#star crossed lover type of things
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kinomiakai · 1 year ago
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okay last one for Naruto - we have other naruto vibes!
Other polls: foxes || toads || the power of friendship ||
Some of these are a little obscure, so I have some more explanations under the cut if you want!
Ogrepon - SPOILERS for the dlc for pokemon scarlet/violet if you haven't played it! I'm now convinced there is no other pokemon that would evoke naruto's "HE'S JUST LIKE ME!!" more. A little pokemon who was misunderstood & chased out of the village - everyone thinks he's a monster and he has to wear a mask and pretend to be a human kid to enter the village. The pokemon that defeated him are worshipped and loved for chasing him away. all that stuff!!!!
Victini - a super shonen protag-coded mon; Victini trainers are said to always win, "victory" = victini, etc etc etc. Also he has the colours!
Armarouge - okay this one seems self-explanatory, but the pokedex entry is about how the armour used to belong to a distinguished warrier & this pokemon is very loyal. He has good colours for Naruto. BUT ALSO the pokemon that evolves into armarouge can also evolve into ceruledge, a pokemon all about resentment, grudges and no mercy (and it's purple. do you see where I'm going with this)
Zangoose - similarly, Zangoose is famous for its bitter rivalry with seviper (a snake pokemon. DO you see where I'm going with this)
Lugia - here for the wind!!! I had to find it somewhere
Solgaleo, Solrok & Espeon - sun themed mons! Also, espeon evolves through friendship :)
the other ones I think make sense! But let me know if they don't :D
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moonsavior · 4 months ago
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I'm coining 'celestial-favored lovers' it means the stars are in alignment to bear all or part of the weight of promised lovers ☆♡◇♡☆
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sexy-monster-fucker · 9 months ago
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Teamwork
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Logan Howlett x Reader x Wade Wilson NSFW
Summary: When Wade and Logan return from a mission, they are looking for a stress reliever. That’s when they remember a certain joke the Reader made a few weeks back.
cw: threesome, oral f!&m!receiving, fingering, creampie, slight voyerism??, multiple orgasms,
a/n: soooooo I’ve never wrote a 3 way fic before so hopefully this does my image justice! it really is just straight up SEX. also sorry I don't proofread...
~~~
You were the apple of both their eyes. Something so precious that they both felt the need to protect. Their angel that they would do anything for.
So when you joked about a three way with them, they both took that to heart. Secretly planning with one another how they would propose it to you. Arguing about who would go where and how it would go. Neither of them were the type to share.
You sat on your bed in the apartment you shared with them. Silently reading a book one of your friends had recommended to you. Some smutty star-crossed lover story. A knock on your door pulling you away from it.
“Come in,” you called to whoever was behind the door. Wade and Logan were in the doorway, both of them clearly beaten up still in their super suits. They both looked handsome as always, those outfits always going straight to your core.
Wade flopped onto your bed, groaning as he stretched out on the soft mattress. Logan kneeled beside the bed, hunching his upper half onto the mattress. Their sweaty musk filled your room. You petted through Logan’s hair knowing the two of them were just looking for some relaxation.
“Is there anything I can do to help you guys?” You innocently asked. Unknowing of the floodgates you were about to open. Wade hopped over onto his stomach, feet kicked up behind him. “Well~ we did have something we wanted to ask you,” Wade rested his chin on his hands. You tilted your head giving Logan a questioning look. He rose to his feet and climbed onto the bed behind you. Positioning himself so that his arms and legs were wrapped around your figure. Lips pressing into your neck, hot air dancing on your skin. You leaned back into him, basking in the heat of his body.
“We were hoping— only if you wanted— you would, how do you say? Let us take you to uh- Paris? Um— Eiffel Tower style—“ Wade jokingly said pretending he could not think of the word.
“Wade—“ Logan growled not having time for his antics.
“Fuck— okay. We were wondering if you’d actually be open to a three-way, baby,” Wade crawled up the bed to be in front of you. Logan’s lips pecked at your neck, hands roaming your body. “Like a stress reliever,” Logan purred into your skin. Arousal washed over every inch of your body. Pooling deep down inside you. Growing wet just at the proposition. Cheeks flooding with your anticipation.
Wade’s gloved hands caressed up your legs, massaging your thighs. Pulling his mask up to reveal his lips. Falling down to kiss and nip at your exposed skin. “How’s it sound to you?” Wade rested his chin on your thigh, looking up at you with his question.
You remembered how you had nonchalantly mentioned a threesome with them a while back, jokingly. But in your mind it was the hottest thing you could picture. Those two hot men both taking care of you? More than you could even handle. You caressed Wade’s jaw, “I’d love to.” Wade smiled up at you, a satisfied grunt coming from Logan.
Wade pulled your shorts and panties down your legs. Logan’s hand hooking and pulling your shirt over your head. Wearing no bra underneath. Logan’s hands groped at your exposed breasts. Rolling your nipples between his fingers, stimulating you.
Wade’s breath fanned at your entrance. A grin painted on his lips. Wasting no time delving into you. Tongue flattening against your entrance. A loud moan escaped your jugular, your body pressing further back into Logan’s grasp. Logan hooked a finger under you, pressing it into your entrance while Wade sucked on your clit. You were a moaning, shaking mess in their grasp. Your head fell back into the crook of Logan’s neck. Moans pouring from your mouth as you felt your orgasm building up inside you. Logan planted a kiss on your head, lips finding their place right next to your ear. “Go ahead and cum for us, sweetness,” he purred in your ear. Your hand tangled in Logan’s hair behind you, whimpers falling as your climax inched closer to its edge.
Walls constricted around Logan’s finger. Your body arching into Wade’s mouth. “There you go,” Wade praised watching you ride Logan’s finger through your orgasm.
Wade unzipped himself, cock springing forward. He doesn’t wear underwear under his suit. Your mouth watered at the sight of him. Head swollen and red, leaking at the tip. Too caught up looking at Wade to hear Logan unzipping himself behind you. His member bumping at your entrance bringing you back to reality. You turned to look at him, Wade’s fingers grabbing at your chin and forcing you to look forward. “Ah ah ah,” he waved a finger, “That’s the plus side of getting that pretty little mouth of yours. I get your eyes staring up at me the whole time.” You could hear Logan growl behind you, anger pooling inside him.
“Open wide pretty girl,” Wade stroked himself waiting for you to give him access to you. You took him in your mouth, hollowing out your cheeks so that you could fit all of him. Fluttering eyes looking up at his partially masked face. Wade’s head fell back, rolling in his enjoyment. He rocked his hips into your mouth.
Thick fingers dug into your hips. Ass arching in the air for him. Logan lined himself up with your entrance, hand wrapped around his cock. Teasing his way into you, first the head then inch by inch his cock sheathed inside you. Whining around Wade’s cock while Logan pulled himself almost completely out. A loud huff coming from him before thrusting fully back in.
Euphoria. The feeling of having both of them fucking you at the same time. Wade’s cock bumping the back of your throat and Logan’s spreading and filling your insides. Tears pricked at your eyes, pleasure engulfing you. Drool escaping the corner of your lips as you choked back Wade. Gloved hands holding your jaw as he face fucked you. Jaw hanging open as he admired how your lips wrapped around his member. The way you doed your eyes up at him even while taking two men at once.
Pornographic sounds filled the small bedroom. Slobbering sounds from your mouth, along with skin slapping together as Logan thrusted heavily into you. You pulled your mouth away from Wade momentarily catching your breath. Your hand stroking his cock with a twist of your wrist. Wade moaned loudly, throwing his head back and closing his eyes. “You sure do know how to please a man,” Wade smiled at you.
Logan watched as your pussy took every inch he gave you. Loving how your slick looked coating his member with each thrust. Bruising strength as he held your waist. Feeling how the aftershock of your orgasm had your sensitive cunt flexing around him. Knowing he was going to get you to cum around his cock this time.
The strong taste of Wade's precum filled your mouth. Feeling him twitch in your mouth knowing it was not long before he would finish. Smiling and moaning around him. "Don't look at me like that unless you're gonna swallow what I give you," Wade smirked down at you. Heat painted your cheeks with his words.
Logan's bruising pace thrusted you deeper on Wade. Feeling his rhythm grow sloppy, but your second orgasm approaching. You swirled your tongue around Wade's member, pulling him over the edge. His hand going to hold the back of your head in place as he finished in your mouth. You swallowed each drop of his seed. His hand urging you to open up and prove you took it all down.
Logan continued inside you, fingers clawing at your hips as he fucked you over the edge. Orgasm taking over you. Your entire body shaking harder than before. Cunt milking Logan. He shot inside you coating your walls with his hot cum. Back arching taking him deeper as he finished. Grunting and moans falling from the gruff man behind you.
You took the time to catch your breath. Body feeling worked. Wade's cock hardening again catching your eye. You cocked an eyebrow at him, hint of shock on your expression.
“That’s the thing about guys with super regenerative powers— we can go all night,” Wade leaned down planting a deep kiss on your lips. You smiled up at him, Logan’s hands urging you to face him. You repositioned. Logan’s swollen cock directly in front of your face now. His smiling face looking down at you. “Think you can go for another round, doll?” His hand held your chin. Nodding with lust blown eyes. “That’s our girl,” Wade cooed from behind. You could see how Logan shot a dirty look at him, getting annoyed with his mouth. Only wanting to focus on you.
You licked the underside of his swollen cock, kissing at the leaking tip. Your taste mixed in with his own. You wrapped your hand around the base, putting him in your mouth until your lips met your hand. Logan threw his head back with a sigh, strong fingers intertwining with your hair. Wade took the time to watch as you played with Logan, feeling himself grow more and more aroused at the sight of you both. “Fuck, they’re so hot,” Wade thought.
Wade played with himself as he watched the two of you have your moment. Hand wrapping around his dick and just enjoying the show. How Logan’s veins on his arm popped, the way your ass looked arched right in front of him. He could not wait any longer to have his turn inside you. Gloved fingers groped at your ass as he lined himself up with your entrance. Stroking himself a few more times before thrusting into you. You choked around Logan with a moan feeling how Wade filled you.
A loud groan leaving Wade as he held himself inside you. Savoring the small movements of you taking Logan in your mouth. His cock overly sensitive from his previous orgasm. Loving how you perfectly wrapped around him and how Logan's previous load made your insides even more slick for him.
Logan's thick fingers roughly used your head as a handle to have you choking around him. Cock impelling your mouth over and over again as he searched for his second high. Tears streamed down your face as you gagged around him. Taste overtaking your senses. "Pretty girl, choking around me," Logan growled.
Wade began a gentle pace, head thrown back feeling the way your walls sucked him right back in. Knowing this time he would finish way faster, he took his time. He could have never imaged you would feel this good around him. The loud smacks of skin to skin was music to his ears.
You stared up at Logan. His teeth bared and brow scrunched. Sweat beamed down every chiseled inch of his body. Wet hair sticking to his forehead. Veins popping out of every part of him. He noticed you staring, a smirk creeping up on his face.
Cheeks swollen and red, tears streaming, and spit slipping out of your mouth as you sucked on Logan. Hollowing out your cheeks as you swirled your tongue around him. Feeling him twitch between thrusts. Wade's cock bumped that spot inside you that begged to push you through another orgasm. Moans echoing from each of you.
Wade shot up inside you, holding himself deep in you. Your pussy clenching around him slightly as you approached your end. Attention mostly focused on Logan before you. "You gonna take it?" Logan cocked an eyebrow. You gargled a "mmhm" around him as he sloppily thrusted into your mouth. White hot decorating your mouth. Wade's lips leaned down kissing your back as he rolled his hips into you. Your final orgasm washing over you as you swallowed Logan's load. Wade whimpered when you finished around his semi-hard cock.
You laid on your stomach. Heavy breathes raising your body off the bed. Mouth hung open as you panted. Still feeling your high from the multiple orgasms. Feeling their seed spill out of you onto your bed. The weight of the two men sinking in your mattress on both sides of you.
"Who would've thought you guys could share," you joked. Pulling a chuckle from the two of them.
~~~
[END]
// Thank you so much for reading! I cannot express my gratitude around the joy around my last two Logan fanfics. I really love seeing everyone comment and share my posts! If you are interested in being tagged in any of my further fanfics let me know! Or if you have any requests, my inbox is always open! //
{tags}
@toogaytofunctiondangit ~ @megangovier ~ @ma-ie ~ @goodness-gracious13 ~ @harlequinautumn ~ @bontensbabygirl ~ @anonymouscringe ~ @itsrainingtodayyy ~ @gingerplague ~ @uminous ~ @blckbarbiedoll ~ @l0sercat ~ @tallochar ~ @allmyn1ghts ~ @suckmytoes12 ~ @fars432231 ~ @9iavolo ~ @atthediscowithoutpanic ~ @speedybeta ~
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pigfacedbitch · 2 months ago
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Second to None
summary : you may be Percy's girlfriend, but not his first choice.
word count : 0.9k
type : imagines
pairing/s : Percy Jackson x Annabeth Chase, Percy Jackson x Daughter of Hades! Reader.
warning/s: angst lol, and a little cliche. never settle for fucking less, guys.
here's my masterlist! along with Part 2.
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Note : I'm not against Percabeth, just so you know. Or Annabeth, I think she's a badass. I just thought of this and I was like "Damn, did I just hurt myself?" Blue aesthetic since the color represents sadness.
You knew what you were signing up for when Percy Jackson asked you out.
You fell in love with him despite knowing the risks.
The constant danger, the relentless quests, the whispered rumors, the pointed stares whenever you were together— none of it was enough to scare you away. He was the great hero of Olympus, the son of Poseidon who had saved the world twice and continued to do so. Of course, people talked.
And you could handle all of it.
All of it— except one thing.
Annabeth Chase.
You were new to Camp Half-Blood, but not naïve.
You knew, the moment you agreed to be his, that you were stepping into a love story written long before you came along. You weren’t a new chapter. You were just a footnote, scribbled in the margins, fighting for space in a tale that was never yours to begin with.
Even your own brother, Nico di Angelo, had warned you. Everyone did.
They had seen Percy and Annabeth’s story unfold— the rivals turned partners, the friends turned lovers, the two who walked through literal hell together and survived. The kind of love even the gods envied.
"It will only end in heartbreak."
But you ignored them all. Because when Percy pulled you into a fierce kiss after winning a game, when he whispered sweet nothings as you lay beside him, when he held you like you were the most precious thing in the world— it was easy to pretend.
Pretend you didn’t notice the silver owl pendant he kept hidden under his shirt.
Pretend you didn’t see the way his sea-green eyes softened at the mere mention of her name.
Pretend you didn’t feel the hesitation in his touch whenever she was near, or the way he always seemed to be waiting— for something, or someone.
Forget that you were never meant to be his forever. That you were just the one keeping his heart warm until she wanted it back.
And yet, you knew Percy loved you. Maybe not in the way he loves her, maybe not in the way you deserve, but in the only way he knew how.
You never doubted your own worth before. You were the daughter of Hades, powerful in your own right, admired, desired. But with Percy, doubt bloomed inside you like a slow-growing poison.
And you loathed it.
Loving Percy Jackson is your greatest blessing. And your greatest curse.
Annabeth never tried to take him back— not outright.
She didn’t need to.
She moved like the strategist she was— calculated, deliberate, patient. Weaving herself into his life in ways you couldn’t contest.
Inside jokes only they understood.
Touches that lingered just a second too long.
Shared memories and unfinished dreams that whispered, This isn’t over.
She never crossed a line.
She never had to.
Because she was Annabeth Chase. His first love. His best friend. The one who had built a world with him long before you ever arrived.
You were the outsider.
Because Annabeth never really lost Percy.
She had simply let go.
And Percy? He had never truly moved on.
So, you waited for the inevitable. Like an inmate on death row, counting down the days.
Maybe you were still hoping. Hoping he’d look at you and finally see you, not her shadow. Hoping he’d realize that you were the one here, standing beside him, loving him— not better, but differently.
Or maybe you were just a fool who enjoyed her own suffering.
Or an addict who couldn’t let go of her drug, even as it destroyed her.
Then one night, walking through the woods, finding solace in the quiet and darkness, you heard them.
Percy and Annabeth. Sitting on a log beneath the stars, wrapped in the weight of a history you could never rewrite.
"Do you ever think of what could’ve been?" She whispered.
Your breath caught in your throat.
"All the time." Percy admitted, after a long silence. "Annabeth, you know I’ll always—"
She moved closer. Too close. Her fingers brushed against his wrist, and you felt the chill of inevitability run down your spine.
"If I asked for a second chance..." She breathed. "Would you give it?"
You braced for the pain of hearing him say yes, for the final dagger to be driven into your heart.
But he hesitated.
Perseus Jackson, who never think twice in the face of death, hesitated.
But Annabeth didn’t.
Before he could answer, she leaned in, claiming a kiss that had always been hers. Her arms wrapped around his neck like they belonged there.
"Choose me, Percy." She whispered against his lips. "You know it’s always been me. Be with me again."
You turned away before he could kiss her back.
You didn’t need to hear his answer.
You already knew it.
Shadow-traveling to your cabin, you threw a few things into a bag. Nico wasn’t there— probably off with Will— and you were grateful. You weren’t in the mood for questions.
You couldn’t stay long enough for Percy to look at you with guilt-ridden eyes and tell you what you already know.
So you left a note on his nightstand.
"I wish you and Annabeth the best. Don’t let her go this time."
Some might call you a coward for walking away.
But you didn’t care.
Percy had made his choice.
And now, you had made yours.
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cruel-seduction · 27 days ago
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Not So Golden Now, Are You?
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Summary - Where in your not-quite-friendship with James Potter thrives on mutual mockery—you call him daddy’s babygirl because he flaunts his daddy's money, he calls you whatever gets under your skin fastest. It’s never serious… until he parrots back a joke you made about your looks, the kind of joke people only make after crying over it alone.Which you were sure that you never made about him. What he thought was harmless banter turns out to be your breaking point, and while everyone else laughs it off, you don’t. Not this time. And now James—cocky, clueless, James—is stuck trying to fix a crack he didn’t mean to make, humiliating himself in ways no Marauder ever has… all in the hopes of earning a single, goddamn, laugh from you again.
Tone: Gritty, emotional, enemies-to-lovers like kinda (idk I am confused myself. What do you mean just cause I wrote it I should know what it means) with heavy hurt/comfort and a golden boy begging for forgiveness.
Part - 2
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There was a particular type of hell reserved for group hangouts where everyone was prettier than you. You know the kind—flawless skin, perfect hair, the kind of laugh that didn't sound like a dying kettle.
And unfortunately for you, that was every single Gryffindor gathering.
Especially when Lily Evans was present. With her radiant glow, timeless hair, and bone structure carved by Aphrodite’s jealous cousin. And not to forget Marlene McKinnon, who looked like she got ready by having woodland creatures sing her into a custom-tailored outfit.
Meanwhile, you looked like you were personally styled by anxiety and unresolved childhood trauma.
You were sitting cross-legged in the Gryffindor common room, huddled in a circle on worn rugs and beat-up couches with the usual suspects: Sirius, James, Remus, Peter, Lily, Marlene, Dorcas… and unfortunately, you.
You were always the +1. A friend of a friend. Mostly tolerated. Occasionally useful. Never the moment. Or that’s what you liked to believe. You leaned back on your palms, casting a casual glance at Lily, who was radiant even while fiddling with her shoelace.
And then you did what all insecure, self-deprecating people do—you made a joke before anyone else could beat you to the punch. “Some girls are born to be photographed. I was born to stand next to them and make them look like paid models by comparison.”
It was said with a wink and a smirk, aimed at Lily—because that's what you did. Make fun of yourself first, before someone else could. Maybe to hear that you’re not just a background character. Those people actually liked hanging out with you. That you were not a charity case. The group chuckled. Lily swatted your shoulder gently, "Oh, come on, you're gorgeous, shut up."
You held up your hand. “No, no. I bring balance. I’m the garlic bread on the table of ten-star entrées. Comforting. Slightly burnt. Easily ignored once the main course arrives.”
Sirius snorted. “You are the garlic bread. Bit crunchy, slightly dangerous, but always there.” You faked a smile, the thing you have mastered for years.. “See? Someone appreciates my contribution to visual mediocrity.”
James was leaning back in one of the armchairs, lazily bouncing a snitch between his fingers. You hadn’t said much to him—your friendship was more a result of mutual proximity than actual emotional investment. You didn’t like him, really. Or that’s what you tried to believe whenever your heart beats too loud near him or whenever you catch yourself smiling, whenever he laughs or whenever you care about him too much but c’mon friends care about each other. That’s not love. Right?. He was loud, always joking, and had a superiority complex that made you want to shove him into a broom closet and lock the door.
Still. He had his moments.
“Honestly,” he said, voice casual, “we should give (Y/N) a badge or something. Hogwarts’ Official Pretty-Girl Enhancer.” He didn’t even look up. Just tossed the snitch in the air again. “Without her, hot girls everywhere would lose contrast.”
There was a beat of silence. Not loud. Not dramatic.
