your jacket.

“You’re early.” You grin as you approach her. She sees the bouquet in your hand and her heart beats faster. You smile and hold it out. “For you.” She takes it and smiles as she smells it.

“Thanks.” You hold out your hand and she takes it.

“You ready?” She nods with a smile.

-

It was a standard date. Movies, in which you both watched a new released rom-com. Then a dinner inside a diner that was your personal favorite to go to. You’ve decided to walk her home.

“Did you enjoy our date?” You ask nervously and Wanda laughs. You stop and she grins at you. “I’m serious.”

“You’re seriously dense.” She says and moves closer to you.

“I want to know.” She hums and grabs your jacket.

“I seriously enjoyed it.” She pulls you closer and you hum.

“Out of 10?” She laughs and pushes you away while you grin. Her laugh is one of the most beautiful sounds you’ve ever heard.

“Seriously?” You shrug and she rolls her eyes.

“100.”

“Oh.”

“Just spending time with you can equivalent to 10 and you showing me your favorite places is just icing on the cake.” You take her hand and kiss it.

“Good.” Before you both knew it, you were both standing in front of her house.

“This is me.” You hum and look at the house.

“Pretty big house.” She laughs and you smile.

“I hope we do this again?” She asks and you nod.

“I sure hope so.” You let go of her hand and kiss her on the cheek. “I like spending time with you.” She pouts and before you know it, she pulls you by your jacket and kisses you. After your initial shock, you kiss her back. She tastes like the chocolate milkshake and omelet that you both ate earlier. You pull away slightly and she smiles.

“You don’t know how much I’ve been wanting to do that.” Your heart who was beating faster than usual feels like it’s in a race. One where you chase her.

“Good. I would love to do it again.” You kiss her again but you both pull away as Pietro calls her name. You look up and Pietro waves from his room.

“Hey, Y/N!” You wave at him back.

“Hey, Pietro.” He laughs.

“Wanda, was it a nice date?” You both blush at his question and Wanda groans.

“Pietro! Get inside!” He laughs but complies. She sighs and turns to you. “Sorry about him. He ju-“ You cut her off with a kiss. You grin as you pull away.

“Good night, Wanda. I’m looking forward to that next date.” She nods as you turn and walk away.

“Nice one, sis.” Wanda turns and Pietro was at their porch.

“Shut up, Pietro.” She grumbles and gets inside. She takes off your jacket and goes to her room. She smiles as she touches her lips. God, you were such a good kisser. And your hand… felt so right against hers. Her phone pings and she checks it.

You: How does Wednesday sound?

She laughs and replies before changing. She can’t wait to see you again on Monday.

-

As soon as you open the door, your family was up and front in your face. They were all asking different questions but only one thing was on your mind… Wanda. Okay, two things, how annoying your family is.

“Guys! Stop!” You say loudly and they all stop. They look at each other and chuckle. They were just so excited to see you go on a date. The day you knew that you were a Beta, you kinda swore to them that you won’t let anything or anyone get in the way of your grades… They didn’t knew back then that you were going to be a loner or you would not be socializing but Wanda changed that.

“Sorry, little one.” Zale ruffles your hair and smiles. “We just got excited.”

“And happy.” Dahlia hugs you and you hug your mother back. Everyone joins in and you can’t help the smile on your face.

“Thank you.” For being my family, for loving me and for accepting me. You didn’t voice the rest but hoped you could let them feel your gratitude.

-

A/N:

I just searched up the Eternals.... and I already got a fic idea. Damn. I'm now wondering if I could do it for Natasha... or Wanda.

I haven't even finished this sequel and yet my head is full of ideas.

Thank you for Reading!

[justkending]

Moral of the Story (Prologue)

Series Summary: From childhood friends, to highschool sweethearts, the two naive, young, and lovestruck teens decided the best way to keep a strong relationship during college would be to marry right out of highschool. No one batted an eye at the idea as everyone knew they were soulmates. However, college is a big step in a person’s life. You learn new things about yourself, you make new friends, find new hobbies… And maybe being newly weds and going to different colleges across the states wasn’t the best plan… After a falling out, and a tragic heartbreaking divorce, the two now hold grudges for how the other handled the whole thing in the past. Neither not really knowing both sides of the story. 10 years later, and they both get a call from the lawyers office that settled their divorce. Somehow the papers never went through and the divorce was never completed. So now, the exes, or should we say husband and wife, have to meet back up after all these years to settle their failed marriage once and for all. (This summary will be shorter in other chapters. I just needed to get the full concept out there;)

A/N (repeat): So the other day while I was doing my hair (quite the process), I was playing music and the song Moral of the Story by Ashe came on. Mind you, I’ve heard this song hundreds of times, but for some reason, this time I got a major story idea! Listening to the lyrics brought me to this new series. Of course, the lengthy summary above will give you an idea of what came to my brain, but I recommend you listen to the song still because it plays a big part in my thought process:) (Plus it’s a good song;) Enjoy and please do not hesitate to share your thoughts and comments with me! I love each and every single one<3

(I will release the first chapter at the beginning of next week! That way I can give myself some time to write more chapters before sharing it!)

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Y/N (Modern AU)

Word Count: 1200+

Prologue:

"Melody, have the papers for the Bee's Knees company come in yet?"

"Uh, no. But I can call them again and see if they faxed it or sent over a physical copy though," Melody answered from her desk, already typing away to find the company.

"Perfect. We have a meeting with a recycling plant next week and I want to get everything set before we go in with them," Y/N nodded, coming out from her office with a file in her hands. She turned to her assistant at the front desk who was about 20 emails deep and already finding the issue. "Hey, you're not coming in tomorrow, right?"

"Um, no, no. I am. I rescheduled that date," she answered bashfully as if she had been caught in the act of something.

"Melody..." Y/N drug out, hand on her hip.

"What? I- He understood. He said he was fine moving it to Saturday," the young woman shrugged, never looking back at her boss that was clearly sending her a motherly stare.

"You're already over your 40 hours this week, and you've rescheduled with him, what? 3 times now?" Y/N moved to the front of the desk so the young brunette had to make eye contact with her.

"Yes," she answered hesitantly.

"Is it just nerves or something else?" Y/N smirked.

"I'm not nervous... It's just been a while since I've had time for a date."

"Two things about what you just said in the past minute. One, clearly this guy likes you because he's rescheduled with you this many times and hasn't called it off yet. So if you're nervous about it not going well on his end, I think you're safe," Y/N pointed a finger at her.

"But-," Melody started.

"Second," Y/N cut off with a raised eyebrow. "I'm giving you time to go on a date and you're still not taking it. Work is no longer an excuse."

Melody stopped avoiding eye contact and looked up at the Y/H/C hair woman leaning on her reception desk.

"You've been talking with my mom again, haven't you?" she sighed.

"I promised I'd take care of you. So yes, I have. And though her reasoning for you dating is because she wants grandbabies, I just want you to have fun and live your life. You're 22. Don't waste your young years being scared."

"Ugh, fine. I'll text him now and see if he's still available for tonight," she groaned.

"Perfect!" Y/N grinned in victory as she started to walk back to her office. "I expect the details in the morning," she winked before she walked in.

"Oh, Y/N!" Melody stopped her. "A message came for you while you were in that last meeting."

"Who from?" Y/N quirked an eyebrow, moving back to the desk.

"Uh, I don't really know. Didn't sound familiar, but here's the name and number they said to call back from," she answered, handing her a note.

Y/N took the small paper and looked it over. Her face dropped and her eyes widened.

"You ok? Is it someone you know?" the young assistant asked, noticing what looked like horror on her face.

"Um, yeah. Yeah, an old acquaintance of mine," Y/N tried to quickly brush off. "Um, I'm going to take this. Can you hold any calls and if anyone comes to talk, tell them to just email me?"

"Oh, ok. Yeah, I'll take care of it," Melody nodded.

"Thank you."

Rushing back to her office and quickly shutting her door, she raced to her phone. She read the business name again, not sure if she was dreaming or if it was a hallucination.

Nope. Hammer Attorney was written in Melody's perfect penmanship on the paper with a number that held an area code from New York. A place she never thought she would hear from again and from a town she hadn't visited in almost 10 years._________________

"Buck, did you tell Fury about getting those new water therapy machines?" Steve shouted from his room.

"We're at home, Steve. Why are we talking about work?" Bucky groaned as he slouched on the couch. A beer in hand and a documentary with I Survived stories playing in front of him.

Steve came in from around the corner looking down at his phone in hand before moving his eye line to his roommate.

"Because I just got a call from the night crew saying that the last one that was working, finally went out tonight while they were running it for some test," Steve raised an eyebrow.

"Ugh, you would think that a facility run by a billionaire who literally makes his money on high-tech machines, wouldn't have to ask for those kinds of things," Bucky groaned, grabbing his own phone and going through emails. "Let me check to see if the email went through. He wasn't in office when I went to tell him."

As he was sorting through the hundreds of emails sent back and forth just this week alone, he found the reply message.

"Yeah, management confirmed it. They should be in by Saturday it looks like. Guess Stark was still working out the kinks to a new one and was waiting to send one our way until the last one died to get more time on his newest model."

Steve nodded before walking to the kitchen and typing Bucky's response to the other crew members.

"The man is always finding new ways to upgrade them before he can even send them to us."

Just as Bucky was about to throw his phone to the side again though, it started ringing. Looking at the caller ID, he didn't recognize the unknown number. It was from in-state but in his hometown area of Brooklyn. He pinched his eyebrows together confused at the call, but answered it anyway, thinking it must be someone from home.

"Hello?"

"Hello. Is this Mr. Barnes?" The other voice answered.

