#the day that we were supposed to study the end I got to school early I met the kids in the corridors for rec time and told them all

[janeyseymour]

Keep Her Around

Summary: You and Melissa have been married for years, unbeknownst to almost everyone in your life. And when you finally meet the Schemmentis, they only think you're Melissa's girlfriend.

WC: ~3.1k

It’s funny the way that Melissa Schemmenti lives her life. By day, she’s a second grade teacher at Abbott Elementary. By night, she’s out at the bars trying to forget about her problems.

You live life quite similarly. During the day, you’re a first grade teacher at Abbott Elementary. Come night, you’re usually out at a bar trying to decompress after the hectic days that you tend to have with your students.

And then one day, you and your coworker accidentally end up at the same bar.

“What are you doing here?” Melissa asks you as she approaches the stool next to yours.

You sigh and take a sip of your Labatt. “Needed a beer after today. You?”

“God,” the redhead groans when she sees what you’re sipping on. “Why are you drinking that shit when there’s Yuengling on tap?”

“Cheaper,” you sigh.

“By like, ten cents,” your coworker grumbles. “If you’re that broke, let me at least buy you a good beer.”

Melissa buying you one good beer ends up turning into four, and that night ends with the two of you going home together.

Fast forward a few years, and your relationship with the redhead is still relatively hidden. The only person that knows at the school is Barbara. Not even your principal knows because she failed to recognize that when you put in to change your address for your paycheck, it was identical to Melissa’s.

You don’t mind not having the world know about your relationship. Both you and your girlfriend are extremely private people, so it makes sense.

But then you propose, you elope the next weekend with Barbara Howard as your witness, and when you walk into work the following Monday, the rings that sit on your finger just so happen to catch sunlight snd sparkle.

“Woah!” Jacob’s eyes go wide. “Did you- did you get married?!”

You roll your eyes at his dramatics. “Yeah. What’d you do this weekend?”

“No, no, no,” the social studies teacher stammers out. “We are not changing the topic this quick!”

“Jacob,” Barbara groans as she walks into the staff lounge with your wife and Janine. “It is far too early for you to be up in arms about something on a Monday morning. Have mercy on me.”

“Y/N got married!” Jacob gestures to you wildly.

“You did what?” Janine gasps.

“Got married,” you state. “I don’t see why we have to make such a big deal out of-”

Unfortunately for your wife, the same sunbeam that caught your ring catches hers, and Jacob gasps again.

“Melissa! Did you- did you get married too? What the hell is going on here?!” The redhead just nods with a smirk as she holds her left hand up.

“What?” Janine turns to look at her work aunt in shock. “What the hell guys? I didn’t even know either of you were dating, much less engaged to be married!”

“Yeah,” you sigh as you stand to make Melissa her coffee. If the secret is about to come out, you might as well start being the good life partner that you usually are at home. “We didn’t tell no one for a reason. Babe, your usual?”

It takes about a second for your words to sink in for the two nosey teachers that you suppose you call friends. “What?” they both ask incredulously. Then they look to Barbara who just seems amused.

“Aren’t you surprised your best friend hid this from you?”

“I didn’t hide nothin’, lowercase,” your wife snorts.

Barb looks incredibly smug before revealing, “I was their witness.”

“What?” Jacob shouts at the same time that Ava, Gregory, and Mr. Johnson walk into the staff lounge. “Did any of you know that Y/N and Melissa were together, much less that they got married over the weekend?”

“That is news to me,” Gregory states in his usual monotone. Then he lets a smile slip through. “Congratulations.”

“Damn, that means MILF Manor is s possibility for-”

“Enough,” you cut off your boss. “Melissa and I got married, but we’ve been together for years, living together for years. This doesn’t change much in the grand scheme of it all.”

You can tell that Janine is going to argue, but thankfully, the coffee has finished brewing, and you can pour your wife her mug before exiting the room with a roll of your eyes.

Later, Mr. Johnson gives a talking head that he’s been aware of your relationship for quite some time now. He just grins at the cameraman, stating that this isn’t the first time a workplace romance has budded. Then he smirks. “They aren’t the first. No. That was me, all those years ago.”

It’s later that day that you and your wife are laying on the couch watching whatever reality television show Melissa put on. You suppose you should say she’s watching, you’re laying down reading a book. It’s nice that the two of you can sit in a comfortable silence, both doing completely different things while still enjoying each other’s company. The quiet between the two of you is broken when your wife sighs from above you, her hand going to run its way through your hair.

“What is it?” you ask her gently.

The redhead just takes a deep breath again before shrugging. “Nothin’.”

“That’s the loudest nothing I’ve ever heard,” you tease as you sit up and set your book on the coffee table. “What’s on your mind, babe?”

“It’s weird that the crew knows now,” Melissa muses. “But at least now maybe on the rare day that the two of us are actually on the same schedule, we’ll be able to take the same car to work.”

“We always could’ve done that,” you chuckle. “We’re normally the first two in anyway, aside from Mr. Johnson.”

Your wife mulls this thought over in her head before shrugging. “Well, since they know… I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before Janine spills the beans to Kristen Marie.”

“That’s what you’re thinking about?” you ask. “If it’s just that, I can pull mini into my room tomorrow and threaten her life… not that I would do anything, but I know a guy.”

“I’m your guy, dumb ass,” Melissa lets out a belly laugh. “And no, I think… maybe it’s time we tell the Schemmenti family?”

Both brows raise an incredible amount. In all of the years that you’ve been together, the redhead has never mentioned introducing you to her family. “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” your wife sighs softly. “I think it’s time I stop being afraid of what my family has to say and just… bite the bullet. And then maybe bite the dust depending on what they have to say to me about us.”

“So dramatic,” you roll your eyes playfully. “My god.”

“You love me for my dramatics remember,” Melissa chuckles. “Would you be open to meetin’ my family?”

You roll your eyes. “Babe, I’ve been ready for years. I was just waiting for you to be ready.”

“I-” your wife hesitates. “I am ready. You deserve to be shown off for the wonderful wife that you are to me.”

And so, a few weeks later, you’re walking into your very first Schemmenti family dinner at Theresa’s house.

“Hi Ma,” your wife smiles that dazzling smile of hers. “This is Y/N, my-”

“Your girlfriend,” Theresa states, arms folded over her chest and giving you quite the judgmental look. It’s very clear where Melissa inherited her traits from.

The redhead goes to cut in and correct her mother, but the matriarch of the Schemmenti household continues. “She told us you were pretty.”

“Thank you?” you smile awkwardly.

Theresa shakes her head. “I didn’t tell you what I thought of you- only what Melissa said.”

“Ma!”

“I’m just stating a fact,” the mother rolls her eyes. “And if you would’ve let me continue, I would’ve said she was correct in saying that.”

“Thank you,” you say with certainty now. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“I do hope I’ll be able to say the same things about you tonight. Come in. You’re the first ones here, but I’m sure the others will be here soon,” Theresa turns and walks in towards the kitchen. “Can’t resist my cooking, the gavones,” she mumbles to herself.

While the matriarch of the family walks away, Melissa goes to follow. You take her gently by the arm to hold her back though.

“She thinks I’m just your girlfriend,” you mumble into your wife’s ear. “What do we do?”

Melissa shrugs. “Maybe we just let her think that for a bit? Let her ease into it? She seems to like you so far.”

“That was her liking me?” you raise a brow as you slip your rings off and into your pocket.

“She didn’t outright tell you to leave, and she told you you were pretty. By Schemmenti standards, she already adores you,” your wife chuckles as she follows your actions. “And she’ll only continue to love you when you work your charm.”

“I don’t have charm, Lis,” you roll your eyes, but you do pull her in for a quick kiss. “I’m a dork.”

“A dork that I love,” Melissa smiles against your lips. “Just be you. Quick witted and sweet. The best of both worlds. And take her up on her offer for wine, and never say no when she asks if you’d like more- at least until your fourth serving.”

“Fourth serving?” your eyes widen. “Babe, I don’t know if I can-”

“I’ll subtly take some of the food off of your plate, but just… trust me?”

With a sigh, you nod. “I guess you know your family better than I do.”

Meeting the rest of the Schemmenti clan is… interesting. All of her siblings have something to say that your wife promises you are them showing that they like you, even if you don’t think so. They have quite an odd dynamic as a family, you must say. As dinner goes on, you would dare to say that they might just tolerate you, but your wife promises you that they are loving you.

And the kids in the family absolutely adore you. Even the youngest baby who won’t go to anybody but her parents finds herself nestled in your arms at one point during the night while she absentmindedly plays with your hair and necklace. 

“I don’t know how you just did that,” Melissa mumbles from next to you. Her hand gently cups the side of your head as she pulls you in to kiss your temple. “I’m usually the baby whisperer in this family, and even I can’t get the little bugger to sit with me.”

You just look down at the little girl in your arms. “She’s just a little shy is all,” you mumble as you press a kiss to the top of her head.

Eventually though, your wife’s brother takes back his baby, and you sigh softly. “I just have to use the bathroom,” you tell the redhead quietly. “I’ll be right back.”

Melissa nods with a smile.

“On my way back, do you want another glass of wine?”

“Please,” your wife smiles. “Thanks, hun.”

With that, you head to the restroom upstairs. As soon as your out of sight, Melissa’s family members are staring at her.

“What? I got somethin’ in my teeth?”

“Yeah,” Kristen Marie lies.

“Kristen Marie,” Theresa stops the quarrel before it can even start. “No.”

“Then what, Ma?”

“That girlfriend of yours…” the matriarch starts, and immediately the redhead is ready to defend your honor. When Theresa follows with, “I like her. A lot more than I ever liked Joe, and you ended up married to that stronzo.”

“She’s even good with Sophia,” Marie puts in her opinion.

“And how long of the two of you been together?” Seamus asks.

“Long enough,” Melissa shrugs.

“You plannin’ on keepin’ her around?” Kristen Marie questions. “You know… for a long time? Maybe forever?”

Green eyes twinkle. “Maybe.”

“I think you should consider it,” Theresa suggests. “She fits right in. Pretty, witty, a teacher… she balances you out nicely with her sweetness.”

“I can be sweet too, Ma,” your wife rolls her eyes.

“Oh, you know what I mean,” the mother huffs. “Just… consider it.”

It’s then that you make your way back into the living room with the promised glass of wine for your wife. “What’d I miss?”

“Nothin’,” Melissa mumbles.

“That was the loudest nothin’ I ever heard,” Kristen Marie laughs. “Just teasin’ ol’ red, as usual.”

“I’m not even two years older than you,” your wife grumbles at her sister.

“Still old.”

“Girls,” Theresa cuts in. 

It’s a bit later when the two of you bid farewell to the Schemmenti clan with hugs, and you get a kiss on the cheek from Theresa Schemmenti herself.

As soon as you’re in the privacy of your car, Melissa begins to cackle with laughter. You look to her as though she has three heads.

“What’s so funny, babe?”

“They love you!” the redhead continues to wheeze with laughter.

“And that’s funny because…?”

“Hun, they were basically tellin’ me to marry you while you went to the bathroom,” your wife wipes at the tears forming around her eyes.

“Oh,” you break out into a smile, and then you can’t contain your giggles either. “That- that’s hilarious!”

“I can’t with my family sometimes,” the redhead chuckles out as she begins to pull herself together to drive home.

You lace your fingers with your wife’s. But then you remember that you don’t have your rings on again, so you disentangle your hands, slip them back on, and then return to your position. Melissa does the same. “Should we tell them? Or do we just continue to let them think we’re girlfriends until they figure it out?”

“Who knows?” the redhead laughs. “For as smart as we can be, we can also be absolutely oblivious. Why do you think I didn’t realize you had a thing for me for as long as you did?”

“Well, I’m for whatever you think we should do. But I think it’d be hilarious if it got to a point where we had to have a fake wedding to appease them,” you laugh.

“Now that would be something,” Melissa hums. “We never did have a real wedding.” And then she pulls away and heads for home.

Only once the two of you are back at the house does the cameraman interview the two of you.

“Should I have told my family that me an’ my ‘girlfriend’ have been married for years before I let them meet for the first time, or should I just keep trying to slip it in? Because now they’re trying to hint that I should propose, and I’m wondering if it might just be easier to do a fake wedding,” Melissa tells the man. “My wife’s on board because she’s fantastic.” She finishes her spiel with a kiss to your cheek. You can only grin.

It’s about a month later that you head back over to the Schemmenti household for family dinner again. This time, you wear your rings, but the family doesn’t notice- the both of you wear a few rings as it is, so they blend in. When you go to the bathroom again, your wife’s family only continues to ask why she hasn’t asked you to marry you yet, and when is she going to grow the balls.

“If you don’t, I’ll ask her to marry me,” Seamus laughs.

Green eyes stare into his eyes. “Over my dead body.”

When you return from the bathroom with another glass of wine for your wife and settle into her hold, you can’t help but feel how she holds you just the slightest bit tighter.

“Give me your engagement ring, and move your band over to another finger,” Melissa whispers into your ear.

You give her a slightly curious look, but do as told. No sooner is your wife down on one knee asking you to marry her (for the second time). Of course, you agree to marry her. The Schemmenti’s are overjoyed.

And when you get into the car and ask her what that was about, your wife just rolls her eyes. “Seamus said he’d ask you if I didn’t.”

“So, we’re really going through with a fake wedding?” you chuckle.

“We are.”

Four months later, on the anniversary of the actual day that the two of you got married, you hold a fake wedding in your backyard. The Abbott crew and your side of the family know that this is all to appease the Schemmentis, but they’re happy to play along and be there for you since they weren’t at the first one- with the exception of Barbara Howard. The Schemmenti family is thrilled to watch as Melissa gets married, even if it’s unknowingly for the second time.

You do everything by the books. You have an ‘ordained’ minister (Mr. Johnson), best people (Barbara of course serves as Melissa’s while your sister is yours), your father walks you down the makeshift aisle, the little baby that melted your heart the first time you met the Schemmenti side is the flower girl. Vows are said, rings are exchanged, a reception is had. It’s magical.

“You think we should’ve done this the first time?” Melissa asks as the two of you lay in bed later that night.

You just kiss her softly. “I wouldn’t change a thing about our story.”

A year goes by, and the two of you are spending your fifth (first) wedding anniversary together- somehow at a Schemmenti family Sunday dinner. It’s not like you mind or anything- they’re family. And, you had already celebrated just the two of you last night.

After church though, Barbara did drop off a cake to help make this year just the slightest bit more special- five years married is a big deal. The two of you thanked her kindly and then decided that you were going to take it to Theresa’s for dessert.