Just… still.
Like someone had knocked the air out of your lungs without touching you. And then, like the smug bastard he was, he added with a grin, “MVP of average.”
Your face didn’t move. You didn’t laugh. You always laughed at yourself, even if it hurt—but not this time. Because he said it with such ease. Such dismissive amusement. Like it was true. Like he just casually confirmed the thing you’d been trying to pretend wasn’t already gnawing at your insides.
Sirius barked out a laugh. “Oi, she’s gonna hex your balls off, Prongs.”
James just shrugged. Still grinning. Still not looking at you. And you? You wanted to melt into the floorboards. Or maybe launch yourself off the Astronomy Tower. Either one was fine.
You looked around—Remus furrowed his brow slightly, eyes flicking toward you, but didn’t say anything. Peter was too busy stuffing his face with biscuits. Marlene giggled absently.
But Lily. Lily noticed. Her gaze snapped to you, sharp and immediate.
She cleared her throat, forced a smile. “So! Who’s ready for Hogsmeade this weekend? I heard Honeydukes is stocking those fizzy sugar spiders again—”
And just like that, the moment passed.
Except it didn’t. Not for you.
Because you weren’t angry. Not really. You were humiliated. Quietly. Sharply.
And that was always worse.
─── ⋆⋅☼⋅⋆ ───
James Potter didn’t think much of it at first.
You always laughed at jokes. Even the ones aimed at you. Especially the ones aimed at you. It was your thing—sarcasm, wit, never letting anything stick long enough to scar. You insulted him all the time. Called him an overgrown golden retriever with the emotional range of a teaspoon. Told him he looked like a walking ego with legs. And he gave it right back—always.
So when he made that comment earlier about you being the "MVP of average," he expected you to roll your eyes, maybe call him a narcissistic broomstick with daddy’s money, and then snatch the last chocolate frog from his hand out of spite.
He didn’t expect silence.
He didn’t expect that deadpan look on your face.
He didn’t expect you to leave the circle early, claiming you had to finish a Potions essay you definitely finished last week. But hey. Maybe you were just tired. That’s what he told himself.
Right up until that night.
The dorm was dimly lit, soft firelight flickering across the old stone walls. Sirius was balancing Bertie Bott’s beans on his nose, Peter was whining about something in his sleep, and James was halfway through retelling a Quidditch story that no one had asked for.
That’s when Remus spoke. Quiet. Cold. “Do you ever think before you open your mouth?”
James blinked. “Er—what?” Remus didn’t look up from his book. “About what you said to (Y/N).”
Sirius, for once, stopped being a jackass long enough to glance up too. James frowned. “It was a joke. We always—she always says worse things about herself.”
“You just took someone’s worst fear and turned it into a punchline,” Remus said. His voice wasn’t angry. That would’ve been easier. It was disappointed. And that? That cut deeper. “She doesn’t think she matters, James. And you just proved it.”
And then it hit him.
The way your laugh hadn’t had that sharp, mischievous ring to it. No sass. No playful dig. Just… that sound. Bitter. Hollow. Like someone smiling at their own eulogy.
He sat up straighter. His mind flicked back to earlier—your crossed arms, your stiff posture, the way you stared at the fireplace without saying a word while the rest of them laughed.
The way Lily had cut in, voice suddenly chipper, shoving the conversation forward like she was trying to outrun something. The way you never came back with a comeback.
And James Potter, who could bullshit his way out of every detention, every prank, every emotional disaster, suddenly found himself choking on silence.
His breath caught.
All he could see was your face when he said it. That flicker in your eyes. That little twitch of your mouth that wasn’t amusement—it was restraint. Control. You’d been swallowing it down, choking on the embarrassment while he and Sirius laughed like idiots.
“You think she’s fine because she’s funny,” Remus muttered, standing and tossing his book onto the trunk at the foot of his bed. “But sometimes funny is just... the mask.”
James didn’t sleep that night.
Because now he remembered every time you called yourself “forgettable,” how you always stood behind Lily in photos, how you never really let anyone compliment you without joking your way out of it.
And now? Now he realized he hadn’t made a joke. He’d hit the bullseye on someone’s deepest wound and laughed about it.
He remembered the way you stayed up all night when Remus was sick during exams, rewriting all his notes, color-coded and organized like some kind of academic art piece.
How you always, always made Sirius laugh on his worst days. Even when he came back from Christmas break with bruises on his wrists and a cigarette burn he didn’t explain, you were there. Mocking him gently. Loving him fiercely. Whispering, “I’m proud of you, Sirius Black,” like your voice could stitch him back together.
He remembered how you scolded them like a mother one minute and made them snort Butterbeer through their noses the next. How your eyes always twinkled before a comeback. How you once threw your shoe at him for transfiguring your ink into glitter, then asked if he was cold and tucked a scarf around his neck anyway.
He loved that about you.
God, he loved you.
Not that he’d ever admit it. Not to himself. Not out loud. Not when everything between you was built on chaos and roasting each other like Sunday dinner. But you mattered to him. And tonight, he’d made you feel like you didn’t.
He’d taken the thing you feared most—and instead of seeing it, understanding it, protecting it—he’d dragged it out in front of your friends and slapped a joke sticker on it. All because he didn’t think. Because he figured you’d laugh. Because he always made you laugh. But you didn’t.
And now, the damage was done. James Potter had humiliated the girl he secretly, stupidly, undeniably loved. And now?
Now he was completely, utterly screwed.
─── ⋆⋅☼⋅⋆ ───
James couldn't sleep.
His bed felt too stiff, the blankets too heavy, and every creak of the castle sounded like the echo of your laugh—that hollow, bitter one that had etched itself into his skull. He needed air. Space. Somewhere to untangle the storm inside his chest.
So he walked.
Up the stairs, past the darkened classrooms and snoozing portraits, until he reached the one place that had always helped him think. The Astronomy Tower. He pushed the heavy door open quietly, half-hoping for solitude. But he stopped dead the moment he heard it.
A soft sound. Muffled.
A sniff.
Then another.
And then your voice—barely a whisper. Wavering. “God, pull it together…”
James froze.
He crept quietly around the stone barrier, heart hammering. And there you were, tucked into the hidden nook behind the telescope—knees hugged to your chest, jumper sleeves soaked from wiping your eyes. The stars above cast pale light across your face, catching the streaks of old tears, fresh ones still trailing silently down.
He didn’t think. “Hey,” he breathed.
You jumped, swiping at your cheeks violently, like you could erase the evidence before he fully saw you. “Oh,” you croaked, blinking fast. “James.”
You said his name like it burned your mouth. “What are you doing here?” you asked quickly, voice stiff, pretending like your throat wasn’t raw.
“I could ask you the same,” he said, carefully stepping closer.
You sat up straighter, already slipping your mask back on. “I, uh—nothing, just allergies,” you lied, blinking up at the sky. “Stars make my eyes water. Bastards.” He didn’t laugh.
“Really?,” he said, gently. You didn’t look at him.
“I’m fine.” He crouched down beside you. “Are you?”
You nodded quickly, too quickly. “Yeah, it’s nothing. Really. Just—long day. You know me, dramatic as ever.”
He hated that.
The way you hid pain behind humor like it was a shield. Like you weren’t allowed to be hurt. You sniffed, voice light, too light.
His jaw tensed. “Is this about earlier?”
You didn’t answer.
“I’m serious,” he said, moving to sit beside you now. “That thing I said... I didn’t mean it like that.”
You gave a little shrug. “Doesn’t matter. It’s fine.”
“No,” he snapped, sudden and sharp. “It’s not fine.”
You turned your head, startled.
He looked at you, eyes burning. "You think I don’t see it, but I do. God, I do. I saw your face today—the way your smile cracked like glass, the way you laughed like it physically hurt, like it was splintering something inside you just to pretend. And I can’t take it. I can’t keep watching you fold yourself smaller just to make everyone else feel okay. I need you to tell me what’s wrong. Don’t shut me out like this, don’t lie to my face with that same soft “I’m fine” when your eyes are screaming everything but fine. I know I hurt you. I know I did. And maybe you don’t want me to carry that, but I should. I am. You’re allowed to be mad, to be heartbroken, to want to scream or cry or even hate me for what I did. You don’t have to protect me from your pain. You don’t have to smile through it just to keep the peace. I don’t want peace if it means you breaking yourself into pieces to give it. So don’t look at me like that and say it’s fine."
Your lips parted slightly, but you didn’t speak.
“I thought you’d laugh,” he said quietly. “We always mess around. I didn’t know I—I didn’t realize it was something real. That it would actually...”
He trailed off.
You exhaled shakily. “It’s not your fault.”
“Yes, it is.”
“No, James,” you snapped, eyes finally locking on his. “It’s mine. I told myself it was okay. That I’d be the sidekick. The friend. The funny girl who stands in the background. The contrast. Because if I say it first, if I laugh about it—then it can’t hurt, right?”
Your voice broke on the last word.
James felt like the ground had cracked under him.
“But it still did,” you whispered. “When you said it out loud, it just—it felt like someone had pulled the last thread holding me together. I don’t think you understand what that moment did to me. It wasn’t just words. It was everything I’ve ever feared, wrapped in your voice. Like it wasn’t a joke anymore. Like it was real. Like everyone around us already knew, and you just finally said it out loud. That I really am the filler in the photo. The extra. The one you crop out or blur past. The shadow to someone else’s light. I’ve felt like that for so long, like I’m just there, taking up space, trying to smile pretty enough that no one notices I don’t belong. But hearing it from you—it shattered something in me. And the way you said it, so fucking casually, like it didn’t matter... that’s what kills me. It’s like I didn’t even register as something fragile to you.
And I know I didn’t say anything. I just laughed it off like always. Like I’m good at doing. Like I’ve trained myself to do. But inside, I was screaming. I was begging for someone to just see me—really see me—and pull me out of this mess in my chest. I kept hoping, stupidly, that maybe you saw something more in me. Something worth holding onto. But maybe that was my fault. Maybe I made that up. Maybe I wanted too much. I’m sorry. No—really—I’m sorry. For having expectations. For thinking I could be someone that mattered to you, even for a second. I should’ve known better. I always do.”
His heart twisted.
You wiped your nose, furious at the tears that wouldn’t stop.
“I’ve spent so long convincing myself I was fine with it,” you said, quieter now. “But when you said it? I don’t know. It felt like the whole world joined in.”
James swallowed hard. “I’m sorry.”
You looked away.
“I mean it,” he continued, voice thick. “I’m such an idiot. I didn’t mean it like that. When I called you the “MVP of average,” I thought I was being funny—stupid, harmless—but I wasn’t thinking, and I sure as hell wasn’t seeing. Not the way you needed me to. Not the way I should’ve. And it’s killing me, knowing those words came from me, from someone who looks at you like you hung the stars and then taught the sky how to shine. You think you’re the shadow to someone else’s light? No. You are the light. You’re the kind of light that slips through curtains at 4am and makes a broken person believe in warmth again. You're the reason color exists in a world I forgot was turning grey. And me? I’m just the fool who thought he could throw around careless jokes and you'd somehow still know how goddamn divine I think you are.”
He continued, His voice so pure of determination that it made you think he has practised this script thousand times before but the pureness in his eyes made you think otherwise. He continued “If you asked me to, I’d write your name into the marrow of my bones just so you’d know you’re etched in me. If you told me you liked the rain, I’d drown smiling just to taste what you love. I would pour honey on my heartbreak if I thought the sweetness might remind you of your laugh. I'd salt my wounds if it made them smell like your perfume. I would tear out every page where I wrote someone else's name, just to make space for yours. I didn’t say what I said because I had to—I said it because I thought I was close enough to be stupid and you'd forgive me. But I forgot… I forgot how deep words can slice, especially when the person hearing them already walks around stitched together with silence. Remus had to tell me. That’s how blind I was. You laughed, and I believed it—because I wanted to believe it. And that’s on me. That’s my failure. But now that I know? I’d beg if that’s what it takes. On my knees, on broken glass, under the weight of every word I should have never said. I’d beg a thousand times over, not just for forgiveness—but for another chance to look at you right, to say it right. Because you’re not average. You are the goddess I whisper prayers to when no one’s listening. And I—I am just the fool who didn’t realize he was already living in the temple of your presence. Let me stay. Let me make it right. Let me love you like I should’ve from the beginning.”
Your eyes flicked to his—raw, red, vulnerable. Then you stood. Fast.
The cold air caught your breath as you turned your back to him.
“You don’t get to make this about your guilt,” you said, voice low and hard. “I’m allowed to be angry, James. I’m allowed to not forgive you.”
He stood slowly behind you.
“I know.”
You didn’t look at him as you stepped toward the stairs.
“I’m not the girl who falls apart in front of people,” you said. “And I’m sure as hell not the girl who forgives the boy who made her feel invisible so easily with just some speech he gave her..”
And then you walked away.
James didn’t follow.
He just stood there—alone, under a sky full of stars—and watched the one person he wanted to make smile disappear down the steps, carrying a storm in her chest and tears he’d put there.
And for once in his life, James Potter had no idea what the fuck to do.
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t-a-a-1 · 4 months ago
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Counting Stars
Pt.2: The Wait
TFP Optimus x Female Reader
Summary: After revealing to Optimus that you are carrying his sparkling, he convinces you to stay under the Autobot care. However, after the sudden appearance of an old lover of yours, Optimus faces difficult challenges as he tries to win you back and learn how to prepare to be a father at the same time.
A/N: Lots of yearning, jealousy, delusions, craving, fluff. All that good stuff.
4K
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Counting Stars
Pt.2: The Wait
There is a clear difference between carrying a sparkling and dying. 
You weren’t sure which one you were doing.
Everyone was treating you like you were about to perish. Everyone has always been careful around you. But now they are extremely aware of you. Every step you take, breath, look, smell, nothing was too insignificant. 
“You shouldn’t be carrying that.”
“Maybe you shouldn’t eat that.”
“Maybe you shouldn’t go there.”
The autobots treated you like a doll. Although the thought sounds amusing, it really wasn’t. 
“I just want to go for a drive. I’ve been inside for two weeks. I need to get out.”
Bulkhead moves his helm from side to side. He was  the third bot you asked about going out. 
“What if we crash and you get hurt?” 
You knew he was making up an excuse to not take you for a drive. Because what kind of Autobot would be such a bad driver?
“I am a human! I need the sun and see pretty things or I’ll get depressed and die!”
“Can you just watch the sun and pretty things on TV?”
Crossing your hands in front of your chest, you huff, showing your clear satisfaction. 
“I am sorry (Y/N) but you are carrying the only sparkling Cybertron has seen since millennials. If you weren’t having our species’s only hope, I would be more lenient.” 
Bulkhead’s voice sounds apologetic. You know that he was telling the truth. Maybe they all missed hanging out with you but couldn’t do much due to current circumstances. 
“I am being serious. I need to go out.” you say looking at the bot. “I’ll seriously die.”
You were exaggerating but you didn’t know until how much you could last without going crazy. 
“Well, maybe we can wait until Optimus is back and hear what he thinks.” Arcee steps in, trying to see if she could alleviate the situation. “You know, so no one wants to get in trouble.”
“Prime isn’t even around.”
A simple talk couldn’t fix everything. Although you and Optimus were in speaking terms, you wouldn’t say that things were the way they used to be. Things were still awkward and tense between the two of you. 
“You need to understand him, he is also going through biological needs not seen eons ago,” Ratchet speaks up while still typing on his large computer. “He is nesting for you and the sparkling, he can’t control it and he is trusting us to keep you safe while he is away.”
“Oh so you care about his biological needs but not about mine? I see how it is.”
“It’s not that, it's just–”
Ratchet turns to look at you. 
“Alright, maybe you are right.”
The medic-bot notices the color of your skin. It’s pale. Not in a natural way but in a sick-manner. Your belly has grown and you look tired. Mentally, you must be going through a lot. The weight of the survival of an entire civilization is on your shoulders and you are yet to know if the sparkling will be born healthy. 
“Only for 30 minutes.”
.
.
.
Optimus was able to satisfy his biological needs only after he found ten dandelions. It was extremely hard to bring them to base since they were delicate and were easy for its tiny petals to crumble. He had found several but would have to go back and look for more since most would lose their petals on the way. 
He also found some pretty rocks. He wasn’t sure which one you would like most so he brought all of them. 
“So you are here to stay with (Y/N) for the rest of the pregnancy?”
His olfactory sensors picked a familiar smell. A human one but it was none of the kids. It was a scent he wasn’t fond of. One he very much wished did not exist. 
“Yes, as a Special Agent, I was assigned this duty. Which I am glad for, I want to spend time with (Y/N) as much as possible.”
Special Agent Alex. Fowler’s Co-worker and your childhood best friend. 
Optimus’ sensors were on alert. All of his instincts warned him. 
“Potential male threat detected. Human male may potentially steal sparkling and partner. Action Required: Keep human male away from mate.”
“May I inquire about your reasoning behind your sudden … presence without invitation?”
He didn’t waste any time as he walked towards the center of the hangar. His tall demeanor did not seem to phase the secret agent. 
“Hey, Prime! Sorry for not announcing it before,” Alex waved knowing that he would get more of a reaction out of Optimus if he pretended that his hostility does not affect him. “But I am just doing my duty. (Y/N) was originally supposed to be transported to a secured area under my watch. But since that didn’t happen, I’ll be staying here.”
“(Y/N) is currently protected by five Autobots at all times. She’s safe here and does not need your guarding.”
“That may be right but (Y/N)’s child is a matter of national security. I can’t let the Autobots have complete control over humanity’s first human-alien hybrid child.”
Optimus closes his servo, fighting the urge to smash the human like a mosquito. 
“My sparkling is no human experiment.”
“I am not saying it was,” Alex looks directly at Optimus’ optics. Unafraid. “What I am saying is that the child would benefit from having all the resources this world can offer. That child, no matter what it may be or look like, would be more human than Cybertronian. It will grow here. Learn our languages, history, traditions and culture.”
Alex smirks, about to deliver the final hit. 
“It’s not like there’s much to learn from Cybertron after all,” he says. “I may raise that child myself.”
Everyone could hear Optimus’ gun engine turn on, about to point directly at the agent. 
Until you showed up. 
“Alex?”
He immediately put away his weapon, pretending that he wasn’t about to harm a certain individual. He couldn’t do it, not after seeing the smile on your face. 
Not after you jumped into his arms, hugging him as he spinned you around. 
“Alert. Action Required: Eliminate threat. Keep human male away from mate. Alert.”
His processor telling him commands wasn’t helping the feelings in his spark. 
“You have always been beautiful but pregnancy suits you so well. It’s going to make my stay here all the more pleasant.”
Alex has always been a flirt.  But you never took it seriously. At least not now. You used to love the compliments during the time of your relationship. Years ago. 
“Are you staying here?”
You ask excitedly, in a desperate need of a friend your age. A human friend who would understand your need to get coffee and see the sunsets. 
“Yes, you won’t have to be lonely anymore,” Alex puts a hand on your head, giving you a soft head pat. An act Optimus was never able to do casually. Putting hands on you without consent in any way did not fit right with him.  “I’ll stay as long as you have me.”
“Yes! You can stay in my room!”
You seem to enjoy the affection. The agent gave you a certain warmness Optimus couldn’t give you and his processor is starting to write codes unfamiliar to him. 
“I am highly against that–”
“Alright, I’ll put my things in there,” Alex’s voice was louder than Optimus’ as he was closer to you. You were too excited to pay attention to the rising anger of the bot. “But tell me, where were you? I was waiting for you and got kinda worried.”
“I’ve been inside here for two weeks and Ratchet took me for a quick drive.”
“For two weeks? That’s not healthy for you and the baby, you need to stay active and get enough sunlight.”
“That’s what I told them but they wouldn’t listen to me.”
Everyone around you noticed your evident happiness that they didn’t mind the comment. You were right, they weren’t taking your needs into consideration. It was even more evident by the sudden change of your mood. 
“Well, from now on I’ll be taking care of you,” Alex moves his hand to caress your cheek. “And I’ll take you on regular drives and trips.”
“Do not touch my sparkmate–”
“Also I brought you a gift!”
He looks down at his backpack as Optimus’ voice subsides. Opening it quickly and showing the content inside it. 
“My favorite chocolate!” you take the pink box from his hands. It was an expensive brand and hard to find. Not available anywhere in the city.  “Thank you! 
Optimus quickly thinks of the things he got you. Dandelions, flowers, rocks. Would you love them just as much? Will you jump in excitement and hug him? Will you see him as fit enough to be your provider, protector and Sparkmate?
“Analysis Complete: Human Male wishes to bond with Sparkmate and steal Sparkling. Activating Sparkmate Protection Codes. Eliminate offering. Keep Sparkmate secluded.”
It’s like he couldn’t control himself. It was fear, confusion and jealousy that overtook his processor. 
Without any announcement, Optimus walks towards you and takes the chocolate box using two of his digits. You watch him with amusement, not understanding his actions. And without any previous warning, he crushes the box. 
The Autobots don’t say a word, flabbergasted at their leader’s actions. 