"Yes, this is him. Who's this?" he asked, sitting up a little and putting the beer on the end table.

"My name is Matthew Murdock. I work at Nelson and Murdock Law firm," he went on. Bucky shook his head not knowing what that was supposed to mean. "Well, you may actually know us previously as Hammer Attorney. We recently just took over their business after some fraud issues."

Bucky's heart stopped. He knew what that name meant.

"I hate to inform you, but we were going through some of their old files. Ones we were informed could be incomplete or done completely incorrectly due to little care in the actual cases, but more so in taking the money."

"Incomplete cases?" Bucky said softly. His brain was still trying to wrap around the conversation.

"Yes, unfortunately, it looks like a lot of cases having to deal with divorces that the past owners handled, were done strictly in order to launder money. They weren't actually certified, nor trained in handling divorce settlements."

Bucky froze. Eyes wide. Mouth agape.

He stuttered out a response when the man on the other line didn't continue.

"A-And talking about incomplete divorce settlements, you called because..." Bucky knew. He needed to hear it out loud because if he didn't, it wasn't true. It couldn't be.

"I'm so sorry Mr. Barnes, but it looks as though you and your wife, Y/N Y/L/N or sorry, Y/N Barnes, are actually not divorced."

(I will release the first chapter at the beginning of next week! That way I can give myself some time to write more chapters before sharing it!)

Moral of the Story Taglist:

@taylormobley @ximaginx @vicmc624

Marvel Tags:

@thejourneyneverendsx @death-unbecomes-you @heyiamthatbitch @lizzymacy555  @srrymydood @xa-dia @redhairedfeistynerd @morganclaire4 @connie326 @captain-asguard @mollygetssherlockcoffee @teenagedreams-bucky @shower-me-with-roses​ @pham-tastical 

My Lovelies forever:

@natura1phenomenon​ @lauravicente​ @kakakatey​ @traceyaudette​ @notyourtypicalrose​  @laneygthememequeen​ @awesome-badass-cafeteria-sauce​ @sandlee44​ @thorne93​ @thefaithfulwriter​ @essie1876​ @greyeyedsmile14​ @capsiclehan​  @xostephanie​ @averyrogers83​ @awesomenursingstudent​ @gh0stgurl​ @cs-please​ @carls1022​ @jjlevin​ @rainbowkisses31​ @carls1022​ @anise-d-castle6​ @deannotmoose​ @their-bibliophile​ @kitkatd7​ @willowbleedsonpaper​ @mariaenchanted​ @snffbeebee​ @couldabeenamermaid​ @rebekahdawkins​ @alyispunk​

Bucky Barnes Tags:

@chloe-skywalker​ @charmedbysarge​ @jbarness​ @bellamy-barnes​ @katiaw2​ @aikeia​

[superhero--imagines]

Part 1 Here! / Part 2 Here! / Part 3 Here! / Part 4 Here! / Part 5 Here! / Part 6 Here! / Part 7 Here! / Part 8 Here! / Part 9 Here! / Part 10 Here! / Part 11 Here! / Part 12 Here!

A/N: Shout out to @ideas-for-you-to-adopt​ for inspiring/writing a lot of the headcanons used for the “Bella Suspicion” part of this chapter!

I’m posting this a day early, because, well I’m flakey like that

* You spear another piece of pineapple, your teeth grinding together

* “I think that sounds perfect!” Lauren squeals lightly grasping Bella’s shoulder, Bella gives a small smile in return.

* You know what isn’t perfect?

* The fact that nothing is going according to plan.

* It’s already a month in and NOTHING has happened. You stab another piece of pineapple, sticking it into your mouth

* You’ve hung back in the school parking lot everyday for a MONTH, you were even late to cheer practice once, just to see if the “Tyler Van Accident”  happened.

* Only it never did, and you didn’t know why until Lauren confided that she and Tyler had been hooking up lately.

* As in hooking up at her house after school before her parents came home.

* Of course it’s not going to happen when Tyler’s ditching his last period to drive to her house

* What a mess

* You chew the pineapple carefully, just like a human would. Because even though Bella knows LITERALLY NOTHING. She somehow suspects everything.

* You watch her from the corner of your eye, making polite conversation with Angela about biology next period.

* The amount of questions she has about you is ridiculous

* How did you meet Edward? How does your family know the Cullen’s? Where are you adoptive parents now? If they’re back in the states why haven’t you gone to live with them?

* It’s literally never ending. And that’s just her trying to poke holes in your story.

* You’re not even going to start with all the stuff she’s commented on your physical appearance

* “Hey don’t you think it’s weird they all have gold eyes?” You had heard Bella quietly ask Jessica when she thought you couldn’t hear

* “Not really, they’ve got like six kids, so when one kid needs something more of them do too. (Y/N) told me Alice wanted color contacts so Dr. Cullen just bought some for all of them.”

* And then the week before that, while you were doing a stunt at a basketball game Bella said:

* “Aren’t they like, too strong?” You were lifting up a girl all on your own.

* “Oh yeah- I guess you never saw the video, apparently they’re jacked.” Conner says, with a shrug.

* “Yeah they heard working out helps with stress when they were like 12 and just never stopped.” Mike adds absentmindedly

* And if that wasn’t enough she’s even said this a few weeks before that:

* “Don’t you think it’s weird how beautiful they all are?” Lauren wrinkles her nose, at the time she had gotten used to Bella but she still doesn’t seem to like her very much

* “Not really, I remember (Y/N) wasn’t all that pretty freshman year, they used to wear these really dorky glasses.”

* You had almost started to forget how good you had it, after you did all the leg work in the last two years to establish that you were normal -just kinda quirky- you had just started to enjoy the pay off. A little more lax with your appearance, wearing clothes you liked, doing more solo routines in cheer.

* Only for little Miss.Curious to show up

* Now you have to try extra hard to look human again. And not just you, the entire coven does, because when one of you falls under suspicion you all do.

* Rosalie’s been making her hair look messy every so often to give the illusion that she’s having a bad hair day, Alice wears a retainer every so often, even Emmett pretends to need the bathroom more than he usually does.

* This morning you even had Rosalie do a fake pimple on your jaw.

* If Bella wasn’t going to be your best friends’ future wife, you think you might just hate her.

* You kind of sympathize with Rosalie in the book now.

* “Hey (Y/N) are you in?” Conner asks nudging his elbow against yours.

* “In for what?” You mumble, spearing another piece of pineapple. Another downside is now you have to eat at lunch. Otherwise Bella starts asking why you never eat and everyone gets really concerned and starts force feeding you

* God, all those years of establish you have low blood sugar and acid reflux induced nausea for nothing

* “La Push beach, we’re all going this weekend.” You perk up at the mention

* Finally, something’s getting back on track

* “Can’t, cheer stuff.” You mumble, shoving your food around your plate with your fork.

* You don’t miss Bella’s meaningful glance on your mostly full plate.

* Oh great, you can practically see the question “don’t you think it’s weird how they never eat anything?” Forming in the inner corners of her mind

* “What about you Edward?” Lauren flutters her eyelashes and you have to stop yourself from rolling your eyes.

* Lauren’s still annoyed that even though they’re hooking up, Tyler hasn’t made anything official yet

* Alice told her flirting with another guy might help.

* “He’s not going either.” You say before Edward can even open his mouth. He doesn’t say anything just gives you a questioning look and a smile.

* Looks like he’s finding everyone else’s thoughts more interesting

* “Are you guys going on a date?” Jessica waggles her eyebrows and on the other side of the table Bella sputters.

* You roll your eyes

* “No Jessica, but if I can’t go have fun neither can he.” Technically you both are forbidden to go on tribal land but whatever. “Best friend code.”

* Also you’re pretty sure Edward and Emmett are going to Yellowstone to eat bears or something, like a couple of heathens

* The thought of eating straight out of bear, no idea what they’ve eaten or where they’ve been doing their business, makes you shudder. 

* You did mention to them both that if they happen to find an orphaned bear cub somewhere to bring it back. You’ve been wanting to experiment with bear blood. 

* “Best friend code.” Edward repeats slowly, and the look he gives you makes your stomach flutter. And it’s not because you just ate half a salad.

* You’re knocked out of the look when Conner bumps his knee against yours

* “Well that’s a shame, I was looking forward to seeing you in a swimsuit.”

* So Conner’s been flirting a lot with you lately. Kind of weird, your best guess is that he was hoping to date Lauren, but now that she’s kinda seeing Tyler, you’re starting to look good.

* “Maybe you should have a pool party at that fancy house of yours then.” The group laughs but Conner just smirks

* “Whatever you want babe but-“ the bell cuts him off and you give him a consolatory pat on the arm.

* You move to throw away the leftover food on your plate, walking with Edward

* “We’re ditching right?” You ask him as you toss the plate into the trash.

* “Yeah Mr. Barnes is doing his blood type experiment today.” Like he even needs an excuse to skip school. “Do you want to go to the bookstore or something?”

* You shake your head, that won’t do, when Bella faints Edward needs to be there so they can fall in love

* “Wanna just hang out in my car? We can listen to that new Debussy CD I got.”

* Edward gives you a small smile, like he’s not really happy

* “Whatever you want.”

* Wait what’s up with that.

* “Hey, (Y/N)!” Bella calls out for you and Edward grimaces.

* “I’ll meet you at your car” wait he’s not going to stay here? If this was a dating video game he’d be the kind of player that wasted all the capture flags and then complains when they end up all alone.

* He leaves just as Bella gets to you. She spares a fleeting glance in Edward’s direction, almost looking sad as she watches him walk away before she looks to you

* “Are you heading over to biology?” She really is cute, like a puppy. She must have been hoping to get a little closer to Edward. 

