#sorry if none of these tags made sense. i might be crazy

[captaincanonly]

my brother in christ

[yeonbinwyd]

been away

pairing: sub fem!reader x softdom!yeonjun

synopsis: you and yeonjun had been fwb for while. It’s one of those nights he needed a fix although you’re trying to cut him off but you might be addicted too

genre (w/tags): smut, minors dni, aggressive sex

word count: 2,218 words

“hey” is the text that you received. It was 1:50 am and your bright phone screen woke you up. You look and it was none other than him. The same him that always texts you at this time of night. Half awake, you glance over at your phone. “u up?” A second one comes in. You roll your eyes and turn away from your phone. You didn’t want to keep indulging in these activities with jun but it was a habit you couldn’t break. Maybe not paying attention to them would answer your problems. A few minutes had passed and you felt a bit of relief. Your phone started to ring and panic started to rush over you. Do you pick it up? Deep down inside, you wanted to see him again. To feel his touch again. To feel his embrace again. Even for just a short encounter. He made it clear that he can’t commit to you. At first, it was fine. It was just. Nothing more nothing less. It’s been going on for months though. How much longer can you tolerate being one of his girls. It felt degrading but you would much rather just drop him than even express how you’ve been feeling towards him. In a bit of a spiral, you realize the phone stops ringing. You take a look at the screen just to see his unnamed contact show up. You know that number but you refused to add a name to it. It would mean something to you. While glancing at the missed call, you gain your senses and find yourself fully awake. Without a second to think, the phone rings again. He knows he can get you. He knows you’ll pick up and you do.

“Hello?” You manage to answer.

“Hey baby girl. You awake?” He asks. You take a long pause before responding.

“You should stop calling this late” you say with a bit of hesitation.

“Why? You sick of me now? You know I can’t get enough of you and you can’t stay away.” He says with much confidence. It drives you nuts but he’s right. You couldn’t get enough of him and it made you crazy. You pause again, trying to find the right words to say.

“Should I come over?” He questions. He knows you’ll say yes and is already ready to leave. He just needs you to say the word and he’ll be there.

“Come on. I miss you. It’s been a while and I’ve been away” he tries to convince you.

“Ok. You can come by” you finally respond to him.

“I’ll be there soon” he disconnects and doesn’t waste any time. Your gut filed with utter confusion. Deep down inside, you were excited and couldn’t wait to see him but also you thought,

Nothing would change

Not even fifteen minutes had passed and you heard a knock on your door.

You opened the door to see Yeonjun standing there, towering over you and taking in your body. You wearing a thin, simple tank and tight shorts. What you always sleep in but he always found a way to sexualize everything you do. Whether it would be you bending over to pick something up or even brushing your teeth, he would be staring. It almost felt uncomfortable how entranced he was with you. Not wasting any time he pushed you up against the wall leaning down to look you in the eye.

“Hey baby. You missed me?” He looked you dead in the eye with the biggest smirk. You can tell he came from being out. There was eyeliner on his eyes still and he smelled of alcohol.

“Why is your first thought to hit me up when you finish drinking?” You glared back.

“Aww you’re mad at me huh? I missed you though.” He tilted his head to one side, his arm still keeping you trapped under him. You remained unshaken while frowning your brows. He softens his gaze and takes a step back

“Ok I’m sorry. I won’t call you this late anymore.” He says while holding his hands up while backing away and admitting guilt. You rolled your eyes

and cross your arms as you turn from him. You lead him into the living room. He trails behind you, watching your every step, mesmerized by the sheer movement of your body. As the two of you take a seat, he sits down and grabs your thigh. One of his favorite parts of you.

“So where did you come from?” you ask.

“Hmm?” Yeonjun asked, reacting slowly to the question.

“Where’d you come from?” You ask again. He scoots a bit closer to you and grips your thigh tight.

“Oh just drinking with some friends. I had a show too” he responds with confidence. He moves his hand to trap it in between your closed legs. He could feel your warmth building up. He’s testing the waters and doesn’t want to make you more mad than you already are. He noticed that you weren’t reacting to his touch which gave him the go ahead.

“Did you miss me since I’ve been away?” He asked. You didn’t respond but instead looked the other way.

“I get it. You’ve got your own thing and have your own life. You don’t have time to miss me.” He starts. His hand wanders under your shirt. His cold hand make you jump a bit as he feels up you stomach. After that you relax a bit and he continues moving upward. He makes eye contact with you. “But you miss this…” he continues. His hand now cupping your breast. Yeonjun gives it a gentle squeeze. You wince while biting your lip. Satisfied, he continues by pinching your nipple, giving it a flick. He waits for your reaction but you refuse to be responsive. He decides to pinch a bit hard to get something out of you. A small moan escapes your mouth. He smirks then shakes his head. Now pulling away, he chuckles a bit at your despair.

“I knew you missed me.”

He pulls you on his lap. His hard on pressed against you. You’re now facing him and his precious lips. It’s obvious he has a lip stain from the makeup early in the day but it still drew you in. Both hands trail along your spine and draws circles on your back. “You can’t escape me now” he grips your waist and leans in close. So close for a kiss but he just takes you in. He sees the want in your eyes but you’re hiding it well. He presses light kisses along your necks and collarbone. He won’t kiss you first. He wants you to beg for it or make the first move. He locks eyes with you. What will your move be ?

Eyes locked. His hands moving from your back now to your thighs. He sits back taking you in again.

What is she thinking? He thought.

You caved and placed both hands on his chest, leaning forward. You kiss him on the mouth which leaves him a bit shocked. He gets it together kissing you back. Small kisses turn into a tongue war as he slides his tongue into your mouth. He shifts his focus to your neck while leaving a trail of kisses along your collarbone. He finds a spot where his lips can stay muzzled into your skin. He takes the chance and leaves small bites and tugs a bit at the exposed skin. You cry out with a moan so loud he didn’t expect it. It fuels him, tightening his grip around your waist, shifting his kisses from your shoulder to your breasts. Yeonjun can’t contain himself and buries his face in your chest. You start to moan and he raises his hand up to cup your mouth. He looks up at you. Excited and ready for more.

“We’re just getting started.” He lifts you and switches to be on top of you. As you’re lying down flat, he pins your arms above your head. He has an even better view of you. Every curve. He doesn’t even know where to begin. Without wasting any time, he slides his hand down your shorts to feel your wet pussy, just grazing it. You gasp a bit at his cold hand. He smiles even bigger grin than before. He’s proud of how wet he’s already made you. His finger flicks your clit a bit causing you to fidget a bit. His other hand still pinning both of yours down hard so there’s no fighting back. You kick your legs a bit but it causes him to flick more aggressively.

“Nuh uh ah. No fighting back.” He slips his finger in between your folds to feel your wetness. His eyes widen a bit and he takes his hand out. He licks his fingers in amazement.

“You did miss me. Mmmm you taste so good.” He quickly puts his hand back in your shorts. This time with wet fingers. Without hesitation, he sticks his fingers inside. You thrust your head back in pleasure,biting your lower lip. He can’t help but chuckle leaning in close to your face. You release your lips to adjust to him getting close to your face, making eye contact now. He applies more pressure to his hand inside your hole. At this point he’s teasing you like he’s just keeping his hand warm. He starts palming your clit. You moan under your breath then sigh.

“Come on beg. I wanna hear you ask for it” he demands. You shake your head and refuse.

“Ok that’s fine” he takes his hand out and removes his other hand from holding your wrists back. Yeonjun smirks while leaning back. The abrupt halt is brought to your attention. You sit up on your forearms to meet eye to eye with him. He raises an eyebrow in curiosity. The eye contact is so intense, it’s silent between you two. You knew he wouldn’t continue if you didn’t corporate.

“Ok please.” You beg.

“Like you mean it .” He retorts. You sigh.

“Please keep going. I miss you.” You enthuse.

“That’s a good girl. I miss you too” Yeonjun coos. He pushes your legs up, spreading them at the same time giving himself the best view. It pushes you back flat on your back. He licks his lips before diving in. Yeonjun licks your clit. He doesn’t waste any time. He flicks his tongue rapidly to really stimulate you. He begins leaning in to push your legs forward so you can’t fight back.

The pressure started building making your legs shake.

“Oh god” you cry out. He begins to suck on it forcefully. Yeonjun would take glances at you. Seeing you whimpering and almost in tears was driving him insane. He would get harder by the second. He slipped his tongue inside your cunt, taking in all the wetness coming from you. Trembling, you grip the pillow you had nearby, muffling your screams. Yeonjun, himself, couldn’t stand the teasing any longer. He lets your legs go and stands to his feet. In a swift motion he unbuckles his jeans and boxers in one go. His raging hard on, standing tall before you. You sit up once more but he meets you with a kiss. He grips the back of your head, pushing his tongue, forcing you to get a taste of yourself.

“Don’t you taste good?” He whispers into the kiss. He takes shirt off next then positions himself at your entrance. Every time you see him, you’re surprised at how big he is. Without any warning he plunges inside of you. You’re taken back a bit. Yeonjun moans lowly, gripping your hips. Your nails digging into his shoulders as he thrusts. Very fluid movement as he keeps at a steady pace, he’s been craving you for a while. He can’t stop, he won’t stop. Yeonjun presses his forehead to yours, shutting his eyes tight. You’re overwhelmed with how aggressive he’s being. Tears began building up in your eyes. He sees your tears and kisses them away but isn’t letting up.

“It’s ok baby. I’ll take care of you” he comforts mid kisses. Sitting back up, he grips your ankles. He’s much deeper now and can feel himself getting close but he shifts his focus so he can last longer. He looks to the ceiling but you grab one of his hands to start sucking on his finger. The sight along was putting him over the top. You could feel it too, clenching around him tight.

“Yes please.” You beg. He wraps that same hand around your neck and chokes you lightly. More tears leave your eyes as you cum. He feels you climax, unable to contain himself. He yells out y/n, spilling himself inside you. He collapses beside you while the two of you breathing heavy, in a trance. You manage to come down from your high first to sit up.

“Round two?” You ask.

[pinkdaisies9285]

Flyboy and the Florist-2

Bob Floyd x F!Reader

Warnings: None, Fluff, lil bit of Angst with Bob's sad boi hours

Word Count: 539

Author's Note: Here's the next part and I hope you guys like it! For fun there's a small Taylor Swift song reference in this. Leave in the comments what's your guess!

“Since when did you move into a greenhouse?” Bradley questioned while trying to avoid the multiple bouquets and plants surrounding Bob’s apartment. Every open counter space was filled with almost every flower under the sun. 

“Or the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Bob, what’s going on?” Natasha replied while glancing over at him. Bob didn’t know how to explain that he had been going to the florist shop every day for almost two weeks. Every time he walked in he told himself he would ask for the owner’s number and then a date but instead he walked out with a new leafy friend. He just couldn’t build up the courage to tell her he was there for her and not for a bouquet for his coworker’s sister’s baby shower (that was a lie.) It all boiled down to the simple fact that Bob tried to work up the guts to ask her but once he set his sights on her it was like his brain turned to mush. He was a goddamn WSO for the Navy and one woman made all that precision and expertise go down the drain.

“Well, there’s this woman I-”

“Woman?! Damn Bob I didn’t even know you were talking to other women besides Nat he–Ow!” Bradley immediately interrupted before Bob could finish his sentence. 

“Let Bob finish idiot,” the interruption led to Natasha hitting Bradley on the head. “Sorry, Bob continue what you were saying.”

“The woman is the owner of the florist shop I went to for Maverick. And for the past two weeks, I've tried to get her number but every time I just clam up.” Bob looked down at his shoes feeling defeated about his woes. He felt like at this point should he even try again. Natasha sensing this went over to Bob and gave him a pat on his shoulder.

“How about we help you, Bob? Do you need some practice? Or maybe tips?”

“How about an entirely new personal–Ow!”Natasha glared at Bradley which shut him up rather quickly after smacking his head again.

“No thanks, guys. I think I might give up on her.”

“Give up? Bob why would you give up!? You’re a WSO in the Navy for God's sake! Bradley and I both know that you can do anything you put your mind to.” Natasha said while resting her hand on Bob’s shoulder.

“Nat, I’ve literally tried to ask her for two weeks. I think I'll look crazy if I continue to go buy flowers I don't need.” 

“How about we come with you next time? Isn’t the shop also an apothecary? I’ve been wanting to check it for a while.”

“You really would do that for me?” Bob looked at both of them with surprise. He didn’t think that his coworkers would help him like this. Well, Bradley might make fun of him for a little bit longer but Bob knew that he cared. 

“Of course lover boy! Let’s get you that phone number and maybe more.” Bradley replied with a humorous smile on his face.

“Thank guys.” Bob smiles with a twinkle in his eyes like looked like stars. Maybe this would work. Maybe he could finally have something good happen in his life. 

Tag List: @attapullman @seresinhangmanjake @3tabbiesandalab @nerdgirljen @bobgasm @muddwheelz123 @tgmavericklover @jessicab1991

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Divider Credit @cafekitsune

[blessyatoz]

longfic (+48k words and on posting) tags: pro-hero izuku midoriya, manager au, falling in love, humor read all on AO3 excerpt from chapter four: how to follow a Pro-Hero on patrol

The room was shrouded in darkness.

It was cold—the windows in Izuku's room were wide open, and no blanket covered him. He always left them that way: in case something happened, in case someone called for help, in case anyone needed him, he would hear it.

Hikage-san's Danger Sense would alert him to any significant danger approaching, yes, he knew that. But it was a habit, a routine he had developed. One that gave him a certain sense of security, somehow. So he kept doing it, always leaving them open, always feeling the cold.

It was more than the middle of the night, once again. He never got home before this hour in recent years. His alarm was set to go off in four hours and forty minutes.

He should be sleeping.

But here he was, eyes glued to the ceiling, replaying a memory from earlier today.

Yo, Uzuki-kun! I’m Marin, nice to meet ya!

A memory of Marin’s words to a little boy, at sunset, in the middle of a children’s playground. A sandbox.

He remembered how he had arrived there. It hadn’t taken long to resolve the emergency he’d been called to—he made sure everyone was safe, talked to the police, and returned to the park sidewalk where he’d left his assistant. He just hadn’t expected her not to be there anymore exactly where he’d left her.

But a quick glance at the horizon was enough to spot her, the tips of her pink hair giving her away from a distance—she was in a sandbox, apparently talking to some kids. He smiled. Kitagawa-san was naturally social (and a bit crazy fun, for sure, he thought with a chuckle) so she was probably playing with them.

Izuku then began to walk in her direction, but he stopped. He stopped behind some bushes when a group of boys came running out, looking terrified—they even bumped into him on the way.

None of them apologized or acknowledged his presence; they seemed too scared to notice, driven by a need to escape evident in each of their faces. All he heard as they talked among themselves was:

"That shitty quirkless Uzuki, he’s gonna get it when he’s alone!"

"Yeah! We’ll get him good!"

That got Izuku out of guard.

And before he could say anything (something that might change their minds, something that might make them less scared), the kids had already disappeared from his sight.

Then Izuku looked ahead, through the tall bushes. And he heard:

"Yo, Uzuki-kun! I’m Marin, nice to meet ya!" He saw Marin smile brightly, gently patting a boy’s hair. The little guy was crying. "So, what happened here, huh? Were those your friends?"

“Th-they are.” Midoriya heard the boy stammer and lower his gaze, sniffling again. The scene seemed strangely familiar to him. "T-they were making fun of me."

"Why’s that, huh? You seem like such a cool kid to me!"

The boy swallowed hard, looking away. As if he felt ashamed. As if he felt guilty.

He took a while to respond.

"B-b-because..." He seemed afraid to say. "I-I’m q-q-quirkless… Just because I wanted to be the hero in our play… S-Sorry, One-san. Sorry! I-I-I don’t wanna bother y-you!”

Strangely familiar to him.

“Nah, don’t worry, little guy! You don’t have to apologize to me! You not bothering me, okay?! You looked like you were asking for help! I’ve come anyway.”

Izuku felt a gentle breeze brush against his face—Kitagawa-san's words somehow touching him.

Like he was asking for help, huh? 

“S-sorry! Sorry, one-san!”

"Don’t say sorry, little guy. These guys are a bunch of jerks." Kitagawa-san, don’t swear in front of kids! Izuku thought automatically. But that wasn’t where his mind was really focused. It was on something else. On her all other words. On how she seemed to care. On how all of this was bringing back memories.

“Huh?”

“A bunch of jerks, that’s what I said. Those friends of yours are j.e.r.k.s,” Kitagawa-san continued, with an expression Izuku recognized as nothing less than comedic indignation. “How can they know you won’t be an incredible hero, huh? Impossible! You’ve got a whole future ahead of you, Uzuki-kun! What nonsense…!”

‘B-but they’re not wrong, Marin-onesan. I-I-I… I-I don’t have—”

“Don't have a quirk?” The boy nodded, a tear running down his nose. He looked like he was about to cry again. But Kitagawa-san was quicker, smiling that big smile of hers, the kind that Izuku couldn’t even count how many crinkles it created around her eyes. “And since when does that mean you can’t be a hero?”

The words seemed to jump out of Kitagawa’s mouth, like her body, her mouth moved before she even had the chance to think straight. As if she didn’t need it. As if she was sure of it.

All Might's first words to him pop into Izuku’s mind. Why?

I cannot simply say, ‘You can become a hero even without power.’

Was what he first said to him. Before all.

“B-but—”

“But nothing! Listen to your one-san! Isn’t this your dream?”

Izuku saw the boy nod, the tearful expression starting to fade from his little face. Kitagawa-san then carefully picked up the fabric from the ground and gently tied it around the boy’s neck. 

It was a cape. A green one.

“Then no one can say anything about it, gotcha?! No one can tell you what you can or can’t do! ONLY YOU! Don’t let those idiots’ opinions mess with your goal, okay, Uzuki-kun?!” Kitagawa-san was like a wall of confidence, unshakeable, with an unbreakable belief. The boy’s eyes sparkled with admiration, practically twinkling with stars. More than admiration—Izuku knew it: it was hope. “You’re not only can, you are going to be one hell of an amazing hero! I know that!” And Izuku knew, Izuku knew exactly what felt like to hear something that. The words he always wanted to hear. He had dreamed of it for too long as a child not to know. To have someone say that to you. To have someone encourage you like that, even when no one else believed in you. Just like All Might had done for him once, when made him his sucessor. “And then you’re gonna rub it in those idiots’ faces just how wrong they were!”

Izuku watched Marin make those ridiculous punching sound effects in the air, making the boy laugh.

“Yeah!” He cheered, throwing punches in the air.

“You’re gonna be the greatest hero in the world!”

“Yes!”

“And you’re gonna kick a ton of villain asses!”

“YEAH!” And then Izuku heard Marin’s laugh, loud, expansive, and contagious, the kind you could hear even from miles away.

“I believe in you!” Izuku heard Kitagawa-san say, and the All Might’s voice saying ‘You can become a hero.’ was the thing that came to his mind. “And I’m counting on you, okay? I’m, like, super clumsy and always getting into trouble. So in a few years, you better be ready to be my hero, okay, Uzuki-kun?”

Izuku listened.

What was that trying to leak from his eyes?

“I'll be, Marin one-san!” The sad expression had long since left the boy’s face. All that remained now was a smile—and a look of courage and determination.

Izuku watched them laugh quietly for a few moments, as if soaking in the comforting feeling of the silly, stupid promise they’d made. But Izuku knew that it wasn’t a silly promise. Not either stupid.

To that boy, it wasn’t.

Kitagawa-san had done something there. Something big, real. Like a real hero. Something that many heroes would never believe in or have the guts to do. That almost no one ever said it to him back in the past, just All Might. And that was more than—

He realized: what was that trying to leak from his eyes? Those were small tears. Tears. 

Why did he was about to cry? He didn’t know… He didn’t know how they had gotten there—they just… were.

At that moment, he heard Marin’s voice say in a strange and funny tone:

“Do you want ice cream?” He saw her offer a completely melted ice cream to the boy. 

One of the scoops fell comically to the ground.

“No.” The boy was emphatic—as Marin looked at him with a face that ranged between offense and indignation. Izuku found himself laughing softly, a bit silly, a bit shaky.

He was still an emotional mess, wasn’t he? Crap.

The boy waved towards something further away, and Izuku noticed it was his parents. The boy then began to walk away from Kitagawa-san, a smile of pure determination and confidence lighting up his entire face. He never took his eyes off her when he said:

“Thank you, Marin-onesan! You can be sure I’ll be an amazing hero and I’ll save you! Please wait for me! I’ll show you! I’ll show everyone!”

That was the memory of today. And Izuku remembered, Izuku remembered the whole scene perfectly. As if it had happened to him. Just like he remembered when All Might believed in him.

And Kitagawa-san says that he, Izuku, is the incredible one.

Kitagawa-san had been an even more incredible hero that day. Even though she didn’t know.

Suddenly, he noticed: he wasn’t as cold anymore.

The window remained open, always open—the curtains swayed and swayed slowly, the night breeze filling his room at home.

That night, Izuku didn’t have much time left to sleep.

That night, his alarm would go off in less than three hours now.

He was tired, exhausted.

But still, he drifted into sleep with a smile, a quiet warmth settling deep within him.

AUTHOR NOTES:

HELLO TUMBLR that's a tiny little except from my fic Izuku Midoriya/Original Female Character. We already have six chapters posted. Feel free to check out the all chapters and tags on AO3! Hope you enjoyyyy! Comments and kudos are appreciated, I just love to know what u guys are thinking about the shipp dynamic <3

[pensat-i-fet]

Wrong player, right time: Part 2 (Pablo Gavi, Pedri x Reader)

Part 1

Word count: 3003

Masterlist

Wattpad

Tag: @cinderellawithashoe

“Thank you”, you paid the taxi driver and walked to Gavi’s front door.

