#tag added after the fact by popular request

[marlynnofmany]

Sometimes it's a stretch to see your own life from an outsider's perspective, revisualizing normal things as exotic and strange.

Other times you look over at the plate of giant crab legs that someone is eating next to you, and it's not hard at all.

~

Me: "I'll bet there are people from a lot of cultures that would consider that a horrifying thing to see at the dinner table."

Him: "They must not be from the coast!" *happily sprinkles on a mix of crab seasoning that includes salt, pepper, and mace*

[wholoveseggs]

Hi! I just wanted to tell you that I love your stories. They are just so incredible. Every day I hope for some new post from you, it makes my day every time so much better!

I also wanted to try and request something. Elijah x Reader were they are maybe best friends and she is recovering from an abusive relationship and he finds it out. The end is up to you. Thank you so much!

I apologize for spelling mistakes, english is not my first language.

Perfect Messes

18+ ---- {Masterlist} {Tag-List}

After a difficult relationship that left you struggling to rebuild your life, you reconnect with an old friend who helps you rediscover what true love feels like.

♡♡ Thanks for the request beautiful anon! sorry it took so long. This one was a bit personal for me... so I wanted to do it right ~xoxo♡♡

5.6k words - Warnings: smutt, so much fluff, little bit of angst, vague mentions of abuse, panic attack, white knight Elijah {my fav}, soft and romantic, lots of friendly banter {in bed}, Elijah being protective && slow dancing...

♡♡ Tag-List ♡♡

Trying to fix my tags! I re-added all of you, and now you will be posted at the top! If you no longer wished to be tagged just shoot me a DM {I won't be offended} xoxo~

@gorgeouslydangerous @starkleila @lydia1369sworld @notleylaaa @vampiresluv

@myanmy @xflowerbombxo @maryvibes @always-and-forever-daydreaming

@spnaquakindgdom @amournoir @meeom @damienmorton @wickedmuse

@cs-please @complicatedandconfusing-25 @youcanhavemybuckanyday @akala6670229 @yeaiamme2

@itsjulzandmydiamonds @spideysbabe @witch-of-letters @elijahstwink @rosecentury

@amanda08319 @starshipcookie @li-da-savage @veggie-eggrolls @spideybv28

@sunkissedebony97 @idk00sblog @savannaounana @sekaishell

@loving-and-dreaming @fancycassie-stayfancy @hcqwxrtss123 @iamawkwardandshy @ziayamikaelson @b1tchy

The restaurant Elijah picked out was so typically him; small, quiet, and dimly lit.

He always preferred the atmosphere of these little hole-in-the-wall restaurants to the more popular ones that were always packed. It made him feel like he was part of an exclusive club that only a few knew about, and that's how he liked it.

It had been almost two years since you had seen him, but judging by his choice of restaurants, not much had changed. He was still a kind and intelligent man, preferring to observe before acting, with an impeccable taste in all things.

He was, by all means, a gentleman. He had always treated you with respect, always listened when you had a problem and would give you advice. Solid, reliable, sweet Elijah.

But for you, everything had changed, your world had tilted and flipped on its axis, and you couldn't tell if you were right side up anymore.

You looked nervously out the window, you didn't like sitting next to it. Anyone could see you and take advantage. You subconsciously picked at your nails, a habit you had developed recently. Your therapist had told you that the trauma of your past would manifest in strange ways. She was right, but knowing the why didn't change the fact that you couldn't stop doing it.

Elijah had been uncharacteristically quiet since he sat down across from you, studying you. You didn't like it, firstly because it made you feel like a bit of a zoo animal, and secondly, because he was likely noticing things you had been hoping to keep hidden.

He watched you glance out the window again and again, could see the little scars and flecks of blood around your cuticles, could hear the way your heart would race when someone walked too close to your table. His once carefree and bubbly friend had become a scared rabbit, flinching at loud noises and sudden movements.

The worst part was that you seemed so resigned to your fate, like this was your life now. It broke his heart.

You didn't like the awkward silence that had settled between the two of you. You fidgeted with the napkin in your lap, refusing to make eye contact. The two of you had once been such close friends, you would laugh and joke together for hours, but that had changed, and not for the better.

You could tell that he knew. The way he was looking at you, his brow furrowed in concern, his eyes darting to every new scar that was visible, he knew. It made you feel this deep, unending shame that had been haunting you from the first day you ex had laid a hand on you.

You frowned and turned away. Maybe this wasn't a good idea. You wondered what he would think of you now, and if he would hate the person you've become.

"What made you reach out?" He asked, and you could hear the smile in his voice.

You swallowed a bit of food you were picking at and paused. "I guess I was just ready to start living again," you said, and you took a sip of water.

"You weren't living?" He asked.

"I was surviving," you answered.

He frowned and reached across the table, and his hand wrapped around yours. You stiffened, then relaxed, his touch warm and comforting.

"Well I'm glad you're back," he said with a smile.

You nodded and tried to smile, but you couldn't help the tears that filled your eyes. His eyes widened and he let go of your hand. It was always the unexpected, simple words that made you fall apart.

"Oh no, please don't cry. What's wrong?" He asked.

"I'm sorry. I'm just glad to see you," you said.

You took a shaky breath and tried to get yourself under control. You felt a piece of fabric being placed in your hand, it was his handkerchief, a simple white piece of fabric with a green ‘EM’ embroidered in the corner.

"There is nothing to be sorry for, darling," he said.

You smiled a little and dabbed your eyes, you missed the way he would call you darling, or love, or sweetheart. It had been so long.

"Are you going to tell me what's wrong?" He asked.

He was watching you carefully, his dark eyes studying you as if he could pick apart every thought in your head. You had forgotten how intimidating his stare could be.

You sighed and looked at the ceiling, and you tried to find the words. "I made a mistake, and I'm still recovering from it."

"Recovering?" He asked.

His eyes flickered to the scars on your arms, and the ones that were peeking out from under your shirt collar. He thought that he already knew the answer, but he wanted to hear it from you.

You closed your eyes, the pain in your chest growing stronger. "You remember that guy I started seeing? Not long before we lost touch."

"I do."

"Well, we weren't a good match, and he wasn't the greatest guy." You said, and you fiddled with the edge of his handkerchief.

"He hurt you."

It was a statement, not a question, and his expression was grim. You nodded and wiped the tear that slid down your cheek. You weren't sure if you were ready to have this conversation, and you hated that he had figured it out on his own.

"Yes," you whispered, the shame filling your body again.

He was silent for a long moment, and you mustered up the courage to look at him. You expected to see pity or disgust, but his eyes were calm.

"It wasn't your fault," he said.

"That's what everyone says," you said a little too sharply, the bitterness clear in your voice.

"Why don't you believe it?" He asked.

You shook your head and wiped the tears from your cheeks. You hated the way you cried when you were stressed, it always made you feel weak.

"My father would beat Niklaus so fiercely that he couldn't leave his bed for days. I always blamed myself. Who was I, if I could not protect him from harm?" He said.

Your heart hurt for him, for the pain that had been so deeply ingrained in him. He never talked about his childhood. He told you it was a long time ago and didn't bother him anymore, but you could see the truth in his eyes. It would always hurt, and it had left him with deep scars.

"It took me a long time to learn that some people will hurt us, no matter what we do," he continued, reaching out to hold your hand again. "They will tell you that you are to blame, that the abuse is a consequence of your behavior, and it is not. Do not ever forget that."

You nodded, and a small smile graced your lips. His hand was warm in yours, and his touch was gentle.

"My father was treated poorly by his father, and his father before that. And the cycle continues. Broken people don't know any other way," he said.

He brushed his thumb across the back of your hand and gave you a reassuring smile.

"It takes enormous strength not to continue the cycle. To not place your pain on the shoulders of others. To recognize the harm and end it with you." He finished, his voice was low and his words were gentle.

You wiped the tears and nodded. He was right. You didn't deserve what happened to you, and you didn't have to carry that weight on your own. These were things you told yourself before, but it was hard for you to truly believe them.

"I don't know if I'm capable of that sort of strength," you said, and you sniffed.

"Oh my dear, you're already stronger than you know," he said.

You didn't feel strong, in fact you felt rather weak and small. You were tired, and broken.

He smiled, and his thumb rubbed soft circles on your wrist. "As cliche as it sounds, it truly just takes time. On the bad days you just need to remind yourself of that," he said.

You nodded, the words sinking into your soul, and you clung to the hope that they offered. You didn't realize how much you needed to hear that.

"I should have called sooner. I missed you," you said, and you smiled, your eyes meeting his.

"I missed you, too."

Your ex had manipulated you into cutting contact with most of your friends, and you didn't realize how much you relied on those connections until it was gone. But with Elijah, it felt like no time had passed at all. You were so grateful to have him back.

It had been a few weeks since you had reconnected with Elijah, and he was a constant in your life now. He would come by almost everyday and visit with you. He would bring you coffee or lunch, or simply sit and talk for hours. He would listen, and he would tell stories of his travels, and it made your heart so happy.

You always had a soft little crush on him, and having him back in your life made those feelings intensify. But dating wasn't something you were ready for, the idea of being intimate with anyone made you feel anxious. Your ex had made even sex a violent thing, and that was a wound you weren't ready to reopen.

And you didn't know if Elijah was interested. He was so caring, and thoughtful, and you wondered if he saw you as anything more than a friend.

It was raining outside, and you were heading home from your therapy session. You were trying to keep the umbrella above you, but it kept blowing inside out, and the wind and rain were making it difficult.

As you approached your door, you could see something attached to the doorknob. You pulled the item off and inspected it. It was a single rose, tied with a note.

You opened the door and headed to the kitchen, your wet coat and shoes discarded in the entryway. You wondered who the rose was from, a small part of you hoping it was Elijah.

You peeled open the note and read it, panic immediately filled your body. The rose and note had fallen out of your hands, and were scattered across the kitchen floor. 

A picture had fallen out of the note, it was an image of you and your ex, you were asleep and wearing a nightgown. The note read, "I miss nights like this. I'll be waiting."

It was him, he had found you.

Your body went numb and you immediately fled out of your apartment, not bothering to put on your shoes or coat, leaving the front door wide open.

You had done everything to hide from him, changed your job, your phone number, moved apartments.

You could feel the panic building inside of you, the walls closing in around you. The rain was cold and the wind was harsh, but you didn't notice, didn't care. All you wanted was to get away, to hide.

You just kept running until the panic made your knees give out and you collapsed in a small alcove between two buildings.

Your hands shook as you pulled out your phone, and dialed the last number you called.

"Hello?" Elijah answered.

You didn't have the words to answer him, and the sob that tore out of your throat was loud and desperate. You could barely get the words out, the fear, panic and humiliation making it nearly impossible.

"Where are you?" He asked, his voice was hard, and he sounded like he was already on the move.

"I...I'm sorry..." You choked out, tears streaming down your face.

"Turn on your location, I'll come get you," he said.

You could hear his car start, and you heard a voice in the background, likely his brother Klaus.

"Please hurry," you said, the panic making you feel sick.

"I'm on my way. Everything is going to be okay."

His voice was calm and steady in the storm of panic. You could hear the screeching of his tires as they took off.

You sat and listened to the sounds of his car, the rain pounding against the roof, the sound of his breathing. Klaus was driving, and you could hear his muffled accent in the background.

"Do not hang up, alright?" Elijah said, his voice was firm.

You nodded, though he couldn't see you, and tried to focus on his breathing, using the sound to keep yourself grounded.

"Tell me three things you see," he said softly.

"Three things?"

"Yes, anything you can see. Three things."

You looked around the little alcove, there were two benches, the ground was damp, and a little trash can.

"I...uhh.. two benches, a trash can, and a sign," you said, your voice sounded foreign and strange to you.

"Good, that's good. Now three things you hear."

"The rain, the traffic and... and you. You're still there?" You asked, your voice full of confusion.

You felt lightheaded and cold, the rain now fully soaked through your clothes.

"Of course I'm still here," he said.

You could hear the sounds of the city, and the sound of his tires as he turned a corner.

"Now three things you feel."

You felt the cold pavement beneath you, the water dripping off your hair and onto your skin, and the panic clawing at your throat.

"I feel the pavement, the water, a-and… and…," you said, your breath was starting to quicken.

"You're doing great, darling," he said softly.

Your chest felt tight, and it was getting harder to breathe. You felt like you were dying, your heart beating so fast you thought it might burst.

"I can't breathe," you whimpered, your free hand clutching your chest.

The sound of tires screeching to a halt made you flinch, and the line disconnected. You could hear footsteps pounding against the pavement, and then you felt two warm hands scooping under your arms.

"It's me, darling. You're safe," he said, and he lifted you to your feet, then he picked you up and started carrying you.

You clung to him, burying your face into his neck, breathing in his scent. He carried you over to his car, and placed you gently in the back seat. He removed his coat and wrapped it around you, then climbed in after you. His hands were running through your hair and wiping the tears off your face.

"Take a deep breath with me, darling. You're okay," he said.

His hands were resting on your waist, and he pulled you close, your chest pressing against his. He took a deep breath, and you did the same. The pressure of his body against yours helped calm you, and the sound of his heartbeat helped ground you.

"Good, just like that," he said softly, his eyes watching your face carefully.

He pressed a kiss to your forehead, letting you relax into his touch. His fingers combed through your hair, and his other hand rubbed your back soothingly.

"I've got you," he whispered, his breath fanning across your cheek.

The panic slowly subsided, replaced with utter exhaustion. Your eyes grew heavy and you rested your head against his shoulder, and you closed your eyes.

"Thank you," you whispered, the sleep already claiming you.

"No need, I will always be there for you," he said.

His voice was like a promise, one you knew he would keep. He held you close, his arms a safe and warm place, and soon sleep took over.

Elijah had invited you to move into the compound for a while. You were grateful for his offer, and his family had been nothing but kind to you. All of them understood, and were supportive, and had promised to help protect you.

It had been a few weeks since your panic attack, and you were still trying to piece yourself back together. Your ex had been found, and Klaus had ensured that he would never hurt anyone ever again. But it didn't stop the fear that crept up your spine when you were alone.

You were sitting in Elijah's room, reading a book while he worked. You had taken to spending a lot of time in his company, and he didn't seem to mind. In fact, he seemed to enjoy it as well.

There was soft classical music playing on the radio, and the soft yellow lights of the many candles made the room feel cozy. You glanced over at Elijah, his head was bent and he was looking over some papers.

The two of you had fallen back into the easy banter that had once defined your relationship, and you were grateful for him.

"Are you hungry? I could go get us some dinner," he said, and his voice pulled you out of the book you were reading.

You looked up at him and shook your head, a small smile playing on your lips. He looked extra good today, dressed in a simple button down and dress pants. You had noticed him looking at you quite a bit as well, and it made your stomach flip every time.

"I'm fine, thank you," you said, and you smiled at him.

You liked that he was always thinking about you, and it was sweet. But you couldn't deny the feelings that had started to develop for him, and it made the butterflies in your stomach flutter every time he looked at you. You wanted to be intimate with someone again, to feel love the way you once did. To not let all the trauma and pain define the rest of your life.

Elijah put down his pen and gave you a small smile. "You've been staring at me for the past fifteen minutes."

Your face flushed and you looked away, embarrassed at being caught. You weren't sure if you were ready to admit your feelings, or if he even felt the same.

"Sorry, I was just thinking," you said, and you looked back at him, meeting his eyes.

He had stood up and walked over to the couch you were sitting on, reaching out his hand to you.

"Come on, let's get some air," he said.

You stood up and took his hand, and he led you out of his room and to the balcony. The sky was dark and the stars were out, and you could see the moon peeking out behind the clouds.

The air was cool and the breeze was gentle, and you breathed in the fresh night air. Elijah stood next to you, his hand still holding yours, and you were glad that he didn't let go.

"Dance with me?" He asked, and his voice was soft.

You smiled and nodded, and he pulled you into his arms, the two of you swaying slowly to the music that drifted in from inside.

His gaze was intense, but gentle. And his smile was soft. He twirled you, and pulled you back in close. Your breathing slowed, and a smile grew on your face.

He was a talented dancer, and he made sure you didn't make a fool of yourself. It was an excellent distraction, and it was easy to forget about all the horrible things when you were with him.

The two of you danced until the song ended, and his hands were on your waist. You were both laughing, and his eyes were brighter than usual. You were suddenly acutely aware of how close he was.

"Thank you," you said softly, your eyes meeting his, he was looking at you with such tenderness that it made your heart race.

"I've wanted to tell you something," he began, and he reached out and brushed a piece of hair behind your ear.

"What is it?" You asked, the anticipation making your stomach do flips.

"I want you to know, I'll never let anyone hurt you. Not ever again," he said, and his words were sincere.

You smiled, and you reached up and touched his cheek. He had been your rock, and a constant source of strength and comfort.

"I know," you said, and his eyes were so full of emotion.

"I mean it," he said, and he placed his forehead against yours. "You will always be safe with me," he whispered, and his nose touched yours.

Your eyes closed and you let out a sigh. The butterflies in your stomach were fluttering wildly, and your heart was pounding in your chest.

"You've become so important to me," he said softly. "You're my best friend, and... I can't lose you again," he said.

A moment passed, and you could feel the tension building. The air around you felt charged, and you could feel his breath on your lips.

You closed the distance between the two of you, pressing your lips against his. His lips were soft and his hands were gentle. He held you close, the two of you lost in the kiss. It was passionate, and full of all the love and adoration that had grown over the last few months.

You had imagined kissing him before, and it was just as perfect as you thought it would be. You couldn't think straight, and the only thing that mattered was him.

"Is this okay?" He asked as he pulled away, and rested his forehead against yours, his eyes filled with wonder.

You were both out of breath, and a small smirk formed on his lips.

"You're really good at that," you said, and you smiled up at him.

He chuckled and gave you a crooked grin. Then he kissed you again, and his hands moved down to the small of your back, pulling you closer. You melted into him, the kiss deepening, and you felt a familiar warmth spread through your body.

"Elijah, I don't know if I'm ready to... It's been a long time since..." You stammered, the thoughts in your mind a mess, the vulnerability made your skin flush.

He gave you a long look, his hands rubbing small circles on your sides. "Then we'll go slow," he said, taking your hand and leading you back into his room. "Very, very, slow," he whispered, a glint in his eye.

You wanted him, but you were scared, and he could sense it. You needed him to take the lead, to guide you.

"We can stop anytime, just say the word," he said, his voice soft.

He stepped away and sat down on the bed, reaching his hand out to you. You took it, and he pulled you into his lap. His hands moved to your hips, and he kissed you again, slow and sweet.

Your body was responding, reawakening after being long dormant. It was a strange feeling, but a welcome one.

You began to tug at the buttons of his shirt, as his hands slid underneath your blouse, caressing your bare skin. You managed to undo most of the buttons, and pushed his shirt off his shoulders.

You had always found him attractive, but seeing him like this was something else entirely. He had a chiseled chest, and toned arms. Your fingers traced his muscles, and they twitched under your touch.

"Like what you see?" He teased, and a smug smile spread across his face.

"You don't need me to say it, do you?" You replied, a sly grin appearing on your lips.

"I could use a reminder," he said, his eyes sparkling.

You giggled, and the sound surprised you. "Fine, yes, you're attractive... really, really attractive," you said, and the smile on his face grew.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't hear that," he said, and his hands slid higher up your shirt, his thumbs brushing the underside of your breasts.

"Someone's a little full of themselves," you teased, your hands moving up his chest.

His mouth moved to the hollow of your throat, and he nipped at the delicate skin, eliciting a small gasp from you.

"I've heard stories," you continued, your breath catching in your throat.

"Oh yeah?" He hummed, slowly unbuttoning your blouse, kissing each inch of newly exposed skin.

"Kol's a chatty drunk," you said, and your smile turned mischievous. "He said that you're really, really, good at this sort of thing."

"Is that right?" He murmured, and his hands were now cupping your breasts, his thumbs brushing your nipples through the fabric.

"That's what I heard," you gasped, your back arching into his touch.

"It's a bit weird that he knows anything about my skills," he said, and you could hear the amusement in his voice.

"Not if the rumors are true," you replied, and you ground your hips against his.

"Well what do you think?" He teased, his lips trailing down to your breasts, taking a nipple into his mouth.

You moaned, one of his hands was pressed into your lower back, slowly moving your hips. The other was kneading your breast, his mouth sucking and licking at the sensitive bud.

"I...," you started, and you paused, trying to formulate a coherent thought. "I don't think he was wrong..." You managed.

He chuckled, and then his hand slid into your pants, his fingers finding your clit. He began to rub slow, firm circles, and a strangled moan escaped your lips.

"Do you want me to stop?" He asked, and his hand slowed, the pressure making you gasp.

"Don't you dare," you groaned, and his lips returned to yours.

His mouth was hot, and his tongue was insistent. His fingers moved faster, and his other hand was holding your back, supporting you as you arched into him. Your hands were tangled in his hair, and your breath was coming in short gasps.

"That's it," he murmured, and his voice was husky.

Your eyes were closed, and the sensations were overwhelming. Your toes curled and your fingers dug into his shoulders, and you cried out as the waves of pleasure crashed over you.

He hummed in approval, his fingers still rubbing slow circles, drawing out your release. You trembled in his arms, burying your face in his shoulder.

"Wow," you said breathlessly, kissing his neck softly.

"Good, wow?" He asked, and his tone was light and playful.

"So good, wow," you said, and you giggled, the euphoria making you feel giddy.

He leaned back on to the bed, bringing you with him, making you laugh. The two of you fumbled awkwardly, giggling as you tried to move up the bed. He ended up on top of you, his elbows supporting his weight.

"It's nice to hear you laugh again," he said, and his eyes were full of adoration.

"You're a good distraction," you said, and you grinned.

"I plan on being much more than a distraction," he said, his hands running along your sides.

You smiled up at him, and he leaned down and kissed you, the passion returning. You ran your hands over his chest, your fingers tracing the hard planes of muscle.

"Tell me if it gets too much," he whispered.

You nodded, and his mouth moved down to your neck, nipping and sucking. He slowly removed the rest of your clothes, his lips never leaving your skin.