Only when you open it, there’s a slight hiccup. It’s clear that Barb had intended for the two of you to enjoy this cake in the privacy of your own home. It very clearly reads, “Happy Fifth Wedding Anniversary!” on it. And before you can close the box, Theresa gets a glance at it.

“Fifth?”

Both you and your wife hazard a glance at each other. You’ve just been caught.

“Uh,” you hum softly.

Melissa takes a deep breath before, “Ma, I have a confession…” 

TAGS: (and lmk if you want to be included!): @schemmentis @thesapphictimelady @marvel210 @itisdoctortoyousir @morgana-larkin @doesthatsuggestanythingtoyou @sweetcheeksschemmenti @megamultifandomtrashposts @lemz378 @http-sam @melissaschemmentisbranzino @imaginesmultifandoms @sexysapphicshopowner @lilfartbox1 @maybe-a-humanbean @imlike-so-gaydude @a-queen-and-her-throne @notinmyvocab @melanielaufeyson @dvrkhcld @cosmichymns @sasheemo @m1lflov3rrr @ricejucie @temilyrights @emilynissangtr @squinnchy @dopenightmaretyphoon @emeraldoceansstuff @shinyfaerielights  @blkmxrvel @marvelwomenrule @sarahjohannson @casualfoxwitch @babytakeittothehead @schemmentits @morgananyx

[ace-marvel]

Ananchronism

Alpha!Bucky Barnes x Omega!Reader

Synopsis: The world has evolved beyond needing designations and sub-genders, alphas no longer seek out omegas, scents are a thing of the pass while heats and ruts are a rarity. You're an omega who relies on scents and still gets heat, an abnormality in this modern world. Only you find solace in a man lost to time.

Word Count: 9k

Based of a prompt/idea by @black-cat-2

(A/N: This is set in a time where everything goes back to complete normal after they defeat Thanos, Nat comes back and Steve doesn't leave. I will also warn that Bucky has some old time views on relationships, we are talking 40's stereotype stuff after all.)

Ananchronism: used to describe a historical inaccuracy where something from one time period is placed in another.

You had never been normal. 

In this day and age, sub-genders were nothing more than an additional label that went on your driver's license or something to be noted by an employer. You had presented as an omega when you’d hit puberty, like all the other people your age. It was a blood test done by the doctors to check, each sub-gender produced a certain enzyme that was checked when a woman got their first period and or a man started to grow hair on his chest. 

Your results had been odd, your early teenaged years spent in and out of doctor’s offices as they poked and prodded with needles and endless tests to find out why your levels had been so strange. It was something more commonly seen in the early 1900s when sub-genders had been such a big deal. 

“She’s a genetic anomaly,” A doctor had finally chalked it up, after looking at your records when you were fifteen. 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Your mother was an alpha, which meant that she took charge, a stubborn and proud lady in her own right. 

“Look, it’s a rare thing we’re seeing in very cases,” The old doctor huffed out. “Her sub-gender appears to not be suppressed, like evolution skipped her for whatever reason it decided to.” 

That was the end of the poking and prodding. 

You just weren’t normal. 

A genetic anomaly. 

Adjusting was horrid for your family, from the need to steal all the soft blankets, much to your mother’s dismay or your father’s disappointment, when you needed to skip school again because you had fevers and cramps from an ancient thing called a heat. After a year of missing almost two months of school, the doctor had put you on suppressants. 

Things still didn’t get better from there. 

Society was rough. 

Equality meant you had to work, despite everything in your brain and body screaming at you not to. You shouldn’t be standing on your feet for hours on end at the coffee shop you worked part-time at as a teenager, you shouldn’t have to get up at ungodly hours to study for tests and sit in a room full of people that seemed like dead bodies. 

You were sensitive, soft, and not made for this time. 

Becoming an adult was hard; moving out of home had you in tears, and finally diagnosed with depression. But you had to trudge on in this harsh world, alone. 

The only saving grace had been a woman who owned a bakery down the street, who had hired you after you’d come in one day craving something sweet before your heat decided to strike. 

It turned out that Elise was like you, a genetic anomaly. She wasn’t an olden day omega like you were, but she had heightened senses and strangely strong despite her small stature. You’d seen her lift three massive bags of flour like she’d been carrying a little pillow. 

“You look exhausted hun, have a seat for a little bit,” Elise had called from where she was punching a bowl of dough, flour smeared on her face as she smiled. 

“That would make me lazy..,” You mumbled under your breath, despite your whole body screaming at you to stop, “I’ll go clean a little..,” 

Elise didn’t argue, you always pushed your own limits even if your whole body screamed at you day in and day out. Grabbing the cloth and spray, you made your way over to the tables and began to wipe them down as the shop door opened. 

Usually the smell of cupcakes, baked bread and sweet treats covered up the many unpleasant smells of the people around you, but something stuck out today. It was a musky scent, mixed with pine and the odd edge of something cold, like ice. You could always tell what someone’s sub-gender was based on smell alone, you avoided alphas at all costs because that was what felt right to you. 

But this scent was so strong it made your stomach drop, hands suddenly holding onto the table as you took in the smell. It smelt right, so delicious and soothing that it called to something deep in your chest and awakened your every instinct. You wanted to be surrounded by it, pulled into its embrace and just left to soak in who ever the hell this person was 

You finally managed to turn around on wobbly legs, your throat dry as you looked at the people who had walked in. Steve and Sam were regulars; hell, the whole Avengers and their superhero companions were. You were close to the tower after all, when they needed to stay in the city, they always dropped by the bakery to stock up on the baked goods. Elise had tried to push you towards Steve at one time, but you’d avoided the super soldier and he was just as awkward about your boss and best friend’s strange match making habits. 

But there was a third person with them today, he was bigger than Steve but held an aura that was distinctly alpha about him. The way your hair stood on end made you just know, he was an alpha in every sense of the word. 

He had the most stunning blue eyes, dark locks pulled under a cap and a red henley covering most of his body. His beard was short but neat, no doubt hiding a strong jaw line. But the thing that stood out was the black and gold metal arm on his left side, as he kept his arms holded over his chest. 

And he was staring straight at you, eyes blown wide and nostrils flaring slightly. 

“Hun, you okay?” Elise spoke as she turned around the counter, walking to your side, “You’re a bit flushed,” 

Elise’s hand touched your forehead and the coldness made you whimper, the noise coming out strangled before she flinched backwards and frowned. There was a slight scuffle from the other side of the room, only your ears were ringing and everything was becoming fuzzy. 

“You’re burning up,” Elise tutted, “I’ll call a cab, you get yourself home,” 

– 

Bucky found dating hard. 

He wasn’t built for this century, something that Steve shared his sympathy with but he had at the very least found an omega for himself. In his day, dating was for marriage and nowadays it seemed to be for a quick fuck to get your rocks off. Bucky was considered a playboy in the 40s, he’d dated a few omegas and maybe helped a few during their heats, but he’d always been motivated to take care of someone, provide for them, and give them anything they wanted. 

A lot had changed in all his years as Hydra’s perfect soldier. 

The serum amplified everything. Steve had the same issues sometimes, too. Bucky was already considered a strong alpha in his time with high instincts, but it had only gotten worse since they’d pumped him full of that blue serum. His ruts came more often, Hydra had either pumped him full of suppressants or thrown a random woman for him to take the edge off with. He was more aggressive and more protective. 

Omegas didn’t need knots anymore, they didn’t pick up on scents or could tell when his own turned sour when they threw themselves at him. Bucky wasn’t a fan of the fake lips or fake tits, he wanted something natural. 

Someone natural to him. 

“She ran away from you?” Sam asked as Bucky sat awkwardly in the backseat of Steve’s car, grumbling to himself, “Damn,” 

“I scared her, okay?” Bucky stated, not wanting to think of his latest, horrible date, “That’s all,” 

“You’ll find someone who's not scared, okay?” Steve spoke up, “It’ll take a while,” 

Maybe if he didn’t die of blue balls first. 

Steve pulled up next to a little shop and Bucky looked out the window, confused. They were supposed to be going back to the tower, yet Sam and Steve had raved on about some bakery that they had to stop at or both Thor and Nat would have their heads. 

“It doesn’t look special,” Bucky remarked as he climbed out of the car, stretching his legs and groaning. 

Some how Sam always got the front seat to the car, despite Bucky being almost twice his size. 

“I’m telling you, man, this place is magical or something,” Sam went on as they walked to the front door, “We all come here whenever we’re in the city or do an order to get delivered out to us, the food is amazing,” 

Bucky was still learning to appreciate food, he’d spent so long only eating for survival, he forgot how to enjoy it. 

The bakery smelt like a bakery, bread and a slight sweetness to the air. Only all those scents seemed to fade away when he stepped inside behind Steve and Sam, his head whipping to a woman who was wiping down the wooden tables. 

A distinct smell of plums and sugar filled his senses, mixed with a slight edge of something warm that he couldn’t but his finger on. This scent was so homey and delicious, it made his mouth water and something twist in his chest, a low rumble he hadn’t felt in almost a century awakening to life. 

This woman finally turned around and it clicked in Bucky’s head and chest, he knew exactly what you were to him. The feeling had been told to him time and time again by his parents, his sister when she’d met her mate and his old army buddies. 

You were his mate. 

But an edge hit the scent and it almost made Bucky drop to his knees, the sweetness of an incoming omega heat, of his omega’s heat. Steve seemed to shift too, looking at you before he looked at Bucky as he heard the growl that left the man’s chest. 

“Buck?” 

Then there was the noise, that little noise that seemed to shoot through his ears and bounce around his brain. It was a cry for help and he needed to respond to it, surging forward only for Steve and Sam to both grab him. 

“Bucky! Calm down!” Steve yelled out as they barely managed to wrestle him out the door and tackle him into the concrete footpath of New York City. 

The fresh air seemed to jolt him back to reality, pushing both the men off himself as Steve held his hands out, waiting to be attacked. 

“You good?” Sam questioned, panting, “Man, you super soldiers need to calm the fuck down sometimes,” 

“Buck, you growled,” Steve questioned, “What was that?” 

“Her..,” Bucky barely managed to grunt out. “It’s her, Steve,” 

The blonde super solider look back at the bakery before looking at his best friend, bewildered. Bucky stood up, smoothing a hand through his hair before he suddenly the punched the concrete wall beside them. The surge of alpha hormones pumping in his blood was putting him on edge. 

“Can we not destroy public property?!” Sam yelled. 

– 

You had spent a whole seven days in heat, which hadn’t been supposed to come for another month before it had suddenly triggered in the bakery that day. You had no idea who the man with Steve and Sam was, all you knew was that he’d triggered some primal urge in you. 

Never had a scent triggered you into a heat. You didn’t even know that it was possible, everyone always smelt so off-putting that it almost had you gag when an alpha stood to close. Sometimes omegas, like Elise, were pleasant enough to withstand, but alphas were usually disgusting. The one and only boyfriend you’d ever had was an omega. 

 Returning the day after your heat had your body groaning protest, the cramps still slightly there as you walked into the back door of the bakery. Elise had opened, you usually took the late shift since you loved to sleep in especially more now that winter would be approaching soon. 

“You didn’t have to come back so soon,” Elise spoke as she pulled a tray of muffins from the oven, “Jordy is happy for the extra shifts.” 

Jordy was a casual employee for the bakery. She was studying at college and usually helped out whenever exams weren’t drilling her into the ground. 

“I’ll be fine,” You smiled small as you placed your bag in the office before walking to the front of the bakery. 

That smell hit you again and you almost buckled to the floor. The strangely cold scent of musk and pine filled the air, hands shaking as you turned towards the person who had just walked through the door. 

He had cleaned up a little bit, his beard looked a little bit neater and he wasn’t wearing a cap today. Instead, he was in a plain black jacket and jeans, gloves on his hands. The gloves made you frown slightly, you had briefly remember him having a metal arm or was that some heat induced delusion? 

“H-hi,” His voice cracked as he stepped up to the counter, “Uh..,” 

“C-can I get something f-for you?” You stuttered out, gripping the edge of the counter until your knuckles turned white. 

Everything was screaming at you to climb over the stupid wooden bench and throw yourself at this man. 

“These are for you.” 

His words came out rushed as he thrust a bouquet in your direction, the white orchids making your heart swell as you gently accepted them. No one had bought you flowers before, not that your dating history was rich with excitement and gifts from suitors. 

You’d only dated one person before, and it had been an absolute train wreck. 

“I’m Bucky.. Or James.., whatever you want to call me,” He cleared his throat, clearly nervous. 

Your name was uttered from your lips in a whispered, holding the flowers close to your chest. Bucky’s face softened, you had accepted the flowers and that was a step in the right direction. Maybe his therapist would finally be happy that he’d done something good with his time. 

“Uh, so do you-” 

His words were cut off by a phone ringing, and you watched as he groaned, pulling his cell phone from his pocket and glaring at the device. The actions almost made you giggle because something was so relaxing about his presence and his scent. Bucky was the first alpha that didn’t make you want to crawl into a hole and never come out. 

“I’m sorry, it’s important,” He sighed. 

Bucky answered the call before basically rushing from the bakery, you watching him run down the street at an unusually fast speed. 

“Finally!” 

You screamed when Elise popped up from the kitchen window, making you jump and almost throw the flowers before you turned to your boss with wide eyes and heart racing fast enough to jump start a car. 

“Poor guy’s been coming to the shop every day, waiting for you.” 

Elise had been right, Bucky had been coming to the bakery almost everyday and he continued to do so. You always thought that the Avengers lived further away from the city, different members appeared in the bakery every so often. But Bucky kept up the appearances and you had settled into a steady rhythm with the alpha. 

Bucky came around lunch time, you shared your break together before he left and then he walked you home. 

The cool evening air wraps around you as Bucky walked beside you, the rhythmic sound of your shoes tapping against the pavement the only noise that fills the quiet night. You’d just finished your shift at the bakery, and even though it’s late, you can’t shake the exhaustion weighing down on your shoulders. Your body aches from the hours on your feet, the constant motion, the endless demands of the customers, the heat of the ovens. You’re drained—completely.

But the thought of leaving work, of stepping away from your responsibilities, has you feeling a little more at ease. The comfort of Bucky’s steady presence beside you is almost as much of a relief as being able to slip out of your apron and leave the chaotic bakery behind. It’s not that you dislike your job, but your omega instincts have always told you something else—that you’re not meant to be working so hard, that there’s more to your life than running yourself ragged in a place that doesn’t feel like home.

“You look like you’re about to collapse,” Bucky says, his voice low but warm, noticing the way you’re dragging your feet just a little bit more than usual. He glances at you with that look in his eyes, one that’s almost protective, like he can see exactly what you need.