“Hi? What are you doing here?”

“Can I come in?”, you asked, and when he saw the tears in your eyes, he moved to let you go inside his house.

“Did something happen?”

Before you could say more, you started to cry and Gavi hugged you, trying to calm you down. He took you to the sofa so you could sit and brought you a cup of hot chocolate when you finally stopped sobbing.

“I get why he’s mad but it’s not my fault. Or yours. What am I supposed to do?”

“I do feel like it’s my fault”, said Gavi, surprising you.

“Why would you think that?”

“After that video came out, I started to feel guilty. Because you were getting abuse on social media and had to make your account private. And I can imagine how many other problems this might have caused”.

“It’d be the same if people knew who I’m really dating. None of it is your fault, Pablo. Don’t be silly”.

“Well, knowing you don’t blame me for any of it makes it a little better”, he smiled and you smiled at him too.

It was crazy how a rumour like that one could be hurting so many people at the same time.

“What should I do?”

“Let him be angry tonight. He’ll realise how wrong he was and apologize. He’s…he’s obsessed with you”, he laughed. “I’m really happy you two met after we realised this you and I thing wasn’t really going to work. He’s so happy when he’s with you”.

“Ok. I just hope he stops being like this soon. I don’t like feeling like this”.

“It’ll be fine. I promise. But let’s go to bed now because I’m really tired after the match and you have to rest your big brain before going to class tomorrow”.

Gavi took you to the guest room and even though it took you way longer than usual to fall asleep, you managed to get some rest after such an eventful day.

[Gavi]: hey idiot, she’s here. Just thought you’d like to know.

[Pedri]: I did. Thanks. How angry is she? I messed up.

[Gavi]: she isn’t angry. She’s sad. You better get a really good apology ready.

[Gavi]: and stop being an idiot. Imagine you lose her because of this.

Pedri looked at his friend’s text and felt his chest tightening. He couldn’t lose you. He needed to control his jealousy because you were right, it wasn’t your fault people made up those rumours.

The next morning, he woke up earlier than usual to drive to Gavi’s and talk to you.

“She’s in the kitchen. I’ll give you some time but don’t take too long. I have to eat too”.

“Don’t worry. And thank you, for looking after her last night”.

“That’s what friends are for”, said Gavi, leaving to go to his room.

Pedri walked to the kitchen and saw you eating your cereal while reading from a textbook. Hearing footsteps, you looked up and stared at him.

“I’m here to apologize. And to explain”.

“Ok, feel free to start”.

He wanted to chuckle but didn’t do it, fearing you could think he was laughing at you.

“I’m sorry. Really sorry. Reading comments from people is bad enough but hearing them while I’m right there…it was too much”.

“I get that but all the other things you said were more hurtful than you being annoyed at that. I felt like you didn’t believe my feelings for you or something”.

“I do! Of course I do!”, he quickly said. “But…I have to confess something”.

“What?”

“I’m jealous. Jealous that Pablo was the one you talked to first. That you clearly liked him and flirted with him”, you wanted to speak but he stopped you. “I know. I know nothing happened and your dates were a disaster and all that. And that you liked me first but…you met him first. You were willing to give him a chance and that’s something that is on the back of my mind. Also that he wanted to date you. It’s tough to know that, you know?”

You had never really thought about that but it made sense. Even if you weren’t dating his friend, you thought about that as a possibility once. And so did Gavi. That had to be weird for Pedri, even if you’ve proven to him he’s the one you really want to be with.

“Sorry I never thought about that and how it could make you feel”.

“It’s ok”, he said, really meaning it. “I know Pablo doesn’t think about it either but I remember those weeks when he talked about you. And he’s the biggest supporter of our relationship now, I know that. But still…”.

You took his hand, happy to be able to touch him again. “We should have spoken about this before. But now it’s out and I can tell you, again, I only want you. And I understand it’s hard for you to see people thinking I’m dating your friend so I’ve been thinking”.

“About?”

“We should make our relationship public”.

“Are you really ready for that?”, the fact that he worried so much warmed your heart.

“Yes. I want everyone to know who the boy I really love is. And it’s you”.

You have never mentioned the l-word before and Pedri was a bit shocked to hear you say it now. He felt the same but was trying to find the right time to confess those feelings.

“Do you really mean that?”, he asked.

“Are you done? I’m hungry!”

You both turned to glare at Gavi, who was walking towards the kitchen.

“She just told me she loves me, Pablo. Can you please leave so I tell her I love her too and kiss her? I’ll buy you a bacon McMuffin on the way to training if you do”.

“Ok”, he said, leaving. And before you could continue talking, you heard him screaming. “I love you guys too!”

You looked down, laughing. And Pedri held your chin to make you look at him.

“I love you too. And if you want us to go public, I’ll be happy to show you off. But don’t just do it because of me”.

“I’ll do it because of me too. And because of Pablo. It’s also not fair for him to be part of this stupid rumour”.

“Ok then, we can talk about the best way to do it. There’s no hurry, really”.

You finished eating your breakfast sitting on your boyfriend’s lap, enjoying his kisses and sweet words. All until you were interrupted again by Gavi. But this time it was ok because you had to go to class and they had to go to training. There will be time for cuddles later.

                               **

The plan was very simple, really. You made your account public again, which made you gain thousands of followers during the match. And then, when the match was over, you posted a photo. Your back was to the camera, so everyone could see your shirt. And so they could see you weren’t wearing Gavi’s shirt, but Pedri’s.

Because you were feeling extra cheeky, you captioned it “Sorry guys, you got the wrong player this whole time. It’s Barça’s number 8 who I always liked”.

Even though you expected nerves after posting the photo, fearing the reaction from people, you actually felt pretty relaxed. It was nice to set the record straight. And you knew how much this meant to Pedri and how happy he was going to be. You only wanted to make him happy, in the same way he only wanted to make you happy.

“Hello official girlfriend”, he said when he reached his car, where you were waiting for him.

“Oh, so it wasn’t official until now? What were we doing before then?”

It felt so good to be able to finally kiss him in public, not caring about who could see you. So good that you got a little carried away. And Gavi was going home with Ferrán so there was no one there to interrupt you.

“I want to post a photo with you”, said Pedri, his forehead pressed against yours.

“Ok, you can do that whenever you want. You don’t need to ask me”.

“We can choose our favourite later and I’ll post it, ok?”

“Deal”.

                             **

“I’m going to get some water, do you want something?”

“No, I’m good. Don’t take too long”.

The good thing about people knowing about you and Pedri was that he could now hang out in your dorm too. The bad one…

“Here comes the footballer slut. Any bets on who she’ll sleep with next?”

You just looked down and kept walking, not realising Pedri had opened the door to tell you to get some water for him too, so he heard the comments made about you. Those you had to listen to every day. Those you never told him about.

“What did you call her?”

The girls were surprised to see him there, confronting them.

“Nothing”, said one of them.

“No, I heard you. Are you harassing my girlfriend?”

“It’s just banter”, said the one who had actually made the comment this time, trying to laugh. “You know, we call each other those things all the time”.

“It’s only banter if everyone finds it funny. She doesn’t. Do not speak about her like that ever again”.

Most of them left but one of the girls was feeling feisty and didn’t welcome Pedri’s tone.

“What are you going to do if we don’t stop?”

“Get you kicked out of here would be a good start”.

“You can’t do that, rich boy”.

“I’m pretty sure harassing other girls in the dorms is not allowed so let’s not find out what happens if I do”.

“What’s going on?”, you didn’t expect to see Pedri talking to all the other girls when you came back. And by the way they looked at each other, it wasn’t a friendly chat.

“Oh, nothing. Your boyfriend was threatening us because we’re being mean to you”.

“What?”

“How long has this been going for?”, you knew that question was directed at you.

“It doesn’t matter”.

You tried to walk to your room and take him with you, but he didn’t want to move.

“It matters. You live here. You deserve to not be surrounded by a group of mean girls calling you names”.

“I don’t listen to them. It’s fine. Let’s move on…”.

“Like she’ll move on from you to another one of your friends”.

“Shut up!”

The girls were surprised by your scream but no one was as surprised as you. You had been trying to avoid them because you didn’t want any fights but God, were they testing your patience.

You took that chance to go back to your room and Pedri followed you.

“You should have told me”.

“So you could do what? Threaten them? What would that fix?”

“You shouldn’t have to put up with this…it’s bad enough to get those comments on social media, but you shouldn’t have to deal with this where you live. It’s not fair”.

“Yeah, well. I’ve been here for 5 months and it’s been like this since the beginning so I’m used to it”.

Pedri kept looking at you, trying to find a solution.

“Move in with me”.

“What? No. I’m not ready to move in with you”.

“Then let me rent a place just for you”.

“No!”

“You can’t stay here…”, he wasn’t going to allow you to stay there, being bullied every day.

“There is nowhere else I can go”.

“I’ll think of something but you’re coming with me today”.

“Pedri…”.

“Please, stay with me. The boys are coming around to watch a match later, it’ll be fun”.

“Ok. But I’m staying here”.

Not if he could find another place for you to stay. And he wasn’t going to stop until he found one.

                             **

Going to Pedri’s house after what happened at your dorm was actually the best idea. Some other players brought their girlfriends too and you had a great time. Your boyfriend tried to bring up what happened but you ignored it. There was no point in going over it again.

“Everyone leaving in a second”, he said, hugging you from behind. “And then it’s just us here”.

You giggled, hoping they could leave a little faster and then saw Gavi approaching you.

“I have a solution for your problem”.

“What problem?”, you asked.

“The dorm issue”.

“Pedri! Why did you tell him?”

“Let’s listen to his solution”, he answered, avoiding your glare.

“My sister is going away for a month. She’s happy with you staying at her apartment. And it gives you a whole month to find another place to stay”.

“That’s great!”, said Pedri.

“I don’t know…”.

“Come on, it’s a good plan. You aren’t happy there and I’m not happy knowing you’re being bullied because of me”.

“And me”, said Gavi. “So you have to move. We’re both really worried”.

You sighed. It was a good idea. “Ok…”.

Three days later, you were back at your dorm to pack all of your stuff. You could see all the girls staring at you when they walked past, but no one made any comments. And you expected some because it was just you there.

The boys had training and Pedri also needed to do some interviews for his sponsors. So you had to do the whole move by yourself and Gavi was going to meet you at the apartment to give you the keys and show you around a bit.

"Are you leaving for good?", you turned to look at who spoke. It was a girl you had seen a few times and that always said hello to you. She was one of the few that didn't say anything nasty to you.

"Yes".

"I'm sorry you have to because of how you've been treated but look at it this way, it's you who has the boyfriend they all want to have".

You laughed at her comment. "I guess, yeah. I'll see you around".

Putting the last box on the passenger's seat, you drove to your home for the next couple of weeks. And when you arrived there, you saw Gavi waiting for you. He waved when he spotted you and you got out of the car to give him a hug.

"I hope you thanked your sister again. I really appreciate her letting me stay here".

"I did. Don't worry. Just don't use her shampoo. She gets very aggressive when someone does".

"Did you do it?", you chuckled.

"It was the only one available and I apparently used too much when I don't have much hair. She was really mean".

"I wish I had a sibling. Sounds like it's a lot of fun".

                          **

"Don't freak out, please".

Pedri looked at Gavi, starting to freak out. "Don't tell me to not freak out like that or I will. What happened?"

"So, remember the other day when I was helping your girlfriend move into my sister's apartment?"

"Sure".

"Someone took photos of us".

"And?"

"We were hugging and then leaving after the hour that took us to get everything sorted. So they are posting it as…you know".

"You using your sister's place to cheat on me?"

Gavi groaned. "It's exhausting".

"Yeah".

"You ok, bro?"

But Pedri only nodded, leaving to start training.

You were on your way to class when you noticed people looking at you and whispering. It was nothing new but it always bothered you.

"How could you do this to Pedri?", said a girl, almost screaming in your face while her friend told her to chill.

"Do what?"

"Cheat on him with his best friend".

"Oh God", you rolled your eyes. "Not this again. Gavi and I are just friends".

"How do you explain this?"

She shoved her phone in your direction and you caught it to look at whatever she meant.

It was an article with photos of you and Gavi hugging outside of his sister's place and leaving. The article pointed out a few times how you spent a whole hour there.

"I'm staying there because I had to leave my dorm. That's why we stayed there for an hour. He was helping me with the boxes. I guess whoever took these photos forgot to mention that. It didn't fit their plan".

"So you are not cheating on him?"

"No! I love him. I'd never do that".

For the rest of the classes, you worried about how Pedri would take this. Given his reaction last time…

The plan was to meet for dinner and stay with him. You had a lot of uni work to do but could do it at his place. He didn't mind.

"Please don't be angry. Please please please", you whispered after ringing the doorbell.

"Hello amor".

Pedri hugged you and told you to go do your homework while he got dinner ready. Maybe he didn't see the article yet…

It had to be that. He made no comment about it and acted like any other day, showering you with love.

"Did you…did you see anything in the news today?", you asked while having dinner. You needed to know.

"You mean the news about you cheating on me with my best friend? Yeah, Pablo showed it to me".

How can he say it so nonchalantly?

"Are you ok? Like, after seeing it?"

"Yes".

His smile was genuine and that only confused you more.

"You aren't angry like last time?"

"Stop that", he said, chuckling. "I know I overreacted last time but I promised you it wasn't going to happen again. I know what was really happening when those photos were taken. I trust you and I trust my friend".

"Thank you for trusting me", you said, sitting on his lap and hugging him.

"Thank you for choosing me", he winked.

"Easiest decision I've ever made".

[kikikiwi27498]

Good morning darling! Here are some more yr fic asks! I'm curious about 20, 36, 37, 42 and 44 💜

Wish you a splendiferous Sunday!

Hello! Thank you so much for asking, and sorry this took so long! Work has been crazy and I might have gone a little overboard haha. I'm going to answer everything in one ask, so here are numbers 6-13 as well. Also these are basically all Wilmon fics because I love those boys so much.

From the 2023 Young Royals Fanfic Ask List: (I'll do more of these if people want, I love talking about fics)

6. Favorite one-shot fanfic: Pretty much everything by NerdGirl07, especially Promise Me (You're Safe) and Centre of the Storm.

7. Favorite chaptered fanfic: I have so may favorites. As Long As We Have Each Other by groenendael (@groenendaelfic) is my current favorite post-season 2 fic. Right now I'm reading Doesn't Everyone Belong in the Arms of the Sacred by painterssong (@alltoowille) and I'm loving it.

8. Fluff recommandation: This is such an angst-heavy fandom, sometimes it's hard to find pure fluff. I loved Playing House by LovelyLittleLosers (@lovelylittlelosers), Wille experiencing normal things, even just getting lost in Ikea, brings me so much joy.

9. Crack recommandation: Simon Eriksson: Just Some Guy From Biology and Patience Is A Virtue and I Have None, both by fandom_commitment_issues (@zee-has-commitment-issues).

10. Smut recommandation: Love Would be Burning Red by embracethevoid (@ungaroyals) and disruptedthesky (@omar-rudeberg) and You Can Send Me to the Lord by YoungRydbergs for smut with plot. They're both parts of series, so you might want to read the other parts first, especially for You Can Send Me to the Lord. If you want smut with less plot, I liked the Sense and Sensuous series by YulianaHenderson. (one of these days I need to make a spicy fic rec list)

11. Angst recommandation: This fandom writes so many incredible angst fics, it's hard for me to pick! I loved A Palm to My Mouth, I Said it, Almost by MyArtificialFlowers and It's All So Incredibly Loud by pysanky (@pysankywrites-updates). Please read the tags before reading these, they are both very angsty.

12. Kid fic recommandation: I love kid fics so much and girl dads Wilmon even more, though I have many thoughts about whether Wilmon would want their kids to grow up royal. Some of my favorites are Thoughts On a Stormy Night by LaChicaMarvel and Painted Memories by NerdGirl07, as well as When Dividing up the Universe, You Could Have Mine by the_old_stairs.

13. Christmas fic recommendation: And That's How Simon Got Banned from Christmas Decorating by ASkyofKai. If you want a slightly angsty one, Merry Crisis by pysanky (@pysankywrites-updates) - ngl I'm low-key obsessed with the Third Year Things series, it's perfect and everyone should go read it right now. (if anyone knows any other third year Wilmon fics please let me know, I'm dying to read more)

20. Your « not Wilmon » favorite ship/couple: Henry/Walter (do they have a ship name?? Wenry? Halter?) probably. It's an angsty post-breakup fic, but I loved Closure by stretchoutandwait (@stretchoutfics).

36. Your favorite trope: This is kind of basic, but I love friends to lovers. I'll also always read a sick fic where Character A has to take care of Character B (bonus points if Character B insists Character A leaves so they don't get sick, and/or they deny that they're sick), such as Baby, You're the Cure (So Let Me Close to You) by isnt_that_wizard (@skateboardtotheheart) - it's part of a series, but you can read it on its own.

37. The trope you didn't expect to like: Only Fools Remain Sane by Elin98 made me love fake dating.

42. Do you like to comment on the fic you read: I do! I'm just really bad at doing it consistently because I tend to write whole essays so it takes me a long time.

44. On what device do you read: Mostly my phone, but I use my laptop too.

[super-cosmic-library]

Part 3

part 2, part 1, ao3

It was 7:31, and Eddie was nowhere to be found. Steve peeked out the blinds once again to confirm that Eddie’s van hadn’t pulled up since the last time he checked less than a minute ago.

He hadn’t gotten any texts from Eddie about being late, and Eddie did have his number. Their text chain with his strangely chosen emojis and overuse of ellipsis proved it.

Was he being stood up? Did it still count as being stood up if it wasn’t technically a date?

He checked his phone again. 7:32. No new messages.

He was overthinking things. Eddie was probably stuck in traffic, and just being a safe driver by not updating Steve. He would show up.

7:33, Steve checked the blinds again. He was going to go crazy doing this. He could just tell. Already, the little Steves inside his head were running around, hurling themselves at the walls of his brain and contemplating setting fire to the filing cabinets that held all the information he knew about Eddie.

Steve flung himself over the back of the couch. Guess it didn’t matter if his hair got messed up. It looked like he wasn’t going to be going anywhere tonight. Might as well start boiling some water to make mac and cheese for one.

Just then, the doorbell rang.

Steve bolted to his feet. All thoughts of despair dissolved as he made his way to the door, running his fingers through his ruined hair. Just before he opened the door, he took a look in the mirror his mom had hung in the entryway. He could definitely tell that he had landed directly on his hair when he flopped on the couch, but he chalked that up to knowing what it had looked like before his wallowing. To anyone else, he looked fine. He didn’t want to look fine. He wanted to look stunning. But there was nothing he could do about it now.

He took a deep, grounding breath, and opened the door.

He deflated. Standing on the doorstep was none other than Chrissy Cunningham.

“Hey, Steve . . . oh, are you okay?”

His disappointment must have been evident on his face. He forced a bright smile. Chrissy was always the friendly ray of sunshine type of girl. She didn’t deserve to deal with any of his moodiness. “Yeah, I’m okay. I was just expecting Eddie.”

Chrissy’s brow furrowed. “He told me he texted you that I was coming. His engine won’t start, so I offered to drive all of us.”

Steve opened up the text chain between him and Eddie. He had no new messages since that afternoon.

Eddie: Can’t wait for tonight! *water gun emoji* *creepy, dead-eyed smiley face emoji*

Steve: Prepare to get your ass beat

“I didn’t get any texts.” Steve showed Chrissy his phone screen.

“That’s strange. Maybe he forgot to press send. He does that sometimes.”

“Yeah, maybe.” Steve hadn’t realized that Chrissy and Eddie were so close. Playing laser tag together was one thing. She could be friends with any of the guys in his band. But close enough to be familiar with his text patterns?

Jealousy began to gnaw at his insides. Were the two of them dating? Was his reading of Eddie wrong? Was he not gay? Did Eddie have a crush on Chrissy?

Steve scolded himself for being biphobic. Of course, Eddie could be interested in Chrissy and still like boys. He was interested in Eddie and still found girls attractive. Besides, Eddie had every right to be into Chrissy. It wasn’t like he and Steve were an item, no matter how many daydreams Steve had that they were.

“So, you ready to go pick up Eddie, or are you just going to keep staring off into space?”

“Right, sorry,” Steve shook the fog of jealous thoughts away. “Let’s go.”

Steve should have expected that Chrissy drove a mom car. Perfect for toting her cheerleader friends to and from games. It made sense. He didn’t know why he had assumed it would be some sort of vanity car. Probably had something to do with the resentment he still held for people like Tommy and Carol and Billy and the Carver brothers.

It was really nice inside. She had put some pastel pink and glittery stickers on the visors and the dashboard. A little disco ball hung from the rearview mirror. She even had one of those flower-shaped vent clips from Bath and Body Works that was emitting some sort of mouthwatering peachy fragrance.

One of the stickers caught his eye. Hope pulsed through him. “Chrissy, are you a lesbian?”

“Hmm?”

Steve pointed to the lesbian pride flag sticker stuck next to the glove box.

“Oh, yes. Sorry, I thought it was common knowledge.”

“Guess I missed the announcement.”

“Wasn’t so much of an announcement as it was a rumor my dick ex spread around school after I dumped him. I didn’t even know I was a lesbian at the time, but because of the rumor, I started to think about my identity more. Which led me to realize he was right.” Chrissy said it all so matter-of-fact like she wasn’t bothered by her ex unintentionally outing her anymore.