"I can't believe we are doing this," you said, undoing his belt and pants. "I didn't think... I mean I hoped, but never thought..."

He chuckled, and kicked his pants off. "I know the feeling," he said, and his eyes were twinkling.

"I'm glad you didn't give up on me," you said, and your tone was serious.

He looked at you for a long moment, his gaze searching.

"Never," he said, and he pressed his lips to yours, a hand moving down your thigh and lifting your leg over his hip.

You moaned into his mouth as you felt his cock bump against your wetness. You knew he would be gentle and loving, but there was still a hint of fear and trepidation.

"I'm going to make love to you now," he said, and his voice was soft, his eyes looking at you tenderly.

Your face turned scarlet, and a deep flush appeared on his cheeks. It was the first time you had ever seen him embarrassed. It was so charming, and it reminded you why you fell for him in the first place.

"Was that not the right thing to say?" He asked, and the nervous laugh he let out was adorable.

"No, no, it was very..." you started, but couldn't finish.

"It was very what?" He asked, the amusement back in his tone.

"Romantic," you managed, and a grin formed on your lips. "It's not something I'm used to," you said, and a pained look flashed across his face.

"He didn't treat you the way he should have," Elijah said, and his eyes were dark.

"It's okay," you said, and you cupped his cheek, giving him a soft smile. "I have you now, and that's all that matters."

His lips met yours, and his cock pressed against your entrance.

"Ready?" He asked, and his voice was husky.

You nodded, and he slowly entered you, letting out a groan. It had been so long since you had been intimate with someone, and it felt incredible. He moved his hips, setting a slow pace, gauging your response to his movements.

"I love you," he groaned, gently placing his forehead against yours.

His words and eyes were sincere, but your response caught in your throat. His movements were slow and sensual, causing you to moan into his mouth, your hips gently rocking to meet his.

"You don't have to say it back, I just want you to know," he whispered, his lips brushing yours.

A tear slid down your cheek, and he kissed it away, noticing the way you were struggling with your emotions.

"I will keep you safe, and love you for as long as you let me," he promised, his eyes glossy.

The two of you continued moving together, the emotions and sensations heightened by his words. He was gentle and loving, and the way he was looking at you made your heart swell.

You were both lost in the pleasure, and the world fell away, only the two of you left. He held you close, his body moving with yours, and the intimacy of the act made you feel complete.

"Eli-" you moaned, the words unable to leave your mouth.

"I know," he said, running his fingers through your hair and giving you a kiss that made your head spin.

Your kisses grew messy as you both got close to the edge, panting against each other. You tried to tell him how good he made you feel, how much you loved him too, but all that came out was a plea. Your face buried in the crook of his neck as your back arched, and your legs started to shake.

"You're alright," he murmured in your ear, holding you tightly as your walls clenched around him.

Your breath left you, and he gripped you as he chased his own release. He lifted you off the bed, pulling you up so you could ride him as he held you to his chest.

Your toes curled and another wave of bliss hit you, a wanton moan escaping you. Your name sounded so good rolling off his lips, and he followed you, groaning as he found his release.

You held each other, him slowly lowering you back to the bed, not daring to pull away or let you go. You were slightly dizzy and felt like you were floating, and it was the best feeling in the world.

"Damn, you're good," you breathed, and a satisfied grin formed on his lips.

He kissed your neck, his breath warm against your skin.

"I know, just ask Kol..." he joked, and a giggle escaped your lips.

"Please stop talking about Kol," you laughed, and he gave you a sheepish smile.

"You brought him up first," he said, and his smile turned crooked.

You playfully slapped his shoulder and he laughed, looking absolutely elated that he made you smile.

"I love you too," you blurted, feeling too happy and overwhelmed with emotion to wait to tell him.

His grin grew, and he rolled on his side, bringing you with him. He grabbed the blanket and pulled it over you, and you sunk into the warm embrace.

"This feels nice," you said, sighing in content.

"Yeah, it does," he replied, a smile in his voice.

You cuddled for a while, and he lazily drew circles on your skin, his touch soothing and comforting.

"You know I'm a mess right? Prone to panic attacks, have nightmares, and am constantly looking over my shoulder," you said, and the worry that he didn't understand what he was getting into was clear.

"Stop it," he said, his tone gentle, and his arms tightened around you. "You aren't allowed to put yourself down in front of me," he said, and he kissed your forehead

You nodded, and he stroked your cheek, wiping away a tear that you hadn't realized had fallen.

"It's okay to be a mess, I'm a mess too," he said with a soft laugh. "Even though I hide it well," he added.

"You're not a mess, you're perfect," you said, and his smile turned sad.

"Hardly, but I appreciate the sentiment," he replied, and he tucked a strand of hair behind your ear.

"We can be messes together then, how's that sound?" You asked, and the small smile he gave you made your heart skip a beat.

He kissed you, slow and sweet, and a happy sigh escaped your lips.

"Together.”

[themagicalkidproject]

How about a polyamorous magical kid?

Polyamorous was requested by Anonymous! I’m still going too fast for my friend and Alt ID guy, so Alt IDs will be added later!

Polyamory is a form of relationship that includes more than two people. A relationship is only polyamorous if every person is consenting! This flag variant was voted as most popular, so it's the one I made into a Magical Kid!

This Magical Boy has an Origami Theme! He uses He/She pronouns!

His name is Rito, after Akisato Riko, the writer of the first technical origami book! Anything she makes out of origami will come to life- think of Kubo from Kubo and the Two Strings to picture how this works. His favorite use of this power is to turn origami claws into actual claws in place of a weapon.

Her Magical Boy Weapon is, therefore, a sleeve of paper that never empties. This is only a weapon because of his power.

A useless fact about Rito is that she is one of Lavendula's spouses! She's a painter by trade, not an origami artist, and paints Lavendula's cake toppers, which are made by his other spouse!

The Magical Kid Project is a project wherein I steadily turn Pride Flags into Magical Kids! Requests are open through my inbox! Commission info is under the #commissions tag, I have a deal on Magical Kid Portraits!

[sillylotrpolls]

If you recall, a little while ago I manually scraped data regarding popular LotR ships from Ao3 using an extremely rough methodology. I had a request for the data, so what the heck, here you go.

Now, these numbers are ridiculously rough. In fact, you might even say they're bad. The first 10 are approximately correct. But, as explained in that link, every group of 10 after that is undercounted by more and more because I excluded fics from my search that contained the ships already on the list. Also, anything tagged in the Hobbit movies/book but not LotR was really, really undercounted.

Let this be a lesson in data sources! In fact, the best use of this data is to use it as a starting point for getting good data. Instead of checking every permutation of ships (like idk, Merry/Elrond) for proper numbers, you would start by checking the top 50 on this list. This is of course assuming you didn't have a better method of getting data out of Ao3 than using the work and tag searches like I've done here.

(The second-best use of this data is to go "lol, really?" which is what I assume/hope you're here for, because otherwise you're probably gonna be disappointed.)

(The third-best use of this data is to note that because the Hobbit movies came out 2012-14, right when Ao3 had achieved critical mass, it is much, much easier to find Hobbit-related fic on Ao3 than LotR, the films of which came out in 2001-03.)

For ships that intrigued me I've included the "actual" results in purple. But even those numbers are probably undercounting because some people don't use tags that map to the canonical tags.

Anyway, the top 140 ships for "Lord of the Rings - All Media Types" on Archive of Our Own using a Very Bad counting method are:

1 Frodo/Sam (2207) (2,250) 2 Gimli/Legolas (1918) (2,121) 3 Aragorn/Arwen (1509) 4 Aragorn/Legolas (1492) 5 Éowyn/Faramir (1055) 6 Bilbo/Thorin (996) (12,085!!!) 7 Erestor/Glorfindel (955) (1,158) 8 Aragorn/Boromir (766) 9 Celebrían/Elrond (752) 10 Galadriel/Halbrand (688) (691) 11 Legolas & Thranduil (439) 12 Legolas/Original Female Character (347) (539) 13 Legolas/Thranduil (308) 14 Merry Brandybuck/Pippin Took (305) (488) 15 Thranduil/Original Female Character (294) (653) 16 Legolas/Reader (269) (328) 17 Gimli & Legolas (248) 18 Elrond/Lindir (244) 19 Éomer Éadig/Lothíriel (233) 20 Thranduil/Thranduil's Wife (232) (512) (this tag cracks me up) 21 Celeborn/Galadriel (216) 22 Frodo & Sam (196) 23 Boromir/Faramir (157) 24 Aragorn/Frodo (155) 25 Boromir & Faramir (153) 26 Rose Cotton/Sam (147) (331) 27 Morgoth Bauglir | Melkor/Sauron (145) 28 No Romantic Relationship (128) 29 Elrond/Thranduil (123) (325) 30 Thranduil/Reader (114) (620) 31 Elrohir/Legolas (122) 32 Aragorn & Legolas (119) 33 Original Female Character/Original Male Character (117) 34 Aragorn/Faramir (99) 35 Aragorn/Reader (89) 36 Kíli/Tauriel (80) (2,604!!!) 37 Elrond/Reader (78) 38 Elrond & Maglor | Makalaurë (75) 39 Haldir of Lothlórien/Legolas (71) 40 Thorin/Original Female Character (68) 41 Merry Brandybuck & Pippin Took (82) 42 Denethor II/Finduilas of Dol Amroth (80) 43 Elladan/Elrohir (78) 44 Haldir of Lothlórien/Original Female Character (77) 45 Boromir/Original Female Character (70) 46 Bard the Bowman/Thranduil (67) (1,727) 47 Bilbo & Frodo (64) 48 Minor or Background Relationship (60) 49 Elladan & Elrohir (58) 50 Éomer Éadig/Faramir (57) 51 Elrond/Ereinion Gil-galad (72) 52 Éomer Éadig/Reader (59) 53 Celebrimbor/Sauron (55) (783!!!!) 54 Fingon | Findekáno/Maedhros | Maitimo (51) 55 Éowyn/Gríma Wormtongue (48) 56 Other Relationship Tags to Be Added (48) 57 Celebrimbor/Talion (Shadow of Mordor) (47) 58 Frodo/Faramir (46) 59 Arondir/Bronwyn (46) 60 Elrond/Legolas (45) 61 Arwen/Éowyn (52) 62 Aragorn/Éowyn (49) 63 Glorfindel/Original Female Character (48) 64 Legolas/Original Character (43) 65 Aragorn & Elrond (39) 66 Thorin/Reader (37) 67 Elendil the Tall/Tar-Míriel (34) 68 Legolas/Original Male Character (33) 69 Aragorn & Boromir (33) 70 Elrond & Elros Tar-Minyatur (32) 71 Durin IV & Elrond (37) 72 Ecthelion of the Fountain/Glorfindel (32) 73 Legolas/Harry Potter (30) 74 Original Character/Original Character (29) 75 Haldir of Lothlórien/Reader (29) 76 Glorfindel/Legolas (27) 77 Boromir/Reader (27) (85) 78 Legolas/Tauriel (26) 79 Elrond/Erestor (26) 80 Boromir/Legolas (26) 81 Frodo/Rose Cotton/Sam(25) 82 Diamond Took/Pippin Took (23) 83 Thorin/Thranduil (23) (723) 84 Sherlock Holmes/John Watson (22) (48) lol 85 Thranduil/Original Character (21) 86 Boromir/Théodred (21) 87 Éomer Éadig/Legolas (21) 88 Merry Brandybuck/Éowyn (20) 89 Aragorn/Original Female Character (20) 90 James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers (19) 91 Éomer Éadig & Éowyn (25) 92 Elrond & Glorfindel (22) 93 Éomer Éadig/Original Female Character (20) 94 Sean Bean/Orlando Bloom (18) 95 Éowyn/Legolas (18) 96 Erestor & Glorfindel (18) 97 Sean Bean/Viggo Mortensen (17) 98 Frodo/Merry Brandybuck (17) 99 Fëanor | Curufinwë/Nerdanel (17) 100 Elladan/Glorfindel (17)

101 Éowyn/Tauriel (20) 102 Frodo/Boromir (17) 103 Isildur/Valandil (17) 104 Elrond/Glorfindel (16) 105 Aragorn/Elrond (15) 106 Legolas & Original Female Character (14) 107 Lindir/Reader (14) 108 Elrond/Original Female Character (14) 109 Arwen & Elrond (14) 110 Elladan/Legolas (13) 111 Arathorn II/Gilraen (16) 112 Aragorn/Haldir of Lothlórien (16) 113 Galadriel/Sauron (16) 114 Elrond & Ereinion Gil-galad (14) 115 Human/Orc (13) 116 Sauron/Original Female Character (13) 117 Aragorn & Gimli & Legolas (13) 118 Witch-King of Angmar/Reader (13) 119 Bungo/Belladonna Took (12) 120 Frodo/Original Female Character (12) 121 Elendil the Tall/Reader (17) 122 Fíli/Kíli (15) 123 Frodo/Legolas (14) 124 Fíli/Original Female Character (13) 125 Ratbag the Coward/Talion (Shadow of Mordor) (13) 126 Estella Bolger/Merry Brandybuck (12) 127 Elladan/Elrohir/Legolas (12) 128 Celebrimbor & Talion (Shadow of Mordor) (12) 129 Loki (Marvel)/Thranduil (12) 130 Imrahil/Legolas (12) 131 Orlando Bloom/Viggo Mortensen (15) 132 Tom Bombadil/Goldberry (12) 133 Halbarad/Maglor | Makalaurë (12) 134 Frodo/Merry Brandybuck/Pippin Took (11) 135 Goldberry/Lady of the Blue Brooch (11) 136 Celebrimbor/Narvi (11) 137 Sauron/Reader (11) 138 Beren Erchamion/Lúthien Tinúviel (10) 139 Erestor/Reader (10) 140 Aragorn/Arwen/Boromir (10)

[theother-victoria]

Thank you everyone for the overwhelmingly positive feedback on What Once Was! I wasn’t expecting it to be that popular but since it is, I wanted to share some of my thought process and where I took inspiration for some of the scenes.

@snobwaffles tagged as u requested <3

For starters, I really enjoyed how the Hoyoverse writers didn’t give Scaramouche a typical redemption arc. I know many people were saying it was one and it did feel like one, but you take a closer look at the writing and realize it isn’t one because of one key difference: he is not forgiven by anyone. Part of it is due to the erasure of himself from Irminsul and the fact that those he needs to apologize to are dead 💀 ok well maybe Kazuha and the Kamisato siblings but we’ll see how their future interactions go.

This is debatable because redemption arcs are inherently a personal thing (to the character) and I could delve into a whole analysis on the quest and his character, but the most important thing in regards to “What Once Was” is that rather than “redemption,” “acceptance” is a better word for his development. I went through great pains to ensure (Name) did not come off as forgiving or disdainful after finding out the truth because a.) the former feels rather cheesy and for a story that focused on him rather than the reader, it would feel cheap and b.) the latter is a disappointing and unrealistic response in that situation.

Rather, I wanted them to be understanding. They empathize with the pain he’s gone through and understand his past self’s actions, but that doesn’t necessarily equate to forgiveness.

If you read closely, you’ll notice that (Name) never says “I forgive you” to him. The most they say is “why should I abandon you?” because they understand that he is trying to change himself for the better and that is enough to accompany him for the rest of his journey.

There’s a bit more about the ending (where I took specific lines from, etc) but that’ll be at the end of this post.

(Explanations for the rest of the story utc broken down by region)

act i: mondstadt

There’s not too much to discuss in this one tbh 💀 Mondstadt is relatively straightforward in comparison to the other two regions but there’s still a couple of Easter eggs hidden here and there.

For the descriptions of Mondstadt and the rest of the nations, I just opened up the game and described what I was seeing to the best of my abilities- it took me an embarrassingly long amount of time to do so 💀

The first place (Name) and Ena go to is Thousand Winds Temple and I chose it for the sole reason that it was where Scaramouche made his first appearance in the “Unreconciled Stars” event. The historical significance of it also aligns perfectly with Akademiya (Name) doing their research at the time. Starsnatch Cliff, the next location he brings them to is also a popular getaway for couples in Mondstadt, so I added that for a cute romantic touch.

Did you catch the reference to Kaeya at Angel’s Share? How about Venti upon entering Mondstadt? There’s cameos from other characters throughout the entire story- did you catch them all?

Their last stop in Mondstadt- the top of the cathedral- is a reference to Amber’s birthday art actually! It was that one chibi art of her and the traveler sitting atop the church and Amber pointing out how a perfect view of all of Mondstadt could be seen.

act ii: liyue

I was writing Liyue when the Lantern Rite event was happening so I took extra measures to recreate that familiar festive spirit when describing the harbor and the celebrations. I actually drew upon my own experiences and some of what I’ve witnessed when writing this part, along with stories my parents have told me.

The biggest one is the releasing of the Mingxiao lanterns at the end. While Ena and (Name) write their wishes on them before releasing them, he also mentions how the people of Liyue have a tradition of writing riddles on them. This is a direct reference to a tradition in real life! Ever since the 6th century, festivals celebrating the Lantern Festival in China would have a popular activity of guessing lantern riddles (which became part of the festival itself during the Tang Dynasy), and it’s still done today in major cities such as Chengdu, Hangzhou, and Shanghai.

The releasing of lanterns can also symbolize people letting go of their past selves and getting new ones, so it could also be interpreted that Ena is doing this in order to further let go of who he was and embrace who he is today.

There was also a tradition in the early days where matchmakers would pair young people together in hopes of creating couples and the brightest lanterns were symbolic of good luck and hope so interpret that as you please 🤭

act iii: inazuma

This is where the bulk of the symbolism lies and also the chapter that gave me the biggest headache

The Statue of the Omnipresent God in Inazuma City which they pay a visit to early on clearly doesn’t look like the Shogun. Ever since Inazuma came out, there’s been a theory going around that the statue is meant to be Istaroth, the God of Wind and Time, especially with the Eye of the Storm necklace it has. It’s the theory that’s the most credible especially after Act 2 of Shogun’s story quest with the lore drop of Istaroth helping to get the Sacred Sakura Tree planted and it’s who I had in mind when writing it (the rhetorical question of who it’s supposed to be), but there’s also other theories out there.

The ringing of a bell at a Shinto shrine is meant to alert the gods to your wishes. In that sense, Ena is basically asking for his mom’s help 💀

I googled what the term “prodigal” meant and by extension, “prodigal son” and I got some interesting results. A prodigal son/daughter is someone who leaves home and behaves recklessly, but later makes a repentant return. Scaramouche definitely fits the former part, but he hasn’t really made a repentant return unless you count the Traveler whooping his ass, much less to Inazuma where after the developments of the archon quest, really wouldn’t serve much purpose because no one of importance would remember him. The Biblical parable of the Prodigal Son is similar. A son receives his inheritance (is being the Shogun’s creation a form of inheritance in terms of exalted status?), travels to a distant country (Snezhnaya, Mondstadt, Sumeru, basically the rest of Tevyat), wasted all his money in wild extravagance, becomes desperately poor (his humiliating defeat in Sumeru), returns to his father, and is received with open arms.

He fits the definition quite well, but it’s clear he’s not quite done with his journey as there’s still parts of the definition that he hasn’t met yet. Ena has definitely moved past the leaving home and behaving recklessly part, but he hasn’t made a repentant return home yet, which is what I wanted to write in the Inazuma chapter.

The ending of the archon quest ends with him remarking that Nahida seems to have his whole life planned out for him, which made me wonder what he would do after owning up to the consequences of his actions and is what served as the basis of this story. Inazuma is where I really got to explore this idea, especially when returning to Tatarasuna that is the ultimate manifestation of his guilt. This is the part that is meant to represent his repentant return home, but unlike the Biblical definition, he does not return home to his father (mother). But similar to the Biblical definition, he is welcomed back with open arms- in this case, the ghosts of the residents of Tatarasuna. In that sense, the Tatarasuna arc represents the end of his journey as the prodigal son and now, he is free to become who he wants.

act iv: sumeru

Nahida was… surprisingly hard to write despite only having a few lines. It took some input from others to get her personality down just right. The smart cookie line is probably my favorite one <3

The voicelines that (Name) hears when witnessing Ena’s memories are the same ones he heard when he was recovering them, but I also added some from Dottore and his character teaser + the iconic “are you dead or just stupid” line.

For the ending scene, I actually took reference from two fanmade comics. For the “What do you do with a broken doll” lines, I took that from @/4dango’s (twt and insta) comic titled “Kagome Kagome” and expanded on the idea that perhaps starting over is the best idea sometimes. @/emaiiyaru’s (insta) comic “atoning for my (your) sins” was where I derived the idea of letting go for the sake of your happiness from. I saw their comics early on and combining the two formed the ending I was working toward for three months.

Anyway, those were thoughts and inspirations as I was writing that behemoth of a fic. I hope you enjoyed reading this and learned a thing or two in the process!

[trailblczed]

Caelus likes hanging out in March's room. It's cozy, comfortable, and provides the added bonus of hanging out with his best bud. He also appreciates the.. uh.. what's the word... not aesthetic.. the vibe.. the design? Interior decorating? Ain't something he knows as he doesn't have a room of his own yet, not that he's complaining. Again, he gets to hang out with his family by sleeping in their rooms or just out in the parlor car with Pom-Pom chatting to him every now and then---- Back to the point! Caelus enjoys relaxing with March, in her room.

And that's what he's doing-- in the pinkette's space, sitting on one of the "bag chairs" (he forget's the name [shocker /j]) on the ground, half sprawled out as he stops mid-stretch when something on his phone screen catches his attention.

He was scrolling through that website that Guinaifen made for the Ghost Hunters, just to keep tabs on things- you know, typical Nameless stuff-- before he notices that there's a whole new section on the site. A tab titled "Jarilo VI". Huh.. Guess that whole introducing the galaxy to the home of the Preservation worked out extremely well. Probably because of Luka's popularity after the War Dance, and probably because Caelus' excellent manager-ing skills while talking to the press (aka Little Gui and almost only Little Gui- listen he still is nervous about interviews [No he has not forgotten the impromptu "Meet The Hero of the Xianzhou and Nameless" live stream Guinaifen.]).

