#that creative team at least tried

[jellyfishjuliet]

impulse (1995) ending: bart allen’s biggest oppositions are his unmanaged adhd, his increasingly overwhelming speed and all that comes with it, and god-level enemies like bedlam and pretending to be normal

superboy (1994) ending: kon el’s biggest opposition is his inability to be a man for cassie, clark, and didio

[stil-lindigo]

your favourite arach-narchists 🕷️

prints

[deviousdiesel]

.

[queer-ragnelle]

hbomberguy’s rwby video has me feeling very good about my own writing after a few weeks of feeling…meh. at least i’m comprehending why i like my inspirations & don’t just copy paste the visuals without knowing what any of it means. at least i know not to have two characters from the same family explaining their shared culture to each other for the benefit of the audience. hello??

[cherriegyuu]

so high school | kmg | part 1

pairing: hockey player mingyu x f!reader  genre: smut (in later part), fluff, a bit of angst, bad attempt at comedy word count: 8.8k summary: when you’re suddenly thrown in Mingyu’s direction, you have no choice but to stay by his side, and maybe it’s not as bad as you think playlist: click here a/n: i wanted to write a story that was light, summeryish. it was based off of taylor swift’s song so high school (i’m not that creative with names), i wanted to write that sort of cute romance we all just love. i truly hope you like it, this one is precious to me. thank you to @joonsytip for helping me with this one. please, remember to comment and reblog, it does mean the world to me and i would love to know your opnions.

< part two >

If there was one thing you hated about college, it was having to choose electives. For starters, you really didn’t want to be there. You were a good student because you had no choice, not because you absolutely loved college — not that your major was boring and you hated everything about it, but it really did seem like a universal experience to hate your chosen major at some point in college. But the problem was that taking the courses related to your major was hard enough as it was, you didn’t want to have to worry about subjects that might or might not add to what you were studying. Of course, you always tried to choose something that had at least a minimum to do with your major — Art History.

But there were times, like the previous semester when you procrastinated too much to choose one, that it simply wasn’t possible, and you had to put up with classes on Cultural Management. At first, you thought it would be geared towards galleries and the like, but it was something much more specific about public cultural heritage and that wasn’t what you wanted. At least the subject was easy enough. Just reading a few pages of Kira’s notes and listening to half of the lectures was enough to get you through with a high grade.

Trying to be a little smarter, and do something you actually enjoyed doing, you signed up for the semester’s classes as soon as they opened. You were already sitting in front of your computer when the clock struck 10 am. You chose a class that all of your classmates, or at least the ones you talked to, were interested in doing: Model Making.

It was something you enjoyed doing when you were younger. Your parents knew that if you simply disappeared or were too quiet — aka you weren’t yelling at Jeonghan — you’d be in your room surrounded by modeling clay, chopsticks, glue, brushes, and paint, or whatever materials you were using at the time. 

However, all of your dreams were shattered when you ran into Kira at the campus entrance. 

“You know, the teacher for this class is crazy. Your life is going to be hell” was like a cold shower.

After that, it was as if everywhere you went, people were purposefully talking about the subject, about how the teacher was absolutely crazy and that getting a good grade with her was almost impossible, and how she “seems to take a sick pleasure in failing students.” So when the day of class finally arrived, the first of the next six hellish months, you dragged yourself into the classroom. You chose the seat furthest away from her, hidden behind a student, and did your best to stay as out of sight as possible. 

The guy sitting in front of you turned around. He was smiling widely. You weren’t sure if he was trying to be friendly or what. 

“Do you know if what everyone’s saying is true?” 

There was something about him that was familiar. You obviously knew who he was, it was no secret. Everywhere you went, people were either whispering about him or there was a picture of him and the other guys on the team taped to the wall.

Kim Mingyu, star of the ice hockey team. The youngest to become captain, top scorer, the big sensation who would lead the university to the long-awaited championship. All that blah blah blah about the chosen athlete, and the latest savior of the nation.

So yes, you knew who he was, there was no way you couldn't know. But at that specific moment, while he was sitting in front of you, his body turned in the chair at a strange angle because he was obviously too big for that tiny chair, there was something about him that was strangely familiar.

"That the teacher is crazy?" he nodded, his eyebrows slightly arched and his lips almost forming a pout "I haven't heard anyone say otherwise, so I have no choice but to believe it."

You lowered your eyes and focused on the lit screen of your cell phone, which showed a new message from your brother. You didn't look away because you wanted to know what Jeonghan wanted, as far as you were concerned his message would only be read at the end of the day, if that. You didn't want to keep looking at Mingyu when you felt that everyone in the classroom was looking at you.

You knew it wasn't exactly true, there was no way an entire class, full of students talking to each other, could be looking at you at the same time as if you were doing something scandalous or even remotely wrong. But you knew there were a few people, and that was more than enough. It was a very familiar feeling, one you preferred not to revisit.

Even though you completely ignored Mingyu's presence or his gaze on you, he still hadn't turned around. Not even when the teacher entered the room and everyone fell silent.

The problem with being a child who didn’t have many experiences is that you become a fearful person. Everything seems big, larger than life, and sometimes everything seems infinite and far beyond reach. It’s a much easier choice to retreat into that familiar corner and pretend the world outside simply doesn’t exist. The bubble you created for yourself was small and admittedly, sometimes suffocating, but it was also comforting.

But everything can change when you meet people who aren’t aware of that bubble, or who didn’t create those spaces for themselves. They weren’t trapped inside it.

One class was more than enough to start a crack in your perfectly intact bubble. A selective introvert, as you liked to say. For a loud hockey player when he was surrounded by his friends, Seokmin was strangely shy.

When the teacher was choosing the pairs, you closed your eyes, praying to anyone who would listen not to pair you with a bad student, someone who wouldn't do anything and you would have to do all the work alone. The prayer, or whatever it was, was not heard because the teacher decided it would be a great idea to pair you and Seokmin. Maybe you were under the wrong impression, falling into the old suspicions and stereotypes, but you doubted very much that you would be able to get any kind of help from Seokmin.

And to be quite honest, after a bad experience with a group mate, to the point of ending up at the police station, because the guy simply couldn't accept the fact that you taking his name off the work was completely his fault and you simply didn't think it was fair that you did everything alone and he still got a good grade, you were okay with doing everything on your own. You were sure that if you opened your email, and clicked on your spam box because God was a witness to the number of emails you had received from that idiot, there would probably still be some unread emails from him, bragging that even with your “attempt” to jeopardize his education, he had managed to get a good enough grade to pass the class. 

Despite everything, Seokmin was nice and seemed interested enough, although a little lost, but maybe a little push in the right direction would be enough. 

“I took this class because I thought it would be easy,” he said laughing, a little shy, “I guess I was wrong.” 

You nodded, absentmindedly turning the page of your notebook with the notes you had made. 

“I took it because I like the idea of ​​building models.”

The classroom door opened with a bang, slamming against the wall. Everyone turned to him, some girls laughing. Mingyu was obviously late, his hair still wet from the shower, his backpack inside out on his shoulder, his shirt completely wrinkled as if it had just come out of a cow’s mouth. The teacher stood up and walked towards him slowly, her arms crossed over her chest.

“He’s screwed.” Seokmin laughed softly, or as softly as he could.

The teacher didn’t have a welcoming look in her eyes, if anything she seemed to be glaring at Mingyu, and not even the best smile he could throw in her direction would make a difference. In addition to being crazy, the teacher was also apparently known for not accepting tardiness.

It was impossible to look away as Mingyu tried, without any success, to open his mouth to explain, but the teacher wouldn’t let him say a single word. You and Seokmin suppressed a laugh when the teacher looked in the direction where she thought the noise was coming from before turning back to Mingyu, who seemed more desperate by the second. He looked lost standing in front of the older woman, his head lowered like a child who had misbehaved and was listening to a lecture.

Finally, the teacher dismissed him with a wave of her hands and turned back to her desk, completely ignoring Mingyu. He finally turned back to the desks, his eyes scanning the space before finally settling on Seokmin. Or… on you? There was no reason to believe he was looking at you, none at all. When Mingyu smiled, you went back to looking at your notes, flipping the pages almost compulsively, looking for anything and nothing.

You had no idea why your heart was behaving like that, beating almost animalistically inside your chest, or why you felt a single drop of sweat run down your spine — despite the air conditioning being on and you feeling cold. You could have sworn you could hear Mingyu’s footsteps going up the stairs, despite the sound of the students’ conversations around you being obviously much louder.

“At least I got something good for being late today.”

Mingyu pulled out the empty chair next to you and sat down, his knee bumping against yours. You flinched a little and moved away, making yourself closer to Seokmin.

“Sorry,” you said to Seokmin and turned to Mingyu. “Could you…?”

You waved your hand to make him move away. He looked confused for a second until he pushed the chair further away from you. On the other side, Seokmin covered his mouth, trying to stifle a laugh, while Mingyu glared at him.

“The teacher who chose your group?” Seokmin asked, still trying to suppress a laugh.

“She just said to sit with whoever wasn’t already in a trio”

You closed your eyes and took a deep breath. Great, you were stuck with two jocks who had probably hit their heads on the ice so much that their brains had turned to jelly in their early twenties.

“What do we have to do?”

“Build 3 models based on architectural periods.” When Mingyu widened his eyes, you added, “It’s the entire semester’s work. We don’t even have to come to class anymore, just the last one to hand it in.”

You started gathering the few materials you had taken out of your bag. The notebook and pen quickly disappeared into what Jeonghan called a black hole. “What goes in there never comes out again. If you look hard enough, you’ll find a wallet I lost in high school.”

“Look, I know I’m going to do this alone. I'll find a way to let you know the periods I chose and the artists and you guys study for the presentation.” 

You stood up, pushing the chair back with your knees, making a lot more noise than expected, which in turn made most of the people turn to see what was happening, including the teacher. 

“Wait,” Mingyu said, holding the strap of your bag. 

Not that you could get out of there anyway, he was between you and any possibility of leaving. But you thought he would get out of the way if he saw that you wanted to leave.

“I'll help, it's my job too,” with his free hand, he pointed to Seokmin behind you. “Ours, actually.” 

Despite the sincere look on his face, you laughed.

“Look, I don't want to offend you guys, okay? But the three of us know that won't happen. There will always be a practice, a game, a party, something that will stop you from doing your part of the work. I don’t mind doing it alone, it won’t be the first time, and considering I still have two more semesters to go, it won’t be the last. It’s okay, really.”

Mingyu stood up and for a moment you were sure he was going to get out of your way, but somehow he managed to block your path even more. You couldn’t help but wonder if he had always been this tall and wide. When he was around the other players it didn’t seem like it, but him standing in front of you…

“I said we’ll help” 

He took his phone out of his pocket and unlocked it, turning the device towards you.

“You know, your hands are huge, and this is a very delicate job” What exactly were you talking about?

“He’s more skilled than you can imagine,” Seokmin said. 

Once again, you closed your eyes and took a deep breath. The teacher was definitely crazy, and it seemed like she had some kind of personal vendetta against you. Or was it a curse cast by Jeonghan for staining his white shirts? Whatever it was, it was a problem that, at the moment, had no obvious solution.

“If I fail this class because of you two idiots, maybe one of you will lose a hand.” You snatched the phone from Mingyu’s hand, dialed your number, and quickly handed it back. “Maybe both of you”

You put your hand on Mingyu’s shoulder and pushed him back. You tried your best to avoid any kind of contact, but it was the only solution you could find to pass.

“It’s not a matter of life or death, you know?” he said, laughing.

“I’ve never failed in my life, and I’m not going to start now.”

Mingyu pushed the door open with perhaps a little more force than necessary. He wasn't angry, but he wasn't happy either, a strange feeling somewhere in between that he didn't like very much.

That first day he had seen you in class was like he had been transported back to high school. He could almost hear you saying, in the most disinterested tone in the world, "I've been waiting for you for two hours, could we please go home?" At that time he had also felt invisible to your eyes.

But so many years later, in that classroom, he thought you would recognize him. Mingyu thought, as naive as it may seem, that despite your disinterest at the time, at least you would know who he was.

Of all the people he could meet in that class, you were the last one that ever crossed his mind. It had been years since he had last seen you, since Jeonghan's last game, when he was crowned champion for the third time - an unprecedented feat until that moment. Mingyu had even tried to beat that record, but his runner-up position in the third year had prevented him from doing so. 

He had gotten used to seeing you from afar, always the unreachable sister of his captain, who always seemed to be much more interested in the books you carried around with you than in anything else. 

The truth was that you had never even directed a word in Mingyu's direction. Besides Jeonghan, he had only seen you talk to one other person, Seungcheol. It had never been clear to him if it was by choice or if it was because Jeonghan always said you were off-limits. Maybe it was somewhere in between. 

However, when you entered the room, looking for an empty chair, Mingyu expected you to recognize him, even though so many years had passed. When you walked up the stairs and seemed to be heading towards him, Mingyu, like a silly teenager, expected you to at least greet him. But you walked right past him as if he wasn't even there. 

Even so, he tried to talk to you. Something about the teacher being crazy and the look in your eyes said that you couldn't wait for him to shut up and look straight ahead again.

After that, it was like he saw you everywhere, and believe him, he wasn't looking for you. In the café that opened on the other side of the campus, in the library, when he went to return a book, in the hallway of the building, on the lawn. Mingyu spent five years without having any kind of contact with you and, suddenly, you were everywhere.

He chose to see it as a divine sign. As if the guy up there was saying "Now is your chance". And then, as if all these signs weren't enough, he was given the chance to do an assignment with you, almost like a gift.

"The door didn't do anything to you," Seokmin said laughing.

"Do you want to be the door?" 

Maybe the divine signal was broken, maybe the guy up there was messing with him because in less than 5 minutes you managed to extinguish any and all excitement Mingyu could have about doing the assignment with you. All you had to do was open your mouth.

“Dude, she just doesn’t remember you” Seokmin laughed again, having a little too much fun with the whole situation “If you say, ‘hi, I was your brother’s teammate’, she’ll still not remember you, but maybe she’ll be less hostile”

Mingyu highly doubted that was the case. There was a rumor that you hated everything and anything that had to do with hockey, your patience was less than zero. Jeonghan was the king of the ice, the best the sport could produce. You were the ice princess without ever having even put on a pair of skates – or so the gossip said. 

“It doesn’t bother me that she doesn’t remember me” It did bother him, but he wouldn’t admit it “It bothers me that she thinks I’m stupid”

Usually, under completely normal circumstances, Mingyu would even prefer to be seen as stupid and without anything in his head. It was easier, it prevented people from creating any kind of expectation about him. Strangely, he wanted you to see him as intelligent.

“You’re a bit contradictory, aren’t you? You’ve spent the last 3 years cultivating the image of a dumb athlete, who gets good grades by pure luck, despite the almost impossible subjects, but now you want her to think you’re smart”

“I didn’t know you knew how to use the word contradictory”

You stared at the lit screen of your cell phone. The unknown number was glowing and the inviting green button was almost begging you to answer the call. It was already the third time he had called and it would also be the third time you had ignored him.

“You know, it won’t hurt if you answer his call,” Kira said beside you, but she also knew that trying to convince you was a losing game.

Exactly 11 days had passed since the fateful class that had put you in a group with Seokmin and Mingyu. While you had no direct problems with either of them, besides them being hockey players, Mingyu’s insistence irritated you in a way that didn’t make much sense — not even to you. You should have felt relieved that he wanted to do the work, and that he was interested in participating. But the truth is that you knew how this worked, you had been in that situation before and hadn’t had the best experience.

Maybe you were a little too hard on him, it's true, but it's like the old saying goes: a scalded cat fears cold water.

“I want to keep as far away from him as possible.”

Kira rolled her eyes for what seemed like the twentieth time. She understood, to some extent, your dislike for players and also knew that a lot of it came from your brother, but in the case of Mingyu, specifically, you were definitely going too far.

“Look, the rumors are that he's a good student, actually. Always with high grades.” Kira tried to argue.