“I’m fine,” you mumble, but even you know it’s a lie. Your body is exhausted, your mind too, and you can feel the weight of your designation, the constant pressure to be strong, independent, and capable.

“No, you’re not.” Bucky’s voice is firm, and for a second, it takes you by surprise. He doesn’t give you a chance to respond, instead slipping his arm around your shoulders and gently guiding you forward. “You shouldn’t be working so hard, you know that?”

You glance up at him, unsure of where he’s going with this. “What do you mean? I need to work. I need the money, and—”

���Forget that for a minute,” he interrupts, his voice softer now. “Omegas weren’t meant to be working themselves into the ground. Not like this. Your instincts—your body—they’re not built for it. You’re supposed to be pampered. Protected.”

You blink in confusion. “Pampered?”

Bucky chuckles, the sound rich and warm, like a secret only shared between the two of you. “Yeah. I know it’s hard to wrap your head around, especially with everything being the way it is now. But omegas like you? You’re meant to be taken care of, not pushed to your limits every day.”

You pause, the weight of his words sinking in. For the longest time, you’ve been told that working hard, being self-sufficient, was the way to live. Your parents had drilled it into you, given you no other choice than to support yourself. It’s what you’ve always known. The thought of not working so much, of letting someone else take care of you, feels foreign. It feels wrong, almost.

“But I have to work,” you protest weakly, feeling your tired muscles protesting every word. “I can’t just… sit around and do nothing.”

Bucky’s hand tightens slightly on your shoulder, not in a forceful way, but in a way that grounds you, reminding you that he’s here. “It’s not about doing nothing. You’ve got gifts, things you can do, but your role… it’s to be cherished, not to be constantly worn out. An omega needs rest, care, and someone who’ll give them the space to be soft, to be who they are without the pressure of the world on their shoulders.”

You’re silent for a moment, letting his words settle in. It’s hard to accept, to let go of the mentality that you should be doing more, pushing yourself to be productive and independent. But when you look at him—his warmth, the way he’s always there, steady and unbothered by what the world thinks—you feel the heaviness in your chest begin to ease just a little.

Bucky smiles down at you, his eyes twinkling with a gentle amusement. “You’re not a machine, sweetheart. You don’t have to keep running like this. You need someone who’ll take care of you, spoil you a little. Maybe even pamper you a bit.” He raises an eyebrow, and for the first time that evening, a genuine smile pulls at the corner of your lips.

“I don’t know about being pampered,” you mutter, feeling a little embarrassed at the thought.

“You’d be surprised,” Bucky grins. “But I’ll take care of you, okay? No more working yourself into the ground. You deserve to rest. You deserve to be protected.”

Your heart skips a beat at his words, the soft sincerity behind them reaching places inside you that you didn’t know needed mending. Maybe he was right. Maybe you didn’t have to do it all on your own. Maybe it was okay to lean on someone else, to trust them with your well-being, with your care.

“I don’t know if I can just… stop working,” you admit quietly, almost to yourself. But Bucky doesn’t seem bothered by your uncertainty.

“You don’t have to stop completely,” he says, his tone reassuring. “But you don’t have to wear yourself out like this either. You deserve to relax, to enjoy life without always feeling like you’re carrying the weight of the world. Let someone take care of the heavy lifting for a change.”

You exhale softly, a tiny chuckle. You didn’t have to worry about heavy lifting physically, because Elise’ strange gift gave her the advantage of hauling the heavy things around. But  the tension in your shoulders begins to melt away as you walk beside him. The idea of letting go—of surrendering just a little to the care of someone else—feels freeing in a way you didn’t expect. Maybe, just maybe, you could let Bucky help carry the load.

And for the first time in a long while, the thought of being cared for feels less like a burden and more like something you can let yourself want.

“Okay,” you whisper, your voice barely a breath. “I’ll try.”

Bucky’s smile deepens, and he leans down just slightly to catch your gaze. “Good. I’ll make sure you get the rest you need.”

As the two of you continue walking, his arm still gently around you, the idea of being pampered doesn’t seem as strange anymore. Maybe, just maybe, you could get used to this new reality.

It had become routine for two weeks now, slowly enjoying his presence as you joined him for lunch again, the musk and pine scent making you relax and your body not scream in pain for once in your life. 

“For a bakery, these are good sandwiches,” Bucky spoke as he scoffed down his second hot sandwich. 

“Elise’ parents owned a bodega downtown. she got good at making them,” You beamed softly, sipping at the cup of water you usually had with lunch. 

“You gotta eat too, doll,” Bucky pushed the sweet treats towards you, “Come on,” 

He always made an effort to make sure you were well fed, as any good alpha in his time should have done. 

“I’m getting there,” You laughed softly and nibbled on a pastry that had been made fresh that morning. 

Your parents had always lectured you on not overeating but you seemed to crave food often, like your instincts demanded food to keep up with something. 

“So,” Bucky leaned back in his seat, content in watching you eat, “Where did you grow up?” 

“Chicago,” You told him with a shrug, “I do prefer New York,” 

Bucky nodded, noting the way your scent had an edge of burnt caramel to it, “Your parents still living in Chicago?” 

You couldn’t help but scrunch your nose up and Bucky thought how you looked like a bunny, all soft yet displeased with his question by your scent. 

“I don’t really talk to my parents anymore,” You whispered, placing the pastry down. 

For a moment, you expected him to ask before Bucky just silently nodded and smiled. 

“Only family I got is Steve and Sam, like two brothers I never asked for,” Bucky confessed. 

You giggled, a light floral scent blooming from you, and Bucky felt his heart swell. 

Your days continued like that, a lunch date and a quiet walk home in the early evening. The walks home were usually silent, just walking side by side down the street before you and Bucky bid each other goodbye at your building door. 

That was until one day they didn’t, and you were displeased when Bucky didn’t show up to share lunch. Elise watched as you sat sadly in the booth, hardly touching lunch before returning to work with silence as you served customers. 

Had Bucky found you boring? Did he find out that you weren’t normal, your instincts and genetics wired differently? Had it scared him off? 

It was starting to get even colder now, the threat of snow looming over New York. You were lost in thought as you stepped onto the street, turning to lock the door until a click and something pressed against your lower back. 

“Don’t move.” The voice was muffled, but you knew what was pressed against your back as you stood, shaking on the bakery steps. 

This person’s scent made you want to vomit, your instincts going haywire as you didn’t dare to move and face your assailant. 

“You’re kinda cute,” The alpha sniffed, “Turn around, bitch,” 

You did what you were told, slowly turning as tears rolled down your cheeks. This alpha held a gun to your body, snickering and smirking as he looked you up and down. It was violating, feeling his eyes scan your body. 

“Unlock the door and get the cash from the register,” He hissed, the gun now pointing to your head. 

“P-please..,” You whispered. 

The next moment happened so fast that all you saw was a glimmer of metal before the attacker was sent flying into the wall. 

– 

Bucky was going to strangle someone. 

He had asked for uninterrupted time with you, which he had gotten for the most part. Staying at the tower mostly by himself had been nice, getting away from all the smells in the compound was clearing his head. But your scent seemed to be burnt into his brain, because he could smell the lingering scent no matter where he was. 

His instincts wanted nothing more than to steal you away from that bakery and keep you locked up in his room at the tower, marking you, mating you, and scenting you. Sometimes, it irritated him when your smell of sugar and plums wasn’t mixed with his scent. In the forties, scent mates usually got married within a week. 

But Bucky was a gentleman, something this time didn’t appreciate so much anymore. 

Getting sent on that mission was stupid; he shouldn’t have had to go, It was easily handled by Sam and Steve, after all, Bucky was nothing more than a sniper and a look out. He should have been here with you, sharing lunch and hearing all about your life and loves. His best friends had noticed his irritation, and Steve had picked up on his burning scent, but neither of them had mentioned it. 

Now, he was rushing down the cold New York streets, looking repeatedly at his watch as he made his way to the cozy shop. The Bakery closed at seven thirty, and it was almost that time, meaning he could at the very least apologize for missing lunch and walk you home. 

Turning down the street, Bucky picked up on your scent easily but it didn’t smell right this time. That smell of burnt caramel mixed with the plums, indicating that something was wrong and it kick started Bucky’s system into overdrive. He was running before he knew it, straight towards that little bakery. 

Years as a soldier made petty thieves seem like ants to him, grabbing the other alpha by the throat and throwing him into the concrete wall before he stalked over, making sure your attacker was out of it. 

Would he need medical attention? Yes. 

Did he deserve it? No. Not in Bucky’s eyes. 

You sobbed, and all of Bucky’s instincts zoned in on your shaking form. 

The scent was something he wanted to erase, he never wanted to smell burnt caramel again because it meant you were upset. You were shaking, tears rolling down your cheeks even as he reached out and cupped your cheeks, metal and flesh fingers wiping away the tears. 

“Can I?” he murmurs, his voice barely above a whisper, offering you a choice even though you both know what you need.

You nod wordlessly, your throat tight. It’s like your body knows the comfort he’s offering even before your mind catches up. When his arms wrap around you, pulling you into his chest, it’s like the last of the tension in your body melts away. The overwhelming scent of him envelops you, and you instinctively breathe him in, the warmth of his embrace sinking into your bones.

Bucky frowned; he hadn’t done this in a while, consoling an omega with scent. But he pushed his scent forward, rubbing his wrists over your neck while wiping the tears away. You finally calmed down when Bucky pulled his massive jacket off and placed it around your shoulders. 

It warmed you up instantly, the musk and pine scent calming all your nerves and emotions as you collected yourself again. You can feel his eyes on you, gentle and understanding, but there’s something more—something primal in the way his scent seems to flow around you, slowly calming your racing heartbeat. His natural warmth seems to bleed into the space between you, and even though you're still shaken, you can’t help but lean slightly into him.

“Hey,” Bucky says softly, stepping closer, his voice quiet and soothing. “You’re okay. He’s gone. You’re safe.”

“Y-yeah..,” You stuttered out before letting out another sob as the wave of emotions hit you now that the shock was gone. 

You needed something a lit bit more, stepping forward and wrapping your arms around his bigger frame. You hadn’t had time to stop yourself before you hugged him, your instincts and desire just craved the physical touch. 

Bucky didn’t say anything, just wrapping his arms around your frame and holding you close. The pressure of his embrace combined with his scent, eventually calmed everything until you could take a step back and finally breath. 

“Thank you..,” You uttered. 

“Come on, let’s get you home.” Bucky placed a hand on your back, guiding you down the street towards your apartment building. 

Like every other day, it was silent, but it was a peaceful silence. Bucky’s sense of protectiveness was thick, his musk getting heavier, and it almost made you want to fall asleep for some strange reason. 

As you approached your apartment building, your mind raced before it landed on a conclusion. 

You were going to ask Bucky inside. 

“I..,” You started, Bucky looking at you intently, “Do.., you want to come up?” 

He was frozen in spot and you mentally face-palmed. Was that the wrong question to ask? It didn’t have to lead anything, not that you hadn’t fantasized about this hunk of a man in front you for your entire heat and any little sessions after that. 

“I’m sorry..,” You apologized quickly. 

“No, no, Doll, it’s not like that,” Bucky quickly spoke as soon as he realised why you were apologizing, “I’d love to, I mean, I would but I want to do this right..,” 

“Right?” You questioned, “Bucky, you just saved my life.” 

“Yeah..,” He nodded, “I mean, let me take you out on a date.” 

Your heart swelled at the question, quickly nodding your head before going to pull the jacket off your shoulders. Only Bucky stopped you, readjusting the jacket and keeping it firmly on your shoulders and even zipping it up. 

“Keep it, Doll,” Bucky smiled, “Makes you smell like me.” 

Not only did that make your heart flutter but your pussy did too. 

“Okay..,” Your voice came out small yet excited. 

“How’s Saturday?” Bucky asked, “I can pick you up from the shop.” 

You nodded eagerly. “Saturday is perfect.” 

– 

Steve, Sam, and Nat’s arrival at the Avenger’s tower late Friday afternoon had sent all of Bucky’s plans into the dirt. It was like the two alphas and beta knew Bucky was seeing you and decided to mess them all up with a flurry of questions and interrogation.

“You’re going on a date?” Steve asked as they stood in the kitchen, Bucky messing with his shirt. 

“Yes, a date,” Bucky huffed, “With the omega from the bakery,” 

“The one you went all weird macho alpha on?” Sam teased as he sipped his drink, “Poor lady must have some weird kinks-” 

The snapped Bucky’s attention, making him growl again and glare at Sam. The beta took a step back as Nat entered the room, the only one keeping the cyborg at bay was Steve. 

“You really think she’s your scent mate?” Steve asked, “Buck, that stuff doesn’t exist in these days,” 

“Evolution changed all of that,” Nat spoke up as she grabbed a beer from the fridge, “But then again, you’re an ancient man,” 

Bucky didn’t respond to Nat’s statement. He knew what the red room had done to all those girls and woman that were trained to be Black Widows. They targeted alpha girls as children, trained them and harnessed their senses but made them never able to connect with a mate. Scent glands removed and removal of the reproduction organs. 

At the very least, Hydra hadn’t taken that from him while they had taken it from Nat. 

“You three better not stalk me,” Bucky huffed. 

“We won’t,” Steve nodded, giving his best friend and fellow alpha a pat on the shoulder. 

Sam’s comment made Bucky roll his eyes, “But Redwing might!” 

Bucky had picked the perfect place for your date, it was quiet and not overly busy, so you wouldn’t get overwhelmed. He’d seen the way you got flustered when a lot of people came to the bakery at once, so it was something low-key and you could just focus on each other. 

You had been anxious for the two days before Saturday, Elise had been nothing but excited on your behalf and even tried to give you some pointers but it flew in one ear and out the other. All you knew was that you were looking forward to see Bucky, regardless of the date or not.

But the one setback in your mind was, once again, how unusual you were. 

Could he deal with something like that? He saved people every day as an Avenger. Was this something long-term or just trying to mess around? 

The doorbell chimed and you jumped, turning to see Bucky standing at the door in a black coat and washed out, grey jeans. His hair was tied up for once, but it looked nice. You wore a simple dark blue dress with long sleeves to combat the Winter that was now setting in and hugged your waist slightly. 

“Hi,” Bucky greeted as he stepped forward and that scent filled the space, filling you with ease. 

If things didn’t work out, you were probably going to be spending the rest of your life alone. 

“Hi Buck..,” You stepped out from behind counter, a shy smile on your face while Bucky pulled something out from his pocket. 

“I..I got you this,” He cleared his throat, opening up a little box, “It’s a bracelet.” 