If it had happened to him, Steve would have definitely started beef with the person who outed him. Maybe even some sort of long cold war that would have lasted at least five years after graduation. Maybe longer. Probably longer. It shed light on how much better of a person Chrissy was. Still.

“What a dick,” he replied as she pulled out of his driveway.

She snorted. “Absolutely.”

The two continued to make conversation as they drove across town to Eddie’s. Steve asked her about school and cheerleading and her parents and her dating life. Turned out, they had quite a lot in common. Chrissy was just as passionate about cheerleading as he had been about basketball. Her parents, specifically her mom, had outrageously unrealistic expectations for her that were claimed to be born out of wanting the best for her. Steve had scoffed at that. For him, it was his dad, and he knew that it was more about the image of the parents than genuine care about their kid’s happiness.

The topic that interested him the most by far was her dating life. Like Steve, she had been dating around (as much as she could, what with them living in Bumfucknowhere, Indiana, and the supply of sapphics was abysmal), but hadn’t been able to find exactly what she was looking for.

“It’s starting to feel like I’m never going to find anyone,” she lamented. “Which, I know, is absolutely crazy. After all, I’m only seventeen, and I have so much more time to find the right person. But date after failed date, it’s starting to feel . . .”

“Hopeless?”

“Exactly!”

“I get it. I feel that way too, and my dating pool is twice the size of yours.”

“Bragger.”

He chuckled at that. It was the kind of quip Robin might say. A lightbulb went off in his head. “Do you know Robin Buckley?”

Chrissy pressed her lips, forehead scrunching up in thought. “The name sounds familiar, but I can’t say I do.”

“She’s kind of hard to miss. Short brownish blonde hair. About a million freckles. Plays trumpet in the band. Doesn’t know when to shut up.”

Steve watched as Chrissy’s eyes lit up. “Oh, I think I know who you’re talking about. She wears all those rings and doodles on her Converse.”

“That’s her!”

“She’s cute,” Chrissy said in a softer voice, almost like she was afraid to admit it out loud.

“The cutest,” he agreed. “And she’s a total nervous wreck around girls, so she’s helplessly single. You'd have to make the first move.”

“Are you trying to set me up?”

“Depends. Are you interested?”

“Maybe.”

They rolled to a stop in front of Eddie’s trailer, finding the man himself waiting for them on the porch steps. Eddie snubbed out his cigarette and leaped to his feet. Chrissy unlocked the car doors, so he could take his place in the back seat.

“I thought I had permanent shotgun privileges,” he whined as he shuffled to the middle of the bench.

“Not anymore. Steve’s setting me up with Trumpet Girl.”

“Steve knows Trumpet Girl?”

“Trumpet Girl?” Steve asked, ignoring Eddie’s question. “You have a nickname for Robin?”

Chrissy blushed and shrunk in on herself. “I may have been checking her out all year. I really only see her at pep rallies and games, so I never learned her name.”

“So, Steve gets permanent shotgun privileges now because he’s setting you up with someone? Didn't I set you up with Jeff’s cousin and my physics lab partner?”

“You did, but you also didn’t text Steve that I’d be picking him up tonight, which was very rude of you.”

“What? I did too text him!” Eddie unlocked his phone and tapped the screen a few times. “Yeah, see. Here it is.”

Steve took the phone from him. He had certainly sent the text to “Steve;” however, examining the previous texts and opening the contact for “Steve” instantly cleared things up. “You sent this to the wrong Steve.”

“What?” Eddie took the phone back from him and deflated. “Shit, I texted Steve the owner of the Hideout, not Steve ‘the hair.’ Fuck.”

Steve watched in amusement as Eddie sent out a quick apology text to the other Steve.

“You’ve really got to start paying more attention to who you’re texting,” Chrissy scolded. “I keep getting texts from you that are clearly meant for Gareth or Jeff. And we don’t even have similar names!”

“Sometimes I’m texting multiple people, and I get confused! Not my fault phones are difficult.”

“They’re really not.”

“They are too. Steve, back me up.”

Steve, who had been staring out the window, watching as they left Hawkins, glanced between Chrissy and Eddie. “Well, I understand the whole Steve/Steve thing, but the previous texts should have clued you in that it wasn’t me you were texting.”

Eddie squawked in protest.

“But,” Steve continued. “While the texting multiple people at the same time thing is also understandable, you should still be double-checking who you are texting before pressing send.”

“Chrissy, pull over. I’m going to walk.”

“Quit being a sore loser. You know we’re right.”

Eddie pulled at his seat belt like he was trying to take it off but had forgotten how. “Pull over!”

Chrissy rolled her eyes as she turned them into a parking lot. “Quit whining, we’re here.”

Eddie figured out how to unlock his seat belt, and was already storming out of the car.

Chrissy shook her head, shooting Steve an exasperated look. “Why do I even put up with him?”

“I don’t think I have an answer for you,” he grinned back.

Eddie and the Corroded Coffin guys were already waiting in the lobby by the time he and Chrissy entered the building. It was one of those arcade/bowling alley/laser tag places that also had a sports bar and a pizza parlor. It was . . . a lot to take in. Neon lights flashed over the fluorescent blue confetti-speckled carpet. Kids were running around screaming their heads off, and the people their age were no better. The whole place smelled like pizza dough and body odor.

It took Eddie placing a hand on Steve’s elbow to realize he was being talked to. Even then, it was hard to focus on his words, what with his skin tingling at the contact.

“Steve, this is Gareth, Jeff, and Grant. Guys, this is Steve.”

“We know.”

“Why is he here, again?”

“He is here to play laser tag with us. I know our stance on preps, but Steve is actually pretty cool. So no fighting.”

Steve knew he had been kind of a bitch in high school, but he didn’t realize he had been bad enough for these guys to stare at him like he was a dead, bloated rodent on the sidewalk. If he was honest, he couldn’t even remember any of them. So, maybe he did say something nasty to one of them, but he was nowhere near as bad as Billy and Tommy had been. At least, he hoped he hadn’t been.

“Hey, I’m sorry if I ever said anything to you guys in high school.” Better to apologize right off the bat. Get rid of any bad blood right off the bat. “I’m not going to excuse my past behavior, but I am trying to do better.”

“Damn it, Harrington,” Jeff exclaimed. “You’re going to make me feel bad for when I beat you at laser tag.’

“What?”

“I’m not,” Gareth chimed in. He glanced at Steve. “Just a heads up, we’re going to be taking our resentment for you and your jock buddies out on you tonight.”

“Hope you’re good at dodging,” Grant said.

“I’m confused,” Steve looked to Eddie and Chrissy for help.

“I may have told them they could be on a team together, so they can all go after you,” Eddie said.

“What?”

“The people you hung out around in high school were really awful to them. This was the only thing I could think of to keep them from leaving once I told them you were joining.” Eddie shrugged, giving him a what-can-you-do look. “Besides, you, me, and Chris can be on the same team.”

Steve was a bit disappointed. He had been hoping to go toe to toe against Eddie. To have all of Eddie’s wild energy directed at him and solely him . . .

However, if it made Eddie’s friends comfortable, he could suck it up.

They strapped themselves into their vests (Gareth, Jeff, and Grant on the green team, and Steve, Eddie, and Chrissy on the blue team), and just barely paid attention to the bored-looking employee as he explained the rules. The employee had Gareth, Jeff, and Grant go into the arena first, making Steve, Eddie, and Chrissy wait behind to give the others time to get to their base.

“Game plan: me and Steve will go after the guys’ base, while Chrissy protects ours.”

“What! We always make the new guy guard the base. Why do I have to?”

“Chris, you sprained your ankle.”

“That was weeks ago!”

“And you’re still limping,” Eddie pointed out. “You shouldn’t be running around. It’ll put more strain on it, while you’re still trying to heal.”

“I’m fine!” Chrissy protested.

“Chris,” Eddie put his hands on her shoulders, forcing her to look up at him. “If you injure yourself even more, you’ll have to sit out of cheerleading for the rest of the season. You don’t want that, do you?”

She huffed. “No.”

“Then stop trying to push yourself. We all already know you’re a badass at this. You have no one to prove yourself to. Right, Steve?”

Steve hadn’t seen Chrissy play yet, but he did recognize this type of self-destructive behavior. There had been many nights where Robin had been on one obsessive deep dive or another, where he had to practically drag her to bed because she claimed she didn’t need sleep to function. He remembered when Max had broken her leg skateboarding, and insisted that she didn’t need crutches. It had taken the whole party--as the kids deemed themselves--to convince her to use them. Even then, it had been Will's offer to paint flames and skulls on her crutches to get her to relent. So, Steve knew how to be persuasive when it came to others taking care of themselves.

“You’re like the scariest one out of all of us. We need you on the base to prevent the guys from even wanting to approach it.” He didn’t actually know if she had an intimidating bone in her body. However, he was friends with Nancy Wheeler, and she didn’t seem all that terrifying until you crossed her. Then, she was an absolute menace. He could envision this sweet girl in front of him being the same way.

Chrissy rolled her eyes. “Fine. But I’m only agreeing so I don’t miss any more cheer practice.”

“That’s the spirit,” Eddie said as the worker motioned for them to enter the arena.

Generic upbeat battle music poured out of the speakers, neon lights flashing to the beat. Steve gripped his gun as the three of them entered the arena. Chrissy disappeared to where their base was set up in the corner of the room, while Steve and Eddie hid behind foam pillars nearby.

Adrenaline coursed through his veins as he watched the countdown on his gun’s little screen. He itched to start running and shooting at anything that moved. He had to temper that instinct down, though. He needed strategy, otherwise, he would spend most of the game waiting for his vest and gun to recharge.

The countdown reached one and the music intensified, signaling the game had begun.

Steve was off. He ducked and wove between the large foam structures, shooting anyone in a green vest. Oftentimes, the other guys hadn’t realized he had been there until after they had been shot.

He was good. He knew he was good. However, he wasn’t the greatest. There were a few times when he had been so focused on pursuing Gareth, he didn’t even realize Jeff was aiming at him.

Eddie, though . . . Eddie was a god. Turned out, that competitive spirit of his wasn’t reserved only for Mario Kart. For most of the game, he didn’t even see the other man. He had to assume Eddie was attacking Grant and his team’s base. There had been plenty of opportunities for him to do so, while Steve was preoccupied with Gareth and Jeff, who seemed to be keeping their word in taking out their resentment on him.

He wondered if Eddie had known they would be more focused on going after Steve than the actual game. He wouldn’t put it past him. They were his friends, after all. He knew their moves probably as well as Steve would know Robin’s.

Could that be why Eddie had been so adamant about Chrissy guarding the base instead of Steve? Even if Chrissy was a beast at laser tag, Gareth and Jeff’s goal would still be shooting Steve as much as possible. If he had been positioned near the base, surely they would take shots at it as well just because they were there. But with Steve nowhere near the base, they seemed to have forgotten all about it.

It was honestly kind of genius. Steve suddenly got why the kids had sung his praises for his dungeon whatever-ing skills. The type of planning that move took and doing it behind Steve and Chrissy’s backs? He knew that had Eddie told him that he was going to be used as bait, Steve would have objected. He wasn't proud to admit that he still had that jock need to be the one who won the entire game. He wouldn’t have liked the idea of just being the distraction.

The whole plot was impressive.

Steve ducked behind a foam tower to catch his breath. Eddie’s friends weren’t joking around. They were really out to get him. And they were good at it too. He was glad their bullets were just beams of light and not paintballs.

Rapid footfalls approached him. Steve readied his gun. As soon as he saw movement, he began shooting. It wasn’t until the vest’s light blinked out, that Steve recognized that mop of frizzy black hair.

“Shit, Stevie.”

“Sorry,” he grimaced.

“You know you’re supposed to shoot the other team, right?” Eddie jested. At some point, he had swept his hair up into a messy bun, and, admittedly, it was really doing it for Steve.

“I got excited.”

Eddie’s blue vest powered back up. “I can tell. We should take a break after this before the next round. Catch our breaths and get some pizza.”

At the mention of food, Steve noticed how empty his stomach was. He had been so concerned about spending time with Eddie and what Eddie’s friends thought of him, he hadn’t realized he hadn’t eaten anything since lunch.

“Yeah, that sounds—“

Eddie’s brow furrowed, and suddenly Steve was being shoved aside. The sound of someone’s vest getting shot went off behind him.

“Fuck!” Gareth shouted.

“You’re going to have to try a lot harder to sneak up on me, Gare-Bear.”

That was—that was probably the hottest thing that had ever happened to Steve. He hadn’t even heard Gareth's approach. Could that be due to some sort of super sonic vampire hearing ablities? And Eddie had pushed him out of the way to keep him from being shot? He struggled not to swoon.

Gareth ran off to find cover before his vest powered back up.

Eddie shot him a wink. “Continue this later?”

Before Steve could respond, Eddie was on Gareth’s tail.

Steve needed to control himself. To get his head back in the game. He couldn’t let himself be distracted by a pretty boy and lose the game for his team.

He needed to be the distraction.

Steve ran out into the middle of the arena, where there was less coverage from the foam walls. He quickly spotted Eddie pursuing Gareth. Grant, as he suspected, was vigilantly guarding the green team’s base. Grant was too focused on protecting the base from Eddie, that he didn’t notice Steve was in his line of sight.

All that remained was Jeff.

Judging from the zapping noises from the laser guns to his left and what could only be described as a feminine battle cry, Jeff was trying to go after the blue team’s base.

“Oh, come on!” Jeff shouted as Chrissy shot his vest.

Chrissy really must be a beast at this, Steve smiled to himself.

Focus, Steve. He needed to draw the other boys’ attention to himself, so Eddie could go after the green team’s base. However, he couldn’t be too obvious about it, otherwise, they may forget their vendetta against him for the greater goal of winning the game.

A light bulb went off in his head. He knew just what to do.

Steve ducked back behind one of the foam pillars like he hadn’t just been out in the open. Besides, it gave him more room to work with.

With a deep breath, Steve took off running back through the middle of the room. With the grace of someone who has never acted in their life, he forced himself to trip over nothing, letting out a manly (Steve would like the record to show that it was indeed manly and guttural, and definitely not at all high-pitched) cry and accidentally hitting his knee on the way down. He winced. That was definitely going to bruise later.

It was worth it, though. Suddenly, three laser guns were firing at him. Gareth and Jeff swarmed him. Even Grant was abandoning his post in order to attack him.

Steve struggled back up to his feet. He needed to lead the boys further away from both bases. He’d also like to have a moment of reprieve from getting shot at so he could shoot back.

He ran off to the right to take cover behind one of the foam structures. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Eddie at the green team’s base, shooting up at the target on the ceiling.

Pride bloomed in his chest. His plan had really worked.

His vest and gun powered back up. He took a peak around the corner and saw the three boys hiding behind other foam structures, waiting to attack.

Steve readied his gun. Time to finish this thing.

____________

Eddie let Steve claim shotgun on the ride home. After all, he had played a key role in their victory. It was the least Eddie could do.

Their team ended up winning both games the six of them played; however, that second game was won by an incredibly close margin. It seemed that Eddie’s friends had gotten out all their aggression toward Steve during the first game, so they were much more focused on winning than on high school drama after that.

Eddie would be lying if he said he hadn’t been nervous about tonight. Not only had he been spending time with Steve for the first time without the kids around, but he was introducing him to his friends. He had been so worried over how that would go down, he had barely been able to drink any of his mid-afternoon blood.

Turned out, he had been worried for nothing. Steve and his friends had gotten along great. Hell, Steve and Grant had even had several friendly competitions of Dance Dance Revolution while the group wandered around the arcade for the last hour of the night. (Steve had lost much more gracefully to Grant than the rest of the boys had the last few times they went against him in DDR. The man could go pro.)

When they pulled up outside of Steve’s house, Eddie tripped over himself as he scrambled to open Steve’s door and walk him up to his front door like this had been a date or something. He knew it wasn’t a date. He knew that Steve knew this wasn’t a date. He had been hoping that had he been able to drive Steve like he had wanted to it would've felt like it could be a date. At the very least, he'd hoped that tonight would lead to a date. Maybe even a chaste goodnight kiss. But with Chrissy waiting in the car, that last part didn’t seem achievable. However, that didn’t mean that the night would end without plans for an actual date.

Why were his palms so sweaty?

He'd never been this pathetic around people he had feelings for. There was just something about Steve that made him nervous, and nothing made Eddie nervous. So what gives?

“Well, this is me,” Steve joked. If Eddie wasn’t mistaken, Steve looked almost as nervous as he felt.

“Nice place. It’s really . . . big.”

Steve snorted and ducked his head. “That’s what she said.”

“What?”

“I said, ‘That’s what she said,’” Steve repeated.

“Who’s she?”

“It’s a joke. You know, from The Office.”

“What office?”

“The TV show. Eddie, have you not seen The Office?”

“Oh, no. I have. I watched it when it first came out. Didn’t finish the first season. Wasn’t a fan.”

“Yeah, the first season is trash. I can’t believe you stopped there, though. It’s so good.”

Eddie shrugged. “Wayne and I don’t watch much TV. Most of the time when the television is on, it’s a sports game or a game show or reruns of Seinfeld.”

“So it’s mostly Wayne watching?”

“Pretty much.”

“That’s so depressing. We are in like a golden age of television, and you’re just missing it.”

Oh, here was his in. This is how he can score that date. Don’t fuck this up, Munson.

“Why don’t you do something about it.” Okay, not his best, but have you seen Steve? The fact that he was even able to string words together in his presence was an impressive feat.

“Maybe I will. You should come over sometime. I’ll show you introduce you to some shows.”

“What, like a date?” Please say yes. Please say yes.

Steve shrugged nonchalantly. “If you’d like.”

“Maybe I would.” Eddie bravely took a step forward into Steve’s space. They were close enough to be sharing air. Close enough to intimidate. To touch.

“How’s tomorrow night sound for you?” Steve’s eyes flicked down to Eddie’s lips.

Oh, boy. Maybe he was wrong. Looks like he will be getting that date and that goodnight kiss after all. Eddie’s nerves fluttered with anticipation.

“I’ll have to check my calendar,” he teased softly, leaning further into Steve’s personal bubble. “But I think I can make room for you.”

“Oh? You think?”

It was like a movie scene, the two of them moving in to kiss. Which was why it felt even more cinematic when Steve’s front door opened right as their lips were about to touch. The unexpected intrusion startled them so much that they jumped apart.

“Steven, where have you been?” The man at the door looked like an older, greyer version of Steve. Or, should Eddie say, an older version of his former classmate and ’80s high school bully, Richard Harrington.

Fuck, he forgot who Steve was related to. He was hoping that maybe by sheer dumb luck, Steve’s last name and physical similarities with Richard “the Dick” Harrington (as Eddie had liked to call him) were just a coincidence and the two weren’t actually related. Eddie should have known it wouldn’t be, though. He had never been the lucky sort.

Richard Harrington, seeming to forget his first question, squinted at Eddie. “You look familiar. Do I know you?”

Eddie didn’t know what to say. No one from his pre-vampire days had ever seemed to notice him post his blood-sucking transformation. He had spent decades counting on the assumption that everyone in this godforsaken town was too self-absorbed to realize they had an immortal communist metalhead in their midst. This town-wide narcissism had kept him safe. But mostly, it had made him bored.

Finally, things were getting interesting.

“The name’s Munson. Eddie Munson,” he said, clasping good ol’ Dick’s hand in both of his. “Steve and I went to school together.”

Steve stared at him with wide eyes, like he couldn’t believe that Eddie had used his real name to introduce himself to his former classmate. Eddie supposed he might have the same reaction had the roles have been reversed, but considering the confused expression that remained on Dick’s face, he didn’t have anything to worry about.

“You don’t happen to be related to an Edward Munson, do you?”

Well, maybe not, but he could play with that.

“I sure am. He’s–”

“He’s his uncle,” Steve cut him off. “Anyway, Eddie was just saying goodbye. Right, Eddie?”

Boo.

Steve shot him a look, begging him not to argue.

What a killjoy. Eddie couldn’t believe that this was the guy who caused his insides to flutter like he had swallowed a colony of bats. Where was the rebellious spirit? Where was the anarchist ideology? Had Eddie spent too much time in middle America that his type had turned into all-American boys?

Then again, the way Steve handled the toy laser guns spoke of something much more raw and rugged than what Eddie had come to expect from jocks. And the way Steve acted with the kids was vastly different than the way the Carver boys kicked the freshmen around. If anything, Eddie should be worried that his type had transformed into milfs, with the way Steve mothered those kids.

Another point against him, Steve strongly resembled the man–well, then teenage boy–who used to try to give him swirlies and “rough him up” behind the gym. Clearly, some wires must have gotten crossed. That, or he was more of a masochist than he thought.

“I didn’t think you’d be home until next week,” Steve said. Something about his tone told Eddie that he probably shouldn’t be here for the conversation that was about to be had. However, Steve had made no indications that he should leave, and Eddie, for once, was curious about ol’ Dick’s personal life. At least, how it involved his son.

“Your mom and I had to move up our flight,” Dick replied. “The weathermen were predicting a large storm, which might have delayed our flight for who knows how long. I have a meeting in the city I need to get to on Tuesday morning, and your mother insisted she could not reschedule her appointment.”

“Oh, okay.” Steve didn’t look at his father when he spoke.

Dick glanced between the two of them. “Well, don’t be out too much longer. You have a good night, um–”

“Eddie,” Eddie supplied.

“Right, Eddie.” With that, Dick went back inside, leaving the two of them alone again.