* You almost feel bad for not warning her what with her issues on blood.

* “Nah I’ve got to finish my trig homework so I’m going to skip.” You fake a yawn.

* Oh, before you forget

* “I actually got you something.”

* You hand her a carefully wrapped gift bag, compliments of Rosalie of course

* “Vitamins?” Bella asks, her eyebrows threading together

* “Yeah, it’s like a vitamin powder, you just add it to water. We bought a big family pack so I thought I would share some with you.”

* Also because you’re 100% sure she’s anemic.

* Part of the reason you like the way she smells so much is because of her anemia, if it’s just the peach scent you can probably contain yourself. 

* You wave goodbye and Bella looks down at the package in her hands with a goofy expression. She hugs it to her chest before her expression pinches.

* “I should have offered to let them copy my notes” Bella murmurs to herself. Smacking her forehead and walking to biology.

* When you manage to sneak out to the parking lot through the gym doors, you see Edward leaning against your car, looking bored as he looks to the tree line

* “Why didn’t you sit inside? You look like a douchebag.”

* “I would have if someone had given me the keys”

* Like that’s stopped him before

* You unlock the car, letting it start with a hum before you pull out your trig homework

* You weren’t entirely lying to Bella, you really hadn’t finished you homework

* Edward pulls out a book from his bag, you’re not ashamed to say you’ve gotten him super into “The City of Ember” series

* “Hey why did you walk away when Bella came over?” you’re only half curious, mostly just trying to make conversation. “You don’t hate her do you?” You add with a laugh.

* The mere thought of Edward Cullen hating Bella Swan is laughable.

* “Yeah I do.” 

* You find yourself coughing from the sheer shock. 

* “You mean she frustrates you because you can’t read her mind.” Edward has spared you a concerned glance when you started coughing, but has turned his attention back to his book

*” No I mean I don’t like her, and I don’t like being around her.” He doesn’t look up from his book as he says it. 

* “But why?” Yeah she’s a little plain, and she’s still pretty shy even though you’ve been hanging out for a month and all those damn questions

* But she’s got good taste in books, and she’s pretty straightforward.

* She’s not the type of person to go behind your back, if you did something to upset her she’ll tell you straight to your face.

* Honestly she’s a lot like Angela, minus the hidden cunning nature.

* Edward eyes narrow and a heavy sigh escapes him. His head tilts back to rest against the passenger seat headrest.

* His neck is so long and white. The color of freshly fallen snow. You can’t help but think of how pretty it would look covered in hickeys.

* Like poppy’s blossoming in the snow. 

* Can vampires get hickeys? Would it just be like black instead of red since none of you really have blood anymore. 

* “I just don’t like-” He cuts himself off when his eyes meet yours, they seem to shine brighter for a moment, and you tilt your head. This feels like a meaningful look. 

* Edward sighs and looks away.

* “I just don’t like her vibe.” 

*”Vibe? Are you an Edward shaped imposter?” you see him mouth ‘Edward Shaped Imposter’ as you both laugh. 

* “Where did you learn to say these things?” He asks between laughs. You mock gasp.

* “The real Edward would never ask me that because he’s too afraid to know! Who are you really? What planet are you from?” Your hands move to his face, his face is as smooth as marble, lingering warmth. You leaned in without thinking about it, only a few inches away from him. 

* You’re so close you can smell him. He always smells good, like something ancient and profound. Rosemary and argon oil. 

* Your hands are still on his face and he’s grinning. 

* You gulp

* You’re trying to think of another ridiculous imposter joke you can make wen you catch a familiar head of blond hair through the window.

* “Is that Mike and ... Bella?”  

* This is a lot sooner than you thought, it hasn’t even been ten minutes yet.

* Edward looks almost bored as he follows your gaze. 

* “Yeah, looks like she made herself sick, she’s - what’s that word for when people are afraid of blood?” 

* “Hemophobia?”

* “Yeah, that’s what she has.”

* You wait for a second, releasing his face from your hands, but instead of moving to open the door he slumps back into his seat, eyes focused on his book. 

* “Don’t you think we should go help them?” He shrugs. 

* The f*cking criminal just shrugs. 

* WHAT THE F*CK IS GOING ON?!?!

* Human or not, there’s no world Edward wouldn’t at least think about helping someone who’s in trouble. 

* You’re starting to think this really is an Edward imposter. 

* You watch Bella lean on Mike, stumbling down the crosswalk to the nurse’s office in the next building. 

* You can’t watch anymore 

* ‘You know you-” You words finally get Edward’s attention as he looks up from his book. “You are wasting all the capture flags!” You shout before sliding out of your car and jogging over to Mike and Bella

* “Mike! What happened?” He’s so surprised to see you his grip on Bella goes slack and she falls out of his side hold.

* “Oh crap!” 

* You rush to catch her, swinging her into a princess hold.

* What was Mike struggling with so much? She’s not very hea - oh right you’re a vampire.

* “Are you alright, I know she’s kinda heavy.” Well that’s not very nice to say about a girl, besides she’s pretty skinny. Can’t be more than 120 pounds. 

* “It’s no problem, I do it for cheer are all the time.” You do a fake grunt as you pretend to get a better hold on her. 

* The movement jostle her awake, her eyes fluttering open. She’s still in a dreamy state, her eyes are unfocused. 

* “(Y/N)?” 

* “Hey buddy, looks like ya fainted, squeamish around blood huh?”

* “How do you know we were doing the blood type experiment?” Mike asks.

* Oh crap. You were skipping, you weren’t supposed to know that. Even worse you brain can’t seem to come up with a valid excuse.

* “Alice told us about it, (Y/N) used to be squeamish around blood when we were kids, didn’t want to take any chances” You let out a sigh of relief when you see Edward walking towards you. At least he’s not completely heartless. 

*”Then why were you skipping?” Mike asks scratching his head. Edward shrugs

* “They can’t go to class, then I won’t go either.” And then the criminal looks you straight in the eye and says with the cheekiest smile imaginable:

*“It’s the best friend code”

* Oh f*ck off Edward. 

* You almost want to scoff when he takes Bella from your arms and into his.

* SO now he wants to care about the capture flag. 

* You let him take her though, You swear you see her stiffen and frown when he holds her.

* That can’t be right, she seemed super relaxed when you were carrying her.

* “I-I’m fine I can walk.”

* “No you can’t.” Edward bluntly says.

* Even when he gets to capture event, he says all the wrong things. You sigh as you walk behind him. Only to notice another set of footsteps by you. 

* “You can go back if you want Mike, Edward won’t kidnap her or anything.” He might throw her into the lake though.

* Mike shakes his head. “No it just seems wrong to not make sure she at least gets to the nurses office.” 

*You smile, he really is a kind boy. 

* “Also I’ll be damned if Bella gives Edward all the credit.” Well mostly kind.

* You get to the nurses office, who seems incredibly flustered with both you and Edward in such a small space.

* She seems so preoccupied keeping her wits about her as she checks out Bella and deals with your presence that she never asks why three people had to escort one person to the nurses office.

* “Well your blood pressure is a little low, since you fainted I would suggest you go home. If you want you can take a nap in here until school’s out.” Wow, where was a nurse this generous when you were in school.

* Bella, the beautiful moron, shakes her head.

* “No it’s okay I’ll go back to class, I don’t want to take a zero for the assignment” Well that’s noble and responsible and all. But what does she think is going to happen when she goes back to class?

* She’s going to see some blood again and faint. Not that you can be mad, you would probably have to go the the nurse too if Bella ever managed to prick her own finger

* “Bella you really shouldn’t,” You settle your hand on her shoulder pushing her back onto the chair. “You just fainted you should lie down, or go home or something.”

* Her eyebrows thread together, mouth pulled in protest. 

* “I don’t want to impose on any-”

* “It’s not an imposition, I want to!” Her mouth parts, then closes, stretching into a fine line. You look to Edward who’s avoiding your gaze and seems very irritated.

* Enemies to lovers trope it is.(Though you’re not sure if this counts as enemies if only one person dislikes the other)

* “I’m going to drop you off home, come on.” You pull Bella up by her hand, leading her to the parking lot. 

* “Wait what about my car?” 

* Oh you hadn’t thought about that. 

*Hmmm in the original book Alice drove her home. But Alice doesn’t really do anything unless there’s something in it for her, or if she wants to.

* Also you’re pretty sure when she ditched today when she found out that people were pricking there finger on campus. She claimed it was for Jasper, but you’re pretty sure there’s a sale in the Nordstrom in Seattle.

* Edward would rather get the flu than drive Bella’s ancient truck.

* Which leaves only one option.

* You toss your keys to Edward who catches them with one hand.

* “Edward will drive you home in my car, and I’ll drive your car behind him.” 

* “What about Rosalie?” He grumbles.

*“What about Rosalie?” Why is he being so difficult right now? Doesn’t he realize you’re doing this all for him!

* “You’re driving her home since Emmett and I are leaving for Yellow Stone as soon as school lets out.” Oh right the bears. Cr*p.

* “It’s not a big deal, I’ll drive back to school after we’re done and you can go your way and I’ll go mine.”

* You can tell Edward doesn’t like it, but he just sigh’s climbing into your car and then promptly getting out of the passenger side and sitting in the driver’s side.

* The dork forgot he had to drive the car.

* You’re dying laughing as Bella leads you to her car.

* “It’s the blue one.”

* Her truck isn’t all that bad. It’s old, but in a kind of retro way. It’s powder blue, with only two doors and no backseat. 

* You climb in, turning the engine and hearing it purr. Well it’s more of a roar, but it’s not terrible.

* You’re surprised when Bella climbs through the passenger side door. 