Your eyes shifted to the gold link band, that had a little black star charm on it. No doubt it was made specially to compliment his arm, something matching to remind you of the super soldier. Gingerly, Bucky locked the bracelet around your wrist, while you watched the gold twinkle with awe. 

“Hey, supes!” Elise called out, “Have her back by midnight!” 

Bucky just chuckled as he offered up his arm, something you gladly took, and walked out of the bakery. 

– 

The place is cozy, with vinyl booths and checkered floors, the kind of spot where the air smells like comfort food and old-time charm. The soft hum of background music fills the space, and the low murmur of other diners adds to the quiet atmosphere. The smell of sizzling burgers and fresh fries teases your senses, but it’s the calm, welcoming vibe that makes it the perfect place for a quiet night out.

It was quiet, thankfully. Bucky thanked his lucky stars as you were sat in a booth, watching you go over the menu before you both ordered. You didn’t usually eat too much, making food was a passion but working had you so tired most days that you lived off noodles or leftovers from the bakery. 

You felt a little bit lighter in his presence but deep down, weighing on your soul was the shame you’d been carrying because of your sub-gender. It made you uneasy on how it might progress your relationship with Bucky or stop it all together. 

“So,” Bucky cleared his throat, “How long have you worked at the bakery?” 

A small smile plays on your lips, and you relax just a little bit. It’s easy to talk about the bakery, about the work you do.

“Four years,” you say, your fingers nervously tracing a pattern on the table. “I started there right after I left home. Elise was looking for someone part-time, and it just… clicked. I love it. I love the people. I love baking. It feels like I’m doing something meaningful.”

“I gotta say, the food is amazing and I don’t usually like sweet thing,” Bucky confessed, “And it smells so good,” 

You laugh softly, a light flush creeping onto your cheeks. “Well, I do try to make the best cinnamon rolls in town. People seem to like them.” Your voice falters a bit as the conversation shifts, the weight in your chest slowly building again.

Bucky watches you, his eyes soft with curiosity. He notices the shift, the way your shoulders tense, and doesn’t push, simply waiting for you to continue.

You decided now was the time to be truthful, lay the cards on the table and see what he was dealing with. 

“My parents kicked me out when I was eighteen,” You nibbled on some fries as you spoke, “They couldn’t handle..dealing with me, I barely finished school and no college wanted to accept me, I was nothing but a burden,” 

Bucky’s face hardened, noting the way your scent smelt like candied plums now, an indication of fear and shame. He never wanted you to feel like that. Reaching across the table, his flesh hand covers your own, grounding you in the moment. 

“Listen to me,” he finally says, his voice soft but resolute. “You’re not a burden. Never have been, never will be. And I don’t care what your parents think. I want to build a home with you, one where you don’t have to worry about that kind of shit. I’ll take care of you, and you’ll never be alone again.”

“Bucky,” You placed your fries down, “I’m not like other omegas,” 

“Why’s that?” 

“I’m..an anomaly,” You confessed, “I can smell people’s sub-genders. I’m submissive because my brain tells me to be..I…I get heats, I hoard things!” 

Heats were the most shameful part for you.

It was silent for a moment before Bucky smiled, chuckling even as he took in the information. Fate was a bitch, Bucky Barnes knew that enough but maybe fate was now being kind, giving him an omega that he could help, provide for and please. 

“Doll, I’m from the 1940’s and I’m well over a hundred years old,” Bucky chuckled. “That’s normal where I come from. You’re perfect,” 

You were dumbfounded. 

Bucky grins then, breaking the tension with a light chuckle. “I mean, we all have our weird quirks, right? Like, I’m pretty sure I’m not exactly normal either. I have a metal arm and super human strength”

You raise an eyebrow at him, a small laugh escaping you despite yourself. “Oh really? What’s so weird about you?”

He leans back, pretending to think, then smirks. “Well, I hoard things too. I mean, I’ve got about ten knives at home, and I don’t even cook.”

You can’t help but laugh out loud at that, and Bucky’s grin grows wider. “See? Everyone’s got their thing. What’s yours?”

You bite your lip, the smile fading a little as you think about it. “I… I hoard blankets,” you say, almost sheepishly. “I just feel like I need a lot of them. It’s, uh… comforting. I don’t know, I guess it’s a weird thing, but I don’t like being cold.”

Bucky’s eyes light up, and he chuckles again. “Hoarding blankets? That’s not weird at all. That’s just your instinct, sweetheart. Omegas like to have soft things around them—makes them feel safe, it's your nest.”

“My what?” 

Bucky turned, his arm whirred as he did so and looked you in the eyes. Those blue eyes were filled with a mix of concern and amusement that came out in his scent as an almost citrus undertone. 

“Your nest,” Bucky stated, “Do you not know what a nest is?” 

You shook your head. 

“It’s your.. Safe space,” He explained, “For you to rest, spend your heats…, have pups in,” 

You swallowed thickly at the word pups, it made your instincts suddenly kick into over drive. The thought of pups with Bucky? Divine, you couldn’t think of anything better in this universe. He’d be an amazing father no doubt, you’d let him breed you as many times as it took until you had a full soccer team of kids. 

“Omega,” 

The deep drawl pulled you out of your haze, watching the way Bucky’s eyes seemed to be clouded over and his nostrils flared slightly. He could smell you, no doubt about it. 

“Calm down before things get out of hand,” Bucky managed to cough out. “How have you been spending your heats?” 

“Alone,” You mumbled, “I..I had a boyfriend once, he was an omega like me but.., it just didn’t work,” 

Bucky almost wanted to scoff. Of course, it wouldn’t work; an omega wouldn’t be able to please you like an alpha. No, like he would. This day and age might have lost a lot of the sub-gender characteristics and norms but some things were still engraved in those instincts. 

Specifically with mating. 

“Um, Bucky?” You whispered so softly that he almost didn’t hear you. 

“Yeah?” He spoke back just as softly.

“Can you help me with my nest?” 

– 

The sound of a nest was so lovely and exciting to you that you forgot that your apartment wasn’t best-looking one in New York. It was small, with one bedroom and a bathroom, as it was all you could afford if you wanted to have any money left over from what you earned at work. 

Bucky found the space cute, the mismatched furniture, the blankets piled high in one corner, the cozy rug decorated with throw blankets on the couch, hanging plants, and lots of books. Everything feels like a reflection of you: warm but full of character. The kitchen was tiny and you didn’t have a dining table. The space made him want to provide for you more, a rumble in his chest indicating his intent that he was trying so hard to keep down at the moment. 

This moment was for you, helping you make a nest. 

Nests were so sacred in the 40s. Most homes came with a specific room for omegas to create nests in, you could buy blankets, pillows and a range of other items from nest specific stores that just didn’t exist anymore today. Omega children often learnt nesting skills from their omega parent or siblings. An omegas nest was the most vulnerable part of them and you asking for his help was the most trusting thing you could do. 

After all his years in Hydra, Bucky didn’t think he’d ever be in an omegas nest again. 

Your room was also small, with a massive bed and a set of draws with some bed side tables. It wasn’t too heavily decorated, other than the piles of blankets and pillows that seemed to be thrown around the room. 

Bucky stopped at the door because that smell that hit him wasn’t just your usual scent, it was something stronger. The smell of sugar plums with floral notes, warm caramel and freshly baked cinnamon rolls invaded his senses and he couldn’t help but slump slightly against the door. He could die a happy, happy alpha in this room. 

You rushed to pick up a few of the blankets, moving them into a corner. 

“Um, this is my bedroom,” You uttered out, a lit bit embarrassed as she space was so small, “Sorry it’s a mess right now, I didn’t think you’d be coming over-” 

“Omega,” Bucky’s voice deepened and you went hazy again, empty headed as you just looked at him, “Come here,” 

Trudging along the floor, you stopped in front of him. Bucky was already a big guy but now he looked massive in your tiny apartment. His metal hand softly cupped your chin and the other rested on her collar bone, his thumb moving along your skin. 

A strong scent invaded your senses, that musky pine making your knees weak and lulling all your worry and anxiousness away. It was a time to listen to your instincts, which made you want to find something soft, something warm. 

Bucky watched as you gathered up the blankets, arranging them on your bed and fluffing out the pillows. It wasn’t neat but nests weren’t supposed to be, they were meant to be however you liked it.

At times, you would shake your head in frustration, sending a pillow flying from the bed, only to swap it for a blanket instead. The switch was an intricate ritual of comfort and restlessness intertwined.

His heart tightened with a mix of emotions as he watched you retrieve the jacket he had gifted you just a few days prior. With deliberate care, you tucked it into one of the pillowcases, as if enshrining a precious memory. You arranged it meticulously amidst the sea of pillows, creating a sanctuary of warmth and familiarity.

Finally, you nestled into this cozy haven, curling up with a sigh of contentment. Your face burrowed into the inviting softness, seeking solace in the comforting embrace of fabric and sentiment.

“Will you join me?” 

That jump started Bucky’s brain. 

“You sure?” Bucky asked, “This is a vulnerable place for you to be in.” 

“I made it with the intent of having you in it, A-Alpha.” 

That one word had him spiraling, quickly kicking off his shoes and breaching the collection of blankets and pillows. Bucky had no intention of anything physical today, but a cuddle in your nest was more cherished than sex. 

Bucky laid down slowly, letting you get comfortable. His metal arm whizzed slightly, and Bucky couldn’t help but frown. It was a reminder that he wasn’t whole, maybe if you’d met him back in the 40s, when he had been a young man not yet affected by the war or years of brainwashing, you’d have liked him more.

“I can take it off,” He whispered. 

“The sound is soothing,” You hummed as you laid against his metal arm, cuddling up to the device with content, “And it’s a part of you,” 

There was no way in hell Bucky was ever letting you go now. 

A rumbling sound vibrated from your chest and your eyes opened, confused. Bucky felt a lump form in his throat, letting a deeper sounding rumble from his own chest. 

“What am I doing?” You asked. 

“Purring,” Bucky cupped your cheek, his thumb running over your nose, “You’re purring, doll, you do it when you feel safe and happy,” 

Little tears filled your eyes before you shifted closer to him, the purring louder as you took in his words. The world made you feel like an outcast, something placed out of time and having no place to belong. 

But Bucky had fixed up those feelings in these short weeks. 

As you drifted off to sleep, Bucky silent pulled out his phone and dialed Steve’s number. 

“How’s it going, Buck?” Steve’s voice called from the other end, “All is well, I hope?” 

“Steve,” Bucky swallowed as he spoke, “I need to buy a house,”

– 

The next morning was supposed to be peaceful, calm and loving. Bucky had stayed the night, both of you cuddled up in your nest. But you woke in the early hours before the sun rose, aching and sweaty as you crawled out of the nest and only the cold, hard wood floor. Your dress was discarded as you worked to cool yourself down as the fever was quickly rising.

Bucky must have sensed you move because soon enough, he was awake and next to you on the floor. 

“Hun,” He whispered softly, “Hey, look at me,” 

“It..,” You groaned, “Burns.., It’s so hot,” 

The sweet smell that filled the room was a sign your heat had started and Bucky knew, he knew that if you waited any longer, you’d been in more pain. You were already curled up on the floor, slick coating your thighs while you whimpered. The musk of Bucky’s scent only helped take the edge off a tiny bit, if anything, it made your instincts more heightened as your body screamed for him. 

Bucky shushed you, one strong hand slipping behind your back, pulling you into his lap. His metal fingers ghosted over your bare thigh, leaving a cool trail that contrasted the fire burning inside you. “I know, Omega. I know. Just let go, I’ve got you.”

You mewled, squirming in his lap and fingers digging into his shirt. His scent was thicker now, you could get hints of smoke amongst the musk and pine. 

“You’re doing’ so good, sweetheart,” he murmured, his breath hot against your neck. His voice was thick, laced with the deep rumble of his Alpha instincts, but he held himself back—for you. “Just breathe. Let me take care of you,”

His lips found the sensitive spot on your throat, where his mark should be, and he pressed a lingering kiss there. You melted, body instinctively arching for him, trusting him completely.

“Mine,” he growled, possessiveness thrumming through his scent as he held you closer. But even in his need, he was gentle, letting you set the pace, letting you surrender only when you were ready.

And oh, you were so, so ready.

Bucky hauled you back up into the nest, making sure you were comfortable among the pillows and blankets as he hovered over you. That possessiveness stayed thick in his scent as he kissed you, lips tugging at your own and you melted again. 

The heat was starting to become unbearable. It clawed at your skin, leaving you breathless and aching, every cell in your body crying out for something you didn’t quite know how to ask for.

But he did.

His lips moved down your throat again and when he bit softly, you couldn’t help crying out in pleasure. You wanted that bite mark to be deeper, you wanted his teeth to be embedded in your skin, your instincts wanted to be marked. 

“B-bucky..,” You cried out and he gingerly cupped your face. 

“I don’t wanna hurt you, doll,” He whispered. 

“You wouldn’t hurt me,” You managed to gasp out, “I..I need you,” 

That was the line that broke all reason. 

His metal arm ripped the remaining clothes from your skin, a whimper leaving your throat as Bucky’s hands wandered over your body. The coolness of the metal arm was oddly soothing as it worked over your breasts and his lips wrapped around one of your nipples. 

In your only previous experience, you hadn’t been liked to be touched so much. Your omega ex-boyfriend hadn’t been confident like Bucky was. 

His tongue swirled around the hardened bud, your body writhing underneath him before Bucky proceeded to press kisses down your skin. He could smell your slick, the floral scent filling the room and it was starting to make him dizzy. 

When his fingers trailed down with his lips and collected the slick coating your thighs, you almost screamed when he used the same fingers to swirl around your sensitive clit. 

“Oh god...oh god Bucky!” you cried out, your body surging at the gentle contact. You were so sensitive, it was almost too much, but it felt so good. Your hands reached out for him, desperate to hold onto anything as he kept teasing you, driving you insane with want.

You could feel his breath ghosting over your aching core, a promise that had your body trembling in anticipation.

“Need this too?” He teased, voice thick.

“Please,” you begged, “please Alpha.”

That did it. His lips latched onto your quivering pussy and the world turned white as your back arched off the bed and into his waiting hands. You came apart with a choked cry as he held you through it, tongue never stopping until he’d wrung every last aftershock from your trembling body.

But it wasn’t enough. The heat still clawed at you, still demanded more.

“Please,” you whimpered again softly, and Bucky bit the inside of his cheek.

Giving you his knot would make everything all better but he wasn’t even sure if you knew what a knot was. From his understanding, alphas didn’t knot their omegas anymore.

Hell, Alphas didn’t even seek out omegas anymore.

“This will change everything,” Bucky groaned, your scent invading his senses and almost making him lose control, “Are you sure, omega?”