“I- I am–”
Optimus wanted to apologize but he was so surprised by his own doing that no words left his dermas. 
The room is silent for a few seconds until sobbing is heard coming from you.  Normally, you wouldn’t cry but your hormones have been acting differently, making you more emotionally sensitive.
You run to your room, Alex quickly follows by until the two of you disappear from the hangar. 
“Sparkmate in distress. Advance with caution. In case of Sparkmate rejection, proceed to program Offline codes.” 
Optimus looks at his servo. The pink chocolate box is destroyed. It was a nice gift. Delicate, gentle, genuine. And he destroyed it. All that was left was the result of his own selfish actions. 
.
.
.
He didn’t know how to approach you. Nor knew if he should. His processor was begging him to go talk to you. 
His pedes hang from the cliff as he sees the stars in the sky. Its a view Cybertron was unknown to.  His home planet, with all of its technological advances, unique traditions and indescribable views could never have this kind of beauty. Yet, it can’t compare to the delicacy of your eyes.
Hearing heavy steps walking towards him, he knows it wasn’t you. Most of the time, he couldn’t tell when you were approaching him, your steps were too small to be heard. Either that or he would smell your scent. 
“You know, the right thing to do is apologize, right?”
Arcee was not one to open up easily. That was something she had in common with Optimus. 
“It would be simple if I knew she would want me to,” he responds, seeing the motorcycle sit next to him.
“... Are all male bots this stupid?”
“I believe so.”
There was silence but it wasn’t awkward. They didn’t need to talk to understand each other. Optimus is a great leader but somewhat stupid when it comes to relationships. It is of no surprise, however. Cybertronian and Human relationships are very different. Cybertron culture is more reserved, sometimes even completely political. As a species living for so long, it’s more about companionship. A long lasting friendship. Finding a Sparkmate was completely rare. Something not everyone would get to experience. 
Humans however … Due to their short lifespan, they were more prone to fall in love and out of love rather fast. 
“My processor has been programmed to do things I deemed as primitive for our kind,” he says. “Sometimes I can’t control it.”
“Then just tell her that,” Arceee puts a servo on his shoulder. Physical contact wasn’t common in Cybertron either. But he didn’t mind. “And apologize … a lot.”
.
.
.
You started to overthink. A lot. 
Optimus had feelings for you. Of that you were almost certain. You think ‘almost’ because now you weren’t so sure. 
Optimus would live for many years after you are gone. Maybe one day he will finally find the one, his Sparkmate. Where would that leave your child? He has told you that he will be responsible. But is he doing it out of duty or because he has love for his sparkling? You didn’t want him to believe that he is being forced to stay. 
It was a stupid thought. You knew that. But the thought still lingers in the back of your mind. 
“Prime is gonna kill me whenever he finds out I took you out of the base.”
It's always nice to get out of the base during the night. Especially with someone who saw you as an individual instead of just a ‘carrier and savior of an advanced robot race.’ He also drives nicely, not too fast, not too slow. Alex used to be a mechanic, his love for cars was always evident. Even as he drives, you can tell that this is all he ever wanted to do. 
“You know he won’t even kill a fly.”
“Yeah and that’s why it’s so fun to tease him.”
Alex tried to diminish the tension of the previous situation. He didn’t know why Optimus did what he did. But he feels a bit guilty for teasing Optimus as much. Maybe if he hadn't pushed him to his limits, he wouldn't have done such ugly act. 
“Can we go to the beach?”
You ask randomly. 
Alex smiles.
“Sure.”
.
.
.
When Ratchet informed him that you had gone on a night drive with Alex, he immediately went to your room. 
Why?
It was something even he couldn’t understand.
He knew he wasn’t going to find you there. 
Yet, his processor couldn’t understand how you weren’t here. He needs you. Now. His every circuit aching at the thought of you leaving his side. Carrying his sparkling and with a male who had successfully stolen you from his servos even if it's just for one night. 
He can still smell your scent in your room. Even after he had mass-shifted to enter, the room was still too small for him. He touched the bedsheets and began to miss the moments he has shared with you before in it. 
Where are you?
He needs you now. He needs to hold you, to know that you are safe. To express how much he adores you and the sparkling. 
“Sparkmate Status: Missing. Sparkling Status: Missing. Safety Status: Unknown. If Unable To Locate, Proceed With Solitude Activation Codes.”
He used his Comm-Link to call your cell phone. But nothing. He tried again. Nothing. 
It wasn’t until the 30th time that he understood … You didn’t want to be with him. 
You didn’t want him. 
You didn’t want him.
You didn’t want him. 
His servos tremble. 
Optics feel heavy. It’s strange. Having blue liquid come out of his eyes. He had cried before. For different reasons. This was pain, in its purest form. In a way words can’t describe. Proof of it were his subsided pleas of air as he had forgotten how to breathe, something he didn’t know he could do until he saw you. 
His spark aches. It hurts. Everything. 
Everything …  His everything is gone.
.
.
.
It was about a 10 hour drive.
Watching the sunrise was always a beautiful experience. Feeling the warm sunlight touch your skin energizes you. It made you forget the previous negative emotions and you began to have this strange yearning. 
For Optimus.
You wanted to be with him. Wishing he could  be here with you along with your unborn child. 
Maybe he had over reacted but knowing Optimus he probably has a good reason for destroying the chocolate box. Was he taking care of your weight? What if chocolate is toxic for sparklings? You wanted to talk to him and make things better–
Oh. 
You were right. You do need the sun. 
“Let’s build a sandcastle.”
Alex could sometimes be like a child, which was fun. There was never a boring moment with him.
“Let’s build an Autobot, instead!”
You let yourself touch the sand and immediately feel something moving inside you. It feels strange. It doesn’t hurt but feels very uncanny. Nonetheless, you smile as you put your hands in your belly. Your sparkling may be more human than you think, also enjoying the activity and fresh air. 
“Do you think will look like his father?”
You ask Alex as he tries to make a small square with his hands, using water from a water bottle. 
He looks at you and then down at his little project. 
“If the child were to live on Cybertron then I would prefer for them to look like Optimus,” he says, trying to think of a delicate way to tell you his opinion. “But since they will be living on Earth, then I genuinely hope they look more human.”
You know you will love the child no matter what. But Alex had a point. What kind of life will the child live if he is too different? Humans can be cruel, especially to those who are different. 
“If something happens to me … will you take care of them?”
He lets out a heavy sigh and looks at you again. His mood had been ruined but it was a question you were meaning to ask. 
“You know childbirth is difficult as it is and well, I am assuming giving birth to the first Human-Cybertronian child would be even more so.”
“You know we’ll have the best doctors in the world for that day,” Alex starts to mold more rectangular boxes as he stacks them up. Meanwhile you have started working on the head. “And if anyone can come out alive out of that it's you.”
He makes a pause and a small laugh escapes from his lips. 
“Besides, didn’t you fuck a 20 feet tall alien robot? You did that and came out fine. Childbirth should be a piece of cake.”
Without any notice, Alex’s mouth is filled with sand. You had thrown him a sand-ball and he started spitting it out and washing his mouth with the remaining water. 
“Hey! It's true!”
“Yes but you didn’t have to say it like that!”
“I don’t blame you, if Arcee would give me the chance, I would hit too–”
You throw more sand at him and he also retaliates. A sandy-battle unleashed as the wind was in your favor. Alex was gentle enough to only attack you below or above your belly. His ‘projectiles’ are extremely small compared to yours and between giggles and laughs, the battle continues until both of your hairs and clothes are covered with sand. 
And then, Alex’s phone begins to ring. 
.
.
.
“Where is he?”
The sun is still rising. The groundbridge could not stop time. But the time in California and Nevada were the same. 
You run towards Ratchet who is still by the groundbrige system, Alex close by.
“At the top, he is doing better now that I told him you were returning but …” The autobot medic pauses, not finding the right words to describe the situation. “I think you should go and see for yourself.”
You didn’t hesitate and made your way towards the rooftop. Of course, you didn’t run but you moved as fast as your pregnant body could. 
It was a good workout, you were losing your breath as you made your way to the elevator. If you had been in better shape, you would have taken the stairs. 
As you wait to arrive at the top, you could hear the beats of your heart palpitating against your chest. Overthinking is a talent of yours. Many stupid thoughts crossed your head. Thinking that Optimus was too angry at you for leaving the base without permission. You were ready to accept your punishment, whatever that may be. 
Instead, as you arrive at the top of the cliff, there are more questions than answers. 
You find big rocks, with a weight of more than a ton. Two rocks standing vertically and one on top of the two laying horizontally. Like a small house made out of giant rocks, enough space for a single Cybertronian. One that is around 20 feet tall, blue and red that turns into a truck.
Optimus is there but he is too busy spraying dandelions around his small house that he didn’t notice your presence. 
It wasn’t until he turned around that his optics shine in excitement. He almost runs towards but reminds himself to be gentle. Reaching out a servo, you expected him to hold you but he doesn’t he pulls away, using all of his strength to restrain himself. 
“I am glad to see you are safe.”
He says in a soft voice, the relief in his voice is evident and you feel the need to jump into his servos and be embraced by him. But just like him, you stopped yourself from doing so.
“I am glad you are safe too,” you tilted your body a little, your attention directed to the rocks behind. “Ratchet said you were acting … strange.”
Optimus also takes a look at his creation. He wished he could do better but its the best he could do with his limited resources. 
“Yes, you could say so.”
“May I ask, what is going on?”
He has been meaning to tell you but he doesn't know without getting nervous. He didn’t know how you would react. Will you think of him as weird? Disgusting even? But he can’t run away any longer. You are the sword and he is against a dead end with the only option being moving forward.
“Cybertron hasn’t had a sparkling in milenia so to ensure its safety, my processor activated primal codes,” Optimus says. “It makes me do things that may be antiquated.”
Not understanding fully, but if you had to come to a conclusion, Optimus may be going through something similar to animal mating rituals. Which is not so far fetched since Cybertron used to have Predacons before Cybertronians appeared. 
“Is that why you destroyed my chocolate box?”
“Due that we haven’t concluded the Conjunx Ritus, my processor doesn’t consider you as my Conjunx Endura yet, although I consider you my Sparkmate” Optimus blinks multiple times as he only does when he is nervous. “I identified Special Agent Alex’s actions as threatening to steal you and my sparkling.”
“Me?”
“Yes, although those reasons are more … intimate ones.”
Your heart beats faster as the sunlight reflects on his paint-job. He looks beautiful. You once again remember how incredible and extraordinary of an individual he is. There is no one like him in the entire universe and never will. You feel delighted to know that you are in his presence, being able to admire a side not one has seen yet. 
“Oh,” you look away after realizing you had been staring at him for too long.  “And that?”
You point at the rock structure and Optimus optics quickly follow. 
“After you left, I went to look for you at your private quarters,” he kept looking at the rocks and you wonder the struggles he had to go through to carry them to the top. “Not seeing you there activated my Solitude Codes.”
He walks towards the rocks, there are a lot of dandelions. Some of them died. Others are alive. There is some sort of yearning in his optics as if he belongs there. Its a sorrowful yearning, as if he was made to do something that he wishes to not do. Yet, he knows he would be skillful at it. 
“I felt the need to build this.”
“And do what?”
You ask, not wanting to walk closer as you thought that maybe you would be overstepping his boundaries. 
“Wait,” he answers. 
His back faces you. Not being able to see his faceplate, you can only tell how he feels based on his voice box’s tone. He just stands there, looking down. 
“For what?”
“For you to come back.”
He answers so longingly that it makes you almost shed a tear. For a moment, time stops. There is no wind, no sound, no scent, nothing. But just him. As if your entire world had become just him.  
“... And if I didn’t come back?”
He slowly turns to look at you. A soft smile, of  love. There wasn’t any desire in it. It was pure. Genuine. As he is in love with your soul and wishes to spend eternity with the thought of you. With your existence, whatever that was. To be one until the heavens and the earth collide. 
“I would wait until you do.”
And for a second, the Prime no longer was. But just a spark. In his purest form. His faceplates open, he wants to say something but it's lost in words. He had given up so easily. Realizing that he has yet to find the right words to express his love for you. A love so vast that not even the best poets or writers could ever put into paper. 
If he could go back in time and stop himself from becoming a Prime, he would. Because being an archivist would have made him more eloquent, maybe then, he could describe to you a small fraction of his endless adoration. 
“Prime–”
“Guys!” Alex came out of the elevator, screaming and ruining the moment. “Sorry to interrupt but we have a message coming from Megatron!”
He tilts his head outside the elevator, blue eyes staring at the two of you. Noticing that he interrupted a romantic scenario, he just pointed a finger at the two of you. 
“Prime we need you, please make-out quickly!”
And with that, Alex leaves as soon as he appeared. 
“Well, now that you are here, I won’t be using this,” Optimus walks towards you and bends down on one knee. He is still too tall but you appreciate that he tries to see you faceplate to face. Using a servo, he caresses your hair and your soft skin. With so much adoration and devotion. 
  “I don’t have much time but I realized I haven’t thank you yet for carrying my Sparkling.”
He wants to hold you. Craving it. He wishes he could have time to tell you more. To whisper in your ears sweet things. To read to you the most lovely of poems. To just rot in a bed, indulging in nothing but love. 
But he can’t. Not now. 
“Creating a new life with you has been the greatest honor of my life.” 
He stands up, walks past you. Leaving you at a shock, at a state of awe. 
“Now, let us go,” he says. “Some things can’t wait.”
He'll wait until you call him by his first name again.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
A/N: It was fun to write this. Optimus panicking and not understanding the changes he is going through. I think on this he has accepted that he may not win you back but that won't stop him from loving you and his sparkling. Meanwhile you are falling for him all over again.
I wrote this because y'all liked the concept for Counting Stars and supported it a lot! So thank you everyone so much for the support.
This was a one shot and I continued it because there was lots of love but I don't have a certain story-line. To be honest I don't know how to continue it.
For the next chapter (if there is one) I was thinking that Megatron accidentally sends Reader to the Dark Dimension where Reader meets Nemesis Prime. In this dimension, Optimus loses Reader and his Sparkling, transforming him into an evil being.
Meanwhile in Reader's dimension, Optimus is losing it. Slowly spiraling into madness at the thought of never seeing Reader and his Sparkling again. Destroying everything on sight, the Autobots fight to keep Optimus at bay.
The plot would end with Optimus and Nemesis fighting to see who would keep Reader.
That storyline would take around 2-3 chapters and it would conclude this story.
But that is just a thought, I still don't if I'll continue this since I really need to focus on writing the next chapter for 'The Darkest Hour'
And I am currently working on a oneshot bayverse Optimus fic too so please look forward to it!
Again thank you for reading and sorry for any spelling and grammar mistakes.
See You in the next story!
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intuitively-her · 6 months ago
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You are so gorgeous/handsome, and you look very put together.😍 People know that they gotta come correct if they want to come towards you. You're a charmer. You might unintentionally flirt with people a lot. You're a HUGE lover girl/boy. Your hugs are the best. And you could be a gift-giver as well. I'm getting family vibes here. You seem to be detached and in your own world most of the time. You have this mysterious vibe to you. You don't give too much of yourself away at once. You like to take risks and can be a wildcard at times. This is really admired by others. You're the fun friend in your group. Your energy reminds me of Maddy Perez and Nikki from save the last dance. I’m also channeling Santana from glee lol. You could be very popular. Someone here is in a leadership position. Sports team captain? You lead with logic and practicality. Someone here likes to debate with others. This is my argumentative pile. King of swords energy. You're veryyy disciplined when it comes to your work. Literally nothing or no one could knock you off balance. And you've literally worked to bring your manifestations to life. You're that girl/guy because you remain strong even through your darkest times. You always stay committed to yourself. You remain hard on the outside, but soft n gooey on the inside.🥰
Extra confirmation: Famous, Mean girl, Younger woman, Elusive, Intoxicating, Bitchy, Stuck-up, Sarcastic, Apathetic, Smart ass, Beautiful, Sexy Voice, Friendly, Co-worker, Side chick/side man
Channeled songs: Try again by Aaliyah and Antidote by Travis Scott
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Things always seem to work out for you no matter what. Some people view you as a "good luck charm" lol. It's like you have the Midas touch or something. You're very strategic with your plans. Smart, sexy, and independent. You have a very balanced and precise mindset. People could never really cross you. You're always 10 steps ahead. Your energy reminds me of TheWizardLiz. This is my workaholic pile. You've built everything that you have from the ground up. Magician energy. You're a master manifestor.⭐ Your fairness is very admired. You're not afraid to speak up for what you believe in. You could give great advice as well. You have such a light energy! You have a very open and honest personality. You might be a social butterfly. You live more of luxurious lifestyle. I heard "livin like larry"😂. You could have a really nice car. Someone here has beautiful long legs. For someone specific here, you are that girl/guy because you didn't allow a heartbreak to change you. You stayed strong and compassionate.
Extra confirmation: Competitive, Obsessive, Impulsive, Pretty skin/skin tone, Liar, Charming, Player, Dark-skin, Boss, Confident, Humble, Big butt, Trustworthy, Mixed signals
Channeled songs: Act up by City girls and Independent women pt.1 by Destiny's child
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You've fought hard to get to the position that you're in today. The luxuries that you have did not come easy. I'm channeling the movies "The pursuit of happiness" and "The Wolf of Wall Street". You may have struggled a bit growing up. But you didn't let that define you. It took a lot of commitment to get where you are today. Someone here could work with stocks. I heard "business mogul". You like to remain optimistic and keep your options open. You're very kindhearted and uplifting to others. You are such a giver. Many people would consider you a "girls girl". Heavy water sign energy. People know that they can count on you for a good time. You have a very bold and confident personality. You walk into rooms like you own the place. Star energy. You're the kim k in your family/friend group lol. A lot of strangers assume that you're famous or some type of influencer. Someone here could wear afro-centric hairstyles.
Extra confirmation: Wifey energy, Trustworthy, Feline eyes, Introvert, Pretty eyes, Eccentric, One night stand, Younger woman, Charming, Cheater, Egotistical, Sister, Intoxicating, Funny
Channeled songs: P power by Gunna and Wife at home by Bryson Tiller
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*ONLY TAKE WHAT RESONATES*
🌸Please DO NOT copy, repost, or steal my work! Thanks!🌸
*Credits to @anitalenia and @sultryana for the text dividers🩷*
Masterlist
Paid readings
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shitpostingsapphic · 5 months ago
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The people complaining about the power imbalances and toxic situations in regards to the arc of caitvi in season 2, who also claim to be big season 1 caitvi fans.... where did you think this relationship was going?? Did you think that an excon with a terrorist sister and a privileged copper princess were going to never have these specific types of problems in their hard fought journey to being in love? Did you think caitlyn wouldn't temporarily fall back on her preconceived notions about Zaun when confronted with this level of grief and outside manipulation (ahem, an attack on her mother's memorial by a group is perceived by EVERYONE to be from Zaun? We the audience know the truth, that Ambessa set up the whole thing, but do the characters? No they do not.) Did you ever perceive Vi to be a character that doesn't live solely to love and be loved, and would do nearly anything in attempts to maintain that? Vi, who was loyal to her family before anything and hated people like silco and sevika because of their direct betrayals and the way they hurt her loved ones. Yes, passionate about the wellbeing of Zaun, but someone who loved before anything else. That is her priority. Just what sort of ship were you guys under the notion of stanning back in s1? Did you think their dynamic wouldn't hurt to watch on the road to their happy ending, even back when we weren't sure they would even get one? I for one think their relationship was splendidly done and really explored the star-crossed lovers dynamic, and what it would actually take for this type of couple to receive a happy ending. It's not a pretty road. It was never going to be.
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macfrog · 1 month ago
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the jellyfish | one shot
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today marks one year since i posted the fic i’m proudest of, san angelo. i loved this joel and this girl so much that even after i posted their story, i couldn’t shake them. i wrote a little extra for my own heart, never intending to share — but now feels as good a time as any. enjoy.
pairing: joel miller x fem!reader summary: they just drift, jellyfish. they go wherever the current takes ‘em. i think you and i were a little like that. i think the universe delivered me straight to you. warnings: story is inserted into canon, so all the expected major character deaths. star-crossed lovers who transcend universes to be together and all that good shit. word count: 5k
psst. you might wanna read this post before you jump into this fic. x
She comes through on the heels of a sunbeam.
You don’t know how long it’s been. Ten seconds or ten minutes or ten days, maybe – but she’s still a kid with rosy cheeks and plaid pajama pants, so you figure it can’t have been long.
No, it can’t have been long at all.
“Sarah?”
You push through the ghostly glow of a thousand other people. It’s iridescent chaos, wherever this place is. A flurry of panicked strangers – their forms hazy and only half-here.
They sweep from your path like silk. The screaming is deafening. Some are on their knees, sobbing into the nothingness. Others are searching every face, calling names you don’t recognize, crying out to a god or a universe you know is no longer listening.
All you know is this is it. Whatever you had, whatever you knew – it’s over now. All that’s left is here. Some kind of dreamscape, an astral plane.