You knew the rumor well, even before you were put in the same group, in fact, much to your chagrin, Mingyu had chosen to be in the same group as you. That helped a lot with the huge reputation he had around the college. Handsome, athletic, good student. But you didn't believe it for a minute.

You didn’t know if Mingyu really had any good grades, but if he did, you were sure he hadn’t gotten them in the most… fairway.

“And he’s not unpleasant to look at at all.”

It was your turn to roll your eyes at him. Yes, Mingyu was gorgeous, breathtaking, the kind of guy that made you wonder if he was even real. You had eyes and they worked just fine, you didn’t need Kira to remind you that he was handsome. Saying Mingyu was handsome was like saying the sky was blue, obvious, and expected.

“You know I don’t mess with athletes.”

Finally, Mingyu had given up on the call, but that didn’t mean he had given up completely. Your phone only had a few seconds of respite before the screen lit up again, but this time with a ton of messages.

Unknown - 11:32

hi, it's mingyu

Unknown - 11:32

again

Unknown - 11:33

answer me, I want to talk about the project

Unknown - 11:34

you said you want to do it alone, but it's not going to happen, you know? I can't leave my grande in the hands of a complete stranger

Unknown - 11:35

I see you with your phone in your hand, take my call or reply to my texts

You lifted your head so quickly that you felt a twinge in your neck.

"Shit"

You looked around the cafe, trying to find Mingyu, but most of the tables were empty and none of the people standing in line looked remotely like him. You brought your face closer to the glass, trying to find the tall, broad figure, outside, and still didn't see anyone who could be mistaken for him.

yn - 11:37

I could report you for stalking

Unknown - 11:37

crime: wanting to do a college assignment

yn - 11:37

following me around, calling me non-stop, texting me. It could be considered stalking, yes

Unknown - 11:38

again, crime: wanting to do a school project

Unknown - 11:38

also, I wasn’t following you, I just happened to see you

yn - 11:38

I already said I'll do it alone

Unknown - 11:39

and I already said it won't happen, so if you could tell me your plan on how to do it, that would be great

“We have to admit, he's persistent”

Mingyu's messages became common and also at the most random moments possible. You were sure that the only time he hadn't sent a text was when he was at the game last Friday. You knew this because you had watched the game, with the computer with the sound turned down so that Jeonghan wouldn't suspect anything. 

You hated to admit it, but he was good at what he did. Dared to say it was even glorious. It was hard to believe that a man of that size, so wide, could infiltrate the smallest spaces and score the most unbelievable goals possible. He and Seokmin together were almost magical. They still couldn't compare to the duo of Jeonghan and Seungcheol, but that was already a very high level to reach. 

Mingyu had given up on sending you texts only about work, not that you had answered any of them, but he also started asking about your course, inviting you and Kira to go to one of his games – you still wondered how he had found out about your friendship since all of your social media profiles were locked and so were Kira's.

You had to agree with Kira, he was persistent. You could even say tireless. If you were him, you would probably have given up a long time ago, choosing to let the crazy guy do the work alone. But Mingyu was nowhere near giving up. You knew this because every time you miraculously ran into Mingyu, you had to run away from him, practically having to run away from him at some point.

It worked very well for a week until one day he simply appeared in front of you. You were distracted, your eyes glued to your phone. Jeonghan was gliding across the ice with skill when the player from the other team hit him hard, his body flying before falling to the ice. You felt the air get stuck in your lungs until he stood up, clearly irritated by what had happened. You felt like laughing when you saw the name on the other player's shirt, the one who had pushed Jeonghan. Choi. Best friends in real life, rivals on the ice.

“What are you looking at so focused?” a voice said next to him.

You felt like your heart was going to jump out of your chest as you tried to lock your phone and put it back in the bag. You wished you had been more graceful in the whole situation, to look less like someone who had been caught red-handed doing something they shouldn't have.

“Jeez, do you have no manners?” your voice came out louder than expected, causing some people around him to turn to see what was happening.

Beside you, Mingyu smiled, pleased with himself for having gotten some reaction beyond furrowed eyebrows and a look of disgust.

“Were you running away from me?” he raised his hand and corrected himself, “Not right now because you clearly had no idea I was here, but in general.” 

You rolled your eyes and quickened your pace. You didn’t really have anywhere to go or anything to do, there were still 50 minutes until your next class and there was no time to run home and hide. Would it be too pathetic to hide in the bathroom and wait for him to leave? With your luck, he would be waiting outside, even if it meant missing a class. 

“Why would I do that?” 

Mingyu crossed his arms over his chest. For the first time in your life, you wished someone was ugly, devoid of any kind of muscles or attractive qualities. You wished he was ugly, terrible to look at. You wished the sun wouldn’t make his skin shine, you wished you didn’t find the mole on the tip of his nose cute, wished you hadn’t wondered if maybe all this insistence of his didn’t have some extra reason, besides wanting to get the work done and obviously annoying you. Of all the things, you wished you hadn’t been disappointed when you hadn’t seen him for a day.

It was ridiculous, you knew it was. But whatever it may be, there you were, your heart pounding, feeling it throb in your neck. You wouldn’t fool yourself into thinking it was just because you were surprised by him suddenly being by your side. You could fool others, but at least you had to be fair to yourself.

“I don’t know, you tell me.”

Even though you knew it wasn’t a good idea, you stood still. You knew it would only attract more attention, it was almost inevitable when Mingyu was by your side. 

“Okay, I was. I don’t want to be seen with you.”

Mingyu looked confused, his head lolling to the side as if he was seriously thinking about what was happening. The question mark was clearly written on his face. It was almost as if one was floating above his head.

“Mingyu, look. You, in and of yourself, are not the problem. I mean, in part, it is, but you know, it's that old story, the problem is me, not you.”

“I honestly thought the problem was just the assignment.” He scratched his head, his eyebrows still furrowed. “You think I'm stupid and that kind of thing.”

You took a deep breath, your eyes closed for a second. You hadn't explained the situation to him, you had no reason to, so he had no way of knowing. But you also didn't want to expose your life to a stranger, so you weren’t willing to just tell secrets you’d never said out loud.

“If I tell you I’ll let you guys do your part, will you stop following me? It’s a little weird, and maybe even a little creepy.”

Your words were honest, it was weird and creepy at the same time. It didn’t make sense. Wouldn’t it be much easier for him, and for Seokmin, to just let you do everything yourself so they could focus on whatever was important to them? In your opinion, it was the easiest thing for everyone.

But Mingyu looked like a dog with a bone. A terrible analogy, but it made sense, at least to you.

“Yes,” a direct answer, great.

“Let’s do it like this then, let’s chat via text about the artists we think are cool, which are the most interesting. Once we’ve reached a consensus, we’ll get together to start making the models.”

You took a step back and held out your hand. A peace offering.

“We have a deal then.”

If regret killed, you would have been dead and buried so long ago that you would have turned into fertilizer. Logically, you knew that trusting Jeonghan was a mistake. You loved your brother with all your heart, but you also knew that he wasn't the most trustworthy person for certain things.

If you were in trouble and needed help? He was definitely the right guy for the job. He wouldn't say a word in a judgmental tone and, depending on the situation, he would go far enough to pretend it never happened. Now, if it was a request that he considered silly, then it was a lost cause. 

Besides all that, Jeonghan liked to play pranks, and you were one of his favorite victims. Things could even get a little out of hand when he and Seungcheol got together. It was like having two completely devilish older brothers. In truth, Seungcheol alone wasn't even that bad, but when he got together with Jeonghan it was like someone had opened the gates of hell. 

Even knowing all this, you had talked to him. You knew the house was his, that he could come and go as he pleased, but thought that if you played the little sister card well enough he would let it go.

"Some friends from college are coming over tomorrow, can you please not show up at home?" you asked, making your best puppy-dog-that-fell-out-of-the-moving-truck face.

"You don’t want me to meet your boyfriend?" he laughed, looking away from his phone for a second before returning his attention to the device.

You closed your eyes. Something was going on. Jeonghan was really into his phone, much more than usual. Either some nonsensical rumor had been published, which he would have already shown you and laughed along with you when he read the absurdities written; or he had a bone in his body, also known as a girlfriend. He always got more into his phone when he had someone more serious in his life.

It was useful information to have, so you put it in a little box in your mind labeled "something to blackmail Jeonghan with later" For now it was just speculation, but it could be important.

"How many boyfriends do you think I have?" You grimaced, shaking your head. “But no, none of them are my boyfriend. They’re just some guys I have to work with. I thought about doing it here because we need space and I’m sure I’ll yell at one of them sooner or later.”

You weren’t in the habit of bringing people home. Jeonghan was a person who really liked his private life to remain that way, private. Even with Kira, who was your closest friend, you had a hard time taking her home. Not because Jeonghan had asked. He knew that if you were asking, it was because you needed to or because you trusted those people enough to know who your brother was without it becoming a problem.

In fact, you weren’t sure of anything, not that you needed them or that you could trust them. But Jeonghan wasn’t one of those celebrities who had huge photos of themselves scattered around the house. It’s a little creepy, to be honest, he had said once. So the few photos he had around the living room were in normal-sized picture frames, which his mother had put up when she visited, so they could be easily hidden. The lie about the rich brother who works in the stock market was always on the tip of your tongue in case someone could question why you lived in a penthouse.

"I don't understand what's wrong with me being here then" His indifferent tone of voice was dangerous.

Maybe it would be better to give up.

"First because I don't need supervision, the virginity ship sailed a long time ago" 

It might be a good idea to talk about something he didn't like to talk about, like your past relationships. He could joke all he wanted, but at the end of the day, he was just a guy who didn't like knowing that his younger sister had boyfriends.

"For the love of god I don't need to know that in detail" He grimaced, pretending to vomit. He was such a good actor that he had even turned pale.

"And secondly, because they play hockey. Since there's no way they don't know who you are, I'd like to not witness another fanboy" 

You knew you had said the wrong thing when you noticed that gleam in Jeonghan's eyes. Even his expression had changed when you told him that your groupmates played hockey.

Still, you chose to believe him when he said he would be out of the house all day, that he would even go to Seungcheol's house after practice — which you thought was a lie, considering the whole situation with not putting down his phone and running when a notification came in. He had gone as far as to say, “let me know when it's over, so I can come home.” That's why you sent a message to the group chat with Seokmin and Mingyu asking if they had Tuesday night off.

A part of you, a very big part, thought they would deny it and make up any excuse not to show up, but it was almost as if they both had their phones in their hands waiting for your message.

And so, the three of you were sitting at Jeonghan's huge dining table. It was the kind of furniture that existed only to take up space, you always ate in the kitchen.

“You live well” Seokmin commented.

It was funny, and almost cute, how completely clumsy he was. You had bought different types of materials to test, thinking about which one would work best. Seokmin had changed several times, the last attempt was the biscuit.

“My brother earns well” you shrugged, hoping he wouldn't ask anymore.

To your surprise, he didn't ask. Which was a relief, you didn't want to lie.

Even without looking up, you knew Mingyu was looking at you. He didn't try to hide it at all. It was uncomfortable, but at the same time, it was flattering.

You rested your chin on your hand and stared at him too. Ever since the first day you had seen him in class, you had the feeling that you knew him. You didn't know where from, you didn't know how. It wasn't from college, it wasn't from the posters spread around, or from the fame he had. It was from before, before college, but you didn't know where. You were sure he wasn't in any of the courses you took and he wasn't from your school either, there was no hockey team.

“Where do I know you from?” the words came from your lips, but it was a question asked much more to you than to him.

Mingyu simply tilted his head to the side and didn't say a single word. Seokmin, who until then had his head down, his brow furrowed in concentration trying to shape the white mass in his hands, looked up, almost startled by your words.

It was as if a light bulb had been turned on over your head. It was so ridiculously obvious that you would be able to kick yourself.

And with perfect timing, as if it had been sent from heaven, programmed to the exact seconds, you heard the living room door open. A second later, Jeonghan was in the room.

“Mingyu?” Jeonghan said, his eyes darting from side to side, trying to understand what was happening.

“Captain,” Mingyu said, smiling.

You wished a hole the size of Mount Everest would open up beneath your feet and swallow you whole as you watched Mingyu stand up and greet Jeonghan as if they were old friends who hadn’t seen each other in years.

That was obviously true.

“You know each other” It wasn’t a question, it was a simple statement.

“Yes? Mingyu is a few years younger, but we played on the same team.”

Suddenly a brief movie flashed through your head, of all the times you had seen Mingyu — or at least the times that were never erased. Mingyu walking next to Jeonghan one of the times you were waiting for your brother in the school parking lot, him at the games, sitting on the bench completely irritated by the fact that he couldn’t play and the team was losing. He was a boy who was clearly too skinny, but somehow he had become that man in front of you.

“She doesn’t remember me,” Mingyu said with a laugh.

Was that a hint of resentment you heard in his voice? You hoped not, but maybe if you were in his shoes you would be resentful too. You hoped he hadn’t talked to you that first day because he expected you to recognize him and every time after that. Because most of the time you had been a complete jerk to him.

“Wow, you saw him literally every day for at least two years.”

It wasn’t like you weren’t already embarrassed enough on your own, of course, Jeonghan, in his best big brother role, had to add fuel to the fire. You hoped your cheeks weren’t as red as you felt them hot.

If the smile on Mingyu’s lips was any indication, you were completely screwed.

“I only remember Cheol. He was the only one you let get close to me.”

It was a futile attempt to defend yourself, but it was the only excuse you had. It was also the truth.

“That’s true,” Mingyu agreed, sitting back down.

It wasn’t a big secret that Jeonghan had forbidden all his teammates from getting close to you. It wasn’t like you desperately wanted their company anyway, so it was a win-win arrangement.

“You were a pain in the ass,” which was just another shovel of dirt for someone who was already buried, right?

“I was protecting you? The guys on the team…” he tried to defend himself, feigning offense.

You simply waved your hand at him, dismissing any kind of explanation he might have offered.

“They were teenagers full of testosterone and hormones. Not much has changed, you know.”

The three of them were startled when Seokmin slammed the table, his eyes wide as he stared at Jeonghan. For a few minutes, you had forgotten he was there.

“You are Yoon Jeonghan’s sister?” His voice had suddenly become shrill to the point of echoing in the room.

The laugh that escaped your lips was partly incredulous and partly desperate. Mingyu remembered you, but he hadn’t told anyone—not even his teammate—probably because he remembered it was something you kept people from knowing. In a way, you knew your secret's safe with him. But you didn’t know if you could trust Seokmin in the same way.

“He’s kind of slow sometimes.”

Mingyu pushed Seokmin out the door, hoping he would finally stop talking. His friend hadn’t realized the discomfort he had caused you yet. Jeonghan, as always, didn’t seem to care and on some level, he actually seemed to enjoy all the attention he was getting.

“It’s been a while since someone got this excited to see me,” he said, laughing when Seokmin went to the bathroom.

Either Jeonghan hadn’t realized how quiet you had been, or he had simply chosen not to do anything about it. Mingyu couldn’t be sure of the older man’s intentions, not at that moment or when they were still at school.

But you? You were like an open book, almost begging to be read. You obviously didn’t say a word, but your face showed how uncomfortable you were with the whole situation, how embarrassed you were for not remembering Mingyu as soon as you saw him.

Without you noticing, Mingyu spent a lot of time observing you. In a way, it was easy to know what you were thinking. Of course, a lot had changed in the years you hadn't seen each other, but many things were still the same.

“He won't tell anyone about your brother.”

Mingyu pushed Seokmin again, this time towards the elevator, and turned to you, who was holding the door, your gaze almost lost.

“It's okay.” you took a deep breath before straightening your spine and forcing a smile. “Eventually, everyone will know.”

He shook his head and put his hand on your shoulder, leaning his body forward slightly so his eyes were leveled with yours.

“You have my word,” he promised, voice low “Seokmin won't open his mouth. Your secret will still be a secret.”

You nodded, but Mingyu knew the gesture was just to make him leave faster.

“You should go,” you said before closing the door, without waiting for Mingyu's response.