“We might have to reschedule tomorrow,” Steve said sheepishly.

“Or," Eddie drew out. "You could come to my place. Wayne’s going to be working the night shift, so we’d have the place to ourselves.”

Steve’s slow smile was dazzling. Eddie’s stomach flipped. “Okay, I’ll see you then.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

The two stood there for a moment, just staring at each other. Eddie had a feeling that with Dick's interruption, he wouldn't be getting that kiss like he thought he might. Oh well, he was still getting that date!

"I should probably . . ." Steve motioned to the door behind him.

"Yeah. Yeah!" Eddie nodded.

Steve blessed him with another smile. Oh, a guy could get used to that. “Goodnight, Eddie.”

“Goodnight, Stevie.”

Eddie watched Steve disappear inside. It took all of the strength he had to not skip back to Chrissy's car.

Tag list:

@yourebuckingkiddingme @mickalaem @live-the-fangirl-life @mojowitchcraft @gregre369 @farfaras @loguine-linguine @spectrum-spectre @sidekick-hero @rozzieroos @steddieloverrr @hellion-child @ littlewildflowerkitten @ novacorpsrecruit @ rainbow-freckle @anaibis @ madigoround

[jlf23tumble]

Hiii hope you won’t mind this ask! I just found your blog and i’ve gone over it a bit and I saw you talking about h and l not being together and it made me curious about your larry thoughts!! You can answer in the tags if you don’t want to start discourse but I hope you do answer:((!

I don’t know if you think they’ve been together in the past/never together or just don’t care about it cause scrolling through Tumblr is a nightmare and I can’t see all your posts obviously ahaha but personally I thought they were together and I think they might have broken up in the last year or so. I got a strong sixth sense in general if you could call it that and lately I can sense something is different and I can see some people feel the same but don’t really discuss it openly so I wanted to hear your opinion.

The last thing that made me ‘sure’ they were still a thing while looking at the previous 12 years was harryween with hopelessly devoted to you and then Louis quoting it at his grease fav. After that I can’t really see something that makes me think “at that point they must have been together cause otherwise it wouldn’t make sense”. And paired it up with louis in particular being a bit strange in the last few months and with what you pointed out as well namely Harry doing everything he can to not be even thought to be on tour with L… As I said I don’t know when you started talking about a break up, but do you think that halloween’s occurance was still them being together or teasing each other from a distance or maybe just keeping larries at bay? And would you mind telling me then when you think their situation changed and what you think now? Sorry it’s so longggg and thank you if you take time to answer me <3

Helllllllo, I never mind any kind of ask! Granted, sometimes I might not answer but only because I'm overwhelmed, or it's the same ask in a row, or I'm not loving a sentence, or I just don't feel like it, or I think a bathroom shot is more appropriate, lmao, but this one? I got all the time in the world for you…so much so that I'll put it under the cut, since the ask is long enough itself, as shall the answer be!

Welcome to this mess, and wow, I'm so bowled over you even tried to scroll, I know trying to search tumblr.biz is a loser's lover's game, even for the loser lover who wrote it, so I won't even bother, but we can start fresh!

So my thoughts: Hell yeah, I think these two were together back in the day, probably almost immediately (see: the entire x-factor scandale with the blinds about all the fucking, the stairs interviews, ALL OF IT, screammmm). I don't know how long or even IF they were strictly monogamous, they were in a pressure cooker situation of near-constant contact with each other for five years, but I do think it eventually morphed into something open and/or then into a messy on again/off again situationship. That’s my current stance today, in fact—c'est messy!!!!

I’ll do the usual caveat that none of us actually KNOWS them, though, or what went down, we're only looking at what we see (and hear) and making a wild guess, and yet! Plenty of people see (and hear) the same thing and opt for a crazy reach with their whole chest, all to justify something happening between teenagers 13 years ago as if NOTHING would or could have changed since then. And some of those reaches make literally no sense, or they wash away anything that gets too close to that third rail of cognitive dissonance, the proverbial fingers in ears, lalalalala. I saw it recently on a post I made about clingy Harry with a stranger on the drunk WeHo trolley, with someone in the tags going, wait, I’ve never seen this! Of course you haven’t, that’s what an echo chamber does, bb!

Personally, I don't get that mindset—what’s so wrong about learning life is tough and things change for two literal strangers? Sure, we all love love and want the best for them, but shit happens in real life, too. Maybe it's easier to latch onto made-up receipts or straight up call a blue a green, but I think a big aspect of it is also the need to be right, to show you aren’t crazy, it’s real, and that gets frequently mixed in as being “supportive,” like you're some kind of homophobe if these two break up, as if two men fucking two other men somehow isn't worthy of your “support." But I’m here to say those two things actually can exist, something can be true in the past and not be true today, and it doesn’t negate the past bit, shocking, right?

Anyway, I digress. I feel like your sixth sense is on the money, and I'd love to hear more about it, either message me here or dm me about what tips you into that direction (hey!) because I feel like there is SO MUCH THAT DOES, yet few people really get into it. To me, it’s just a lot of content, so much content, the bare minimum being lyrics in multiple songs across a shit ton of albums, both solo and the very last 1D one. At this point, to me, Larry “proofs” sound insane (he wore green pants, they're MARRIED!!!!!), and part of me is like, kudos to you, Mr. Tomlinson, jesus loves you more than you will know, etc. Even that Harryween outfit of which you speak feels like a reach of a reach, a callback of a reach, mostly because it’s also not that deep, Grease isn't some tiny film nobody's seen, it's actually a remarkably easy group costume, AND it references things that could be nostalgic to two sets of people (larries and larry). I actually feel like these two at this point are either a) signaling to each other in some kinda way, like that monitor edgeplay shit they used to do (which works if you're together or apart, I might add), or b) cashing in some of that green blue green, if you feel me. And again, both of those could be true at once, they don't cancel each other out. I have two hands, I can hold a lotta thoughts!

It’s at this point where I start bangin’ the drum for garries because gaylors have it dead easy—you can be a gaylor and think that kaylor was a thing, but it doesn’t mean it’s STILL a thing to you, so whither garries!? I just don’t think a lot of today’s larries do themselves any favors by doubling down and driving out anyone who has questions. For the big ones, there’s no room for even whispering, hey, yeah, they were together, but they might have broken up, maybe??? It’s, like, NO!!! They’re mawwwwwwied, #husbands, they’ve only fucked one person, each other, let’s jump through a hoop that says Louis wearing green sweats is so LOUD (I’m not listening to lyrics, though, lalalalalala)!! It’s tragic and frankly dumb, but if you want to wallow in the persecution complex of it all, “everybody hates us ☹ (including Louis),” I guess the option is there, the whole us vs. them of it all that I’m just personally not into.

But I do feel like there’s some hope, it’s nice to see people coming around to the idea that, yeah, they WERE together and maybe they aren’t anymore, but it’s okay, it’s not the end of the world! It wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows, maybe they’ll reunite someday, or maybe it’s a goddamned hot mess, but you know what? Not my circus, not my monkeys! Granted, that part is harder for people who are mutuals with those who will not tolerate doubts even for a second—I just hope they venture off and find the other chill people, u know, the ones a lot of larries wish they saw on their dashes instead of hand-wringers, uh oh, oops, reaping = sowing.

I’m sorry, I’m ramblin’ here, let’s get back to your questions at the end of your ask! Do I think Harryween was them together or teasing each other or keeping larries at bay? Hmmmm, maybe a secret fourth thing: easy costume, easy global reference, and it’s not gonna keep larries at bay, lmao. Idk, man, for all we know (which, again, is literally nothing, nobody’s getting 24/7 content for 5 years straight anymore, such a bitter pill to swallow), maybe Grease is a fave movie of someone who’s in the new band, maybe Harry’s got a close personal friend who’s into it, too, maybe Louis's not the only guy in the world Harry’s dated who’s obsessed with Danny Zuko.

As for when do I think their situation changed, I think Eleanor was a big clue, breakup no. 1 was probably around their own breakup no. 1, she was an amazing proxy in so many ways, but I’m sure there were rifts and spats along the way (it even seeped into interviews that get written off as cute funsies or else are outright ignored because nobody watches beyond the gif format). I follow at least one person who talks about the '15 promo tour as giving very recent breakup energy, yet still has some fwb vibes, which means it's AWKWARD in spots, and I can see that. It would also explain why they were suddenly able to "sit together,” lol. Anyway, yes, that breakup (both times) was a big sign, I think no more peace ring was a HUGE sign, I think the writeups by Rob Sheffield (both of them, actually), especially the last paragraph of the Fine Line cover story was a NEON sign, and I think the last four albums by both of them spell it out, underline it, bold it, AND italicize it super clearly, but those are just the easy pickings (see also: Harry biking around daily to prove he’s not in Poland, Greece, etc., and the response is always, “We don’t know what day this was,” lmao).

What I think now is up above! I think it’s messy! Complicated! They aren’t #married! Now is that a forever thing? Who’s to say, and more importantly, who’s to really care on a “does this impacts my daily life in some kind of financial or spiritual way,” see further: circus, monkeys. I get that it’s easy to say, I interact with a lot of other people who don’t care and won't ostracize me for being a doubting Susan with my ~controversial thoughts and UOs. But there are those with faith in the future, so maybe it is as it was…hehe, oh me. I amuse myself, at least. Sorry this is an epic reply, and that it’s days late, I hope it gives you what you wanted to know! Anyone sending me garbage will get a bathroom response, peace and love.

[kakusu-shipping]

for your mha s/i

🩺Doctor: What is the worst injury that you/your self-insert has sustained in canon? If so, what was the cause and did you recover? What was your f/os reaction?

🔥Flame: Do you/your self-insert have an enemy? If so, who is it and why are they so hated? What was a particularly heated moment between you two?

@i-put-the-s4p-in-s4pphic

I actually have FOUR My Hero Academia Self Inserts, none of which I've talked about sense I stopped watching the show a while ago... So to make up for it I'll talk about all four of them!!!

Thankyou so much for your ask!!!

🩺Doctor: What is the worst injury that your self-insert has sustained in canon?

Hero - Luckily a lot of his injure have been pretty minor compared to Taishiro's. Not to say he hasn't been injured, both as a Hero and a Pro Baseball Player, but nothing that really stands out as too impactful. Taishiro plays it tough but he's a big ol worrier when someone he cares about gets hurt, so he'll fuss over Gumball if he so much as sprains and ankle though.

Villain - Complete opposite of Gumball, he's sustained so many Critical Injuries it's rather difficult to pinpoint on of importance. AFO found him both easy to fix and rather entertaining to break. When he started living with the League his rate of injury decreased, but the amount of worry increases. Jin especially freaked out when he as so much got a paper cut.

Student - This S/I is still sort of a WIP but if I were to guess, his worst injury would probably be something caused by the Hero Commission, probably while tagging along behind Hawks for training, before he was adopted by Nezu. He probably doesn't talk about those times much though, so neither Nezu nor Ojiro know about it.

Civilian - This S/I is also in WIP even though they're the oldest MHA S/I I have, they're probably the least finished just due to proximity to a Main Character combined with how far behind the series I've fallen. I image they might be injured during the War Arc for some reason but.. That'll just have to wait and see. Sorry for the non-answer!

🔥Flame: Do your self-inserts have any enemies? If so, who is it and why are they so hated?

Hero - Less of an enemy and more of a Rival; He and Shishido don't get along, much in the way Shishido and Gang Orca don't get along. It only got worse after he stole one of Shishido's Interns, Shoda, after a HLB match. He thought the kid made a good pitcher, what can he say!

Villain - MANY. Comes with the Villain territory. While he never actively met him, he does share the rest of the League's hatred for Kai Chisaki, both for killing one of his son's beloved friends, but also for being responsible for his brother's death. He was also the one set to keep eyes on the UA spy, and while he doesn't consider them enemies, he wouldn't be surprised to find out they think of him as such. He wouldn't blame them for it, either. (he's also constantly ready to throw down with Endeavor, though the opportunity never presented itself)

Student - Like Nezu probably the Hero Commission in General is Enemy number 1 to him, but the one person he puts the most blame on is Hawks, just do to proximity. Nezu's tried to convince him Hawks is like them, a victim of the Commission, but that's a hard pill to swallow when you're 14 years old and were constantly threatened if you couldn't keep up with someone twice your age. He'll probably be bitter about it for a long time.

Civilian - His wonderful beautiful person son, Neito Monoma's, parents. He's of course, very polite and calm and put together on the outside, but they drive him crazy. That's his perfect son boy boy son. They don't appreciate him like he does. If there wasn't an active war going on he'd fight them for custody and win. Neito pretends not to see the cracks in his not-legally-adopted father's patient smile.

[missmaywemeetagain]

Pink Scarf - PART 15 (Elvis/Austin!Elvis x Reader)

Character/Fandom: Elvis - Elvis (2022)

Requested: kinda

(Read more here--Pink Scarf Series Masterlist!)

Prompt: You are part of Elvis Presley's coveted inner circle, and the currently-disgruntled wife of one of the members of Elvis' famous entourage, the Memphis Mafia. After Elvis' dynamite first performance in Vegas, you find yourself in deep water when his magnetism finally gets to you after all these years.  [ Fem!Reader ]

TW: Mentions of Blood/Miscarriage/Medical trauma. ANGST. Cussing. Infidelity. Historical inaccuracies in the Vegas timeline. Priscilla doesn't exist in this timeline.  

Rating: Explicit/Mature (NSFW, 18+, so minors Do NOT Interact)        ||     Word Count: 5.2k

A/N: The ANGST is real, y'all, and I'm not letting you off the hook after Part 14, sorry! This one was a beast to get out of my brain and the block was real for so many reasons, but we made it! It's here! Just so y'all know, this part is very much a bridge to all the crazy stuff that is to come. Reader is going through it and taking all of us with her. And I promise that more smut is coming (if you are only here for that, you horny animals! LOL). Please make sure you read the trigger warnings for this part because there are some sensitive topics that carry over from Part 14!

Thank you for being so patient while I got this out. Unexpected life crap/emotions/writer's block killed me on this one, and I SO appreciate you hanging in there with me! I rewrote the beginning of this part no less than four times, and FINALLY it clicked so here we are! Hooray! Thanks for helping me get through this!

As always, to all my babies, honeys, and lil' mamas supporting me out there, your reactions, reblogs, messages, asks, and comments you've given me have been a blessing beyond expression. You all are the best community a writer could ask for! Thank you so much for your support. I am loving getting to know y'all better! I love every single reaction and comment and ask, and I'm sorry if I don't get back to them all as soon as I'd like but know that I love you all and am so excited to be making new friends! And a big "Hey, Y'all!" to our friends from Elvis Twitter, Elvis Discord, and Elvis Instagram--I see and appreciate you coming over to join us! 👀💋

If you feel so moved, please let me know what you think or how you're feeling (or send me asks)! I think I put everyone on the taglist who requested it, but please let me know if there are any issues or if I missed anyone. There seem to be some issues with tagging that I can't seem to fix, so please know I'm not leaving you out intentionally! Also, if you comment on a previous part that you want to be tagged, I might not always see it, so feel free to message me if I miss you!

I imagined this with Elvis in mind, but Austin!Elvis works here, too, whatever floats your boat! 

Apologies in advance if there are any grammatical errors or TW that I didn't catch. 

(I did start cross-posting Pink Scarf to my long-neglected AO3 account (which some of you already discovered!), so if you are so inclined, you can check it out over there!)

No!

The scream catches in your throat as you wake with a start, clutching your belly in a panic, your heart pounding against your ribcage so hard you feel like it is attempting to flee your chest. It takes a moment to figure out where you are. The night is warm and the sky is vast, and you are so far up you feel like you’re still dreaming.

“Baby, are you okay?” Elvis sits up straight in his lounge chair and turns to you. You can see, or better sense, the concern in his eyes, even in the darkness. This sends a shiver of recognition down your spine as your dream (or is it a memory?) flashes back to you in fragments. His eyes are older now, but the look remains the same, feels the same. 

“I..I..I…” you stutter, shaking your head, unable to be coherent. No, you are not okay. Looking down, you half expect to see blood pooling between your legs, but thankfully there is none. You feel stuck in the haze between reality and dreams, or reality and what you are afraid might actually be the past.

You feel like screaming, but the impulse sticks in your throat, strangling you.

There was a reason, you think, that you never remembered that horrible night from nearly a decade ago. That you’d only been able to piece together snippets of what really happened from vague accounts of the people you’d been with that night. Elvis, in particular, had been purposefully scarce on details.

And you had been fine with that, truly not wanting to relive your trauma in any way, shape, or form. You’d even been grateful when the doctor told you it was normal for your mind to protect you from your near-death experience, that you might never remember the details of that night, and you determined the memory loss a blessing.

When you’d woken in the sterile hospital, drugged and dazed, the doctor told you’d had an ectopic pregnancy, that the baby—no, the “fertilized egg,” he’d said—had gotten stuck in your fallopian tube instead of your uterus. Unfortunately, your fallopian tube ruptured as the baby grew, and you had massive hemorrhaging, nearly dying in that skating rink. They were able to do surgery and stop the bleeding, but the baby was gone, and you were told it never would have come to term.

It was the worst thing that had ever happened to you. The grief and heartache, the disappointment, the feeling like an utter failure that your body had betrayed you in such a way. No, you were fine not remembering the details. You’d wanted to forget all about it. It didn’t matter to you that the specifics weren’t there, that not everyone’s stories lined up or made complete sense. You just wanted to push it all away.

But now…this dream felt so incredibly real, at least the parts that you remembered. As dreams do, it begins to fade, leaving only a few missing puzzle pieces that start to slot into place. Desperately, you try to wipe it all away again, but it’s too late. You are trying to convince yourself it had to be a dream, that the flashes you are remembering (or more so feeling), couldn’t have possibly happened that way. Except many of the parts you do remember are true and really happened: Elvis’ coming home, how you’d been so inexplicably enamored with him, and how he'd been so concerned he’d done something to hurt you—all of that was real.

But the night of the Rollerdome is where things get choppy. Those parts of the dream are still but snippets and feelings, overwhelming ones at that, and you have no memories to compare them to. Could it be that you lost the baby and almost died in Elvis’ arms after he’d come to your rescue when…when…something else happened? You can’t grasp why he’d needed to come to your rescue or what led up to being in his arms on the floor—it all slips through your fingers like water through a sieve.

God, but the pain you are remembering right now…it is all so much worse than you’d imagined.

It’s like you can sense it happening all over again rather than simply remembering, your belly cramping and lightheadedness threatening your vision. The frantic panic of fearing the worst pours through your veins now almost as it did then. I can’t breathe I can’t breathe I can’t breathe.

Then there was Elvis, pulling you into his lap; you can feel the terror he tried so unsuccessfully to hide, how obvious it was in the shaking stutter of his voice as he was doused in your blood. Then, it fades again, leaving you with the distinct feeling that something important (other than losing the baby) happened on the floor of that roller rink, but it disappears into the ether before you can lock on to it.

“…Oh, God, don’t—”

All of it is too much, all at once.

You are barely conscious of the tears pouring down your cheeks, and you awkwardly stagger up from the lounge chair you’d fallen asleep on while traveling to the moon and the stars. Just you and me and the moon and the stars…You feel dizzy from getting up too fast, from the physical memory of it all and you sway, but your body overrides it with the need to flee, as if you can outrun the past.

“Hey, hey, hey! Honey, what’s happenin’? What’s wrong?” Elvis asks, confused, leaping up, grabbing your shoulders.

You tear yourself from his grasp, staggering for the door that will lead you off the roof and hopefully out of this hell your mind has sought to drag you into. Nothing makes sense. You feel trapped in a daze of psychic and physical pain, none of which is helpful or wanted. All the peace from your moment with the moon and the stars has evaporated in an instant. You reach the door and yank it open.

“Y/n, stop! Wait just a damn minute!” he says firmly, pulling you back to him, his cold rings digging into your forearm like chains.

“Elvis, let me go! You have to let me go!” you shout, trying to break free, but his hold on you is fierce. “Oh, god, I can’t do this,” you gasp, barely able to look at him.

You know you are being unfair to him in your reaction, but you feel betrayed. Betrayed by your body, betrayed by your mind, and betrayed by him, all at once. All logic is lost.

“Can’t do what, honey? I don’t understand what you’re goin’ on about,” Elvis asks in confusion, and you can tell by the roughness in his tone that he is frustrated but is trying to be patient with you. You don’t blame him. You must seem out of your mind, having a breakdown every other minute you are with him.

A deep part of you feels absolutely mortified at the entire situation. You’d had no idea that it was Elvis who’d found you and that something so horribly personal and tragic, your worst failure, was laid out before him so vulnerably. And to think he never mentioned it again makes you both grateful and angry. How could an experience like that be brushed under the rug, like nothing ever happened?

Suddenly all the beautiful bouquets of flowers he sent from afar in those weeks after it happened start to make a bit more sense, as does the distance that started to grow between you two. You had originally blamed it solely on him having to leave right away for Florida (he hadn’t even been there when I’d woken up in the hospital), then it was all the recording he’d needed to get done, and then just like that, he was out in Hollywood filming again. And when he was home after that, you remembered, he did not seek you out to spend any one-on-one time together. Now you wonder if he’d been purposefully avoiding you, and that makes you feel both offended and embarrassed.

You close your eyes, willing yourself to breathe somehow while still feeling like the world is closing in on you. The way your heart beats so quickly drives you to escape, but Elvis’ grip is like a vise, anchoring you to the spot. Everything hurts—a long-buried grief radiating through you like a tidal wave that has been held back far too long. Its icy flood consumes you, tightening your chest, and the healed scar on your belly feels like it’s being ripped open.