Stay on track Caelus! There is a new section on the site- for Jarilo. Yippie tourist activity and economy recovery is a go! The silver clicks on the tab, curious as to what people have to gossip over about the snow covered planet. One of the very first articles on the page talks about some man who's frequently there asking for aid, and going on a conspiracy rant about how people are being replaced by fakes. The tiniest blip of self-doubt nips his mouth Is That What I am.. A Doppelganger? STOP.

The lad keeps reading, only slightly disturbed by some of the comments he skims through (he's honestly seen worse) while trying to get a grasp of whatever the commotion seemed to be- or what new "haunted spot" was discovered. Some even say that when they ask the Silvermane Guards about this fence blocking off an alley way that the guards adamantly deny that said alley even exists. He doesn't think the guards would lie over something like that- if anything they'd be already investigating-- Especially if Bronya or Gepard heard about it.

Something about the whole thing doesn't sit right with him, aside from the fact that he's used to using this website to find and track down ghosts and "magical" occurrences.. But that was on the Xianzhou Luofu.. with Heliobi as the cause of such phenomina. Surely no Heliobi just.. tagged along with any Xianzhou visitors to Jarilo.. Right? Gyah--! He has to check it out, but he would at least have had the Ghost Hunting Squad with him to check it out. Now he isn't afraid of a heliobus causing chaos, but he doesn't like them causing problems that might negatively impact Jarilo's recovery. Plus the lad has been told repeatedly that he should not go off on an adventure on his own (even if he tells someone where he's going or what he's doing).

Totally not unnerved by the idea of some other heliobus pulling another stunt like the one Cirrus did with the whole soul sucking and multiple instances of body possession--- nope. Not traumatized or terrified of that at all! Maybe he can talk March into going with him to investigate, if nothing else. It kind of is their job as Nameless--- sort of. It's not stellaron related, but still!!

❛ Hey, March. ❜

Lad calls out gently and calmly, not wanting to alarm her by suddenly speaking up after not talking for a good while. A hand rolls towards himself in a beckoning motion to request the lass to come to him. Even turns his device's screen in her direction for an easier viewing.

❛ Come and check this out- Apparently there's some sort of teleporting fence in Belobog. A lot of people are saying all kinds of stuff about it.

.. Did you ever notice some fence that had a panicked guy behind it spouting out conspiracy theories while we were there..? ❜

a story featuring @mrch7th

☆ spooky test to see who is the bravest

【 swirl commission ── belobog's mysterious back alley 】

[destielfanfic]

Destiel Fic Starter Pack

Never watched Supernatural but wondering what all the hype is about? Then this is the post for you. If you have been on tumblr for some time or just from November 5, 2020, you may have seen a gif set or two or a hundred with destiel aka Dean and Castiel from Supernatural. @fandom​ even made a Destiel Is Canon post with short overview of basic facts! Are you interested but have no idea where to start? We know, we know. Life is hectic, 2020 is taxing and Supernatural has too many episodes to watch. 15 seasons and 327 episodes to be precise but who’s counting? Say no more, we got your back, fam!  You don’t need to have ever watched SPN to enjoy the fics on this rec post.

For fans who have never watched SPN, some basic facts - 1x01 starts with Dean Winchester (26 yo) professional monster hunter, picking up his brother Sam (22 yo), student at Stanford, and going on a one off monster hunt. For the next 3 seasons they travel around the country in their black Impala 67 hunting monsters, saving people. Castiel, Angel of the Lord and the multidimensional wavelength of celestial intent, arrives in 4x01.The rest is shipping history. Check this 36 min YT video, The Story of Dean and Castiel  by deansbansee with all the best destiel scenes from S4-15. And now, fics!

All title links go to our fully tagged reviews.

1. If you want to read fics that are set in Supernatural universe but are not canon specific, your best bet is pre season 4 (our tag) and solo hunter Dean (our tag) fics where young Dean meets Castiel differently from the show, and fics that are very loosely tied to a specific season. And, if you’ll decide to watch the show later, you still won’t be spoiled!

A Distant Mirror by zatnikatel [NC-17, 14,700 word count, time travel, humor, smut, posted 2013]

Ad Astra - latin; “to the stars” by nhixxie [T, 17,400 word count, Castiel is a Star, posted 2013]

Broadway Musical by Griftings [M, 12,400 word count, humor, Heavenly Host, posted 2014]

Carnival Oasis series by violue [NC-17, 47,000 word count, 10 works, creature!cas, posted 2016-20]

Convenient Husbands by Annie D (scaramouche) [NC-17, 39,000 word count, garuda!cas, hurt comfort, posted 2012]

Do What Feels Good by catchclaw & cymbalism [NC-17, 12,500 word count, smut smut smut, posted 2014]

Everyone Is Trying to Get to the Bar by balder12 [NC-17, 8,400 word count, true form!cas, posted 2012]

Good One’s Gonna Be by remmyme [NC-17, 37,000 word count, professor Cas, posted 2017]

Kiss You When It’s Dangerous by zoemathemata [NC-17, 58,000 word count, FBI agent Cas, posted 2012]

Professional Couple Only by saltyfeathers [M, 37,000 word count, pretend boyfriends on a case, posted 2015]

The Request by cloudyjenn [T, 36,000 word count, wing!fic, posted 2012]

Some Assembly Required by narrow_staircase [M, 47,000 word count, student Cas, posted 2016]

Unknown Quantities by xylodemon [NC-17, 8,600 word count, fluff, posted 2014]

2. If you don’t want to bother with Supernatural canon at all, then you are still in for a treat. With 92,500 fics (December 12, 2020) and counting, destiel is currently the biggest ship on AO3. Destiel fics cover a lot of popular tropes and kinks but some are more popular than others among destiel fans. Angst, miscommunication, exploration of Dean’s low self esteem, Cas’s rusty people skills and general otherness are a staple of AU fics. But also exploration of one’s sexuality - internalized homophobia, coming out, bisexuality and asexuality are common themes.

All the Way by cadignan [NC-17, 81,000 word count, college AU, posted 2013]

Cinderwings by bendingsignpost [M, 182,000 word count, wing!fic, masquerade ball, posted 2017]

Kiss the Baker by ltleflrt [NC-17, 111,000 word count, rom com, posted 2015]

Not Part of the Plan by Annie D (scaramouche) [NC-17, 338,000 word count, 8 works, arranged marriage, posted 2013-18]

Oh What A Beautiful City by moosefeels [M, 27,200, a/b/o, omega Cas, arranged marriage, posted  2014]

Passing Ships by quiettewandering [M, 78,000 word count, not traditional soulmate AU, posted 2017]

Peace and Good Luck To All Men by kismetjeska [T, 32,400 word count, humor, Xmas fic, posted 2013]

The Return Policy by castielrisingabove [M, 32,500 word count, incubus!dean, ace witch!cas, posted 2018]

The Sawdust Men by linoresearch [NC-17, 123,000 word count, dystopian angst, posted 2014]

Scars by lemonsorbae [NC-17, 148,000 word count, young adults - punk!dean, nerd!cas, posted 2018]

Three Funerals and a Wedding by engaldnwouldfall [M, 25,300 word count, friends to lovers, LARPing, posted 2016]

True as It Can Be by whelvenwings [NC-17, 72,000 word count, modern retelling of Beauty and the Beast, posted 2016]

Unsolicited verse by dangerousnotbroken [NC-17, 68,700 word count, 5 works, posted 2016-18, smut smut smut]

Unwritten by porcupinegirl [NC-17, 75,800 word count, a/b/o, alpha/alpha pairing, posted 2015]

3. Lastly, for all fans who watched SPN finale and were left with a raging wtf was that? feeling, here’s 4 fics where Dean and Cas did a better job at restoring Heaven and 2 fics where living with disability was not the end of the world.

The Dance of Inanna by peppermintwind [NC-17, 106,000 word count, humor and adventures, posted 2012]

The Five People You Meet in Heaven by amarillogrande [M, 22,200 word count, Dean arrives in Heaven and meets his loved ones, posted  2014]

Holy!Dean Verse by bunnycaccool [NC-17, 120,300 word count, 5 works, very Dean centric, posted 2011-15]

These Are Not Real Problems by Annie D (scaramouche) [NC-17, 30,500 word count, post godstiel Cas arrives in Heaven, posted 2011]

The Breath Of All Things by kismetjeska [T, 65,400 word count, Dean in a wheelchair, posted 2013]

Kingdom Come by cheesewithmy [M/NC-17, 97,700 word count, Dean has a prosthetic arm, posted 2014]

4. Other fun things to check out. Destielfanfic has been a part of destiel community since 2012, and while we used to be much more active (see this post), we are still kicking around. Please visit our Tags Page and explore all the goodies there. We even have separate tags for every season so you can avoid spoilers when necessary. Some useful links:

Tags Page 

ask about iconic destiel fics for folks who just joined fandom

thematic fic rec lists with art (college, creatures, a/b/o, Hogwarts, Christmas - you name it, we have it)

check out our Pride posts for more fics that explore sexuality  - Pride 2017, Pride 2018, Pride 2019 and Pride 2020.

Still can’t decide which destiel fic to read? Try this brand new random fic generator created by @deanwinchestergender​  (not affiliated with DFF) or try Random button on our blog - top right corner and the sidebar (see this post )

also, check out the latest destiel fanart at our sister blog  @destielfanworks​ - Cas with rainbow wings can be found on #cas with wings tag and fanart that was created after 15x18 can be found on #destiel 2020 and #theysilencedyou tags, we also have a general #season 15 tag.

and here’s another destiel fic rec list for new fans by a destiel fic writer and a long time contributor to our blog, our friend  @no-gorms​ aka Annie D (scaramouche)

And last but not least. Thank you, Elena, @purgatory-jar​, for letting us to use your beautiful art! Link to the original art post. 

If you enjoyed the fic, please drop by the archive (AO3) and let the author know with your comments and/or kudos!  Please support artists by Liking and Reblogging their art posts! And if you found our recs useful, let us know by Liking and/or Reblogging our posts!

To our new followers - our anon is switched off for good but we are happy to answer your fic related asks privately. Don’t be shy and tell us which destiel fic made you into a shipper. We may even make a rec post if we get enough fic suggestions!

[dreamylittlesugarcube]

Hiya Emmy! ❤️ your work, it's all great stuff! I just wanna make a request if you don't mind hehe. Could you maybe make a drabble or oneshot where y/n's on a walk with CY, D.O and Zzar? Just like their recent vlog! Platonic or romantic development, it's totally up to you! I just wanna be on that walk with em too huhu. Tysm! ✨

A Walk to Remember

Genre: Romance, Fluff

Characters: You x Kyungsoo, Wingman Chanyeol, Wingdog Zzar

Warnings: None

Word Count: 2.7k

Summary: You tag along on a walk with Kyungsoo, Chanyeol, and Zzar to film a vlog for Chanyeol’s Youtube channel. Along the way, sparks fly between you and Kyungsoo. With the help of Chanyeol and Zzar, will the two of you walk off together into the sunset?

A/N: Thank you to Anon for the request for a drabble about Kyungsoo and Chanyeol’s most recent vlog! I ended up making this a full-length one shot rather than a drabble because I liked the prompt so much! This came at the perfect time and was so much fun to write. Cheers!

~~~~~~~~~~~

Little big moments.

Small minute decisions that in the moment seem inconsequential, but in actuality, change the course of your life in a grand way.

Looking back, you noted the chain of events that brought you to your current life position: a big move in elementary school away from everything you knew, your mother forcing you to join choir club to socialize, meeting your best friend, Haewon, in the soprano section, learning Korean and gaining an appreciation for Korean culture by spending what seemed like almost all your time at Haewon’s house up through high school, deciding to double-major in photography and Korean in college, Haewon suggesting you take a gap year after graduation to teach English in South Korea, an acquaintance there recommending you for a photography/video gig with a company she worked at.

All of these little big moments lead to you getting hired at SM Entertainment to assist a popular boy group with maintaining their social media presence. You’d jumped at the chance to put your artistic skills to work, using your talents for setting up aesthetic photos and filming engaging vlogs.  Looking back, you pinched yourself almost on the daily just to make sure you weren’t dreaming. Because working for EXO was something of a dream come true, if you were honest. Though you were pretty starstruck at first, you kept it professional at work, always cognizant of the fact that the boys were just regular human beings who just happened to be mega-uber-exceptionally talented. You liked to think you played it pretty cool most of the time, not wanting to let on that you were a huge fan, thankful none of the members would ever see your bedroom back home in the States, covered in EXO posters and album photocards.

You’d gotten the opportunity to work with most of the members, besides Lay who was not currently in Korea. Game streams with Sehun and Chanyeol, mukbangs or crafty vlogs with Baekhyun, “Peaches” content with Kai, song covers with Chen, backstage Hadestown snippes with Xiumin, post-military escapades with Suho, and several attempted cooking vlogs with a begrudging Kyungsoo. Today was relatively easy work in comparison to some of your more recent assignments. A simple walk with an on-military-break Chanyeol, his dog Zzar, and Kyungsoo. Or at least it should have been simple.

You weren’t nervous. Nope. Absolutely not. Liar.

You couldn’t lie, you were nervous. Kyungsoo was your secret crush. You loved listening to his music, his runs and ad libs added so much to many beloved EXO hits, and his sweet solo album gave you butterflies. You admired his kind, quiet personality, serious, but with a hidden comedic talent that made you smile.

But this wasn’t a fan event where you could fangirl over your fave. This was work. And you prided yourself on being professional, even in the face of your ult bias.

So, camera in hand, you made your way to the meeting spot, a park with walking trails and plenty of green space for Zzar to roam. It wasn’t long before you saw a familiar sight loping towards you. A large man dressed in a plaid yellow shirt was being led towards you by a small, white ball of fluff.

“Zzar!” You called out to the snowball, who upon closer inspection, was dressed in a white, striped doggy outfit.

You bent down to give pets to the adorable puppy in front of you, whilst she jumped around excitedly trying to give you happy licks. Looking up, you greeted Chanyeol and made small talk about the format of the video before segueing into chit chat about his recent experiences in a military musical. You enjoyed talking to Chanyeol, he was incredibly easy-going and fun to be around, but also serious when the situation called for it. Plus, you had to admit that his new persona as a dog dad was very endearing.

The only thing that made you feel ill at ease around him was the sneaking suspicion that Chanyeol knew about your secret or you guessed, not-so-secret crush on Kyungsoo. You weren’t sure what could have given you away, but the side glances when you and Kyungsoo were anywhere near each other, not to mention the multiple times he’d sent you on nonsensical “errands” to Kyungsoo couldn’t have been coincidences. You hoped, maybe naively, that with Zzar present, he’d spend more time focusing on her and less time on you and Kyungsoo.

Case in point, the tall man in front of you was all but cooing at the small animal from behind his mask while simultaneously digging around in a large, crossbody bag for a treat. Wanting to make sure you captured all of the cuteness on film, you got your camera ready and hit the record button. Several minutes later, movement from the corner of your eye cued you into the arrival of the final participant.

Kyungsoo made his way towards the three of you, decked out in his characteristic all-black ensemble. Chaneyol called a greeting and set Zzar down, who had started excitedly straining for freedom from his arms once she caught sight of Kyungsoo. Typically a stoic penguin most of the time, Kyungsoo around dogs was anything but. Running cutely forward, Kyungsoo greeted Zzar as if he was speaking to a tiny baby, melting your heart just a little bit further.

Pausing your recording, you waited as Chanyeol and Kyungsoo chatted a bit. You took the time to take in your surroundings, feeling comforted by the trees and greenery around you, something you missed living in the big city. The smell of the plants, especially the green moss, reminded you of blissful days just after a rainfall back in the States. You took in a big breath, enjoying the quiet moment of peace–which was then promptly interrupted by the sound of Zzar barking, clearly communicating to her humans, “Let’s go!”. Not one to argue with the Princess, you quickly filled Kyungsoo in on the plan for the vlog and before long, you set off, film rolling.

Given the mobile nature of a walking vlog, you had predicted that it would involve some creativity in terms of filming–namely a lot of walking backwards hoping that you didn’t fall flat on your face. What you hadn’t predicted were the many hills and stairs at the park. Walking backwards up the stairs while simultaneously trying to keep your camera was surprisingly difficult. Ever the extrovert, Chanyeol chatted merrily about taking Zzar to the vet while Kyungsoo nodded along, dutifully playing out his role as Zzar’s dog walker.

“No, Zzar, don’t go that way,” Chanyeol chastised, when Zzar had tried to roll in the mud. Ever the helicopter parent, he’d picked her up and placed her back on the path, saying “You’ll get it dirty”, referring to her adorable white doggie coat.

Continuing up the stairs, the three continued on, long stretches of silence settling in, which honestly didn’t feel out of place between the two men who’d been friends for more than a decade. You reached up to adjust your zoom and—BAM–you felt your foot slip on the edge of the step, sending you falling backwards. On reflex, you kept a tight hold on your camera with your right hand, while using your free left hand to break your fall. Now on the ground, you felt a stinging sensation on your palm, though thankfully your bum had taken the brunt of the fall. Pressing the pause button on the camera, you stopped to inspect your palm, seeing small pieces of gravel embedded in a good-sized scrape that was starting to bleed slightly.

“Y/N!”, you heard Chanyeol’s voice call out in concern.

You saw Kyungsoo bound towards you, then felt his warm hands on your forearms, lifting you up off the ground.

“Are you okay?” Kyungsoo asked. Once you were back on your feet, Kyungsoo lightly gripped your wrist, his eyes zeroing in on the scrape on your hand.

“Chanyeol–”

“Yeah, I’ve got it,” Chanyeol interrupted before Kyungsoo could finish. Putting Zzar’s leash around his wrist, Chanyeol dug through his back, producing a small first-aid kit and handing it off to Kyungsoo.

“Oh no, please don’t worry about it,” you put up your hands, attempting to reassure the two men, “it’s only a little scrape and I don’t want to hold up filming with my clumsiness.”

“Nonsense,” said Kyungsoo, “your hand looks like it hurts, let’s get it taken care of so it doesn’t get infected.”

With that, the ever-pragmatic Kyungsoo led you up the stairs, stopping a short way up at a small landing, guiding you to sit on the bench there.  Your breath stuck in your chest as Kyungsoo crouched in front of you, placing the first-aid kit carefully beside you. You’d never been this close to him before and you felt a blush suffice your cheeks. You felt the heartbeat in your palm beating fast like a drum, hoping it wasn’t a dead giveaway.

You watched as Kyungsoo produced a bottle of water and then dumped it over your cut in an attempt to clean it and get some of the gravel out. You winced as the water poured over the frayed skin, closing your eyes to ward against the pain. Desperate to focus on something else, you basked in the subtle scent of his cologne that wafted from his body as he moved. The pain gradually lessened and you observed as Kyungsoo pragmatically applied an antibiotic ointment before wrapping your palm in a bandage. As Kyungsoo put away the first-aid supplies, you attempted to make conversation, despite the feeling that you no longer remembered how to make a coherent sentence.

“Kyungsoo–thank you, I really appreciate you taking care of me today. I’m sorry I held up the filming–I’m sure you have a lot of other things to get to,” you started.

Kyungsoo smiled, bashfully rubbing his hand on the back of his neck.

“I don’t have anything–I mean, I couldn’t let you–you’re welcome–I just-just–,” flustered, Kyungsoo attempted to get his words out, “–infections are serious, Y/N, you should go to the hospital once we get done filming–better yet–why don’t you go right now?”

You chuckled at Kyungsoo’s serious words while your heart fluttered in your chest at the thought of his concern for you. You assured him you were fine, not wanting to delay the filming any longer, knowing your boss wanted this completed sooner rather than later.

Mind back on your original task, you glanced around the small space, noting for the first time the absence of Chanyeol and Zzar.

“Chanyeol probably took Zzar to the bathroom,” Kyungsoo supplied after noticing your questioning glance.

With that, a companionable silence settled over the two of you. You appreciated being able to spend time with Kyungsoo, watching the birds and enjoying the soft sounds of nature, without the pressure of constant conversation.

A joyful yip coming towards you announced the return of Zzar and her owner. Chanyeol took in the sight of the two of you sitting side-by-side before coming over to ask about your fall. After assuring him you were fine, you motioned for them to continue on with the vlog. Grabbing your camera from your bag, you missed the look Chanyeol gave to Kyungsoo. What you didn’t miss was Kyungsoo whacking Chanyeol’s arm hard enough that the larger man winced. You looked over at them both questioningly, but the two went about their business like nothing happened.

Back on the path, you came up the hill to a tennis court, Chanyeol noting the presence of another dog friend for Zzar, a big, fluffy Samoyed-looking dog. Zzar showed no fear, sniffing at the larger dog, tail wagging. After that brief rendezvous, Chanyeol showed off some tricks he’d been teaching Zzar, who was very enthusiastic to perform for treats. You traded off filming from behind and from the front, hoping to get a good variety of angles. As the walk came to an end, Kyungsoo held Zzar close as Chanyeoll produced a pack of wet wipes and proceeded to gently cleanse each of Zzar’s tiny paws of mud. Giving Zzar many sweet kisses through his mask, Kyungsoo reluctantly handed Zzar back to Chanyeol, giving her some last head pats.

In truth, you loved seeing Kyungsoo around animals, especially dogs. You wondered what he was like with his own dogs. You imagined he was probably pretty much the same or even more adorable. You remembered watching the video of him filming with his dog, Meokmul, for a fashion spread. You had giggled so hard when he’d done a voiceover for his dog, referring to himself as “appa”. Kyungsoo was so soft around animals and you really loved seeing that cute, squishy side of him. You hoped you’d get the privilege of seeing more of that soon.

As you packed up your gear,  you noticed Chanyeol dip his head toward Kyungsoo as they whispered together. You couldn’t make out too much, but you thought you heard the words, “no”, “later”, and “coffee” in the mix. Chanyeol gave Kyungsoo an exasperated look before declaring he was “beat” and had to get home to give Zzar a bath. Clapping Kyungsoo on the shoulder, Chanyeol bid farewell and walked speedily off, leaving you and Kyungsoo alone.

You bent down to reach for your camera bag, but a hand stopped you.

“No, please, I got it, I’ll carry it for you–you’re injured anyway,” Kyungsoo said as he slung the bag over his shoulder.

“That’s so kind of you, Kyungsoo, but I can’t make you carry my equipment. I work for you,” you said, exasperated. He was Kyungsoo, EXO’s D.O., how could he carry your things when you essentially worked for him?

“You work for me?” he said, eyebrows raised, “All right then, since you work for me, let’s just say I ordered you to let me carry your stuff for you….that sound good?”

Kyungsoo winked, grinning at you as though he had just told the world’s best joke. He was teasing you, you realized. Good lordy, Do Kyungsoo was teasing you.

“Hmmm, I guess that makes sense,” you said noncommittally, not wanting him to realize he was making you flustered.

“Excellent, I’m glad we’re on the same page. Which way do you live? I’ll walk you home.”

You told him your address and he nodded before motioning you to walk along with him. As you walked alongside him, you felt butterflies in your stomach, your body hypeware of his movements. When his hand accidentally brushed yours, you both blushed hotly, quick to pull your hands away as you felt an electric spark of connection.

As the two of you got further and further into the distance, Chanyeol stepped out from where he’d hid behind a tree. Glancing towards the two of you, he felt disappointed that Kyungsoo hadn’t used the opportunities he’d created to make a move on you. Chanyeol had left you two alone while taking Zzar on a “bathroom break” and deliberately made a point to leave first, hoping Kyungsoo would break the ice. He’d known for a while that Kyungsoo had a little crush on you, noting the blushes and soft smiles in your direction that he didn’t normally see in the shorter man. Heck, he’d even sent you on a bunch of bogus errands to Kyungsoo just so Kyungsoo could see you more often. He didn’t think you’d noticed, realizing that both you and Kyungsoo were pretty dense when it came to romance. But today, seeing you and Kyungsoo shyly walking home together, Chanyeol had hope for Kyungsoo still.

“Zzar, we did good today, don’t you think? Maybe we’ll have to interfere more often.”

Zzar wagged her tail in agreement. Placing a kiss on her head, the wingman and the wingdog made their way home, satisfied with a hard day’s work.