If he could, he would suffocate Seokmin right there in the hallway, but then the security cameras would see him and that would become a problem. He entered the elevator in silence and pressed the button for the ground floor. Beside him, Seokmin was practically thrilled with the discovery he had made an hour ago.

“When you said you knew her from your old school, I would never have imagined that,” he said, laughing. “I thought she was a girl who went to the same school as you.”

Mingyu chose to remain silent. He expected Seokmin to eventually get tired and simply stop talking, but he should have known better. His friend had too much energy to simply stop. In fact, it was a surprise that he had managed to stay quiet for two hours before Jeonghan arrived. And even after he arrived, Seokmin had remained standing in the same place. He spoke faster than ever and looked at Jeonghan as if he were seeing a god in person, but still, standing in the same place.

God knew it was almost impossible to convince Seokmin to stay still for long.

“I don’t understand why she hides the fact that she’s his sister. It’s basically the nicest thing anyone can say. Imagine going around saying ‘my brother is Yoon Jeonghan’”

Mingyu sighed and crossed his arms and sighed, rolling his eyes. Of course, he would.

“Remember that time your sister complained that a girl tried to befriend her because she wanted to go out with you?”

“It happened a few times, actually.”

Mingyu stayed silent, waiting for all the dots to connect in Seokmin’s head without him having to actually say the words. Under normal circumstances, Seokmin would have understood and kept quiet, but he was too excited after meeting an idol god to realize the full context Mingyu was trying to give him.

“That happens to her all the time. She didn’t even go to the same school as us. She really does everything so no one knows she’s his sister. Didn’t you notice there’s no picture of them at home?”

Seokmin laughed, as if the question was too stupid, causing Mingyu to narrow his eyes.

“Dude, you’re the one who’s into her, not me. I don’t care about whose picture is in her house.”

Would anyone find it a problem if Mingyu strangled Seokmin until he passed out and then took him back home? In Mingyu’s eyes, he would be doing everyone around him a favor. It would be a night of silence and peace for everyone involved — in this case, just him, but no one needed to know about it.

“Either way, you can’t tell anyone about this,” he warned once more.

He had made a promise to you and he would rather cut off an arm than break it.

“Not even to the team?”

Mingyu scratched his head before crossing his arms again, with much more force than necessary. Finally, the elevator reached the ground floor and Seokmin was faster than Mingyu to get out, almost running down the hall to the gate.

Mingyu briefly greeted the doorman with a nod before following his friend.

“Especially to the team. No one can know. It's like a federal secret, you know?”

Mingyu grabbed Seokmin by the arm, making his friend stop and look at him. He hoped it would be enough for him to understand that he wasn't kidding, that it wasn't some kind of joke.

"Jeez, so much drama."

He got away from his friend and quickly opened the car door and got into the passenger seat.

Once again, Mingyu took a deep breath, his eyes closed. Maybe he shouldn't have promised you anything, not when the promise had nothing to do with him, and when there was a possibility of everything going wrong, then he would have to bear the burden of someone else's mistake.

"Seokmin," your voice was a warning tone. He opened the car door.

"I won't say anything!" his friend almost shouted.

"You're terrible at keeping secrets," he sighed, almost defeated.

"Nobody knows that you're actually super smart," Seokmin scoffed. "I never told on you, you know."

When you finally managed to get Mingyu and Seokmin to leave, you were beyond exhausted. It was late, already past 10 pm and you had to wake up early for class the next day. At least you would fall into bed without much trouble and you were sure that you would black out almost instantly. Except for the idea that from that moment on it was likely that the entire college would know who your brother was.

You always knew that this day would come, you just hoped it wouldn't be during college, a college that had a good hockey team — well, it was almost unfair, they were fantastic — and that lived and breathed the sport. If the news really needed to get out, you wanted it to happen when you were far away from there, in an environment where few people would like the sport. Of course, you were living off stereotypes, but you preferred to believe that you wouldn't have many colleagues who liked the sport, or that if they did, they would be indifferent.

With a sigh, you began to gather the materials that were scattered around the table, cleaning up the mess left behind. Seokmin wasn't wrong when he said that Mingyu was more skilled than expected. The prototype he made was delicate and almost perfect. Working with him wouldn't be complicated at all. With Seokmin too. He was more absent-minded, but he wasn't bad either. He could do the rough part of the work and you would refine it until it was perfect.

“Sis”

Jeonghan's voice sounded behind you and you chose not to answer. You were irritated with him for so many reasons that you didn't even know where to start, or what to say to him. You had made it explicitly clear why you didn't want him home. And, although he had never necessarily liked your reasons, Jeonghan had always respected you. If you said you didn't want something, he accepted it. But this time he had crossed all the limits.

“Sister” he tried again, this time a step closer to you.

You rested your hands on the table and leaned your body forward. 

“You know, I know that I live in your house, that you’re the one paying for my college, and that all the comfort I have here is because you pay for everything, so you can kind of do whatever you want. But this is my life.” 

You continued to put the things in the box and went to your room. You didn’t close the door because you knew Jeonghan would follow you. 

“I don’t understand what’s wrong with people knowing that I’m your brother.” 

You shook your head as you sat on the bed. He clearly didn’t understand, he never had, but he had always respected it. Apparently not anymore. 

“It’s not middle school anymore and you’re not 13 anymore. Just tell them all to go to hell,” he tried to reason, sitting in front of you. 

Jeonghan’s eyes were affectionate, without a hint of judgment. He just wanted to understand what was going on, because it was so important to you that people didn’t know.

“I didn’t change schools because girls were all over me because they wanted your number. I can’t say it didn’t affect my decision and it was the perfect excuse. But that wasn’t all.”

You didn’t know how to continue, didn’t know how to say everything without Jeonghan getting upset. Because you were sure he would.

“I didn’t want to be compared to you anymore.”

Your voice was almost a whisper and you didn’t dare look up, or in Jeonghan’s direction. You didn’t want to see the look of disappointment on his face, because you knew he would be disappointed. Not because you were feeling that way, but because you never told him anything.

“The teachers always talked about how smart you were, that despite sports you always got good grades. And I remember how you were back then, and you barely tried, but you were good at everything. I tried so hard and it was never enough.”

With each word that left your mouth, your voice got lower and weaker. When you said the words out loud, when they weren’t just cloistered in your mind anymore, they sounded almost pathetic. Jeonghan had never put any kind of pressure on you, quite the opposite. Your brother always made sure that you were you, an individual different from him.

All the ideas and traumas you had were not directly caused by Jeonghan but somehow had to do with him.

Jeonghan sighed loudly and leaned forward until he could hold your hand.

“Being good at school doesn’t mean anything, it’s just school. No one cares about it after a while.”

The laugh you let out was one of complete mockery. Jeonghan really had no idea what could be going through your head, the things that had happened and were still happening. Not that you blamed him for that, he had no way of knowing if you didn’t tell him what was going on, but part of you just wanted him to pay attention. If he paid attention, even the slightest bit, he would know.

The fact that he didn’t understand was painful.

If it were just the school teachers, it would be fine. Like he said, no one cares about school after a while. Do you know who cares about school, regardless of the moment? Parents. Parents who aren't necessarily bad, just parents who think that comparing one child to another is an excellent incentive. An incentive so good that they still do it.

Deep down you know that it's not out of malice, that it's not because they want to see you down, but it's an inevitable consequence. And, in a way, they were already so intrinsic in the conversations, little notes that didn't even seem like real comments, that you were sure that Jeonghan didn't even notice them.

"Okay," you said, just wanting to end the conversation. "I'll talk to both of them tomorrow, and apologize to Mingyu."

Jeonghan nodded, knowing full well that the conversation was over and that even if he pressed, he wouldn't be able to get anything else out of you.

"I have to leave early tomorrow," he said, "but if you want, can we have dinner together and talk about it?"

"I'll accept dinner, but I'll skip the talk."

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[vxnuslogy]

— 1:43 coincidences.

pairing: kinich x gn!reader

premise: kinich wasn't one to indulge in the creative waters of writing or english. but for a chance to know you, he'd willing jump into the ocean.

— warnings: none

— author's note: this was supposed to be for his birthday but i got lazy half way through so yeah. this is also a part 2 of 11:11 wishes and i highly recommend you read this one first!! art credits to @.n249g on twt. | 2.3k words.

— tags: @ryescapades @mikashisus @https-sourlimes ; if you'd like to be tagged, please fill out the forms in my pinned!!

english—writing class to be specific—was one of kinich’s least favorite subjects in school. not to say that he didn’t appreciate books and stories, he just simply preferred the more straightforward subjects like p.e. and math. he never really could wrap his head around the ideas of using so many literary devices to make a statement sound flowery. why can’t author’s simply say that the sky was blue or that the sun has set? kinich, more often than not, found them all unnecessary.

until you, that is.

kinich met you by coincidence during one of his basketball practices. a loud shout of his name from the stands and an enthusiastic mualani made him cringe internally as his teammates wiggle their eyebrows. with a roll of his eyes, kinich drops his water bottle on the benches and readied himself for whatever mualani wanted to do. his head curiously tilted to the side when he caught sight of you. 

you and mualani were the same height, you held her bag in your arms as you scroll through your phone. kinich must have stared a bit too hard. you looked, meeting his eyes with a curious but embarrassed gaze. suddenly all the metaphorical pieces of literature he once found exasperating had an entirely new meaning as you flashed him an embarrassed smile. he found himself captivated–unable to look away even when mualani came to obscure his view of you. with a heavy breath, he tried his best to keep his attention on her words, but he ended up missing the way your lips turned upward and eyes turn into small crescents. 

it would’ve been cute, dare he say romantic, with the way you kept stealing glances at him. kinich felt a certain itch at the back of his mind to at least smile back, but he never got the chance to. not when a stray basketball flies past his head and nearly hit you all the way from the stands.

“hey! watch it!” mualani shouts. hands gripping the metal bars tightly, ready to jump down and pick a fight with the player who had nearly hit you. 

kinich stood there, baffled and perplexed about you. he found your way of tugging at mualani’s arm amusing as she yells and points an accusing finger at ororon. you shake your head with a sigh and offer him an apologetic smile when he should be the one doing that. with his own heavy sigh, kinich turned around and crossed his arms, a scolding look in his eyes as everyone avoided his gaze. 

“kinich you better put your team in place or i’ll do it myself!” the volleyball captain in the stands yelled with an angry huff. she copied kinich’s pose and narrowed down her eyes but she simply looked like an angry kitten.

kinich’s ears picked up on your airy giggle and felt the hairs on his arms rise. karma must be coming back to bite him in the ass because now, at this very moment, he wished he’d paid enough attention in english class to find a way to describe the way you captured him with just one glance.

much his teacher’s surprise, kinich finally began to participate in english class. he would raise his hands to answer questions and when called, he’d try to answer even if he struggled. all of his classmates concluded something must have happened—you can’t really blame them for being curious, after all, kinich only took interest in very few things. 

he began to frequent the local bookstore too. drifting from one aisle to another, eyes skimming over the spines of the books he once took for granted. ironically, he found himself indulging in a newfound fascination with how words worked. a certain wish deep in the columns of his chest to find a way to describe you in the same way. that’s when kinich ceased all his skimming. ever since that day, he’s been thinking about you, more often than he should.

he knew you and mualani were close—attached to the hip with the way you grew up together. the council president would often brag about your achievements as if they were her own during breaks from meetings. mualani always had something to say about you—all ranging from nice, embarrassing, and intriguing. you also ate lunch together. kinich would always notice how mualani packs extra lunch and when the bell rings, you’re always outside the classroom. bag slinged over your shoulder, a book under your arms as you entertained yourself with your phone. 

during all of these times, kinich’s eyes will always slide over to your figure. trying to capture your mystique on paper with his rookie capabilities in writing. and for the second time, he must have stared too much because you ended up catching his stare. your eyes glossed over the opened book on his desk, the many sticky notes with messy notes, pens and highlighters matching the book cover, and how he keeps tapping his pen on his notebook. his finger’s twitched, heart lurching forward into your arms when your eyes twinkled with familiarity of his actions.

he was doing an activity for english class. and that’s when it all clicked into place. 

you flash him a smile as mualani tangled your arms together and tugged you to the direction of the cafeteria. no wonder your laugh sounded so familiar, it was the same sound he heard during english when he paid attention to everything but the lesson. the book under your arms had the same colored annotations as his and even the blue bracelet on your wrist looked familiar. you were the student sitting a few seats back from him. 

“what a coincidence,” he murmurs, shifting his attention back to the activity due tomorrow. but his mind betrayed him for the second time because instead of writing down his interpretations in the notebook, the word “beautiful” was instead jotted down. and kinich isn’t talking about the book.

dismissal hours and kinich did not mix well. while others packed their things to go home, he stayed behind to work with the council on the bulletin board. with a thud, he dropped to the floors as the others laugh. mualani ruffled his hair and promised they’ll be quick today, which he highly doubts with the way there was paint on her face and poorly hidden paper planes made out of spare papers. he shook his head in amusement and started getting to work.

by the time the clock hit 5, everyone had bid their farewells and kinich was left alone boarding the last bus of the day. he mindlessly paid the bus fare and looked for any available seats. the grip on his school bag tightened ever so slightly when he caught sight of a familiar mop of hair and blue bracelet in one of the seats. like a sailor being captured with a siren’s song, kinich made his way to you and cleared his throat.

you look up at him with the sun in your eyes. and he wonders if you’re aware of them. “is this seat taken?” a beat of silence passed before he caught the way your eyes widened and shook your head no. kinich swore he could hear the drumming of his heart as the sun sets behind you, casting a golden glow that makes you even more captivating.

“oh no, no! not at all,” you stammer out with a crooked smile. kinich nods in thanks and sits down. this must be the awkward presence of a blooming crush the books he’s read were talking about. he wanted to bury his head in his hand in sheer embarrassment. of course he concludes he had a crush on you as you’re sitting next to him. of course he just had to be awkward as you steal glances at him every now and then, trying to think of a way to strike up a conversation.

“are you done?” you ask and kinich has never reacted to a sound so fast in his life. “with the book review i mean.” another smile, another reason for kinich’s heart to beat. he cleared his throat and looked away, muttering a soft yes under his breath. you don’t speak another word after that and kinich curses mualani for sleeping over at a friend’s house today. 

now, kinich wasn’t one to abuse his position as a council member nor did he ask teacher’s for favors–but there’s a first for everything. with a knowing mualani behind him, he takes a shaky breath in and knocks on the faculty door to excuse his english teacher to ask to be partnered with you.

it was such a bizarre and surreal feeling. kinich was simply about to go to bed after basketball practice when mualani had decided to blow up his phone with messages and screenshots. conversations with you filled with all capital messages, numerous exclamation marks, and sobbing emojis he began to associate with you began to fill his mind as his heart started to expand. 

“ I WISH HE’D BE MY PARTNER FOR THE BIOGRAPHY PROJECT 😭 😭”

kinich never paid any attention to the project despite having more interest in class—he didn’t have any particular interest in anyone, except you. so for you to wish to have him as the subject of your written creativity, how could kinich resist? and there wasn’t any difficulty in convincing your teacher too. a poorly executed excuse of maybe having your creativity rubbing off on him was all it took for the two of you to be paired up.

when he leaves the faculty, mualani greets him with a knowing smirk, her hands behind her back as the two quietly make their way back to the never ending task that is the bulletin board. the girl made sure not to point out the excited glint in his eyes and how a smile threatened to spill from his lips when you passed by and waved at her.

“you’re such a goner,” mualani teased with a shake of her head. she only stuck out her tongue at him when kinich tried to kick her shin. but he didn’t try to deny anything, all he could think about what kind of questions he’ll ask you in the span of a month.

“blue. you were wearing a blue bracelet when we first met and i really liked it.”