If you didn’t know better, you’d call it heaven.
She looks just like the photographs he’d shown you. First day of school, he said – and he grinned wider than you’d been able to make him the entire night. Shoot, this one’s a little blurry, but – you see that trophy in her hand? Fifth-grade science fair. Smartest kid in her class.
“Sarah,” again.
She turns.
Her eyes meet yours, crystal blue and streaming. And as if she, too, knows your favorite superhero and the way you like your mac and cheese – she holds her arms out.
You pull her in, feeling her little hands lock around your waist. Your cheek falls to the crown of her head. She smells like bitter iron. It makes your teeth hurt.
She’s crying. Wetting the front of your shirt, pushing her face so hard into your tummy that she can barely even breathe.
“What happened?” you ask, cupping the back of her head.
Her hair is linen soft, fair and cropped at the top of her neck. Sweet like bubblegum pink shampoo, she smells just like strawberries.
“Tell me, honey – what happened?”
The smallest voice you’ve ever heard. She speaks between thick sniffles. “I don’t –” gasp, “– I don’t know.”
You kneel in front of her, cupping her cheeks. Your thumbs catch her tears as they come. “Where’s your dad?”
“I don’t know,” she sobs, and wraps herself around you again.
She asks who you are on the third day.
By now, you’re wandering around hand in hand. Things have settled, the pale fog has cleared. Your world is one of bursting greens and rolling blues; flowers which lift with the sun and sprawling hills which cushion her fall at the end of each day.
Gently, one by one, the others disappeared. Into the night, into the sun – into their own little corners of this world. You and Sarah are the only two left, settled in a snug valley populated by wildflowers and families of deer.
It’s better this way. It���s calmer. You can listen to the sway of the long grass, can pluck out the different types of bird just from their song.
You hush Sarah to sleep every night. You’ve managed to quieten her crying, had done by the second sunset. She has no reason to trust you, but she does – and you figure you owe it to him to watch over her, anyway.
At least until he gets here.
“I knew your daddy once,” you tell her, taking in the dusky pink sky. The sun is lowering. She’ll grow tired soon. He wouldn’t want her up past her bedtime. “We met a long time ago.”
“Did he like you?” she asks, earnestly – but you pause.
It rises from your chest like painful little bubbles, each one shattering more violently than the last. Tears spring along your waterline. You swallow the tremble in your voice.
“I hope so,” you whisper. “I liked him very much.”
She hums to herself, walking on. Her arms wrap tighter around the firewood she’s holding. “I bet he liked you just as much,” she says. “You musta been pretty special.”
It lingers for a moment. The beauty and the pain of it; the flood of violet that designs a fresh bruise. The memory swirls around you in the breeze.
In the next life.
Promise.
Sarah strolls off in the evening light. The clouds tint her hair a peachy rose. She’s already out of your reach.
The blood jumps in your veins. You gather your skirt and hurry back to her side, masking your nerves with a smile. “Well, I feel it,” you nudge her, “being in your company.”
She giggles for the first time since you found each other. This sweet little melody. It blends in with the birdsong.
The kid goes everywhere on your back.
Closer than your own shadow, hanging from your arm, watching everything you do with a filial affection. Becoming someone’s person wasn’t exactly something you meant to do, but then – neither was meeting her dad in a dive bar.
You’ve been dealt worse hands.
You braid her hair while you sit in the valley. Knots of gold threaded with daisies and dandelions. She names the deer and nods hello to each of them. She stands on your toes and walks backwards, squeals when you trip over one another and tumble across the bed of grass.
It’s not hard to see why he loved her so much. This little dove of a girl. Soft around the edges, a springtime sweetness to her like cherry blossom or fresh snowdrops. Something you want to cradle, tend to with careful hands and shield from the rest of the world.
She wraps her arms like twigs around your shoulders. She chatters in your ear about soccer and movies; asks to hear your favorite everything so she can compare it to hers.
She talks about him every day. Talks about him the same way he’d talked about her: laughter splitting her words, each one rounded by the toothy grin on her face.
When she sleeps, her head in your lap, your fingers sifting through her hair – you look for him. You try to find him.
It’s a gift and a curse that you always do.
Boston, at least at first. Gruesome and unforgiving. Dingy streets and dirty deals; a woman with a mind as sharp as her tongue. He trusts her. He feels safe around her. She relieves some of the ache in his chest and that relieves some of the ache in yours.
You walk in stride with them at night. You watch him break bone and break his own heart, over and over. He looks nothing like he did in San Angelo. His brother can’t look him in the eye anymore.
He’s an open wound. Agony from the inside out. A heart split like the skin over his knuckles.
You follow him back to his apartment and try to whisper words through the dark. Can you feel me? I’m here. I’m right here.
He only ever rolls over and scoops the bare pillow, wrapping his huge arm around it. He’s lonely, drowning in it, though he’d never admit it. He’d never admit any of it: he’s not hurting, he’s not grieving. He doesn’t remember her smile or the weight of her on his back.
That’s the thing. He remembers all of it. He can’t shake her from his shoulders. He can’t stop answering when he hears echoes of her voice. Crying only seems to pain him all the more, the burn of salt on his skin.
You curl up behind him, hoping he might feel your heartbeat through worlds. Hoping he might feel your arms around him and know, somehow, that he’s carrying his kid, too.
Sarah asks in the morning why your eyes are so red.
“No reason,” you reply, tucking a forget-me-not behind her ear. “Let’s go pick some apples.”
She slings herself over your back, an empty string bag dangling from her wrist. She kicks her legs as you wander from shade to shade, dodging the blazing sunlight.
Sarah’s no idiot. She’s her father’s daughter. She can feel the effort in every step, sense the burden heavy on your shoulders. She jokes that your shadows look like some kind of giant cockroach wearing a summer dress, and it makes you laugh.
In the orchard, she climbs up onto your shoulders. She reaches above, clawing for the shiniest ones. Deep reds with freckles just like hers.
“Be careful,” you mutter, feeling her rock with the branches to pick the best fruit. Your grip tightens around her ankles.
The fear sets like a pebble, heavy in your stomach. The same fear that sinks anytime she leaves your reach, the same fear that plummets when she’s shoulder-deep in the river and you think the current might sweep her off at any moment.
She’s not your kid. She’s not. But she’s his – and he was as much yours as anyone.
The sun flashes between the leaves, becoming too hot to stay out much longer. You must be in the thick of summer by now. It’s scorching.
“Sarah,” you plead, squinting up at her swaying silhouette. “Please be careful.”
“You got it,” she calls, voice strained. She plucks and plucks, a satisfied sigh with each apple she rolls into the bag.
Back home, you stand by the sink. The cool shade of the cottage, fruit bobbing in the water. Sarah wants to slice some of them, sit outside and watch the bees pollinate the flowers.
You flick your blade up, fishing the biggest apple. As you line the silver against the swollen skin, you feel her eyes on you.
“You okay, honey?”
She smiles. Her eyes flit to the blade in your hands, the droplet of juice dribbling between your knuckles. “Can I do it?”
“Chop the –?”
Sarah nods.
You look back down at your hands, hesitating. The blade winks back. Heat begins to creep up your spine. “I…I guess.”
She swaps positions, spreading her fingers over the fruit. Her small hands curve around the handle of the knife. The sight of it makes your stomach turn.
“Like this?” She positions it between her first and middle fingers.
You wince, laying your hands on her wrist. “Yeah,” you gulp, “but just be –”
“– careful?” she says, smirking. “Daddy lets me help him with the cookin’ all the time.”
Yeah, you think, that’s ‘cause Daddy can’t do it by himself.
The knife plunges down with a wet crunch. The halves roll apart. The air punches from your lungs.
Sarah looks up, bright eyes twinkling.
With a sickly anxiety, you realize she wants to do it again.
“Good job,” you say, voice wobbly, fists balling on the counter. Your nails dig into your palms. “Now, uh – now half ‘em again, and make sure you cut the seeds out. You eat the seeds, an apple tree grows in your belly.”
She snorts. “I know that ain’t true.”
The dragonflies hover politely near the river, metallic wings fluttering.
You lay a blanket down in the shade of a willow, fringed from the rest of the valley by its drooping curtain of leaves. You suckle on the shards of fruit, lips lined with a sticky sweet.
Sarah picks the best apples. You know this by now.
She sucks her fingers clean, staring at the sparkling river as it trickles by. You’ve been here longer than you could guess – longer than you care to – but still, she asks, “What if you’re lying?”
You dig between your teeth for apple skin. “Huh?”
“You said you knew my dad,” she says, turning back. She rubs one eye with her knuckle. “What if that’s not true?”
“Then I’d be pretty damn good at bluffing.”
She snickers. “I believe you,” she says, “I always did. There has to be some reason you found me.”
You sit back, leaning on the heels of your palms. Your chest swells with emotion, the lonely pain of waking up to an empty bed and an empty apartment.
“You like soccer,” you tell her. “You play for the…the Defenders, right? Number fourteen. You won your fifth-grade science fair with a project on jellyfish.”
Sarah looks down at the grass, cheeks lifting. She picks a daisy and twirls it between two fingers. “You remembered all that?”
“Like I said,” you sigh, “I liked your dad a lot.”
You keep looking for him every night.
He’s been out of Boston for a while, and you’re glad of it. He found himself a shadow of his own right before he left – a little girl with freckles and a light like sunshine.
Just like yours.
She’s spunky, she has heart, and she can kick ass. Every second word is a curse, feels like. She tells stupid jokes and she pulls on all the right threads. She’s unwinding him, and you’re sure neither one of them knows it yet.
She’s saving him.
You took to her the day they met. He took a little more convincing. You knew he’d come around eventually, and you spent weeks waiting for the other shoe to drop.
It didn’t happen so suddenly. Day by day, hour by hour, he mellowed. His bark quietened, the blaze in his chest tamed. Soon, he let her close enough to warm her hands.
And he was aglow all over again. He looked the way he had two decades before.
It must be years now – the way he’s grayed and she’s sprouted. You can’t keep up with the passing of seasons, the way their conversations change. Change and change and wither away.
And – just as you’ve adopted all the other scars and bruises and fractures in his soul – their distance hurts you just as much as it hurts him. It feels hollow, like his bones are protecting nothing. Ghostly. Barren.
The worst of his pain comes during a blizzard.
It’s a fucking mess, the entire thing. You can’t hear anything over the kid’s screaming. Faces keep bleeding in and out of view; grunts and gasps and terrible, terrible groans.
He’s on the floor – that’s what drew you in. He’s on the floor, broken in two. A mammoth captured in a snowstorm, slain in the basement of a mansion.
You wait for him to notice you. He’s come close before – scuffles in backstreets, on horseback with a puncture in his stomach – but he’s never looked at you before.
You stumble around the edge of the room, stifling your screaming as the girl’s arms lift again. The bite of metal is nauseating. The blood is spattered up the windows behind him.
A shell of himself – this man who once held you, whispered sweet nothings and silly jokes in your ear. Who held his palm open and let you trace over it, score secrets into the skin forever.
He’s done some shit, sure – but hasn’t everyone?
She brings the club down on his skull. His body bends in on itself, breaks in a way you never knew it could. He’s past able to make any sound. The size of him gives one final shudder, and just then –
He looks.
He looks you square in the eye.
Joel?
He blinks. A wet gurgle leaks from his lips.
Joel, can you –? Shit, can you see me right now?
It’s dribbling from his chin like tar. Thick and black. It runs quicker when his lips try to move.
You can, can’t you? You can see me.
His brother and kid are out cold. You step between them, whispering apologies as you pass, and kneel at Joel’s side.
I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere. It’s okay, baby, you’re okay.
Your eyes screw shut. He’s in your bed, his shitty Motorola in one hand and your fingers in the other. He smiles. He smiles and he laughs and he kisses you again.
God, Joel, you sob, I love you. I love you so much. Tell me what to do. I don’t know what to fucking do here.
Please. I need you to get up. Can you get up for me?
Can you – can you move? Can you hear me?
Joel?
Sarah brings you tea and sets it down on the table.
She sits beside you, tucking her knees right under her chin. She warns about the flies, says you’ll be drinking bug soup if you don’t get to it quick.
You force your lips into a smile and thank her, ruffling her sun-bleached hair. One tiny sip – only to please her – and your head rolls back, face skyward.
“Are you feeling better?” she asks, laying a hand over yours.
When she finally managed to wake you, you were both crying. She said your scream almost deafened her. She thought something terrible had happened, until she lit the lamp and saw you clutching your bedsheets, sobbing into the cotton in your sleep.
You squeeze her fingers. “Yes,” you lie. “I’m sorry I scared you. It was just a bad dream.”
“I used to have those sometimes,” she says, sniffing. She rubs her nose with the back of her hand. “Not since I came here.”
“You know what it is?” You turn to look at her, one eye closed in the sunlight. “I ate cheese before bed. Cheese gives you funny dreams.”
Her head tips back with a giggle. “No, it doesn’t. That’s so silly.”
You lift your eyebrows. “I blame the cheese, Sarah Miller.”
She nudges the mug an inch closer, and you take another sip.
It’s good – the tea. She knows exactly how long to brew it for, exactly how much sugar you like. It’s as if she counts the granules by hand – and, if you know Sarah, you wouldn’t put it past her.
You balance the warm mug on your breastbone. “Wanna help me hang the sheets up?”
She nods. Always eager to help, eager to do everything and anything. She disappears back into the cottage and you listen for the sloshing of water, the wet slap of the sheets being flung into a basket.
Nothing has come of it. Your dream. No knock at the door, no calls of either of your names echoing through the valley. After you convinced Sarah to go back to sleep, you stood outside and listened to the wind for forty-five minutes.
He is not here.
It’s the first time you’ve ever wondered where here really is, anyway. For this long, it’s been yours and Sarah’s. A secret kingdom in some dusty shelf in the universe; pixies and sunshine and splitting apples by the river.
You don’t want any of it, if he’s not here.
You’ll pack a bag, pull Sarah over your back. Find somewhere else. Somewhere with room for him, too. She needs her dad, and you need your – well.
Sarah meets you by the clothesline. She drops the basket with a sigh, then twirls around the pole as you untangle the sheets. She spirals until she’s sat on the grass, legs crossed, passing you clothespins as you work.
“I was thinking we could stay up late tonight,” you say, slotting a pin over the sheet. Forcing a casual air through your voice, trying to keep it steady. “Watch the sky for a little while, maybe hunt for shooting stars.”
You’re only trying to wring out the hours you’ll be without him. You don’t want to spend the night staring at the ceiling, slowly forgetting what he looks like.
Sarah says nothing. She knows you’re full of it. She leans forward and picks a ladybug from your skirt, rotates her hand to count its spots.
The sheets lift in the breeze, billowing and twisting around one another. The clouds turn over – rolling from perfectly white to an afternoon blush. The world is preparing to turn in already.
And that’s when she says it.
“Daddy?”
Your back is turned. You’re sipping at your tea. “What, honey?”
She pulls herself up and steps forward. She walks through the sheets, ducking her head to miss their brilliant flashes. Staring straight ahead at something you can’t see yet.
“Dad…”
In one swipe of the linen, she’s gone.
With a gasp, she sprints off downhill. She screams as she goes, footsteps thundering through the valley.
“Sarah!” you yelp, swatting the laundry out of the way. It swirls around your arms, waving across your vision in a white smirk. “Sarah, come back –”
The fabric spills over your arm when you lift it. Your heart stops short in your throat.
He’s knelt in the grass, arms wide open. Same jeans, same wintery boots. He flicks his fingers and his little girl collides with him, her tiny body crashing into his.
They roll back into the soft grass and for a few seconds, they disappear. But as quickly as your heart stops, it starts again. He rises from the flora, Sarah in his arms.
He nuzzles his face into her shoulder. He’s sobbing, you can hear it from way up here. Sobbing, then roaring with laughter, then gasping for air – though he won’t pull away from his little girl long enough to breathe.
They have the same laugh. The exact same. It echoes between them, this delighted string of sound. That hearty, giddy laugh.
She stands straight, still holding tightly onto him. Like she’s scared if she lets go, she’ll lose him again. Planted between his knees, fixing threads of silver hair from his eyes. Talking to him, yapping and giggling, her head bobbing all over the place.
He talks straight back – bass voice even deeper than you remember. The only words you can make out are baby girl. He can’t stop stroking her hair, can’t stop bursting into euphoric laughter.
After a minute, he stands. One hand locked in hers, arms swinging. He scopes the valley, murmuring something to his daughter while shaking his head in disbelief.
She points everything out to him. The hills and their peaks. The spot where the sun rises and the spot where it sets. The willow by the riverside, the knolls where the rabbits burrow. And then – she spins around and points to you.
Your hands knot at your stomach.
Shielding his eyes with his arm, he looks up and spots you. He pauses for a few seconds, just stares and stares. He doesn’t move until Sarah tugs on his wrist.
She drags him the whole way back to the cottage. “It’s…it’s…” she pants, squirming with joy as she hauls both of them uphill. She takes your outstretched hand and shakes it. “It’s my dad!”
“Sure is,” you whisper. It hurts to breathe. It hurts to think. It hurts to be so close to him and still nowhere near enough.
Joel mirrors your expression, loose with shock. He reaches the yard and sighs. His shoulders rise and fall with the effort of his breath, sweat lining his brow.
He’s older. Of course he is, it’s been twenty-five years. Salt and pepper, just like your dreams. More wrinkles, more scars – though, in the sunlight, he looks just like the man you knew. Those same embers of light in his eyes, smirk unconcealable even behind his thicker beard.
He looks the exact same. He never changed a day.
“She said she knew you from long ago, Dad,” says Sarah, beaming up at him. She won’t let go of either of your hands, a little chain link between this world and the last. She blinks back and forth between you.
“Yeah, baby girl,” he finally says, and you hear that familiar sandpaper rasp, smoothed over by a lacquer drawl. “We knew each other pretty well.”
The girl squints in the sun. “She taught me how to make tea. You want some tea?”
He finally drops your gaze. He looks down to Sarah and smiles tenderly. “I would love some tea.”
She squeezes your hand, then turns on her heel and skips back to the house.
Joel watches as she disappears into the kitchen, then turns his attention back to you.
His hairline is rusted with dry blood, eyes still a little bleary. His blood-soaked jacket is gone – and, if you know him half as well as you think you do, you know he rid himself of it sometime before his daughter noticed him.
He hooks a thumb through his belt loop and smiles, perplexed. He drags a heel through the terrain, stones scuffing under his boot. He lifts a finger and points in your direction.
“Mind’s still a little hazy,” he says. “Have we met?”
It floods through your body. That same twenty-something-year-old feeling. A kiddish glee, a teenage flush. You bite right into it.
“I was wondering the same thing. You look familiar. Did you do something with your hair?”
His head tips. He runs his hand through the flicks of hair by his neck. “That oughta be it. I grew it out,” he drags his fingers down his jaw, “Grew out my beard, too.”
“Mm. Yeah, I see that. Looks good.”
Your voice is breaking. It’d be embarrassing if you were paying attention to it.
His arms cross. “You look good. You look beautiful.”
Another little hm. Then –
“If you don’t touch me right now, I’m going to scream.”
And he jumps.
His arms wrap around you, pulling you suddenly and heavily against his chest. He’s so solid and yet so soft; so weathered and still the safest thing you’ve ever known. He feels just like he did all those years ago.
“Joel,” you sob into his shirt, and he kisses your head.
“Hi, baby,” he whispers into your hair, sniffling. He kisses down your neck and across your shoulder.
“Hi,” you weep. You pull back, cradled in his arms, blinking through your tears.
His cheeks are glistening, eyes streaming all over again. He laughs with you, shaking his head. “Jesus,” he chuckles, “look at us.”
You nuzzle into his palm, closing your eyes. “I missed you so much,” you whisper.
“Oh, darlin’,” Joel strokes your cheek, “I missed you, too. I thought about you every day. Every –”
“– damn day,” you echo. “Me, too.”
“I wish I’d gone back for you,” he admits. “I should’ve found you, I –”
“Hey,” you lift his jaw and press your forehead to his, “You found me. I’m right here, see? Feel me? You ain’t gotta worry anymore. You found us.”
He pulls you into the same bear hug again. He squeezes tight and breathes in your hair.
“This is where you’ve been?” he asks, still drinking in the expanse of the valley.
“Yep,” you mumble into his chest.
He kisses your forehead. “And you looked after my little girl?”
“She looked after me, too.”
He laughs, tears slipping though his beard into your hair. “How? I mean – how?”
“She just – appeared. Right in front of me. Like it was meant to be.”
“That night?”
You nod, welling up. “I was already gone, Joel.”
He turns away for a second, pain twisting across his face. He holds you protectively. “Baby,” his voice breaks, “I’m so sorry.”
You press your fingers to his lips.
It needn’t matter now. None of it. Not here, where the sun drowns the valley each morning and the flowers dance in the breeze. Not here, where you and Sarah played handclaps and you taught her how to make daisy chains.
Not here – where the universe finally gave him back to you.