* “Um, you’re not going to drive with Edward?” She looks at you like you just asked her to recite the Fibonacci sequence. 

* “Why would I go with him when you’re the one driving my car?” Okay, that’s fair.

* You sigh, why does nothing ever go according to plan.

* Maybe it’s for the best, Edward doesn’t seem to be in the best mood. Not that this is good either, she’s sitting so close to you, her peachy scent fills the small space of the truck and you feel lightheaded.

* It’s less than a ten minute trip, no need to get dramatic. You’re pretty sure you won’t kill her just because she smells nice.

* “Soooooo... what do you want to talk about?” You ask as you turn out of the school, this car is super slow compared to yours, you’re pretty sure it won’t go over 50 mph.

* Bella fidgets beside you, playing with the ends of her hair. 

* “So are you and Edward...dating?”

* You laugh so loud you actually start coughing. And then you laugh again. 

* “No-pfff- no We’re uh- we’re not dating.” You finally manage. 

* “Why is that so funny to you?” She asks, genuinely confused.

* “Well it’s just outrageous you know?” How would that even work? You can’t even picture it. Edward getting all hot and bothered because you’re wearing an oversized sweater and glasses. You flirting with him all over the house in front of Carlisle and Esme. Edward signing up for a sport just so he can see you in his letterman.

* It’s all...impossible.

* And yet, there is one thing you can picture. 

* Edward by your side, he’s almost golden brown, his eyes bright green. He points to the living room, and in there are Alec and Jane, both of their eyes blue as they argue over who’s turn it is to watch TV. 

* Maybe if you were human, if you had met in a different world or a different time, that would be something you could have. 

* But it is what it is

* “Edward and I have been friends for a really long time, we’ve just seen too much of each other to find each other attractive like that.” 

* Bella looks like she doesn’t believe you but she doesn’t say anything.

* Wait what are you doing? This is the perfect chance to talk Edward up!

* “But you know Edward is a real stand up guy!” It leaves a little too forcefully, a little inauthentic.

* “Oh is he?” She doesn’t sound too excited to be talking about this.

* “I know he’s got one of those face-”

* “Obnoxiously handsome?” She spats 

* “Like he thinks existence is a curse, and the world is evil and everything is terrible -” Wait you’re getting off track. “B-but he really is a good guy!”

* You bite your lip, as Bella tells you to turn into a subdivision. 

* “You know after- after I was adopted,” After your parents died. “I was really lonely, I had a family that loved me and anything I asked for but I didn’t really have anyone to talk to” Oh god, why did you choose this story to pick? “Edward was probably the only friend my age I had for years.”

* She straightens up a little bit, a curious glint in her eyes.

* “Really?” You nod.

* “Yeah he would come by every Monday and Wednesday,” You still remember the crunch of the snow under your feet as you both walked to the barn. He always asked why you didn’t just run, and you always told him because you liked the way you could see your breath hang in the air,

* “He could have been out that time, hanging out with other people,” More well adjusted vampires, who hunted instead of harvesting small amounts from animals they raised. “or chasing girls and playing sports, but he stayed with me.”

* “He always made me feel safe, and I’m sure whoever is lucky enough to end up with him will feel that way too.” 

* “I think you’re giving him too much credit” Bella finally says, you smile at her

* “what do you mean?” 

* “Well, who wouldn’t drop everything to hang out with you?” You can’t tell if she’s being genuine or if she’s bitter. Your eyes meet hers and there’s a twinkle in them. ”My house is the one on the left, the one with the magnolia tree.”

* You come to a stop in front of the house she mentioned, shifting it into park, and handing her the keys. 

* You don’t say anything as you climb out of her car. You see Edward stopped a few dozen feet behind her truck, your jeep still on. 

* “Thanks for driving me home” She smiles at you, a real smile that reaches her eyes. It’s nice.

* “No problem, it gave me an excuse to ditch school too haha.” You both stand in awkward silence. Neither of you moving. 

* Well damn what are you supposed to do now?

* “Oh, hey do you want me to bring you your homework or anything?” 

* She perks up at that, reaching into her pocket

*  “If you don’t mind, could you text me what page he homework is on for trig today?” 

* “ Oh for sure! No problem at all” You take her cell phone in your hand. It’s a white sidekick, with a picture of a cactus on the back. She must have gotten it when she moved.

* You can’t help but wonder if she has any friends she misses. She spent her entire life in one community, sure Phoenix is a pretty big place, but she must have had friends, people she sat with at lunch everyday, girls she had known since childhood, sleepovers where they whispered about boys they had crushes on.

* As you hand her phone back, your contact information saved in it, you can’t help but wonder who this person in front of you is. You know her, but at the same time, you know absolutely nothing about her. 

* “See you Monday!” You wave goodbye as you get into the passenger side of your car, and Bella waits on the porch until you and Edward leave.

* Edward’s got that look on his face.

* “Edward why are you mad?” 

* “I’m not mad.” He grumbles and you raise an eyebrow. He sighs.

* “You’re going out of your way an awful lot for that human.” He says as he turns back onto the highway.

* “It’s just the right thing to do Eddie.” 

* He shakes his head, his mouth pinched into a frown

* “Just be careful, I don’t know what that one’s thinking, she could be planning to burn our entire coven for all I know.”

* You roll your eyes, yeah you bet Bella who weights exactly 115 pounds, and has anemia is single handedly planning to bring down the entire vampire race. 

* “How about we make a deal, I’ll promise not to rock the boat while you and Emmett are gone-”

* “Why do I feel like I’m going to regret not covering my ears?”

*” If you promise to bring me back a bear cub - an orphaned one.” He gives you a look you don’t quite care for.

* “You want me to kill a mother bear so you can have a bear cub?” 

* “No of course not! I’m just saying- Emmett doesn’t really look before he kills  so if he kills a mother bear, just make sure you bring me the cubs.” 

* “Why do you even want a bear? How are you planning to take care of it with all those deer around, they need a lot-”

* “Yes Dad I know it’s a big responsibility, don’t worry I won’t make you take it on walks or anything.” 

* Edward gulps hard, one hand detaching from the steering wheel to cover his mouth. 

* Wouldn’t it be positively sinful for you to be underneath him, whining ‘daddy, please’ in that breathy voice of yours and-

* Edward.exe is broken. 

* “Dude you really need to get your shit together before you go on your trip, we’ve been parked for fifteen minutes and your foot is still on the brake.” You say as you get out of the car

* He hits his head against the steering wheel.

* “Yeah, I really do need to get my shit together.” 

Tags:  @moonlights27 @thebluetint @the100thtwilight @awesomebooklover17 @oneofthepotterheads @smileygirl08 @imdoingathingmom @iconicgguk @yrawn @alyciaswhore @little-horror-show @wicked-watering-can @lazydreamers @ xxxmuxxx  @ideas-for-you-to-adopt​​ @poisoinedhope @maryleigh8796​ @moose-squirrel-asstiel​ @hotmessgoodness​

[alwayshaveneverholdd]

REWRITING NARUTO ROMANCES SO THEY DONT SUCK

We all know that the romance in Naruto is trash and Kishimoto himself admitted to not knowing how to write female characters and getting embarrassed by romantic scenes…so let’s fix that shit

part 1: NaruHina

(I wrote this down as my notes for the post but I actually like it this way so I’m just copy and paste my raw thoughts lol if you get offended you can write a letter to your local congressman, prime minister, or whoever rules over provinces in other countries)

First let’s shit on the original ship shall we

Naruhina…

- what the fuck was the build up to this relationship

- “I respect naruto and I want to be like him! But I’m too shy to talk to him! I even fainted when I saw him after the blank period! JK I HAVE MEGA HUGE BALLS AND CONFRONTED PAIN TO SAVE NARUTO!!!! Confessed my love and got my ass kicked….then didn’t speak to him until the fourth great ninja war and now we’re married with two kids” what the Fuck

- Also can we just talk about how after Hinata confessed her love…and literally almost died for naruto…he didn’t say SHIT to her after he defeated pain, and it was like she never confessed in the first place Lmfao

- He still liked Sakura! But Sakura always loved Sasuke so wtf

- He even was like “YEAH YEAH” when Minuto asked if Sakura was his girlfriend during the war. Then ten minutes later he’s holding hands with hinata and their love and shit (ft the rest of the ASF) and going up against fucking madara obito whatever… what the fuck

- AND THEN BAM THEY GET MARRIED AWWWWWWWWBWBWBWBLEEHHHH

- It makes no sense bro—people say Sasuke never shows his love for Sakura,…to me, naruto never gave a shit about Hinata, at least not romantically (he literally acted like her existence was forgotten for 3/4s of the show; at least Sasuke always acknowledged Sakura from the start)

- It also feels like narutos crush on Sakura was never resolved (I know that they’re supposed to be shown realizing that they aren’t into each other in The Last but…bro isn’t that way too fuckin late to make sense lmfao) He just suddenly shacked up with Hinata???? Bc her cousin died….Idk man that’s kinda fucked up lmfao

So let’s fucking fix this shitshow

- I get that Hinata is shy and stuff but that bitch is a fucking hyuga SHE IS POWERFUL SO GIVE HER MORE SCREENTIME KICKING ASS

- And can we??? Give her more lines in the first part???? Other than “n…n…naruto….” “N-naruto?” “Naruto!” Like wtf was that dude that shit was way more annoying to me than anything.