~~~~~~~

The End!

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my story! If you enjoyed reading, please re-blog so that others can have an easier time finding it. <3

XOXO,

Emmy

[a-edgar-allan-hoe]

Pale Rider

Mando x Reader Part 1

A/N: I was working on this story a long time ago and thought I’d start on it again. Hope y’all enjoy! Reblogs and feedback are much appreciated and let me know if you would like to be added to the tag list. 💕💕💕

Summary: You’re a dangerous wanted fugitive with a hefty price on your head who escaped your home planet from persecution and picked up the job of being a bounty hunter. To keep yourself away from the eyes of those after you, you were currently hiding out in a small planet mostly ran by outlaws and bandits, that is until another certain bounty hunter lands on your trail.

Warnings: swearing and violence

Part 2 , Part 3

You were always the lone wolf, a ranger who wandered planets, a person without a destination. Your occupation was your own, you worked for yourself and no one else, and you preferred it that way. Due to your line of work, you lived plentiful off of bounties and even some quests that were offered to you. But most of it came from assassinations, which was one thing you never admitted to being proud of. You were an excellent marksman, if not one of the best, but your morals meant more than the money and caused you to be very selective over what hits you were willing to take, choosing to only go after the truly guilty ones. Because of this, you refused to be part of the Guild and turned down many requests in the past offering a great sum of money. You weren’t exactly very popular with the Guild since they considered you to be an undisciplined rogue who ignored the rules and had no right doing what you did, so you stayed on the low and made an effort to avoid running into any of their members.

Due to your distant past, you’ve felt that being invisible was better than being seen. Which is another reason why you did what you did and avoided as much interactions as possible. Knowing people and forming relationships was just a way to tie you down and keep you in a cage, an obligation and somewhat a burden. Acquaintances were fine but heavens forbid that formed into an actual relationship. People have expectations and you wanted none of it, not again at least. Not to mention you were severely betrayed by people you were supposed to trust. If there was another thing you were known for, it was for being a charmer, you knew just what words and tone to use to get yourself out of any situation. But you were also known for your ruthlessness. And if the time came where words did not work, your blasters did most of the talking. But ever since being on the run and escaping the planet you once called home, your life drastically changed and it had never been the same since.

You were sitting by yourself at a local cantina, at a table in the farthest and darkest corner of the tasteless place, away from the rest of its occupants. You had just finished tackling a bounty and it wasn’t an easy one, the bastard had left a few bruises and scrapes so you felt like winding down. Thankfully, you were lucky enough to come at a time where the place wasn’t so rowdy and filled with egotistical idiots making a mess and fighting each other for petty and immature reasons.

You had your head propped up lazily by your gloved hand as you stared down at your glass of liquor, swirling it around and watching the ice mix with the contents and clinking every time it hit the edge. You were starting to wonder why you even came here in the first place. You weren’t much of a drinker and you never liked the bitter taste but something about it made you always reach for a glass. In all honesty, you were just ready to go back to your ship and pass out on your bed. One thing was for certain and it was the fact that you were bored and exhausted beyond your mind. You tried to focus on the cantina music in the background, hoping it would help keep you awake while forcing to keep your eyes open. But the warmth of the cantina and your cloak that was draped around your shoulders, falling over your arms and torso to provide extra comfort, was not helping.

You rarely ever let your guard down like this and this was not a good thing. The place was already sketchy as it was with all the bandits and thugs that would come through.

A group of footsteps were heard approaching your table, each one in a different tempo than the rest, the sound making you snap yourself back into a conscious state. You straightened up against the leather seat once you caught sight of a thug walking up to you, followed by his pathetic little gang of 4.

Ugh, what now? You thought to yourself, rolling your eyes behind your helmet.

You watched carefully for a moment as one of his men made an unwanted advance towards one of the waitresses, grabbing her bottom and turning her around to try and force a kiss on her. The waitress shrieked at the act and squirmed in his grip, pushing away at his chest to escape. The thug laughed at her before loosening his grip, his reptile-like eyes following her as she freed herself from him with tears in her eyes, humiliated, before rushing off to the side in fear where the other workers were.

Why that little shit. You just got to this planet and you already had to deal with assholes.

The leader stopped at the edge of your table, glaring at you while his goons surrounded your booth, blocking off all forms of an exit. Slyly, you slipped your hand down underneath the table, gripping your blaster that sat at your hip with your finger hovering over the trigger, ready for any sign of attack.

“You’re in my seat.” The leader grunted at you with his burly arms crossed across his chest, a scowl on his face as he bared his yellowed, troll like teeth against his grimy scaley green skin.

During this exact moment, you thanked the maker you were wearing a mask so you wouldn’t have to smell the rancid stench coming off from him. The last thing you wanted was to puke in your own helmet. Who knows who long it had been since the asshole and his goons had bathed.

“Really?” You snarked, your voice distorted through your modulator to make you sound like a man, your voice low and gruff. You adjusted your cape so that it was not covering your arms anymore as you leaned back in the leather cushion, putting your free arm up on the back of the seat while kicking your feet up on the table. “I don’t see your name on it.”

The thug eyed your boots, his eye twitching as he watched the caked up dirt from your soles fall onto the table, the small action infuriating him even more. You were slightly amused at his reaction despite being irritated that he had disturbed your space. Who knew dirt on a table would so much as upset someone that probably hadn't bathed in moons.

“Listen here you little brat.” The man slammed his clawed hands down on the table, causing everyone in the cantina to look over to see what was causing all the ruckus. “Move, or else I’ll break every little bone in your bounty hunter body before picking my teeth with it.”

His goons laughed at the statement, their laughs echoed against the stilled silence of the cantina as they enjoyed the opportunity to bully yet another person around, reveling in the moment and obviously getting off on this sort of attention. The ring leader stared you down with a smug smirk on his face, thinking he scared you shitless and that you might succumb to this sort of threat.

“………..no.” You let out, your voice matching the same stoicism in the details of your helmet.

The goons’ laughter died down from hearing your answer, each of them intently watching their boss’s face contort into anger and anticipating what his next move will be.

“That’s it!” The leader growled between gritted teeth before lunging out at you.

Swiftly, you grabbed his bulky arm with your left hand, twisting it to a certain angle and breaking his elbow, the move making him let out a pained scream. With your right hand you grabbed your blaster and shot him in the head in a quick blast of orange before tossing him to the floor. You glanced over to see that one of the goons had pulled out his blaster and blasted him before he could even pull the trigger at you. After watching their members fall down dead, the rest of the gang tried to charge you, their eyes flared and their teeth gritted in rage. You kicked the table over, making them back up while you jumped over it. One of the goons tried to grab you so you kneed him in the groin before grabbing his head and snapping it. You shot another one and while the last remaining one tried to run away you used your free hand to pull out your knife from your thigh strap and throw it at him, lodging it right in his knee and making him fall to the floor.

All eyes of the local civilians in the cantina were glued to you as you stepped over the bodies, casually walking over to the goon you threw your knife at. You stood there and tilted your head at him, recognizing him as the one who assaulted the woman while you watched him crawling on the ground, leaving a trail of blood on the floor from his wound as he went, unaware of your presence.

Pathetic.

A sigh escaped your lips as you crouched down next to him to grab his attention. The man took one look at you being so close and gasped in fear before struggling to move faster.

You wrapped your fingers around the hilt of your knife, twisting it in the flesh of his knee before yanking it out. The goon screamed at your action before his limbs finally gave away, laying there, trembling in pain.

No one dared to interfere you now. Not when you had taken out 4, soon to be 5 men twice your size.

“You shouldn’t have done that to the poor woman.” You spoke, now you were the one looking down at him.

The man turned to look at you, laughing while he did it and flashed his blood stained teeth. He glared up at you with a disgusting grin that made your stomach turn. “Aye, and I enjoyed every second of it.”

Your blood boiled at his remark, your knuckles turning white underneath your glove from gripping your blade.

How dare he.

He laughed again, knowing he got under your skin from the way you clenched your weapon and started breathing. The air around you at the moment was visibly tense as everyone lingered quietly in their seats, waiting to see what you would do next. You’ve had enough of him.

The man let out a hiss as you grabbed a fistful of his hair between your gloved fingers, lifting his head up so you could speak to him in his ear.

“And now you’ll die for it.” You whispered through clenched teeth before shoving your knife in his head.

Taking your knife back out of his skull, you wiped the blood off on his clothes before sticking it back in your strap while standing back up.

The occupants of the cantina looked away and returned to their food and conversations, not wanting to meet the visor of your helmet as if you could shoot lasers through it. They thought that the simple act of even looking in the direction of this strange outsider would be considered an offense after the way you took care of the local gang. Some of them even had disgust written on their faces from the way you handled the thugs while others had a faint hint of a smile that exhibited their relief.

You walked over to the owner of the cantina who stood behind the counter, his eyes glued to the glass he was wiping in his hands.

“You uh, you handled yourself pretty well over there.” The old man laughed uneasily, not seeming to meet your eyes as if he were afraid to offend you while he followed your movements, wondering what in the worlds you were about to do.

You didn’t respond to the statement as you fished into the pocket of your pants, pulling out some credits from the small suede pouch you had and placing them in front of him.

The owner looked at the credits laid out on the table for him, obviously confused from the way his brows knit together before looking up at you.

“But, but you already paid for your drink.”

“I know. It's for the mess I made.” You gestured to the dead bodies that were still spread out on the ground.

The owner followed your gesture before looking back up you, relief painting his features once he realized you meant no harm. “Oh. But please sir, it’s not necessary. In fact, I should be the one thanking you. Ever since that gang showed up here in our small town, it’s been near chaos. Please, keep your credits. In fact…”

You watched him with a raised brow as he grabbed a pouch from his pocket and tried to hand you some credits. “Take this as well.”

You eyed the credits in his outstretched palm, pursing your lips before letting out a sigh. “I can’t take this. You didn’t hire me.”

“Please sir, take it. As a token of our gratitude. You saved our little town that I’m afraid no one cares about.”

“Yeah well you need it more than me.” You expressed. "I only accept credits for jobs I am hired to do."

You kept your own pouch in your hand, nodding a farewell at the old man before making your way over to the waitress who was assaulted. You saw her hiding away in a corner, her small frame held in the arms of her friend as tears ran down her cheeks while her coworkers tried to comfort her.

The workers glanced up at you standing nearby before moving away, allowing you to approach closer. You stood there carefully, looking down at her fragile frame and gently placing a hand on her shoulder. The poor woman jerked in reaction before looking up you, her teary eyed filled with confusion.

“It’s okay.” You tried to say softly, hoping it would come out sounding compassionate but your helmet didn't help much with how you conveyed your tone. Instead, your voice came out sounding less loud. “It’s alright.”

The young woman looked behind you, her eyes glancing at her attacker that was now dead before looking up at you with a weak smile. “Thank you.” She sniffled as she wiped her nose with a handkerchief. “Thank you for getting rid of them.”

“Here.” You held your hand out to her and placed some of your credits in her palm. “Take this. Buy yourself something, food or anything. Preferably something to protect yourself with…..and uh.....learn how to use it.”

The woman stood there in shock, staring down at the credits that now sat on the blue skin of her palm. She cracked a small smile, holding back more tears. “Thank you. Thank you so much.”

"Keep your chin up." You muttered, pressing your fingers delicately under her chin before she caught you by surprise by wrapping her arms around your torso. Your body tensed up at her reaction as you stood there, not really knowing how to react before giving her an awkward pat on the back. She pulled away from the hug and smiled timidly at you, her cheeks tinted as she placed a tender kiss to the side of your helmet. The action made you widen your eyes, feeling your cheeks heat up inside your helmet to the point where you swore they would melt through the metal.

You shook off the feeling and the nerves, nodding at her and saying a polite goodbye before walking out of the cantina, ready to go back to your ship and wash the sweat off your face and escape the presence of everyone. Due to your quick haste to get out, you failed to notice a shadow, a silhouette of a person hidden behind a suit of armor that sat at the back of the cantina tucked away in the other corner. Nor did you catch the glint of the metal helmet that sat on his head, of the Mandalorian that had been watching your every move ever since you stepped foot into the building.

[bubblyhoney]

cheeky

warnings: lAnGuAgE, suggestive reference, a buffy quote

tags: sapnap x reader

words: 1248

A/N: first fic about our beloved snappy in the books! hope you guys like. :)

-

“God, I love corporate America,” you sigh, stopping in your tracks. Sapnap nearly runs into you with the cart and makes a squeak noise, prompting you to turn.

“What does that even mean?” He grumbles, maneuvering past you and towards the produce section. You trail after him, swiping a carton of oatmeal raisin cookies on the way and dropping it into the front basket of the cart.

“It means if Publix was a person I’d suck their—,” is all you get out before he’s slapping a hand over your mouth.

“There are children.” He looks genuinely concerned and you laugh, mouthing at his hand behind your mask. It drops to the handle.

“Don’t be such a grumpy pants, baby.” You sling an arm around his wide shoulders, slumping into his side as he shuffles forward.

“I don’t want to be awake right now, much less grocery shopping.” His voice is slightly more nasally right now, attributed to his inability to remember to take his allergy medicine. “I’m only doing this for you.”

For someone who just said something cute, he looks awfully displeased.

“Such a good sport,” you coo, rubbing your head at his shoulder.

“Where’s the list?” He straightens and pats at his pockets.

“I have it!” You pull it from your back pocket and pass it to him, supplying a slightly... chewed pencil as well. He gives you a weird look but moves to cross off number 6: cookies. An essential.

“You wanna tag team this?” He suggests and you raise your eyebrows, wiggling them. “Jesus, Y/N,” he sighs, like being your boyfriend is the hardest job in the world. “Just go get the milk and eggs while I get the produce. Can you do that?”

You pout under your mask. “I guess,” you say, and trundle off towards the dairy aisle, Sapnap's borrowed slippers slapping on the tile.

When you return, a loaf of whole grain bread tucked under your arm and a carton of 12 grade A’s in one hand, Sapnap is decidedly happier. In fact, he’s humming the Elmo song. Weird choice, but you don’t question it as you drop the items down carefully into the cart.

“What’re you eating?” You ask, leaning in to sniff him. He tugs down his mask and pops a green grape into his mouth, pulling it back up as he chews obnoxiously loud. “Pass me one, daddy.”

He chokes, coughing once and swallowing, before tugging a grape from the package in the cart and passing it to you.

“You have to stop doing that,” he mutters, but grabs your hand in his and places it around his shoulders. You hum, chewing, and lean into his neck.

“What else is on the list?” Your voice is soft, much calmer and casual after his change in attitude. The paper emerges from his pocket and he uncrumples it, eyes scanning over once.

“Saran wrap, pink lemonade, sliced turkey, tortillas, mozzarella, lettuce—oops.” He scribbles lettuce out with the pencil. “Um, jalapeño chips, sparkling water, and frozen burritos. Of the Hot Pocket variety, specifically.” He passes the list over to you and pulls another grape to toss it into his mouth. “I think we should invest in a cheesecake too.”

“Your brain is so big.”

“Yeah? You like that?” He glances at you and pushes the cart forward with a jerk, mounting it swiftly and gliding past a bubble of teenagers who look on, equally confused and amazed at an adult riding a Publix cart. You shake your head, following slowly after.

“Okay, I’m actually having fun now.” You can see the grin in his eyes as you catch up near the chip aisle. He ducks into the aisle, snagging a bag of jalapeño Ms. Vicky’s and dropping it into the cart.

“Good,” you muse, poking his side. “And how does it feel being the hottest person at Publix at ten at night?”

He shoots you a questioning look but considers your question as he drops another bag of chips onto the lettuce.

“Feels good, actually,” he decides and swings out into the flow of traffic, nearly rolling over the foot of an elderly person. He apologizes quickly and you can just barely see his cheeks flush pink over the hem of his mask.

You two make your way through the list efficiently, sometimes not-so-efficiently taking five minutes to decide if coconut or mango sparkling water is better. Coconut tastes like the smell of the all-purpose spray cleaner at home, but you accede. A thing or two is added to the list: cheesecake, upon his request, and two bottles of aloe vera lube. (“There’s a sale, babe! Would be a crime to not stock up.”) The cashier doesn’t give a second thought to the last items as they scan it, but you two giggle like teenagers.

“Ah,” Sapnap sighs, tugging off his mask and leaning forward to push the airflow of the AC directly at his face. Cool air blasts the interior of your car and you thank every holy being in existence for modern air conditioning.

“Florida sucks ass.” You move your head slowly next to the vent, tilting like a rotisserie chicken. “I can’t believe Dream got you to stay.” Passing him a stick of gum, you shove your own piece into your mouth and slide the middle console closed.

“Me either,” he hums in agreement.

“Good your way, baby?” You ask, shifting the car into reverse and easing back. He mhm’s and you slide out of the parking spot easily. The parking lot is getting busier, however late, and you maneuver between the groups of adults shopping and teenagers loitering near the cart bays.

“Dibs on the AUX,” he announces and reaches for the cord.

“Okay,” you say as Kids by MGMT starts with a flutter of sound. “Price is a kiss on my lips.” Your car lurches to a stop at a red light and you tilt your face towards him expectantly. Sighing, he leans forward and presses a single kiss to your lips. Mm.

“That’s it?” You pout, lip jutting out. He grips your jaw in his hand, only centimeters away, and rubs at it with a thumb.

“You’re a brat, you know that?” he breathes, but kisses you once more (with feeling). You close your eyes and lean into it, tongue slipping between your lips and barely touching his.

A loud honk interrupts you and you jerk away, eyes wide and looking up at the light. It’s green, you realize, raising a hand in apology to the person behind you, and kick the car into gear.

“You haven’t done that since high school,” Sapnap grins and sits back in his seat. You move a hand to his leg, glancing at his face with a similar smile.

“Done what? Kiss you?”

“No.” He rolls his eyes. “Missed a green light while kissing me.”

“Mm,” you agree. “I remember red lights being a popular destination.” Squeezing at his thigh, you slide him a look and watch his cheeks flush. He just shakes his head, leaning on his elbow against the door with his hand on his jaw.

The car idles into a stop and the glow of the red light reflects on the hood of your car. You shift slightly in your seat, raising your eyebrows and giving him a pointed look.

“Don’t even think about it.” He turns towards the window but you catch a glimpse of a smile from underneath his fingers.

Cheeky.

-

A/N: ask or send me some stuff!! requests, rants, anything. :D i don't mind comments either ;)

[thejudgingtrash]

11. “...did you just sniff me?” for percabeth pretty please 🙏🤍🤍🤍

Heya! I’m finally here to come back to this request 😄😄 It took me only a little bit in comparison to other requests, but I'm here!

Also since @percyheartsannabeth, @skaterannabeth and @not-optimistic-petrol-biscuit had asked about fluff. Here you go... Kinda? 😬 Anyway. Here's a monster sneak peek into may I introduce you to my beloved wife? 😋

It took me all day yesterday, but I managed to pump out 11k words. That's a record for a single session in one day (with like two breaks). And yes, that is still not the entire chapter. Here are roughly 9,2k for you to consume!

TW: alcohol, overbearing relatives not minding their own business, a tiny section talking about domestic abuse and Athena and Frederick Chase ain't shit but that's nothing new. Poseidon too, for once. Enjoy!

may I introduce you to my beloved wife?

(*absolutely not proof-read, my bad)

Annabeth sighed. You can do this. You can do this. You’ve already finished the week. Think about the money. Think about the move to California. Push through this day and next week, think about the money and the minute you’ll hand your termination in. She wanted to splash some water up her face, but the makeup that tinted her lips in a luscious rose and added some bronze to her high cheekbones was too expensive to be washed off and hastily reapplied.

It was pre-Dionysus Day, which meant it was merely the calm before the storm. The first sparkling sip of an impending disaster waiting to rollover the roomy Greek villa Percy forced her to stay in. Well not really forced. Forced and bribed her to stay in. That made it sound slightly better. Just think of the one-hundred seventy-five dollars he’s going to transfer into your bank account for your new start in California. I should renegotiate. California is also expensive. Make it two-hundred fifty thousand.