“and”

“it suits you”

“is that a weird thing to say?”

it was embarrassing how quickly kinich closed his phone and put it on silent mode. that was something so unlike him to say—even his punctuations and spacing of messages felt out of place. but could you blame him? that damn blue bracelet complimented the tone of your skin, how light seemed to bounce off it and become a magnet–begging for him to hold. 

and was it wrong of him to assume you liked green because of him? he noticed earlier this week that your gaze lingered longer whenever he wore his jersey jacket and this one hoodie xilonen gifted him. “the color reminded me of a calming walk in the forest,” you had said when he sat down in front of you as he asked why you were staring (leaving out the part of the giddy feeling he’s captured your undivided attention with just a piece of clothing. he then wonders what you’d look like if you were the one to wear it.)

could you give his poor heart a break? after all you nearly injuring yourself trying to make it to class wasn’t on his agenda for the day (but he’ll never admit how nice it felt for you to cling to him). he never meant for your fingers to brush as you picked up the papers on the floor, nor did he mean to look away so quickly—missing the way your cheeks turned pink.

kinich’s gaze flickered over to that blue bracelet again as you checked your appearance on your phone, then it moved to your bag, and like a sailor following the north star, he took it from your back and said, “let’s go to class.” his voice was quiet—dare he think shy—as he covered half of his face with a curled fist. 

you denied his offer to bail you out of a lecture from your teacher and he promptly agrees. but kinich knows, deep down in the ocean of his heart that you won’t get in trouble when he’s by your side. maybe it was the adrenaline–or maybe just you–he loved to chase. he took steps and steps in your direction to pluck a stray leaf stuck in your hair. he doesn’t miss the whiff of your perfume—woody with hints of citrus and some cinnamon in the mix.

you smell like sunshine and the partner he wants for the rest of his life.

after the biography project, kinich finds himself sitting with you in a park after classes got canceled. you asked him to push you on the swing set and he complied without much of a fight. 

“i wish you’d be my partner for this project, and wouldn’t you know, it actually happened.”

“oh, i know.”

kinich laughs, something he does more with you, at your dumbfounded expression. the realization that mualani had snitched on you and that he went out of his way to make sure it happened like you wished for sent your cheeks ablaze. kinich loved the sight of you under the afternoon sun as he goes in front of you, on one knee like those cheesy prince charmings in stories you always gushed about.

“be my partner for life, that was my 11:11 wish today.”

if you were to ask kinich what his favorite season was, he would answer summer within a heartbeat. summer was the season when you met, the colors of the sun bathing you in all his favorite colors as you cheered him on from the stands during basketball matches with his name on your back. the many ice cream runs where you both complain about the heat, or when you drop by the council room to try and cool off because the ac is stronger. summer had you in it, but kinich wouldn’t mind experiencing the other seasons with you too.

© vxnuslogy 2024. do not plagiarize, repost, or translate any of my works without my knowledge or consent in other platforms or websites.

[pucksandpower]

Time to Kill

Charles Leclerc x Reader

Summary: a locked supply closet door leaves you and Charles with some time to kill … and a few creative ways to do so

Warnings: 18+ content

You slip into the supply closet, giggling as Charles pulls you inside. The door clicks shut behind you and you find yourself enveloped in not-quite darkness.

“Shh!” Charles whispers, a smile in his voice. His hands come up to cup your face and you feel his lips on yours as he kisses you deeply. You melt against him, your hands sliding up his chest to loop around his neck.

He maneuvers you backwards until your back hits the shelves behind you. You gasp as various cleaning supplies and boxes tumble down around you. Charles laughs against your mouth.

“Oops,” he says.

You grin and kiss him again, not caring about the mess. His fingers tangle in your hair as the kiss grows more heated. You’ve only got a few minutes before he has to get back out for FP2, and you intend to make the most of it.

Charles’ hands leave your hair to travel down your body, caressing your curves. You trail kisses along his jaw as his fingertips slip under the hem of your shirt.

“I’ve been thinking about this all morning,” he murmurs, his breath hot against your ear.

“Me too,” you confess, sliding your hands under his fireproofs to feel his muscles tense under your touch.

He claims your mouth again, backing you against the shelves once more. You dimly hear more items falling but you’re too lost in Charles to care. His kisses leave you breathless, heat pooling low in your belly.

You break the kiss only long enough to tug his shirt over his head. He grins and returns the favor, peeling your top off. His eyes gleam in the low light filtering under the door as he takes you in.

“You’re so beautiful,” he says reverently, brushing his knuckles down your cheek.

You close the distance between you again, skin pressing to skin. Charles groans low in his throat as you trail open-mouthed kisses across his collarbone and down his chest. His hands grip your hips, pulling you impossibly closer.

You reach for the fastenings of his race suit, grinning wickedly up at him.

“I don’t think we have time for that, chérie,” he chuckles regretfully.

You pout playfully. “I guess you’ll just have to owe me later.”

“I guess I will.”

He claims your mouth again, intoxicating you with his kisses. You run your hands over the hard muscles of his back, nails grazing lightly. He shivers against you.

Slowly, reluctantly, you break apart, knowing your stolen moments together are at an end. You reach for your discarded shirts, handing Charles his.

“That was ...” You search for the right word.

“Incredible,” he supplies with a grin, kissing you softly.

You smile against his lips. “I was going to say smoking hot, but incredible works too.”

He laughs, drawing back to pull his shirt on. You start to do the same but pause with your shirt in hand, listening.

“Did you hear that?” You ask.

Charles stills, head cocked. “Hear what?”

You try the door handle. It doesn’t budge. Dread trickles down your spine.

“I think someone must have locked the door from the outside,” you say slowly.

Charles tries the handle too with the same result. He pounds a fist on the door. “Hey! We’re stuck in here!”

No response comes from the other side. Charles’ brow furrows worriedly.

You dig in your pocket for your phone to call for help, only to find it missing. “I must have dropped my phone on the way,” you realize.

Charles pats himself down too, shaking his head. “Mine’s still in the garage. No service in here anyway.”

You slump back against the shelves in dismay. Of all the times to get trapped somewhere, it has to be right between practice sessions. The team will be looking for him.

Charles pulls you into his arms. “It’s okay,” he soothes, though he looks concerned too. “Someone will come eventually.”

You nod, leaning your head on his shoulder. His solid warmth comforts you. At least you’re not alone.

“What do we do now?” You wonder aloud.

Charles’ eyes glint with mischief. “Well, we seem to have some time to kill ...”

You give him a coy smile. “I can think of a few ways to pass the time.”

His eyes darken, hands tightening on your hips. “Can you now?”

In response, you crush your mouth to his in a searing kiss. He responds instantly, kissing you back fervently. Your hands slip under his shirt once more, splaying across his bare chest and feeling his heart thunder under your touch.

Charles maneuvers you backwards until you hit the shelves again. You sweep your arm across the surface, sending supplies crashing to the floor so he can lift you up to sit on the now cleared ledge. You wrap your legs around his waist, pulling him flush against you.

He trails hot, open-mouthed kisses down the column of your throat and you tip your head back to give him better access, sighing in pleasure. His hands glide up your sides, rucking your shirt up. You quickly strip it off and reach for his next, desperate to feel his skin on yours.

Once you’re both shirtless, he pauses to look at you, desire burning in his gaze. “So beautiful,” he rasps, making your cheeks flush happily.

He ducks his head to capture one of your breasts through the lacy fabric covering it, teasing you with his tongue. You gasp and arch into him. His other hand skims up your thigh, his touch igniting sparks everywhere.

Needing more, you reach behind you to unclasp your bra. Charles groans at the sight and lavishes them with attention until you’re squirming with need.

“Charles, please ...” you moan.

With a wicked grin, he hikes up your skirt and finally slips his hand between your legs, fingers stroking you through the thin fabric of your underwear. Your head falls back against the shelves with a thunk and your eyes slip closed.

“You’re so wet already, mon cœur,” he murmurs. His deft fingers slip beneath the panties to stroke your slick flesh. You cry out, clutching at his shoulders.

“Shh, we have to be quiet,” he reminds you with a chuckle. You bite your lip, trying to muffle your noises of pleasure.

When his fingers sink into your heat, you see stars. He knows just how to touch you, working you steadily towards a shattering climax. Your nails dig into his back and your legs tense around his hips.

“That’s it, let go for me,” he coaxes. With a few more skillful strokes, your orgasm crests over you and you shudder through wave after wave of bliss.

As you float back down, Charles kisses you deeply, letting you taste your pleasure on his lips.

“Incredible,” he smiles against your mouth.

You lean your forehead against his, catching your breath. “Your turn,” you say with a suggestive wiggle of your eyebrows.

He grins. “I thought we didn’t have time?”

You slide off the shelf to sink to your knees before Charles. Looking up at him through your lashes, you make quick work of the bottom half of his race suit.

“We’ll make time.”

You tug it down past his hips, freeing his erect length. He inhales sharply as you take him in your hand, stroking up and down experimentally.

“Putain,” he grits out, bracing his hands back against the shelves behind you.

You keep your eyes locked on his face as you lean in, swiping your tongue over the tip of him. His jaw clenches, muscles in his arms cording as he fights to stay still.

Emboldened, you take him fully in your mouth, reveling in his bit-off groan. You set a steady pace, lapping at him with your tongue. His hand comes up to tangle in your hair, not directing, just needing an anchor.

“So good, just like that,” he pants, eyes blazing down at you. You feel powerful like this, reducing him to incoherency with just your mouth.

You pick up the pace and his hips twitch involuntarily. You place your hands on them to keep him still, taking him as deep as you can. His thighs tremble under your touch.

“I’m close,” he warns breathlessly.

You double down on your efforts, eager to push him over the edge. His fingers tighten in your hair and moments later he spills into your mouth with a choked off cry. You swallow everything he gives you, keeping up your ministrations as he shudders through his high.

Finally you release him with a soft pop and he hauls you up for a searing kiss.

“You are incredible,” he tells you fervently when you separate. “That was ...”

“Incredible?” You supply cheekily.

He laughs. “I’m going to need some new adjectives for you.”

“I believe there are other ways to thoroughly demonstrate your appreciation for me,” you smirk cheekily.

He smiles, hands coming up to grip your hips. “I live to serve.”

You rush to rid Charles of his remaining clothes before sinking down onto him. You both moan at the exquisite sensation. Bracing your hands on his chest, you begin to move.

Charles’ eyes are glued to you, watching reverently as you ride him. His hands span your waist, guiding your movements.

“You feel like heaven,” he grits out.

You increase your pace, taking him deeper. His fingers dig into your hips as his own begin snapping up to meet yours. The closet is soon filled with the sounds of your panting breaths and the slap of skin on skin.

You feel your climax building again, coiling tight. Charles’ thumb finds your clit, rubbing tight circles in time with the rhythm of his thrusts. The dual stimulation sends you careening over the edge again with a sharp cry of his name. Your inner muscles clamping down triggers Charles’ own release. He plunges up into you erratically, your name a prayer on his lips as he spills inside you.

You collapse forward onto his chest, nuzzling into his neck. He holds you close, hands stroking your hair and back soothingly as you both catch your breath.

Finally he tilts your chin up to meet your lips in a sweet, lingering kiss. When you eventually pause for air, he keeps you close, feathering kisses along your jawline and down your neck. You tilt your head back, sighing in pleasure. His hands slide back under your breasts, tracing maddening patterns on the sensitive skin.

You’re completely lost in him when the door handle starts wiggling.

“Oh shit!” Charles scrambles for his underwear as you hop up, yanking on your skirt. You attempt to smooth down your thoroughly mussed hair.

The door swings open, revealing a broadly grinning Carlos Sainz. He looks between you and a sweaty, flushed Charles.

“Well, well. What do we have here?” Carlos asks with a laugh.

“We, uh, got locked in,” you stammer.

“By accident,” Charles adds quickly.

Carlos shakes his head, still chuckling. “You two are terrible at keeping your hands off each other. Might want to work on that before the race.”

You feel yourself blushing bright red. Charles clears his throat and avoids Carlos’ eyes.

“Right, well … thanks for letting us out, mate,” he mumbles.

Carlos smirks and claps Charles on the back. “No problem. Oh, and Charles? Your race suit is inside out.”

With that, he walks off down the hallway, laughing loudly.

Charles glances down and curses under his breath. You can’t help but dissolve into giggles too.

He shoots you a rueful grin. “Worth it.”

You smile and kiss him sweetly. “So worth it.”

[radsoldier]

You're a bad idea.

Pairing: Cairo Sweet x Dom!Fem!Reader

Summary: Cairo is mesmerized by the new, mysterious student sharing a class with her.

Words: 1.3k

Warnings: cursing, steamy scene (no smut however) I think that's all?

a/n: i'm sorry if it feels a little rushed? i changed the ending almost four times. hope you enjoy!

You hated how everything was changing but still, you felt numb.

You moved to another state, you decided to focus on your writting and suddenly you became a mystery.

Or at least that's how Cairo saw you. And she loved a good mystery more than anything.

More so if the mystery was the new and gorgeous student sharing a class with her.

Yeah, maybe she was getting a little obsessed over someone she had only exchanged a few words with.

She knew very little about you. Your name. The amazing writer you were. The body she only saw once, when you crossed paths in the locker room, you having finished your training with the soccer team, she getting ready for her swimming lessons.

The way you seemed to try to blend in so no one would be able to notice you. But she did. How could she not?

So she found herself, once again, writting about you. The possibilities were endless.

Who were you? Why did you get here halfway through the course?

God, she needed some sleep.

_________

You were late to your first class but you couldn't care less. The creative writting lecturer was really annoying.

You didn't bother knocking on the door and just walked in, getting a few stares from other students AND, obviously, your professor.

"So you decided to finally show up? What an honor" he said.

You chose to ignore him, it was really early in the morning and you didn't have time for coffee before you left home so yes, you felt like shit.

You scanned the room looking for an empty seat somewhere you could just lay low until your eyes landed on Cairo Sweet.

Well, on the spot near her. You walked there and without another word you sat next to her and opened your laptop on your desk, ready to start writting while blocking out your teacher's voice.

You opened your most recent work, knowing full well you didn't have the energy nor the time to finish it right then but you thought you might as well give it a try.

You could feel the burning stare on the side of your head but you decided to ignore it and started typing instead, focusing on your work.

The minutes passed excruciatingly slow and you could feel yourself getting more and more annoyed at the fact that you were unable to focus on the poem you were writing.

"Trouble in paradise?" Cairo asked with a smirk, leaning closer so only you could hear.

You stared at her with no sign of emotion on your face and she felt like you could see clearly every thought she ever had.

"Mind your own bussiness" you retorted.

You saw dissapointment flash across her features before she returned her attention to the stupid lecture and for some reason all you could think about was her smirk, the small dimples on her cheeks and all those freckles.

Fuck, her face was like a sky full of stars.

You tried to focus on your work with little success when Cairo's face haunted your mind.

_________

Class ended and you were the first one to leave, almost as if you were in a rush so when Cairo saw you smoking against a wall near the parking lot she was pleasantly surprised and without thinking it twice, she approached you and snatched the cigarrete from your hand, allowing herself a long drag before looking up at you with that same smirk from before.

You looked at her. Really looked at her. She was gorgeous. Her tiny frame held herself with shameless wonder. You felt like some force was pulling you to her.

"What do you want from me?" you asked.

She laughed and you swear your heart skipped a few beats in that moment.

"That's a great question" she said mischievously "I'm still figuring that out"

Then she stepped closer to you and she placed the cigarrete back in your lips.

"Then find me when you do, Cairo" you said smirking back before turning around and leaving.

She felt confused, she thought she was getting somewhere but she felt like you were always running.

Cairo watched as you started your bike and drove away from the building.

You really needed that coffee now if you wanted to make it to practice later that day.

_________

You were distracted, which earned you a talk from the coach. You scoffed and left the field to sit on the bleachers, as he instructed you.

"Sit back there and cool down, don't want that temper on my team, kid" were his exact words.

You couldn't help it. You either felt numb or mad, there was no in-between.

You watched as the rest of the team finished some drifts and exercises and you joined them, the only answer to your move being a slightly nod from the coach.

Practice finished without further inconvinience but you always decided to run around the field while everybody went home.