Finally, you say with shaking breaths, “I had a terrible nightmare. Or…or a memory, I’m not quite sure which…It felt—feels—so real, like it’s happening all over again.”

“What? What’s happening all over again?” Elvis asks with concern in his azure eyes.

“The baby. The night I lost the baby…god, there was so much blood. It was awful,” you choke out. “Were you really there? Was it you who found me, who held onto me?” you ask frantically, looking up at him for answers, for confirmation.

If you weren’t so consumed by the overpowering feelings rolling over you, you might catch the fleeting panic that flashes across his face before that unreadable mask he’s so carefully crafted over the years takes its place.

“What do you remember?” he asks evenly, calmly.

“Well, I…it’s all jumbled, flashes really. Being at the rink. Then suddenly blinding, horrible pain,” you grimace, arms wrapping around your abdomen, “and then I’m in your arms, bleeding everywhere, and everything gets distant and cold and numb and terrifying. And then it all fades away,” you whisper, looking at him for any sign of the truth of it.

You almost think you see relief in his eyes (why?), but it’s only for a second and then is gone. “That’s what you remember?”

You nod.

He continues, “Yeah, it was like that. I found you, baby. I held you until help got there. It was…awful,” he shudders, those almond eyes of his clouding, the memory obviously affecting him in some way.

“I…almost died,” you breathe. Of course, you logically already knew this to be true, but that was before you remembered how it felt.

“Yes, you did,” Elvis replies solemnly, his eyes churning with emotion, bringing his thumb to your cheek to wipe away the tears you have forgotten are falling.

“It hurts. Here. Now. I don’t know why,” you whisper. Though the pain has ebbed some, it still is intense, overwhelming. Perhaps it is because something about it still feels unfinished and hidden from you, like you are still missing some integral piece. You look at him as though he can give you the relief you so desperately seek, and you can’t help but feel that he is keeping something from you based on the look in his eyes.

“I don’t know either, but you’re safe now,” Elvis says, pulling you into him. He thinks he is good at shielding his emotions from you, and maybe he used to be, but now, after everything that has happened this past week, you can sense the turmoil beneath the softness of his pretty features. It sets you on edge. Enough secrets have been kept from you at this point in your life to recognize the signs, even if only intuitively.

Standing there on the roof, he rocks you gently, and the burning pain in your abdomen begins to subside, but is quickly replaced by unease, a rock of it forming in the pit of your stomach. Something is amiss and you can’t put your finger on it, but it has something to do with that terrible night. And with Elvis.

You watch him carefully as he leads you to the stairs, gingerly, like you might shatter into a million pieces. While you indeed felt that way only moments ago, worry and curiosity wind their way through your mind as you grasp at pieces of quickly-fading memories, searching for something, anything, that supports this intuitive feeling in your gut. You do not find it.

However, as you come back into his darkened suite, you are reminded of the fact that you should not be here, that your husband must be wondering where you got off to. It is nearly dawn, and you aren’t in your room.

And, oh dear lord, all the yelling and the noise that you and Elvis made earlier must have been overheard. Suddenly you are nauseous.

“Elvis,” you say, clasping his forearm in a panic.

“What, baby?” he looks at you, confused, concerned.

“We made a lot of noise earlier…”

A slow, wide grin spreads over his face, but that almost predatory darkness from before lingers in his eyes. “Oh, honey, I sent everyone away after that little stunt of yours in the bathroom with Jack,” he laughs, but the smile doesn’t quite reach his eyes. He still isn’t happy about that.

Relief washes over you at the fact that your escapades remained private, although, you don’t know exactly who “everyone” is because his Mafia members were never too far from their master.

The unease is back, snaking through your mind. “I have to get back,” you say, “Jack must be wondering where I am.”

“He’s likely in the casino, and you, my dear, went back to Sandy’s room and fell asleep there.” The lie falls off his tongue so easily, and while you are grateful for the excuse, this ability of his gives you pause as you find the remnants of your clothes strewn about the room.

Everything feels off. It’s as though your dream-memory has exposed something, but you cannot put your finger on what, only that something about Elvis is itching at you.

Something important.

Your mind and your insides are still reeling from everything this night has entailed and uncovered. You shakily dress and try to clean yourself up before having to face the world outside of Elvis’ private suite. Between the wildly intense sex and the jarring memories your sleep unlocked, you are exhausted and wonder how you can possibly process any of this and still present “things as usual” to the rest of the world.

Finally ready to head out the door, Elvis stops you. “Wait,” he says, spinning you back to him and pulling you close. His luscious lips brush yours so sweetly, with such yearning, as if he hasn’t had you in nearly every way already tonight. You melt into him, feeling the steady beat of his heart under your palms, the warmth of him solid and comforting. You forget all your doubts and questions for the moment, unable to focus on anything but the pillowy softness of his gentle kisses and the way his strong hands cup your jaw and pull you to him. The man has you fully under his spell, and right now, as his tongue laps at yours, you do not care about anything else.   

When he pulls back, you whine at the loss of him, and being him, he senses your need, and gives you a cheeky smirk.

“Later, darlin’, I promise,” he says, brushing your cheek. “I want you backstage again tonight, okay?” It’s less of a question and more a gentle command.

You nod, getting lost in those endless blues of his. Then you shake yourself off and head out the door, shutting it quietly behind you in your best effort to sneak out, your mind beginning to whirl again the moment you are out of his presence.

Lost in a fog of thoughts, your focus is on the ground, so when you collide with another body in the hallway, you nearly jump out of your skin, flying backwards and catching yourself before you tumble to the ground.

“Well, shit,” a familiar voice intones slowly and with surprise as you look up.

Oh no, oh no, oh no.

Red.

Your eyes go wide as saucers as your brain tries to scramble up an excuse of why you’d be coming out of Elvis’ suite at this hour looking as you do, and you quickly realize that there is no other plausible explanation. Your mouth opens then closes aimlessly. And the smirk on Red’s face makes it quite clear that he understands the situation fully.

Your heart thunders in your ribcage as you stand frozen like a dear in headlights. This is very, very bad. Jerry is one thing—you have no doubts of his loyalty to Elvis and keeping his secrets. But Red, he is quite a different situation. He is loyal to Elvis, to be sure, but for a price. And he is friends with Jack and has been since the beginning. You had never taken to Red—something about him always irked you, but it was never truly an issue before this moment.

“Y/n, y/n, y/n,” Red tsks at you, a nasty gleam in his eye, “Now what kind’a trouble you been gettin’ up to?” It’s obvious he knows exactly what kind.

You finally find your voice. “Red,” you say in what you hope is a warning but considerate tone, “I’m sure we can both just forget this ever happened. We wouldn’t want to upset anyone.” There’s no need to say their names, you both know who you mean. But your voice is too shaky and even you can’t take yourself seriously.

“Hmm, maybe,” Red ponders infuriatingly. You want to wipe that smug look right off his face.

You both stand there staring for a minute before you finally straighten yourself. You desperately want to turn and go back to Elvis to plead with him to drop Red off somewhere in the middle of the desert, but you know E needs his rest and this conversation can’t happen now. So instead, you square your shoulders, dread pooling in your stomach.

“Excuse me, I have to be going,” you say a little haughtily.

Red just laughs, “I bet you do, sweetheart.”

The endearment is anything but, coming out snide instead. A cold shiver runs down your spine. Finally, you break the tension and push past him, trying to keep your gait steady and unhurried, when all you want to do is to sprint to the door. But you make it without doing so, holding your breath the whole way. Once in the hall, you pound the elevator button multiple times as if that will make a difference in how fast it arrives. Then you feel like you can breathe again, once tucked safely and blissfully alone inside the car, heading down.

You don’t trust Red. Not one bit.

Panic rises up from your stomach, an acidic, bitter bile. This is exactly what you’ve been afraid of. You can feel the rickety foundation of your lies begin to sway under your feet. Not only are you feeling unmoored because of whatever your dream-memory unlocked about Elvis that you can’t pinpoint, but this hits you where it hurts. You reap what you sow, and you have been sowing quite a bit.

All the doubt that Elvis washed away with his gentle kisses mere minutes ago comes back to hit you full force. You must end this, you’ve got to, and you know, oh god, you know it will break your heart, but you cannot live anymore with this fear that is eating you from the inside out.

You were never meant to be this person. You are not special, certainly not special enough to warrant true love from Elvis Presley. You are just a housewife from Tennessee whose husband is a liar and a cheat. You were bored and now you’re in over your head.

Get out. Run, as far away and as fast as you can! your mind screams at you. God, you can’t breathe. For the second time today, you feel as though the air has been stolen from your lungs and like the ground is crumbling underneath your feet.

You are not strong enough for this. You were not made for lying and cheating and sneaking around. The weight of it all feels untenable as you knock on Sandy’s door.

When it opens, she doesn’t even say a word. One look at you and she’s yanking you inside.

“Red knows,” you eek out before she has a chance to say anything.

“Shit,” she curses and brings you to sit down on the bed. Then she steals away, and you hear water running.

You don’t realize you are shaking until she hands you the glass of water and it nearly spills all over your dress. You gulp it down, suddenly parched.

“What the hell happened last night?” she finally asks, after you’ve downed the glass of water and manage to take in some slow breaths. “You disappeared with Jack,” she says with a wrinkle of her nose, “and then Elvis looked like he was gonna lose his damn mind and kicked everyone out, but you were nowhere to be found. Then, Jerry called and told me that if anyone asked, you were with me all night.”

Setting the empty glass on the side table, you put your head in your hands. “Oh, Sandy, I feel like every decision I am making is insane. I don’t even recognize myself.”

Sandy just looks at you with expectation in her eyes, waiting for you to explain yourself.

“Elvis and I had quite an…argument about me being with Jack. And then we had crazy, hot sex, like nothing I’ve ever experienced before,” you sigh and Sandy grins like an idiot. “Then he took me up on the roof to look at the moon, and I fell asleep and had this horrible—well, it was a nightmare, but I think it was actually a memory I repressed. Oh, it was awful.”

Sandy looks at you quizzically. “A repressed memory? What do you mean?”

“Well, you know I can’t have kids…but way back in ’60, I had an ectopic pregnancy that resulted in me miscarrying and almost bleeding to death on the floor of the Rollerdome,” you ramble out, the water you just drank making you feel sick to your stomach.

“Oh my god, hon, that’s terrible,” she says pulling you in for a hug.

“Obviously, there are reasons I don’t talk about it, but also, I didn’t remember any of it. The doc said my brain did it to protect me from the trauma. Until this morning, I didn’t have any idea of what really happened. But now…I had these flashes, these glimpses, of the horrible pain. It was like living it all over again. Like I could feel it happening, San,” you say, clutching your stomach. “And what I didn’t realize was that Elvis was there for all of it. He was holding me and watching me die. There was blood everywhere.”

“Jesus,” Sandy breathes.

“And he never told me that he was there! How could we go through something like that together and him not say a damn word? And I swear something else happened, something he’s not telling me. I just feel like he’s hiding something about it, something I still can quite put my finger on,” you add rapidly.

“Well, honey, maybe it was traumatic for him, too. And I’m sure he didn’t want to make you relive all that,” Sandy says reasonably, patting your knee.

“That makes logical sense, San, I know it does, but it’s not just that, I’m telling you…I’ve been having these dreams, these memories, come up since being with him, things I am just now remembering. I don’t know,” you shake your head, frustrated. “It’s like a puzzle that is missing pieces and I just can’t quite put it all together.”

“How can I help, hon?” Sandy asks, her eyes comforting and kind.

“You’re doing it, babe, by just listening,” you say, squeezing her hand. “So, when I woke up from the dream, E seemed closed off about what I was telling him. I mean, he confirmed he was there, and that he’d held me, but I could just tell he wasn’t letting me in on everything. I feel like I’m noticing just how well and how easily he seems to bend the truth to suit his needs, and now I’m doing it, too,” you say, ashamed.

“And how does Red fit into all this?” she asks, eyes narrowed.

“Oh, god, yeah. I literally ran into him coming out of Elvis’ room. You should have seen the smug look on his face, San. I am so fucking screwed,” you sigh, flinging yourself back on the bed.

“Just tell Elvis! He won’t let Red get away with anything,” Sandy points out.

“I won’t see him until tonight, and by then, everyone might already know!” You look at Sandy frantically, pleadingly. “I feel crazy, and I hate all these stupid emotions! Jesus, who even am I anymore? Am I this woman who lies and cheats and hides things, not just from everyone, but from herself, too?”

Sandy looks at you, pausing as she seems to gather her thoughts. “Have you thought that maybe, just maybe, you are finally breaking free of everything that’s been holding you back? That you are just scared of all of this because it’s new and different and a risk? Before this last week, when was the last time you even took a risk, y/n? When was the last time you actually allowed yourself to really feel anything? Hon, you’ve spent so much time pushing down everything that you are and could be because of Jack and what you think you have to be for him. Maybe all this is just you becoming…you. Making decisions for yourself, ones that make you happy,” Sandy says with the love only she could give you.

You choke back a sob, “But who I am is an awful person, Sandy. I can’t seem to do anything right. I’m a liar and a cheat, which is everything I hate about Jack. I’m stuck in this dysfunctional marriage that I’m dependent on, and I was the reason we couldn’t build the big family we both wanted. I’m in love with someone I have no business being in love with, a man who is so utterly beyond my reach, who could never love me the way I need him to. I…God, I can’t even trust my memories!” Your utter heartbreak at everything aches through your chest, a painful reminder of everything you lack. Shaking with tears, you curl into a ball.

“Oh, hon,” Sandy says gently. She grabs your shoulders and hauls you up. “Look at me.”

You force yourself to meet her gaze, tears leaking from your eyes.

“You have to stop beating yourself up, baby. You’re not perfect, none of us are, but you are certainly not an awful person, not one little bit. You are full of love and kindness and talent, and you’ve put yourself last for so damn long that putting yourself first feels wrong to you,” she says so matter-of-factly that you have no choice but to listen.

“But I’ve made such a mess of things,” you whimper.

“Yeah, well, Jack pushed you to it, hon. And Elvis, well, he’s Elvis, and resisting that man takes a fortitude of will that not many women possess. What I’m saying is, this is not all on you.”

But you still feel like a powder keg about to explode, all your anguish and self-doubt clawing its way out of you, ripping you to shreds along the way.

“No, no, no. I have to…I have to end this,” you shake your head, wiping your nose with the back of your hand. “I don’t want to feel like this anymore. It feels like hell.”

Sandy purses her lips and gives you a look. “Did you even listen to a word I just said, hon? Let me make it clearer for you: You love Elvis. You don’t love Jack, not anymore. Leave the fucker and go be with the man you love, guilt free! Jack’s a big boy, he’ll survive.”

She makes it sound so easy, but it is anything but, at least to you, and you’re the one living it. “I can’t, Sandy, I can’t just do that! I’m dependent on Jack, who is dependent on Elvis. Without either of them, I have nothing. No job, no money, nothing. So tell me what happens when E gets tired of me, huh? Then I will literally be out on the street, Sandy!” you yell.

“God, you are just determined to be miserable, aren’t you? So determined that you are blind to the obvious!” Sandy shakes her head in frustration, then takes a deep, calming breath before lowering her voice to continue, “I can’t make you feel that you are enough—only you can do that, hon. But you are. You are enough for me, and certainly enough for Elvis.”

“You don’t know that, Sandy! Besides, Elvis is keeping shit from me, too! And I haven’t been enough for Jack for a long time!” you holler.

“Fuck Jack, y/n! Fuck him! He’s not worthy of you, not the other way around. You have to start to see that, hon!” she yells back, her cheeks reddening.

“None of that changes the situation! Red knows, and you and I both know he’s gonna make trouble, and it’s gonna all blow back on me. I’m trapped. I’m trapped in all of it, my marriage, this affair, the lies, this fucking insane world of Elvis’! I can’t…Fuck this shit,” you say, standing up, every nerve in your body flying on a horrible roller coaster than you can’t seem to get off of.

The only solution you can see is to remove yourself from the equation.

“I’m gonna say goodbye to Elvis, to Vegas, to all of it. I’m leaving on the first plane out of here tonight,” you say with finality, standing up. It makes you feel like you finally have some semblance of control over your life.

“Y/n. I don’t think this is the solution you think it is, hon—” Sandy starts.

“Look, I appreciate everything you are trying to do here, but I’m the one living this, not you, and it feels like hell right now. I need out. I’m going home,” you say harshly, swiping the tears off your face. It’s like you are pulling a steel door over all the turmoil you’ve been feeling, shutting out the pain so you can do what you should have done days ago.

You don’t want to relive the trauma of your miscarriage or remember all these fleeting and confusing moments with Elvis anymore. You don’t want to think about what Elvis is hiding from you, because you just know it’s something important and you can’t take another man you love lying to you. You don’t want to see Jack. You don’t want to completely upend everything you’ve known for the last fourteen years. You don’t want to be in love with a man who could never truly love you back the way you need him to. Because they never do.

And your heart aches in every way—for the baby you never met, for the man you used to love, and for the man you love now—it all radiates through you like poison, threatening to cripple you. You can’t stay like this. Anything to escape these horrible feelings, this seemingly unending wave of fear and uncertainty.

Sandy looks at you resigned and disapprovingly, shaking her head. “Fine. You do what you gotta do. But running away ain’t gonna solve anything.”

The hell it won’t.

*

Taglist:

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@liaaacantwrite @kittenlittle24 @kaitaesupremacy @butler-trouble @eliseinmemphis @russian-soft-bitch  @tattywood 

@sassanoe @re3kin @thella @suspiciousmidge @hiddlepiddlediddlewiddle @carolinesbookworld @juggernort @aesthetic-lyss @stitchattacks @donnamarie23 @ab4eva 

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[akingdomofswordsandstories]

Unrequited

azriel (acotar) x reader

Summary: takes place during acofas, you and Azriel are mates but he doesn’t know it yet, angst, fluff, and everything in between

*Also this is my first imagine ever so I'm sorry if it sucks lol! There will be a part 2 to this, but I am still working on it!!

word count: 3927

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

The winter solstice was in a few days and you weren’t sure what to get some of the inner circle. You walked briskly down the streets of the Rainbow, chilled to the bone due to the wind. You had made the dumb mistake of rushing out of the townhouse - to avoid any questions of where you were going - without taking your scarf. Your current outfit, which was a chunky knit blue sweater with leggings and boots, wasn’t enough to keep the chill away. But the cold wasn’t the most important thing on your mind. You had already bought presents for Rhys, Feyre, Amren, and Elain, but that left Cassian, Mor, and Azriel. Mor and Cass would be pretty easy to buy for, but you put it off knowing they would look through your room trying to find their solstice gift. But Azriel, that would be much harder.

Every waking hour, the shadowsinger haunted your thoughts. Something you had come to conclude was unrequited.

You had realized the mating bond between you two before he did.

It had clicked a few months ago while on a diplomatic mission. The aftermath of Hybern had left things chaotic, and if you were being honest, it still was. Rhys decided to send Cassian, Mor, Azriel, and you to travel to some of the other courts to bring back reports on the recovery after the war. However, traveling did have some dangers. While you were on your way back to Velaris from the Winter Court, your group was ambushed by a group of Hybern soldiers who had been hiding out in the mountains. Had it not been for Azriel’s wings shielding you from the initial arrows, you would’ve surely been dead, and that’s when it clicked for you. But like an idiot, you didn’t say anything.

You had thought if the bond had clicked for you, it would've clicked for Azriel too. You realized your mistake when Azriel hadn’t acknowledged any change between you two. You hoped that he would figure it out in the coming weeks, but he didn’t. You knew the same sort of situation happened with feyre and rhys so you still held out some hope. But as the months went by, and you realized the bond still hadn’t clicked for Azriel and it felt too late to tell him.

At least that was the excuse you made up. Truly, you were also afraid of the rejection that could have followed. You weren’t a fool, you knew him and Elain had some sort of connection, and that shattered your dreams even more. The possibility that he wouldn’t accept the mating bond to be with the fair skinned, doe eyed fae. Everytime Azriel was in the same room as Elain, she was the only thing he would pay attention to. During gatherings, you would plaster on a smile and act as if you were happy, but Cassian and Mor, your best friends, could sense your discomfort. They tried to ask you about it, but seeing as you would shut down anything they said, they decided not to pry too much. Amren ended up figuring out the source of your discomfort had to do with Azriel, but kept your secret until you would be ready to share it.

You came to the conclusion that distancing yourself from him would be the best option, so that's what you did.

You walked down the street till you got to one of the finest seamstresses is Velaris. Since you were an artist like Feyre, you decided to draw out a dress and have it made for Mor. The color was blood red, her signature. It was a silk slip dress that would come down to her mid-lower calf and it would be embroidered with a brilliant gold thread. You drew out a pattern of the sun, stars, and moon, which you hoped she would like. To go along with Mor’s dress, you got a jeweler to make a custom necklace and bracelet set to go with it. You designed more dainty jewelry that had gold stars with diamonds, since she was a dreamer.

You decided to design Cassian’s gift as well, creating a beautiful silver and black dagger with a moonstone on the hilt. It was a beautiful dagger, but you also made sure it was usable, because you would hate for it to go to waste. To add onto the combat theme, you also decided to buy him new fighting leathers with touches of red embroidery to match his siphons. Lastly, you bought Cassian a bottle of fae wine, which definitely wouldn't last long.

The last thing you got for all three of you was a friendship necklace. Although that sounds corny, the two of them had become such a positive force in your life and you couldn’t imagine life without them. Keeping with the celestial theme for the friendship necklaces, you bought a sun, a moon, and a star. The sun for Cassian, the moon for Mor, and the star for you. Although they are opposites in some ways, all three need each other, just like the three of you needed each other.