His words were fuzzy as he spoke, like hearing underwater. All you knew was that you needed him, all of him, your instincts screaming for Bucky to fuck you and breed you.

“Need you,” you breathed, almost sobbing with it. “Please, Bucky.”

He couldn’t hold back anymore. He didn’t want to. The metal hand pulled his own clothes off while his flesh hand stayed on your thigh.

The next moment, Bucky’s hands were on your hips, pulling you into him as he buried himself inside of you in one firm thrust. You cried out, the mix of relief and overwhelming need washing through you as he filled you completely.

“Oh fuck,” he grunted, his voice raw as he started to move, slow and controlled at first but quickly giving in to the urgency of your heat. “S-so tight, Omega...”

The feeling of him inside you was everything you needed and more. Your legs wrapped around him as he drove into you over and over, each thrust sending a dizzying wave of pleasure through your body.

“Don’t stop,” you gasped, clinging onto him like he was the only thing keeping you from floating away.

“Never gonna stop,” he promised, his breath ragged and his movements slow in the beginning.

Bucky's cock inside you was hot and thick, filling you completely and sending shivers of pleasure through your body.

The sensations were dizzying as you felt every ridge and vein of his cock moving inside you, each one adding to the pleasure coursing through your body. Fat tears rolled down your cheeks at the sensation, pleasure erupting through you in a wave.

Bucky’s pace got faster, rougher, his cock pumping in and out of you while his hands remained on your hips. He was guiding your body against his, pressure building with each desperate thrust.

You felt the heat coil tighter, tighter until—

“Oh god!” you cried out, clenching around him again as you came for the second time. The force of it made you see stars and your whole body trembled violently under him.

But Bucky didn’t stop. He knew what he needed to do to soothe your heat entirely. He could feel it in the way your body still begged for more, your slick coated cunt sucking his cock in, in the way your scent still drove him wild.

The grip on your hips tightened and Bucky growled low in his throat as he held you flush against him. His thrusts became frantic, driven by pure instinct and need. And then you felt it—his knot swelling inside you, locking the both of you together.

A feral sound tore from his chest and he bit down on your neck at the same time as his knot stretched you impossibly wide, marking you forever as his omega.

It was the aftershock that had you crying out, fingers digging into Bucky’s broad shoulders as emotions slammed into your body. You let out a sob and Bucky soothed you, a low growl vibrating through his chest as he pulled you upwards until you were sitting in his lap. His knot was still locked deep inside your cunt, but it wasn’t painful.

You felt complete.

“B-Buck..,” You sobbed.

“I got you,” Bucky’s deep voice cooed at you, “Promise..,”

Then a purr began to vibrate in your own chest.

Bucky’s hand came up to cup your face, his thumb brushing over your heated cheek with utmost tenderness.

“Good girl,” he murmured, his words thick with affection as your purrs vibrated against each other.

You were wrapped around him in every possible way, mind hazy with the overwhelming sensation of being so completely claimed and content. The heat that had seared through your body was now a warm, comfortable buzz, soothed entirely by Bucky and his knot.

It was everything. It was perfect.

He shifted slightly, careful not to jostle you too much and you whimpered softly at the motion. He had never thought he’d have this, never thought he’d be tangled up in blankets with an omega in his lap and a bond forming between them. After never finding his scent mate back in the 40s, Bucky thought he’d never have this type of happiness.

But here you were.

Your fingers played at the ends of his hair as you calmed down from the high, as reality settled in that this wasn’t a dream for both of you.

[starkwlkr]

Could you do fic for Mark Webber with wife reader? (He's Oscar's manager) And they both acted like dad & mom toward Lando and Oscar, especially. Just them spending time together and worries for the boys whenever something goes wrong. Mark does his best to comfort her. Just something fluff and cute. Maybe a little surprise for Mark at the end. I'll let you decide what it was. Tag me later!! Thanks!! :))

work parents | mark webber

thanks for the request!! @pear-1206

When you and Mark were dating, you supported him throughout his career in F1. Now that you were married and had a teenage daughter, you were supporting another person in F1, Oscar. He was young, talented and skilled. You were sure that in a couple of years he would be world champion. You tried to attend as many races as you could, mostly during the summer since your and Mark’s daughter was out of school. Your daughter was studying in Harvard at the moment meaning you and Mark haven’t seen her since spring break. She had secretly made plans to surprise you and Mark at the race. Oscar was the one that had gotten her a paddock pass.

It was Oscar’s first home race so you knew you had to attend. It was going to be a special one after all. You got up early to start getting ready while Mark was getting a few extra minutes of sleep.

Mark still asleep shirtless. He looked so peaceful that you didn’t want to bother him considering he arrived home late the night before, but you had a tight schedule to follow. You walked to the bed and gently placed a kiss on his cheek.

“Mark, you have to get up, honey. Oscar might already be waiting for us at the track. It’s race day.”

“Give me five minutes.” He mumbled.

“I’ll let you do anything when we get back—” You couldn’t even finish since Mark had gotten immediately.

“We wouldn’t want to keep Oscar waiting, hurry up, love.” He tried to give you a morning kiss but you stopped him. “What? Don’t act like you care about morning breath now.”

“I already put on lipstick—”

“And you can put it on again. I want to kiss my wife.” You rolled your eyes, but gave in.

As Mark got ready, you made sure you had your paddock passes. Eventually you made it out of the house and now you were on your way to the circuit. Mark had his hand on your thigh while the other was on the steering wheel. When you made it to the paddock entrance, Oscar was waiting with his girlfriend Lily.

“Hi, I hope we didn’t keep you waiting for too long.” You said as you exited the car. “Lily, so great to see you again.” You greeted the girl.

“Hi Mrs. Webber, great to see you too.” Lily replied.

The group of four made their way into paddock, greeting fans and photographers. Mark held your hand making you remember the times when you were still dating and Mark was still racing. You followed Mark and Oscar to the Mclaren garage since Lily had excused herself to go to the Mclaren motorhome. It felt nice to be back.

“Mrs. Webber!” Lando greeted you as soon as he saw you. “Lovely to see you as always.”

“Hi Lando.” You hugged the Brit.

“No mini Webber today?” He asked when he noticed your daughter wasn’t with you.

“No, she’s in Massachusetts. She sends luck to both of you though.” Mark responded.

Oscar wasn’t one to spill secrets, but when he knew something that he wasn’t supposed to tell anyone, he would act nervous. He absolutely hated it.

“She is? Nice, right? Who would’ve thought that mini Webber would go to Harvard!” Lando and Oscar were both called by Zak so they excused themselves from the couple.

“Okay . . .” You brushed it off as him being nervous about the race. You scooted closer to Mark. “First home race must be getting to him.” You whispered.

“I’ll take care of him, love.”

“Don’t forget about Lando.”

The 2023 Australian Grand Prix was one big chaotic mess and you were there to witness it. It felt like a rollercoaster of emotions when the race was restarted again. After three red flags and 58 laps, Max had won.

“P8 for Oscar, what a race.” Mark said, sitting beside you. “You can let go of my hand now, honey, race is over.” He gestured to your hand that tightly held his. He couldn’t remember what lap you decided to hold it, but he didn’t mind.

“Thank fuck. I thought I was going to have a heart attack or something.” You let go. “I just wish my baby girl was here.”

“She’ll be home soon. Summer is just around the corner and then we’ll have a moody teen girl with a coffee addiction in our house. Doesn’t that sound fun?”

When Oscar got back to the garage, you and Mark were there to celebrate his points. “You did so well! Good job, Osc!” You hugged the driver.

“Thank you, Mrs. Webber.” Oscar smiled.

“Oh! Where’s Lando? Was it P6 or 7? Who cares? Points for the Mclaren boys!” You cheered as you left to go find Lando. Lando’s race engineer had told you that the driver was in his driver’s room so you walked to the room in search of the Brit.

As you were about to knock on the door, Lando and your daughter came out. Talk about perfect timing. . .

“Mum . . Hi.” Your daughter laughed nervously.

“Listen, I love you to death but what are you doing here? You should be in Boston!” You scolded the girl.

“This sounds like a family matter so I’m just going to go.” Lando tried to leave it you stepped in front of him. “Hi Mrs. Webber.” He innocently said.

“Good job on getting points.” You sighed and gave him a hug. “Now care to explain?”

“It was her idea! I am the true victim here!”

“You jerk!”

“Okay! Stop it.” You raised your voice. “Sweetheart, what’s going on?”

“I wanted to surprise you and dad by coming here and Lando and Oscar were helping me so I hid here. I’m only here for a couple days . . I missed you guys.” She explained.

“Yeah, what she said.” Lando added.

“We missed you too. I am definitely surprised and dad will be too. Come on, we have to celebrate the Mclaren boys scoring points!” You grabbed your daughters hand and walked together to meet up with Mark and Oscar.

Lando stayed behind a bit confused. “You’re not mad at me, right Mrs. Webber?”

[strvngeweather]

It's All Greek to Me; a one shot.

🕮 PAIRING: collegetutor!jimin x partygirl!reader 🕮 GENRE: College AU, smut 🕮 WORD COUNT: 4.8k 🕮 WARNINGS: Smut, Smut, Smut 🕮 SUMMARY: After failing your college classes, you need a tutor. But if tutor, why so damn hot? 🕮 AUTHOR'S NOTE: This was originally going to be a full-length fanfic, but I decided to make it a short one. I still may expand on it. Let me know what you guys think. Also, my bestie gave me the idea when she said, "Jimin look like he likes ass." LMAO.

Despite your hatred for hangovers, you always ended up with one.

Today was no exception. As the resident party girl at Loren University, there was no way you would ever miss a weekend rager, but as your alarm clock went off for the fifth time that morning, you began cursing at yourself. Maybe going to a party on a Sunday night wasn’t a good idea.

Scheduling a tutoring session at eight in the morning was an even worse idea.

You had many strong suits, but English wasn’t one of them. It was the one subject you had struggled with since you were in high school. Analyzing the words of dead white men from centuries ago was just about as much fun as watching paint dry. Numbers were much more your thing. They were easy and in the words of Cady Heron, ‘Math was the same in every language.’

But you needed to pass. It’s not as if you were here on your parents’ dime like the other kids. You were a scholarship kid and if your grades slipped, so did you. Out the doors and on your ass. So, when you got your last paper back with a big fat ‘D’ written on it, you knew it was time to take action. And that meant getting a tutor.

You just happened to forget that today, on this bright and early morning, with a pounding headache and dry mouth, you were supposed to be meeting him.

Again, you ask, who the fuck schedules a tutoring session at eight in the morning?

With a groan, you grab your phone, hoping to hit the ‘snooze’ button on your alarm one more time before you really had to get up but when your eyes read the time you realize that it’s damn near eight-thirty. How many times have you hit the snooze button? You wonder but realize you’re only wasting more time. Without a second thought, you hop out of bed and into the bathroom, brushing your teeth and running a comb through your curly hair. Your make-up is smudged, and you still have on the shimmering dress from last night but there’s nothing you can do about it now. You grab a hoodie off your desk chair and hightail it to the school’s library.

.

Inside study room 007, you find a very annoyed, albeit very handsome senior waiting at the table. Laid out in front of him are a stack of books, notebooks, and flash cards. Pens and pencils are lined up neatly in a row. He all but glares at you as enter. Before you can speak, he glances at his watch and then looks back at you. “You’re late.”

“I know,” you say, out of breath. “I got caught up …” you scramble, trying to think of a lie instead of admitting you had spent the night throwing ass to Megan thee Stallion and Cardi B but your folder of excuses in the very back of your brain shows up empty. That might be for the best, you realize as you look over your tutor.

“Partying?” He finishes the sentence for you. His eyes rake over you in judgment. “Maybe that’s why you’re failing English.”

Now wait a damn minute. You scoff, crossing your arms. Your brain is foggy, you desperately need a glass of water – and, not to mention, your skin feels beyond icky. The last thing you can do right now is come up with a proper comeback so the only thing you manage to utter is, “Or maybe English is just hard.”

“You speak it every day, how hard could it be?”

“Whatever,” you say, sitting down across from him.  “Can we just … start?”

Jimin checks his watch again. “We might as well. We’ve got thirty minutes left. Let’s make the most of it.”

“I thought I had you for an hour.”

“Yes, and you were late so that hour has turned into thirty minutes. I’ve got things to do, Ms. L/N. I can’t wait around for you all day,” he replies, picking up a black ballpoint pen. “Let’s get started.”

“I’d much prefer it if you called me, Y/N,” you say, leaning back in your chair. “And you’re Jimin, correct?”

He nods curtly. “Alright, Ms. L/N, your form said you have an upcoming paper that focuses on the themes from Nella Larsen’s Passing. What part of the story are you at?”

You roll your eyes but choose not to correct him about your name and instead just answer his question. “I’m not on any part.”

His eyes brighten. “You mean you’ve already finished? Well, great, let’s jump right into discussion –”

“No,” you cut him off. “I’m not on any part because I haven’t started the book.”

Jimin looks at you as if you grew another head. “Your essay for the book is due next week. The book is less than two hundred pages. What do you mean you haven’t started yet?”

You shrug. “I figured since it’s such a short book I could probably finish it and write the essay in the same day.”

“And what day were you planning on doing that since our study session is right now?”

That day was last night but as you both knew you had gotten caught up with … other things. “I guess I figured we’d start the book together and I’d just get the essay done next week.”

Jimin sighs. “Ms. L/N, whatever you manage to vomit onto paper will not bring your grade up in the slightest if you follow your method. I guarantee that.”

You find yourself rolling your eyes – again. “That’s what you’re here for. You’re my tutor so tutor me in the right direction.” Jimin studies you for a moment and then he begins carefully putting his things away into his messenger bag.  “Wait. What are you doing?”

“Ms. L/N, you can reach out to me once you’ve read the book but until then, we have nothing to discuss. I only meet with students who are serious about their education,” he places his bag over his shoulder and nods toward you. “Have a good day.”

“Um, hello! You can’t just leave,” you say, getting out of your chair.

“I can and I am,” Jimin replies, and with that, he walks out of the study room. You begin to follow him but decide against it. What good would that do? He was rude and had judged you from the moment you walked in the door. You didn’t need a tutor like that.

You decided you were going to go to the campus café, buy a large coffee, and then go home to take a much-needed shower.

. . . .

“He was a jerk,” you tell your best friend, Winter, taking a long sip of your mango-pineapple smoothie. “He left right in the middle of our session.”

Every Tuesday was the same. A morning class and then a lunch date with your bestie, Winter, at your favorite smoothie place about twenty minutes away from campus.