“It happened,” you shrug, “Look where I wound up.”
He nods, but you know it’s a bruise. You know it matters to him. Matters more than any of the rest of it. You can feel his heart throbbing in his chest.
“The next life,” Joel whispers. “Is this the one I get to keep you in?”
You smile. “Yup.”
He hums, playing with your hands. His head drops and he takes a deep, painful breath.
“There are some things you should know about,” he says – and for the first time, it’s like he’s uncomfortable. “Things that probably got a lot to do with why I’m here.”
“I already know,” you say. “I was with you the whole time.”
“You were?”
Your eyes close. “Mhm.”
“Shit,” Joel winces, “I never wanted you to see –”
“Shh.”
You take his hand and open his palm. It feels like velvet against your lips; as warm as the day you met. You kiss each mount, each plain of skin. When you pull away, you run your fingers over the same lines you read all that time ago.
“See? Still the same,” you reassure him, smiling. “You’re still my Joel.”
“Your Joel,” he teases. He tightens around you again, nuzzling your nose with his own. “That who I am, huh?”
“Uhuh,” you giggle, squirming when he tickles your waist.
His lips find yours in a crash of a kiss – a hungry, messy thing. His hands on your jaw, yours in his hair. Vanilla and pine, the scent of home you’ve been searching for ever since that very first night.
You tug gently and Joel groans into your mouth, his tongue rolling against yours. He tastes like beer and second-hand smoke, like the pinch of lime and the sting of love. He tastes like you, like twenty years too long apart.
He tastes like forever still to come.
The wind picks up and swirls around you both. The sun washes over your skin. The sheets snap back and forth, drumming over the kettle’s whistle inside.
“C’mon,” you whisper, leading him to the door. “Your daughter makes the best tea in the world.”
“Hey,” he says, reeling you back in against his body. He smooths your skin with his thumb. The same honey glow in his eyes, the same hidden magic.
“I love you,” he says. “I loved you the minute I saw you at that bar. Loved you no matter how many miles or worlds were between us. It’s the one thing that never changed.”
You smile, bringing his hand to your lips.
“It’s over now, Joel. You can come home.”
336 notes · View notes
glasvera · 27 days ago
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if your request still open, can I request with Loki with fem reader?? Reader is also a magican/witch with star/celestial magic like channel power of the sun/moon or summon meteors(In Marvel comic I don't notice many or any characters who use this type of magic much, which differentiate her fron other magic users) They have some bicker about magic and teasing while in battle, getting jealous with someone got too close with another and basically a tsundere to each other. Until other heroes started teasing them both then they start opening up their feelings. I hope this is not too much!
Okay, first of all, I am SO SORRY this took so long! My requests had originally filled up when I first got this ask, but I liked the idea of it so much that I wanted to go ahead and carry it over to the next batch I did. It also kinda turned more into a "rivals to lovers" sort of thing with more focus on them bickering, but I hope you still enjoy!
Vexing
Loki x Fem!CelestialWitch!Reader
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Description: One has the powers of a god. The other has celestial power to rival that of the gods. Surely that won't affect anyone's fragile egos and bring about a rivalry that is definitely not a cover for underlying romantic tensions, right?
Warnings/Disclaimers: (Marvel) Rivals to lovers, mild (canon typical) violence, Loki gets a meteor chucked at him, Loki gets pinned to the ground, lots of name calling
A/N: I love putting Loki in Situations™. Also, I've been playing a LOT of Baldur's Gate 3 lately, so I feel like some Astarion crept into my Loki characterization. I think I have a soft spot for devilish, cocky guys with tragic/muddled pasts.
Word Count: 2.7k
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It was business as usual on the front lines. Your team prepared themselves in a small yet intricately designed and gilded bedroom while awaiting the order to move. Of course, with it being his, Loki takes advantage of the downtime to lounge across the bed. Emerald eyes stare daggers into yours. 
“Careless.”
“Insensible.”
“Infuriating.”
“Egotistical.”
“Irreverent!”
“...Cowardly.”
Loki gasps, hand over his heart, pausing this ridiculous, verbose exchange of insults that was all too common between the two of you.
“I am many things, you fool, but to call me cowardly--”
You sneer, victorious. Rare was it that words cut him so deep. Rarer still for only one to accomplish it. A snicker hisses through your teeth.
“What do you call that last battle, then? When you left me to die?” you accuse, fully aware of the exaggeration of your aforementioned situation. Command of celestial forces meant you were hardly ever in a position quite so dire or lethal.
He scoffs in disgust. “I call that trust in my allies. Duty called me elsewhere, and you handle yourself well enough.” He gives you a once-over from head to toe and back up again, crossing his arms. “Clearly you made it back unscathed. Mostly.”
“Excuses,” you retort. Still, his compliment doesn't escape you even under the veneer of irritation. “You were invisible the moment someone aimed a gun at you.”
“Well forgive me if I have a sense of self-preservation!” he snaps.
“Can you two lovebirds keep it down!?” Rocket butts in. Clawed fingertips massage at his own temples. “You're giving me a flarking headache!”
That’s the one and only thing that bothers you both more than each other. “We are not lovebirds!” you argue in unison.
The raccoon bristles at your combined exclamation, using his oversized gun to gesture wildly at both of you while he talks. “Yeah, right! Maybe if you idiots exchanged spit instead of insults, the rest of us could enjoy a bit of peace and quiet!”
You flinch away from the firearm and feel your face heat up in a frustrating cocktail of embarrassment and anger. One glance at Loki reveals a flushed face with teeth bared in a snarl. Still, you refuse to admit just how alike the two of you really are. After all, if you're so much alike, then you might as well have spent all this time hurling insults at a mirror.
“That you would even suggest such a thing is more potent an insult than anything either of us have conjured,” Loki bemoans. “I wouldn't dare taint my lips with the likes of this… this starry-eyed witch.”
“Take that back,” you snarl, embarrassment gone and replaced with the competitive fervor that comprises much of your rivalry. “You're just jealous that I wouldn't let you.”
“Pah!” he exclaims. “Projection is a terrible look on you, my dear.”
Power courses quietly through your veins. Under the guise of rolling your eyes and puffing out a sigh, the swift incantation goes miraculously unnoticed. You cross your arms wordlessly and stare at him. Your hip pops out. The silence draws an inquisitive, distrustful side-eye from Loki, but you simply watch and wait. It's only a matter of time now.
“Stop staring at me like that. It’s unsettling.” His lip curls as he sits upright on the mattress, crossing his legs. You catch the twitch of his eye as the seconds go by. “What is wrong with you!? I know I must be lovely to look at, but--”
A meteor crashes through the ceiling and into Loki and his pristine four-poster bed. Everyone except you scrambles away from the wreckage as stone and dust clatter and crunch from the impact. A high-pitched screech sounds from beneath the fiery rock. With a wave of your hand, the celestial matter crumbles into glittering stardust, leaving a slightly crushed and charred Loki crumpled atop the ruined emerald sheets.
“How…” He braces himself on one arm before his hand slips on the rubble dusted silk, leaving him to face plant right back onto the bed. “How dare you, you… you lunatic!?!” Embers glow at the fringe of his cloak and he yelps before frantically slapping it to put out the budding flames.
You don’t grace him with an answer. You simply giggle at his misfortune.
-----
Things like that were becoming the new normal between you two. In fact, you often spent more time in training and scrimmages sabotaging each other than you did fighting the enemy team. It was headache inducing for everyone involved.
One day, while the two of you were wholly consumed with your argument, three of your teammates huddled together to discuss strategy. Not strategy for the upcoming battle, mind you.
They needed a strategy to get the two of you to work with the rest of your team.
“I say we just use these flark-faces as meat shields,” Rocket suggests, irritation clear as day as his lips pull back over his sharp teeth. “Maybe the rest of us will survive longer.”
“I am Groot.” He closes his eyes solemnly and shakes his woody head.
“I know it’s messed up, Groot. But is it really more messed up than covering their asses!?” the raccoon argues.
“I am Groot,” the tree counters with a nod.
“A gentle touch!?” he exclaims. “Have you seen these idiots?” He gestures with a paw towards the two of you, still oblivious to the rest of the world as you shout obscenities back and forth. “They wouldn’t notice a flarking slap to the face unless it came from one of them!”
“He… may have a point,” Adam Warlock chimes in, bringing a fist to his chin pensively.
Rocket narrows his beady eyes at the golden man. “Who, me? Or mister sunshine and rainbows over here?”
“Dare I say both?” he responds hesitantly. When that only intensifies Rocket’s squinting, he continues. “Perhaps if one or both of them felt encouraged to perform their duties…”
“Yeah. Right. These are full grown adults, ya golden dunce. You can't just slap a gold star on their forehead and expect them to behave.”
“I am Groot.”
“I know you'd like a gold star, Groot. That's not the flarking point right now!”
“Just…” Adam interrupts, holding up a golden palm towards them. “Allow me, if you will.”
As expected, you and Loki are so caught up in the throes of your heated argument that you nearly jump out of your skin upon feeling a gentle finger tapping your shoulder from behind.
“By the stars, I--!” You clasp a hand over your heart in shock. But the tension fades upon seeing the newcomer’s face. “Oh, Adam. It’s just you.”
The golden man smiles warmly. “Forgive the interruption. I had hoped to discuss strategy with you before the upcoming battle.” He proffers a hand to you. “Would you care to join me?”
Loki cocks his head to the side and scoffs quite loudly. One hand finds his hip as he leans towards the so-called “perfect” being.
“Excuse me?” Loki was not about to be ignored. “I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised, considering you were grown in a lab, but I always expected a bit more decorum from you.” The barbed words are accompanied by the curl of his lip and the furrowing of his perfectly trimmed brows.
You hadn’t even had the chance to accept Adam’s offer. You’re not even sure you were going to in the first place. But if this was to be your rival’s reaction to such an innocent gesture, far be it from you to deny yourself the pleasure of his irritation. Your eyes narrow, crinkling a bit in the corners as your lips pull into a cheshire grin.
“His manners are perfect, if you ask me. As is his taste. Clearly you’re not needed for this conversation, Loki Laufeyson.” You take a step forward, prodding a finger into the supple, silken fabrics he adorned himself in. Delicious adrenaline courses through your veins as you allow yourself to indulge in this daring cockiness. “Know when to step aside for your betters, hm?”
“That was not my intention--”
Loki ignores the golden man completely as he slaps your hand off of him. “My betters? Dare I remind you that it is I who was assigned the role of strategist on this team?” he hisses. “If anyone misunderstands their place here, it is you.”
His face is dangerously close to yours now, nearly spitting his words onto your skin. You glower at him, daring him to continue, to dig further down the grave he’s already begun for himself.
“You are a duelist. Yet you can’t even excel at that, can you? Face it. You are worthless on your own,” he jeers.
Tension snaps. Adam is long forgotten as your fists find their places at his collar, crumpling the expensive garment as you express your barely concealed rage behind the sharp exhale that hisses through your teeth. Suddenly you’re pushing him to the ground, pinning him beneath your body weight, practically snarling as your face hovers inches above his.
“I can duel just fine, you disgusting snake,” you snap. “But I’m happy to continue this little demonstration if you’re not yet convinced.”
“If the two of you could please just--”
“Leave them, Goldie. We tried,” Rocket interjects. “Maybe we’ll get lucky, they’ll kill each other, and then we’ll get new teammates!”
“I am Groot!” If trees could gasp, that would perhaps be the best way to describe the noise coming from their verdant companion.
Yet none of it matters. None of the others matter.
All you can hear is the frantic cadence of your own heartbeat.
And all you can feel is Loki pinned beneath you with his own heart pounding in his chest.
You press your forearm against his clavicle, just beneath his throat. A warning.
Loki has never excelled at heeding warnings.
“Well?” he sneers. “I am on the edge of my proverbial seat waiting for the rest of your… demonstration, my dear.” His tone is taunting, teasing even, with a face that is the picture of calm. Still, you know the organ caged in his ribs beats to an entirely different rhythm. 
And yet still you stay your hand. For Loki is nothing if not deceptive, resourceful, clever. All the wonderful little compliments you daren’t feed his ego with by admitting them aloud.
“I vex you, don’t I?” he whispers with a coy smirk tugging at his irritating lips.
Your forearm inches higher, applying pressure to the base of his throat. It merely restricts the airflow rather than cutting it off completely, but clearly more than warnings were needed.
“Projection is a terrible look on you,” you retort with a tilt of your head.
He chokes out a laugh. “Ah, how wonderful it is to know my words have lingered this long in that pretty little head of yours.” He nearly had you with that. Nearly. But neither one of you missed the tail end of his attempted jab. Heat rushes to your cheeks. Your current position suddenly feels much more compromising than before.
No. He’s toying with you. You have to stand your ground.
Fire with fire, then.
“I would never claim to have had a normal childhood,” you begin, perplexion twisting Loki’s features at your sudden change in topic, “but I do remember that the adults loved to talk about how boys would always tease the girls they liked.” Satisfaction bubbles within you as you watch the realization and resulting irritation dawn upon him. “Never believed it until now.”
The master of deception is quick to mask the way you so easily riled him up. “Childish nonsense.”
“Then why were you turning red a moment ago?” you ask with a snicker. You know it’s a lie, but you need to dig your claws in further, crawl deeper underneath his skin.
“Perhaps that is because of the brute on top of me that is trying to choke me!” he exclaims with no small effort.
You roll your eyes and withdraw your arm, but you’re quick to grab his wrists and pin them above his head. Can’t be too careful.
…Even if it means you’re practically straddling the object of your ire.
“There. Better?”
Though he does his best to hide it, the god of mischief does feel a blush burgeoning beneath the surface of his skin now. A celestial goddess sits atop him, loathe as he is to admit it. Or, at least, as close as any mortal being could get to godhood. Some part of him deep down finds you deserving of the title.
Truly, you were much closer to the mark than he would ever willingly admit. When he looks at you there is fascination and vexation in equal measure, yet above all there is respect. After all, only those who have earned his respect are worthy to be deemed a proper rival of the Asgardian god.
And when Adam had come to speak with you? Oh. He couldn’t care less about strategizing with the team. But the fact that you interacted so willingly, so amicably with a man with more goodness and light in his heart than Loki could ever hope to achieve across all lifetimes? It was unthinkable. Unbearable.
“Loki? Anybody home in there?” Your voice interrupts the turbulent flood of feelings miring any coherent thought in his mind. To his surprise, he thinks he detects a hint of concern in your tone.
“Simply plotting your demise in silence,” he finally replies in jest.
A laugh huffs through your nostrils. “I would have assumed that would be second nature for you by now.”
There’s a shift in the air. You’re not glaring at him anymore. Your grip remains firm in restraining him, but you’re careful not to cut off circulation. 
Vexing, indeed.
His head thumps softly against the ground beneath you as he lets out a dramatic sigh. “Perhaps it is difficult for you to imagine, but I think of things other than you throughout the day.”
“So you are thinking about me?” you retort with a cheeky grin. He winces. Damn. He walked into that one. But if there’s anyone who could meet your wit, surpass it even, it was him.
Fire with fire.
“And what if I am?” he counters boldly, his emerald gaze meeting yours unflinchingly.
Oh. Well… shit. You don’t have time to rein in the soft, surprised gasp that whispers through your slackened jaw. You blink several times, as though that might somehow blink this situation out of existence, and your eyes dart around everywhere but Loki’s face. What composure you had left was crumbling. You feel too close to him now, releasing your grip as you sit upright.
The two of you have exchanged countless banters, infinite contests of insults and prose, yet your actions now have spoken more clearly of your true feelings than anything he’s heard from your lips.
He shifts, and you let him, until he has propped himself up with you still straddling his lap. You feel confused, frozen, intrigued. When words continue to fail you, he speaks again.
“Perhaps it wouldn’t be so terrible to admit that you plague my thoughts nearly every waking moment,” he mutters, voice barely above a whisper as his hand delicately cups your chin. The pad of his thumb brushes gingerly over the plush of your parted lips. “Perhaps it wouldn’t be so terrible if you admitted the same of me.”
“You…” Your breath tickles his thumb. Words are difficult to come by when his admission has utterly stupefied you. Still, subtle glances speak clearly enough. Loki is nothing if not perceptive.
“Yes, me,” he replies cheekily. Fingers tug your chin closer as hooded eyes fixate upon your lips. “It’s always about me, after all.”
A quiet snort leaves you. “You’re right. You do vex me.” Still, you lean in until your lips are a hairsbreadth apart from his. There was an undeniable something between you. These sparks were not of your celestial doing, after all.
He chortles, the sound low and rumbling in his chest. Delicate, soft lips press almost tenderly to yours for but a fleeting moment. “The feeling is mutual, my dear.”
154 notes · View notes
calisources · 1 year ago
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𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐁𝐈𝐃𝐃𝐄𝐍 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐑𝐎𝐒𝐒𝐄𝐃 𝐐𝐔𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐒.
All sentences and quotes have been taken from different media about starcrossed lovers or forbidden love, full of angst, some bold words, some nasty ones, possessive nature and letting someone use you as a replacement. So, some toxic energy in this one. Change pronouns, locations and names as you see fit.
I love you,and I will love you until I die,and if there's a life after that,I'll love you then.
Do people always fall in love with things they can't have?
And there is a difference between having your heart break and having your soul shatter.
I'm falling in love with you.
I'm going to fuck the shit out of you. I have waited for this for such a long time. Consequences be damned.
These violent delights have violent ends.
 I’m only human. And you are …all-consuming.
Don’t go into this lightly. If you’re mine, you need to understand I will burn the fucking world to the ground for you.
I will never let you go, do you hear me? 
 will keep you safe. And I will find a way for us to be together.
If you make me cry at my own coronation ball, I’ll never forgive you.
If you were any less the man you are, I would beg you to take me with you.
If you were any less the woman you were, I would beg you to come with me.
I've known lust. This is something worse. This is a barbaric need to possess, to eliminate, to own. This is madness.
This is lust.
She’s your very own forbidden fruit.
You said you didn't want this.
We all desire what we cannot have.
Have you noticed how the boy looks at you?
Do you think I didn’t notice? The way you look at me when you think I’m not watching?
You are dangerous desire, and I am your prisoner.
We can’t do this on so many levels.
I can't even whisper her name, my heart would burst out of my chest.
But I would fight against the stars for you.
I have ruined your life.
Some lines you just don't cross. 
I want to take you under the moonlight.
Having something forbidden is exciting, don't you agree?
The closer we get—the more I let you in…the more dangerous this gets.
Don’t you get it? You’re what everyone wants! But I’m not going to let them win.
Make it so I never have to dream about this again—make it so we can have this…forever.
Desires are what can most easily ruin us, lovely.
We were doomed from the start. 
Nothing is as deadly as the love of a powerful man.
But this kiss? It's ruined me. This is the type of kiss I never knew existed. 
You sure about that, Dad? Because he's done everything to me.
Are you scared of me now?
You loved me - then what right had you to leave me?
I have not broken your heart - you have broken it; and in breaking it, you have broken mine.
One moment, you give me everything that I want, and in the next, you snatch all of that away.
It's hopeless. We can never work out.
The world didn’t want us together so I forged a new one where we would.
How could a peacock lust for a lion?
You're tattooed onto my skin, and the more I try to erase you, the deeper you sink in.
I’ve always liked you, from the first moment I saw you.
It's absurd how crazy love can make you...but even more absurd how stupid jealousy can make you.
 That you and I are meant to be together, but never meant to be.
Why does fate seem always to conspire against us? To deny us life's simple pleasures?
We'll meet after this war. I'll certainly find you wherever you'll hide. 
War makes fools of men and women wanton.
What offends you most, Father? That she's Catholic, or that she's poor?
If my father discovers you here, he'd cut off your little nuts and eat them. He can't stand you.
You tempress, I see you once and all I can think of is having you.
Feelings are forbidden, does not mean we cannot enjoy one another.
The more you deny me, the more I desire you. You are a plague in my mind.
Ever since we met, no one else can compare. 
How can I be with someone else, when I’m with them, it’s you I see.
You can have me, think of whoever you love. For tonight.
You can pretend I'm her/him. I don't care. I just want you.
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wannaeatramyeon · 10 months ago
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DG x Reader: Manager and their Idol
8.5k. G/N. Soft, colleagues to lover (guess I love this trope). Masterlists
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You had imagined life as a K-Pop idol manager to be much more glamorous.
You pity your young naive self. The one that envisaged schmoozing with stars and rubbing elbows with the movers and shakers, and instead set you on this horrid, lacklustre path.
What you didn't expect was the amount of time playing driver. Carting that stupid pink haired brat around. Waiting on him hand and foot during shoots and interviews, and being at his beck and call.
You have saved his ass more times than you can recall, ran through scripts with him, practised his stupid dances and moves alongside, protected him from unhinged fans and reporters and scavengers.
And yet you can count on one hand the amount of times he has thanked you.
Actually no, it didn't require any hands because he has thanked you exactly zero times for all your early mornings and late nights and for going above and beyond your duty.
Out of desperation, you had asked your boss if you could manage someone else and the request was declined.