The tall blonde looked at her reflection in the mirror. A young woman full of life was the first thing she had seen in the morning but now she looked tired and annoyed, just how she felt. Something crashed in one of the dozens of rooms next to her and people laughed. Annabeth sighed again. It was the only thing she could do, otherwise she would scream like a banshee, making sure that at least Hermes and Prometheus would check her, if it wasn’t for Percy stuffing socks into her mouth to make her shut up before they got to her. The majority of his Greek relatives had been lovely if not terribly nosy and overbearing. It was the opposite of her family. His was warm and chaotic and for the most part welcoming. Hers? Cold, apathetic, disapproving of everything she did. She had no family in comparison, and neither would she want to compare this wholesome messy bunch to the cold-hearted Athena Pallas and the monster that was Friedrich Chase.

Annabeth respected Hera and Hestia, she definitely side-eyed Aphrodite who was cheating on her husband and she would definitely stay away from Zeus. Crossing paths with him occasionally in the New York office of Atlantic INC. was terrible, seeing him openly be flirty and loosen up during a forced trip was way worse.

This was a bad idea and I have a terrible feeling about this. The burgundy wrap dress that hugged her skin was soft and light but in the Thessalian heat it felt like a sticky cocoon caging her. She wasn’t a beautiful butterfly, ready to burst out and wow everyone. Neither was she a moth drawn to a flame. She was a bug that had been sprayed by Percy with a pesticide, wrapped in toxic chemicals which were slowly dissolving her body, piece by piece.

A knock shoved the horrendous image inside of her head aside. “Yes?” she asked with a firm voice. Too firm with a hint of annoyance, but she was not a professional actress and could not switch her emotions off as she pleased. She was a junior marketing manager for Christ’s sake. Not for much longer. Only two more months…

Percy opened the door. “Are you ready?“ he asked with his usual pleasant baritone reaching her ear.

He wore light linen pants that hugged his legs loosely and a light blue shirt with the first buttons opened up. She could see his defined chest and the swirls of black hair peeking through. The hair was styled into a disheveled curly mess which suited him way better than the gelled back corporate look and he forgot to trim his beard like the day before. Annabeth couldn’t deny what she saw – her tormentor was a very attractive man.

“Do you want to bail?” His sea-green eyes darkened a shade. Worry flashed through them.

Annabeth exhaled sharply for the last time. “I wish I could but then I’d leave you without a fiancé,” she smiled through the pain.

Her glance found her reflection again. The topknot was still intact, and a few strands carefully framed her heart-shaped face. She looked perfect on the outside and she wanted to commit manslaughter in the inside.

“Let’s get over with it,” Percy sighed and stretched his hand out. It seemed like Percy was the one that would rather bail.

Annabeth took it without any complaint. She was the happy girlfriend soon-to-be-wife and holding hands was way better than being forced into kissing him during Sports Day. The Theodoropoulos family truly had planned activity after activity during those two weeks in winter.

“Oh!” Sally peeked into the bathroom and saw her son holding Annabeth’s hand.

“There you are! Is everything okay, mija?” she asked with her sweet Dominican accent and looked at Annabeth.

Annabeth automatically smiled back. Sally was the mother she never had, and it broke her heart crumble by crumble by the sheer charade Percy and she were forced to display for the next six days. Sally Jackson deserved the best. She certainly didn’t deserve being deceived and lied to by her terrible son and his tag-a-long coworker.

“Yes, Percy was just making sure we’re arriving on time.” Annabeth got on her toes and placed a soft kiss on Percy’s stubbled cheek. It tickled but by now she had gotten used to it.

He rolled his eyes, smiled at his mother, nonetheless. Sally’s eyes sparkled and she clapped, clutching her hands tightly. “You don’t know how proud you’re making me, mijo,” she then said teary-eyed.

“You finally found a great girl and she is standing next to you.” Sally wiped a tear away and the awful feeling that sat on Annabeth’s chest and made everything heavier, amplified by a thousand times.

This was way worse than being referred to as the woman that would bear him three to five children presuming with the first one sired on this current vacation by Ares. Yes, Annabeth wanted two children at max, but not definitely now. She was twenty-eight and in the prime of her life! Note: Percy would certainly not be the father of said two children. Unruly blond waves and a mischievous grin blitzed through her head. Pale blue eyes came back from the deepest pit of her memory. Luke. Fuck no, that was even worse than Percy. His betrayal… Annabeth tried to shake the memory off and focused on the ongoing situation in front of her.

Sally truly hoped her son found love and not a quick fling. Oh shit, Annabeth thought and looked up to Percy whose face expressed similar thoughts. His conscience nibbled and guilt flooded his body.

“Mamá,” Percy began and released Annabeth’s hand in order to grasp the older woman’s shoulder.

Sally brushed his large hands off. “No, no! Off you go! You younglings should be downstairs celebrating your reunion with the entire side of Poseidon’s family.”

Annabeth appreciated the fact that Sally was invited and flown out each winter holiday by the Theodoropoulos’. Despite having been divorced from Poseidon for over twenty years, she was still a popular and welcomed guest, not just because of her son’s attachment to the Greek side and his tied division of the Greek family company.

Sally gave each of them a last smile before entering the women’s bathroom. Percy exhaled and pinched his nose. After ten seconds he released the nose and looked back at Annabeth. “Ready?” he asked a final time. Annabeth nodded.

The loud singing, yelling and talking that had been muffled by the bathroom hit her by a tenfold. The place had all the Mamma Mia vibes without the fun singing four days ago. Not anymore, as drunk relatives hit up the shore with loud music and talked loudly in their Pontic Greek dialect.

As the couple descended the stairs and walked through the parlor, a new wave of guests arrived at the same time. Three people that have just entered early adulthood looked up to them. Two men, one blond with a stoic face and bronzed skin, the other was shorter with spiky black hair and a beautiful grin on his lips. The woman next to him was the tallest out of the trio and possessed a high ponytail that would leave Ariana Grande dying out of envy. The dyed lilac hair swung around and nearly reached the middle of her thighs, meaning the hair was even longer without its tight prison on top.

“Thanatos, Zagreus, Megaera!” greeted Percy and gave each one of them a rib crushing bear hug. They looked pleasantly surprised at seeing Percy being accompanied by a pretty woman his age. It seems like the proposal didn’t reach all of the ends of the Greek world.

They fell into a short conversation in Greek and Annabeth smiled politely next to Percy as she fell entirely out of place. The evil Duolingo owl didn’t prepare her for this experience. Neither did her mother bother teaching her at least their Athenian dialect properly. She could introduce herself in Greek, order a beer, say goodbye and that was it. Thank you, Athena. For nothing again.

“Oh, you must be Annabeth,” Megaera eyed her carefully and Annabeth had the feeling that she could split her open with her hands. Weirdly enough, Annabeth was kind of into it. Megaera wasn’t only as tall as Percy but she was clearly the one with the toughest workout regimen as she displayed her muscular legs and defined arms with a short cocktail dress only a few shades darker than her hair.

“Yes,” Annabeth squeaked. She nearly added a ma’am towards the end. Megaera cocked her dark eyebrow. She had an aura that demanded respect.

“Interesting to see the woman who captured Perseus’ heart. It seems that he did develop a good taste after all. Calypso was as pretty as the crescent moon flower but sadly as dull as his corny jokes are.” Megaera’s deep smirk was a stamp of approval as her eyes roamed all over Annabeth.

“Hey!” Percy interrupted and placed a firm hand on Annabeth’s waist, as if he was trying to mark his territory.

“You have your own toys right to your right,” he then added with a playful tone.

Megaera actually laughed and waved dismissively. “That doesn’t mean there isn’t room for more.” A clear offer which left Annabeth’s face turn into a fiery tomato red.

“Anyway, we have some catching up to do,” Thanatos proposed as Zagreus and he silently watched the conversation blossom. He sounded as reserved as he looked.

“Indeed,” Zagreus agreed, surprising Annabeth with a posh English accent. “Father will murder me if we miss out on his moussaka. It’s to die for you need to try it, Annabeth, at least before Hephaestus gets ahead of himself.”

Annabeth laughed. The Theodoropoulos did have their positives. “I will, Zagreus,” she nodded.

“Oh please, if aunt Sally gave her go for you to stay here, you’re as good as family. We’re Than, Zag and Meg for you,” Zagreus offered.

“Annabeth is already my nickname but thank you for the kind offer!”

The three new guests went on to join relatives and friends at the party which seemed to get more chaotic by each passing minute as the volume seemed to increase.

“My cousin Zagreus from my uncle Hades’ side,” Percy explained as the three went out of his sight.

“Are they friends? Or…”

“Pretty sure they’re polyamorous. You know, I don’t know, and I honestly don’t really care, I see Zag once every twelve months at max. Just don’t stick to Meg’s side for too long otherwise she’ll turn you into her fiancé.” Percy’s tone suggested that he was not joking.

“Oh.” Annabeth didn’t know what to think of it.

Percy closed his eyes as if he was making a silent prayer, before his sea-green met Annabeth’s light gray ones. She smelled like lemon with a hint of lavender, instead of roses like normally. Delicious. If it weren’t for the fact that it was Annabeth.

“So, listen. You know I’ve talked about Dionysus Day and how his birthday brings out the worst side of everyone.”

Annabeth nodded as Percy went on to explain.

“Pre-Dionysus Day is basically same with the only exception that my great-grandmother’s house is filled with the entire family. Yes, we’re expected to eat, drink, laugh, drink, dance, drink, reminisce on our past, drink, make fools out of ourselves in order for them to take blackmail pictures and drink some more, but no matter how much they want you to open up… try to control yourself. Everything you say can and will be used against you.”

Annabeth’s stomach started to churn, and her knees slightly gave in. “Look, I’m truly sorry for the mess that I’ve caused,” Percy looked directly into her eyes and tried to ignore the rosy streaks across her flushed cheeks. “And my relatives can be overbearing. But if we manage to stick through this night and the next one tomorrow, we’re as good as done with playing games.”

“Fine,” Annabeth gritted through her teeth. She had agreed to the terms and condition. She didn’t need a reminder of the stupid decision she made two months ago.

“Let’s go.”

She placed her hand on the doorknob that separated the parlor from the huge living room. Percy followed her as she opened the door. A wave of laughter, wine, ouzo, discovered secrets, cigarettes, sweat and fun hit them.

“Oh wow, someone should open a window.” Percy suggested as he coughed. Luckily cousin Metis had the same idea. No, aunt Metis. Or was it Thetis? Why did Percy need to have so many relatives with similar names again?

“Oh, Annabeth, look at you!” Aphrodite had snuck up behind them and surprised the fake couple by hugging each of them and nearly spilling the expensive Greek vintage in her hand on Percy’s shirt. The red alcoholic liquid carelessly swirled in her glass and more than often seemed to want to escape from her clutch.

“Aphrodite, be careful!” Percy reminded her as she dug her fingers into his arm. Her nails were as fake and bought as was the bond between Annabeth and Percy.

“Oh, please cousin, you should learn how to loosen up!” She laughed, but it sounded more like the shrill sound a bird made when it got nearly hit by a car. The high pitch made Annabeth slightly frown.

“Take your girl upstairs and show her all the Zorbas moves you got!” She wiggled her badly overdrawn eyebrows.

Aphrodite had always been the poster child of perfection. She knew how to dress her curvaceous body the right way, she knew how to apply the perfect touches of makeup on her face and she was the most graceful being Annabeth had ever met. Seeing her so disheveled left the blonde American content. It showed that Aphrodite wasn’t one of the gods, she was a mortal mess like they all were. That, and it was kind of funny seeing the abrupt transition from oozing perfection to looking like a rough mess after a couple of glasses of wine.

“If you know what I mean, you two know what I mean, right?”

“Yes,” Annabeth and Percy answered. Unfortunately, they did.

“That reminds me, this is such a pretty dress that you got!” Aphrodite’s eyes widened and she tugged at Annabeth’s sleeve that went slightly over her elbows. “Percy needs to bring me a couple of those the next time he visits. Oh wait! You’re about to marry, Annabeth can take me shopping. I want to visit New York next summer. When was your wedding again?”

Panic filled Annabeth she tried to stutter a lame excuse like they had done the entirety of the stay. Aphrodite’s brown eyes found something else to focus on in the meantime. Her hand went out to poke the tall blonde’s chest as she went on to pull on the thin fabric.

“You should show the men what you got! Free the girls!” Aphrodite yelled over the loud music, pushing Annabeth’s C cup to its limits. “Let Percy stand in the corner with that stupid frown, all jealous and depressed while you’re out on the hunt!”

Percy did not look amused especially since he tried to pull Annabeth away.

“Yeah, just like that!” Aphrodite’s glass pointed directly at his face as Annabeth tried to shove Aphrodite’s fickle fingers aside. “Oh, if I were just a little bit younger and not tied to your cousin…”

“You mean cousins,” Percy corrected and made a step backwards as Aphrodite’s dreamy and drunk dazed focus shifted from Annabeth to him.

“Aphrodite, leave Percy and his future wife alone,” Hera arrived to save the stressed couple and rolled her eyes. “Go harass Hephaestus and try to be a faithful wife for once in your life.”

She still looked like she had a massive stick shoved up her ass by the way she stood entirely straight next to them, but Annabeth appreciated the gesture. If Hera didn’t like Aphrodite much, Annabeth would rather join Team Hera than stand alone by the bleachers and under Aphrodite’s charmspeak. Aphrodite pouted and stomped with her feet twice as if she were a toddler and not a grown woman marching towards her forties. Then she stormed off and ran into the arms of her lover, nother husband to spite her mother-in-law and embarrass her even further.

“Malàka,” Hera cursed and lost her cool for one second, before clearing her throat and focusing on the already tired fake engaged couple in front of her. Not even Hera seemed to be averse from drinking a glass of wine or two. “You two definitely need a drink.”

Annabeth agreed with her for once.

She pointed at the bar behind her, which was managed by Dionysus and his wife Ariadne. The number of relatives ganging up on them and demanding new drinks was frightening. Surprisingly Dionysus kept his cool and shoved drinks in people’s hands at an impressive speed.

“Yeah, let’s get over with it,” Percy sighed and took Annabeth’s hand again.

“Are you okay?” Annabeth asked him. She knew from Thalia that Percy rarely ever drank and that his family was to blame for most of it. Percy seemed stiffer and graver than usual as well. As much as she disliked his jokey nature and easy-going demeanor he displayed at work, she’d much rather have that Percy by her side right now. Dionysus Day and the day before seemed like it was hell on earth for him and walking through it each year must take a toll on him.

“Yeah, let’s just each grab a glass of wine. Let them be happy about me shoving this disgusting stuff down my throat.” He thanked Ariadne as she prepared two glasses of the same vintage Aphrodite seemed to have inhaled earlier.

“Thank you.” Annabeth took her glass and sniffed. The wine smelled sickly sweet with a hint of the bitterness that the fermentation process had left. The glass in her hand weighed surprisingly heavy, not because of the wine itself but because of the golden swirls decorating it. The glass transitioned from the crystal-clear transparency into a deep black. A lyre surrounded by a bigger laurel wreath decorated the middle section and a golden snake was wrapped around the stem. The golden rim gave it a nice finish.

“Into a fruitful night,” Percy darkly mumbled over the music. He was really not looking forward to it, which confused Annabeth immensely. She didn’t understand why he pushed himself through this if he really didn’t like the drinking activities. He surely had his reasons, hence her not starting a fight with him over it. It was his family and their tradition after all.

“Into a fruitful night,” Annabeth instead repeated.

Issuing a weird toast as well. Percy Jackson was clearly not a drinker. Their glasses clinked and each of them took a sip. Thankfully grandma Rhea made sure they were well-fed before the festivities began.

“Fuck,” Annabeth muttered. A fine vintage as well. Not as sweet as she thought, it left a hint of sweet cumin as the lingering aftertaste. Her lipstick left a mark on the glass, but she didn’t bother to care as she took another gulp. The wine was nearly finished. She slowly started to understand why ancient civilizations went crazy after this stuff.

As she looked at her so-called fiancé, she saw that his glass was already empty. A grimace rested on his face as well.

“Err, Percy?”

“What?” The dark brooding look on his face was no more.

“Shouldn’t you take it easy?” Annabeth carefully asked. His eyes narrowed.

“I am,” he stated and cocked his head towards his cousin who was still busy playing the barkeeper but kept an overall watchful glimpse on the guests that flooded the gates.

“Dionysus saw me drink. Most importantly he saw us have a drink. That should be enough for me, but if you want some more, be my guest.” He shrugged.

Annabeth felt that she should probably drag his mopey ass out of the party, but it was way too early to leave. “Fine,” she said and asked Ariadne for a refill. Annabeth went in for another long sip. She should definitely stock her wine cabinet once she was back at her shitty apartment. Before the glass reached her lips again, Hermes snatched it away and chugged the remaining wine.

“Hermes, what the hell?!” Ariadne grabbed the glass and pushed her husband’s cousin away. The bored postman was back with his shenanigans.

“My bad, dear wifey, but I’m on a mission here to abduct sweet Annabeth,” Hermes winked and placed his hands around Annabeth’s shoulders.

“What are you up to?” Out of all of the relatives she’s met so far, Annabeth was convinced that everything Zeus had ever sired was a mistake. Zeus himself was a mistake.

“Can you stop being German and boring for once?” he joked. Annabeth’s eyes narrowed. She did not like this one bit. She turned her head around and saw that Percy had been pulled into a conversation by Hypnos and Morpheus. He had completely forgotten about her. Great.

Hermes guided her through the crowd, towards the middle of the room. They had to dodge chairs, drunk relatives, a sofa, chatty relatives, the coffee table and dancing relatives before they made it.

“There she is!” greeted Achilles the confused marketing manager.

Paris, Helen, Patroclus, Hermes and Achilles stood in a circle around a table. Dozens of shots of all sorts of colors were displayed. Annabeth had a terrible feeling about this.

“What is this and why are you pulling me into this?” Annabeth asked and did not like the mischievous grin they all shared. She wanted to go back home and cuddle with Daedalus on her sofa and push his cat ass out of the way before the next steamy Outlander scene hit the screen. Yes, Annabeth was that much of a single that seeing some on-screen action was the best she could get. She hoped that the mangy cat didn’t bother Thalia all too much while she was staying in Greece. She owed her so much already.

“Well, I stayed in your country,” Paris started. “And they have a weird tradition with ouzo. They don’t drink it the way we do, watered down and slowly at lunch and what not…”

Annabeth was still American for the most part and had nothing to do with Germany. The last time she stayed there was nearly thirteen years ago. She didn’t want to have anything to do with Germany. Friedrich Chase lived in Germany. And she fucking hated Friedrich Chase. Therefore, she hated Germany. Things that would never change. Okay, Hamburg was a cool city and she was glad her father moved to Cologne. Should she feel the urge to travel back to Germany for a week or less, she’d go to Hamburg, take ten thousand pictures, and post them on Instagram the minute before she was boarding her flight back to New York. Helping her to enrage her stupid father was all Germany had to offer.

“Germans do ouzo shots,” Patroclus cut to the chase. “And since you’re the newest member of our family…”

“And German!” Paris and Hermes added simultaneously.

“We’ve decided to play this little game,” Achilles added.

“What’s the name of the game?” Annabeth asked. She was only slightly curious. Emphasis on slightly.

“Last man standing. Oh sorry, ladies. Last person standing,” Hermes corrected himself as he placed four shots in front of each person. That was way too much hard liquor to handle. But if she did Jägermeister bombs in her sophomore year of college without any issues, this should be fairly easy.

“What are the rules?” They all looked at her in silence. No rules. No prize. Just drink.

“Oh wow.” The urge to roll her eyes and walk off came back with a force.

“I think I’m going to pass,” Annabeth said and already turned to her right.

“Why?” Helen asked innocently. “Need your man to look after you? The one who’s having an amazing time back there with his third glass of wine?���

Foul game. Annabeth’s head shot to the right. Helen was right. Percy was laughing and looked like he was having a great time chatting with Oceanus and his wife Tethys. Tethys refilled his glass as her husband and Percy broke into laughter once again.

If that’s the case…

“Fuck it, I’m in,” Annabeth agreed. She swallowed the bait and she knew it. There was no reason why she should feel upset about Percy opening up all of a sudden. He desperately needed it. Why she wished to be a part of that, Annabeth did not know.

“Great!” Helen threw her brown mane over her shoulders and grabbed the first glass.

“Για μας!” they all yelled and chugged the liquor. Gia mas, the Greek toast, was repeated every time and it seemed to brighten the mood, despite resting heavily on Annabeth’s stomach. Her college days were over, but she was glad she resisted coughing repeatedly.

Patroclus clutched his stomach after the second shot, Helen ran out after the third, Paris and Achilles were laughing maniacally after the fourth and Hermes mysteriously disappeared after the first one. Annabeth was the last person standing. She placed the crystalized shot glass back on the table and examined the messes around her. The only thing that had happened to her, were that more golden locks escaped from her bun and her lipstick needed some reapplying as she left marks on each glass.

Annabeth tried to take a step away from the table and felt how the world slightly shifted around her. The fact that she would curse and hate herself for her behavior in just six hours, was something drunk Annabeth gladly put aside. The headaches that definitely would haunt her for the rest of the trip didn’t matter, she won and that was all she cared about.

“Hell yeah!” she yelled as all inhibition faded away, leaving pure and raw life force behind. Unbeknownst to her, Annabeth had moved right into the circle of dancers.

“Perseus, get your bride before she breaks her legs!” someone laughed. Was it Iapetus? Or was it Hyperion? Who even cared at that point?

The next two hours were a blurred mess. A blackout slowly crept through her mind, leaving foggy memories behind. Annabeth felt how she was dancing with people and how people were laughing. Were they laughing at her or with her? Did it really matter? Why was her hair repeatedly slapping her face, didn’t she tie it up?