You liked the solitude of it.

So you found yourself entering the locker room really late that day. You took off your shirt first thing and then looked around to find no other than Cairo Sweet, her wet hair falling around her shoulders. And she was definitely checking you out.

"Enjoying the view?" you asked raising one eyebrow at her.

"Mhmm" she muttered not looking away from your abs.

You stepped closer to her and that seemed to put her out of her trance and look straight to your face. She was blushing and biting her lower lip.

"I will ask again, Cairo. What do you want?" you took another step closer.

Her eyes darted back and forth between your eyes and you lips as she licked hers.

"I want you, Y/N" she said breathless.

And she sounded so sure of it.

Your eyes darkened as she leaned closer to you so she could trace her hand against your jaw.

"So pretty…" she said.

Something inside of you switched and in a swift movement you grabbed her hand above her head and guided her backwards until her back made contact with the locker behind her.

"Fuck" she whimpered.

You leaned so close that she could feel your breath against her mouth.

"That's what you want, Cairo? You want me to fuck you?" you demanded.

"Y-yes" she was breathing hard and you were enjoying every bit.

You released her hand and she placed it on your shoulder, tugging for you to get even closer, while your hand made its way to her collarbone, you traced it slowly and then you placed it on her throat, with just enough force to keep her head in place as you finally closed the gap and smashed your lips agains hers, kissing her hard.

You shivered when you felt her hand tracing down your torso, taking her time around your top to finally rest on your abs.

She moaned when your tongue traced her lower lip, asking for permission which she happily complied.

The sound of a door closing took you both out of your steamy make out session and you felt your body tense when you pulled apart.

"I have to go" you said "Didn't mean to start a fire" you added smirking at her.

And with that you grabbed your things and left her there, speechless and aching for you.

[aamircoeur]

NOT GONNA LIE i always love thinking ab characterxdresser!lover

like ex ken sato and the person (secret lover) that makes his outfits, does his makeup, usually dresses him for every public outing etc etc

ALSO MAYBE THE LOVER HAS DESIGNED ALL HIS JERSEYS like they design the jerseys for every team he has

- 🍃 (hi im new)

Being ex-lovers with Ken Sato as his personal stylist ー hcs.

hi 🍃 baby happy to have ü here <3 thank you sm 4 the req!!!!!! ur asks r so so cute

sfw, gn!reader. UNEDITED

despite ken sato being your actual lover from the past, you had too much on your plate to give another try at your relationship

but he didn't

this time, instead of asking mina for his schedule, he memorizes it himself so he knows when he has the chance to text you

"hey baby you got my fit ready for the interview?"

"sorry typo i meant [name]" 🤨

"yes, ken"

"heyy so i was wondering, coach shimura asked the team if we could design a new jersey for the upcoming season so i thought if you could be the one to design for us?"

"hello, ken. i'm afraid i am busy having to prepare your outfits for your upcoming interviews."

"oh okay okay no worries"

"but like if i pay you extra will you be able to do it? like a thousand? or, i can add more"

"fine, ken. we can hold a meeting with your team for their fabric preferences and whatnot."

"what they don't need to be there"

he's not slick .

he never forgets to thank you every time that he's given the opportunity

he leaves you gifts like mini cakes or your favourite coffee to share with him when you were together

whenever you come to dress him up or to drop off his outfit for the day he'd have flowers at hand to give to you when you arrive

although greatly appreciated, you told him multiple times that it was unnecessary considering your relationship now was professional

he insists, saying that he does it for everyone he knows even coach shimura

🤨🤨 little liar

whenever he goes on vacation he always invites you

of course you decline

but he's so pushy and basically drowns you with his reasons

"ik we both need it"

"they have a great sense of style there we can get inspo from them"

"the food there is great maybe we can get outfit inspirations"

"the view from the hotel there is great maybe the hotel staff dress nicely too maybe we can get outfit inspirations from them"

what the hell r those reasons kenji

with enough convincing you come, with you insisting on staying in separate rooms but hey at least you're there with him

he always brags about how great of a stylist you are during interviews or press conferences

praises your creativity, your knowledge in color theory and body shapes that you always make him look so great

he's been told so much about how greatly his outfits complimented his body and he's so proud of you

but he almost killed everyone in the room including himself when you told him that other celebrities have reached out to have you as their personal stylist

he tried to convince you to stay as only his instead

i mean by convince is doubling your salary

which works btw

oh and during events he always has you as his +1

and if +1s weren't allowed he would simply not attend no matter how great attending at that event would be for his career && fame

"who cares" - ken2k24

he keeps you by his side and introduces you to all the people that he knows

which really confuses you because he told you that you were there for his touch-ups

but you didn't mind anymore

you missed spending time with him too.

[theemporium]

This looks super fun!!!! Super creative and exciting ❤️

Oscar + Max

Green-Eyed Mojito

“This is your work place, leave the boyfriend at home next time."

i didn't quite know how to write oscar and max together, so i just did max!! sorry!! but thank you for requesting!🫶🏽

21. "This is your work place, leave the boyfriend at home next time."

.

He was trying not to be bitter.

Emphasis on trying. 

However, Max thought he was pretty justified in his annoyance when he had spent the better part of the last six months working his way into a friendship with you, only for a new employee to swoop in and steal you away and undo all the hard work Max had put into his ‘how to get your race engineer to fall in love with you in twelve months’ plan.

He had been so excited for the race weekend. The sport was coming off the summer break and he hadn’t had the chance to properly hang around you in a while, and he missed you. It was as simple as that. 

But it was a Thursday and he made a point of getting to the paddock earlier than usual just so he could have an excuse to grab some coffee with you—only to enter the Red Bull motorhome and find you already sitting at one of the tables, laughing away with some guy he had never seen before.

So yeah, maybe Max was a bit fucking bitter. Not that he was showing it at all. 

“Why do you look like you want to murder someone?” GP voiced from behind him, something quite like amusement written on his face. “Don’t tell me I have to deal with Mad Max this weekend.”

“Shut up,” Max bit back, rolling his eyes as he tried to ignore the way his stomach twisted at the sound of your laugh from the other side of the room. 

“Jesus Christ,” the older man grumbled before patting Max on the back. “Don’t do anything stupid.” 

Max resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Of course he wasn’t going to do anything stupid. He wasn’t seventeen anymore with no control over his emotional responses. He was an adult. He was an adult who was in control of how he felt and he didn’t need anyone to remind him otherwise. 

At least, he was until you got up from your seat, seeming to spot Max and smile as you made your way over. 

“Hey, when did you get in?” 

You were being sweet and polite and any other day, Max would have been jumping over the fucking motorhome, just happy that you were talking to him. Today, it seemed like the bitter jealousy won. 

“This is your workplace, you know,” he blurted out before he could stop himself. “Leave the boyfriend at home next time.” 

You blinked in surprise. “The what?” 

“Your boyfriend or whoever that guy was,” he tried to play it off, looking away from your face in hopes you wouldn’t notice the way his cheeks were burning red. “We are here to race and win. Not flirting.” 

“So it doesn’t count when you flirt with me?” 

Max’s head snapped up. “I—”

“He’s not my boyfriend,” you laughed, shaking your head in amusement as you watched the boy grow flustered under your gaze. “He’s a guy I knew from university who has just joined the team. I was being polite.” 

“Oh,” was all he could stupidly reply with.

“Plus, mechanics aren’t my type,” you added. “I prefer drivers.” 

“Oh,” he repeated, this time with a smile on his lips. 

“It’s a shame though,” you mused, already turning to head towards the garage to start your day. “The driver I like is really slow at catching onto my feelings, despite winning every race.” 

Max could only gape as he watched you walk away, the bitter jealousy quickly replaced with hope and excitement at the date he had been planning in his head since the day he met you.

.

[sketchalicious]

doomed au timeline thing? idrk

uhh okay so . i saw that the doomed au kinda popped off n i figured i'd go into a bit more depth for fun so i doodled out this crappy comic thing. i think i saw a homestuck comic do something similar LOL.

im gonna give like. aftermath of the ninja's deaths and such for the sake of clarity , since i know this is just an angsty clusterbump.

Kai: The real ignition for Lloyd's downfall. The staff was destroyed moments before the transformation ritual by the green ninja himself. In Lloyd's mind, his friend would return to normal. But he was met with something else as Kai desperately took the shards and ran away instead, too far gone into his ego and insanity. Returning home they remain the same in quantity, with Lloyd and Nya heartbroken, and Zane blaming himself.

Cole: He acted as the stable rock of the group. He brought the ninja back to their high spirits again, acting as a replacement flame for Kai to reunite his team. He even began the trend of looking for the missing ninja, with hope they were still out there. Yet despite being the very reason they stabilized, no one seemed to realize he disappeared. Instead they suddenly felt lost, like they were missing something. The grief returned, and the dots never connected.

Zane: His disappearance set the team on course for failure. With him, Asphera never explained where she had banished him, and the others were left to believe he was really, truly gone this time. He acted as the caretaker for the group, tying them together once more as he tried to bring back the joy they lost through menial tasks and the small details of the world. Even back to when Kai disappeared, Lloyd could be a leader with his help. With the last light in the tunnel gone, no one had any more confidence to step up.

Nya: Jay and Lloyd's breaking point. Without her, they lost their drive to keep searching. Her disappearance plays the same as canon, becoming one with the sea. Though she was less hesitant now, understanding that this was just fate, that the team wasn't meant to survive. If that was the case, she'll go out with a bang, knowing that with her gone they would understand too. At least she knew they would be safe for now.

Lloyd: His disappearance happened long after he recognized his Oni form. After having to fight the overlord alone, he went on a downwards spiral. Jay couldn't be there, and frankly, Wu couldn't get through to him like Garmadon did. Lloyd hated the idea of fate. He felt too, like Nya, that the team wasn't meant to last. As such, in his last effort to feel control, he caved into what came easy.

Pixal: Like Zane did in canon after Nya, she turned off her emotion meter. She knew some of the ninja could be saved, and she knew she had to stop grieving in order to even try. In a frustrated effort, she attempted to bring the ninja to her level, only to blame herself for Lloyd's snap. After realizing she couldn't do much for a grieving Jay, she leaves to find the others.

Jay: Who knows where he is. Wu entered his quarters to find only a pair of nunchaku, and his gi laying on his pillow. Maybe he joined Pixal, maybe he existed as a criminal like Lloyd now. All Wu knew is he lost his last student and the last defender of Ninjago. It's likely Jay quit, afraid of becoming next in fate's cruel hand. He'd only learn after the merge.

okay thats it lmao. i might add more ideas in the future but im not creative enough to plot it out properly gO NUTS

[oneshotnewbie]

𝑵𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒓𝒎𝒐𝒓

𝘌𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘗𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘹 𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳 (𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘑𝘑)

Authors note: Something silly that I wrote some time ago and forgot about in my files. It doesn't fit into the actual universe of Criminal Minds but I had fun writing it

Summary: A sword fight between Emily and reader that ends up with them making a really screwed up confession of love.

ᕚ---ᕘ

It was a Thursday morning in the BAU office, and despite the serious work that awaited them, there was a slight sense of anticipation today. This was mainly due to the small but meaningful things that brightened the team's day-to-day life.

Emily Prentiss sat at her desk, intently leafing through a file. The case the team was working on was complex as always, but she had the extraordinary ability to quickly get to grips with the grim details while still keeping her calm. As she tried to focus on the next section on the paper, a familiar figure approached her.

You strolled to her desk with a relaxed smile on your face. "Ready for the next team meeting, Prentiss?" you asked, leaning your lower back on the edge of her desk. Emily looked up, right into your eyes, a smile instantly spreading across her lips. "Sure, just a few more pages. And you?"

"Me? I hope there's coffee," you replied with a grin, but before you could continue the conversation, JJ came into the room. In her hand she held two colorful cards and a slight smile played around her lips as she walked towards you two.

"Hey you two," JJ said and held up the cards. "I have something for you." Emily raised an eyebrow, curious. "Hopefully a coffee for the lady here, otherwise she'll fall asleep during the team meeting."

JJ grinned mischievously and shook her head as she placed the cards on the table. They were small, hand-designed invitations that were full of childlike creativity. Emily immediately recognized Henry's handwriting scribbled on the invitations.

"It's time," JJ declared proudly. "Henry is celebrating his birthday - knight style."

Emily took one of the invitations and looked at it with a gentle nod of approval. The card was lovingly designed, with little knights, castles and dragons that Henry had obviously drawn himself. There was glitter and bright colors everywhere. "Oh, that's sweet," she said, holding up the invitation. "Knight's birthday, huh?"

"He's going through a phase," JJ explained dryly, shaking her head again. "Everything is about knights, castles and swords at the moment. I've got half a cardboard castle in my living room now."

"Sounds like an epic birthday," you said, taking one of the cards towards you. "I'm looking forward to it." JJ eyes lit up with excitement, but then leaned slightly towards you both, as if she wanted to tell you a secret. Her voice dropped to a whisper. "And there will be lots of wine."

Emily and you looked at each other for a moment and then burst into loud laughter at the same time. "JJ, you know you don't have to lure us with alcohol," she said, still laughing. "We would have come anyway, whether there was wine or not."

"Oh, I know," she replied with a simple wink. "But it doesn't hurt to mention it, does it?"

The three of you grinned at each other, your eyes darting between the two women. "So, knights, wine, and maybe some swords? That sounds like a great party!"

"No real swords, nerd," JJ said quickly, eyes now resting on you in playful warning. "And be careful what you say. Henry is very sensitive at this stage and soaks up everything. He might actually think you're going to show up as knights."

"Well," Emily said casually, leaning back in her chair, arms folded under her chest. "Who says we don't?"

"Oh please," the blonde moaned jokingly, rolling her eyes. "The last thing I need is for you to show up in full knight costume and give Henry even more ideas to make my life difficult."

You licked your lips, crossed your arms under your chest as well, and rocked back and forth slightly. "Don't worry, Jayie. We'll behave. At least a little bit."

She punched you lightly on the shoulder. Emily joined her as she looked at the invitation once more. It was sweet how much Henry's enthusiasm for the topic was evident in the card. She knew that JJ would do anything for her son, and it was heartwarming to see how she tried to give him the best birthday possible.

"When exactly is the spectacle?" asked the black-haired, carefully placing the card on her table. "Saturday at 1p.m.," JJ answered curtly. "It's going to be quite a turnout. The kids are having a jousting tournament, and of course there's cake. And, as I said, for the adults there are... well, other incentives."

"I'm in. I mean, who could turn down a jousting tournament and wine?" Emily said hesitantly, her shining eyes meeting yours as she waited for your answer. "Exactly," you agreed. "I'm looking forward to seeing Henry in his armor."

„He ordered a special suit of armor. Complete with helmet and shield. You'll see - the boy is obsessed." JJ answered, overwhelmed by the stress of the last few days.

Emily imagined Henry in his armor, running excitedly through the garden with a small sword. The idea brought a sparkle to her eyes. It was always nice to experience moments away from work that were so full of innocence and joy. "So we'll see each other on Saturday."

"But don't expect any real battles, okay? I don't want to take either of you to the hospital and feeling the need to explain myself."

"No promises," you replied, earning another hit to your upper arm, this time harder. JJ shook her head, but the smile on her lips was unmistakable. "Thanks for coming. It really means a lot to him that his favorite people are here."

"We would never miss that."

As JJ walked away from the desk, leaving Emily and you alone, she couldn't help but feel a burst of joy in her heart. Her steps were light, almost buoyant, and as she walked through the busy office to the conference room, she was lost in thought.

The thought that you and Emily had both said yes immediately made her glow with joy - but not just because Henry's birthday was already looking perfect. No, there was something else. Something she had been noticing for a while.

JJ was good at noticing the little things. After all, part of her job was to recognize human connections and unspoken feelings. But here, with you and Emily, it was more than just professional intuition. It was the way you treated each other—the way you always found each other with a look or a smile, even in the most hectic moments of the job. The way you shared an unspoken familiarity that JJ hadn't missed.