Now that you had gotten Mor’s and Cassian’s solstice gifts figured out, it was onto Azriel’s gift. You honestly had no clue what to get him. Due to distancing yourself, you weren’t sure if there was something that he wanted. You were positively stumped. Lucky for you though, you ended up spotting Mor in another shop a few stores down from where you were, most likely getting the rest of her solstice gifts. You decided to sneak up on her as a friendly prank. Grabbing her shoulders, you yelled in her ear, making her jump.

“Oh mother above, it’s just you, y/n! You scared the life out of me” Mor said.

“Doing some last minute shopping?” you asked. “I could ask you the same thing”. Giving her a playful smack on the arm, the corners of your mouth curled upward, even the simplest remark from her could make you smile.

The two of you were currently standing in front of a jewelry shop, looking at the collections of necklaces and earrings through the window. “Wow” you breathed out “These are all so beautiful”

“Indeed they are, although they’re quite pricey”

“How pricey is pricey?”

She whispered the amount in your ear and you stopped breathing for a second, “Holy Mother wow, that is quite the price tag. At least we can admire it from a far”, you laughed out. Even though you got a very generous salary from Rhys, you still felt guilty spending so much money on materialistic things.

After a moment you said, “Actually, since you’re here, I do need help finding a solstice gift for Azriel”, softening your voice at the end, “Any ideas?” you asked, drawing out the syllables.

“Well, I always get Azriel some cool towels, clothing, or a dagger!” Mor said. A small scoff came out of my mouth as I shook my head and raised my eyebrows. “Fine!” she exclaimed, “I may have overheard him needing a new leather sheath for Truth Teller.” grumbling towards the end. “Oh that sounds great, thank you for the help! Now let’s go off to the closest leather goods store and find a sheath!”.

“y/n! I still have shopping to do” a scowl appearing on her face. “Fine, I guess I’ll just call Cassian, cause his judgement might be better than yours, when it comes to knife related things of course” you said, baiting her.

“Ugh, I hate you y/n”

“I hate you too Mor”

“Fine, let's get going before I change my mind” she grumbled. Then we took off down the streets of the Rainbow to find a sheath.

The task was easier said than done, for you at least. Being indecisive and a major over thinker, you had looked through close to 100 sheaths, but none of them seemed good enough to hold the blade that Azriel never let anyone else touch. Except Elain.

While you were lost in your thoughts, you laid your y/c eyes on the perfect sheath. It had a bright cobalt blue stitching to match Az’s siphons. Along the tip and lining the top of the leather was a thin coat of silver plating with little sapphires embedded in the metal. You quickly snatched it up and paid a hefty price for it, but it was perfect.

“Thank god you finally picked one, it felt like we were in that store for centuries”. Mor sighed, probably a sigh of relief for getting out of the store, “But y/n, it’s perfect, I know Azriel will love it”

“Do you really think so? I just want it to be the perfect gift and I’m scared he won’t like it because what if it’s too simplistic and what if-”

“Hey! It's perfect! Don’t stress too much y/n. And for the record, I think that you’re an amazing gift giver - the amount of thought you put into gifts make it all the better.”

You could feel a blush creeping up your cheeks and mumbled a small thank you.

“Anyway while we’re here do you need to get anything to go with your solstice outfit?”

“Oh Actually, I was so stressed about getting everyone’s solstice gift that I forgot to buy my dress” your voice falling off at the end. You felt yourself being yanked to a harsh stop and the saw Mor’s face staring at yours, mouth gaping and eyes wide.

“Are you crazy?? Solstice is in 3 days and you still don’t have anything??? Oh honey, our shopping isn’t done yet.” And with that statement you found yourself being pulled into the nearest dress shop. After trying on nearly 20 dresses you finally found the perfect one, which Mor approved. It was a light blue silk dress that was more fitted at the top but flared down at your waist. It had a cowl neckline, a slit going up the side to the mid upper thigh, and accentuates your curves beautifully and has a slight shimmer to it. You looked ethereal in it

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

After your exhausting day of shopping, you couldn’t wait to get out of the cold. You swiftly walked back to the townhouse. Once inside you made your way to your room to set down the gifts, change your clothes, and grab your book. Then you quietly headed down to the kitchen to make yourself a cup of tea and sat on the couch to read. The house was quiet since all of the others decided to go to Rita’s tonight. You decided to stay home for some much needed relaxation. You opened your book and started reading. After a few hours, you felt your eyes drooping and eventually, sleep consumed you.

The loud noise of the front door caused you to stir and your eyes fluttered open. You were too exhausted to look so you just laid your head back down and tried to go to sleep. You could hear Mor whispering something and then felt yourself being lifted off the couch and being held close to a chest with your blanket still draped on you.

“Cass?” you whispered hoarsely along with a string of incoherent words

You heard a slight laugh “Not Cass but It’s ok, go back to sleep”. Then you felt yourself being gently placed on your bed and the sleep hit you before you could mutter a thank you.

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

The sun was setting towards the sea as you sat in the sitting room of the town house. You were in your blue silk dress with a glass of wine in your hand. Rhys and Feyre were by the mantel, quietly talking while Mor and Amren were across the room. Near the window I saw Elain, and from the corner of my eye I could see Azriel making his way towards her. My face fell but I quickly plastered on a smile, not wanting to concern anyone. Especially since today was also Feyre’s birthday and we had planned a surprise for her. Feyre thought she could slip her birthday past us, but we hadn’t forgotten. After a few minutes, Cassian made his way from the kitchen with the enormous cake.

You floated towards Feyre and gave her arm a light squeeze. “Happy Birthday, make a wish before the candles melt!”

She blew out the candles and then we ate cake before opening up the presents.

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

Rhys snapped his fingers and piles of brightly wrapped bags and boxes filled up the sitting room. Amren was the first to open her presents. Naturally, everyone got her something jewelry related. Amren opened mine and you saw a wide smile set across her face, she picked up the diamond necklace and nodded a ‘thank you’ your way. You returned the gesture back, a small smile forming on your face.

Next, Cassian handed Mor her present from him and she pulled out a-. You couldn’t believe what you were seeing. He bought her red lingerie. Your face turned slightly red, but the Mor said “Don’t let him fool you: he couldn’t think of a damn thing to get me, so he gave up and asked me outright. I gave him precise orders. For once in his life, he obeyed them.”

Then, you heard one sharp knock at the door.

Nesta.

You saw Cassian tense up a bit. Nesta walked in, linking arms with Elain. She got a glass of wine before heading to sit in a chair in the back of the room. The silence was deafening. Finally Varian started talking and the present opening resumed.

From Amren, you received a new calligraphy set. It was so beautiful and you loved it. From Rhys, you got some books. It was perfect since you loved to read, and they were ones that you had been wanting to read for a long time. From Feyre, you received a painting as well as a new paint brush kit.

Cassian made his way to you and set a gift down in your lap. You opened the dark blue box that Cassian had placed in your lap. He had gotten you a sky blue hardbound journal with a gold embossed star on it. You desperately needed a new one, and this was perfect. You walked over and gave him a hug, whispered “Thank you, I love it.”.

Next you opened Mor’s present. You nearly choked when you saw what she got you and your whole face heated up. She got you a matching navy blue lingerie set like the one Cassian bought her.

“Yeah, I wasn’t too sure what to get you so I thought we could twin”. You looked around the room and saw the others holding in their laughs. You could’ve sworn you saw a tinge of red on Azriel’s ears. You just smiled and mouthed a silent “I’m going to kill you, but thank you” at her.

There wasn’t anything from Azriel. Your heart twinged. Had you not been important enough? It was just a present you reminded yourself, fixing your composure before handing Cassian his present.

He ripped it open like an animal, squealing when he saw it. A promising reaction given the amount of thought you put into it.

“Did you design these? They look amazing!”

“Yeah, I’m glad you like it. It took a long time to figure out what to get for your dumb ass”

“You mean my cute ass”, you smacked his arm and then got up to give Mor her present.

You closely watched her reaction as she opened her dress and jewelry, a large smile spreading across her face.

“You really buy the perfect presents y/n, I love it”.

“Oh Cass, Mor. One more thing.” You pulled out the small boxes with the friendship necklaces and bracelets handing it to them. “This was just a little something extra I thought of, I hope you like it”. You knew you would have started stuttering and crying if you had said the meaning to them, so you just handed them notes instead. They read over them, eyes glossing over, and pulled you into a hug.

“This is the only time I’ll wear jewelry” Cass stated, causing you to chuckle

Then Mor said, “I am never taking this off” causing you to laugh again.

Finally, Azriel opened up his presents. He had opened up all the others. All that was left was yours and Elain’s gift to him. He found his way to your present first, opening it.

“A new sheath for Truth Teller. I heard you needed a new one” you quietly said.

He held your gaze and smiled, “Thank you, it's great”. Suddenly feeling exposed, you quickly gave him a nod.

Then he went to open Elain’s gift. “It’s a powder to mix in with any drink.” she said.

Silence.

Elain bit her lip and then smiled sheepishly. “It’s for the headaches everyone always gives you. Since you rub your temples so often.”

Silence again.

Then Azriel tipped his head back and laughed.

You hadn’t heard him laugh before, and mother above it was gorgeous. You had never heard a sound so deep and joyous, a sound which made your heart clench. A part of you wished you were the reason he was laughing. You forced on a smile and spent the rest of the night drinking away the slight pain in your chest.

You were exhausted by the end of the night, sitting on the couch with Cassian and Mor, Azriel and Rhys seated on the opposite side of you.

Out of the corner of your eye, you saw movement towards the door, and craned your head to see what was going on. It was Nesta making her way to the door. You felt the couch lift next to you.

Cassian. He had swiftly pushed past Feyre and went after Nesta. This wouldn’t end well.

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

Cassian had come back quiet and brooding, walking straight to the kitchen to pour himself a glass of liquor. You got up off the couch and followed him straight into the kitchen.

“Cass, let’s take a walk, yeah?”

“I just took a walk”

“It wasn’t a question”. You grabbed a white shawl and his hand and led him outside. “What happened?”

“What’s there to talk about? It was like all the other times. Why did I have to fall in love with someone who doesn't even love me back. Who looks at me like the Illyrian born bastard I am. Who hates the idea of being in the same room as me.”

You grabbed Cass’ hand, lightly squeezing it. “Don’t say that. Nesta, she,” your voice stopping for a second “She’s different. The way she handles pain and copes is different. Give her time. She just needs time. I know how much that may pain you, but you can’t rush healing”

You pulled him into a hug

“And for the record, I know the feeling more than you know” you quietly said “unrequited love”, head pointed at the ground.

Cassian tilted his head down to look at you, his face painted with confusion. You could tell he wanted to know more, but didn’t want to pry too much.

You hesitated before continuing, not sure if you wanted to reveal your closely guarded secret. “I-“ your voice faltering, “I found my mate”. The words seemed to have rushed out of your mouth and tears pricked your eyes as you said that. After months of hiding it, you had finally gotten it off your chest.

Cassian stood shocked, staring at you. “You found your mate? And you didn’t think to tell any of us? How long ago was this”

“I-, I found out who he was around the same time Rhys sent us on that diplomatic mission. And I didn’t tell anyone because he doesn’t even know yet.”

“That was almost 6 months ago, and you didn’t say anything?”.

The tears had started flowing at this point, “I thought he would figure it out. But by the time I realized he wasn’t going to figure it out, it was too late. He had already set his eyes on someone else. And I know I could never compete with Elain, even if I am his mate.” the last part slipped out without you realizing.

“Elain? What does she-“ his eyes widening “Does that mean Az is-“

You slowly nodded, tears welled up, threatening to spill out.

“Oh, mother…”, he pulled you into a tighter hug and that’s when the gates broke. You couldn’t hold back your tears as you sobbed into Cassian's chest, his hand stroking your back.

you must have been there for 15 minutes before you realized the other might start getting suspicious. Regaining your composure, you dried your tears and tried, to the best of your ability, to hide that you had been crying.

Looking back at Cassian, you gave him a slight smile before muttering, “Thank you. I’m sorry for dumping that on you, but please promise me you won’t tell anyone. Please.”

“Of course y/n, and don’t apologize, if it makes you feel better, it helped to take my mind off of Nesta and my own problems, which I desperately needed” he chuckled out.

With the smile still on your face, you linked arms with Cassian before saying, “Oh mother above it’s freezing, let’s get back inside before we turn into popsicles!”

He let out another laugh before the two of you made your way back into the house.

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

You walked into the house and your sliver of happiness was crushed as you saw Az and Elain sitting at the table smiling and laughing quietly to themselves. Elain had her sketchbook out, showing Az her plans for the garden.

Your distraught had been clear to anyone who saw your face, and you were too tired to realize you weren’t able to hide it fast enough. Not being able to view the scene anymore, you quickly got up, muttered happy solstice, and grabbed your coat and purse before heading out the door to your apartment.

While walking home, you were consumed by your thoughts. You hated the pangs of jealousy that coursed through you. You often found yourself jealous of her soft spokenness and kindness. You also found yourself jealous of her effortless beauty. It was something that kept you up at night. She was so likeable and easily approachable, something you wished you were.

You were so drowned in your own thoughts that you hadn’t noticed a male following you till it was too late. One of his hands clamped on your mouth while the other grabbed your waist and pushed you into the nearest alleyway.

The male pulled out a knife and your tears started to fall. You were terrified about what he would do to you. This could be the last time you would have seen your family. You were struggling and kicking against him but it was no use. Your senses were groggy from the alcohol and drowsiness.

You had been so stupid to walk home alone at 2 in the morning. No matter how angry you were, you should’ve just stayed at the town house.

Before you could realize what was happening, you felt a sharp pain shoot through your side.

The sound of a clatter.

Receding footsteps.

A crimson stain blooming.

Your body crumpled to the ground and your vision started blacked out. This was it. Nobody could hear you and nobody could save you.

[galactic-magick]

As Long As I’m With You: Agnes/Agatha Harkness x Reader

Request: Hi, can you please do where Agnes (a villain) saves fem reader's life because she has feelings for her? In the end they end up together // also took some ideas from this request

Summary: You’re accused of witchcraft in your village, and a mysterious beautiful witch comes to your aid.

Words: 2200+

Warnings: fem reader, Agatha is low key evil so she hurts some people, a swear word, reader has an angsty past

Author’s Notes: This can be read as either a standalone fic or as a prequel to my other fic “Spell Practice.” I took quite a lot of creative liberty with this, hopefully that’s alright. Also disclaimer I am in no way a history expert so even though this is set in like the 1500s-1600s it’s probably very inaccurate, but it’s fanfic so anything goes right?

Taglist: @nyx-aira​ @midnight-lestrange​ @thestrangeundoing​ @thegayances @sleep-deprived-athlete @dr-robotnik-said-hella​ @fallingfor-fics @p-nymph​ @thelanawinterrs @sunproud​ (if your tag didn’t work it might be bc your blog isn’t searchable so make sure that’s on so you’re notified of future fics!)

-

-

-

You had no idea how much your life would change when you left your house that day.

It started out with a simple run to the market and the garden to get what you needed for supper that night, a job that almost always falls to you. You don’t necessarily mind getting away from your family and talking to some people in town, but it’s clear that your family doesn’t want you in the house as much as possible either.

It’s gotten to the point where they’re just looking for a reason to get rid of you. You’re a disappointment, after all. You refuse to marry in order to help your family’s status, even though you’ve gotten a couple offers. You counter your parent’s rules and ideas every chance you get, no matter how much they tell you you’re crazy. They belittle you constantly, saying your dreams are worth nothing and you’ll have to be dependent on them forever if you never submit to the role in society you’re supposed to.

Obviously bullying you out of their lives wasn’t working, so they’ve moved on to spreading rumors about you and setting you up for crimes. None have worked yet, of course, but every day you fear they’ll get too close.

Until you get burned at the stake, though, they’ve given you basically every responsibility of the house. You do all the shopping, cooking, and farming, as well as taking care of your younger siblings. You wonder what they’d do without you, despite how much they seem to want you gone.

As you’re buying a few crops and eggs from your neighbors, you swear you see something move. You turn around and see a little boy floating in the air, screaming.

You drop everything in your arms and reach up to him, trying to grab him and help him down, but he keeps flailing, and his screams start to feel directed at you.

“Hey! It’s okay! Let me help you!” you hold your hand up, speaking as calmly as you can. “I’m not going to hurt you,”

“WITCH!” a man yells as he sees you. “SHE’S A WITCH!”

Everyone around turns and watches you.

“No! No! I’m not the one doing this! I’m trying to help!”

“Let him down and maybe we’ll wait to kill you til tomorrow!” someone else demands.

A couple people march towards you to grab you, and all you can think to do is start running.

You race out of the center of town into the trees, and about five men chase after you. You keep going until it feels like your legs are going to give out and you can barely breathe, but they keep coming.

“Please! Please stop! It wasn’t me I swear!” you cry. “I don’t know what was happening!”

“Shut up, girl,” one grunts. “Your father always said there was something wrong with you, makes sense that you’re a witch!”

“What’s so wrong about witches?” a female voice calls.

You and the men spin around, trying to figure out where it came from.

Before you can blink there’s purple smoke surrounding you, and the men are thrown against the trees. They’re knocked unconscious instantly, but you remain standing and untouched.

“Who are you?” you ask, your voice quivering.

“Don’t be afraid, my dear,” the smoke starts to fade and you can make out her silhouette, then eventually her face. “I’m here to help you,”

She’s beautiful. You’ve never seen someone that immediately feels so friendly, so different in all the best ways.

“It’s alright to stare, I know I’m quite a sight,” she laughs. “I’m Agatha,”

“I’m Y/N,”

“Ah, yes, I’m pretty sure I’ve heard of you,” she smiles. “Everyone in the village can barely stand you,”

“Thanks…?” you’re not sure how to respond, especially after all that just happened. “Wait, if you live in my village, why have I never seen you? And how come you’ve never gotten caught using magic?”

“Memory spells, of course,” she shrugs. “Now, let’s get you somewhere safe, alright?”

You nod, and she wraps an arm around you. She takes you deep into the forest until you reach a small house, the glimmer of the fire peering through the windows.

You settle down on a chair while she makes some tea and food. She offers you a blanket and hands you the cup and plate, sitting down across from you.

“So how long have you been practicing magic?” she asks.

“Oh…I…well actually I don’t know how to use any magic,”

“Really? Why were the witch hunters after you then?”

“I was set up, I think,” you say. “There was a little boy floating in the air, and since I was near him they thought it was me. But I wasn’t doing anything,”

“Well,” Agatha sips her tea. “Sometimes magic can manifest itself subconsciously. Maybe you were doing it but didn’t realize it. It’s quite common,”

“But…how would I have magical powers? I’ve never learned it from anywhere,”

“Some people are just born with the gift,” she grins.

You exhale, thinking over what she said. Could it be true? You’ve been a witch all your life without even knowing it?

 -

 That night, Agatha conjures another bed for you to sleep in. But even though she made it as comfortable as she possibly could, you can’t get a wink of sleep.

You lift off the blanket and wrap it tightly around you, getting up slowly and quietly. You walk outside and sit against a tree, looking up at the stars.

You’re sure your family has heard the news by now. Their disappointment of a daughter is finally gone, accused of witchcraft. It seems that the foreseeable future will be spent with Agatha, the only safe person you have.

You wonder just how much she already knows about you. She mentioned she’s heard people gossiping about you all the time in town, yet she still saved you after hearing all those negative things.

Why is that?

“Can’t sleep?”

You jump at her voice, and she chuckles a bit at your reaction.

“Sorry,” you sigh. “I just have a lot to think about from today, I guess,”

“No worries,” she sits down beside you. “So do I,”

“Agatha,” you say. “Why did you save me?”

“Us witches have to stick together. I saw you were in trouble, so I saved you,”

“But you knew, didn’t you? You’ve known I was a witch long before this, didn’t you?”

“I had my suspicions,” she agrees. “Whenever I heard people talk about you, I figured you weren’t like everyone else. But I didn’t know for sure until today,”

“I wish you had taken me before,” you huff, a few tears falling down your cheeks. “It’s been so bad, Agatha, feeling worthless just because you’re different, everyone hates you…”

She pulls you into her shoulder, letting you cry into it, “I know, dear, I know,”

 -

 It takes you a while to come to terms with your potential powers, but as soon as you’re ready Agatha begins to teach you how to use them. You spend your days studying her spell books and practicing simple spells, most of which you fail at.

She encourages you as much as possible, explaining to you that magic is not something you can learn overnight, sometimes not even over years. She tells you that she’s actually thousands of years old (a surprise to you due to her stunning looks) and she’s been practicing for much of that time, and there’s still some spells she hasn’t mastered.

Your impatience still gets the better of you most days, though. You can’t imagine waiting several centuries to get something to work, if you get it to work at all.

One day you’re sitting at the table, trying out a simple transfiguration spell. You wave your hand repeatedly at a potato, hoping to turn it into an apple. It doesn’t even wobble, not even a single spark, but you’ve been sitting here for hours and don’t want to give up just yet.

You nearly fall asleep from exhaustion when all of a sudden it happens. It works.

There’s an apple in front of you. Not a potato, an apple.

“Holy shit!” you scream. “Agatha! I did it!”

You run over to her and point at your small accomplishment.

“Look at you go, darling!” she smiles, hugging you. “At this rate you’ll be changing rocks into cats before you’re 200!”