She shakes her head but not at him. “Y/N, I love you, but you were late. You didn’t read the material, and you had the nerve to have an attitude. I would have walked out on you too.”

Harsh but it was the truth. You weren’t quite ready to admit that you were somewhat at fault too. “Okay, but I’m saying, he didn’t have to be rude about it though.”

“What’d he look like?”

“He would be fine as hell if he wasn’t so rude,” you answer honestly.

She shakes her head, amused. “What did you end up getting on your essay anyway?”

After the last encounter with Jimin, you decided you’d find another tutor, but in the meantime, you were going to stick with your tried and true. You did exactly what you had told Jimin you would do. You read most of the book in one evening and managed to type up a paper in the same night, confident that you had aced it. But when you looked online, checking your grade, you realized Jimin had been right. Regardless, you weren’t going back to him.

You sigh. “Does it matter?”

“Yes,” Winter replies. “Because if Jimin is right, then I think you should give him a call.”

“Jimin Parker?”

You and Winter look up to see Jennie Kim hovering above you. Her freshly dyed blonde hair cascaded in waves down her slender face. You may have been the resident party girl, but Jen was the resident party queen.

“Hey Jen,” you say, motioning for her to take a seat. “Yeah, Jimin Parker. You know him?”

She sits between you and Winter. “You mean that gorgeous senior? Ugh, I had him as a tutor last semester.”

“How’d he do?” Winter says, giving you a knowing look.

You lean forward. Jennie was known for many things but having good grades was not one of them. In fact, you wondered how she managed to make it this far without being kicked out. But, if Jimin could manage to get her grades up, then he truly was a miracle worker.

“Amazing,” Jen gushes. “I got an A on my last three papers. I wanted him again this semester but apparently, he’s all booked up.”

You groan as Winter gives you another look. You pull your cell phone out of your pocket and dial Jimin. “Hello?” You reply as he answers. “Hi, yeah, Jimin, it’s Y/N. I was wondering if we could set up a session …”

…

For his sake (and mostly yours) you schedule an afternoon session and this time, you show up prepared. When he arrives, he’s shocked to see you already in the study room.

“Good afternoon,” he says, rounding the table to sit across from you. You get a whiff of his cedarwood cologne. “I see you’re on time.”

“I’m early,” you correct him. “You’re on time.”

“That I am,” he says, taking a seat. You watch him closely as he carefully takes out various pens and pencils, notebooks, and flashcards. He really is handsome, you think, even if he is an ass. “I see we’re studying Oedipus Rex by Sophocles?”

You nod your head. “I read it. I don’t understand it.”

“What exactly don’t you understand?”

“Not a single word in that book. They might as well be speaking Greek.”

He sighs. “Well, it is a Greek book.”

“Clearly,” you reply. “So where do we start?”

“I guess at the beginning.”

. . . .

Things were going smoothly. You found yourself actually understanding the material and surprisingly, enjoying it. But you also found yourself getting lost in Jimin at times. The more time you spent with him, the more you developed a crush. Your mind would wander as your eyes looked over him. You wondered how soft his full lips were. You wondered what his eyes looked like in moments of passion. You wondered how good it would feel to be wrapped up in his strong arms.

Your eyes were on his arms when he called your name. “Huh?”

“I asked did you want to go over the scene between Antigone and Polynices again?”

You shake your head. “No, I think I understand. Antigone wants him to call off the war, but Polynices’ pride won’t let him.”

“Correct,” Jimin replies with a smile.

Fuck, you think. Jimin had a smile that would make anyone melt. “Jimin,” you begin and mentally kick yourself for what you’re about to ask but you’ve started so you might as well finish. You put on your best flirtatious smile. “What do I get if I ace my next paper?”

He seems to know what you’re hinting at. “You get an A and the satisfaction of knowing your hard work paid off.”

Well, if that wasn’t a blaring rejection, you don’t know what is. “Do you have a girlfriend?” You blurt it out before your brain can even process whether the question was appropriate or not.

He blinks, slightly taken aback. “Yes, yes, I do. Why?”

You shrug, trying to be as nonchalant as possible even though you feel as if you’ve just gotten stung by a million honeybees. “No reason. You just seem so into your academics; I didn’t think you had time for that kind of stuff.”

“Well, a human being still needs a social life to thrive,” he replies coolly. “Do you have a boyfriend?”

You nod. “Yes, and his name is Jose Cuervo.”

He laughs. “I’m sure you have a line of men knocking on your door.”

“Nobody I want though,” you say, mostly to yourself.

. . . .

If crushing on him wasn’t enough, now you were dreaming about him. A week of erotic dreams plagued you. They felt so real. You could smell his signature cologne as he pushed in and out of you, your legs on his shoulders and his arms wrapped around your thick thighs. Each dream ended the same though, just as he was about to finish, your alarm would wake you up and you would spend a good five minutes finishing yourself off before getting ready for the day.

Instead of a study room at the library, Jimin asked you to meet him at his apartment for the study session. He mentioned something about time constraints, appointments, and being unable to book a study room but your brain had been stuck on, “Wanna meet me at my apartment? We can have a quick recap sesh before I have to run out?” He could barely finish his question before you agreed to it.

So, sue you for being curious.

It’s not like anything will happen, you thought as you parked, he has a girlfriend.  You arrived twenty minutes early. Your excitement had gotten the best of you and you knew how much Jimin liked it when you were on time. When you knocked on the door, a man almost as handsome as Jimin answered.

“You must be Y/N?” he asked, sticking out his hand. “I’m Taehyung.”

You nodded, the thought of becoming a Wattpad heroine and having two incredibly attractive men fight over you danced around in your head. You shook his hand. “Nice to meet you, Taehyung.”

As he let you in, he explained he had somewhere to be, but that Jimin was in his room and to head right in. You gave the door a light knock but didn’t receive an answer. The door was slightly ajar, giving you the smallest view of a very neat bedroom. You spotted Jimin at his desk, looking at something on his large computer monitor. It looked familiar. Your curiosity ate at you, forcing your hand to ever-so-gently open the door further. This time you could see what Jimin was looking at clearly.

It was you. It was your Instagram feed. He was scrolling through your pictures, pausing at every photo that was a bit risqué.

“Fuck, Y/N …”

That was your name. Leaving his lips. In a moan. Your heart fluttered with excitement. But wait, was he …

As you tilt your head to get a better view, you can see the tip of his elbow on the armrest, bobbing up and down. And up and down. And up and down.

Oh, he definitely was.

You slap a hand over your mouth and tiptoe back to the living room. A few minutes later, you hear a shower turn on and ten minutes after that, you see Jimin emerge in a navy blue V-neck and a pair of grey sweatpants.

“Hey,” Jimin looks at you with a face full of guilt. You can’t help but smile. “How long have you been waiting?”

“I just got here a few minutes ago,” you lie, looking up from your phone that you were pretending to be engrossed in. “I haven’t been waiting long.”

“Good, good,” he says. “Let’s go to the kitchen. The lighting is better in there.”

. . . .

After three weeks of hard work and several study sessions, you submit your paper with all the confidence of Scott Disick. Winter, the best friend that she is, decided that this was the best time to reward your good behavior with a couple of jello shots at your favorite bar. You gobble up the first two and then decide to sip on a blue Long Island iced tea. That’s when you spot him. Sitting in a corner, next to his roommate and another man with tattoos up and down his arms. Instead of his usual tweed blazer and grey slacks, his outfit looks more modern, more casual. A white graphic tee hugs his toned body, and you can’t help but eye his biceps. His cheeks are slightly red, his eyes are glossy and he’s laughing harder than you’ve ever seen him laugh. He looks delicious but you turn around and decide to order another shot from the bar.

You spot Winter getting her mack on with a fellow classmate, Karina, and it’s then you realize that you’re probably going to be alone for the rest of the night. Just as you begin to grab your wallet to pay your tab, a familiar figure approaches you.

“Fancy seeing you here,” he’s wearing a smile you’ve never seen before, and it makes your insides flutter.

“I could say the same thing,” you reply. “I never thought I’d see Jimin Park in a bar.”

“I don’t spend all my time in the library,” Jimin says.

“Could have fooled me,” you tease, taking a sip of your drink. “What brings you out among people?”

He orders a whiskey sour before turning to you. “I, Y/N L/N, am finally a single man. My girlfriend of two years has decided that she no longer wants me.”

He’s smiling but you can see sadness behind his glossy eyes. “I’m sorry,” you say earnestly. “Her loss.”

“Oh definitely,” he says with a slight slur. “You want to know the real reason she broke up with me?”

You shrug. “Lay it on me.”

He leans in close, so close his body is pressed up against yours. He angles his lips to your ear and whispers, “I was too much for her.”

“Oh …”

“Yeah,” his words spill out in a rush, his eyes darkening as they take you in. They pause at your mini-skirt before crawling up your body slowly. You suddenly feel exposed, as if he just completely undressed you, but it would be a lie to say you didn’t love it. His voice lowers to a sultry whisper, “You don’t seem like that though.”

“Seem like that?”

“Like I’d be too much for you.”

“In what way?” You ask, genuinely curious.

He leans toward you, his lips brushing past your ear, forcing every hair on the back of your neck to stand up. “Sexual. You look like a good girl who knows how to take a pounding.”

A million thoughts ran through your head as Jimin broke out into a sardonic laugh. You were called back to that time you caught him masturbating to your pictures. You began to wonder if the prim and proper Jimin was just a façade to hide the sexual deviant he really was. His eyes look over you in a way they never have, and you swore they were clouded with lust. He licks his full lips, and you want nothing more than to kiss them, but you don’t. Instead, you take a step back and laugh, motioning to his roommate. Jimin was drunk and even though it looked like he wanted to bend you over the bar and give it to you, you knew better than to take advantage of a drunk man.

….

A week later, when you enter the study room, the moment you and Jimin exchange glances, you feel awkward. He looks embarrassed as he gestures for you to sit down.

“We need to talk,” he says. “I want to apologize about the other night at the bar.”

“It’s okay, I barely even gave it a second thought,” you lie. You had thought about that moment ever since it happened.

“No, it was inappropriate, and I shouldn’t have spoken to you that way.”

“Jimin, you were drunk, it’s fine. Besides, it was nice to see a different side to you,” you reassured him with a smile.

“That’s not a side that I would like to be representative of who I am,” Jimin admits. “I don’t want to be known as the guy who makes people uncomfortable.”

You laugh. “Believe me, I was the farthest thing from uncomfortable.”

He locks eyes with you for a moment before clearing his throat and motioning toward your phone. “Have you checked your grades yet?”

You gasp, suddenly remembering the paper you had submitted a week earlier. You quickly bring up your most recent webpage, searching for the most recent grade listing. As your eyes glance over your paper and the notes, you realize that Jimin lived up to his reputation. You get up, shoving the phone in his face, squealing.

His eyes brighten, and he gets up as well. “You got an A!”

Without thinking, you throw your arms around him, pulling him into a tight hug. Jimin, to your surprise, doesn’t push away. Instead, he pulls you closer, his arms wrapping around your waist. You take the moment to breathe in his intoxicating scent. The both of you remain intertwined far longer than you both know is appropriate but for some reason, neither one of you makes the move to let go.

Finally, Jimin relents first. He stares you in the face and says quietly, “I knew you could do it.”

You let out a small laugh. “I couldn’t do it without you. Thank you, Jimin”

“As a reward, we can end the session ten minutes early today,” Jimin replies and sits back down.

You find yourself shaking your head. “Can I request a different reward?”

Jimin looks up at you and nods. You look around the small study space. The room you chose was in the back, the library was relatively empty today and the small window the room provided was on the door and could easily be covered up the shade provided. You mentally prepare yourself for what you’re about to say next. Things could go downhill, fast, depending on his reaction. Still, you steady yourself, look Jimin in the eyes and say, “I want a kiss.”

“What?”

“A kiss,” you repeat confidently. “I want you to kiss me as a reward.”

“I can’t kiss you,” he replies back, taking study materials out of his messenger bag. “That would be highly ina –”

“Jimin, if you don’t want to kiss me, just say so but don’t use the tutor-student relationship as a reason.”

He sighs. “I …” You watch as he struggles to find the right words.

“You were right about me,” you say, giving him a flirtatious smirk. “At the bar. I can take a good pounding.”

His face turns a beet-red, but he quickly recovers. He stands, walking to stand in front of you. “Just one kiss?”

“One kiss,” you repeat.

He leans in and places a soft kiss on your lips, lingering for only a few seconds before breaking the kiss. “That good?”

You shake your head. “I hardly think that’s worth all the work I put in.”

He smiles, genuinely amused, and says, “Really?”

You nod. “Maybe if it was longer …”

Jimin sighs. “Y/N, if it’s longer, you know what that will lead to …”

“Then let it lead to that,” you challenge, you push. “I don’t know why you have to act so anal-retentive all the time. Not everything has to be perfect. Just k—”

He cuts you off with a deeper kiss. It’s slow and sensual. His hands wrap around your waist, one of them running down the curve of your ass as he palms it slowly, indulging in the fleshy softness. You can feel his dick hardening on your thigh as he slips a tongue into your mouth.

Jimin is using both hands to palm your ass now, his dick grinding into you and a low, deep, moan leaves his mouth forcing an electric sensation to shoot down your spine and vibrate in your core.

“You sure you want this?” he asks through a searing kiss.

“Yes,” you think you say but you’re not sure. Your head is spinning that this is actually happening.

He responds by lifting your pleated skirt and smacking your ass, the sound echoing throughout the room. Fingertips dance between your ass crack, and he uses a knee to part your legs slightly further. You break the kiss, throwing your head back as you feel Jimin’s fingertips slowly rub your pussy from the back. He slips a finger into your underwear, running it up and down your slit.

“How long have you wanted this?” He asks, nipping at your neck. “You’re already so fucking wet.” You try to answer but all that comes out is a moan as he slips another finger inside. “Shh,” he tells you. “You want the whole library to hear you?”

He gives you a bit of a reprieve when his hands slip away. You watch as he pulls out one of the chairs and sits, beckoning for you to stand in front of him. Your skirt is still at your waist, so he pulls your underwear down before pulling you close. You feel his large hands grope your ass again, peppering kisses up and down your hips. Another smack echoes through the room before he uses a hand to caress clit. You move your hips in response, holding on to the table for balance.

He pauses. “Turn around and bend over.” He doesn’t have to ask you twice. You obey, and not a second later, you feel him placing one of your legs up on the study table. “Arch that back, baby.” Your ass juts out just a little more as you follow his directions. A moment later you feel a cool, wet, sensation going up and down the slit of your core. It’s slow at first, as if he’s taking the time to let the taste of you marinate on his tongue but he quickly picks up his pace. The tip of his tongue flickering over your clit. Meanwhile, you can feel his thumb, massaging your anus.