"DG has taken a liking to you," she said, tone impressed as if that was something you should be proud of.
"Great," your smile comes out as more of a grimace.
And goddamn, this agency was so stupidly prestigious and the benefits and perks here really are second to none. Just why did Diego fucking Kang have to be their top idol.
.
.
The first time you crossed the threshold into his building, greeting the reception security guard and entering his penthouse keycode like you had been let in on the world's greatest secret, you had tiptoed around like a child in a museum. After all, this was DG's residence. The DG!
You had ooh-ed and aah-ed at every little thing. 
Taking delight in seeing his interior design of choice, the type of candy that he snacks on, the shampoo and conditioner he uses, the way he organises his desk. This is the chair DG sits on to eat. This is the sofa DG lounges on to watch TV. This is the bed he sleeps in, the bath he uses, the toilet he-
Any wide eyed innocence and awe evaporated after your first week working together.
Today, you stab in the entry code and let the door shut with a bang. 
You set his now cold coffee order on the kitchen counter and rifle with practised fingers through his unopened mail to see if there is anything you should draw his immediate attention to. You pick up his discarded clothes from the floor (and for fuck's sake, this suit jacket was on loan) and make your way to his bedroom where tufts of pink hair peeks out from under the cover.
"Good morning," you announce, locating the remote to open the blinds and letting in some sunlight.
Bedsheets rustle behind you.
"Good morning Diego," you repeat and give one warning, "I hope you're decent." With that, you throw the covers back to find the scantily dressed idol glaring up at you.
You remember the days when this sight would have made you weak at the knees. Seeing him half naked, in the flesh, freshly woken up with bedhead and half lidded eyes. It's what most of Korea dreams of, including yourself once upon a time.
Now all you feel is extreme irritation.
"Good morning," you say for the third time, plastering on a saccharine smile that you know DG sees clearly through because it is insincere as hell to anyone with half a brain cell. You let the fakeness shine through anyway.
For a split second, DG frowns as his eyes drop to your lips and then he pretends everything is good. Smiling back prettily, sharp canines on show and stretching. Lifting his arms overhead, showing a good stretch of pecs and abs and the line of muscle in a V pointing like an arrow straight down to his-
You roll your eyes.
"You're late." You throw the covers back over him and stride back towards the door. "We should have left half an hour ago." You leave out the part where you had been waiting downstairs in the car and after an hour of no show and no anything, you stomped your way up to his home.
DG, sensing your mood, adds oil to the fire with a smirk, "Why didn't you wake me then?"
If that idiot bothered to look at his phone, he would see a number of missed calls and unread messages from you.
Whatever.
"Hurry up."
.
.
DG has come across many people like yourself over the years. All cute and bright eyed, way too soft.
He never gave you any special treatment, for better or worse, and assumed that you would eventually burn out or give up and move on to something more worthwhile.
Unfortunately, in a rare turn of events, he had miscalculated.
Of course most people would be starstruck, it's only natural. But he mistook your sincerity and kind smile for ignorance and missed your sharp, observing gaze, and astute mind.
He's impressed, and he really can't remember the last time he was impressed.
In a matter of days of working together, you had managed to cut through the bullshit and within the month got him more compliant and docile than anyone else ever has.
Which should be a huge fucking problem, and raising red flags all over DG's mind.
...Except-
What's really troubling him right now, as he sulks in the passenger seat and you in the driver's, is that you have developed some sort of resistance to his charms.
Maybe a part of him does actually miss the you who he formed the first impression of. Who looked at him in wonder, with the same admiration that everyone else did.
Now that he knows you, he hates that he had thought that initial admiration was insignificant and worthless.
.
.
DG has a stash of candy in the car.
Or more accurately, you keep a stash of candy next to him to a) Shut him up and b) Keep him tolerable.
If DG wasn't so aloof, the fact that he has an incurable sweet tooth (and probably cavities to prove it) would have made headlines as a cute K-Pop fact and likely garnered sponsorship and advertising deals with all sorts of confectionary brands.
You had only found out during your adventures as his manager, rifling through his kitchen drawers trying to find his goddamn phone that he misplaced and you stumbled upon his stash of candy.
It really was a disgusting amount, something you'd expect a gaggle of grade schoolers at Halloween to hoard, not Diego goddamn Kang.
And then you also found out if he's not quiet and haughty in the car, making the atmosphere awkward, he likes to comment on your driving.
Who even sits in the passenger seat next to their 'chauffeur' anyway? He complains about you braking too suddenly and not accelerating fast enough. How you drive like an 80 year old with cataracts, and you're too slow when the light changes to green.
The turn in your relationship happened when you snapped at him to shut the fuck up after losing the final shred of your sanity on a three hour drive.
DG, to your dismay, didn’t miraculously lose his hearing and turns to you as you silently berate yourself for voicing the quiet thoughts out loud.
Although, you're in the deep end now. You're gonna get fired anyway, so if he says anything else you might as well give him a flick on the forehead or a pinch or maybe a punch to the face-
Instead, he laughs.
It's nothing like the laugh you have heard on TV and in interviews. The rehearsed and manicured 'haha' or cool chuckle that suits his shiny persona. It's kinda goofy and a lot endearing.
What's even more endearing is the way he does actually shut the fuck up for the rest of the journey. You like him a lot more after that.
So. You digress.
The candy is a way to keep the sweet toothed maniac quiet. Even if it doesn't work, at least it's harder to make out what insults he's slinging with a lollipop rattling around his mouth.
However, he has never ever shared any with you. Any of the candy that you stock, and pay for.
(That you technically claim back on company expenses, but you're trying to be self righteous here.)
Ever.
In all the months of working with him, he gobbles away happily even if your stomach is growling and you refuse to take any yourself out of principle.
Until-
"Here."
"Huh?"
Taking advantage of your response and open mouth, DG leans into your personal space and feeds you some chewy strawberry something or another (which coincidentally are his least favourite), fingers lingering on your lips for a fraction of a second.
Three things happen in quick succession.
The burst of sugar hits your tongue.
You nearly choke.
You narrowly avoid swerving.
"Careful now," DG grins when you get the car and yourself under control, and glance at him with a scowl.
Good. That proves you're not completely immune to his charms.
.
.
That bastard has now taken it upon himself to feed you candy at every opportunity.
You wonder if he's doing some sort of Pavlov experiment. The sweetness trying to erase any sourness you feel towards him.
It sort of works, and you consider biting his fingers off one of these days.
You hear the crinkling of wrappers, one for him that he pops into his mouth, and one for you that he gives without asking.
You angle your head towards him, and his fingers graze your lips every time.
Neither of you comment on the change but the intimacy drives you a little crazy.
.
.
And DG too.
Because intimacy works both ways and damnit his little gesture to keep the pretty blush on your face has backfired.
The only form of intimacy he knows comes from discreet hookups and low key links. Not someone who is around day in, day out. Or anyone that goes deeper than one night stands and booty calls.
You're there, you're always there. Of course you are, you're his manager.
But today, he feels under the microscope with you standing a couple metres away and keen eyes watching the camera monitor.
It's a no nothing day. Standard schedule where he shoots a fragrance commercial and he exits a pool all wet and sultry, white t-shirt clinging to his muscled body.
Then another scene where he writhes around slightly on a sunbed and eye-fucks the camera.
How it sells a fragrance, he never knows. The mystery of showbiz.
"Cut! More powder!" The director shouts out, the crew springing into action and DG knows exactly why.
He feels strangely embarrassed and flustered, which has manifested into his cheeks being flushed, and god he can't even remember the last time he has been like this.
It’s out of character and he needs to get his head together.
As the make up artist hurriedly dabs on some foundation, you make your way over to him.
"Are you sick?" you ask, concerned and reaching out to feel his forehead with the back of your hand.
"I'm fine," He says, turning away from your attentiveness and staring at a point in the distance.
.
.
With most people, if DG wants them out of sight, they stay out of sight.
But as his manager, and a very competent one at that, it’s harder to get you to leave.
Not that DG wants you to either, don’t get him wrong. 
The only constants he has around him are people who want something from him. And yes, he knows you’re only in his company because you work with him. However, he really can’t doubt the concern he always sees in your eyes. The compassion and empathy even when he makes you want to scream and tear your hair out.
His standoffish demeanour is not new to anyone. It’s part of his appeal to be quite honest. 
Yet he feels bad over the next couple weeks as he turns it up to eleven and tries to create some distance. He registers the hurt on your face as he is extra short with his answers and behaviour.
.
.
Pandering to overinflated celebrity egos and the insane Korean work ethic often leads to after hour shoots and dinner delayed until past midnight.
Honestly, this wreaks havoc on your sleep schedule and your skin.
"Here." You retrieve DG's takeout from the paper bag.
A double portion of delicious fried chicken with a side of kimchi and pickles. It's a change of pace from what most idols order, yet he doesn't give two shits about calories or sodium intake and to add insult to injury, somehow manages to keep his trim figure.
You lament your soggy salad sitting at the bottom. As if it’s not sad enough right now - once you arrive home, the lettuce will be wilting and room temperature and you will eat it in your dimly lit apartment with nothing to keep you company except the sound of the TV.
DG notices you turning to leave his penthouse, and his mouth moves before his brain can.
"Aren't you staying?"
"What?" You double take at the question.
DG's company is usually worse than your lonely meal for one. 
He’s annoying and you frequently want to slap him, but how he has been with you lately has been troubling and you actually feel a sense of relief at his offer.
(You had wondered if you might have been getting sacked up until this moment.)
Nevertheless, in all your time working alongside, you have never had a proper meal one on one together. Nothing more than you driving with one hand and the other hastily shoving a burger into your mouth as he looks on in disgust.
You would have dwelled on this more, wondering what's changed, what’s happened, but then-
"I'll share." DG nudges the box towards you, and the delicious scent of deep fried, battered goodness wafts along with it it
All your misgivings and your salad is forgotten.
.
.
Almost.
No, you were wrong.
Eating with DG, without any distractions such as traffic to navigate or other boisterous colleagues around, is unnerving. Disarming.
His haughtiness remains, but how haughty can someone be when munching on a drumstick.
All frostiness from the past weeks melts away as you both eat your way through his chicken.
He’s talking more tonight than you have heard in a while.
You find him funny, and really quite bitchy. Which you did know all along except it's much funnier now his slanderous comments aren't directed at you.
And has he always looked at you with such a piercing gaze? So intensely focused on what you have to say. Even if you're just complaining about your boss, blurring your lines of professionalism, he gives you his full attention.
You really can't remember the last time you have been in each other's company like this. 
You loathe to admit that even with what an asshole he is, DG's shine hasn’t dulled enough for you that you don't understand the appeal.
.
.
Leaning forward, DG whispers into your ear.
To anyone else, it looks like an over-affectionate idol with their manager. If they could hear his words, "I'm going to kill you," they would think otherwise.
Ok, so this one is your fault.
The good times have to come to an end and maybe you should have been more careful with his pride and joy - some ridiculously overpriced and over-specced vehicle.
Taking advantage of the clear blue Seoul skies, the pink haired menace was the one who drove you today in his fancy imported sports car, but the speed limits and the rest of the traffic was not on his side.
Already running late, even for him, he parked somewhere convenient and illegal then passed you the keys, leaving you stranded on the sidewalk, mouth opening and closing like a goldfish, as he strode off to meet his music producer and choreographer and left you to park his baby elsewhere.
Why he entrusted you with it, you're not sure.
You would have done it anyway though, because when else are you going to have an opportunity to drive a supercar, if your boss didn't call at that moment. Questioning your expenses and DG's schedule and confusing you about the fitting at a fashion house and hair styling appointment that you knew like the back of your hand but when someone is so confidently incorrect, you start to doubt yourself.
By the time you got off the phone after pacing up and down the street and checking and double checking DG's timetable, you finally make your way back to the car-
And see it in the middle of being compounded.
You had begged and pleaded with the two men who were having none of it and you left, tail between your legs, to beg and plead with the other man who you knew would also have none of it.
Damn, you hate it when you prove yourself right in these instances.
You know DG won't really kill you, but he will likely make your life hell for the next couple weeks.
.
.
A normal person being pissed off at you would probably result in the silent treatment until tempers cool down.
DG does the opposite. Sort of.
He takes pleasure in making things as awkward for you as possible, until you're squirming in your seat trying to stay professional, thinking about your job and your rent and your bills; or torn between wanting the ground to swallow you up.
Around other people, your boss, your colleagues, his colleagues, he sidles up to you all smiles and soft looks. Slips purposely into banmal, and then oopsy, pretends that he didn't mean to be so informal with you around others.
Gossip soon stirs about your and DG's close relationship, if there's something else going on. Only you can see the mischief in his eyes and the malice in his smile and you think about yanking him by the ear and demanding to know what he is playing at.
Alone, he denies any sort of miscreant behaviour. Barely listening to you complaining and snapping at him. Ending with him outright ignoring you and you fume even harder.
This time, you're not sure the punishment even fits the crime. 
Any guilt soon dissipates when his car is returned in perfect condition within a couple days but his performance lasts for weeks.
.
.
Teasing you has always been fun for DG - when your cheeks dust angrily with pink and your eyes burn with fire.
The equivalent of a boy pulling a girl’s pigtails in the school yard.
.
.
Meetings with HNH Group usually do not involve you. If it does, at most you are waiting in the car.
Luckily, there are also an assortment of cafes and restaurants within a stone's throw and it gives you some time to debrief and catch a breather from following DG's hectic schedule.
The downside is you're never sure if a two hour meeting will be condensed to fifteen minutes or if a quick catch up with Charles Choi and other Executives turns into an all nighter.
There's been days where you have ordered a meal, then had to abandon it with a sigh and a longing look as you spot DG striding out of the building looking pissed off that you're not already there, or stayed in the vehicle with the engine running and your stomach rumbling as short appointments overshoot.
Maybe this is another consequence from DG being petty and irate with you for getting his car towed - you're left snoozing at the steering wheel of your runaround, the idol standard-issue luxury minivan, waiting for his return.
It's far too late in the evening for anywhere to be open, only the fluorescent lights of convenience stores and glare of the HNH logo illuminates the streets.
DG opens the sliding door, climbs into the back and slams it hard enough to jerk you awake and rattle the entire van.
He’s sitting by himself in the back, which is odd enough in itself.
As you blink away the dregs of sleep, in the rearview mirror, you notice the stiffness in his shoulders and the tightness in his jaw. His eyes stare vacantly out the window. DG is clearly upset about something, enough to crack through his aloof veneer.
"Are you ok?" You don't get a response, not even a passing glance.
Obviously something has gone wrong with the HNH Group meeting and the stress has manifested.
You wrack your brains thinking of something that might cheer up this asshole and you think of the only thing that improves your mood when you're on the verge of a breakdown.
(Usually due to the aforementioned asshole in your current presence). 
"Tteokbokki and beer?" You offer. It’s past your bedtime but a sulky DG for the rest of the week will also ruin your week too.
DG briefly looks at you before going back to staring at the window. It’s not a no.
You don’t get home until past 4am that night. 
At your favourite late night hole-in-the-wall, you eat far more tteokbokki than DG. On second thoughts, you don’t remember him eating any at all. You’re talking and downing beers to fill the silence, trying to perk up this silly celebrity. Loose lipped and spilling far more details than you would if you were sober, with him seated opposite and sipping on a soda. 
As the night ticks along, he thaws and a small smile settles on his face watching you gesticulate and ramble about your life.
You don’t get home until past 4am that night-
With DG driving, piggybacking you up to your apartment, and tucking you into bed.
.
.
DG can’t stop thinking of the weight of you on his back, arms slung over his shoulders, legs at his waist and his hands gripping your thighs.
You slurring drunkenly into his ear as he climbs the stairs in your building. It’s mostly nonsense. He can’t make out your words but remembers your breath tickling his skin.
And when he wraps your duvet around you, the brief moment of lucidity in your eyes as you look at him, softer than you ever have, you tell him, “Thanks Diego.”
Diego.
.
.
Nothing changes between the two of you after this. Not really.
You still find him an enormous thorn in your side. Incredibly stuck up and haughty and you continue to want to throttle him on a weekly basis but you are immensely grateful for him not leaving you a passed out heap on the sidewalk.
You’re in the middle of chastising him once again, dragging him out of bed as he is running late and being an absolute dick about it. Taking it easy as if he has all the time in the world. 
Well of course he does. He’s not the one that will be getting an earful from your boss or on the receiving end of the production crew’s complaints, as if trying to manhandle and cart this manchild around is easy.
“Diego Kang, I swear to fucking god-”
"James." He says, interrupting you as he picks out and pulls an eye-wateringly expensive jumper over his head.
"What?"
"Call me James when it's just us.” He checks out his outfit in the mirror, seemingly satisfied with it, before moving onto his hair. “James Lee. That's my real name."
DG, or James Lee, keeps his eyes on his reflection. Inspecting his non-existent roots, styling his fringe to make it fall just so and applying a liberal amount of hair product.
Nonchalant and casual even as he offers something desperately personal about himself.
"James," you say, trying out the sound for yourself. A name that seems at odds with his loud K-Pop shell but you imagine a time before the fame and the celebrity and the pink hair and it somehow fits.
"James," you repeat, and receive a small smile in return. Then it drops as you add, “If you don’t get your ass in the car in the next five minutes I will kill you.”
.
.
“James,” you think to yourself before you drift off to sleep that night. 
How peculiar.
“James, James, James.”
.
.
Celebrities these days are multi-hyphenates.
DG is an Idol-CEO-Actor, or at least trying to add the last one onto his resume. On looks alone, he would have already gotten his foot through the door. Add on his reputation and popularity, he is drowning in offers.
What you personally dislike more with K-dramas scenes though, is how long things take. How much it revolves around other actors and their managers whereas DG being in the studio or filming a music video is pretty much all him.
This K-drama is supposed to be the next big thing. 
With the biggest names attached, including DG who is making a cameo. The cameo that was also scheduled to be filmed five hours ago but you have both just been lurking in his dressing room since.
Along with some measly snacks and refreshments, which the crew has been kind enough to provide. 
However, the snacks are all but gone (thanks to you) and the refreshments are dwindling and there is no end in sight.
DG, or James, as you have started to call him in your head, is on his phone. He’s always on his phone. Scrolling through news articles, responding to important emails and messages.
There’s only so much news or celebrity gossip you can take. You have exhausted your own social media feeds and you have spent far too much money on your gacha games and the guilt has set in.
You twiddle your thumbs on the sofa next to him as he takes no notice of your presence and you decide to rest your eyes. 
Why not anyway? DG doesn’t need anything right now, work won’t be interrupting you, and there’s nothing for you to do. Just for a minute or five. Until someone from the production team knocks on the door and announces that it’s time for his scene.
DG side-eyes you when he notices your breath start to slow and deepen. Falling asleep on the job, really?
Then you let out a snore before smacking your lips together a couple times and he holds back a snort. He reasons that he should let you have some time to rest. After all, you’re the one that drives him around, his life is in your hands everyday and tiredness kills.
He’s on his phone for a few more minutes, reading through more emails on PTJ Entertainment and out of the corner of his eye he notices you drooping.
Body slowly slumping to slouch over him, until your head makes contact with his shoulder and you’re snoozing happily on your newfound pillow.
It’s equal parts inappropriate and cute.
Ugh, DG is 99% sure you’re drooling on him and the wardrobe department isn’t going to be happy when he returns the outfit.
Either way, that’s not going to be his problem. He adjusts minutely, makes it just a touch more comfortable for you and continues to scroll.
.
.
You wake up to a wetness by your mouth, and to your horror, DG smirking down at you.
.
.
Despite none of this being your fault, you apologise to everyone about having to reschedule DG’s music video shoot due to the previous day’s K-drama delays.
To your relief, the music video goes swimmingly and without a hitch, and the production is wrapped up on time. 
You’ll happily bet that his new song will go straight to No.1. If not, then at least the sensual music video will guarantee DG remains top of mind for weeks. 
You’re updating your boss and even she seems to be pleased.
"This is just work." DG interrupts as you're mid call.
You look up at him, brows furrowed.
Holding your hand to your phone to mute the speaker, you whisper, "I know."
"Good," and he walks away leaving you as confused as ever.
It's not the first time you have seen him shoot an MV, which thank the heavens is so much more efficient than bloody k-dramas, and also not the first time that there's been scenes that emulate an intimate moment. Lips nearly brushing together. Hands roaming bodies under fake rain.
Even if DG notices that you're watching the scene, eyes glazed over and bored, he still felt the urge to explain to you that there's nothing between you and the leading lady in the video.
Once out of sight of everyone, he facepalms himself for his ridiculousness.
.
.
You’re right, and you absolutely love it when you’re right.
The song goes straight to No.1 and holds that position for weeks, fending off competition from boy bands and girl groups and other solo artists. Apparently it’s going to be the song of the summer.
The music video also breaks records for being the most watched within 24 hours.
DG only reviews it once for post-production checks and finds it just fine.
There’s something he can’t quite put his finger on that seems off with it.