You laugh, “Oh come on, this is literally just one of the beginner spells,”

“So what? That’s where everybody starts,”

You break out in giddy excitement again, jumping up and down a bit and looking back and forth just to make sure your creation is still there.

Without thinking, you kiss Agatha quickly on the lips.

She stares at you, mouth open.

Before you can apologize, she grabs your face and kisses you hard. She’s everything you’d imagined and more, soft and warm but with a spark you can’t ignore.

When you finally break apart, her hands linger, brushing across your features and in your hair, “I’ve been waiting to do that,”

 -

 Things change after that, but in only the best ways.

Agatha isn’t just your mentor anymore, the only friend who came to your aid.

She’s your everything now, a soulmate, your home.

You tell her all about your life, and she tells you all about hers. As she has significantly more stories to tell, you’ll fall asleep many nights to her whispering all the legends she lived through that no one else knows are true.

She makes you laugh every day, and makes sure you always know how much she cares about you. There’s only so much you can do in your hidden home in the woods, but with magic the possibilities are endless and she’s never short of romantic ideas.

Tonight you find yourself lying your head in her lap while she plays with your hair, close to the fire so you can watch the little shows she creates with the flames.

“What about love?” you ask.

“What about it?”

“Out of all the stories you’ve told me, you’ve never mentioned being in love before,”

“Well,” she sighs. “That’s because I haven’t been,”

“Why not?”

“It’s just never appealed to me,” she says. “Until I met you,”

“Oh,” you grin, looking up at her.

She leans down to kiss you, but you’re broken apart by a loud noise outside.

You shoot up, looking at Agatha in pure panic. Your heart races as the noise gets louder and louder, eventually leading to shouting and knocks at the door.

“WE FOUND YOU!” a booming voice yells.

“Aggie?” you whisper. Everything crumbles around you. Your perfect, happy life, now about to be stolen from you. You have no idea how they found you, if you are about to be dead, if you’ll be able to defend yourself at all.

She kisses you and stands up, “Stay here. I’ll take care of it,”

With a fling of her fingers the door flies open, and the torches the townspeople are holding are burnt out. She smirks, purple smoke covering the area as she goes through them one by one, some just throwing to the side and others suffering a painful death.

She turns their own weapons against them, their own people against them, and makes them regret everything they’ve ever done.

When she returns to you, you’re still in so much shock and panic you couldn’t tell exactly what she was doing.

“Did you…kill all of them?”

“They got what they deserved for threatening us,” she says nonchalantly. “But we’re not safe here anymore. It’s time to find somewhere new,”

“Okay,” you nod as she pulls you against her. “As long as I’m with you,”

“I’ll always protect you, even when you learn enough to protect yourself,” she kisses your forehead. “Always and forever,”

 APPROXIMATELY FOUR CENTURIES LATER

 “I’m back, darling!” Agatha calls, shutting the door behind her.

“How’d it go?” you run to her, grabbing her hands.

“Splendid, that poor Wanda already loves her new neighbor!”

“Wow,” you giggle. “You know I must say, this whole living in a sitcom thing isn’t that bad, you look gorgeous in that 50s dress,”

“Oh darling, somehow after all this time you still flatter me,” she pretends to fan herself. “I have to go back over real quick, alright? Gotta give her this spicy magazine,” she holds her hand up in the air and magically forms one in her grasp.

“Ah! Be sure to get some ideas to use on me when you get back,” she laugh.

“Oh I will honey,” she winks, kissing you before going out the door.

You settle on the couch, looking around at your home. Out of all the places you’ve moved to together, this was by far the weirdest. There’s no color, and everyone besides you and Agatha and Wanda are under some kind of mind control.

You never imagined that day all those years ago would bring you here, spending your life with a beautiful witch and being her partner in all things, even sinister ones. But you wouldn’t have it any other way, and you know this strange town will only bring you more opportunities to practice your magic and help Agatha with her plans.

[petri808]

Nalu Yakuza Au *cover art by @jmoart214 💜

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |

The tit for tat game was well known to both of their top confidants and lieutenants because it had been going on ever since Natsu and Lucy broke up. Plus, it was hard to get around such knowledge considering most of them came from the same neighborhoods. These intrigues ebbed and flowed like waves. Months could pass by without any interactions between the two, at other times they’d go back and forth continuously until one of them finally gave up, and on the odd occasion ended in a huge fight that led to another round of ignoring each other. Up until now, it had been kind of amusing to watch them torture each other because it was better than a drama shows on television. But that didn’t mean Natsu, and Lucy’s friends didn’t worry about one or both being truly hurt one day because of it.

“It’s fine,” Natsu rolled his eyes as Gray chastised him after the soapland incident. The two men were at Natsu’s home after work hours and supposed to be relaxing. But clearly his friend didn’t want to drop the subject. “What’s the big deal?”

“Dude, you let yourself be blindfolded in a public space! Have you forgotten what kind of business we’re in? What if it had been an assassin instead?”

“Oh, that’s just ridiculous. We’re talking about Lucy’s company, and I trust their security measures because she has just as much to lose if a hit took place there.”

“Still, you should be more careful, at least take a bodyguard with you…”

Natsu’s eyebrow twitched in irritation. “And what, so they can watch the show? We got any voyeurs on the payroll? Cause I can’t think of anyone here who’d wanna see another guy getting his balls fondled!”

Gray ran a hand down his face. “So not the mental image I wanted. You’re missing the point.” He sighed. “Natsu you are the head of this clan, and your safety is my top priority.”

“I get it, I get it,” Natsu drawled.

“And frankly,” Gray continued, “you’ve become distracted by her lately.”

“Tch! No, I haven’t!”

“Yeah, you are. You think I haven’t noticed? I know you drive by her place sometimes. I know you’ve followed her to that coffee shop she likes to frequent. But ever since her employee was robbed, things have escalated again.”

“You’re imagining things and apparently spying on me. I’m just keeping an eye on the competition.”

“Watching over you is my job! That’s not spying.” Gray crossed his arms. “And oh, it’s no doubt that you’re keeping an eye on her. That’s why you went to Katsunuma’s party and to soapland too. The problem is you’re getting sloppy and sloppy gets people killed.”

Natsu groaned. “Are you done yet? We’re supposed to be enjoying the baseball game, not psychoanalyzing my life.”

“Almost.” Gray placed a hand on his friends’ knee and leaned in. “Natsu, you’ve been chasing that tail since high school, just lock her down and convince her to work together already.”

Natsu snorted a laugh. “Gray we all grew up together, so what in all these years makes you think that’s a possibility? You know damn well Lucy’s not a woman you can control without her consent.” Natsu knew that, and frankly he loved that part of her. In fact, it made him even more fired up whenever he thought about it, just like a treasure you don’t just find but must win at the end of a game. “I’ll find a way, some day.”

“Well until that day arrives, could you promise me you’ll be more cautious?”

“Fine, fine,” Natsu waved his hand. “I’ll back off of Lucy for now.”

“Good.” Gray relaxed back onto his recliner thinking the drama was over.

“However, there is a new guy I want surveillance placed on.”

“Who?”

“The bartender from the party.”

Gray groaned. “Seriously? Why? He’s just a bartender!”

“I don’t trust him.”

“Was he spiking the drinks or something? Dealing drugs at the party?”

“Maybe.”

Gray huffed. “You really gonna try that? Do I look like an idiot? This is just straight jealousy talking.”

“I don’t care! I want someone to dig up what they can on the guy!”

“No, what you wanna know is if he fucked Lucy that night!”

Natsu jumped up with his fists clenched. “Fuck you!”

“Fuck you too!” Gray stood up and matched his boss’s energy. “Unless you give me a damn good reason to check into him, I’m not wasting my guy’s time! You might be the boss, but don’t you fucking forget who you’re talking to! I’m not some punk off the streets!”

Realizing he was taking things too far, Natsu sat back down. “Sorry.”

Gray sighed and plopped back down too. “I only joined because you asked me to and you’re my best friend, then I helped you build this new empire, so I’m just as invested in protecting it as you are. But Natsu, personal emotions have led to the downfall of many in this business, and as a friend, I’ll check you any time I think you’re going to far.”

“You’re right…” Natsu sighed too. “She just gets me so worked up.”

“Don’t I know it,” Gray laughed, but stopped when Natsu glared at him. “Sorry, it slipped out.”

“But I swear, there’s something suspicious about him. When he saw me, I thought he just reacted because he thought I was Lucy’s boyfriend or something, but the more I think about it, he might have recognized me.”

“Well, that wouldn’t necessarily be suspicious either.”

“True. But the look in his eyes just made me wonder.”

“Alright…” Gray groaned, “if it’ll make you feel better, I’ll have someone do some digging. So, you said he has orange hair and glasses, and the name on his tag was Loke?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s an unusual name, shouldn’t be too hard to check on.”

Over the course of a couple of weeks, Gray sent out feelers for any information on this Loke guy. Katsunuma junior gave them their first small lead that the bartender had worked the party through a local food catering company. That catering company was a legitimate business who had both full-time staff as well as independent contractors brought in per event as needed. Loke had been one of the latter. From there Gray obtained a last name, de Lioncourt.

According to his sources at the local precinct, Loke de Lioncourt had no rap sheet, no prior dealings with police, and for all they knew was an average citizen. The man’s Line blog profile listed him as a 28-year-old, Japanese/French American, model and bartender, and it was filled with pictures from events, parties, as well as many gorgeous women— none of which contained Lucy. But as Gray trolled through the man’s feed, he did come across one person he recognized and passed the information along to Natsu.

“Wow, she’s in a bunch of photos,” Natsu mumbled as he scrolled through the blog.

“Well, considering Cana’s reputation are you surprised. Parties and alcohol are the two things that woman lives for.” Gray laughed. “Now see, this makes sense to me. Lucy and him, not so much.”

“Tch… still pisses me off he even tried.”

“Lucy’s a free woman, she can go out with whoever she wants to.”

“We’ll see about that,” Natsu mumbled low.

“What was that?” Gray asked with a raised brow.

“Nothing.”

“Better be nothing, cause this is a dead end. He’s just a flirty bartender. It’s how they make tips.”

“Yeah, yeah, fine.” Natsu sat back in his chair. “So, back to business. What this I heard about some missing stock?”

“Oh, right. One of the warehouse clerks noticed a shortage, but when I checked with Yura, he said the books were fine. I had him show it to me, and it appears the numbers were just inverted by accident. So, instead of 185 kilos, it’s supposed to be 158 kilos.”

“Did you talk to the clerk again? Does he have any history of messing up like this?”

“Nah, he’s one of our better clerks.”

“Just keep an eye on it.”

“Sure thing, boss. By the way, have you seen Gajeel today?” Gray questioned. “I haven’t seen him.”

“He called me this morning said he wasn’t feeling well, thinks he ate something bad for dinner last night.”

“Tch, seriously? Thought he had an iron stomach?”

Natsu shrugged. “Must’a been some bad sushi or something. We ain’t got much happening today, so it’s fine. Anything else? I got some stuff I need to finish.”

Gray tapped his chin. “Just a reminder you have an appointment with our tech guy dropping by later this week to go over some upgrades on the system.”

“Like I’m supposed to know anything about that stuff, it’s what I pay him for.”

“You still gotta approve it,” Gray shrugged and took his leave.

Once the man was completely out of the office, Natsu opened a drawer in his desk and pulled out a nondescript box he’d hidden inside. He grinned to himself. It was time to make another special delivery. Even though he’d told Gray he was backing off the whole Lucy and Loke subject, there was no way he was gonna let it slide. Natsu didn’t care if the man seemed legit, and he wasn’t the first nor would probably be the last that he’d eventually scared away. And besides, being a Yakuza boss had a lot of down times too, easily filled with having a little fun.

Today’s little care package was being sent to Lucy by a courier service and Natsu just had to drop it off to the delivery company. Just a normal company like Kuroneko Yamato so it wouldn’t rouse too many suspicions. It was turning into a fun game for him just coming up with ideas of what he could do to rile Lucy up or irritate this Loke guy. Natsu chuckled to himself. So far, his favorite prank was a box of small sized condoms and a bottle of enhancement pills that he’d had delivered to Loke while on the job at another party. He’d even snuck in to watch it delivered, gaining a good laugh when the man took a peek in the box and frowned at its contents.

It was childish, but Natsu didn’t care. Every day for two weeks now, something new was sent to Loke. Random gifts like children’s candy to a toy gun, a big bottle of lubricant wrapped in a bow, a week’s worth of meals sent for lunch one day, even an empty box with rocks inside it just to drive the man crazy wondering who in the world was sending them. Lucy too wasn’t immune to his pranks, though hers had a different feel to them. Flowers with no note attached. Tickets to a canceled show he made up. A supposed dinner invite from Loke that wasn’t real— okay that was to test her, but she didn’t fall for it. And today’s little care package fit right into his prank scheme.

Natsu dropped off the package at a Kuroneko Yamato office with the address instructions already filled out and paid the company’s employee extra to keep their mouths shut. ‘She’s gonna kill me one day,’ he laughed to himself as he rode back to his office. ‘If it’s suffocation by her boobs it wouldn’t be a bad way to go!’

“Anymore stops sir?” The driver asked Natsu.

“Nope. Back to the office.”

He looked at his watch. The package should be arriving at Lucy’s office within the hour. Give or take another to open it, and by 4pm he would be receiving another phone call. Maybe he won’t answer it. Oh, that would piss her off even more! ‘Well, if she’d just take the hint...’

The afternoon was supposed to be mellow at headquarters that day. No shipments, and no appointments. But when Natsu got back, another general in the organization named Jellal Fernandez came to his office to inform him of a problem. One of the new local restaurants in their territory was refusing to cooperate and he wanted to know how Natsu wanted it handled. They were right in the middle of discussing it, when Natsu’s office door flew open with a loud bang!

In stomped Lucy who immediately threw a box at his head, causing Natsu to duck and Jellal to pull his gun.

“Don’t!” Natsu screamed at his general and motioned for him to stand down, to which the man complied. “Do you have a death wish Lucy!”

“Get. Out.” She snapped at the general. “Get out! This is between me and your boss!”

Jellal looked to Natsu, who nodded his head to scram. “I got this, don’t worry.” The man holstered his gun and left, but Natsu could see he’d stayed right outside of the now closed door.

“I take it you didn’t like the gift,” Natsu pretended to stay calm.

“Gee, me throwing it at you give you that impression? I know it’s you sending all these damn deliveries to me and Loke. That needs to stop now!”

He crossed his arms and scoffed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Play dumb all you want. Just stop! Why are you even doing this?!”

“Take a guess,” he sneered back.

“I could’ve sworn we were adults now, but apparently I’m the only one who grew up. Stay out of my love life Natsu!”

“So, you admit you’re sleeping with the guy!”

“That’s none of your damn business! I can fuck whoever I want!”

“Not as long as I’m alive,” Natsu growled back.

Lucy crossed her arms. “That could be arranged.”

“Is that a threat?!”

“Yes! If you don’t stay out of my love life!”

“A woman shouldn’t be sleepi—”

“Don’t you finish that sentence!” Lucy grabbed a stapler that was within reach and chucked it at Natsu’s head. “Stop trying to control me!”

“Are you crazy?!”

At that moment, Gray barged into the room. He’d heard the screaming from the other side of the office, and when he got close enough to see Jellal standing outside the door, he became alarmed. Why would a general leave Natsu vulnerable! The man told him their boss told him to leave, but as the sounds inside escalated, Gray couldn’t wait anymore.

“Stop it!!” Gray got between them. “What are you two doing! Lucy you shouldn’t be here!”

“Then tell your damn boss to leave me the fuck alone!” Lucy spat back. “Ask him how he’s been harassing Loke and me!”

Gray turned to his boss with a groan. “Natsu, we talked about this!”

“Tell Gray what you been doing!” Lucy pressed. “Show him the stupid packages you send!”

“What packages?” Gray looked to Lucy, then repeated the question as he stared at his boss. “What packages?”

“Tch,” Natsu crossed his arms, “it’s not even that bad.”

Lucy stomped over to where the box fell and picked it up, pulling the contents out. “Bullshit!” She snapped as she held up a very racy, red nightie with flame prints, a pair of fluffy handcuffs, and a large dildo. “See this shit?!” Lucy shook the floppy latex toy at Gray before chucking it to the ground again. “He includes messages too,” then handed the man a folded piece of paper.

Gray read it aloud, “to make up for what playboy lacks. Had it custom made to my size wink wink. Ugh, seriously man,” he tossed the letter.

Natsu shrugged. “I was just having fun.”

“This is the yakuza, not a daycare!” Gray snaps. “I’m not here to babysit the boss so he stops harassing the competition! There’s more important business to worry about!”

“That’s right listen to Gray,” Lucy sneered.

Gray turned to her. “Oh, you ain’t innocent either, so don’t even try it. You both do things to purposely rile the other up and get mad when there’s consequences. Stop it!” He looked back and forth between the two. “Just stop it already!”

Natsu and Lucy looked away from the man with scowls on their faces. Neither wanted to admit he was right.

“Jellal,” Gray called out. When the man entered, he instructed him to escort Lucy out of there. “Next time, just call me instead. It’s best you two just stay away from each other. Got it?!”

“Yeah,” Lucy grumped.

“Got it?!” Gray questioned his boss.

“Yeah,” Natsu mumbled.

“Fucking like high school,” Gray ran a hand down his face in irritation. “You two need therapy.”

[barnesbabee]

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴇɪɢʜᴛ- ᴡᴏɴᴅᴇʀʟᴀɴᴅ

WONDERLAND MASTERLIST

⇜ ᴘʀᴇᴠɪᴏᴜꜱ - ᴇɪɢʜᴛ-  ɴᴇxᴛ ⟿

CHARACTER LIST:

White Rabbit - Choi Jongho Absolem (Blue Catterpilar) - Kang Yeosang Cheshire Cat - Kim Hongjoong Mad Hatter - Choi San Haigha (March Hare) - Jung Wooyoung Tweedle Dee - Song Mingi Tweedle Dum - Jeong Yunho Bloody Red King - Park Seonghwa

ᴛᴀɢʟɪꜱᴛ: @myunvillage @mirror-juliet @jess-1404 @earth-to-leiki [Send me a DM, an ask or comment to be added to the tag list]

“The stars sure look beautiful today.”

From that night on you and Seonghwa continuously exchanged shy glances, and even the simplest touch would make you blush, as you both reminisced what had happened that night. You anxiously waited for the day you would finally belong to each other, and as the night approached, the both of you started feeling butterflies all over your body.

You had decided the wedding would be small. Not because you weren't extravagant, but because none of you had friends, so it wouldn't make sense to throw a big party. Although the King, without your knowledge, had ordered the most beautiful wedding dress, and he couldn't wait for you to see it.

One day, you decided to take a peek at the ballroom, where the wedding would be taking place. You could see he tried to minimize the red and black, but it was stronger than him. It did look beautiful though... The gold chandelier lit up the sparkly room, decorated with rose petals cut in the shape of a heart, and several portraits of you and the King beside each other. You wondered when those had been painted, but you were honoured. Your heart was clenching in adoration as you noticed the contrast between the portraits all around the castle compared to those. Every painting of the King you had seen so far was of him with a stone-cold expression, but in all of these you were both smiling, laughing, or looking at each other lovingly. The King make sure to capture his favourite moments in all of these paintings, from the day you met, to the picnic in the garden.

"Thank you, Miss."

You were startled to hear a voice behind you while you peeked through the barely opened door. You jumped slightly and turned around, but calmed down once you saw it was one of the maids. She was looking at you with her big, sparkly frog eyes. At some point, it freaked you out, but after seeing them every day you got used to the frog people.

"You're welcome ma'am, but what might you be thanking me for?" You asked, quite confused.

"You've made our lives infinitely better with your presence. Our King has really changed... He said 'thank you' the other day. I have worked for him for a decade and not once had I heard those words from him. He treats us like people, not like servants. You are a blessing, Miss."

You smiled at the maid, a sad yet sympathetic smile.

"I know it's a lot to ask, but I beg of you, give him another chance. Seonghwa is but a neglected, traumatized child in an adult man's body, and I'm trying to help him become a better person."

"I cannot promise anything Miss, but if he truly shows the people mercy and compensates them for all we've been through, the people might give him another chance."

You gave her a slight nod, and thanked the maid for her honesty.

"Hey!" A voice called from up the stairs.

The maid excused herself, and you looked at the staircase, to find a distressed Seonghwa running down towards you.

"Did you see the room?" He asked arms crossed over his chest.

You stayed quiet for a second and looked away from the man who stood apprehensively in front of you.

"No?" You lied.

"Aw come on! I wanted it to be a surprise! I knew I should've covered that paintings."

The image of a sulking Seonghwa was the most adorable thing you had ever seen. You wrapped your arms around his waist and laid your head on his chest.

"I'm sorry, but I was too curious..." You paused and looked up at the man "If it serves any consolation, I was very surprised, and I loved it."

"Really?" He happily asked, flashing you his pearly whites.

You hummed in agreement, earning a small kiss from the man.

"Well, the surprises aren't over. There's a couple more, starting with tonight's dinner."

Before you could ask what he meant, Seonghwa grabbed your hand and dragged you towards a small room in the attic. It took a while to go up all of the marble stairs, and you were out of breath once you reached the room, but it was worth it.

The King gripped the golden handle of the red, wooden door, while looking at you with a big grin. Once he pushed it open, the most beautiful sight was prepared for you. The roof of the small room had a beautiful glass skylight, and the stars looked down at you as you stepped inside. There were white rose petals scattered all over the dark wooden floor, and a small table with two chairs sat in the middle. On the wall right in front of you was a lit fireplace, and the table was set for two, with the most beautiful cutlery you had ever seen. You noticed a letter sitting on one of the dishes, that you assumed was directed at you.