She danced with different people, men and women. She really hoped that the guy that looked like a naked Danny DeVito with longer black hair was not Zeus who had lost his shirt and pants. Who was the guy with the sea-green eyes again? Why was he clapping and laughing whenever she was busting a move next to Hermes? Was he important? Why did he remind her of work? The shots might have been a short-sighted idea after one and a half glasses of wine. She probably overestimated the amount of food she had consumed at dinner prior. Wasn’t she supposed to try someone’s moussaka?

“There you are! Ares, stop dancing with her for once. We’re about to leave.”

Ugh. Ares. Not Zeus, but still yucky.

Sea-green eyes. Percy, of course. How could she have forgotten the asshole that brought her into this whole mess? He seemed fairly sober, didn’t he have a glass or three of wine? Annabeth was certain, she’d be able to drink him under the table. His height and his build might put him at an advantage, but if he wasn’t used to drinking, she might have a fair shot.

A rock song was the next song that appeared. Percy wanted to drag Annabeth off the dance floor.

“Oh no!” Aphrodite intervened with a shrill screech. “Give the two lovers some room to show each other affection!”

Hera actually raised her glass for once to show that she actually agreed with one of Aphrodite’s wild ideas. Someone fumbled with the playlist and a Greek slow jam roared through the old speakers.

“Are you guys fucking serious?” Percy muttered under his breath. But roughly eighty pairs of eyes were all but watching the soon-to-be betrothed and waited for a romantic dance which reminded Percy more of the horrors that the eight-grade dance was.

Annabeth drunkenly hiccupped and looked at him in surprise as she felt one of his hands around her waist and the other one taking her hand. They rocked as if it was the final dance at prom. Annabeth barely remembered prom. Oh right. Her mother had forbidden her from going. She never attended prom.

A casual glimpse through the crowd showed her that people were actually filming this nonsense and some women were actually cooing. Did… did they seriously think this back and forth with sweaty clothes on was romantic? Her eyes found Percy’s again.

“So…” he began.

“So…” she repeated.

“Careful!” he warned her before twirling her through the tight circle. People screamed and applauded. A camera flash blitzed through the darkness twice.

“Oof,” Annabeth groaned. Her stomach and equilibrium did not appreciate that sudden movement.

“I’m sorry, I won’t do that again,” Percy swore. The rocking motion made both of them sleepy. Annabeth suppressed a yawn, rested her head on his shoulder. Percy could make the perfect comfy bed, if he wanted to.

Percy, sensing that people were awaiting some action from either of them, placed a finger under her chin and lifted her face up. Annabeth’s eyes widened. Is he going to kiss me in front of them? Again? her panicked brain asked. She was turned into stone, not by Percy’s distant cousin Medusa who had eaten most of the truffles, but by the tenderness of his actions. He was one solid actor.

Percy placed a soft kiss on her forehead, before moving on to a temple. Annabeth blushed and buried her heated face in his chest as he released her. Intimate, soft and sweet. The screaming relatives disrupted their comfortable silence yet again. The slow song came to an end and the next upbeat one invited everyone back to the dance floor. Annabeth released herself from Percy’s tight embrace and just bolted. Damned be nausea. A wave of coldness hit her. She felt something she didn’t like the minute Percy had softly kissed and soberness woke her at a start. What was it? Anger? Disappointment? Longing? She didn’t know and she didn’t want to know.

“Annabeth!” Percy shouted, but the amount of people standing in his way made it more difficult for him to keep up with her. His hand brushed over his own lips.

Annabeth opened and closed doors left and right. The kitchen, the dining room, the smoking room. She hasted through the first floor until she found another lost soul in the fireplace room. Why the villa had a fireplace room in the first place, she did not know. It had been super-hot the entire time but what Annabeth understood as heat and what native Greeks deemed as hot temperatures didn’t have to correlate.

Great-grandmother Gaia’s humming faded away. The eldest of the Theodoropoulos looked up from the pair of socks she was knitting. When she came to find out the intruder was Annabeth, joy spread over her face.

“Come, come!” The broken English that she softly spoke reminded Annabeth of her own grandmother. She hadn’t seen Elsbeth Lilienthal-Chase since she had left Germany. And since her mother didn’t give her a chance to say goodbye, she didn’t have a phone number to reach her with. The only way would be through that asshole Friedrich Chase, and the only time she’d willingly let someone contact that man was if she had been six feet under and he would be forced to show up for one important family event for once.

“I was unable to sleep. Parties aren’t something for me. I’m too old and boring for my children and their children,” Gaia sighed as Annabeth took a seat on the green sofa next to the light blue armchair. All of the cushioning seemed to have been made by Gaia as the socks had the same pattern as the pillow that Annabeth leaned against. Balls of wool surrounded the older woman as if she sat on a field of fresh tulips.

“Drink, drink! You need water. I’m pretty sure you danced a lot.”

Annabeth kindly took the offer, grabbed the carafe and poured herself a little bit of water into a small glass. The water was surprisingly cold and refreshing.

“My children deem me crazy,” Gaia continued. “The war with the ottomans. Deportation. Fleeing and seeing death everywhere. Losing my father in the chaos. Then the big world war after that twenty years later. They don’t want to listen to the same stories. They only want to have fun. So, they sent me away.”

Annabeth felt terrible for the old lady. It looked like she had been through hell and back in her youth. She didn’t look like she needed much, only someone to listen to her.

“I won’t bore you much,” promised Gaia.

Gaia’s tanned leathery hands continued working on the little socks. “Don’t worry about tomorrow, dearie. We have plenty of acetaminophen and other hangover remedies. Tomorrow will be even worse, because Dionysus wants to celebrate his birthday with even more wine,” the old woman laughed, and her green eyes twinkled full of life.

“I also was young once…”

The two sat in comfortable silence, only interrupted by Gaia’s humming or Annabeth refilling her glass of water.

“So,” Gaia began.

“So?” repeated Annabeth.

“You are the woman that tamed my little Perseus,” the older woman grinned.

Oh no.

Annabeth had a lump in her throat and drinking water to solve it, didn’t work. She wasn’t just lying to Zeus and his wife. She was lying to an entire clan, from the youngest to the oldest members. What Percy and she were doing wasn’t right, neither was it fair. Sure, Percy’s shitty uncle didn’t help much by forcing him to marry the next person, but did the rest of the family deserve to be deceived as well? No, they didn’t, and that truth rested heavily on Annabeth’s narrow shoulders.

The fact that Gaia looked so much like her great-grandson was crazy. They possessed the exact same shade of sea-green. It was passed onto Rhea, Percy’s grandmother, and then Poseidon, Percy’s fucked up father. Always full of intelligence and calculation. Shifting easily from delighted and full of life to the crashing anger of a storm. Power and knowledge were key features of Gaia’s eyes.

“How did you meet my sweet Perseus again?” Gaia innocently asked but Annabeth knew that there was some sort of ulterior motive behind her question.

“At work,” she honestly answered, and Gaia smiled. The old lady was able to sense the truth.

“He’s not my direct boss, but we run into each other a lot. And we hated each other from the moment we saw each other.” Annabeth remembered how she accidentally spilled her hot coffee all over his shirt. She had been public enemy number one from then on.

“He’s an excellent boss, as much as I hate to admit it. He knows his ways around and is passionate about the ocean and its inhabitants. Definitely more passionate than me, I’m just there for the money. He actually wants to make a difference. And he’s extremely annoying, might I add.”

Gaia burst into laughter and needed a minute to calm down. Annabeth cracked a toothy grin. “Ah yes, I can see how you fell in love with him.”

Doom. Uneasiness. Discomfort. The lump in Annabeth’s throat grew bigger and bigger. Why was her vision so blurry all of a sudden? She looked down at her dress. Dark dots appeared. More sprinkled across her lap as Annabeth realized she was crying.

“I’m so sorry,” Annabeth sniffled. “I… Percy… I…”

Gaia put her knitting utensils aside and set herself upright in the armchair. “Oh no, what is going on, Annabeth?”

The calming hand on her back did not help the young professional at all. No, Gaia’s honesty and curiosity made it way worse.

“Percy and I… we’re not engaged. We did it because Zeus-” Annabeth tried to confess, but Gaia brushed her off.

“It’s okay, Annabeth. I know,” the old woman smiled.

The tears that smeared her foundation or rather what was left of it ceased to fall. “You what?!”

Shock widened Annabeth’s light gray eyes.

“I knew from the minute you stepped into my house. I’m pretty sure Rhea knows as well.”

Annabeth’s jaw fell open. “B-but how?!” she stuttered and felt like an utter and complete idiot. The first few days had been rough and difficult, but now she thought that Percy and she conveyed the illusion of being a happy couple.

“You were scared of everything including him the minute you arrived,” Gaia warmly smiled. The infectious warm smile of a grandma looking out for her little chicks. Was Annabeth now one of them?

“I knew something was off with that sudden engagement of yours with the way you two behaved. Either you were pregnant, or it was a ruse. Since you are heavily drinking and paper thin, it was clear that there was no pregnancy. You young people truly don’t eat enough anymore,” Gaia shrugged, patted Annabeth’s knee and went back to knitting the sock.

“But now… it all makes sense. You do feel something for each other. Even if you are blind to it for now.” She continued to hum. “I just hope that my dear Perseus will be the young and carefree boy he was all those years ago one day again. And I do believe that you are the key in finding him hidden underneath all those layers and walls he had put up due to his father.”

Annabeth didn’t even close her mouth during the elder’s monologue. Did Gaia seriously connote that she… that Annabeth Chase… might feel something for her soon-to-be boss? Madness. Absolute madness. She took everything she had thought of the friendly old woman in front of her back. Maybe her relatives did have a point, when they decided to brush Gaia off due to her old age.

Annabeth? And feeling something for Percy? If that something was hatred and the utmost rage, absolutely yes. But… anything else? She would receive a hefty sum on her bank account and would put in her two weeks the minute she found a better job in California.

“You know… there is a tale I’d like to tell about men.”

And Annabeth would prefer to place the glass back on the table, throw the heels away, storm out and run to the next airport.

“They are stupid vapid creatures,” Gaia carried on.

Annabeth snorted behind her glass. “That is certainly true,” she agreed and earned an honest grin from Gaia.

“My dear husband Ouranos with whom I had all of my dear children decided one day that one woman was not enough. And that twelve children were not enough.”

Twelve children?! Annabeth's womb just twisted and turned in protest. The shocked expression on Annabeth’s face made Gaia chortle loudly.

“Oh yes, back in my day we were all very fruitful,” Gaia affirmed.

“That sounds horrible,” Annabeth interjected.

“Oh, only the birth part and the eighteen years after it,” the older woman dismissed her which made Annabeth in turn laugh again.

“My father was a farmer and he had one piece of advice: never let someone toy with you. You are not a doll; you are a person with morals and dignity, a person with feelings and dignity. Let no one, especially not a man, treat you like a commodity or something to kick around. Well… when dear Ouranos left me and sought our neighbor with bigger breasts… I taught him that lesson. And I did so with my father’s trusted knife that I hung on the wall afterwards.”

There was no knife displayed on the wall. It was a fucking scythe. Large, frightening, brutal. A golden great long sickle with jagged teeth rested on the wall as if it were ready to cut you up into one thousand pieces. Was there really dried blood stuck on the teeth or was Annabeth’s drunken mind making things up?

“The minute our youngest turned eighteen he took off and was never seen again. And now, should a person, in that case my Perseus, not know how to treat you properly, you know what to do,” Gaia advised and took a sip out of her own glass.

“Uh… you mean threaten to cut his genitals off with a large and sharp family heirloom?” Annabeth’s eyes widened again.

“No, dearie…” Gaia gave it some thought. “Well maybe so, dearie,” she then went on. That made Annabeth chuckle again.

“But demand absolute respect from him. Don’t ask him for it. Demand it. I don’t know how but he has dragged you into our family and expects you to play the perfect fiancé. This will eventually blow up in his face and he will drag you along with him. Teach him a lesson, however.”

“You know what? I will!” With Gaia’s official blessing, Annabeth was all smiles and scheming new plots. If the head of the family gave her the approval of kicking Percy’s ass, she definitely would.

Steps echoed in the fireplace room and Annabeth and Gaia’s heads turned to greet the intruder. They didn’t even realize the door opened and closed again.

Gaia’s younger twin who still had some black streaks in the braids marched into the hall, curious about what the two women in front of her were previously talking about. Gaia’s youngest daughter Rhea had joined them. The large blue floral dress made her seem like she never left the late 1960s and the two long braids only added to that sentiment.

“Mamá, what is going on? By the way Percy is looking for you, Annabeth,” Rhea informed her grandson’s alleged fiancé before taking a seat in front of her and grabbing one of the many balls of yarn in front of her mother. Rhea then went on to play with it as if she was a six-year old.

“Oh no, Rhea, Annabeth and I were just chatting about love and life,” Gaia batted her eyelashes.

“You see, I gave Rhea the same advice about her disgraceful husband when he went out to seek another woman.”

Rhea rolled her eyes behind the large pentagonally glasses. “You and your stories about the scythe, mother,” she sighed.

“I have to make sure the younger generation knows!” Gaia huffed. “I won’t be here for much longer and then-”

“We'll regret all the things we’ve said and done to you, I know mamá, you have been telling me this since I was four years old and spilled my apple juice,” Rhea completed her mother’s sentence.

Rhea’s attention shifted to the smiling blonde in front of her. She grew to like Percy’s fiancé. She had a fire within herself and a backbone, all great things to handle a Theodoropoulos man.

“But my mother is right when she says that the scythe is a trusted tool. Zeus, Poseidon and Hades did scare Kronos with it after he tried some foul things with their sisters. Treated them worse. Did overall horrible things. He never wanted daughters, only sons. Didn’t seem to accept the fact that it was out of my hand.” Rhea squished the ball of light blue yarn in her hand.

“My children were always looking out for me and I will be forever grateful for them. I do hope that you will have the same feelings and love for your children.” It was clear who their father was supposed to be.

“Yes, I hope so as well,” Annabeth squeaked. Did it get hotter in here all of a sudden?

The door opened, and a worried Percy stepped into the fireplace room. “Oh, there you are,” he sighed as he immediately sighted Annabeth’s blonde unruly curls. He had been running from the basement all the way to the roof searching for her. Relief washed over his face like some shower gel from a cheap commercial. Only then did he realize that Annabeth had been cornered by both his nosy grandmother and his even nosier great-grandmother.

“Whatever they’ve been telling you, it’s a lie, it’s wrong and it never happened!” he warned her as he took a seat right next to her.

“Oh please, relax,” Rhea rolled her eyes and threw the wool at her grandson. “We have been talking about mamá’s scythe.”

“Hey!” both Percy and Gaia complained. At least they hadn’t dished out embarrassing stories of him taking off in diapers at night.

“This is expensive! You young people show no respect towards others' belongings,” Gaia cursed.

Annabeth took the blue yarn and placed it back on top of the pyramid of other colors.

“Thank you!” Gaia smiled before she focused on finishing the sock.

“You’ve found your fiancé, Perseus. Now go off back to celebrate and let us old people reminisce about the past and talk.” Rhea lazily waved at them whilst Gaia didn’t even look up from her craft.

“We will,” Percy said while getting up and casually dragging Annabeth along. He kissed both Gaia and Rhea on the cheek, Annabeth threw a hasty “See you in the morning!” over her shoulder before the couple left.

“Are you okay?” Percy asked as he pulled Annabeth aside for a small breather.

She nodded. “It’s just a bit overwhelming with the amount of people that either want to take pictures of us, hope I remember when their youngest kid’s birthday is, or they tell me they hope we have our first baby preferably in less than a year.”

Percy blushed. He didn’t think it was that bad, but then again, men are mostly left out of the baby talk until their mother’s saw that their best friend’s children had their first grandbaby. He truly didn’t have any intention of having a child before the age of forty. He had to save a business from his damned uncle, run and manage said business and preferably find a woman he tolerated enough to marry before he could even think of children.

Percy apologized again. “One week,” he promised her.

“One week,” Annabeth repeated and nodded.

“We’re going in, you’ve missed the high of the party with your talk with my yai yai, but that’s perfectly fine. The first have already left, let’s just mingle for ten minutes or so before we can-”

The door flung open. “There they are!” yelled Hermes who was followed by Zephyrus and Hercules.

None of them had any intention of letting the party stop before five in the morning. It was merely two. The minute Hermes had his sights on Annabeth, he knew that he had found his best drinking buddy aside from Dionysus himself. Oh no, Annabeth thought and rightfully so.

The minutes of calmness and rest next to Gaia did their wonders because Percy and she were thrust back into the party at full force. She didn’t exactly remember when the blackout happened, but it was roughly thirty minutes later. She was drinking, she was dancing, she was completely making a fool out of herself. The hair? A mess. Annabeth herself? Don’t even think about it. She had been dancing with Hermes and Patroclus, Aphrodite accidentally stepped on her foot one time when Ares approached her.

Percy broke his own promise and accepted a fourth glass of wine from Dionysus who insisted on it. That glass was his doom. The last droplet touched his tongue and his world turned into a flashy mist, his consciousness was broken into pieces, fragmented and sprinkled across the floor. Where he was, when he was and who he was were things he couldn’t remember. The only thing that popped up in his mind were waves of solid gold. Was it hair? Could hair truly move like that and possess that texture? And a whiff of lemon with a hint of lavender crawled up his nose. It was an odd combination, but it felt safe and like home. He liked this smell. Where did he smell this before?

Percy didn’t care, he had other matters to attend to. The first thing on the docket was finding the bathroom, he had drunk way too much. The house had weird rules in regard to bathrooms. Was it the left side or the right side that the young men could use? Why did his uncle Hades have to break two sinks in a span of a week when he was sixteen again? Why were women and others allowed to do whatever they wanted? His great-grandma and her weird plans were always set to make him fail somehow. Things that she had thought of decades ago still bore fruit today.

Percy stumbled upstairs and turned right and prayed the doors he was opening were empty bathrooms and not relatives making out. That was just what he needed. The first door he opened was of his great-uncle Oceanus and Tethys who had a face mask on her face and pink curlers up her hair. At least the old people still knew how to behave. He hoped his mother had left the party hours ago. He apologized and closed the door. The next one was an empty bedroom, his even maybe. No, his bedroom was on an entirely different floor. Or was it?

The next bedroom was closed off thank god, but from the sounds on the inside it seemed like cousin Eos and her newest catch Orion had some fun. Disgusting, Percy thought before he moved on. The next door was what he was looking for. A bathroom. Lit up, clean and empty. Empty if it wasn’t for this one woman who was clutching the brims of the polished sink. She was tall, the golden hair equaled a rat nest and her red dress seemed to have witnessed a lot.

“Ugh,” she muttered and looked into the mirror. Her eyes found his immediately.

“Percy?” she turned around.

Oh right. He was Percy Jackson, thirty-one, single, hopefully the new CEO of Atlantic INC., he had a fantastic apartment in the Upper East Side with an amazing view and he was in Greece to impress his family with his fake fiancé in order to secure his father’s legacy. His fake fiancé being Annabeth Chase, a woman he loathed, had to pay a little hush money and hoped would leave the company fairly soon after.

“You’re in the men’s restroom,” Percy then stated.

Annabeth looked around. No, it was not the same bathroom she used in the morning. Oh yeah, Gaia’s weird bathroom rules.

“Honestly who cares?” the junior marketing manager complained. “A toilet’s a toilet, no matter who uses it.”

Percy shrugged. Annabeth had a point but it wasn’t their house so they couldn’t dictate the rules.

“I wanted to retouch my makeup, but I didn’t find my makeup bag.” She walked steadily to Percy, but it was clear to both of them that she had her fair amount of shots in her system.

“Yeah, it’s probably in the other bathroom. Wait, let me use the bathroom for a second and then we can head back to our room and you can look for your makeup.”

Annabeth nodded and waited on the outside while Percy was tending his business. After drying his hands, he opened the door and found Annabeth yawning in front of one of his yai yai’s paintings. It showed the scythe from the fireplace.

“In all honesty, your great-grandmother is an amazing woman. I admire her. Showing kindness and strength each day. How old is she?”

“Turning 106 next October,” Percy smiled at her. “She always said she wanted to live long enough to see her favorite descendants find their own happiness, whatever it may be.”

The softness in his voice made Annabeth’s heart ache. She turned her head back to the painting. She was a nobody. She had no family, no traditions she could upkeep. She didn’t even have a steady relationship in the past five years. Fucking Luke Castellan. He also had to take that from her as well. Make her suffer. That’s what Athena, Friedrich and Luke all thought at the same time. And they all had nearly reached their wicked goal if it hadn’t been for her stubbornness and will to eventually blossom into something else. The first step towards that something else resided within her move to California. She wanted to leave everything and everyone behind and start a new life, somewhere where no one knew her.

A thumb brushed over her cheek. Annabeth looked up to Percy. She hadn’t even realized she was sobbing again.

“Whatever it is, it’s going to be okay,” Percy assured her. His hands found her sides, pulling her into a soft hug.

A true fiancé level hug. Annabeth had never felt that comfortable within a man’s reach. Percy might have been an awful and annoying coworker, but he truly cared about his fellow people. The way they slowly rocked and kept hugging each other reminded her of the school dance work they had put on the floor earlier. But this time it was real. This time there was no one taking pictures or yelling into their ears, or the demand to see a kiss.

Annabeth rested her face in his chest and Percy leaned his head on hers. It was like they had been made for each other. A welcoming scent greeted Percy. Lemon and lavender. The person stuck in Percy’s crumbled mind had been Annabeth. She was his anchor in the havoc his relatives had created in such a short time. He took a deeper breath. It felt reassuring.

“Did you just sniff me?” Annabeth laughed as she pulled away from him.

“You do smell good!” he defended himself with a stupid grin on his mouth.

“Oh, wait you’re super drunk,” she giggled again as she saw his widened pupils that had pushed the darkened sea-green iris away.

“Well, look at you,” he retorted.

They looked at each other. Aside from the bumping music and the noises people made downstairs it had been completely silent. He missed her warmth; she missed his comfort. Neither would have guessed that a simple embrace could offer so much. Neither would have thought they would take it to the next step within a split second.