- We all know Hinata has thoughts feelings and opinions (as humans do) so let’s have her voice them sometimes okay

- Being shy doesn’t automatically make you mostly mute and constantly stuttering

- That stereotype makes me want to crush skulls bro

- Can we give her some balls before pains fight bc that made no sense

- Like maybe standing up to neji even a little bit and defending herself more during the chuunin exams

- I’m not saying she has to be like “HEY SHITHEAD IM GONNA KICK YOUR ASS” bc that’s totally out of character but she totally could’ve been like “Hey you’re kinda wrong and pls show me respect as a member of your clan and an equal leaf shinobi”

- Also I get that Hinata was inspired by naruto but can we stop making every female character’s rise to power and want to be stronger related to a dude?

- Like fine if she was inspired by him but I think it would’ve been way more of a credit Hinata as a person if naruto simply REMINDED her of that part of herself that’s dedicated to proving her family wrong

- I’m just gonna write this as if it happened this way

- She keeps par with Neji, and does ultimate lose but it makes Neji see that Hinata is actually strong and a formidable opponent

- No more shit eating grins from that ego maniac

- And after Hinata battles Neji, she confronts naruto and thanks him for reminding her of her inner strength

- Naruto, who’s surprised that Hinata is talking to him, is like “yeah, sure thing, hinata. You did great!”

- And that opens the door for their real friendship

- Hinata is someone naruto can confide in about Sasuke, and he trusts her

- Hinata becomes someone that gives naruto compassionate advice, and he cherishes her comforting nature

- Then in part 2 after they’re all a bit older, naruto is kinda like “o” when he sees that Hinata has come into her wOmaNhOoD and he’s attracted to her.

- During the blank period he worked through his feelings and realized he only liked Sakura bc of his rivalry with Sasuke. End of that crap

- But naruto is dense as fuck and doesn’t see Hinata in a romantic way until she stands up for him against pain

- Hinata holds her own against pain for a bit bc she’s powerful in her own right but does get her ass beat anyway bc yk rinnegan and everything

- Naruto loses his shit seeing her cut down in front of him and defeats the last pain

- After naruto gives one of his MOTIVATIONAL SPEECHES and changes nagato before his death, the entire village greets him as a hero

- Instead of Sakura running up to him to hug him in that strangely intimate way that’s out of character bc she doesn’t fucking like him that way

- Sakura gives naruto a good hug and is like “you did it buddy you’re pretty cool ig”

- Then naruto talks to Hinata bc she??? Confessed her love? And took a massive beating for him???

- And they start a sort of flirty relationship where they both like each other but like waaaay too much is going on to actually date

- Like they try to between pains assault and the five mage summit but with the news of Sasukes massive downfall and the bounty on his head naruto is like dude I can’t do this rn

- And Hinata is cool so ofc she understands even tho she’s a bit sad

- And during the war when minato asks if Sakura is narutos girlfriend he says “😅 no dad, we’re just good friends”

- Then he holds hands with Hinata and the village and sings kumbaya to kick the fuck out of madara obito

- Then they get married and shit proceeds as normal

- Except in boruto when everyone returns from the battle in the other dimension she doesn’t run up to naruto first okay she hugs her SON and says “thank goodness you’re safe!” And then hugs naruto and thanks him for his work

God fuck okay I’m done

[hopeamarsu]

Of potions and myths - Chapter 2

William “Ironhead” Miller x f!reader

Word count 3,1k

Warnings: This one is pretty mild, but there is tiny amount of angst sprinkled in. Reference to an attempt at drugging ones date (nothing happened!), mythical creatures and potions. This chapter is from WIll’s POV

A/N: I just couldn’t let this one go and it’s turned into a bit of a gremlin to be honest. I have to thank my love Thia @clydesducktape for encouraging me to explore this and Will, the man has honestly swept into my mind from completely left field. Not that I’m complaining! 

Chapter 1 - Chapter 3

The morning dawns and as the pale light of the sun hits Will’s car bonnet he stretches out, feeling his spine pop loudly as it protests the long hours sitting in the front seat. Despite the back ache, he does not regret spending the night watching over you. He would never regret it and the feeling both thrills and surprises him.

As he waits for the world to wake up with him, Will’s mind turns back to the previous evening and everything that happened. He’d been out alone, a rarity given how close his pack normally is, and originally had only thought of grabbing a single pint before heading home. But something had drawn him in, made him sit in that corner booth and watch the people milling around him, before his eye set upon you and your date. 

It had looked normal enough, two people talking and seemingly on a date, but he hadn’t been able to look away. Had he felt the mysterious pull even then? Maybe, maybe not. As he watched, you had turned sideways to dig through your bag for something and that’s when it had happened. With shaky but quick hands, the man had produced a tiny vial from his pocket and emptied it into the drink closest to you. 

Anger, white-hot and blazing, surged in his veins immediately and before Will had even fully realised what he was doing, he had walked over and opened his mouth. He had watched with pride as you had confronted the man and then with worry as you hurried out of the pub. He knew he had to follow you, to check that you were alright. 

He turns the memories in his mind, trying to pinpoint the moment when the magnetic connection came into play. He knows it was sudden, the warmth of it all creeping up his back and enveloping him completely as he felt all your emotions jumbling around in the aftermath of your date. 

He knows that in that moment and the ones that followed that he desperately wanted to crush you into his arms, snarl and growl at anyone trying to approach you and rip the throat of the man trying to hurt you. His inner wolf was in full-on attack mode. It had taken every single bit of training Will had gone through to keep the wolf in check. But the connection still persisted and he was powerless to stop what it wanted of him. 

Which leads him here, sitting in a parked car on the sidewalk of your apartment, his wolf alert and ready to jump into action. He doesn’t feel tired or weary at all. There is this need inside of him to be close to you, to protect you. It’s almost desperate at this point, how every nerve ending inside him wants to be close and make sure everything is perfect.

As Will runs his eyes across the street, scanning for anything that might be a threat, the front door opens and you step out. Immediately his eyes snap into your form as you pad across the front yard and into the street, your steps bringing you closer and closer by the second. You look beautiful in your sleepwear and an oversized hoodie wrapped around your body to shield you from the morning chill. You’d look so pretty wearing his hoodie, Will thinks absentmindedly as he tracks your movements. He steps out of his truck just as you reach him.

“Good morning.” 

“Morning. Did you sleep well?” He doesn’t even try to hide the fact that he’s been here all night, Will knows you know. The air around you hums again but it’s more muted than last night and as Will tries to reach out mentally, he finds himself blocked. Your shields are back up, full force, and he hides his approval in a barely-there smirk. 

“Pretty okay. Would you want to come in? I think we have a lot to discuss. I have fresh coffee,” You offer with a small smile. He agrees quickly, the hum between your bodies elated that you invite him in, and follows you inside, hand hovering near your back as you lead the way. When you open your front door, Will is hit with a smell of jasmine, salt, candle wax and thyme and he recognizes the small display next to your door. Protection spells. His pride swells even more as he knows you’ve done this to protect yourself better.  

The second the door closes, the hum ramps up and Will can feel the tendrils from last night appear again, stronger than it was when you were standing outside. He wants to touch you, hold you, bite you, claim you. But he doesn’t make a move, planting his feet firmly into the floor and clenches his fist to keep his hand steady and by his side. It’s not his place yet, you need to talk first. 

Will watches as you close your eyes, taking a moment to ground yourself too, before you open them and look straight at him. He likes it, how forward and confident you are as you do not try to hide or cower away from him. With another small smile, you gesture for him to follow you into the kitchen. It’s difficult to move when everything in him calls for you and your body, but somehow he makes it and as he sits on a kitchen chair and watches you move in your domain, Will finds himself enjoying the view and domesticity of it all. 

It tugs him deep inside, the mere idea that he could get to watch this morning after morning. Is it too fast to hope for these things? Possibly, but for Will, it doesn’t seem to matter as his mind keeps refueling the dreams with mental images of you in his own kitchen, padding around the hardwood floors with bare feet and dressed only in his flannel. 

The flashes move to images of you in his bed, your head on his pillow or chest as the morning light dances on your skin. Evenings spend on the couch, cuddling under a throw blanket and nights in his kitchen when he spoon-feeds you something he’s cooked for a date night. You with his brothers, sitting around a campfire as you trade jokes with them and they with you. 

Will is jostled into the present as you hand him a steaming cup, careful not to touch him in the process much to his approval and dismay, and take a seat opposite him. The first sip of the hot liquid feels like heaven on Will’s tongue, the notes hitting just right and he hums in approval. Keen eyes follow you copying his movements and for a while, it’s silent and comfortable as you sip from your respective cups.

The connection tingles in your sternum and you place the cup on the desk, hands flat on the surface. Your eyes reach for his and Will finds himself entranced by the hue in them. He would love to catalogue the flecks within those orbs. 

“I, uh… I spent some time last night looking into this. Us. The hum and connection.” You stumble a little in your words and there is an urge to hold your hand in comfort but he refrains. This is important, he reminds himself, more important than his carnal desires and his inner wolf huffs in displeasure. 

“I don’t have a lot of books at home, so I’ll need to continue this at the museum later on, but… this seems rare. Really rare. I don’t have a name for it or an explanation yet though and I would need more information from you as well before I, we, can venture deeper. Would it be alright with you? Are you comfortable sharing things with me?”

His immediate reaction is yes, ask what you want and he’ll tell you everything and that stops him in his tracks. This could lead to dangerous territory quite fast. It’s within his training and pack rules that his status, what he is and what he has done in the past are not to be discussed with outsiders.  “What kind of things?” Will asks instead.

“Well… For starters, what type of mythical are you? I know it’s invasive to ask but given that you are with Delta, you are clearly not a mundane. I’m hoping that will give us a clue on where to start looking.” It’s a reasonable question and it does give you both a starting place. Will relaxes his shoulders and releases the breath he’s holding before answering. No point in hiding after all. 