"I, uh... I learned to like white roses." Seonghwa said, embarrassed.

You remember the first time you met when he freaked out over the white roses in the garden. He moved to stand behind one of the chairs, and pulled it back.

"Come, sit down."

You obliged and sat down on the chair he held out of you The male sat in front of you and motioned towards the letter.

"Tomorrow we get married, and there are many things I want to tell you, but I can't. So I wrote it down."

You grabbed the letter and opened it. The King's calligraphy was beautiful and easy to read, but it didn't surprise you: everything about him was very neat.

'Dearest Y/N,

I'm sorry you have to read this, instead of hearing me say it, but I know that if I were to tell you how I feel, half of my sentiments would be left unsaid. I have lived a short life that felt very, very long. These years have dragged on relentlessly, but ever since you arrived, time flies. I hate going to sleep and I can't wait to wake up, to be with you, to look at you, to kiss you... I have had many experiences that I thought were love, but the second I laid eyes on you, I knew all of those previous times were wrong, I finally knew what love was. And recently I've come to find that love isn't only one thing, because somehow my love for you grows in many ways every day I spend with you. You may call me crazy, but there's nothing I wouldn't do for you, and I will keep my promise of changing to be a better King. Even if you stop loving me, even if you leave me, I will hold up my promise as proof of my everlasting love for you. But I must confess, I've imagined us growing old together, and one day, when I pass the crown onto my future child, I hope it is your child as well.

Forever yours,

Seonghwa.'

Tears streamed down your cheeks like two rivers and your bottom lip trembled as you read the letter.

"Ah, those are happy tears! Correct?"

You set down the letter and wiped away said tears with your wrists.

"Yes, yes they are. This was beautiful, Seonghwa, thank you."

"I'm afraid that's as far as the surprises go today, because when it comes to dinner," Seonghwa paused, revealing two sandwiches that would be your meal "I'm afraid it's mediocre. I tried my best but everything I made came out raw or burned, I'm afraid this is as far as my cooking abilities go."

You were surprised and very touched that he had done it all by himself, even if it were just some lousy sandwiches.

"You made dinner by yourself? Well, my good Sir, they must be delicious." You joked as you took one of them.

They weren't good, but they weren't bad either, and you appreciated the effort that had gotten into them. You imagined what kind of King Seonghwa would have been if the previous King had chosen to raise Seonghwa instead of his sister... Surely a kind, caring King that everyone looked up to, one every eligible young woman (and man) would bad their eyelashes at. It was truly a shame... But it wasn't too late for a change, you were hopeful.

You spent that night together, cuddling and telling stories while looking at the starry sky, and you eventually fell asleep on the many pillows Seonghwa had sprawled on the floor.

The next day, you woke up with a smile, remembering that your wedding was in a few hours.

You laid on top of Seonghwa and kissed him.

"Wake up sleepy head."

Seonghwa smiled, wrapped his arms around you and flipped the two of you, so you'd be under him.

"Good morning princess."

You help his face in your hands and smiled.

"After today I'll be a Queen."

"My Queen."

Your sappy moment was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Sir, Miss, I'm afraid we must commence dressing you for the wedding."

The King peeled himself off of you with a groan (but not before kissing you). He helped you get up, and the two of you followed the maid that took you both to your assigned fitting rooms. Seonghwa had picked his own suit, but you had no idea what he had in store for you. The second you opened the door, you were met with the most beautiful dress you had ever even imagined. It was white, with a tight corset that expanded into a glamorous princess-like puffy tulle. The tulle had many layers, and its bottom was decorated with pearls. The corset, while sleeveless and heart-shaped, had lace appliques that covered your chest and arms, and the torso was decorated with many sparky stones. The veil was equally decorated with pearls and had a tiara attached to it.

Attached to the dress there was a letter.

'They say white symbolizes faith. I have faith in you and in our marriage. Much love, Seonghwa.'

The maids helped you dress, very carefully and with care. They truly seemed to like you. One of them even fixed your hair in a pretty bun and attached the veil to it.

They had spent around an hour fixing everything, and when you were almost done, the door opened.

"The King is waiting for Miss Y/N."

And that was your queue to leave the room. You carefully walked down the stairs and made your way to the big ballroom, once the doors opened, with the announcement of your name, your eyes fell on Seonghwa, who was staring at you happily, in his new look. His hair was slicked back, no longer covering his eye, displaying it proudly, no longer ashamed of his past. His suit matched your dress: it was white and fit him neatly, and it only served as proof that Seonghwa looked good in any colour.

You noticed the crowd in the room, but you weren't too surprised. Although you had decided to hold a small wedding and not invite anyone, you two knew the people would want to see who was brave enough to marry their King, so the man opened the castle doors for anyone who wanted to witness the wedding.

To say the people were surprised to see the King smile was an understatement, but the fact was that he was smiling, and the smile grew wider for every step you took towards him.

The ceremony went beautifully. There were tears in your eyes and in Seonghwa's eyes, and as you celebrated and sealed the marriage, everyone clapped (to you and Seonghwa's surprise).

Everything went perfectly, until the toast. Seonghwa suggested a toast in your behalf after the maids handed every citizen a glass, and when you took a sip, your body felt weird, and you started shrinking, and shrinking, and shrinking until you looked like Thumbelina.

"Y-Y/N!?" Seonghwa asked frantically, as he looked at tiny you standing on the table.

"Tweedles, now!" Someone roared from the crowd.

The Tweedles grabbed you and tossed you over to the Hatter, who had been concealed in the crowd this whole time. After hearing about the wedding, the Hatter decided he would use the certain crowd and commotion to blend in and enter the castle. Without anyone noticing, Cheshire sprinkled some of Absolem's shrinking cake into your drink.

The Hatter grabbed you gently and Bayard came running in. He placed you on the dog and reached for his pocket to retrieve some cake as well.

The King, noticing what was happening before his very eyes, panicked. Tears streamed down his eyes and his bottom lip quivered.

"No! Please don't steal her away! Please!" He begged, running towards the group with one hand stretched out, hoping he could get to the dog before they left but to no avail.

The Hatter just laughed and shrunk himself, giving Bayard the signal to leave. The card knights tried to follow the dog but he was too fast, and there was no time to get the horses before losing sight of the dog. You were gone.

The King fell to his knees, and cried, as he stopped seeing you from the distance.

"Please, don't take her away from me..."

[ninja-in-skirts]

When Night Falls

Image courtesy @pinterest

warnings- none

Scenario- Ever thought how your roommate might not be all that he seems to be...

Cam boy x fem reader [simply insert/imagine yourself in the story and read on]

Tags- Fluff, friendship, cute romance [might be rated M in future scenes, might also involve graphic sexual representation and narration]

In part 2, I’ll be balancing between you and me pov, okay?

Did you see that right? Was that exactly what you saw? But before you could think of something utterly crazy your line of thoughts was cut off by the guy in the room. “Did you just barge into my room?” At ‘my room’ you swiftly turned your neck, the rapidity with which you did so could have snapped your neck into two like in one of those Japanese noirs. “Your room?” You two could hardly see each other, well scratch that, there was no way in hell you could even gauge where you were looking at to be exact, if you’re to go by his heavy and laboured breath he was standing quite close, closer than he was when he was doing his dick-ritual. Okay, you admit he was doing something but then again it’s none of your stupid business, the moment you made it your business you’d end up embarrassing yourself, just as you’re doing now. This possibly couldn’t be his room, right? This unknown guy in darkness must be your roomie’s boyfriend or whatever but not…you so wish he’s your roommate? Don’t you? You felt the room temperature flare up at this, even though you’re pretty aware that you’re asked a question by the present occupant of the room, must be some relative, must be, “Are you going to answer my question or not?” How the hell am I to answer when I am practically blinded by the darkness, you tried to reason, gave up and cleared your throat, “Umm…I thought someone was in need of help?”

“Help…?” You could sense the irritation in his voice. “I heard someone groaning, I guess…” Not being able to withstand the temporary blinding effect you blurted out, “Will it hurt you to switch on the light, please?” “Why should I, this is my room, I make rules, I implement them, you came invading my privacy and expect me to show you civility?” What’s with him calling this ‘his room?’ And so you moved forward making something go tumbling across the floor, and the next thing you knew you’d collided with the guy, making him lose his balance and fall with a massive thud on the floor, your head against his chest, a very naked chest it was, as you tried getting up and touched something soft and squishy, he went all rigid, “Stop pushing at me like I am some toy of yours, fucking take your hands off my dick!” WHATTTTT!!! It was his penis that you’d touched, oh my what a novel way to introduce yourself to a stranger. You’re roughly pushed away, but you caught onto his arm and steadied yourself, “What am I? Your personal hanger?” Wouldn’t mind though, I’ve not even seen you…Your breaths mixed and matched with the close proximity you two were, although it wasn’t heavenly but it wasn’t stinking either, it was too sweet to your liking, think he lives on chocolates? His body odour was natural, his own personal scent, stop being a creepy pervert like Jean Baptiste Grenouille, but you couldn’t help yourself so you inhaled in the heady, sweaty smell that was making you go all tipsy. He smelt like he’d been working out, exactly how a man smells without those mind-numbing puke-ish perfumes. “What exactly are you doing now?” You could hear the snicker in his voice, oh lord caught red-handed. You let go of his arm and stood up, marched towards the door with the darkness still impeding your sense of direction, hit your head, “Oww!” “Ah, look at that will you, I didn’t say you could leave…” You were in pain but then again you’re explainable to him considering he was occupying the room, roommate or not, with your back to him, you cursed mentally, bit your lips, “I am sorry for that, I mean I did honestly have good reasons…” “Seriously? You know this is my room right?” “What?” You turned towards him, with this he had switched on the light making you blink hard at him and your surroundings. The walls were dark blue, the curtains black and the man was hot. 

“Cat got your tongue?” Now that he was looking at you, you finally noticed, exactly what you’d thought, his torso was bare, his nipples taut with the cold air blowing from the AC, woah, his room had an AC? “Wait? Are you Alex?” He looked at me like I was some stupid child, “Who else will I be, and you must be Y/N?” You nodded, your eyes moved down his lean yet muscular chest to his pelvis, the gods were cruel, in the middle of the scuffle he must have worn his pants, that little bit of hope from the dick-silhouette had been dashed, since he was now wearing pants. “My eyes”, he motioned with his fingers, “are up here.” He looked pissed off, his hair was shaggy and hid his eyes to a certain extent creating that mysterious yet delicious look, did I just say delicious? Ffffuu… He must have realized your lack of ability to speak because of his nudity, with the corner of his lips twisting into a smile.

To not further embarrass yourself and worsen the situation you cleared your throat and said, “I am sorry, I thought my roommate was a girl/woman hence the shock,” you motioned with your hands towards him and then hit your forehead with your palm. He sniggered and began laughing, “Really? Seems like I have an over-assumer for a roommate…” He dramatically wiped the corners of his eyes in a sympathetic gesture, talk about over drama, this guy. You already were having second thoughts where his beauty and uncivility were not quite turning out to your taste. “Okay, I admit it, it was my fault for assuming you to be a girl and also for barging in without your permission but…” The words died in your mouth the moment you’re itching to ask him what he was doing with his umm hockey stick out, playing poker, taking a shot? What? He must’ve realized it, cause literally every single emotion was written across your face. He began looking around, seemingly uncomfortable at your lack of tact. He slowly retrieved his shirt off the bed and took his time in buttoning from the bottom keeping the top three buttons open for the world to have a look at his chest. Ugh, this ferret, you felt like you’re meeting Draco Malfoy in a 21st Century American flat-sharing chapter. Although his hair was the colour of the starless-night sky, his condescending demeanour sure did sum up the analogy. All this time as he buttoned his shirt, he kept his eyes on you, it was some sort of challenge, who dropped their gaze first. As if I was gonna lose to some dick-dancer, eep, you bit your tongue in the process of naming him. You glared at him as he adorably raised his shoulders to feign ignorance, the nerve of this guy. Why am I even getting agitated just because I happened to meet a naked guy, a very handsome one at that, your mind quipped in. You weren’t even fifteen anymore and you’re pretty much immune to nudity considering how you’d miserably failed to draw a nude model in your art class, you’d taken some weeks back, but it wasn’t even your fault at the first place, the guy’s derriere was way too flat and you couldn’t help but tumble out of the class laughing your head off. You liked a man’s butt sculpted in a rotund fashion just like Michelangelo’s David.

It was way past midnight and you had an early morning lecture to attend, your least favourite course on Middle Ages which you wouldn’t dare miss since it was a compulsory paper. “Listen I really have to get back cause I can’t go to college looking like I had smoked pot till sunrise, so I apologise for intruding upon your privacy.” You said that in one breath and looked at him, he was smiling, “Apology accepted, so let’s go back…” he motioned towards the door and to his bed, “and yeah before I forget,” I was waiting, my back was facing him, “you really are one hell of a cook, g’night!” I waved my hand distractedly; he liked my food? HE LIKED MY FOOD! HE LOVED IT!!!! Wait, so before I could say anymore, he was already reaching for the door and walking towards me, I moved back and hit the door frame and skirted away loudly wishing him a goodnight and many a sweet dream. Like hell, I needed someone to wish those to me since I sure wasn’t getting any, tonight.

Your eyes opened the moment the alarm went off at 5.30 they burnt due to the late-night so-so altercation, since all you could do till 3 in the morning was mentally and physically prepare yourself for a life with a male roommate, it isn’t like we’ll be sharing a bed or something, your tried to reason out but failed miserably since 21st Century Draco was exactly your type, and they make you go weak. You made a mental note to get along with him so that your final year goes really smooth with less distractions and misfortunes.

 PS- I know this is really short, will come back with another part. next week. Have got academic commitments I’ve gotta stay true to, so yep there’s that. Adios readers!

Image courtesy @pinterest

[verai-marcel]

Forever and Always (RDR2 Fanfic, Arthur x F!Reader)

Summary: You reminisce about your life and have a sweet moment with your family.

Author’s Notes: I was listening to a podcast about wedding dress design and got inspired.

Tags: pure fluff, Arthur x F!Reader

Word Count: 1644

AO3 Link is right here, darlin’.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Twenty-five years.

A quarter of a century.

Funny how time flies, and all of a sudden you're nearly fifty years old. Looking back, you can see the crazy turn of events in your life like some kind of movie, detached and yet feeling every single emotion as if you were there in that moment.

***

Fresh out of college, you remembered the night you found your partner sleeping with your roommate. The white hot rage and cold grip of disbelief sent you fleeing into the rain, into the streets, into a bar in the middle of the night. As you meandered between sadness and anger, a bartender had given you a cold glass of orange juice, soda water, and a bit of ice, with a shot of grenadine.

"Here ya go, sweetheart. On the house."

You had looked up and drowned in eyes the color of volcanic springs, finding the same warmth and comfort in his kind gaze. Taking a cautious sip of the drink, you found it to be the perfect drink, not too sweet, and took your time savoring it.

"What brings you here tonight?" he had asked.

After a moment of silence, he held up his hand. "You don't need to tell me if you don't want to."

He leaned in close. "But I'm happy to listen, whenever yer ready."

His sweet smile undid you, and you poured out your heart. He seemed to nod along with your story, as a stranger would, but there was a steadily growing fire in his eyes. After a while, after a few interruptions from other customers ordering drinks, you had finished venting, nursing the last of your drink and debating what your next move should be.

"Alright folks, last call!" the bartender shouted. A few people came up and got one last drink before he started to clean up.

"Well, thank you for listening to me," you said, dropping a tip on the bar. "I really appreciate it."

"I didn't catch yer name."

You told him.

He smiled. "I'm Arthur. Could… could ya wait a bit? I'll walk you home."

You slumped. "I don't want to go home."

Arthur raised an eyebrow at you. "Where were you goin' to go, then?"

You shrugged. "Walk around until sunrise, I guess. Not feeling sleepy."

He tilted his head as he observed you. After a few moments, he shook his head. "If you don't mind, you can come sleep on my couch. You need some rest, darlin'."

"Um…" As sweet as he was, you had just met him.

Arthur pulled out a pen and scribbled something on the back of a bar coaster before giving it to you. "Here's my address. You send it to someone you trust, so they know where you are."

Touched by his offer and his understanding of your hesitation, you agreed. You texted his address to your best friend who lived a city away and told her that you were staying with a new friend and that you'd call her in the morning and tell her everything.

Then you waited until Arthur was done with his shift and followed him home.

***

That was years ago. He had helped you deal with the whole situation with your ex-significant other and ex-roommate. He stood outside as backup while you confronted the two of them and told them that you were leaving. Then you found yourself temporarily moving in with Arthur, bunking on his sleeper sofa for a couple of weeks while you searched for another place to live.

And then you slept in his bed. And your temporary move became permanent.

Life continued. You slept together, in the adult sense of the term. You got pregnant. You dated. You gave birth. He proposed. You got married. He finished college. You became the breadwinner while he worked part time and took care of your daughter.

Nothing went in the 'normal' order of things, but what was normal, anyway?

Looking at the photos of your wonderful daughter when she was a small child, you smiled as you heard the doorbell ring.

"Hey Mom!"

"Hi Avery!" You greeted her with a warm hug. She was twenty-three now, working hard during her first year out of college. You got to see her a couple times a month, and each visit made you smile, no matter how grumpy she might be.

Today the two of you were just hanging out, having tea and going through some of the old boxes in the attic, when she pulled out an old scrapbook.

"Wow, didn't know you did scrapbooking."

"I didn't, I only made one for my wedding."

Together the two of you looked through your silly notes and hand picked photos, telling her the story behind each one, and who each person was.

"Do you still have your wedding dress?" she asked after seeing the photos of you and Arthur, dressed up in a tuxedo that barely fit his broad shoulders.

"I do, somewhere."

After some time searching, you found it, brushed it off, and held it up to your body. "I don't think it'll fit, I've gotten a bit wider since I wore it."

"C'mon Mom, just try it!"

Smiling, the two of you went to your bedroom and you managed to shove yourself mostly into the dress. Except for the shoulders.

"I've gotten more buff," you joked as you pulled the dress off yourself. "You try it."

Avery took the dress, stared at it for a moment, and with your help, pulled it on. It looked like it fit, until she moved her arms.

The sound of a seam ripping made you both pause.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry–"

You patted her shoulder. "It's fine, sweetie. It's just a dress, it can be fixed. And you look beautiful in it."

Your daughter grinned, and you could see Arthur's eyes and smile on her face.

After she spun around a few times, she took it off and handed it back to you. Out of curiosity, you checked which seams had torn.

"It might fit you now," Avery joked.

"Sure, why not?"

You pulled it back on, and sure enough, the seams that had torn were the very ones stopping you from fitting your thicker arms through. You turned around and looked in the mirror. Twirling around a bit, you suddenly felt young again, remembering the first time you had tried this dress. Your two closest friends had been by your side, encouraging you to buy the dress because you were so pleased with it.

And you remembered the last time you had worn this dress, walking down the aisle with Arthur, hand in hand, the two of you grinning at each other as if there was nothing else in the world, just the two of you, happily in love.

"Let's take some photos outside!" Avery suggested, her eyes lighting up with enthusiasm.

Smiling at your daughter, you walked through your house and out to the small backyard that Arthur lovingly cared for, with a small waterfall and herb garden.

He was there, kneeling in the dirt, planting some new basil plants. He turned around at the sound of the back door opening.

"What're you two doin'–"

Arthur's words stopped abruptly as his jaw dropped. He hadn't seen you in that dress since the wedding, and for him, time stopped and all he saw was his beautiful lady, dressed in white, smiling like a goddess.

He quickly washed his hands with the garden hose, wiped them on his jeans, and came towards you.

"Beautiful, just like an angel," he said in awe.

You went to him, holding your hands out to him. He took them and brought them close to his heart before lifting your hands to his lips and kissing your fingers oh so so tenderly.

"Amazin', I feel the same as I did on our weddin' day, seein' you like this."

"I'm a little wider now…"

"That don't matter none," he said, leaning closer to you. His forehead touched yours and he looked into your eyes. "Yer always lovely."

"Awww!"

Avery's exclamation brought the two of you back to reality. She had her phone out and had been taking photos of the two of you, a giant grin on her face.

"I'll send these to you later, after I touch them up a bit," she said. "I, uh, got an errand to run. Bye Dad, bye Mom, I'll catch you later!"

She left, giving you a conspiratorial wink. You looked back at Arthur to find that his eyes hadn't left you for a single moment.

He was in his late fifties now, streaks of grey in his hair, giving him a sophisticated appearance. He smiled much more these days, finding happiness in tending his small garden and being outside in the sunlight. He was still strong, still broad shouldered, but he had filled out a little from your delicious home cooked meals.

And he still looked at you like you were his entire world.

"Should we go inside?" you asked with a mischievous smirk.

"I got mud on me," he said, although he didn't resist when you pulled him into the house.

"I'll get you all clean," you said. "Then we can get dirty."

"Darlin'," he said as if he was chastising you, yet he was chuckling softly as he let you lead the way.

***

That night, looking at the photos Avery had emailed, you realized how the two of you appeared, so deep in love. You both looked younger in her photos, and you wondered if it was because of the photo editing.

Showing Arthur, he just smiled and kissed your cheek, his whiskers scraping your skin lightly as he nuzzled you.

"See? Told you my feelin's fer you would never change." He pulled you into his arms and held you close.

"You'll always be my shinin' star."

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End Notes: I started with a small idea and it kinda got longer. Oops.