He wonders what it would look like if it was you starring opposite him.
.
.
“Where on earth is he?” You grit your teeth and grip harder onto the umbrella that is threatening to be swept away by the wind.
And another thing with being DG’s manager: it’s fine if he’s late but not if it’s you.
(Although to be fair, this instance of him being late is likely due to this particular music producer he’s meeting with enjoying the sound of his own voice.)
You were running late exactly one time in the past, during the first couple days of managing him, when the skies opened and drenched the earth. 
Heavens forbid DG’s perfect, beautiful, flawless hair is ruined by the rain. 
It’s not like he looked like a drowned rat. The paparazzi caught him in a wet t-shirt, fabric clinging to his abs and his pink hair slicked back stylishly. Even the goddamn raindrops were running fashionably down his high cheekbones and dripping off his pout.
For the next week, the tabloids and internet forums went wild with how hot he looked. 
(Who knows, maybe that was the inspiration for his fragrance commercial.)
Nevertheless, DG was displeased and it made its way back to your boss how displeased he was.
Ever since, you have been the unfortunate soul waiting in all manners of weather for him. Rain storms, blistering sun, freezing snow.
Today, it’s your favourite. Rain. You shiver against the elements trying to take shelter under the building entrance canopy, the wind whipping the downpour every which way and you’re getting soaked regardless of how you angle your umbrella.
“Hurry up, DG.”
You check the time over and over. He would be early to his next appointment if he exited the building now. 
…On time.
…On time if the traffic was in your favour.
…Late, but not terribly so.
…Fashionably late.
… Late enough to piss everyone off in the room.
Shit. Just as you begin to fret, wondering if something has happened to him-
Clicks and flashes from cameras alert you to his royal highness finally making an appearance, ready to exit the studio and making his way over to the car.
He materialises by your side, and you mutter a familiar phrase to him. 
“You’re late.” 
It’s a mantra you’re tired of repeating, but he relishes if the amused grin is any indication.
Without a word, he takes off his trench coat and drapes it around your shoulders. His right hand covers yours over the umbrella handle, left wrapping around your waist as he guides you through the throng of reporters and fans.
“What are you doing?” You hiss under your breath. 
You can imagine the optics now from the papers and your boss. It looks… Well. Not terrible but not the best.
“You’re soaked,” is all DG provides, accompanied with a raised eyebrow and a smirk. 
He opens the driver’s door for you before he climbs into the passenger’s side.
.
.
Thank goodness for your gift of the gab.
He’s being a gentleman, you tell everyone that would listen. Isn’t this what Korea wants? An idol with manners and who looks after everyone? Is empathetic and caring?
Think how well it would resonate with the female demographic, who wants a boyfriend like this! The older boomer demographic, who thinks none of the young ‘uns have any manners anymore!
Your boss isn’t convinced until the advertising offers for umbrella companies roll in.
.
.
Truth be told, DG doesn’t know what possessed him to do that. Especially in front of cameras.
Though, it’s not like he could just let you get even more drenched could he? You’re standing there, looking pitiful and he was just going to let you hold the umbrella over him when he should be the one taking care of you-
Hold on.
DG frowns at himself.
Damn.
.
.
James Lee has never looked after anyone besides himself. You need to look after yourself if you are to survive this dog eat dog world. To make it atop the Pre-Generation, the First Generation and now the Second.
He had unfathomably high expectations of himself (that he managed to achieve) and low expectations for relationships (that hadn’t been proven wrong yet).
People have flitted in and out of the chapters of his life, no-one staying around for long. Definitely no-one staying around long enough to know him, for him to grow comfortable with. 
Perhaps it has been the forced closeness that has caused him to let his guard down. Cabin fever, in a sense.
But James Lee, Diego Kang, has himself also been around long enough to know there’s more to you and he wants more of you.
.
.
Finding reasons to spend time together isn’t difficult. Actually, finding reasons to spend time apart would be much harder.
You both get on with your jobs and your duties, even as the closeness grows day by day.
And every time when you’re alone and you call him James, his heart grows fonder.
.
.
Out of all the seats available in his apartment, James lounges next to you, long legs draping over yours.
It's another night in together.
These seem to be happening with increasing frequency. DG at least used to keep up appearances, networking with his fellow celebrities.
Parties where you used to look at him with distaste as starlets surrounded him, award shows that he couldn't care less about as you hung around in the background.
Now he prefers to stay in with you, using work as a thin excuse. Studying lyrics that he has already memorised, going over dances that are long ingrained in him.
"You're not going to her party?" You ask, you were sure this fan-favourite and DG were an item or had history. At the very least, the who's who of the industry always attended her gatherings.
"No," his eyes continue roving over the lines.
Then when you thought the conversation was done, he looks over the top of his paper, eyes sparkling with playfulness, "I prefer being here with you."
Oh. Your breath catches in your throat.
You think you might never breathe normally again.
.
.
No, that’s a lie. Any opportunities for rose-tinted glasses has long passed by. You both know each other too well for that.
You breathe perfectly fine. Actually, this morning you are taking deep breaths to try and centre yourself. 
It’s not working. 
“You’re always fucking late,” you snap, giving in to your anger.
Sometimes you think it is your fault for not watching over DG 24/7. That instead of going back home, you should just live with him so you can shake him awake when he is supposed to get up instead of when he wants to.
And does it hurt him to look the least bit contrite at making your life a misery? 
Why does he have to look so smug with a lollipop stick hanging out his mouth? Seriously, between all the rushing around this morning, when did he find time to look for goddamn candy?
“For fuck’s sake, James.” You’re speed walking towards his front door, looking at the Maps app on your phone and miss his smile at you snarling his name. 
You’re already running behind and every route to the recording studio is red due to roadworks or an accident or just plain ol’ congestion. “Shit!”
Your finger jabs at the elevator button multiple times.
“It’s not going to get there any quicker if you do that,” DG speaks lowly into your ear and you get the urge to pinch him.
Instead of prodding some more at the button, you turn around and prod him in the chest.
“You’re going to get me fired one of these days,” You growl. “It’s fine for you, Diego goddamn Kang, the star who is pretty much untouchable. I’m not. I’m replaceable. There’s a million people who would take my job-”
DG snatches your hand, holds it still. “You’re not replaceable.” Then adds with an infuriating grin, “So what if we’re late.”
The minivan is skipped, and his answer to your problem is his other pride and joy. A motorbike that looks far too aggressive and a complete death trap.
“I’m not getting on that,” you say as DG hands you leathers that materialised from god-knows-where and a spare helmet.
“Fine,” he says, shrugging and throwing a leg over. “I don’t think your boss will be happy.”
“Fuck!”
.
.
If this was any other situation, you would be acutely aware of yourself pressed up against DG’s back. Your arms wrapped tightly around his waist.
Except all you can focus on is that you’re going to fucking die. You think you might be screaming.
“Stop screaming!” His disembodied voice calls out. Oh. Turns out you are.
For some reason, DG had thought the helmets with built in speakers and mic would be better for communication. Fun, even. Frankly, you’re just giving him a headache.
(Not to mention the fact that he bought a spare helmet at all. And leathers that he thought would be exactly your size.
He had never rode with anyone before and you certainly had never expressed any interest. Yet he passed by a motorcycle store when he had rare time to spare, and visited on a whim.
If he dwelled on this anymore, DG is sure his headache would turn into a full blown migraine.)
Later that night, when the ringing in his ears finally subside, he will still think about the way you held him.
.
.
When public opinion is on your side, then that’s fantastic. Amazing. You tend to get away with all sorts of things.
When it’s not, the truth can become muddied and there’s mental gymnastics from all sides painting you as the villain.
Fortunately, public opinion generally works in DG’s favour, especially in the case of his stalker who got sentenced for more jail time than if she was harassing a normal person, but not long enough to account for all the distress she has caused.
Such is the criminal justice system.
Her date of release looms large and near. DG, despite his talent and fighting prowess, realises certain traumas can’t be erased.
He grows on edge. Skittish. Snaps at any and everything. It’s noted by journalists. Other managers gives you questioning looks
You don’t miss his change in demeanour. To you, the reason behind it is obvious. 
You’ve heard about this case, everyone has. It dominated headlines for almost a month: the crazy sasaeng fan who believed herself to be DG’s girlfriend before moving onto another poor soul and was finally arrested.
As he spirals, nothing you do or say to him manages to get more than a nod or a frown. You try to offer that she had fixated on someone else before she was arrested, hoping that was a small consolation to him. And though he managed a weak smile, the black cloud still hangs over him.
In the end, you pack your bags and arrive at DG’s one evening. Instead of letting yourself in like you usually would, you ring the buzzer, smile into the door camera and tell him “It’s me!”
The door swings open to reveal DG looking perplexed (and worse for wear). Head tilting, curious and inquisitive when he sees your suitcase and carrier bags full of snacks.
“I’m staying for a while.”
“According to who?”
You barge past him anyway with a grin.
.
.
The date of his stalker’s release arrives and passes without drama.
You miss your home comforts but it makes you happy to see DG’s mood genuinely improve as the days go on.
The luxurious oversized mattress, fancy spa shower, and jacuzzi bathtub also helps to make your stay a bit more bearable.
Not to mention each morning DG actually cooks breakfast for you. Turns out he’s not bad at all at playing a househusband, and it’s also maddening how he manages to get up each day before you when he hasn’t got any place to be.
“Thanks James,” you say, when he presents you with a home cooked meal and his smile grows a bit more each day.
.
.
Peace doesn’t last.
Blurry photos of you both leaving and entering DG’s apartment at all hours of the day and night make the front page of certain news sites.
Headlines scream with leading questions. 
“Relationship beyond Manager and Idol?”
“How a Manager seduced their Idol.” 
“Who is this mystery person that has tamed DG?”
Why anyone deemed it newsworthy is beyond you. You’ve been to his apartment a million times. 
Yes, you suppose the closeness of DG and yourself in the photos can look a little suspect. 
In this particular one, it looks like you have your hand caressing his chest when in actual fact you were shoving him away for a dismissive comment he made.
And the other photo, of his hand on your wrist, was actually him dragging you away when he spotted a herd of fans in the distance.
More pictures unveil themselves.
A snapshot of you driving and DG feeding you candy.
You and DG, whispering intimately in your ear as his supercar is being towed away in the background.
You red faced and drunk as DG piggybacks you outside your building.
His jacket wrapped around you, hand on your waist and angling the umbrella over you.
Him smiling down at you (ok, you admit that you didn’t realise how soft that looks to other people.)
Finally an exceptionally pixelated image of you both on his bike, that could be anyone really.
Unfortunately, your opinion is in the minority as the articles are inundated with comments and furious, tearful fans shrieking that their idol is betraying them. 
Simply unhinged.
.
.
The speculation grows. You’re damned if you do deny anything, damned if you don’t. Your talent agency puts out an official statement.
To your ire, the statement is ‘no comment’ rather than anything more definitive. You glare at James when you find out, suspecting he has something to do with this.
He gives you a shrug, and a familiar look of mischief.
To his credit, he doesn’t leave you completely to fend for yourself. You stay off social media for your sanity, and when the paparazzi hounds you, he's the one with his arm around you, cutting a path through the crowd and shielding you.
It adds fuel to the fire. Does nothing to help your case. 
Still, you can’t help feeling safe and secure with his hand guiding you - holding onto your waist, round your shoulder, or simply - 
Your hand in his.
.
.
Outside of the conference room, where DG is wrapping up a press release for his newest album and nothing else, a reporter slinks out and approaches you.
You’re used to being on the other side of the conversation. Part of the staff, herding DG through camera flashes and questions being thrown at him though there was always some sort of camaraderie. Both parties just trying to do their job with deadlines and targets to hit.
This time you just feel a weariness as you see this person making a beeline towards you.
“Nice to meet you, Y/N.” They say, holding out their hand for a shake which you take with reluctance.
“Hi.”
A voice recorder is thrusted into your face, and you automatically take a step back. “Hope you don’t mind, but I just have a couple questions for you.”
“Um...”
“There’s been lots of sightings of you and DG together-”
You open your mouth to argue-
“Can you confirm your relationship with him?”
A vacant smile settles onto your face. It’s a practised expression where you follow all the cues to be polite and professional even as internally you wish to be anywhere but here. “I’m his manager.”
“Are you two together? Romantically?”
“I’m his manager.” You repeat through gritted teeth, and you’re surprised to hear your voice calm and collected.
“Is that a no? Or-”
“What even is this question?” You scoff, ignoring the way your cheeks heat, and refusing to partake in this circus a moment longer. “This is over.”
You manage to at least catch them looking apologetic, before you stride off into a corner to take a deep breath.
.
.
DG, much more adept and experienced at fending off questions, had finished the conference early and caught the entire exchange, watching you both with a bemused look.
Walking towards you with quiet, measured footsteps, his hand settles onto your lower back as he murmurs your name.
He bites back a laugh at your small, startled jolt.
DG tilts his head to signal ‘this way’. You give him a look but follow him regardless. Trailing behind, moving far away from other prying eyes. 
Up a flight of stairs, through multiple fire doors, turning left then right then another right then maybe a left. It doesn’t matter. You’re hopefully lost and decide to just put your faith in this wretched idol.
He finally seems to find what he’s looking for as he reaches an empty corridor; stopping mid-step and you collide into his back.
“Ack!” You exclaim, hitting the solid wall of muscle.
He lets out a huff of laughter and whirls around to face you, noting how cute your look of surprise is.
How strange though, that this is his current position. But is it really unexpected that the person that has been by his side for months has finally worked their way into his heart and has somehow learned to read him when no-one else could?
If he really thinks about it, yes actually, it is unexpected. No-one else has managed to grow close to him before. As James Lee, as Diego Kang. Birds of a feather or opposites attract or everything in between, no-one has got him like you do. 
There’s still so much more to tell and show you but… First things first.
Fidgeting, you shift your weight from one foot to another, growing self-conscious waiting for DG to talk, only to find him staring intently at your face. Impatient, you give in and speak first.
“What is it?”
“...”
“Diego-”
“James.” He cuts in abruptly, “It’s just us right now. Please.”
You blink in shock at the please and correct yourself at his insistence, lowering your voice so it doesn’t echo down the empty hallway. “James, are you ok?”
“Better than ever,” he says, a smirk now pulling at his lips.
You register his change in mood and narrow your eyes, wondering where this is going. “Why are we here?”
“When the reporter asked if we were together, you said you’re my manager.”
“I am your manager.”
“But you are interested in me.”
It’s not a question. DG, no James, says it like a fact and there’s no doubt in your mind or his. You open your mouth to argue, then close it again. Open it once more-
What.
You feel some cogs in your brain misfiring and all you can manage is a feeble, “Huh?”
“You told them you’re my manager, but didn’t say no to being with me.”
“...”
“So. What do you think?”
“Of what?”
“Us.”
“You like me. Tell me that I’m wrong.”
You take a step back. “...”
Another step. “...”
“Tell me you don’t want this.”
And your back hits the wall with an oomph.
DG slaps his hand on the wall beside your head, bends at the waist and leans his weight forward until he’s eye level with you. “Tell me and I promise I’ll stop.”
“...”
You’re cornered and he searches your face for a response.“Y/N?”
“...”
Fuck. Fuck!
How on earth are you supposed to respond when he looks at you like this. When his face is millimetres from yours and his breath is on your skin and his dark eyes pierces into your soul, pupils blown deliciously wide.
With his stupid pink hair and his fringe flopping, framing his face and his high cheekbones.
The stupid canines of his poking out that gives him so much character and is so hot it hurts when he flashes it accompanied with an arched brow and an arrogant smile.
His stupid pout and his stupid lips, that you know is constantly moisturised with a fancy overpriced lip balm to make it look kissable for the cameras.
And Jesus Christ, you hate to admit it but they do. They 100% do because somewhere in the back of your brain you always knew they look kissable but it has been often clouded by just simply how annoying and bratty you found him.
Except right now you don’t find him annoying or bratty at all.
Even as he’s confessing his feelings with complete confidence, no unease, no anxiety or doubts, because he always had a way of worming under your skin and he knows exactly how to push your buttons.
Damn it all.
“Kiss me,” you tell James, and he isn’t surprised at all by your reaction, face lighting up at your confirmation.
He shifts. 
Hand coming up to cup your cheek. He rubs his thumb twice over your skin, savouring you any way he can before tilting your face towards his. His lips at first brushes against your forehead. Leaves a trail down your nose, peppers both cheeks and then your chin. 
He draws back once, takes in your sweet face and gives you a smile so soft it makes your heart hurt.
Then finally, after wanting this for so long, presses his lips against yours.
Diego Kang, James Lee, tastes like candy and sugar.
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itstheghostofmypast · 4 months ago
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Missed Me?
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Husband Choi Jongho x (F)Reader
Summary: Just a grown man missing his wife.
Genre: Fluff
Word Count: 1K
Est. Read Time: 5 min
Warnings: None
Rating: SFW
Type: One-shot
Networks: @cromernet @k-labels @illusionnet
Banner: @cafekitsune
A/N: I was gonna write Yunho's part today, but I dreamt about this and woke up sad- now ya'll gonna feel as delusional as I did.
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Your body jerked awake at the sudden warmth, a shaky gasp breaking past your lips as you struggled against the newcomer but you felt him pull you closer mumbling in a hushed voice, “It’s me…sheesh, stop watching those crime documentaries”, causing you to huff in annoyance. You felt your tsundere man wrapping his leg around yours, and drape an arm across your waist, pulling you even closer, his nose buried in your neck, almost wanting you to become one.
“Jjong.” a faint whisper floated in the silence of the night, followed by a cracked hum. The soft cotton enveloping the two of you began to burn up, only for your tired mind to mentally begin the countdown for when your lover would toss it off both of you, using his body heat to keep the two of you warm instead- didn’t even need to count to ten, six seconds in and he had kicked it of the two of you, and much like usual the duvet landed on its usual place, the ground- you’d berate him for this again in the morning, like every morning, but right now something else was on your mind.
It wasn't often, moments like these were often rushed, the nervous touches, fleeting kisses, the gentle but swift caress of his fingers- physical touch was something Jongho was still afraid to use, regardless of how long the two of you had been together for, regardless of how long the two of you had been married for. Much like his emotions, he would keep the physical affection to a minimum. 
For the initial part of the relationship, back in college, you wondered if he was even interested in you, other than that initial confession there was no real intimate indication of his feelings towards you, for quite a while. To some extent you had considered ending the relationship all and all, assuming he perhaps was not comfortable with you, perhaps you did not meet his expectations of an ideal partner, perhaps you two were still too young.
However, when the moment came you lost your nerve, especially when he gave you that sincere smile, his eyes crinkling and twirling like stars, all because you two had crossed your 6-month mark of being together, as he handed you a silly little gift, a polaroid of you two in a small bear keychain frame. That night, for some reason, you had begun to notice the little things about Choi Jongho, how he'd open the door for you but also ask for a payment, often an ‘Oh thank you, what a nice man you are’, how he'd end up pouring water for you even before you'd ask, how when you'd be walking towards the car or even to the restaurant you'd feel the gentle weight of his warm jacket, then see him trudging ahead mumbling to himself, “Why not wear a coat when it's cold?!” 
Let's not forget the time you were cursing yourself for assuming ‘I can do it in one night’ during exam season, causing you to panic too, crying and memorising simultaneously. That very night someone magically appeared at your door, breaking into the girl's dorm, didn't matter to you though, especially when you were enveloped in a bear hug as soon as he saw your teary-eyed face. That night you realised Jongho was very much capable of giving great hugs and of course, a more physical kind of intimacy with him heavily depended on the situation. If it were you who required attention, he'd gently hold you, whispering sweet nothings in your ear, letting you cling onto him- but when he'd cling onto you, that would be a whole other story.
Choi Jongho was a clingy man, especially when he missed you. Something you figured out when you met him post-winter break, having him cling onto you at every opportunity he got, whether it be holding your hand while you were reading or giving you an endless back hug while you were cooking- and you’d be lying if you were to say that was not your favourite kind of Jongho. The kind of Jongho you got to be with on your wedding night, chuckling at the sound of him whining about how he still couldn’t believe this was true and you being you, you never let a single moment go to waste, teasing him about his clinginess whilst clinging back to your baby bear. 
“Missed me Jjong?” Your sleep lusted voice tickled his ears, causing him to huff out in annoyance, causing the bed to tremor, the blanket being pulled up against you as he shifted, turning you around, much to your pleasure, and squeezing you closer. You chuckled at his childish antics, hugging him back, tucking your head under his chin, your hand pressed against his chest, feeling his warm, beating heart, “I missed you too baby bear…” with that you closed your eyes, it was difficult not to when he was so warm, so comfortable, so tender with you.
Jongho glanced down to find your smiling face, it was funny how you were asleep, causing him to let out a sigh of relief. He knew the next morning he’d wake up to you nagging at him, yes, you had told him doing overtime would just tire him out more and he had ignored you, claiming you didn’t know any better. Incorrect, you knew too much for your own good, you knew him too much for his own good- and it terrified him, it terrified him how you could read through his facade of macho-ness, understand how he was feeling by just the way he breathed, sense his insecurities by the simplest of touches. Worse of all, you figured out how he preferred lounging around with you rather than going to work. 