“I’m a werewolf. But I haven’t heard of this type of connection between two wolves before. May I ask, what type are you?” 

“I’m a… I don’t know exactly. I’ve always been interested in potions and history and spells but my family isn’t witches nor do I belong into a coven. I was raised as a mundane. As far as I know, there are no mythicals or supernaturals in my family lineage.”

He hoped the question would be easy for you, to give another clue, but instead it seems to have had an opposite effect as Will watches you drop your smile. You seem conflicted and embarrassed at the confession, hunching your shoulders a little as you shrink into yourself. The connection between tugs at Will’s heartstrings loudly and he’s unable to deny himself or it anymore. He reaches over the table and takes your hand in his, feeling oddly pleased as his hand engulfs yours. 

The second skin meets skin, golden and silver tendrils burst out of your skin and a gasp leaves your lips. You both watch with curiosity as they snake up his arm and under his Henley and under your shirt as well. Will can sense how warm they are, filling him up completely. He tracks their movement based on their warmth as they dance on his skin until they go still but remain tingling when they cover his entire body. He looks at you and sees the lines glow faintly all over your body. You look ethereal to him and he feels himself falling for you even more.

“It feels so warm…” You whisper, awe in your voice as you look at your connected hands. “It does. It’s not hurting you, right?” Will questions, running his thumb across your knuckle. He knows it doesn’t hurt him but he needs to be sure, his wolf poised to take away any discomfort you might feel. For all he knows it’s different for you than it is for him and he can’t help himself, the need to protect is far too strong now that you are touching each other. 

You shake your head, biting your lower lip as you catalogue the feeling. It calms him immediately but at the same time arousal courses in his veins as he witnesses just how alluring your mouth looks. He wants to surge forward, kiss you until your lips are swollen and bruised and your mind is filled with only him. His eyes are honed in on the sight, how the lip disappears and reappears plumper and plumper. He can practically hear his own blood rush in his ears as your eyes track the golden lines in his forearms.  

“Please stop that,” Will is unable to hold in the groan as he watches you chew on the flesh in concentration. “Huh?” Your eyes snap into his face, wide with surprise and you try to tug your hand free, but he only squeezes it tighter. Will knows his eyes have grown darker again as his wolf is howling to be let free. It wants to break free, tug you into its embrace and never let go. 

“Please stop biting your lip. It makes me want to bite it,” He growls and watches with delight as you shiver at his tone. You release your lip but the tender flesh, plush with blood pumping rapidly inside, calls to him. And once again he is unable to deny it, his resolve truly broken when you are this close and a harsh tug at your hand lifts you up from your seat and into his lap. 

You look at him, studying his face as Will raises one hand to your cheek. Another burst of tendrils escape once his calloused hand connects with the soft flesh and he shivers with the sensation. Fascinated, he watches as the small tendrils wrap around his large fingers and bleed into your cheekbones and up your forehead and hairline, creating patterns that make you glow again. 

Will searches for your eyes again before speaking in low tone, your faces close to one another. His eyes drop to your lips and all he can think of is pressing his mouth to them, finally having a taste of what the connection teases him of. 

“Do you want this?” 

Do you want me? 

“You need to say the words, sweetheart, before we go any further.” 

I will not be able to stop once you give me permission. Tell me no and this all stops now. It will break me, but I will honor your wishes.

“Kiss me, Will.” 

Your words have barely left your lips when Will claims them. It feels like something bursts out of his chest as he tastes the coffee, the cherries you must’ve had earlier and something uniquely yours. You taste of heaven and all the good things in the world and he never wants to stop tasting you and identifying the notes hitting his palette just right. He deepens the kiss by running his tongue on your lower lip, begging you to grant him access to nirvana. Once you do, opening up shyly, he feels he’s ready to burst into flames when he gets the first real flavor of you.   

The wolf howls in joy as Will continues to explore your mouth, dipping his tongue inside it to battle with yours. He feels your hand on the back of his neck, tugging at the hair as you pull him closer and closer. The hand that was holding yours releases its hold before pressing against your lower back to push your chests together. He wants you close, closer than you are now and his wolf agrees. The clothes separating your skin from his feel itchy and constricting but Will is grateful because it keeps him somewhat coherent. As much as he wants to, needs you, craves you, he needs to tread carefully and not lose himself. 

All too soon the need for air is too much and you pull back, ending the kiss. “Is this… Umm, is this normal?” You sound winded, out of breath and the wolf preens, happy to have made you like this. Will shakes his head minutely, pressing his forehead into yours. He needs to feel his skin connected to yours, can’t let it slip even for a moment. He traces your neck with one finger, enjoying how you tremble again in his hold. 

“No, I don’t think so. I haven’t felt like this before.”

“Me either. But this feels big.” He nods. 

You breathe in sync for a minute, matching each other as the tingling of the tendrils flickers. Will rubs his thumb on your lower back, lazy circles that make you quiver minutely, a sensation that he eagerly abrobs in his own body. 

“What does this mean?”

“I don’t know, but I want to keep exploring this, us, and this connection.”

“Me too.”

You speak in whispered tones, within your own bubble, even if you are alone together in your apartment. Tentative hands move across the planes and curves of bodies as you trade a few more kisses, each one accompanied by the hum and tendrils that skip from one patch of skin to the other, bathing the room in luminescence.   

Will agrees with your assessment earlier, there needs to be more research into whatever this is. And he knows of only one place to look for answers. “We need to visit the pack elders.” He tells you quietly as you pull away from the latest kiss, still stroking your neck and shoulder in a calming manner. 

“Are they willing to help?” You question softly, knowing how strict some packs are, not allowing any outsiders to enter the area deemed for pack members only. It’s the same for some of the witch covens you’ve tried to approach, hoping to learn more and explore your skills only to be turned away because you are mundane. It has broken some of your spirit, being turned away one too many times, even if you’ve come to terms with it and understand their reasoning. But as the sadness of it all breaks through your shields, Will is almost pushed back by its magnitude.

He wants to take away all the pain you've ever felt, the hurt you feel almost too much for him and his wolf to handle. But he can’t do that, Will reminds himself ruefully, he doesn’t know how. So he gathers you close, placing his hand on your neck as he guides you to rest sideways against his torso, his other hand resting on your hip, offering comfort this way. You breathe in his scent, calming cedarwood and juniper berry tones, and close your eyes to rest for a moment. 

It takes a lot out of you to hold up the shields and they slip whenever your feelings become too much and often they are projected outwards, letting others feel them too. Lack of training and lack of skill, you think but don’t voice it out loud. But you are glad he’s not running from you because of that and burrow in a bit deeper, a pleased sound leaving his chest as Will feels you get closer. He kisses your forehead gently before speaking, the vibration of his chest low and comforting.

“They are. The Miller-Morales pack might not be the biggest out there, but we are tight and welcoming. The elders will help us figure all this out. I promise you.”

*

Of potions and myths taglist: @mylifeisactuallyamess @luxmundee @innerpaperexpertcloud

Everything taglist (I fully understand if you want to skip this one, please let me know and I’ll remove you!) @clydesducktape @wayward-rose @themuseic @miraclesabound @clydesfavoritegirl @a-true-janian-reply  @10blurredsmoke10  @caillea @mariesackler​

[padfoot-and-prongsie]

The Wrong Twin || George Weasley

Character: George Weasley

Word Count: 2.8k

Requested: No- though feel free to send some in!

Summary: You have been in love with Fred Weasley for years, but now you’re having doubts. Are you falling for the wrong twin?

Warnings: Mild swearing

Disclaimer: I did not make this gif, rightful credit to the creator!

A/N: Thank you to everyone who reads my fics! I love you all so much. This one was inspired by a single line in one of the last paragraphs, “I can’t take it any more,” and evolved from there. I hope you like it <3

PLEASE DO NOT COPY OR STEAL MY WORK. REBLOGS ARE JUST FINE :)

“Five Galleons says I hit Y/N on the first try,” Fred said, holding a piece of sausage in his hand.

George turned away from Lee Jordan to look at what his brother was doing. Fred was aiming several yards down the table towards where you were sitting with Katie Bell.

George grinned. “Deal.”

Fred flicked the piece of his breakfast and the twins watched as it flew through the air before nailing Katie in the chin.

“Damn it, so close,” Fred muttered, handing over the money to his brother.

You and Kate both looked up, the latter rubbing her chin from where she had been hit. Finding the culprit was easy, as seated a few benches down were two redheads snickering.

“What the hell Weasley!” Katie shouted, throwing the sausage piece back.

“Sorry Bell,” Fred replied between laughs. “I was aiming for Y/N.”

“Hey!” you exclaimed, though a smile was on your face. 

Fred winked, before sending a piece of his toast towards you.

You swatted it out of the air, giggling.

Beside you Katie laughed and began to sing under her breath, “Y/N and Fred, sitting in a tree. K-I-S-”

You elbowed her. “Shut up, Katie.”

Katie was grinning. “You like him,” she singsonged.

“I do not!” you shot back.

“You giggle at everything he says or does and all you do is stare at him in class,” Katie pointed out, noting how red your cheeks were turning with everything she said. “You are so in love with him.”

“I am-”  You started to reply.

You never finished though, as Fred had come up behind you, picking up your bookbag and saying, “Shall we?”

Your heart did a flip flop as you quickly stood up from the bench to walk with him to class.

Katie gave you a kissy face behind Fred’s back, earning her an eye roll from you as you followed Fred out of the Great Hall.

George watched as Katie teased you. Even without hearing it, he knew what she was saying. You had told him last Christmas at the Burrow one night that you were in love with his brother. George had done as all friends would do, he teased you, tried to push you into his brother when Fred walked by, and would wiggle his eyebrows or give you little nudges whenever he was near. But now George only felt sorry for you, because his brother was completely and utterly oblivious. 