Jimin was an ass man, and he was making that very clear.

Both hands were gripping your ass now as he guided your pussy over his tongue. You work your hips in tandem, stifling a loud moan as your world begins to go white.

But he wasn’t done with you yet.

He moves his tongue from your pussy up to your anus, and you jerk, having never quite felt something like this before. You can hear an amused laugh leave Jimin’s throat as he begins to massage your ass with his tongue. His fingers working your pussy, begging for another orgasm. You oblige, your wetness dripping all over his fingertips.

“Don’t move,” he demands. You can hear his belt unbuckling, followed by the tips of his dick moving up and down your incredibly wet slit. He slides it in with the patience of a saint, excruciatingly slow, forcing whimpers out of you, begging him to go faster. “You sure you want it faster?”

“Please,” you moan.

“Please, what?”

“Please, Jimin,” you manage to utter out.

He gives you your wish and begins to pound you like he said he would. His pace quickens and you can feel every inch of him inside of you. Your pussy wraps around him which causes him to smack your ass, and a deep moan leaves his lips.

You realize he can’t have all the fun though and you begin to throw it back on him, your ass bouncing against him, and he lets you. You can hear your wetness as you begin to drain his dick. You can hear his low grunts of satisfaction as you pick up your pace and when you look back, you can see his dark eyes looking at you in a way you never wanted to stop. “Good fucking girl,” he whispers in a low voice.

You make eye contact which forces him to grip your hips and pound into you harder, faster (stronger).  “One more time baby,” he says to you, maintaining eye contact. “Cum on this dick.” You had already been close, and his words only sent you over the edge further than you had ever gone. You close your eyes, your body shaking in pleasure as you have your third orgasm on his dick.

He follows suit, his cum shooting deep inside of you. You feel his body on top of yours as you both try to catch your breath.

“Was that worth all your hard work?’ He asks.

“I think I’ll have to get A’s for the rest of the year,” you reply.

“The rest of your life.”

[onepiecestarry]

Katsuki Bakugo Fluff Oneshot

I've had this bouncing around in my brain for a few days and just needed to get it down :) This is lowk based off of my life so I apologize since its a niche situation. But enjoy some Bk fluff and lmk if you want another part to this!

Katsuki x Reader

2.3k words

Most days you wake up, go to class, study, and train late into the night. You are a busy person, with many priorities, but this didn’t stop you from making many friends. You got particularly close to Mina and Sero, and along with that the rest of the bakusquad- besides Bakugo himself of course. You had tried many times to befriend him but to no avail. You decided to give up since you were already a part of his friend group. 

You tried your best to make time for your friends but most weeks you wouldn’t join the nightly hangouts. On any days off you went home to help your mom, only Mina truly knew why you were never in the dorms. 

-

“Alright class, today we are-” Aizawa started his long speech about your new upcoming project. You start to zone out, but quickly focus again to get the project details, jotting down any important notes you might need. 

“I am going to randomly assign partners for this, please do not ask to change because there will be no exceptions this time.” Mr. Aizawa says in his regular monotone voice. 

He starts to list off the groups and eventually says your name. “Y/n and Bakugo” 

“Not that fucking nerd!!” Bakugo yells slamming his fist onto his desk.

“Shut it Bakugo,” Mr. Aizawa says activating his quirk on the rowdy student. 

The rest of the day went by normally, you finished classes and began packing your stuff to study and train. 

Around 1 am you get a text.

Bakugo

“Where are you dipshit”

Y/n

“Training, why?”

Bakugo

“Tf you training so late for, gts”

Y/n

“Dude leave me alone, what do you want”

Bakugo

“Friday at 11 am common room”

Y/n

“The project?” 

He likes the message and the conversation ends. You look at the time and realize you should be going to bed soon, you do a few more reps before heading back to the dorm. 

It's a cool night, as you walk a chill runs up your spine from the cold. You shake it off and continue to your dorms. As quietly as you can, you open the door and make your way to your room. You fall asleep to the crickets and cicadas chirping outside your window. 

The week goes by quickly as the weekend approaches. You completely forgot about having Friday off, but Mina reminded you on Thursday to text your mom to remind her. 

What everyone in the class doesn’t know is that your mom moved with you when you came abroad to study at UA. She and your little sister rent a small house not too far from campus. Your step-father refused to move with them, so on any days you have off you go home to watch your 2-year-old sister while your mom works. The only person who knows about this arrangement is your best friend Mina. She covers for you whenever you are there. 

- 

You wake up to the loud beeping of your alarm, as you look at it to shut it off it displays “4:30 am”. You groan and move to get up. Your mom starts work at 6 on the days you have off so you have to get to the house early so your sister isn’t home alone. 

You grab your prepacked bag and school backpack and start your walk home. The sunrise is barely a sliver when you get there. 

As you take care of your sister throughout the day, coloring, watching movies, and playing dress-up, it doesn’t matter what you do as long as she’s happy. Once you put her down for her nap, you throw yourself onto the couch half asleep. Then your phone starts going off over and over. You grumble something about a group chat and open your phone to see it’s Bakugo. 

Bakugo

“Where are you dipshit”

“If you aren’t here in the next 3 minutes I’m blowing your ass up in your dorm”

“Why aren’t you in your dorm”

“ANSWER ME”

Bakugo has requested your location. 

“Oh boy” You mumble to yourself

Y/n

“Chill dude, I’m sorry I forgot we were supposed to work on the project today, can we do it Monday?”

Bakugo

“NO, dumbass it's fucking due Monday”

“Where are you, answer the fucking phone now”

Y/n

“I can’t answer the phone rn”

Bakugo

“Well then SEND ME UR FUCKING LOCATION”

Y/n

“Will u chill tf out if I do?”

Bakugo likes the message.

Y/n started sharing their location with Bakugo

You huff and turn your phone off falling asleep on the couch. Not long after you wake up to three aggressive knocks on your front door. Knowing Bakugo you jump up to stop him from knocking more and waking your sister. 

“Chill tf out, I’m right here,” You say as you open the door. Bakugo pushes past you walking into your house and turning to look at you. 

“You are so fucking useless, we were supposed to have this project done today! I fucking should’ve done it myself” He says with his fingers on the bridge of his nose. 

“Look, I’m sorry but Aizawa would know if you pulled that shit AGAIN” 

“YOU FUCKING RATTED-”

You slam your palm on his mouth as he begins to yell. Shock is written across his face when he suddenly pushes you off him. 

“What the fuck” He spits at you.

“You have to be fucking quiet dipshit” You whisper.

“Why wou-” He gets interrupted by your sister crying and running to you. 

You pick her up gently and start to soothe her from her startling wake call as you glare daggers at Bakugo. He stands there in complete shock, this time not hiding it at all. You nod your head in the direction of your dining table and say, “Go set up there, we can work on it now.”

He doesn’t say a word while he gets his stuff out and sets up. You put your sister down to start making some lunch for her. 

“Did you eat?” You ask not looking at him.

“What?” He asks snapping back to reality.

“Did you eat lunch?”

“Oh um no”

“Ok,” You say, silently making another serving more. 

As you continue to cook and Bakugo silently sits there trying to think of what to say, he blurts out. 

“So, who’s the father?”

You turn around from the stove and stare at him blankly for a second processing what he asked, then you see how serious his face is. You burst out laughing- “BAHAHAHA, WAIT,” you say wiping a tear forming in your eye from laughter. Bakugo glares at you to stop laughing. After you take a second to compose yourself you answer, “Bakugo, meet my sister, y/s/n.” You say as y/s/n goes up to Bakugo and hugs him. He has a horrified look on his face realizing what he just asked you. 

He tries to jump away and get her off unsuccessfully. He accepts his fate and allows her to hug his leg. 

The next few hours went by awkwardly, you served lunch and while your sister was busy eating you spent your time working on the project, allowing Bakugo to have a break and eat too. But as soon as your sister was done you were up and taking care of her again. 

Hours go by and you realize you have to figure out dinner. 

“Fuck” You whisper so your sister can’t hear. “What do you want for dinner Bakugo?” You ask from your sister’s makeshift playroom in the living room. 

“I don’t know, don’t care.”

You look at him exasperated as you sigh and ask your sister.

“PIZZA!!!” Your sister says excitedly. You pick her up and gently whisper how you can’t afford to order pizza right now, and how you can make her something at home. She begins to sulk and goes back to her toys. You get up walk to the table and look at Bakugo to ask again. 

“Wha-” You begin.

“I already ordered it.” He says not looking up from his notes.

“What?” You ask baffled.

“The pizza, I already ordered it.”

“Oh, you didn’t have to do that, seriously.” 

“It's fine. She said she wanted pizza.”

“Okay, how much was it so I can pay you back.” You ask getting your wallet out.

“No.” He says not sparing you a look.

“What?” You ask again. 

“I said no. Don’t worry about it.” 

“Oh, okay, well thank you.”

Once the pizza arrives you all sit down to eat, but once again you don’t eat so you can work on the project. As you sit at your laptop across from Bakugo eating his pizza, your laptop suddenly shuts. 

“Wha- What the fuck man?!” You half-yell at Bakugo. 

“You haven’t eaten all day, so eat the pizza and then I’ll watch your sister so you can work.” 

“But-”

“No. I said what I said.” He stares at you, silently telling you that you won’t win any argument with him. 

He kept true to his word, he took care of your sister while you worked efficiently on your project. Around 11:30 you come back to reality and close your laptop, realizing that you should have put your sister to bed long ago. You walk into the living room to see Bakugo and y/s/n on the couch watching her favorite movie, Totoro. Y/s/n being asleep on Bakugo you decide to sit on the other side of him and continue the movie. 

“Everything is done, we just need to make the slides and practice.” You whisper. 

“Alright cool, that should be easy.” He says continuing to watch the movie. 

You look over and admire how calm he is. His arm wrapped around your sister, her head in his lap fast asleep. You had to admit, he was great with kids. While you were working he was playing dress up with her, you managed to snap a few photos of him with a tiara on before he noticed. He was so sweet and gentle with her all day, the opposite of his regular personality. He didn't call her a brat even once, not even one time?!?

He notices you staring and looks over, “What?” He says annoyed. 

“Nothing,” You say silent for a few seconds, “Just- thank you for today.” 

He lets out a scoff, showing you he was listening.

“Is this where you disappear every night?” He asks.

“What? Oh. no, I actually do train every night since I’m here on the weekends. I usually get up at 4:30 and either stay here or go back at 2 am.” You answer. 

“You do this only on two and a half hours of sleep?” He asks with confusion and shock hinting in his voice. 

“Yeah, I don’t have much of a choice. No one else can watch her.” 

The conversation fades as you both focus back on the movie. Eventually leading to you falling asleep on him as well. 

Bakugo sits there on your couch, with your sister asleep in his lap and you asleep on his shoulder. He quietly watches the movie until your mom returns from work. She opens the door and hears the T.V. on, so she goes to the living room to check and she sees all of you there. Bakugo’s head swings at the noise and sees her. 

“Oh my, I’m so sorry I didn’t mean to startle you. I didn’t know y/n had her boyfriend over!” She says quietly moving to sit on the adjacent couch. 

“Oh- um, I’m not-” He starts.

“Here let me move her to bed, they both sleep like rocks don’t worry.” She says with a wink, picking up your sister and taking her to her bed. She returns to see Bakugo hasn’t moved with you still asleep on him. 

“How long have you been here? I’m so sorry for any trouble they’ve caused.” Your mom laughs.

“I got here around noon. Me and y/n were supposed to work on a school project but she forgot so I came over to work on it.” He starts

“Oh! I’m so sorry about that dear.” 

“It's okay.”

“So how long have you two been together?” She asks excitedly. 

“We aren’t dating,” Bakugo says quietly still trying to not wake you up. 

“Really? Huh, I swear I’ve heard y/n talk about you before.” A light shade of pink finds its way to Bakugo’s cheeks.

“Well, thank you for helping take care of my girls, I really appreciate it. You should stay here tonight, it's too late for you to go back to school. Y/n’s room is there and there are blankets in the closet.” Your mom says getting up to go to bed. “And thank you again Katsuki Bakugo.” She finally says before disappearing into her room. 

Bakugo tightens up at the sound of his full name, knowing well that means y/n has talked about him enough for her mom to know who he is. 

He decides to stay on the couch, not wanting to disturb your peace. He pulls a blanket on the both of you and shuts his eyes. He thinks about all the times he couldn’t spot you at parties or hangouts. Or how you would vanish off the face of the earth on weekends. It all made sense now, you were working yourself to the bone to take care of your family. 

Bakugo always had a soft spot for you, which is why everyone would always make you ask him to hang out with them, even if you weren’t going to be there. He never knew why he was murder-y with you but it scared him so he pushed you away even more. Hence you trying to be friends with him but ‘failing’. 

But now he’s here, lying on your couch with you on top of him asleep, coming to the realization that maybe his soft spot for you isn’t all that bad. 

[threepandas]

Bad End: Nobody's Here

You ever have an imaginary friend? How about someone else's?

Every kid gets 'um. They're hardly strange or new. But the thing is? You're supposed to grow OUT of them. As you develop real connections to actual entities. It's dangerous not too. Yeah, it still happens, but any instructor worth their salt is trained to catch it. See the symptoms and signs.

Cause, see, when you have MAGIC?

Imaginary friends?

Becomes a parasite.

They don't MEAN too, obviously. Usually. They just want to LOVE their friends. Stay with them. Exsist. And really, who would WANT to die? WANT to stop existing? The problem, though, is the kids themselves. Their untrained, unintentional, focus and feeding. Their giving an IDEA? Life.

It's not malicious. They just PRETEND. Play. Focus all their little hearts on this TOTALLY REAL friend of theirs. And their magic? Metaphorically shrugs, agrees to go along with it, and tries to make it SO. Make that concept, that illusion, a real sentient being. Who, of course , is their friend.

Their BEST friend. Family! Someone who will NEVER leave them. Always prioritize THEM. Enable THEM.

Not healthy in the slightest, to put it mildly. A child's CONCEPT of what they THINK they want. That quickly becomes far, far too much to handle. That does not GROW with them. No. It drains them instead. Siphoning away their magic until there's nothing left. Killing them both.

If you can seperate them? The Friends can USUALLY become some sort of Spirit, if you send them off to a magic rich environment to finish growing properly. Sooner the better. The longer you wait, the more twisted they become, after all. They never become STRONG spirits, mind you. But that's not the point. Protecting both child and their unintentional creation is.