One last look. A last time sea-green and light-gray met before each set of eyes closed and their lips met with a brutal force in the middle. Their teeth clacked but it didn’t matter to them. What mattered now, was the moment. Forgotten was the alcohol, forgotten were the troubles of past, present and future. Forgotten were the friends and relatives in the building and back in New York.

So... what do you think? 😄 Like I said, this is not the entire chapter 🤷🏾‍♀️ I honestly feel bad for cutting the chapter off because it's really getting more interesting from that point on 💁🏾‍♀️ I'll probably continue working on this once I've published the next act of The Fool 🥳

Also Greek people, if something seems off with this (aside from random English at times lol) hit me up, I definitely have to do more research!

[thatslikely]

under the gym lights - s.s.

under the gym lights - stiles stilinski x fem!reader

warnings: none! pure stiles fluff <3

word count: 984

requested?: yes!

a/n: prom with Stiles prom with Stiles prom with Stiles :) might have to make a longer fic based off of prom with Stiles because this concept tickles my fancy

A nimble, nervous tap on your shoulder was all it took to transform your prom night from lackluster to possibly one of the best days of your high school career.

It was no secret that for as long as you could remember, Stiles Stilinski, the previously buzz-cut donning boy who always had a flannel on his back, had been head over heels for you.

Things between the both of you were long due for a change, and Stiles was set on being the catalyst.

“Hey, uh, I know you’re like, probably flooded with dates right now but… do you wanna dance?” His eyebrows were wrinkled with worry; his voice lacked the confidence that usually exuded from the sarcastic comments he often remarked in class. 

Both giddiness and curiousity sparked like fireworks in your eyes as they glazed Stiles suit-clad figure: the inky black button-up that stretched across the expanse of his chest flawlessly, the lopsided, silver bow tie clipped around his neck, his hazelnut head of hair that was tinged with streaks of pomade, all of it. 

You almost felt as if you had been submerged under a pool of crystalline water and lifted to the surface again with reborn vision, for Stiles looked unexplainably different than he had before. It wasn’t just his exuberantly handsome ensemble, no, for reminiscing back to all the times he waved to you in the locker-lined hallways with a wide, almost boyish grin retained the new filter that shone over him.

With a now rapidly thrumming heart, and the cavity of your chest swarming with butterflies, you, at long last, realized. Shielded to you from years prior until just a few moments ago, you had a crush on the witty and equally adorable Stiles Stilinski.

Eagerly you took his shaking, outstretched hand, and he stumbled you clumsily, in a perfectly Stiles fashion, to the central dance floor of the gymnasium. 

Your hands found their way instinctively to the nape of his neck, where you let your arms rest on the fabric of his shirt, your fingers fiddling with the collar. After a few awkward moments, his palms situated on your waist, following the curve of your hips that swayed with the music.

The languid, amourous song that echoed through the rafters curtained with streamers flooded your ears from a distance, and soon you found that the rhythm of your heart had synced with the steady beat. 

A million thoughts sped through the flustered brunette’s head, but they were all put on pause when you cut the comfortable silence, saying with a soft tone of genuineness, “I really like you, Stiles.” 

If Stiles had known any better, known that the feelings you expressed weren’t as fantastical as his doubts had convinced him, he would’ve reciprocated the statement in a heartbeat. But the question that lingered in his mind before he drifted off the sleep each night, the worries that simmered on the back burner of his mind wouldn’t allow him to believe you. 

Why would the most devastatingly gorgeous girl at school like, of all people, me?

“Very funny, Y/N, but I’m not really into the whole public humiliation thing.” An almost reflexive comment that dripped with familiar sarcasm emitted from his mouth with the slightest quirk of his lips and a disbelieving shake of his head.

“I’m serious!” Your throat bubbled with giggles, but your sentiment was wholeheartedly authentic. 

“April fools’ was a month ago, you’re not fooling anyone, especially not me.”

“Why are you having such a hard time believing that I’d like you?”

“Maybe just the fact that you’re amazing, popular, breathtaking, the smartest girl I know, flawless, et cetera. Everything I’m not?”

“Oh come on, Stiles, you seriously can’t believe that, can you? Even if I have a sub-par day, you always manage to make me crack a smile in Econ. And you always know what to say when someone’s down; Lydia’s told me about all the times you’ve helped her when she really needed it. And your streak of intelligence doesn’t go unnoticed by me, either. I’ve seen you cooped up in the library reading until you can’t keep your eyes open any longer. You don’t realise all the things that make you as wonderful as you are, Stiles.”

His captivating chocolate eyes widened with surprise. He must’ve been dreaming, right? How many fingers does he have? Is there something around him that he could read?

“What’s wrong?” you queried concernedly, as Stiles’ mind finally absorbed the reality sitting patiently in front of him.  

“Nothing, nothing. I-I, I’m just still letting the fact that you could actually like me sink in.”

A smile crooked your lips upwards, an expression that Stiles could get addicted to; a look he’d do absolutely anything to grace your features again. 

“You look really beautiful under the gym lights.”

Small, lighthearted giggles escaped your fluttering chest ever so slightly; you retracted your hands from their hanging position around Stiles’ neck to cover your mouth as increasingly deeper laughs hiccuped from your throat.

“Sorry -uh, that sounded a lot more romantic in my head.”

Beads of perspiration formed on his palm as he combed through his soft hair flusteredly. 

Before his embarassed words could fill the magic-dusted air, or continue to sway to the steady rhythm of the music while panicking internally, you swiftly pressed your lips to his’.

Electric currents of passion swept over every inch of you skin, leaving prickles of addiction in their wake. What you'd give to stop time, savor this moment- this enrapturing state of emotions- until the end of time.

But eventually, the wide, goofy grins on both of your faces grew too wide to meld into each other any longer. You laid your buzzing head on his chest, listening to his rhythmic heartbeat, which was perfectly in sync with the song rattling through the gym as well.

"You look really beautiful anywhere, though."

teen wolf/stiles stilinski taglist:

@loulouloueh @when-you-wish-upon-a-starrynight @ronbrokemyheart @dylobilysmomg @ayleehweasleyobrien @thatweirdkid​ 

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[maddieinwonder]

A Lesson In Romance #2: Opposites Attract

Spencer Reid x Fem!BAU!Reader

Genre: Fluff

Warnings: None

Word Count: 1k

Plot: Reader keeps getting caught in rom-com situations with Spencer Reid. This time, they become friends.

A/N: I can't believe I rewrote this chapter, like, 5 times, but I'm kinda happy with the final result 😌😌😌 Again, my ask is open if you want to send me a trope request!

Masterlist | All chapters here!

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Contrary to popular belief, you've watched your fair share of rom-coms. Or at least enough to understand its three-act structure, even if you didn't understand why people bought into it just yet.

Take the concept of "opposites attract" for example. Two people with completely different interests and personalities are supposedly perfect for each other because they compensate for the other's weaknesses. But it was illogical, you knew this for a fact.

Opposites attract had your college roommate crying herself to sleep when she decided to date a popular jerk-wad. Opposites attract caused your best friend to transfer schools after a cruel Valentine's Day prank. Opposites attract made your dad divorce your mum and leave you and your siblings alone at the ripe age of eleven.

But according to rom-coms, these relationships were worth it. There was nothing sweeter than a shy person complementing a loud bully, or nothing that screamed sexual tension more than a practical joker tormenting a goody-two-shoes.

For your entire life up until this point, you just didn't get it. But then you met Garcia and Morgan, and things began to make sense.

The two of them couldn't be further apart. Derek was a typical player — traditional good looks, muscular, was probably a jock in high school. Penelope, on the other hand, dressed in bright colours and even brighter hair. She seldom left her office — which, for the record, was covered wall to wall with cuteness — and cared about her technology like it was an extension of herself.

At first, you didn't understand why they were so close. They were basically polar opposites. But when one of your first cases with the BAU hit too close to home for the usually cheerful tech analyst, you watched Derek drop everything he was doing to gently support her through it.

This was enough to make you rethink your theory. And if you were being really honest, it was enough to make you yearn for something like that for yourself.

Because the thing is, you hadn't stopped thinking about the shy, awkward man you met at the coffee shop. Even more so now that you were working together, and you found out that he was a certifiable genius with an IQ of 187.

To add to your surprise, you and Spencer weren't opposites — not in any material way, at least. You couldn't say otherwise when you only knew the things that everybody else knew.

Like how the two of you had qualifications in psychology (he had a B.A., you had a PhD), loved Doctor Who (he preferred Tom Baker, but you were partial to David Tennant), and shared a favourite movie genre in science fiction, but specifically space opera (he loved Star Trek, you were nostalgic for Star Wars).

And that was just the beginning.

You begun to realise little things about him every day that you noticed in yourself. The obvious one was your coffee preferences. You pretended not to notice when the team raised their eyebrows at the three full spoons of sugar you added to your coffee everyday.

But you also noticed the way Spencer bounced his leg when he was nervous, or moved his mouth when he was reading at that unbelievable pace.

You watched him so often, in fact, that one day you found yourself doing his trademark awkward smile and you realised your silent observations had gone too far.

In reality, you hadn't spoke to him alone for more than 10 minutes since you joined the team. The two of you were always around other people for some reason or other, and after the first few weeks passed like this, the expiry on talking to him about the coffee shop incident seemingly ran out.

Then one morning, when the coffee machine at work broke down and you were beginning to think this was the start of a very bad day, a cup of coffee was gently placed in front of you.

"Good morning," Spencer greeted, pulling over the chair from his desk to sit next to you. His held his own cup of coffee in one hand.

You recognised the logo as the coffee shop where you met him. The same one you'd been avoiding since you started working here. (Ok, so maybe the reason you hadn't spoken about the incident wasn't entirely due to external forces.)

"What's this for?" You asked, as if you didn't already know.

"A peace offering," he said, locking eyes with you. "I haven't seen you at the coffee shop in three weeks, which coincides exactly with the day we met and your first day at the BAU. I've... I've come to the conclusion that you're avoiding me, but I really hope you won't."

"Why?" You asked, reaching for the warm takeaway cup.

"Because I'd like to get to know you better." He said frankly. You were glad you hadn't taken a sip yet, because you might have spit it out in shock.

In the rom-coms you watched, confessions like these usually happened to a swell of music and dimmed lights, maybe while the two main characters were dancing in each others arms. But under the fluorescent lights at the bureau, you only felt your heart swell to an imaginary soundtrack.

"So would I," you replied, smiling despite yourself. You couldn't believe you just compared a rom-com scenario to real life, but watching Spencer's smile widen at your reply made the critic in you subside. His smile was, strangely, beautiful to you now.

"You're lucky I remembered your order," he teased, his pinkish cheeks weren't beyond your notice.

"Spencer. We share the same coffee order and you have an eidetic memory," you replied dryly.

"I know," he said, and the two of you locked eyes for a moment before breaking into a bout of laughter over the absurdity of your relationship.

Unbeknownst to the two of you, the unusual sight had caught the eyes of the other members in the bullpen. But it was only the next morning when you and Spencer walked into the office with matching cups of coffee, that the team confirmed that something was definitely up.

And they were going to find out what.

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Tag list:

@blue-space-porgs

[koganegawasimp]

Hello! I’m so happy about how my request had turned out! I noticed how you said you would live some poly seijoh requests... that would’ve have been apart of my last one but I didn’t think you wrote for that. So! What I’m saying is, how about you write some of your own poly seijoh headcanons! Anything you’d like! I really love those boys and would kill to read it! 🤍🤍

Hi!! I loved writing these so much oh my god!! I also added to my rules that I’ll write for poly relationships!! I kind of went a little bit overboard with this, and I wasn’t 100% sure about how to end it, but I hope you enjoy!! I tried to write an equal amount about each boy but I feel like I didn’t write as much for Iwa but oh well. And thank you SO MUCH for requesting them I love them so much!! (There’s a part two now, you can find it right here!

Poly Seijoh Third Years

Word Count: 3000 words (...yeah)

Warnings: some timeskip spoilers, proceed with caution if you don’t know their timeskip occupations

You’ve all been very good friends since first year, and are practically inseparable

Since you’re all a pretty popular friend group, there are a lot of people who have crushes on you guys and end up confessing

But none of you ever end up accepting any confessions, which leads to some rumors about how you’re all hooking up or how some of you are dating

And I mean the rumors are at least a little bit based in reality; I mean no one can miss how Makki and Mattsun walk around with their pinkies practically interlaced, or how Iwaizumi always buys you and Oikawa lunch and snacks, or how Oikawa stares at Makki in class when he thinks no one is looking, or how Mattsun teases you in the hallways, or how you all borderline cuddle in public whenever one of you have a bad day

You’re all hanging on a precipice between friendship and dating, and everyone’s too terrified of making a move and risking “the end of your friendship” (even though I don’t think any of them would actually end a friendship over a crush)

One night after their practice, you’re all hanging out at Oikawa’s house

The fast food you got earlier is strewn all over the coffee table, and everyone’s draped all over the living room furniture while you watch (heckle) shitty horror movies

Oikawa is sitting in Mattsun’s lap, Makki’s head is on your thighs, Iwaizumi has his arm flung over your and Mattsun’s shoulders

It’s somehow both incredibly calm and comforting, as well as tense

Out of basically nowhere, Mattsun picks up the remote and pauses the movie

“Hey, is everything ok?” Iwaizumi asks, clearly very concerned.

Mattsun just sucks in a deep breath

“Hey, I really like you guys” he finally says

“Uh yeah I sure hope so? We’re best friends it would kind of suck if you couldn’t stand us” Makki laughs nervously

“Not like that dumbass. I mean I like you like I want to be able to hold hands with you guys and kiss you and go on dates that we actually call dates instead of just ‘hang outs’ you know?”

Everyone breathes out a breath you didn’t realize you were holding

“Oh thank god, I was so worried I was reading all the signs wrong” Oikawa says

You just kind of sit in silence for a little longer, it’s a lot to process! You just found out that your friends all want to date you, and you want to date them too!

“So...does this mean we’re all...dating now??”

Everyone just kind of nods in agreement and in an incredibly anticlimactic fashion, you all just go back to watching the movie

So now you’re all officially dating!

Literally no one at school is surprised

Going from a platonic friend group to a romantic polyamorous relationship is incredibly smooth

It’s basically the same as it was before, but now you hold hands walking around school, and you kiss each other goodbye, and you finally get to tell each other how you feel about them whenever you want, and Oikawa stares at Makki in class without caring about who’s watching (once they got detention because they were literally blowing each other kisses in the middle of Calculus. You and Mattsun found it absolutely hilarious. Iwaizumi was not amused.)

You also all had a pretty long talk at the very beginning about boundaries (communication is super important especially if your relationship has more than two people!!)

Everyone is on a different level of comfort when it comes to PDA, but they’re all ok with at least some of it

Oikawa is the most comfortable and oh my god he is so clingy

He will literally drape himself on top of you in public if he feels like he’s not getting enough attention

Hanamaki is in second, he has no shame and he really likes physical affection (I think one of his main love languages is physical touch) and he’s also really flirty (but more in goofy way)

He tends to stick to holding hands and cheek/forehead kisses, but he will occasionally pick you up and kiss you all over your face while calling you his “personal ray of sunshine” to make you giggly and embarrassed

Matsukawa is in third, he is also pretty shameless but he does prefer being affectionate at home and in private

He does almost always have his arm around someone’s shoulder or waist, and sometimes he’ll just hug you from behind and rest his head on your shoulder while you’re in the middle of a conversation

Iwaizumi is the least comfortable with it, but he still likes it!! He’s just worried that he’ll end up making the people around you uncomfortable if you’re all too affectionate

He likes it when you lay your head on his shoulder whenever you’re both sitting down

Also, because there’s so much communication and because you’ve all been close to each other, there’s almost never any jealousy or fighting

Even when there are arguments and fights, it’s almost always resolved by the end of the day, and there are no hard feelings after the fact

You all go on dates every weekend! Oikawa likes going on super fancy and romantic dinner dates, Hanamaki likes amusement park dates, Matsukawa loves arcade dates (once you all had a laser tag date and it was incredibly fun but also so competitive that you almost got kicked out) and Iwaizumi actually really loves museum and aquarium dates

Whenever you guys don’t really feel like going out for a date you just watch movies together at home while cuddling

Once Iwaizumi tricked Mattsun and Oikawa into studying by promising a “study date” which actually just ended up being Iwa yelling at both of them to focus

Also sometimes some of you will go on dates with only two or three of you (you all have a groupchat, and everytime there’s a date like that everyone on the date spams the groupchat with cute date pictures)

Pet names! There are so many pet names!

They use such a wide variety of pet names on you and each other, Iwa usually sticks to the classic ones like baby, Makki calls you sweetheart (both in a genuine way and to be a little shit), Mattsun calls you gorgeous/handsome, and Oikawa has SO MANY names for you (sunshine, prince/princess, angel, my love, etc.)

Once Mattsun called Oikawa his “handsome prince” as a joke and Oikawa blushed SO hard (he never lived that one down)

Whenever you all have sleepovers it is so soft and wholesome oh my god

They’re all so so cuddly

Oikawa is definitely a little spoon BFDBGBSG he just really likes being held! He genuinely loves how safe and warm and at home he feels in your arms

Hanamaki likes sleeping on his stomach with his head on your chest so he can hear your heartbeat

Matsukawa is a little bit of a starfish, so he’s always just super spread out. He usually ends up just kind of draping his limbs on top of everyone else

Iwaizumi sleeps like a koala! He will fully wrap his whole body around one person, and it’s somehow both incredibly comforting and a little bit suffocating

It doesn’t really matter how you guys are positioned when you fall asleep, when you wake up in the morning you’re all just a huge tangle of limbs

Getting up is a challenge because in addition to being stuck in the middle of a bunch of ridiculously tall dudes, you have to deal with Iwa holding you hostage and Oikawa whining about how he just wants to stay in bed all day

Makki is absolutely the type of person who would fart and trap you under the covers while cackling maniacally

Mattsun has the WORST morning breath but he also loves sleepy morning kisses

When Oikawa wakes up before you, he likes to turn around in your arms and play with your hair and watch your face, he just thinks you look so peaceful and happy in your sleep!

Lazy mornings with them are the absolute BEST you can not convince me otherwise

Even after you’re all awake, you all just stay in bed cuddling until someone has to get up to pee or you’re just too hungry

Mattsun is such a good cook! He makes everyone a really nice breakfast!

Oikawa helps him out by decorating all the food, he definitely knows how to cut fruits into like flower shapes and all that fancy shit

Once graduation rolls around, you’re really worried that you’ll all grow apart and break up once you’re all in college and actually working

But they’re all quick to reassure you that they all love you so much and they’re all willing to try and make the relationship work

You all go to college pretty close to each other, so instead of moving into a dorm, you just get an apartment together

Some of your parents are worried that you’re all moving too fast, and that you’ve only been together for just over a year, but you’ve all been this close for such a long time that moving in together just feels natural

Speaking of parents, not all of your parents were really 100% accepting of this relationship

But over time, everyone can see how happy you make each other, and eventually accept it

So anyway, now you’re all officially living together!

It doesn’t really change your relationship much, besides doing chores and getting ready in the morning together

Everyone divides up chores pretty evenly between the five of you

Matsukawa still cooks for everyone, and sometimes if he’s feeling really sweet he’ll pack lunches for everyone

Oikawa usually requests being on laundry duty, something about it is super comforting and relaxing for him

Getting ready in the morning is...interesting to say the least

Iwaizumi wakes up at the asscrack of dawn to go for a run, and usually drags Oikawa out of bed to go with him

Mattsun gets up around half an hour later to make breakfast

Makki stays in bed as long as possible, usually until Mattsun announces that breakfast is ready

Oikawa and Iwa get home sometime while Matsukawa is in the middle of cooking, and take a quick shower (once they did not shower before breakfast and the rest of you complained about how much they stank the whole time BFGFBFDBGH)

You all sit down to breakfast and talk and laugh and joke around until someone points out that you’ve all gotta leave in twenty minutes

After that it’s a mad rush to get dressed, brush your hair and teeth, and do the whole rest of your morning routines

On weekends or any days where you’re all free, it’s a lot more relaxed, Iwa and Oikawa stay in bed with the rest of you until past 10 a.m

Also speaking of showers! They all really like taking showers with you (NOT in a sexual way, it’s just really cute and domestic) as long as you’re comfortable with it!

When Oikawa tells you all that he’s moving away to pursuit volleyball, he is in tears, and he’s terrified that your relationship won’t work out while he’s so far away

But you reassure him that you’ll all still love him no matter how far away he is

Long distance actually works out really well for you all

You keep the group chat going strong in his absence, you all send him pictures of your lives and he sends some back!

You also videocall him almost every single day

It feels almost as if he’s never left, since he’s still so involved in your life

He visits whenever he can, which is not as often as you’d like, but you all make the most of it

The years pass, you’re all still together, Iwa’s still lecturing Oikawa for staying up too late, Mattsun’s still making shitty puns constantly, Makki’s still posting the goofiest candid photos if everyone else, and you all love each other so much

Iwaizumi is such a stable and comforting presence, always checking to make sure that you’re feeling alright, holding you whenever you cry

He is pretty busy helping out the Japan team though, and Matsukawa also has work, so if you’re ever at home during the day you’re probably hanging out with Makki

Mattsun and Makki are constantly teasing each other about their respective professions (or lack thereof)

“Oi Mattsun, what’s it like spending your whole work day with dead people?”

“Oi Makki, what’s it like spending your whole work day-oh wait.”

When the Olympics roll around, you, Matsukawa, and Hanamaki go to support Oikawa (and Iwaizumi)

He looks a little bit nervous before the game, but the second his eyes fall on the three of you sitting right at the edge of the court, he visibly relaxes

The whole game, everyone around you is staring at you because of how loud you’re cheering, but you’re just so proud of them!