You were walking up ahead with Fred, his arm lazily draped across your shoulders. Your stomach had exploded in butterflies when he had casually rested it there after leaving the Great Hall, and even now your heart still couldn’t stop racing.

His lips were quirked up in a smile, his eyes bright with amusement. You couldn’t help but look at him, he was your definition of perfect, from his toned muscles to every freckle on his face. Even when he tripped on the stairs on the way up to the second floor you still managed to find it endearing, helping him back up to his feet with a giggle.

“So, what are you doing this weekend, love?” Fred asked casually.

A large smile broke onto your face. “Nothing, why?”

“Just curious,” Fred mused. “I was looking for someone to come to Hogsmead with me.”

If Fred hadn’t heard your racing heart before, he most certainly could hear it now, as it was practically beating out of your chest. Fred had all but asked you on a date. The boy you were in love with had finally asked you. You did your best not to squeal in excitement.

You turned to him, smiling brightly. “I would love-”

“Hey Weasley!”

You both turned to see Angelina Johnson jogging down the hallway. 

“Oi, Fred,” she said, finally catching up. “I didn’t get the names of all eleven ingredients for Snape’s homework last night. What did you get?”

“Let’s see,” Fred said, thinking for a moment. “Juice of two beetles, three seaflax leaves-” Angelina started walking down the hall and Fred fell in step beside her, leaving you struggling to catch up.

“Hey- Fred uh-” you tried.

“Oh, Y/N, here’s your bag,” Fred said, seeming to finally retake notice of your presence. “I’ll see you in class later.”

Your heart sank as he handed you your bookbag without hardly looking, instead focussing on Angelina beside him as he continued to rattle off ingredients.

“See you then, I guess,” you replied halfheartedly, though Fred barely noticed.

George watched his brother walk away and shook his head with a sigh. Fred was such an idiot. How could he miss someone so perfect when she was right in front of him.

“Sorry about that,” George said, coming up behind you.

You let out a defeated sigh. “It’s not your fault George.”

“I know, but I feel like it is,” George, whispered quietly. The hurt visible in your eyes made his heart break. 

“I’m going to go to class,” you finally said, glumly starting to walk off.

“Let me walk you,” George said, falling into step beside you.

“You don’t have to do that,” you said.

“I know,” George replied, a lopsided grin on his face, “but I’m going to anyway. Come on, I’ll carry your bag.”

You fixed him with a smile, the light slowly coming back in your eyes. “Thanks George, you’re a good friend.”

And that’s all I’ll ever be to you, George thought.

~

“So you’re going to Hogsmead with Y/N?” George asked, as him and his brother grabbed their coats up in their dorm.

Fred nodded. “Yeah, it should be fun, you can join us if you want.”

George fixed his brother with an odd look. “Shouldn’t your date be just you two?”

“What date?” Fred asked, snorting out a laugh. 

“I thought you said you were taking her out to Hogsmead,” George said, astounded by how dense his brother could be about you.

“Yeah, as friends,” Fred said, like that should have been obvious.

“Did you tell her that?”

This time it was Fred who shot his brother a look. “What are you talking about, of course she knows. We’re just friends.”

George’s heart sank for you. Fred most certainly had not been making “just friends” obvious. Calling you love for one, was not helping.

Fred wrapped a scarf around his neck. “See you later Georgie,” he said with a half wave.

You giggled as you walked down the stairs to the common room. There was a noticeable skip in your step. Fred smiled when you appeared under the archway, stepping out to greet you.

“You look nice,” he said, causing your heart to flutter. 

“Thank you!” you replied, the happiness that he had noticed evident in your voice. 

You were pleased that he could see the extra effort you had put into your appearance that morning. Your hair was curled into bouncy ringlets, and Katie had been more than happy to help you with extra makeup before you left.

“Ready?” Fred asked.

You nodded, still unable to keep a smile from breaking on your face. “Let’s go.”

~

Hogsmead was bustling with activity when the two of you arrived. It was the nicest Saturday Hogwarts had seen in a month, and the clear blue skies and a temperature that didn’t require three layers of clothing seemed to attract almost every student at the school.

“Honeydukes?” Fred asked, as the two of you approached the first shop. It was warmly lit inside and the smell of sweets had drifted through its open door.

“How could I turn that down?” you replied jokingly, letting Fred guide you into the shop, his arm lightly resting around your waist. 

Instantly the mix of sugar and chocolate hit your nose, far stronger than the smell outside. Your stomach grumbled at the thought of the sweets. You were a particular sucker to peppermint.

Various types of candy lined the shelves from liquorice wands--which you couldn’t stand--to sugar quills.

Fred handed you a bag of Peppermint Toads. “I take it you’ll want some of these?”

You shot him a smile. “You know me too well.”

Winking, Fred handed you a box of Fizzing Whizbees and two bags of Exploding Bonbons.

You raised an eyebrow, giving him a curious look.

“Filch likes it when George and I bring some of those back,” he explained with a smirk.

He took the items back out of your hands, heading towards the checkout. The small line there moved quick enough, and soon you were back outside walking along the cobblestone path towards The Three Broomsticks.

You were chewing on a Peppermint Toad when Alicia popped up on the other side of Fred, a licorice wand in her mouth.

“Where you heading, Fred?” she asked.

“Three Broomsticks,” Fred replied, stealing her licorice wand and taking a bite. 

The smile that had been on your face faltered.

“Fancy stopping by Zonko’s first?” Angelina asked, coming up behind you and pushing her way between you and Fred.

Fred’s face lit up. “Do you even have to ask, Johnson?

Angelina grinned. “It’s right on the way, we’ll pop in for a bit, then head over to get butterbeers afterwards.”

You were beginning to feel annoyed by the amount of “we” you had just heard. Last you checked, it was supposed to be you and Fred, and he knew you never liked Zonko’s.

Fred wasn’t paying you much attention anymore either, instead animatedly talking to Alicia about the latest release of Filibuster's Fireworks: Holiday Edition.

“Uh Fred?” you asked quietly. “I’m going to go pop into some other shops. I’ll catch up to you later.”

Fred shrugged. “Sure whatever, I’ll see you at Three Broomsticks.”

His lack of interest made your heart drop as he left you alone, instead choosing to go with Angelina and Alicia. You could hear their laughs as they walked away, Fred’s the loudest as he casually tossed an arm around Angelina’s shoulders.

You closed your eyes with a defeated sigh, your shoulders slumping. Once more your heart was broken by the boy you so helplessly loved.

“Are you okay?” Someone asked, causing you to look up, a fake smile already fixed on your face.

George was looking at you, his eyes filled with concern.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” you replied quickly. George didn’t seem to buy it.

“Where’s Fred?” he asked, looking around the crowded street.

Your smile faltered. “He went to Zonko’s, with uh, Angelina and Alicia.”

“I thought you didn’t like Zonko’s,” George said, though in his mind he was cursing his brother for his stupidity and trying to convince himself not to slap Fred next time he saw him.

“I guess he forgot,” you replied, shrugging as if it were no big deal.

“Do you want to go get a butterbeer?” George asked, after much debate in his head.

“Oh, I’m going with Fred later...and I guess Spinnet and Johnson too now,” you replied halfheartedly.

George fixed you with a look. “Is that really how you want to spend the rest of your afternoon, Y/N?”

You laughed. “No, not particularly,” you said, smiling at George. “Come on, let’s go.”

You grabbed his arm, pulling him down the street towards The Three Broomsticks. Along the way, he pulled something out of his pocket, offering an odd red and white striped thing to you.

“Candy cane?” he asked, holding it out.

You picked it up, eyeing it curiously.

“It’s a muggle sweet,” he said in answer to your questioning look. “I guarantee you’ll like it.”

“And when did George Weasley become so well versed in his muggle candies?” you asked playfully, opening its wrapper.

George shrugged. “Having a father obsessed with muggles has its perks.”

You put the new sweet in your mouth, a smile filling your face at its flavor. “Peppermint,” you commented, your eyes bright with happiness. “How did you know that was my favorite?”

“I have my ways,” George replied, grinning. “Plus you ate all of my peppermint toads last Christmas.”

You elbowed him lightly. “You were the one who took all of my sherbert lemons first,” you countered.

“You don’t even like those,” George argued, a smile on his face.

You grinned at him playfully. “That may be the case, but you still took them, Weasley.”

George shook his head. “Whatever, L/N.”

You smiled as he held the door to The Three Broomsticks open for you. What would you do without George?

~

You found yourself the following evening in the twins dorm, sitting opposite Fred on the floor. You were busy rereading your transfiguration essay. Fred on the other hand, was trying to tie the laces of both your shoes all together.

“Cut that out Fred or I’ll fall flat on my face the moment I try to get up,” you said, reaching over to smack his hand with your parchment.

Fred looked up, flashing that grin you loved. “I guess you’ll just have to stay up here forever than love,” he said, winking.

“You are too cheeky for your own good,” you sighed, pulling your legs back towards you so you could try to undo the mess Fred had made. Your heart was pounding in your chest.

“Cheeky,” Fred said thoughtfully, tapping his chin. “I can live with that.”

You rolled your eyes. “Cocky too, did I mention that?”

Fred scooted closer. “Yes I do have one of those love.”

“Gross Fred!” you exclaimed, your cheeks burning red as you playfully smacked his arm.

Fred laughed at your flustered appearance, humor dancing in his eyes.

“You brought it up love, what can I say?” he shrugged, a smirk playing on his face.