It was almost obvious that there was something between the two of you, even if you and Emily hadn't admitted it to yourselves yet. JJ thought about how she had watched the two of you today. The laughter you shared, the way you were obviously comfortable in each other's presence—these weren't coincidences. She saw the sparks that flashed in each of those moments, even if you both might not have fully realized them yet.

JJ had always had a special bond with you and Emily. You were both such different people, and yet over the last few months she had seen how well you complemented each other. Emily was strong, determined, but she had a vulnerability she rarely showed. You, on the other hand, brought a certain lightness and warmth to her world that Emily sometimes so desperately needed. You understood each other on a deeper level than many people ever would, and JJ knew that you could be special together—if only you had the courage to let it happen.

Maybe, JJ thought as she walked up the stairs, Henry's birthday was just the opportunity you needed. In a more relaxed environment, away from the dark cases and constant pressure, maybe the two of you could finally let go of the barriers you had so carefully built around yourselves. It wasn't a question of if, but when.

She had secretly made it her mission to give you a little help. Subtle, of course, because JJ knew that neither Emily nor you appreciated intrusive advice or interference. But if you could spend a little time together outside of work through small gestures - like this invitation to Henry's knight's birthday - maybe the rest would follow.

Another thought brought an even wider smile to her face: Emily and you, together, in a room full of children, knight's helmets and cake - and of course the promised wine. It was the perfect mix of innocence and lightheartedness. And maybe that day you would realize what JJ already knew: That you two were meant for each other. You just had to see it for yourself.

She felt a warm feeling of contentment as she walked on. The thought that her two best friends might soon be more than just colleagues and close friends made her happy. After all, Emily and you deserved happiness, and if there was even a small chance that you could find it together, then it was all worth it.

Yes, JJ thought as she returned to the reality of the room, that was a good plan. Sometimes people just needed a little nudge in the right direction - and who better to give that nudge than herself?

ᕚ---ᕘ

Saturday had arrived, and the weather couldn't have been more perfect for Henry's knight's birthday. The sun shone warmly on the spacious garden behind JJ and Will's house, where a small group of children were already romping about in homemade costumes. Colorful balloons and pennants in the colors of Henry's favorite theme were scattered everywhere. An inflatable castle also stood proudly in the garden, and the laughter of children and the clinking of plastic swords could be heard from the windows in the living room.

Emily and you stood in front of the door, each with a large, colorfully wrapped present in your hands. The black-haired one was wearing a loose shirt and jeans that went perfectly with the sunny day, and you, in light jeans and a tight top, looked like you were ready to enjoy a party or jump in at a spontaneous knight's tournament at any time. You smiled at each other before Emily knocked on the door with her free hand.

It practically flew open, and there stood Will, and a little further away Henry, the birthday boy himself. He looked simply adorable in his little suit of armor decorated with a golden dragon. His helmet was slightly askew, and the sword he held tightly in his small fist wobbled excitedly.

"Y/n! Em!" he shouted with pure happiness, dropping everything - including his helmet - and running straight towards you with his arms outstretched. You carefully dropped the gift on the floor and leaned forward to hug Henry. "Hey, my little knight! Happy birthday!" you said as he clung tightly to you. It was a heartwarming moment that made Emily's heart beat faster.

But as quickly as he had rushed in, he disappeared back to his friends, who shouted loudly and pulled him back into the action. "Wow, that was fast," Emily laughed as she bent down to pick up your gift. "He's really in his element, isn't he?"

"Absolutely," you agreed as you took it back. You entered the house, where the festive atmosphere was almost tangible. Colorful garlands decorated the interior, and the smell of cakes and other treats was in the air.

JJ, who had just come out of the kitchen, saw the two of you. "There you are!" she called happily as she came towards you and pulled you both into a side hug. "I hope you're very thirsty and hungry."

"And we have big presents," Emily added after she let go of her and held up the package.

JJ nodded and led you through the hallway straight into the kitchen, which served as the unofficial meeting place for the adults during these hours. In one corner of the room stood a bottle of red wine, above it a few glasses that she took from the shelf and filled with wine.

"It's nice to see Henry so happy," said Emily, taking a small sip from her glass as the blonde handed you both one. The taste of the wine was velvety and exactly what you needed after the stressful week. "And we wouldn't have turned down an invitation anyway. Knights and wine? Sounds like an unbeatable combination.“

You nodded in agreement and raised your glass to toast the day. "To knight birthdays and the best hostess there is." JJ laughed loudly, her cheeks turning into a bright pink as she clinked glasses with the two of you. "You're being too nice to me today, I don't like that. And now let's just relax for a few hours."

The next few hours flew by. The three of you sat in the kitchen, drinking wine and laughing about old stories from past missions and countless anecdotes from life. The conversations flowed easily and the tension they often felt at work seemed to dissolve further with each glass of wine.

JJ sat at the head of the kitchen island, a content smile on her lips as she watched Emily and you. She saw the way you spoke to each other, the smiles you unconsciously shared, the playful sideways glances and Emily staring at your lips for too long. It was exactly what JJ had hoped for - a chance for the two of you to let go and just be yourselves, without the pressure and darkness of work.

Emily, who usually seemed so composed and strong, seemed almost lighter, more carefree today. Her eyes lit up at every joke you made, and she laughed more often than usual. And you seemed completely in your element, chatting effortlessly with Emily without it ever seeming awkward or forced.

JJ took another sip of her wine and sat back, satisfied with how the afternoon had gone. Outside, the children's happy laughter drifted in through the open window as the jousting reached its climax.

"You two are really making this afternoon perfect," JJ said finally, grinning over her wine glass. She didn't mean it as a polite compliment - it was a sincere statement. She saw the connection between Emily and you growing, and that filled her with joy. For Emily, you, and JJ, today was just Henry's birthday, good wine, and the company of friends.

It was a day that none of them would soon forget - a day full of lightness and joy that gave them the strength to prepare for the next adventure. And maybe, just maybe, this day would be the beginning of something even bigger.

ᕚ---ᕘ

Evening had long since fallen, and the last rays of sunlight glittered through the windows as the children were gradually brought home. The knight's castle in the garden was empty, the plastic swords lay scattered in the living room, and the sounds of childish tumult had died down. Inside, however, there was still no peace. Emily, you, and JJ had spent the evening enjoying the rest of the wine, and the laughter in the kitchen had grown louder as the bottle emptied.

"Well," JJ said with a sigh as they returned to the living room and saw the chaos of the party. "It was nice, but now it looks like a battlefield." Emily raised her wine glass as she took another sip, her reddish lips formed into  mishevious smile. "Oh, JJ. What would a birthday be without a little chaos?"

You, who was already standing slightly unsteadily next to Emily with your arm wrapped under hers, swirled your glass. "I think that's part of the theme. A little mess.”

JJ shook her head and pointed to the scattered balloons, confetti, and cake remnants on the floor. “Well, let’s start cleaning. You two heroes can and will help me clean up. Otherwise, there will never be wine for you again.”

Emily and you put your glasses aside and got to work. That was the plan, at least. You both ran in different directions and bent down to pick up balloons and paper cups while JJ cleared the table. But in the middle of cleaning up, you suddenly spotted a small foam sword stuck between the cushions of the couch. You picked it up and looked at it, wide-eyed.

“Uh oh,” Emily murmured when she saw you swinging the sword. “I see what you’re up to.”

“Oh, you mean this?” You grinned cheekily and playfully poked Emily in the side with the soft tip of the sword. "Hey!" Emily shouted, trying to dodge while laughing. "That's unfair, you're armed!"

"I'm a noble knight," you announced with exaggerated drama, putting a hand on your hip and raising the sword triumphantly in the air. "And you... are my challenge!"

Emily instantly grabbed one of the other foam swords that were lying on the floor, quickly mimicking your movements. "Oh yeah? Well, if there's going to be a fight, we'll take this one out here!" she shouted, deliberately adopting a famous movie quote style, which only made you laugh even more.

At that moment, you jumped onto the couch, swung the sword over your head and shouted: "I challenge you to a duel, Lady Prentiss!" With a dramatic jump, one foot rested on the couch rest as you swung the foam sword over you in circles. "Come here, if you dare!"

Emily didn't hold back for a second. She charged at you with her sword raised and tried to push you off the couch with quick blows. "You don't stand a chance against me!" she shouted playfully, grinning as she slammed the sword against you.

JJ was now standing at the edge of the room with her arms crossed. She watched the two of you as you engaged in an increasingly intense "sword fight" on the couch and rolled her eyes slightly annoyed. "You two are impossible," she muttered half to herself, knowing you weren't listening anyway. "Really, it's like the kids aren't even really gone."

"Watch out!" Emily shouted as you tried to jump over the back of the couch. "You're fighting the best swordswoman around!"

"Oh yeah?" you, now completely caught up in the fight, dodged her blows and then deftly jumped over the couch to land behind Emily. "I think you underestimate me, Lady Prentiss!"

"Underestimate?" Emily turned around and let out a cheerful laugh, pointing her sword straight at you. "I'm just giving you a head start, knight without honor!" JJ raised an eyebrow and took a step forward to get your attention. "Guys, can you please stop acting like children and help me clean up?"

But neither Emily nor you really listened to her. The fight had taken up your full focus, and you both became more and more lost in your playful battle. You made another leap over the couch and landed lightly on the floor before raising the sword towards Emily's sword and slamming it onto her sword with a loud "clang" (at least in your mind).

"That won't do you any good," Emily shouted, pushing you back with a few deft blows. "I have the higher castle heights on my side!"

"Castle heights?" you giggled as you tried to dodge her attacks. "What are you even talking about?"

"Ssssh!" Emily shook her head and grinned widely. "That's part of the story, Knight y/l/n! Play along!"

JJ groaned in mock annoyance and put her hands on her hips. "Are you sure you're not a few years younger than I thought? Maybe I accidentally invited two more children?"

"Maybe," you groaned as you jumped back onto the couch, almost losing your balance. "But you should be careful, JJ! Lady Prentiss and I are having an epic battle here!"

"Epic, huh?" JJ muttered, raising her hand to her forehead, swiftly slightly overwhelmed with the situation. "Yes, epically messy. I see, I'll have to clean everything up myself."

Emily, slightly out of breath, lunged at you again as you tried to hide behind a pillow. "Your cover is of no use to you, Knight y/n!"

"Oh yes it is! I have conquered the highest couch lean in the land!" you shouted triumphantly, swinging the sword over your shoulder. "I declare this couch my fortress!"

"Then I will storm this fortress!" Emily shouted, jumping at you, sword pointed forward. The two of you land in a heap of pillows and laughter on the couch, completely lost in your silly game.

JJ saw the mess and finally started giggling with you both. She couldn't help it - her two friends were completely childish, but that was exactly what made the evening so wonderful. Maybe they really were still children at heart. "You know what?" she finally said with a crooked smile. "Maybe you two are exactly what I needed tonight. Chaos included.”

“There you go, JJ,” you gasped between a fit of loud laughter as Emily finally defeated you with a “victory blow” and raised her sword triumphantly. “This is true friendship.”

JJ shook her head, looked at the two of you sitting on the couch, breathles, and couldn’t help but smile. She had always known that the two of you had a special connection—and tonight you had proven it once again.

You plopped down first on the couch, breathing heavily and still grinning as if the day had been one big, absurd adventure. "I think," you said, leaning back and stretching your arms over the back of the couch, "I haven't been up to this much mischief in a long time."

Emily, who fell down next to you, nodded and sighed deeply. "My arms hurt from the sword fight." She grinned and closed her eyes briefly. "But it was worth it."

For a moment it was quiet. The two of you sat next to each other, your heads relaxed against the pillows while the soft ticking of the clock in the background filled the room. It was the kind of silence that only comes after a long, eventful day - comfortable and relaxed, but with a hint of unspoken thoughts.

You glanced to the side, looked at Emily, and opened your mouth as if you wanted to say something, but then you paused. You felt as if there was something that had been floating between them all day, an unspoken tension that suddenly became tangible now that the commotion was over.

Emily noticed it too. She felt his gaze on her, opened her eyes, and turned her head slightly toward you. Her smile was exhausted but warm. "What?" she asked quietly, a hint of amusement in her voice as she returned the eye contact.

You hesitated for a moment, and then it burst out of you - kind of stumbling, without any real control. "You know, Emily... I... I think I'm really bad at saying things like this, but... um... I think I like you."

Emily blinked in surprise. "What?" She laughed lightly, as if she wasn't quite sure if you were serious or if it was another part of the joke that had been going on throughout the evening.

You groaned and rubbed the back of your neck. "Okay, that sounded really stupid." You let your head fall back onto the arm of the couch and stared at the ceiling. "I meant that..." You sighed deeply and closed your eyes. "Damn, this gets worse the more I talk."

Emily looked at you, a mixture of confusion and amusement on her face. "Wait... you like me?" she asked, more slowly this time, trying to find the thread of the conversation.

You slowly opened your eyes, looked at her and nodded slowly. "Yeah... but that sounds so... so... elementary school." You shook your head. "I wanted to tell you that I really like you... more. You know, in a way that isn't just... friendly."

Emily stared at you for a moment, completely baffled, and then burst into a nervous laugh. "Oh god, that's... that's a really messed up confession." She shook her head, her cheeks slightly flushed, but the smile remained. "But you know what? It's kind of fitting."

You raised an eyebrow. "Fitting?"

"Yeah," she said, still laughing. "I mean... look at us. We're just not the types for grand romantic gestures, are we? We fight with foam swords until we nearly fall off the couch, and then we make some kind of... half-confession."

You giggled softly, relieved that she took it so lightly. "I guess that's true. But it's better than saying nothing."

"You know... I like you too." She said before taking a deep breath. You were surprised, but the smile on his lips grew wider. "Oh really? And this is coming after my brilliant declaration of love?"

Emily rolled her eyes and punched your arm lightly. "Oh, stop it. You said yourself that we're not the ones for romantic gestures. But... yes, I like you. In a... more-than-just-friendly way too."

For a moment it was quiet. They looked at each other, and it was as if the room around them had changed - the silence was now charged, but in a pleasant way. It wasn't an uncomfortable tension, but rather a kind of certainty that they had just taken an important step, even if it was far from perfect.

You slowly raised a hand and extended it toward her. "So... what now?"

Emily looked at your hand, then back into your eyes. A soft, honest smile played on her lips as she took your hand and gave it a light squeeze. "I think we'll figure it out," she said quietly. "Together."

You stayed like that for a moment, your hands intertwined, the exhaustion of the day still in your bones, but now with a new sense of closeness that neither of you had expected. Maybe it really hadn't been a classic declaration of love - more of a botched, chaotic mess. But it was her mess. And that made it perfect.

"You know," you said finally, clearing your throat, "I almost managed it without completely embarrassing myself." Emily laughed and leaned her head against your shoulder. "Don't worry. We both survived the knight fight, I think we can make it through this too."

[dilemmaontwolegs]

Not A Verstappen: Gridlocked {1}

Pairing: Charles Leclerc x fem!driver!reader x Lando Norris Summary: Charles and Lando come to your apartment for the thank you dinner as promised. Warnings: 18+ only, sexual tension, alcohol, touching? WC: 2.4k F1 Masterlist NAV: Sibling Rivalry One || Two || Three NAV: Gridlocked One || Two || Three || Four

Black smoke billowed out of the pan you thought you had turned off and you rushed to toss it in the sink before opening a window. The breeze was a moment too late to clear the air of the dark tendrils snaking higher and they soon reached the smoke detector, the piercing sound of its alarm filling your kitchen. 

“Shit,” you cursed as you tried to jump and hit the detector to shut it off but you were just too short. “Double shit.”

A knock sounded at your door and you threw it open, grabbing whoevers hand it was and dragging them inside. “Thank god, hit that fucking thing for me will you?” you asked, realising it was Charles who had arrived on time, unsurprisingly.

His nose wrinkled at the heavy stench of smoke and he rose onto his toes to reach up and turn off the alarm. “You look like you have been, um…creative.”