You take a moment to think about how much those four have changed since you met them as first years so long ago. If someone told you at that point that you would end up in a strong romantic relationship with them, you wouldn’t have believed it, but now looking at the guys you love, it feels like the most natural thing in the world

You can’t believe how far you’ve all come, and how happy you all are

When Oikawa finally sets up for the winning point, you all scream and run outside to meet up with him and Iwa

You run into Iwaizumi first, who tells you about how Oikawa’s swamped with fans

When you finally find him in the middle of a crowd, he makes eye contact with you and smiles, pushing through the crowd and coming straight for your little group

He pulls all four of you into a big group hug, everyone’s laughing and crying and taking pictures and screaming as you all just hold onto each other

Oikawa breaks the hug first, and takes a few steps back, before getting down on one knee

[planetsano]

roots

synopsis: you help kirishima touch up those pesky roots of his and he gets the excellent idea of an undercut.

tag(s): bullet fic, hair dye, hair stylist!reader, established relationship, fluff, wap, undercut, long hair kiri, prohero au, aged up au, massive prohero!kirishima, domestic

pairing: eijirou kirishima x reader

a/n: inspired by these set of photos. { 1. 2. 3.}

“Baby? Can you do my hair, please?” Kirishima calls out. He leans over the bathroom sink counter and looks into the mirror intensely. His eyes specifically target the annoying black roots sprouting from his scalp about an inch or two in length.

You walk into the bathroom and see him looking frustrated in the mirror.

“See, baby? They're so annoying!” He quickly turns to you crouching over and bending his knees so he's level at your shorter height.

Over the years since graduating UA, he's added quite a few inches to his height standing currently at 6’5, he's packed on a lot more muscle too. You'd imagine it's slightly uncomfortable for this particularly large man to be crouching down to your smaller height like this.

Your fingers play through his hair taking note that it was in fact time for a touch up.

“Your hair grows so fast, Kiri.” Also since UA, Kirishima’s hair has grown well past his shoulders. He has no intentions on cutting it as he's grown super attached to it, but there aren't any complaints from you.

“Can you help me out again? The last time I tried the whole bathroom was stained red.” He stands up fully looking down at you with a slight pout.

Poor baby. You were away for a couple days working a fashion show and not only was he missing you, but he was growing antsy about his roots. He figured he did it back in school so he could do it even “better” now that he was older and a prohero.

You can only imagine how awkwardly cute and pitiful he looked while trying to dye his hair without your help.

Just imagine a 6’5 built Kiri in the bathroom trying to apply hair dye to the back of his head only getting more and more frustrated because he can't see.

Kirishima met you one day and he went to a popular salon, seeking someone who could professionally take care of his hair after years of abuse.

It was cute. Imagine this big tall man coming into a hair salon all flustered and confused upon never stepping into such a space before. He doesn't know what to ask or how to ask but the receptionist was sweet and patient. She set an appointment up for him, you ended up being his stylist and he was smitten ever since.

“Let's get started then, baby.” You smiled up at him and stood on your tipping toes silently asking for a kiss. He gladly granted your request.

After getting all the necessary supplies set out and ready, you quickly got started. It was a simple procedure and caused no issues as you've done this countless times.

While you're waiting for his roots to process, Kirishima turns on the home stereo and connects his phone.

It was a routine thing really.

“There's some whores in this house, there's some whores in this house-”

Fragile masculinity in this household? Never heard of her! Kirishima will rap this song from start to finish emitting the bad bitch energy he's always had.

“Certificated freak! Seven days a week! Wet ass pussy, make that pull game weak! Ah 😝”

After the vibe session you washed and conditioned his hair thoroughly from the chemical and now it was time for the easiest and most satisfying part.

Red fire engine hair dye. After applying, washing and blow drying, you're happy with the result. He looks so handsome.

“All done, Eji!” You exclaim and peck his cheek with your lips.

You hand him your hand mirror and he looks excitedly at himself but as he continues to look, it seems like an idea pops in his head.

“Baby, can I try something different?” He's rummaging through your box of hair tools set on looking for something in particular.

“What are you loo-”

“These!” He pops up with clippers in hand with a wide smile spreading across his face showing his sharp edged teeth.

Your eyes widened as far as they could go.

“I'm not shaving your head Eijirou Kirishima!” You looked at him like he had just murdered 1,000 people.

“No! Just the back!”

“An undercut?”

“Yes! That!”

You got so giddy and excited to hear that he actually even suggested an undercut. You've had the idea for years but you knew he loved his hair and the thought of scissors even next to his head made him anxious.

“Are you sure, bub? I-” You looked at him unsure.

“I'm sure! I want to try something different! It'd be fun to have a new look!” He smiled brightly at you, again showing off his teeth. He was 100% confident in his decision.

Kirishima essentially let your creativity and expertise do it's own thing during the cut. He trusted you would make him look awesome like you always did.

And you fucking snapped. You really did.

He looked… amazing.

“Ready to see?” You smiled as you picked up your hand mirror again.

“Yeah, baby. The suspense is killing me here.” He chucked, fidgeting in his seat a little from his nerves.

You handed him the mirror and his eyes widened.

His hair was up and pulled back stylishly in a bun exposing the newly added undercut.

“Babe! I love it! And you!” He jumped up and pulled you in an engulfing hug.

“-’M gl-ad you like it, hun!” Your voice was muffled.

“Huh?” Kirishima pulled away slightly looking down at you like a confused puppy.

You giggled.

“I said I'm glad you like it.” You smiled and he leaned down to place his lips onto yours softly.

[writersrealmbts]

Diamond Tears and Little Wings: Part 5

Description: You’re a fairy, taken in by BTS. You need lots of love and care, otherwise your light will fade and you turn to stone. Between the seven of them, you should never feel unloved. Right?

Warnings: N/A

Posted: 02/11/2021

Tags: bts x reader, ot7

Angst/Fluff/Angst: 3,846 words

A/N: Okay, I told you guys that I would be alternating between DTLW and Clearwater Springs, so here’s the proof. Anyway, two more parts after this!

Your fourth home in five years is what they told you this was. But you couldn’t remember any but this one.

So your heart was aching, and you always wanted to cry, but you never dared to do so. Something, someone’s, words, telling you that crying in front of strangers was dangerous kept echoing in your head. So you blinked away any tears that came, hugged your stuffed animal, and studied the area you would lived in.

It was a little cold, so you hugged your coat tighter to you. You’d been told by the other fairies that your coat was special, because it appeared to be designed exactly for your wings, which was rare. But none of them seemed to have any idea why you would have such a special coat, excepting the fact that maybe in the country you came from it was more normalized to have custom wing-slits.

It was completely normal to come away from a home with a stuffed animal, and clothing and jewelry that could shrink down. People liked dressing up fairies.

You played with your bracelet as you examined the cement floor, and the plain white walls, and the windows that weren’t quiet fully insulated but were full east and full west, respectively, and provided quite a bit of natural lighting. You had your own bathroom and kitchen area, and the laundry room was in the basement. The bed was a bit creaky, but the mattress seemed decent. You had a cute lamp on the side table, and they had a few books for you on a bookshelf that had the bottom shelf broken beside the side table.

There was shoebox bedroom on one of the shelves as well, very simple, with just a bed in it, but it was decorated carefully—though perhaps by their daughter. There was felt covering the floor and back wall, which would provide a little insulation for you. The outside was colored on, but you didn’t have a problem with that.

There was an old rug rolled off to one side that they said you could use, and a bar with some hangers already hanging on it and plastic drawers they said you could used for your clothing.

You looked at your suitcase, which was resting on the bed, then set your dog on top of it while you got the rug, unrolling it and placing it near your bed.

Your job there was to do their laundry and take care of the cat that their daughter wouldn’t let them get rid of, and to entertain their daughter now and then, and when you weren’t delivering the clean laundry or entertaining their daughter you were to stay in the basement bedroom. Simple enough.

The cat was a sweetheart and the laundry was quite simple with only three people to wash for. Laundry was tossed down the shoot daily and every Monday and Thursday you were to deliver their clean laundry before they awoke.

They weren’t cruel, or strict, just very structured and busy.

She was very kind and brought you groceries, even getting you exactly what you requested. You just had to leave a list with her laundry on Mondays, because Mondays were grocery days. She even spontaneously bought you a cake, and when you told her that the basement was a little cold for you, she found a nice heater for you that greatly improved things, and found some more blankets around the house for you. They were generally gone over the weekends, visiting a different set of grandparents each weekend, which left you and Cupcake, the cat, alone in the house to do as you pleased.

Those were the days you ventured down to the fairy market, which was a safe space for fairies and since you did get an allowance for doing the laundry, you could sometimes buy some special treats or things that you needed.

You weren’t a fan of the husband, which was fine, because he only seemed to come downstairs if he needed to check the water-heater (they were having issues with it and he was too stubborn to call whoever it was that professionally dealt with those things), or to ask you to do an emergency clean on a shirt or tie or slacks. It wasn’t that he was mean, or sleazy, or that he gave you bad vibes, he was just very grumpy and brisk. Cold.

And he hated the cat.

Plus you had the distinct feeling that if he found out about your diamond tears it would be a very bad thing. He was a greedy man, raising a greedy daughter.

But you had a CD player now, and you could find CD’s now and then at the fairy market, and the wife said you could use any CD’s you found in the basement.

Which was how you found your current favorite CD. You weren’t certain who the artists were because the disc hadn’t been in it’s proper case, but their songs were so nice. And you loved the one song.

So some days, when you had nothing to do but give the cat all the love it wanted, you just listened to that CD on repeat, singing words as though you’d known them before.

You did different crafts, and solved some of the abandoned puzzles from the storage room.

You improved your shoe-box, replacing the bed (it was a sponge, hard and weird to lay on) with a carefully arranged nest of fabrics and stuffing. Sometimes you stuck your stuffed dog into the shoebox and snuggled into that. The smells on it so familiar and foreign that it made you cry.

Which meant you had to find a place to hide your tears. Normally you just saved them and exchanged them at the fairy market—where the currency exchange fairy, Heidrun, just discretely nodded and added their value to your shopping card balance.

But one day she stopped you before you could leave, holding your hands. “You don’t look well, dear.”

“Fourth home,” You told her simply, shrugging. “It’s more of a job than a home. But I’m not…I’m not suffering. She always makes sure I have what I need and allows me a lot of freedom. I have the whole basement to myself, and I’m allowed in the side-yard at all times. She even encourages me to come here. And I have music to listen to. Actually, I found a CD I really like, but I don’t know what band they are because it doesn’t say on the disc.”

“Try Magnus, he knows everything going on in the music scene,” She told you, squeezing your hands. “And trying to hold onto whatever love you’ve got and are getting. It’s not healthy for our kind to go unloved.”

You nodded. “I’ll do that.”

Magnus did help you, granted, you had to sing a couple of the songs for him to find the right group, but once he did, he sent to you over to Frida with a request for BTS albums.

Frida nodded, pulling out several book-like things. “They’re super popular, but they’re also in a ton a magazines right now. They lost their fairy because of some scandal, and now they’re in a slump, but they’re also going on a world tour, so it can’t be that much of a slump. They’re actually coming to our stadium for a concert, which is cool. They’ve started putting up the posters already.”

You looked at the books, confused. “I thought you said they were albums?”

“They are. The CD’s are accompanied by a booklet of photos and the lyrics, photocards, and usually a poster.”

You blinked then picked up the biggest one, concerned and confused. “It’s…huge…and a box?”

She just snorted. “You want that one? It’s one of their more recent ones. Don’t have their newest yet, but I can see if I can get one for you.”

You nodded. “That’d be nice, but sure, I’ll…take this one for now.”

She nodded and swiped your card. “All yours, sweet-cheeks. Now, tell me how you get your hair that shiny.”

You grabbed your hair and shrugged. “I don’t know. I just wash it.”

“Not even fair,” She muttered, then turned to a new customer.

You went home after hitting a few more stalls, getting more craft things and some stuff for the kitty, hugging the album and wondering what awaited you inside.

Cupcake was waiting for you on your bed, sitting up and meowing loudly, stretching out a paw for you to take (which you did because why else teach him that trick) and then purring and arching into your hand.

“I know, I was gone for forever,” You scooped him up after successfully setting everything else down. “I bought some new music for us. You need a better name. A masculine name. You don’t respond to Cupcake anyway—not that I blame you. It’s a rather poor choice of a name for a cat, much less a tom.”

He just purred, climbing up onto your shoulders and riding there while you put away the few food items you had purchased and hopping onto the fridge while you started cooking your dinner.

You hummed as you tried to think of a different name for him, but after a moment you paused, wondering what song it was you were humming and why it was so familiar and yet so distant. So easy, but you couldn’t remember. You couldn’t remember the moment you stopped singing what the words were or how the song went, despite having reached the chorus. You could only remember the last words you sang.

You shook your head and went over, quickly opening the box to where the disc was in the album without seeing any sign of the pictures (Maybe a poster?) and then popping it into the player.

But it was worse than the first one, because you swore you knew each song. You had vague images in your head of people performing the songs. It hurt. It hurt to hear these songs because they were too familiar. Too familiar and yet so completely foreign that it was unfair.

The first one wasn’t too bad, but the second started really getting to you.

By the third song you were in tears.

By the chorus of the fourth song you were full-on sobbing on the bed.

The fifth song clashed so much with the sentiments of the previous two that it just broke you down further, and you had to turn it off before you started screaming at the empty space where the music should have come from.

You grabbed the photos from the album box after you had calmed down enough. Not bothering to try and remove the sticker, you slide the photos out and started flipping through the pages, horrified at the fact that they looked so achingly familiar and yet you had no idea who they were.

You tossed them back in the box and slammed it shut, eyes filled with tears.

But you must not have woken when someone came into the basement, because three days later the man was demanding to know where you got so many diamonds.

And fairies can’t lie.

Five days later you were staring out the window, a place you couldn’t go until you filled the box on your small counter space with diamonds. It wasn’t too large, but it was large enough that you were worried about whether you would ever fill it.

So you turned on the disc again, and cried. Cried until you were sick, and then collapsed into your bed. Exhaustedly petting the cat until you fell asleep, only to repeat it the next day. And the next.

When you finally filled it, you went straight to the market just to get some time away from the basement.

The shopkeepers from your regular stops came rushing up when they saw you, even Heidrun, all asking where you’d been and if you were okay and before you knew it you were sitting at one of the picnic tables with some soup and some tea and a bunch of worried fairies fussing over you.

Frida sat silently across from you, looking concerned but ultimately staring at the table.

Or so you thought, because she suddenly reached across the table and grabbed your bracelet. “Where did you get this?”

You blinked and tried to recoil, but couldn’t. “I don’t remember. I just figured it was from one of my previous homes.

Magnus frowned, looking at it. “It looks a lot like the one that…”

She nodded. “There’s something etched onto them. Fairy craftsmanship. Come over to my shop. Come on.”

You followed her, curious, and not wanting to let something you had a very strong attachment to out of your sight.

First she tried a jeweler’s eye loupe, then she wrinkled her nose and grabbed a flashlight, shining it through the gems and onto the table.

You stared down at it, confused.

“Something tells me your family didn’t give you up willingly,” Magnus said, voice a little tense.

Frida looked at you, as though she couldn’t believe it. “You’re the fairy that was taken away from BTS?”

You just looked back at her. “Um…is that what all of that means?”

“How did you like that album you bought?” She asked, eyes narrowed to slits.

You shifted uncomfortably, not wanting to think about how much you had used it to make yourself cry, because if you did then you knew she was right. And if she was right, then it would be even sadder.

“Weren’t the one that said that they couldn’t have been too sad about losing their fairy to be going on a world tour? Why would I want to be her?”

“No, they talked about it…it’s because they’re trying to find her. Find you. They didn’t say it explicitly because they could get in trouble for that, but they’ve hinted at it and there are tons of reports and pictures of them visiting every fairy sanctuary they could without compromising their performances. It just took a while for it to hit the news for us. Y/n, they’re looking for you. And if this is any proof, I think they love you and you need love. You look like a skeleton with skin.”

Heidrun gently pulled you into her arms. “What changed? You were doing alright and then you were gone and you come back looking like a ghost.”

“They found my tears,” You whispered.

She inhaled sharply, not quite a gasp, and held you tighter. “You can’t stay there.”

“I can’t leave there either. Where would I go? I would just get arrested and brought back to them.”

Frida folded her arms. “Leave it to me. You go back, lay low. Maybe try to appeal to the lady of the house. I’ll have you out of there as soon as I can. In the meantime….”

“I’ve still got a backlog of your diamonds, come get them just in case he asks again.” Your arm was gently pulled toward the currency exchange station.

You took the bag, and the treats most of them packed up for you. If the love of other fairies was enough to sustain you, you never would have been in this mess. But fairies, while kind and caring, didn’t have enough love for other fairies to keep them alive, especially once exposed to the love of a family. Fairies were good, and kind, and helpful, but also emotionally unstable which made it hard to focus enough love into one another without a consistent source of outside love.

It was a miracle your species had survived as long as it had.

Cupcake greeted you, meowing pathetically and hopping into your arms.

You sat down on your bed with him. “Let’s think of a new name for you.”

Eventually you settled on Keyowo, which was close to his current name but meant friend and was just…it was better.

You then set to deep cleaning over the next week, shrinking your things and tucking them into your suitcase to keep them out of sight.

On Tuesday he beat you to tears because you weren’t producing tears fast enough.

The album caught your eye again on the next Friday.

You picked up, tracing the seven on the cover, and then opening it. You pulled out the poster and unfolded it.

They were in white, with feathers floating down and a hole in the floor. They all looked so good.

You touched the one on the far left, wearing the sweater. Slightly cat-like facial features. You felt like you knew what his hands looked like, even though you couldn’t see much of them in the picture. Slightly calloused, bony, but gentle and careful. Caring for everyone.

“Yoongi,” You whispered, choking up. Tearing up.

Your fingers traced over each of them, names a whisper in your mind. A whisper that turned into shouts, memories flooding your mind of each and every one of them. Your mind screaming for them because your throat was too tight to even whisper.

They were your boys.

They had to let you go.

You weren’t supposed to remember them.

They weren’t supposed to try and find you.

The next day you shoved everything into your bag, tucked the cat into your coat, left a note for the missus and headed straight back to the fairy market.

Frida looked surprised when she saw you. “Whoa, what happened? Is this the kitty your were telling me about?”

“They’re gone for the weekend, that means even if I stay nearby they’ll think I’ve had two days to run out on them. I need you to help me get me back to my family.” You teared up. “I need to find them.”

Frida nodded, glancing around and closing her shop. “Come on. You can stay with me.”

Frida’s family consisted of a pair of siblings.

The sister, Alena, was a fairy rights activist in her spare time, which is why Frida had so much freedom, and a huge music fan. She had a whole wall of CD’s and albums and posters. Stacks of magazines featuring musicians.

The brother, Agnar, was quiet, “just an accountant”, and very kind. And very affectionate toward Frida.

Frida was equally affectionate toward him, bringing a fake gag from Alena.

They helped you find an outfit that hid your fairy-ness, and he got you tickets to the concert, all of you hoping that it would get you close enough for them to see you and recognize that you were there. Also, it would help you health-wise to see them in person and the rush from the concert would be overwhelming, but also might revitalize you.

Then Alena forced you to sit in the bathroom with her while she applied a cloth to your face with epsom salts to try and reduce the bruising and swelling on your face. She told you about the fairy abuse responders, and how she would call them in the morning and tell them about your family.

Agnar totally stole your cat.

Frida let you sleep in her fairy-home (because it definitely wasn’t a dollhouse and it was awesome, of course).

Four days later, you were at the concert venue with Alena, taking a seat and soaking in the atmosphere. People were talking all around and some people were chanting the boys’ names. Another group was starting to sing the songs.

You listened nervously, wondering whether it was true or not that they were looking for you. What if they were just making a fuss to get back at the company a bit? What if the media was making things up? It wouldn’t be the first time a story was fabricated for magazines.

Then the concert started and you and Alena were cheering for your boys, but you wondered why you ever thought they’d be able to see you in this mess.

It wasn’t until the second half of the concert that you had hope.

The boys were in more casual outfits, having more fun.

And they were all wearing the jewelry that Namjoon had made from your diamonds.

Jimin was the one who saw you first, though he looked right over you and then seemed to try and pinpoint you again, but was unable to in the crowd. He stood there with a smile plastered on his face, acting as though he was studying each Army’s face when you knew he was searching for you.

So you stood still in the writhing mass that of the crowd, and studied him.

He had lost weight, and if it hadn’t been for the makeup, you bet he’d look fairly wrung-out.

All of them looked like they’d been sick enough to lose weight.

Taehyung came over and practically dragged him away (making it look playful).

But Jimin said something to Jin and Jungkook.

Jungkook was over there as casually as he could, totally looking at the camera and doing ‘fanservice’. But he obviously didn’t spot you.

Jin didn’t either.

But Yoongi did during the very last song and he stopped, staring, then he was crouched, hand over his mouth, just staring in your direction.

You waved, wondering if he actually was staring at you.

He smiled, but it also looked like he wanted to cry. He waved as well, then cautiously moved off, still keeping an eye on you.

You bit your lip, smiling.

Alena squealed and grabbed onto you, and the two of you did your best to fit in with the rest of the crowd.

Both of you lingered as long as you could afterward, her extremely hyped from the whole concert and talking a mile a minute, while you were feeling…exhausted? All of the emotions around you and finally seeing your boys again….

But you had no idea how you were going to get to them, or how they were going to get to you.

Until you saw Sejin, scanning the crowd.

The likelihood of him being on the side of the boys was pretty good.

You tugged on Alena’s arm, pulling her to a stop.

Sejin locked onto you and started moving, coming your way, waiting until the straggling fans that had been around you were gone before telling security to let you through.

You dipped your head to the security guards, then bowed slightly to Sejin. “Hello.”

Sejin smiled. “Hello, y/n.”

You bit your lip. “I remembered.”

He nodded. “I figured. We all figured. They’re waiting. They’re all waiting.”

You were practically vibrating.

“Come on, let’s get you back to them. Your friend can come but she needs to wait in the hallway for…security purposes.”

You nodded and relayed the information to Alena, then both of you were following back to the waiting room.

Sejin stopped by the waiting room. “Go on in.”

You nodded, putting your hand on the doorknob and then turning it and going in.

–

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Masterlist  -  ot7 Masterpost

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