“Bloody hell you drive me crazy,” you said, now refocusing your attention to the rather large knot in your shoelaces. “Merlin Fred what did you do to these?”

Fred leaned over now to look at them too. “Huh,” he finally said. “I think you made it worse.”

You snorted. “Who tied them in the first place, hmm?” 

“Well they were tied before you got here, so you,” Fred replied, giving you a smug look. 

“Insufferable,” you muttered under your breath, but judging by the large smirk on Fred’s face he had heard you. 

“Just help me get them undone, will you?” you asked him.

“Fine fine, let me take a shot at it.”

Fred worked at the white laces that were now in a rather large ball, his long fingers pulling here and there, trying to get it undone. You attempted to help, but every time your fingers brushed his, your heart was sent racing and the close proximity had butterflies exploding in your stomach.

“I think you’ll just have to stay here,” Fred finally said, looking up at you.

“I can live with that,” you breathed, barely able to form a sentence with how close he was.

A grin broke Fred’s face and he was about to respond when the door was loudly opened and George walked in saying, “Oi Fred, Ang-”

He stopped upon noticing you there as well, your face inches from his brother’s.

“Nevermind,” George said quickly, turning around.

“Angelina?” Fred asked, pulling away from you. 

The arm that had been pressed against Fred now felt cold.

“It doesn’t matter, she can wait,” George said, still trying to leave.

Fred got up from the floor. “Is she downstairs?”

“Yeah, but Fred-” George tried.

“I’ll go see what’s up,” Fred said, walking out of the dorm, quickly fixing his hair as he did so. As an afterthought, he stopped to pop his head back into the room. “I’ll see you later, Y/N.”

Your face dropped, your heart breaking as he walked away from you once more. A small tear trickled down your cheek and you buried your face in your hands.

“Hey, Y/N, it’s okay,” George said, walking over to sit beside you.

More tears were now falling down your face, and George pulled you into a hug.

“I can’t take it anymore George!” you cried. “I love him so much and he hardly gives me a second glance when anyone else is around.”

“It’ll work itself out,” George said, rubbing your back comfortingly.

“Don’t say that George,” you sobbed. “You don’t know what it’s like.”

Yes I do, George thought. I know all too well.

But George couldn’t tell you that. He couldn’t tell you that you looked at Fred the same way he looked at you, that he was hopelessly in love with someone who would only ever see him as a friend. Instead all he could do was hold you and try to pick up the broken pieces his brother had left behind. 

Just like he always did.

~

Update: Part 2 is here!

A/N: I’m highly considering writing a part 2 to this now that it’s done...

Taglist: Ask to be on taglist!

[fictionissocialinquiry]

FISI’s Favourite Zutara Fics

A lil late for ZFAW’s Saturday prompt, sorry about that! Haven’t had any internet over the weekend. But better late than never!

I’m not gonna lie… a lot of these are angsty af. But I promise you they’re not gratuitous angst! They’re well written, beautiful stories that will make you feel like a better person for having read them. These are my favourite all time fics, ones I’ve read more than once and will continue to read (even though I’m taking a week break from fandom and fic).

 Multi-Chaptered Fics

The Sparrowkeet Series by audreyii_fic

To be honest, this story’s summary doesn’t do it justice so I ain’t including it. Originally a one shot, Sparrowkeet is headcanon for me now. Move over canon, this is where it’s at. Audreyii_fic’s characterisation, world building, and writing is exquisite. It’s incredible. She manages to channel the same fun and whimsical energy from the show while allowing the characters to grow and develop to places I wish they had actually been taken.

This one is a fandom Must Read and one I return to regularly.

 Clothe Me in Seasons, Dress Me in Snow by sadladybug

It is not the memorial she deserves, nor the one she would want. But it can't be helped. He owns no property in the other nations, and he needed to keep her close. Closer than she was in life, anyway.

Zuko's reflections on a life lived and a life that could have been.

This is one of the best written fics I’ve ever read. It’s tragic and deep and will hurt you in all the tender places but you would be doing yourself a favour if you read this. There’s a real bittersweet feeling to it and the love between them is just… urg, visceral.

 Lovable by LadyCharity

Zuko knew that he could not save Azula. He could only try to forgive her. Fittingly enough, those two were one in the same.

I love stories that make Zutara their centerpiece but every now but then a story like this comes along. A story where their relationship builds almost incidentally because the plot and character development straight up hijack your emotions. I got so invested in this story. Zuko is amazingly well characterised and his complicated thoughts and feelings around his father and Azula are incredibly well written!

 One Shots

Lunar Ephemerality by @formerlygoldilocks (goldilocks23)

After multiple failed attempts on his life and years of self-set expectations, Fire Lord Zuko is a shell of the man he used to be. But Katara won't turn her back on those who need her.

I really didn’t expect this to hit as hard as it did. This straight up snuck up on me, fly-kicked my feelings, and by the end I had written an 800 word comment that was too big for AO3 and I had to contact the author directly to send it to her. Awkward. I couldn’t help myself. The side to Katara we see here is so good, her empathy and love for her friends are one of the things I love seeing most in AtLA fanfic. I’m a sucker for Zuko having complete breakdowns and having to piece himself back together too. So sue me. I like it when they suffer a lil bit. The writing is absurdly good and I will be keeping an eye out for any new stories by goldilocks23!

 31 Minutes by @ifyouwereamelodymeg

It's quite astounding, really, how quickly she's learned to translate him. They've spent a grand total of zero time together outside of training, and he's hardly big on chat so she knows next to nothing about his life.

But she knows him, probably better than she knows anyone at the moment – with every tap of his fingers, every crook of his lips, every turn in his voice, he just...

He makes sense to her. It's weird.

I’m a sucker for fic writers playing with style to make the story pop and boyo does this fic deliver. This is one of the rare times that I’ve been dumbstruck at the end of a story— I just couldn’t accept the ending. Because I’m a sucker for pain, (and this story will bring The Pain) I loved it. The ease of Zuko and Katara’s growing relationship in this bowls you over, it’s absolutely beautiful and you find yourself nodding along emphatically when Zuko calls himself an idiot for waiting… “Life’s short, kids, live each moment as though it could be your last,” says this fic as it pulls my heart out and dropkicks it off a cliff.

 i count to five (and life passes by) by @markedmage

Five heartbeats.

I still haven’t forgiven Mage for this one. I think it’s the best thing she’s written to date! I mean, tragic and painful and heart-rending but holy shit is it powerful <3

 The Lake of the Dismal Swamp by @thewhiitelotus

Spook af. Spook (horror) is real hard to do well but thewhiitelotus is coming for your goosebumps and those shivers down your spine. She has a way of balancing beautiful, evocative imagery with action (in this and other stories of her) that just keeps you reading!

 Calloused by @rideboldlyride

Iroh hadn’t been able to watch. The pure horror of a man - a father- burning their child for a slight infraction... He couldn’t do anything to stop it, but he will stop his brother from destroying entirely the kind boy he knew Zuko could be.

This is a painfully underappreciated fic for how great the characterisation is. I know we in the zutara fandom tend to not read stories that aren’t Zuko/Katara centric as often but do yourself the favour of reading this (or listening to it: RideBoldlyRide has done us the gift of recording a podfic for this and it’s stupidly *good*). This story is Iroh confronting Ozai just after he burns Zuko’s face and it kicks.

 four days and three nights by @hinaoyamas (lettersfromnowhere)

Zuko discovers firsthand that nothing is more fleeting than happiness, or more enduring than memory.

Do you like reading stories with a distant, omniscient narrator? The kind that read like a myth from the ancient world? Welp, hit the hyperlink, friend, cause this one’s for you. Not only is the writing exquisite but the characterisation and painful inevitability of the plot is grade A.

 For the Fire Nation by tullyblue12

He falls in love with her for his country before he falls in love with her for himself. A Zuko/Katara AU that explores how love and duty aren’t always mutually exclusive.

There are about 40,000 exquisite lines in this story but here is just one of my favourites: “He falls in love with her for his country first. That’s what his people never understand.” This fic says a lot with so few words, which is something I really look up to! In 2,800 words, tullyblue12 does what some 100,000k fics cant: They make you feel.

 Guide Me Home by Rashaka

To sleep, perchance to dream. Katara and Zuko find a friendship they never expected in a place that seemed impossible.

This is a one shot I will forever wish for a continuation of. The setup is just… so juicy. There’s a real sorrowful innocence to this story that the unique short, dialogue only scenes really punch home. I know some people don’t like dialogue only fics but when done well like in this one, it leaves you with the impression of something deeper than a 1,185 word fic has any right to! 

 Other Favourites!

Hopeless by tullyblue12 — Kids grow up fast when a cruel world awaits them. In times of hopelessness, Katara and Zuko grow together. In times of separation, they hope to see each other again.

Speechless by goldilocks23 — Zuko has a medical condition. Or: Zuko speaks in haiku at inappropriate times.

Don’t Follow Me Down by eleventy7 — Katara is the dread queen of the underworld, ruler of the dead, destined to reign her cold kingdom alone. Until a sun god catches her eye. A Hades/Persephone retelling with incredible writing.

I Don't Speak Meow Language by @botherkupo (Boogum) — In which Zuko adopts a cat and Katara just wonders what spirits she pissed off to deserve this fate.

I have the privilege of being friends with some of these authors (they know who they are) and am in near daily awe and gratitude for the works of free fiction they provide us, the fandom. And not just any old stories: Guys... Really good ones!! Can I ask that if you go check out these fics, can you just drop a kudos or a comment their way? If you’re feeling shy just copy and paste this into the comments box anonymously: “WOW! Loved this! Thank you so much for writing it!”

I know it would mean the world to this talented bunch <3