You smiled at the attempt of a compliment before laughing at the situation. In the cold pan on the stove were the chicken breasts that were meant to be frying and you slapped your forehead as you realised you had turned the wrong element on. “Looks like we are going out to dinner, which is probably safer. I don’t think I could have kept my promise not to give you food poisoning by the looks of it.”

“I’m not dressed to go out,” he said as he looked down at his polo and chinos.

“Are you kidding me? You look like a damn model.”

“Thanks. It’s not easy being this handsome,” Lando said as he walked in the front door that was still open, a bottle of wine in his hands. “I see your cooking skills are as good as mine.”

“Har-har,” you drawled as you reached into the cupboards and got three wine stems out. “Liquid dinner it is.”

“Haven’t you sworn off drinking?” Charles asked as he rummaged around your cutlery drawers, finding the corkscrew for Lando.

“Pfft, that was just for summer break to stop the PR team from riding my ass,” you said with a grin. “Plus, you two won’t let me get into trouble. At least not too much.”

The cork popped open and Charles took the bottle from Lando to read the label. “I don’t think we have anything to worry about,” he laughed as he handed the Prosecco back. 

“What?” Lando asked with a frown as he turned it around to see the label. “The lady at the shop said this was good.”

“Sure, for an afternoon at the beach, but it won’t get you drunk.”

You took the bottle from his hands and kissed his cheek to erase the pout on his face. “It is the perfect starter course, and my bar is fully stocked with the hard stuff.”

“No,” Charles sighed as he took the bottle and poured three drinks. “I’m sure there is something salvageable to eat. No drinking on an empty stomach.”

You raised your glass to him. “I wish you luck, my kitchen is cursed.”

He tapped his glass with yours and winked. “I’m a miracle worker, watch me.”

You sat with Lando at the kitchen table as he showed you some photos he had taken throughout the year that hadn’t been posted online, keeping you entertained with stories that would get him in trouble if they ever got out. Every now and then you would check on Charles who familiarised himself with your kitchen, opening and closing all the cupboards and drawers before sighing.

“Admit defeat yet?”

His green eyes narrowed at you from across the room. “Never. I just can’t find any- of nevermind. What is this monstrosity?” He pulled a large jar out of the fridge and grimaced at the sight. 

“Crushed garlic,” you said obviously but he grew even more offended by the jar as he held it at arms length away.

“Unbelievable,” he muttered as he opened the lid and sniffed it. “It will do, I suppose.”

“What are you cooking?” Lando asked as he saw the ingredients lined up on the bench.

“Chicken pesto pasta.” He didn’t even look up as he sliced some limes up, muttering that lemons would have been better. 

“See, this is what I was looking for,” you said to Lando as you rested your chin on your hand watching Charles navigate the kitchen comfortably. “He cooks for me, you did my laundry, you’re both good looking and funny. That’s what I need from a man, I need the love child of Charlando. I give up. It’s impossible. I’m never going to find that.”

“Okay, this definitely isn’t going to be enough,” Lando said as he took the almost empty glass from your hand and rose from the chair. You and Charles both watched him cross over to the wet bar and tap his fingers along his lips as he debated what spirits to choose. “We need to cheer you up, I’m thinking tequila sunrise or strawberry daiquiri?”

“And music,” Charles added as he diced an onion that had been hiding at the back of your refrigerator for who knows how long. “Not mine, because it’s all depressing.”

“So music and drinks…why don’t we just go out?”

Neither looked happy at your suggestion and they both shook their heads. “I’m not in the mood for a lecture from your brother,” Lando admitted.

Lando plugged his phone into your stereo and some soft pop song started to play in the background as Charles said, “And it's too loud to talk in a club. This is nice, no?”

“I guess the company is half decent,” you teased.

Charles chuckled and beckoned you over with a curl of his finger that had a dollop of creamy pesto sauce on the end. “Taste test.”

Your stomach clenched as you parted your lips for him and his eyes held yours, the moment too intimate to dare break. His lips parted with a silent sigh when your tongue rolled over the pad of his finger, and he took a harsh breath as your lips sealed around it and sucked it clean. 

“Hmmm,” you moaned as the flavours coated your tongue and you pulled back, licking your lips as you did. “Oh my god, Charles, that is delicious.”

You couldn’t help noticing how the green of his eyes had been swallowed by his blown pupils or the way his throat bobbed as he swallowed twice before he could muster a response. “Now that I’ve seen your cooking, I’m sure everything else tastes delicious.”

“It’s not that bad,” you said with a laugh as your attention was pulled away and a shot glass was placed into your hand. “I thought we were having cocktails?”

“We will, but,” Lando said as he reached past Charles to grab the salt before he sprinkled a line across his hand. “Tequila first, sunrise later.” He grabbed a wedge of lime next and pinched it between his teeth with a daring curl of his eyebrow. 

The food was forgotten as Charles watched you wrapped your fingers around Lando’s wrist before running your tongue across his skin. The grains of salt coated your tongue as you raised the glass to your lips and tipped the liquor back under their heated stares. You swallowed the liquor and inhaled the fiery burn that followed as you eyed up lime waiting between Lando’s lips. 

This moment balanced on a knife's edge and you could feel how influential it could be on making or breaking the friendship you had with both Lando and Charles. This was the line in the sand that once you crossed there could be no return.

No one dared to breathe. No one dared to move. 

They were waiting for you. 

You licked your lips of the salty spirit residue and stepped closer to him. Your fingers trailed up his neck to tease the short hairs on his nape as you pulled his head down to meet yours and you bit the lime, tearing it from his lips as the sour juice ran down your chin.

“You’re a bad influence,” you teased as you wiped away the excess and stepped back. 

The tension in the air evaporated with his proud grin and Charles chuckled as he turned back to the pan before it burned for a second time.

“I’m just trying to cheer you up,” he replied innocently.

He made his way back to the wet bar with a little dance that had you laughing again. “It’s working.”

The sunset made the perfect backdrop over Monte-Carlo as you stepped out onto the balcony with a plate in each hand and placed them on the small square table. The music drifted out from the french doors after Lando queued enough songs to last the night and joined you and Charles with the extra strong drinks he had made.

“We should do this more often,” you said as a calm settled within you and you watched the yachts dotting the sea beyond the marina.

“What should we toast to?” Lando asked as he placed your glass in front of you, the cocktail matching the orange skyline.

“Single life?” you offered, earning a snort from him as he dropped into the seat beside you, mirroring Charles on the other side.

“How about the hunt?” Charles joked and you groaned at the reminder. “Since we are all looking for love now.”

“Not me,” you surprised them. “I’ve deleted every dating app from my phone and given up. I might even get a cat to keep me company.”

“I thought ‘a girl had needs’?” Lando teased with a suggestive wiggle of his eyebrows.

“Nothing a little self love can’t take care of,” you muttered to your drink as you took a sip, making Charles choke on his. “What? It’s true. You can’t tell me that you don't use your hand out when you need it.”

“We definitely need to do this more often,” Lando chuckled as he spared a fork full of extremely overcooked pasta. 

Charles sent a grin across the table to Lando before their eyes turned to you, a mischievous glint reflecting in both pairs as Charles agreed with a nod. 

“Then let’s cheers to that,” you said as you raised your glass. 

“To the three of us,” Charles winked, clinking your glasses.

“The three of us.”

The empty plates were neatly stacked and the last rays of light had long disappeared, but you weren’t ready for the night to be over. The air was growing cold and the fading solar lights dotted around the deck were starting to attract bugs, interrupting the peaceful lull in conversation. 

“Do you want to stay and watch a movie? You probably shouldn’t drive anyway.” You hoped your question didn’t sound too eager and tried to cover it up with the logical statement. It was needless though as they both perked up at the offer and started to clear the table.

“I’m up for a movie night,” Lando agreed as he took the glasses, leaving Charles to take the plates. “Another round?”

 “Yes, please. I’ll meet you on the couch.” 

You went to your room and changed out of the jeans and top you were wearing, opting for an oversized white AlphaTauri shirt you often slept in instead, before dragging the quilt off your bed. You switched the lights off around the apartment as you passed them and flopped down onto the couch between the two men who had been quietly chatting. Lando reached for the refilled glasses on the coffee table and handed you yours as you asked, “What are we watching?”

“Nothing sad or Charles will cry,” he said with a little laugh as he helped spread the blanket over everyone.

“And nothing with shooting or Lando will cry,” Charles shot back with his own teasing smirk.

“And nothing with romance or I will cry,” you added as you swiped up the remote and scrolled through the options on Netflix. “Guess that leaves horror. Paranormal Activity?”

You wanted to look away but you couldn’t as the crackling image on the screen only grew darker. You knew what was coming but it still didn’t stop the squeak that escaped your lips or the way your tense body startled at the jump scare.

The guys chuckled as if you hadn’t felt their legs knock yours at the sudden slam of a door and the blanket shifted until you felt a comforting hand on each thigh, resting just below the hem of the shirt. It took everything in you to keep still as their palms warmed your skin and the heat spread to your core and you felt Charles’ thumb start to draw soothing circles.

Under the guise of settling back into your skin after the fright, you laid back into the cushions and stretched your legs out. From the corner of your eye you could see Lando bite his lip as the shift left their hands even higher up your thighs, almost brushing the lace edge of your panties.

“Scared, chérie?” Charles asked, his voice a little deeper than usual.

It wasn’t the horror movie that was causing a fine tremor to work its way over your body, setting every nerve ending alight. And it certainly wasn’t the horror movie that was causing the goosebumps to tingle across your skin. 

It had been a long time since a man came so close to you that your core was turning to molten lava without even being touched and you lost the battle to remain still, your thighs clenching together in search of friction. You could feel a second heartbeat throbbing between the juncture and as the blanket slipped down your body your peaked nipples were easy to spot through the thin material. 

“Not exactly,” you uttered as Lando’s fingers squeezed your thigh, almost as if he were silently begging you to part them for him. 

“You’re shaking,” Lando murmured close to your ear. 

“I know,” you whispered as your throat clogged with the pleas for them to touch you, to slide their hands just another inch higher and sate the need your body craved. 

You felt the touch of Charles’ shaped beard along your jaw before his lips brushed your ear. “Breathe, chérie. We’ll take care of you.”

His thumb drew another circle and your chest expanded with the softest gasp as you felt the pad of his digit run along the seam of your underwear. 

Lando mirrored his friend, his breath hot on your neck where his lips set a trail of scorching fire to your ear. “Will you let us take care of you?”

Click here for part two.

Tagging: @destourtereaux @severerebelearthquake @sunf1ower16 @octaviareina @omgsuperstarg @mvclff1 @alwaysclassyeagle @icantcomeupwithamusicalname-blog @laneyspaulding19 @booknerd2004-blog @mimimarvelingmarvel @chonkybonky @jpg3 @bangtanxberm @secretlyangrymagazine

[idk6123]

Abusive And Loving (Soldier Boy X Male Reader)

Long before The Seven, there was another superhero group, Payback. And although they appeared grandiose with their god-like strength, like every superhero group, secrets lurked behind the scenes. The Seven weren’t the first to have these secrets. At least Payback appeared to have things under control, back in 1980. That’s what the public thought, at least—not the members of Payback.

As the entire team stood frozen, their teammate, Black Noir, had just been beaten to the floor. But that didn’t stop Soldier Boy, who continued pounding on his teammate. While everyone was too scared to intervene, one person wasn’t.

“That’s enough!”

Soldier Boy was shocked when his arm was pulled back right before he could kick Black Noir again, with Noir spitting blood. The leader turned to see his teammate, Chrono, also known as Y/N—the man who could manipulate time itself.

Soldier Boy yanked his arm back and glared. “Don’t fucking interfere!”

Just as he was about to throw a punch at Y/N, the time manipulator casually dodged. Enraged, Soldier Boy kept trying to punch him. But no matter how many punches he threw, Y/N dodged every one. Sometimes it took effort, but mostly it was effortless, which only annoyed Soldier Boy more.

“I can just rewind everything. Stop trying to hit me.”

Despite Y/N’s logic, Soldier Boy kept going. It got to the point where he chased Y/N out of their hideout and into an empty park in the dead of night. Even as time passed, Soldier Boy’s anger didn’t subside.

As he charged into the park, searching for Y/N, he ran past a tree—only to get smacked by a branch. Falling to the ground, Soldier Boy quickly looked up, his face stinging with pain, and saw the culprit.

“Holy fucking shit—how many times do we need to do this!?” Y/N sounded annoyed. “You always try to hit me, but you can’t, and you know fucking why!”

“Then stop rewinding and let me beat the shit outta you!” Soldier Boy shouted, standing up, ready to fight again.

“Oh my—I'm going to try something...” Y/N muttered.

Right before Soldier Boy could strike, Chrono touched him. The soldier froze completely, suspended in time. Though he could look around, listen, and breathe, he couldn’t move. When he tried to talk, all he could manage were muffled hums.

“Oh, cool, my stasis works.” Y/N said, sounding surprised. Soldier Boy tried to glare at him, but it was futile. “Anyway, I’m fucking done with you trying to beat me into a pulp, so I’ll give you a couple of options. One, I can kill you. Two, I can turn you into a child or something and raise you right. Three, we can talk, like… actual adults are supposed to do. …Dunno about a fourth.” Soldier Boy merely stared at him, not that he had much choice. “Right, you can’t answer. Just… hum the number of times for the option you want.”

After some hesitation, Soldier Boy gave up his pursuit of beating Y/N and hummed three times.

“Finally…” Y/N muttered as he removed the stasis, causing Soldier Boy to fall to the ground. “If this is some trick, I swear—”

“Shut the fuck up!” Soldier Boy stood up. Though he wasn’t trying to fight anymore, he was still pissed.

“Okay, that’s an improvement.” Y/N said casually. “Look, I’m gonna make this easier for you. Since you’re not a talker—clearly, may I add—I know a few things about processing your emotions.”

Soldier Boy groaned. “Please shut up.”

“We can go on a road trip.” Soldier Boy looked annoyed as Y/N listed out suggestions. “We can paint or do some kind of creative outlet—really fun, by the way. Uhm… a rage room, but I think we’d need a rage building for you.”

“You’re making this really hard to not beat you.” The soldier shamelessly commented.

“Fine, fine. Uhh… alcohol and drugs probably aren’t good. Oh, how about sex?”

Soldier Boy stared at Y/N, trying to read if he was joking or not. “I hope you’re not saying we should fuck.”

“Why not?” Y/N replied nonchalantly.

“I’m not a faggot.”

“Yeah, and every rich guy says that too until they go on a business trip with their ‘friends.’”

Soldier Boy sighed, looking around to make sure no one was nearby. When he looked back at his teammate, he saw a smirk. Resigning to his frustration, the soldier unbuckled his pants and got ready to take them down.

“Get those fucking pants off.”

-

Ever since that day, Soldier Boy’s and Chrono’s relationship evolved into something more than just teammates. Although it wasn’t official, they formed a bond that was more than just hook-up partners. While Soldier Boy didn’t notice it, Chrono did.

During their stay in a war zone, the team holed up in a hotel. Feeling his usual anger, Soldier Boy sought comfort beyond beating someone down. After some fun minutes, he and Y/N lay under the sheets, completely naked. Feeling slightly relieved, Soldier Boy grabbed a cigarette and began smoking.

“Wasn’t the sex good enough?”

Soldier Boy glanced back with a smirk. “You could be more… licky.”

Y/N chuckled. “Next time I lick your pistol, soldier.” The brunette chuckled again, taking another drag from his cigarette. That’s when the other hero leaned closer, looking more serious. “…Do you notice we’ve been spending more time together?”

Soldier Boy looked intrigued. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I… I feel like I see you differently. Instead of that maniac who beats his teammates, I see you as a troubled man… that also beats his teammates.”

“Was that supposed to be a compliment?” Soldier Boy asked, genuinely interested rather than angry.

“Yeah.”

Soldier Boy raised an eyebrow. “Well, what is that supposed to mean? Out with it.”