Gently wrapping his fingers around your wrist he pulled your arm across his chest to have you hug him as he did the same with his arm, subconsciously giving you a light squeeze, before burying his nose in your hair, taking in the familiar scent of your shampoo, calming down his nerves, simultaneously having his heart slam against his chest like a machine gun, somewhat afraid that the thumping would wake you up- little did baby bear know that the melody of his tender heart and warmth of his caring being was lulling you to a deeper, more peaceful state of sleep you’ve ever experienced. 
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bunni-v1 · 3 months ago
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relating to your last ask that included arguments between shadow milk and his lover, i cannot get the following picture out of my head:
his doll, while a bit (a bit more) off-put by the whole truthless recluse situation, is very much "whatever, their soul jam, their business" about it
however-
what grinds their gears is the fact that kids (aka the gingerbrave gang) are involved
i can just imagine them going off on shadow milk like "listen, i get it, your plans but they are kids. literal children?? keep them out of this-" "no, doll, listen, they're scheming kids-"
ik this isn't really an ask, but i just wanted to share it :)) love your writing, you're amazing, and your shadow milk headcanons live rent free in my brain (actually i am paying them-)
Lolololol (Feel like a mysmes character typing ts... okay), I guess we can say this is ur rent. I'm happy for your payment though, it's good food for thought my love! Have a little midnight snack as a treat!
Just imagine you're someone who's more compassionate. It's something that Shadow Milk Cookie cherishes about you... when it's directed at him. You're always worrying over him and his little henchmen, Candy Apple especially since she's so young. It's annoying, but it's sweet how much you dote on them, and he can't say he dislikes the idea of you in a more parental role...
It becomes an issue when those little pests come around. You've never nosed your way into his business at all, leaving things between him and Pure Vanilla to be what they are. He prefers it like that, keeping you out of trouble was always a positive on his mind. Oh, but then those cute little annoying snotty nosed brats come along and ruin everything.
It wouldn't have been an issue if you hadn't overheard him threaten to drown them. It not like he was actually going to, he was just poking at Truthless Recluse, that's all. You didn't take it though, you were all kinds of pissed off at him.
He thinks it's a silly thing to be upset about, you know he didn't care enough about those kids to do much of anything to them. Yet, you remain upset, even after things are done and Compassionate Pure Vanilla has TEMPORARILY taken him and his plans down. It stumps him, he can't possibly wrap his mind around what's gotten into you. Such a small insignificant act is nothing compared to half of what you've seen him do.
When you refuse to say more than a few words to him, he starts to worry. What did he do wrong? Well, you told him, but why was it so bad this time? The best answers come from the source, of course, but getting it out of you might be a little harder than he likes.
"Doll? Dolly? Little star? Won't you talk to me?" He pouts, trailing behind you like a lost puppy.
You might've teased him if you weren't so upset now. You keep your nose upturned, doing your best not to crack under his relentless pressure. He could be so persistent about these things, and normally you would give, but he'd crossed a line this time. You didn't mess around with children, and he should've known better.
A drawn-out sigh comes from behind you, "Are you still upset about the drowning thing? It was all in good fun I promise! Nothing to worry your pretty little head over!"
He didn't know better, though. For the former fount of knowledge -- and someone who could literally read minds if he wanted to -- he was terribly unaware sometimes. It made you so angry, and you felt bad for being angry because he really didn't get it.
"They're just insignificant little kids, it's a silly thing to be angry about." He continues, and oh that gets a reaction out of you.
You turn around to face him, the boredom in his expression only making that anger bubble up more and more. You really can't hold it in anymore.
"Exactly, they're kids! Just kids, they don't have any stake in this. Why couldn't you let well enough alone for once!" You shout, and it feels so good to get out. Pettiness aside, you'd wanted to get it through his head since this all started.
You watch his face shift through surprise and annoyance and then flatten into an unreadable expression. It was unsettling to see, especially pointed in your direction. Still, you tried to stand your ground, though you'd never felt so small next to him. He lets the silence linger in a purposeful move, you're not sure why. It keeps you on edge the whole time, unable to tell what his next move might be.
"Dolly, they were in my way, I had no choice-" He starts, but you've had enough of the manipulation and sitting quietly.
"What threat are children to you?" Your voice breaks halfway through the sentence, tears you didn't realize were building pouring over your cheeks, "You are so frustrating sometimes. In what universe would I ever be alright with hurting children? Sometimes it's like you don't even know me!"
You don't realize he's in front of you until he's lifting your face in his hand with uncharacteristic gentleness. His face is still flat, but you see the worry shining behind his eyes.
"Y'know you shouldn't lie to the literal embodiment of deceit," He says quietly as he brushes your tears away.
You know you shouldn't, but you laugh a little at that, "I'm sorry. I'm just upset."
"No, really?"
"You don't get to joke around right now," you scoff with a halfhearted shove at his shoulder.
He hums, leaning into your vision so you have to look at him, "It's making you smile, though."
"Shadow Milk Cookie."
"Okay, okay. I get the message," He backs off, "Just don't cry anymore, please?"
You smile, "Maybe if you promise not to involve those kids more than you have to, please?"
He seems to think it over like it was a hard decision. He doesn't think much longer when you flatten a glare on him, "Alright, it's a promise! You can look at my fingers, they're not crossed either! I'll keep my word!"
You scoff at him, "What do I see in you?"
"My charm and wit, of course!" He puffs up like a proud cat, the usual grin back on his face.
"Just kiss it better you dummy!"
"Whatever you ask for, you shall receive, my little star!"
And kiss it better he does, until you can hardly remember why you were so mad at him to begin with.
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danyllura · 2 years ago
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Despite Snows focus being on Katniss, I would argue Peeta played a far more of a rebellious role in his part of the “star crossed lover” during their first games than her. From the moment Cinna gets them to hold hands during the opening ceremony their pairing is shrouded in a “touch of rebellion” - we know alliances among district partners is normal/expected but it is also clear that the terms of agreement are temporary and built upon the goal of their individual survival. Peeta is the one that breaches that agreement, by pushing their relationship beyond district partners to that of “star crossed lovers” with the admittance of his crush on Katniss. It is the intent behind why he chooses what to share that is shrouded in rebellion. Early on Peeta is aware of Katniss’ potential as a tribute and beyond that he recognizes that “spark” that can make her “desirable” to others. Yes, he genuinely loves her. But he shares so not to be honest, or to make himself a sympathetic character for the capitol, but to hopefully benefit her in the arena. He pushes this further by his continuous reiterating of his feelings to the audience, during his time with the careers, alone, and then eventually with Katniss. Time and time again he displays that her survival is his ultimate goal in the games, willing to prioritize her victory over his own life. And while yes, Peeta does this because he does truly love and care about Katniss, he is intentional with his actions. He broadcasts his feelings because it benefits her. And every aspect of that goes against what the games are meant to do to people; divide them.
Comparatively, in regards to the “star crossed lovers” Katniss is much more obedient to the rules of the games. She doesn’t initially portray herself to return Peetas feelings. She plays as a solo player, and Katniss quite literally states she appears “heartless” because of this when they watch back over their time in the arena. When it’s only one promised victor and she believes Peeta to be allied with the careers, she drops a nest of tracker jackets over where Peeta is sleeping and showing she views him as any other competitor. Katniss only reciprocates the role of “star crossed lovers” when the capitol has allowed that type of alliance to work within the games. And if anything her later trick with the berries, is a scene of the capitols own making. It is a final act of desperation. Katniss’ knows Peeta is on the brink of death and it’s even a possibility for the Mutts that had just killed Cato to reappear. When she’s handing the berries to Peeta and as she spills them into her mouth, Katniss is not thinking of the significance of her choice or the potential consequences it may illicit. It’s an emotional decision, not a calculated one. In comparison, laying Rue to rest in a bed of flowers was a far more calculated act of rebellion from Katniss.
But despite all this, President Snow almost solely blames Katniss for the oncoming rebellion. And while Katniss does do many things that help initiate that spark, such as volunteering for Prim, singing to Rue, risking her life for Peeta at the feast- it isn’t that he blames, but rather her lying about loving Peeta back. Because Snow is stuck in the past with his belief that Lucy Gray tricked him into loving her. And Katniss, with her singing and her Mockinjays, is such an obvious parallel of Lucy Grays ghost- he misses the fact that Peeta has been a far more calculated player that has actively rebelled from everything the games are meant to turn you into from the moment he was reaped.
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whizzing-fizzbee · 3 months ago
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Special Delivery
Sebastian Sallow x F!Reader
Rating: Explicit/MDNI (smut, profanity); all characters are adults Words: 2,500 Tags: shameless fluff and smut, post-Hogwarts, Valentine's Day, romantic Seb, husband Seb
Summary: When you tease your husband, Sebastian Sallow, for being unromantic, he shows up at your job at the Ministry of Magic on Valentine's Day to prove you wrong.
Notes: This is literally just a microdose of fluff and smut. Minimal plot and even minimal point -- just the result of some poor sleep. Enjoy!
Read below the cut.
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Sebastian Sallow was a lot of things – painstakingly intelligent with an insatiable desire to learn; devilishly handsome with a demeanor just cheeky enough to charm most who crossed his path; dedicated and hard-working, paired with a stubborn sense of loyalty that made it difficult to fault him for much of anything; and a good lover – great, if you asked his wife.
Sebastian was not lacking in attributes. He was confident, not cocky, and quite content with the life he’d crafted for himself. But a conversation that had occurred at a party two weeks prior was presently on repeat in his mind. 
You and Anne Sallow sat merrily at the dinner table, firewhiskey glasses in hand, as you giggled over girlish nonsense. Typically, that kind of frivolity was beneath you and your sister-in-law, but the alcohol combined with the warmth of the fireplace and the jovial company of your dinner party made it far too easy to let your hair down.
Somehow, the topic of Valentine’s Day surfaced and you scoffed. 
“I haven’t even thought about it,” you drawled. “I didn’t exactly marry the most romantic bloke in the bunch.”
You smirked across the dinner table at Sebastian with bright, teasing eyes as he scowled at you. Truly, you were only joking. You didn’t care about Cupid or candy and gifts. You were secure in your relationship, proud of all you’d overcome since your teenage years, and happily enamored with your husband just the way he was.
Sebastian wasn’t the romantic type, but he tried his hardest. Maybe he didn’t buy you flowers or write you poetry, but he always told you he loved you with a deliberate assuredness. His North Star in life was your happiness. Sure, he sometimes said the wrong things or let his emotions get the best of him, but when it came to you, he’d always fight to get it right. So you adored your husband and sought no efforts to change him. Your love was the epitome of unconditional. After all, you stuck by him even when he committed the ultimate crime. 
That was all six years ago and water under the bridge. Now, Sebastian had become the man you knew was beneath the surface all along. He was a devout and attentive husband, a caring friend and sibling, and one hell of a cursebreaker – easily the top of his age group in the field.
You were so damn proud of your husband, your chest swelled with pride every time he walked through your front door after a long day of work. He’d always kiss you twice – once on the forehead and once on the lips – before he offered to help you cook dinner. Some nights, when you were home late from your own job as an auror, he’d have dinner waiting for you. Then the two of you would cozy up next to the fire and read together until it was time for bed, where Sebastian always took good care of you.
So no, Sebastian wasn’t the whimsy, romantic type, but you truly couldn’t be arsed about it.
But your teasing remarks stuck with him and played on a loop in his brain for the two weeks leading up to Valentine’s Day, which is how Sebastian found himself striding through the Ministry of Magic with a bouquet of flowers in hand on Feb. 14. 
He’d left work early for the day and returned home to ensure everything was in place for a romantic evening — flower petals on the floors and bed, sultry scented candles ready to be lit, and all the ingredients for a luscious pasta dinner he knew had been your favorite for years. But all of that was for later.
Now, it was the lunch hour and Sebastian was prepared to kick off the most romantic Valentine’s Day he could imagine by surprising you at work. 
You were hunched over your desk in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, completely unaware that it was even a romantic holiday. You didn’t care for flippant holidays, and you genuinely didn’t have time to bother with them anyway. 
You were one of the Ministry Auror Division’s rising talents. Your arrest records were staggering and your stealth and concealment skills were on par with the dodgiest of dark wizards. It made you lethal, which made you an invaluable asset. 
You and Sebastian were quite the power couple, not that you ever dwelled on the accolades of your careers. You were most proud to have a marriage crafted with love, adoration and respect.
A gentle knock at your office door drew your attention from the piles of paperwork on your desk. You’d just completed the takedown of a cabal of dark poachers, meaning the case notes needed to be written and logged.
“Sebastian?” you said blankly as you realized the visitor was your own husband. You blinked as he strode into your office, his shirt clean and pressed while he carried an absolutely ostentatious floral arrangement.
“Hello, darling,” he said cheerily. You recognized a familiar glimmer of excitement in his eyes that signaled your inner alarm bells.
“What are you doing here?” you demanded with narrowed eyes. 
“Surprising you, of course,” Sebastian replied smoothly, as if the answer was obvious. He presented you with the gaudy bouquet and grinned like a schoolboy. If it hadn’t been such abnormal behavior, you might have melted into your seat over his efforts.
“What happened? What did you do?” you asked as you eyed the flowers suspiciously. Sebastian blanched at your accusing tone.
“Darling, I am offended,” he gasped, the corners of his lips curved in a teasing smirk. “Can’t a husband simply surprise his stunning wife?”
“No,” you quipped sharply as you placed the floral arrangement at the corner of your desk. The flowers were obnoxiously bold and big, but you secretly enjoyed the gesture. “Not when that husband is you. You never do such a thing.”
“Well, my dearest,” Sebastian said as he stood behind you. His hands snaked over your shoulders and he began to rub them, easing their tense knots while your eyes fluttered shut. “I’m turning over a new leaf,” Sebastian declared. “I seem to recall you complaining that your husband was lacking when it comes to romance, so I’m merely proving you wrong.”
You hummed a quiet reply as his hands continued to massage your shoulders. You could feel his thumbs press into the back of your neck, kneading at your stiff and sore muscles. You also knew him well enough that you could practically feel the way he was smirking as he stood over you.
“I was only joking about your not being romantic,” you chided. “You know I don’t care about that kind of stuff. I love you exactly the way you are.”
“Are you saying you want me to stop?”
“No.” Your answer was quick and forceful. Sebastian barked a laugh at it.
“That’s what I thought,” he mused. His fingers inched their way beneath the neckline of your blouse, pressing into your skin in slow, intentional circles. You held your breath to suppress a moan.
You needed to keep your head on straight. You were at work, for fuck’s sake, and your office door was presently wide open. 
“Sebastian, did you merely come here to gift me flowers and grope me?” 
“I mean, pretty much, yes,” Sebastian replied. You rolled your eyes and sat back in your chair. He removed his hands from your shoulders and moved toward your desk, leaning backward against it as he stood next to you, gazing downward at you fondly with his arms folded across his chest.
“Well, thank you for the flowers,” you said honestly. “They’re beautiful. You didn’t have to do that.”
“I couldn’t forget about my Valentine,” Sebastian said. Your eyes widened.
“I completely forgot it’s Valentine’s Day!” you exclaimed.
Sebastian chuckled. “Relax, darling. It’s not like it’s something we actively make a point to celebrate. I just thought we could give it a try this year.”
“Oh. Well, I admire and appreciate the effort,” you said as you rose to your feet. You draped your arms around Sebastian’s neck as he hooked an arm around your waist to pull you closer.
“Good,” he murmured as he pulled you in for a kiss. “Because there’s more.”
“More?”
“But you’ll have to make sure you’re home on time tonight. No overtime.”
“No overtime,” you repeated. “I suppose I can manage that. But do I get a hint at what else is in store?”
Perhaps it was your innocent, doe-eyed gaze. Perhaps it was the way you presently had him pinned against the desk. Or perhaps it was because your most recent attempt at intimacy had been interrupted when you received an urgent work owl the previous morning. Regardless of the reason, Sebastian’s eyes darkened with the familiar cloud of desire you recognized all too well.
“I suppose I could show you a little preview,” he hummed as he pressed his lips to your neck. It made your breath hitch immediately.
“Sebastian…” you warned, though there was very little fight in your voice.
Sebastian brandished his wand from his pocket and flicked it lazily toward the door. It snapped shut and the lock clicked, confirming his intentions. He tossed his wand on the desk and it clattered, teetering close to the edge until it rolled to a stop. 
He spun abruptly, pinning you forward against the desk while he stood pressed behind you. His lips placed gentle, meticulous kisses to the back of your neck while his hands drifted over the curves of your sides. 
“How about I show you just how romantic I can be?” he mumbled against your ear. It dispatched a vibration of arousal through your body until your core began to respond and your hardened nipples protruded through the fabric of your blouse. 
Sebastian stepped into you, forcing his erection against your back. You became even more aroused by how hard he already felt. His hands raked over your breasts until he was cupping them. He gave them a gentle squeeze as he nudged his hips forward, using your back to relieve some of the tension of his erection.
Your legs quaked and threatened to give way as the edge of the desk dug into the fronts of your thighs. You knew it was just a matter of time before you’d be bent over that desk.
Sebastian’s hands roamed downward, one on your hip as one squeezed your ass. He yanked up the hem of your skirt and dragged two fingers over the fabric of your panties at the apex of your thighs. Sebastian grunted at the damp sensation.
“You’re so good when you get nice and wet for me,” he growled in your ear. You squirmed against him in desperation for more. 
Suddenly, your panties sailed to the floor, pooling at your feet so that your knees were locked together. Sebastian traced over the folds of your entrance before he sucked his finger and hummed at your flavor.
“You taste extra sweet today. All for me for Valentine’s Day?”
You nodded speechlessly in an attempt to quell a whimper.
Sebastian sank two fingers inside of you and jerked them upward. The whimper erupted from your throat in a sharp cry. You contracted your cunt around his fingers in a silent plea for more. 
But the way Sebastian’s cock prodded against your back told you he couldn’t give you more without giving in to himself. The sound of a belt clinking apart and a zipper falling told you it was time to relieve the strain in your legs.
Sure enough, Sebastian’s cock was prodding against your entrance and you fell forward at the waist until your breasts were pressed against the wood desktop. The cool surface contrasted your hot skin. 
You moaned as Sebastian sheathed himself inside you, his cock parting your walls until it was fully buried. Sebastian had taken you in this position countless times before, but the pressure was particularly maddening this time. Your cunt was already seeping as faint twitches signaled you wouldn’t last long.
The front of your thighs jabbed into the desk’s edge with every thrust, certain to leave bruises by the morning. The pain was masked by the inimitable pleasure mounting within your walls. Soon, the sounds of slapping flesh filled your office and you regretted not using a silencing charm. 
Oh well. The reward was well worth the risk.
Sebastian’s cock pumped into you with a rhythmic pace, drilling your soaked center with a precision that only came from years of practice. But no matter how many times your husband had been inside you, it was never enough.
“You’re so fucking good,” Sebastian groaned. “Always so good.”
Your back arched, forcing your ass backward with impeccable timing as Sebastian drove forward. The jab triggered a sharp gasp from you as your deepest walls stretched around him. 
Sebastian gathered your hair into a makeshift ponytail with his hand, pulling your head backward until your spine curved into a sultry C. His hips snapped harder, driving his cock with more force that made your skin ripple every time he pounded against your ass. His cock powered within your walls until your whines became broken, scattered sputters. The heat of your core was rising, threatening to burn down every bit of tension. Stacks of parchment scattered, sending sheets fluttering to the floor while you gripped the opposite edge of the desk with porcelain white knuckles. 
“I need you to come for me,” Sebastian ordered. “Show me how good I take care of you.”
From the erratic pattern of his thrusts, you could tell he was close. You decided you were going to come with him.
“Sebastian, right there,” you panted, your voice still a whimper as your tone pleaded with him to grant you your release. You squeezed yourself around him to coax your climax. Just a few more strokes of his cock would do it. “Sebastian, don’t stop. You’re going to make me c-”
The heat blazed and melted the pressure in your walls. You wailed a short, pitchy gasp as they pulsated, rippling over Sebastian’s cock. He grunted as he slammed himself against you, his hands flattening you down onto the desk as he emptied inside of you. 
By the time the twitching of your cunt subsided, Sebastian’s release coated your walls. He groaned as his cock popped from your passage, leaving you both fulfilled.
“Fucking hell,” Sebastian muttered as he stepped backward, marveling at the erotic vision of your bare ass still perched upward against the desk, his release seeping from your entrance. You rose slowly, your head hazy and legs full of jelly.
Once you were both fully clothed and presentable again, Sebastian pressed a kiss to your temple. 
“See?” he grinned. “Told you I could be romantic.”
“Sebastian,” you snorted. “I’d hardly consider you bending me over my work desk romantic.” You slipped your arms around his neck to reassure him. “But I’d take that over flowers any damn day.”
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