“I… I feel like we’re a couple.” The soldier looked surprised, while Y/N seemed a bit nervous—a rare sight. That meant one thing.

“You didn’t rewind this before.”

“Yeah… this is the first try to tell you how I feel…” Y/N admitted, expecting Soldier Boy to be angry, but instead, he just looked intrigued. “I’m okay if you don’t feel this way, but…”

“You love me?” Soldier Boy asked bluntly.

“…Yeah, I guess.”

Soldier Boy hummed, taking another drag before speaking. “Look, I’m okay with this whole hooking-up thing, but I’m not a faggot.” He then glared at Y/N. “Not a fucking joke.”

“I wasn’t.”

Sensing Y/N’s sincerity, Soldier Boy eased up slightly. “It’s not that I hate this. It’s just wrong to be with another man. I get that things are more accepting, but… I’m not supposed to be… this.”

Y/N hummed quietly. “You haven’t said what you really feel.” Soldier Boy wondered what he meant. “…You only said how society views this, not how you feel.”

Soldier Boy stared at Y/N, thinking for a while before answering. “I can’t promise you anything. I don’t want a relationship where we hold hands while walking, or I take you out to the movies, or we get married and everyone’s there to see it.”

“You still haven’t said how you really feel.”

Letting out a sigh, Soldier Boy wished Y/N would stop questioning him. “Look, it’s not fucking easy. Just because I want to be with you doesn’t mean we fucking can!”

While Y/N flinched, he soon calmed down. “You want to be with me…”

The soldier breathed deeply as he calmed down. “I guess…” With hesitation, he moved his hand to Y/N’s face, touching it gently. “This stays fucking between us. If you ever tell anyone—”

“You kill me. Fair.” Y/N smiled softly. “So… we’re a couple, Ben?”

Benjamin eventually cracked a smile. “Couple is a strong word… but, if you say we’re a couple, I won’t argue.”

-

A year has passed, during which Y/N and Ben often went on business trips that doubled as romantic getaways. Today, Chrono has a surprise for his lover. Inside the car, Y/N is driving while his boyfriend’s eyes are covered with a towel.

“When you said my eyes had to be covered, I thought we were doing something freaky.” Soldier Boy comments with a smirk. “Or that it was taking you this long to get to the freaky part.”

“Nothing weird. You just have to wait and see the surprise.”

As the trip continues, Soldier Boy smiles carefree, alongside his partner. Wearing something casual, it feels like one of the rare times they’re just normal people.

A couple of minutes later, they arrive at their destination. Y/N helps Ben out of the car. The soldier instantly feels grass beneath his shoes. As they walk, Ben begins to guess what the surprise could be.

“All right, we’re here.” Y/N says with excitement.

“Finally.”

“Now, three… two… one…”

The blindfold is removed. Ben now sees a big farmhouse in the middle of nowhere. Despite the isolation, the place feels peaceful. There aren’t any farm animals or crops yet, but the house looks like it has potential.

“Don’t tell me we’re going to be farmers.” Ben says.

Y/N chuckles. “Even better.” He steps in front of his partner, holding up a set of house keys.

Shocked, Soldier Boy doesn’t know what to say. “You bought a house?”

“I bought a house for us.” Y/N responds with a smirk while Ben still looks stunned. “Somewhere peaceful, so we don’t get bothered by anyone anymore.”

“You’re thinking about retiring?” Soldier Boy already sounds hesitant.

“No. This is just our getaway place.” Y/N looks back at the large farmhouse with a smile. “Just… somewhere we can go to pretend the world isn’t shit. I don’t expect us to come here every day, but… once in a while… it could be fun.”

As Y/N looks back, Ben relaxes a bit. “And here I thought you wanted us to retire, get married, grow old, and start a family.”

Chrono chuckles. “Maybe later.” He places the keys into his partner’s hand and holds it. “I get that you’re still struggling with being with another man. And… I’m proud of you for handling it so well. But I still want to feel like we’re a normal couple.” Soldier Boy listens closely as his boyfriend shares his thoughts. “So… can we at least try to act like a normal couple?”

“You say that, but who’s going to act like the wife between us?” Ben asks. “I’m not one to cook for others.”

“We’ll both be the husband, dumbass.” Y/N laughs. “Well, guess we’re boyfriends for now.”

Ben raises an intrigued eyebrow. “For now?”

Y/N sighs. “You know what I mean.”

Ben chuckles. “Fine. If it makes you happy, let’s stay here for a couple of days.”

“Thanks.” Y/N says with a genuine smile.

-

When nighttime arrives, the couple is watching TV. Feeling cheesy, they’re watching TV shows and movies featuring Payback. With popcorn on Y/N’s lap, they’re spooning while eating from the bowl. Dressed in sweats, they feel comfortable and relaxed.

“You’re a great singer.” Y/N comments.

“Thanks.” Soldier Boy replies. “And you’re a great actor.”

“Yeah, but I kinda had a bad attitude behind the scenes. Made sure to kill those damn directors before rewinding back.” Y/N laughs, taking another handful of popcorn. “Kinda wish it could be like this every day.” He looks back at his lover. “I know we’ve got jobs as heroes, but… maybe retiring isn’t so bad.”

“I get that.” Ben says, feeling completely comfortable. “Out here, I can just be myself.”

As the couple smiles lovingly at each other, staring into one another’s eyes, Ben suddenly has something to say.

“Maybe one day, we can get married and just… live here.”

Y/N’s smile grows. “For someone who didn’t want to admit we’re a couple, you sure grew out of that.”

“I’m serious!” Ben laughs. “I… really like where we are and where we’re heading.”

“Really?”

“Really.” Ben says confidently. He then gets an idea. Standing up from the couch, causing some leftover popcorn to spill onto the floor, the soldier gets down on one knee.

Y/N looks a bit surprised. “Ben, what are you doing?”

“Y/N, I know getting married to another man isn’t legal, but fuck the details. What we can do is get married illegally or something. You’ll be my husband, and I’ll be yours. We’ll live our lives in secret, but at least we’ll be married.”

As Y/N smiles, the soldier knows what his answer will be.

“Y/N, will you marry me?”

“Yes!” Y/N quickly pulls his fiancé into a hug, which Ben happily returns.

“Fuck!” Y/N exclaims.

“What?”

“You didn’t get me a ring!”

Ben chuckles. “I’ll buy you one later.”

As they stop hugging, the brunette kisses his fiancé. No matter how bad things might get with Payback, they know they’ll always have each other.

[liyaauhr]

Aiden & Taylor HC’s because no-one talks about them enough! 🎢

— disaster child + disaster child = recipe for chaos

— After her father’s death, Taylor never really got to have a normal childhood like most people her age. She didn’t want to rely on her twin brother constantly for help and had an emotionally unavailable mother so she spent her time trying to help out around the house as much as possible. Her first time goofing off was actually with Aiden who convinced her to skip class to go to the skate park and taught her how to skateboard.

— Gossip about their classmates ALL THE TIME. Literally Taylor will call up Aiden at the ass crack of dawn being like “OH MY GOD you will NOT believe whats been going on with blah blah blah” and Aiden would immediately be like “OMG wtf??? Oh I knew they were a bitch 🙄”

— They team up to cheat in uno. Both of them sneak in +4 cards to their deck and trade cards underneath their legs like dealers to get the people they’ve targeted out in the round. This person is usually Tyler because he has a whole FLIP OUT and when it’s not him it’s Ashlyn because you cannot tell me she wouldn’t get competitive and be a sore loser.

No. this is totally not based off of personal experience. (My friends suck 🤧)

— Once during Christmas, after watching so many movies (and paying attention to none) Aiden had the bright idea of recreating the traps in Home Alone. His parents were away and Taylor tried to talk him out of it…but then he offered a monthly supply of chocolate bunnies and a declaration of a prank war on Tyler so naturally, she concedes. The whole thing was surprisingly easy considering Aiden just has a bunch of questionable random junk lying around that is that is scary dangerous when utilised so with Taylor’s craftiness and Aiden’s creativity the two of them end up making some unstoppable traps. Unfortunately, instead of taking them down once they were finished, both of them got sidetracked by making cookies for the rest of the group to eat. As of on queue, a poor unknowing Ben had walked into the front door after guitar lessons with Tyler and well…you can imagine the disaster! Literally hundreds of booby traps flying at him from every damn corner, every wrong step taken resulted in another attack and eventually a net came out of nowhere and trapped him mid-air!

(Tyler was behind him and could not stop laughing for a good hour as Aiden and Taylor watched in horror, he now has infinite blackmail material in his gallery.)

— I hc that while Tyler is a great cook, Taylor is an excellent baker! When she’s concentrated she can make some really good cookies and cakes that she had learned from her mum.

Key word: WHEN SHE’S CONCENTRATED

Long story short, they’ve blown up a whole kitchen before (at least it was Aiden’s).

— These two 100% do dumb tiktok challenges together and you cannot convince me otherwise.

— Before the Savannah trip, I like to think that Taylor was intrigued by Aiden’s energy when he first arrived especially considering she’s the type to notice people who aren’t necessarily well known (as seen with Ashlyn). Whenever she saw him he was always smiling and goofing off with the tall guy that followed him around and she sorta missed that feeling after losing it so long ago when her father died. Her brother and mother had never been the same since and Tyler became more serious, not to mention her other friends weren’t exactly the silly type.

And the two seemed to stick to the ginger haired girl like glue (to her dismay). She found it funny watching them annoy her to no end and Ashlyn had always been someone she had secretly wanted to get to know.

I feel like a part of her really wanted to make friends with them from the beginning because while the people Tyler and Taylor hung out with were nice enough, they always felt so disconnected and out of touch from them.

— They share a PE class together and literally both choose not to try in class and instead choose to goof off and gossip instead.

— Once Aiden’s roots were growing out and Taylor noticed and offered to re-dye it for him. Turns out she has 0 hair skills (all the genes went to Tyler lol) and Tyler walked in on the both of them in the bathroom. Aiden with patchy bleached hair that looks like its frying itself raw and Taylor with random bleached streaks and botched bangs. Safe to say, neither of them are allowed to use hair products and tools anymore.

— They match together for Halloween because everyone else is a loser who can’t accept their amazing ideas (e.g chicken onesies, angry birds etc.)

[hughiecampbelle]

The Boys Preference: Being An Assassin Who Joins The team

A/N: I'M OBSESSED WITH THIS IDEA :D I have so many ideas attached to it, so many posts brewing, so I really hope you like it!!! I kinda think of it similar to Red Room from MCU and also the Aunts from The Handmaid's Tale, if that makes any sense lol. Feedback is always appreciated 💜💜💜

Butcher likes you. He sees the emotion you evoke from the rest of the team and he thinks you're a perfect fit. You're not sure what to think of him. If he was one of your siblings, he wouldn't have lasted long. Selfish, arrogant, self-righteous. That's the kind of thing that got you punished, that got you killed. Beneath it though, to a degree, you can tell he really cares for everyone. It might be twisted and warped and at this point unrecognizable, but it was there. He enjoys hearing about your kills, especially when it was Supes. You weren't just good at what you did, you were the best. You were creative, too. Imaginative. He brags to you about killing Translucent, how they did it. You're not terribly impressed, but for his benefit you put on a show. You're a little weird, but he likes that. You're except in some areas (like going undercover) and mediocre in others (like figuring out how to befriend Hughie). He doesn't judge what you've done. It's just how you were raised. He tries to do a background check on you, but there's nothing. The name your mentors gave you wasn't the one your parents, if there even were parents, gave you. You were a blank slate. It was both riveting and terribly dangerous.

Hughie has the most questions. He can see just from your appearance, all the scars on your face and neck, all the ones he can't see, that you've been to hell and back. You hold yourself rigid, tight. Even when you seem relaxed you aren't. You're constantly looking for the nearest exit or weapon, scanning every room you walk into. It spooks him a little. He lets his imagination get the better of him, something he knows he shouldn't do, but just can't help it. You like Hughie instantly. And not just because he's too awkward and frail to get in a proper punch, too soft to ever truly hurt you. He seems sweet, naive, like he needs protecting. He reminds you of the kids in the program who didn't make it. You protected them, too. Or, at least tried to. You're as friendly as you let yourself, taking an interest in whatever he's doing, becoming his shadow. Everyone takes notice, but he doesn't seem to mind. He likes your company. The rest of the team hopes you'll open up to him, tell him what you won't tell everyone else, but he refuses to pry. If you talk, that's great. If not, oh well. If you want to hang out by his side, that works too.

Annie has nothing against you, but you definitely keep your distance, especially at first. You've killed more than enough Supes to prove your competency, more than you can name. You're not sure what they tell each other, but you imagine it similar to the system you grew up with: word spread quickly, you all felt it when one of your own were killed. There was an alliance that went unsaid. If you could avenge your fallen siblings, you would. If she found out who you killed, how many, would she come after you? Eventually you learn they're not all connected like that, that Annie's on your side. Still, you kind of see her as the embodiment of everything you're not. She's sweet, caring, and honest. You've been lying all your life, you can't tell what's real and what isn't. Hughie likes her, loves her, so that definitely helps in developing your relationship. Annie knows about your past, what little you share of it, but she doesn't judge. Maybe, at a time, she would have, but after being part of The Boys so long, that kind of thing kind of loses its shock power. You did what you had to, what you were trained to. Weren't you all guilty of a version of that?

M.M., similar to his initial feelings about Kimiko, isn't too fond of you. He doesn't mean to judge as harshly as he does, but just by the looks of you, you mean trouble. Hughie tries to talk to him, but he just can't get past your quirks. You're so naive about certain things (what music you like to listen to, shows you've never seen, how to form normal friendships, what jokes are funny) and so knowledgeable about other things (the fastest way to bleed out a man, how to make a murder look like a suicide, the amount of languages you were taught to better go after your targets). It just doesn't sit right with him. Knowing this, sensing this, you keep your distance, knowing not to further upset him similar to how your mentors were. Be invisible to him, them. It isn't until you give him sound advice for protecting Monique and Janine, something he never would have thought of, does he reconsider his feelings. He's still not a big fan, but he can see why you belong on the team, why your skills are beneficial, even if some of the stuff you say so lightly gives him the heebie jeebies, like the time you reminisced about killing someone with just a wooden spoon.

Frenchie doesn't really see you as an assassin. They've all killed people, it didn't seem like such a big deal. He doesn't love the idea of you being around Kimiko. She's made a life for herself beyond what she's gone through. It feels like you're still learning how to be without it. Without your mentors, your siblings. He knows there's no one better to give you a chance than him, so he's very open, inviting. You talk to him exclusively in French. You tell him small parts of your past, and he's grateful for that. In return, he tells you about his own childhood. When he shares the scars from his father, you tell him about the ones on your face and neck, how you deserved them for disobedience. He doesn't tell anyone else, knowing it was only meant for him to hear. You even speak affectionately about your mentors, the ones who were kind and only hurt you when you needed it. He wasn't shocked, at least not outwardly, not wanting you to feel strange or odd. Because you don't speak French with an accent, it's hard for him to decipher where you're from. All over, you say, and though you know it's a non-answer, it's the truth. You've been all over the world. You just happened to end up in New York.

Kimiko becomes your friend immediately. Though you gravitate towards Hughie because he's sweet, you like Kimiko because you can tell you're very similar. She doesn't have to say anything, you just know. You recognize the signs. The rest of the team doesn't think it's a great idea, you are alone with her, namely Frenchie. When you aren't cold and standoffish, you're far too casual about what you've done, pointing to old movies with famous Supes back in the day or old politicians, reminiscing how you killed them, made it look like a suicide. Or you talk about growing up, how you were punished for crying even when your friends were killed, pointing out the scars they left. She's not upset by it, she's glad you're talking about it. It makes her upbringing feel normal. You learn sign language quickly, another language you can add to your list, telling her more than anyone else. In return you listen to her, whatever she wants to share, grateful for someone who doesn't look at you like a monster or a freak. You like listening to her go on about Frenchie, her feelings for him. It's a piece of childhood you never got to take part in. It's nice.