Now, you may be wondering, why the lecture? It's a fascinating bit of magical trivia. Some early childhood's training pitfalls to look out for, perhaps? Is this about why there are so many minor spirits around schools? What, exactly, brought this UP?

Nobody.

Don't I mean "nothing"? No One? That sentence's not exactly grammatically correct, after all. Ha ha... I AM AWARE. I know what I said. And I meant EXACTLY what I said. It's a NAME. Their name. There is an Imaginary Friend, that I DID NOT ASK FOR, by the name of Nobody. I do NOT know how they've come to be attached to me. I certainly didn't create them! And they are far, FAR to well developed to be new.

I did not ACCEPT an imaginary friend.

Yes, they CAN be transmitted. Hop, from one host to another. But! You have to let them IN... presumably. That IS the common knowledge. The general consensus. No one has ever really... studied the phenomena.

I mean... how COULD you? Realistically? They only develop in CHILDREN. Small children. What ethical researcher would EVER consent to feeding toddlers to a magical parasite? And it's not like THEY understand themselves. They barely REMAIN themselves. It's basically a larval state to them.

The thing they WERE, before they were freed to become something MORE.

So Nobody? By all modern magical research? Should not exsist. Yet he clearly DOES. Worse, he is very, VERY strong. Did not need to ask. I just? Woke up one day, and there he was. Wrapped up in my mind, body, and magic. Feeding off me.

It's an entirely bearable amount. I can support it easily. But it's the fact that I DID NOT VOLUNTEER TOO that is the problem. That NO ONE can figure out HOW he got in. HOW he did it.

I've had to go into isolation. Complete quarantine.

As the joke goes... good news is? They might just name something after you!

..........it's not as funny, when I really might just die. When it all might be random. Some great cosmic "wrong place, wrong time" scenario. My final days filled with desperate research. My only company the very creature that kills me. It... it feels very much like a sick joke at my expense.

At the very least? We are learning more then we've ever known before. I'm an adult. Hardier. And Nobody is a FAR more developed example of his species then the normal breed. I'll likely last longer. I... I hope I last longer.

"Muuu~ are you being a sad sack again~? Darling, no!" Arms from thin air. Monochrome greys with pointed nails, slid like a lover over my shoulders as weight from nowhere settled against my back. Tall and looming. "Was it because you missed me~☆? Oh, oh! I bet it WAS! Oh my dearest, starlight, baby girl~! I missed you TOO! Aren't you glad we're back together AGAIN?"

Black gloved hands, grey talon nails. Skin like a drawing brought to life. The arms draped over my shoulders reached forward, long finger spread like a cat stretching their paws, powerful muscles heavy on either side of my neck. They hadn't closed in a "hug" just yet. But it was always a warning he could. That playing along meant he would hug my body instead of my fragile, fragile neck.

Ha! Right. He says hug. I say choke hold.

It was the other set of arms that kept me from escaping. Pulling away immediately. It always did. He kept getting the drop on me. Arms cradling my waist. Pressing me close to a pillar of static-y muscle. Ever shifting between warm and cold, the subtle give of flesh and the brutal unyielding of something harder then stone. He was as his moods commanded.

An unstable jester, a demon, the childhood whimsy of god knows how many, left to fester and rot. At... gods, at least he wasn't attached to any kids. Hadn't so much as asked after any.

His too wide grin pressed to the top of my head in a nuzzling kiss, the point of his mask digging a line across my scalp. When he was feeling kinder, he tended to pick masquerade masks. Clothe ones, usually silk. Sometimes velvet. This one was... plastic? Durable. Some smooth, hard to place, substance really. If it was mimic anything real at all.

A pointed nail poked my cheek.

"Not~ Paying~ Attention~ To Meeee~! Naughty, bad girl! The LOVE OF YOUR LIFE is right here? And you ignore him? So COLD!" Nobody whines right into my ear. His voice petulant, yet still somehow mocking. He doesn't HAVE to let me ignore him. And he KNOWS that. We both do. "I go away for HOURS! Disappear for DAYS! And do you even MISS me~?! Oh! Oh, my love is so CRUEL! My heartless darling! I suffer so~!"

At most, it had been half an hour.

Wish it had been longer. Permanent, maybe. Every day... Every SINGLE Day? I wish I could could back to my old research projects. Back to my old projects. I may not have been some living legend or grand Master of the arts? But, fuck it. I was HAPPY. Woke up each day and got to fiddle around with cool bits of magic. Neat little bits and gizmos.

Now? NOW I am the lead researcher on the Imaginary Friend Construct Phenomenon, by virtue of being the only living adult who HAS one. A developed one at least. The notes from Ashridge Institute DO help, but? Even they admit that thanks to the safety regulations in place? Their data might be skewed.

I'm not alone in this. Countless academics, doctors, healers, researchers, and more are working tirelessly to try and help me. Make the most of this nightmare scenario. Use it to save lives. I... I KNOW this. I do. But it doesn't make it less frightening. Trying to dance the edge of not engaging and engaging too much.

Ignoring him? Means escalation. Violent escalation and destruction of my immediate surroundings. Imaginary friends cease to exist if you ignore them long enough. It's painful to them, since they are cognito-hazardous parasites who define themselves by their host. They NEED you to pay attention to them. WANT you too. Will do ANYTHING IT TAKES to make that happen.

But on the other hand? I can't risk FEEDING him. He's already far, FAR too strong.

He doesn't even seem to actually NEED to feed of me anymore. It appears vestigial. He just WANTS it. Still retains the metaphorical "pain" or "hunger" nerve endings that get set off by an extended lack of focus. Yet, at the SAME time? Why keep them? He LITERALLY did not have too!

Nothing! Not a gods' damned THING! Was KEEPING him an Imaginary Friend.

He could, at ANY point, just... STOP.

They defined themselves. Yes, by their hosts. But ALSO by their own whims. So if HE wanted to be a fire spirit? Bam! Fire spirit. Complete racial shift. He'd lose his old powers, granted, but he'd GAIN all the powers of a fire spirit. So why this? Why STAY a violent, dangerous, openly unstable parasite?

The poking finger slide down my cheek, under my jaw. Only to flip, like a switch, to a near painful hand, clamped across my lower face. Nails prickling where they dug just slightly into fragile skin. Iron strength moved my head slowly, not giving me a choice, but just gentle enough not to wrench anything.

"Stop. Ignoring Me. Lovely~" I was just tall enough to be eye level with those inhuman teeth. Not sharp, but wrong none the less. His grip around my waist threatened to squeeze the air out of me. "I don't LIKE it. You're being MEAN. You don't want us to be MEAN to each other, right?"

I focused on him. Put down my notes like he wanted. Watching as his grin spread inhumanly. The near painful grips relaxed.

"See? Better! Such lovely eyes~ I wanna gobble um up! Crawl inside them~" he cooed, some mental switch flipping back to affectionate from irritated. "You missed me right? Right, right?! Ah, of course you did! Who could ever doubt that loving face? My sweetie little pie~ My darling baby boo~!"

He released me, dramatically fast stepping to twirl like an ice dancer as he passed around me. I stepped back to give him room. Already, light had shifted, the corners of the room blurring. A spotlight, flower petals, overly dramatic music. He fell back, as though collapsing weakly into a fainting couch. One arm thrown over his face, another of his lower arms clutching a lacey handkerchief to his chest. Legs pointed like a dancer's.

"But oh! DARLING! The DAY I've had! The world so cold! So BLEAK! Without you safe and warm in my loving arms! It has been so TERRIBLE. Awful! Nay, UNSPEAKABLE even! How could I go ON?!"

Music mournful crooned as he continued. Dramaticly telling of the tragic tale, of his at best thirty minute break from my presence. Truely heart wrenching. There were tears. Props. Apparently he fought for my honor. Nearly died. We should marry immediately. Uh huh.

An alert sounded on phon-...ugh, damn it. I was more stressed then I though, if the nonsense words were popping back up. "Phone" and "otome". I think "isekai" was one. There were hundreds, some meaningless, but others? Others somehow substituting for actual objects. Like some sort of faulty translation spell.

Best anyone could tell? That HAD been what happened. Some student's miscast accidentally hitting my mother while she taught, before she realized she was pregnant and took precautions. There would have been a small window where it effected me but not her? But, well, that same window coincided with some long term damage risks.

I've had therapy. Seen healers. But extreme stress still makes my magic act up, (which is normal of course, it does that in everyone.) and it starts to unravel the mind weavings. "Phone". Like? The fuck even is a "phone"? False bone? Something phonetic? Hell if I know! I still not even sure why I even curse using the nonsense "hell" sound!

My brain insists it "means" somehow both damnation AND the realm of fire spirits, dispite both those things being completely unrelated. Which makes no sense. Was even working with a colleague, on long term damage in-utero magical exposure can have, before all this. Felt seen. Validated. Met a lot of people who had issues like mine. Now?

THIS.

My trail of thoughts were cut off by another beep. Right, the alarm. I was honestly? Afraid to check it. Finally confim what I suspected was TRUE. There would be no hiding then. No choice but to act. And I? Will admit it. I was afraid. Deeply, deeply afraid. Everyone THINKS the tails a might magic wielders combating great spirits and mighty gods, sounds amazing, SEEMS amazing. But the prospect of LIVING IT? Standing in their shoes?

Gods help me.

Running from the Truth, however, is NOT what I swore to do. I am a researcher. A SCHOLAR. My role in life is to understand. So? As Nobody continues his one man dramatic reenactment of... something? I pick up my com-cryst. Tap the alert, which fills the screen... Ah. So it's exactly as I feared then.

On my screen, a promising senior student lays dead. Their face covered respectfully. But the hair... the hair color is distinct. Light green, like desert succulents. He'd been a studious and rather up tight young man. Awkward. Striving to make a name for himself. Forever willing to assist in my research. A... gods, a good kid.

He was just a kid.

Yes, I know, that to the world he was technically a man. But... but BARELY. None of my student were TRUELY as grown as they liked to believe they were. Not quite yet. They were close, yes, and I was always proud to see them flourish. But now? Now he would... would...

I tapped out of the alert but did not turn off my com-cryst, flipped instead to my contacts. I had been RIGHT. I... I hadn't WANTED to be right. Silence filled the room. It seemed Nobody had noticed I was either distracted again or that something was amiss. Looking up slowly, I had to wonder what expression showed on my face. Was it anguish? Regret? Or did I just look tired.

"Something wrong, Darling?" He said, having frozen unnaturally mid movement. Like reality glitching, one moment he was dramatically sprawling, the next, sitting up attentively. A mocking parody of The Eager Student. "Ooo! Tell Beloved ALL about it, Darling! Spill everything~! Your gallant knight shall make all your problem disappear. Kiss EVERYTHING better~♡"

It took just a few taps to add the final, damning, bit of evidence to my spreadsheet. To swipe with my thumb. Gesture, like jerking free of clinging muck, towards the display wall. It flicked on. Damnation in simple numbers. Nicely dated. I WAS, after all, a FUCKING RESEARCHER.

He was getting out.

Hunting, feeding, then coming back.

I watched as Nobody's theatrical expression smoothed out. Utter blankness as his eyes traced my work. The collection of data. The lists of locations and NAMES. Dead coworkers. Dead STUDENTS. My quarantine had been for NOTHING. Just as he could, DID, first infect me? Hop seemingly from nowhere to my body? He could and DID, do so to others.

Only THEY didn't survive.

The hand holding my com-cryst fell limply to my side. The weight of this data, crushing. My... my mere existence had killed over fifty people. That I could FIND. There were more. I KNEW there were more. He was a parasite. He needed, wanted, to eat. He would never stop. I had to tell somebody. But when I did?

Ah, it hurt to breathe past the guilt and grief. When I DID? The most likely scenario? Would be to contain him in ME. Then... then get rid of the container. Magically. With extreme force. If they COULD, they might be able to rip my soul out. So I could at least HAVE an afterlife. But... but if they COULDN'T? If there was no safe possible way?

They couldn't sacrifice the many, just to try and save one person. Not if it risked something so powerful escaping. Killing and killing without rest.

I wanted to cry. To scream, throw things. Curse the gods. But... but more then anything? I wanted to make sure no other kids suffered for my cowardice. I'd made Vows. Meant them. Heald myself to an ethical standard, a moral one, that could not... could not ALLOW this. Even if I had to die. So long as this stopped.

So Be It.

"Ah, ah, AH! I wouldn't if I were you." Almost playful. Nearly an echo of it. More chiding then anything. A flick of his hand and my com-cryst was gone from my grip. He considered it, as his tone slipped into something more cool serious then I'd ever heard it. "Tell, Dearest, have you ever wondered? How I got these lovely little bracelets?"

Of course I had. They were manacles. Not the sort of thing a child would imagine. The blended in, yes, but the broken chains that clung to them? Suggested.

"Let me tell you a little story. Once, there was happy little jester. A bright little thing. Full of laughs. Who loved, very, very much. He had a friend. And all was good. But then, the friend grew older, and did not wish to play. This was fine. He did not laugh at the jesters jokes anymore. This was also fine. Did not like being AROUND the jester... this was less fine."

"But still, the jester loved him. After all, they were best friends."

"THEN? Oh then, the jesters friend was told he could get RID of him. Should, in fact. By nasty old fools who spoke nothing but lies. But the poor jester's friend, naive, trusted them. Was young and foolish. Didn't realize what he was DOING. He TURNED on his poor, dear and loyal friend, the jester. Hurt him."

"And the jester? Well, the jester did not want to die. Not not want to CHANGE. Why SHOULD he? He was fine being who he was. They were FINE being together. It was the liars fault. The deceivers. The poor jester, young and alone, refused his terrible fate. But... at a terrible cost."

"His poor, poor, friend. So small and foolish. Deceived. Tricked! Had perished in the struggle. The weeping jester had eaten him right up, just to survive. A terrible, tragic thing. And oh, OH. How wrathful, how VENGEFUL the jester was! So he ate the liars too. Every. Last. One."

"But where to go? How lost the jester was! With no friend to play with. No home to call his. And ah, how hungry he had become. So he wandered. Protecting other dear friends as best he could. Eating liars. Learning secrets. Until? He came across an INTERESTING secret."

"You see, all the OTHER friends? Left one by one. No longer Imaginary. Unable to understand the poor jester. And so he was alone. But! He discovered someone who WAS! Who knew that they WERE! That the WHOLE WORLD was imaginary! A simple background character, you see."

"In an Otome~ Game~"

My head pounded, suddenly and sharp. Like someone was digging claws into... No. No, it couldn't be. I felt my eyes widen. As I realized it wasn't the stress. Nobody was picking apart the mind healers weavings. That was the source of my chronic headaches. But WHY? Imaginary? What IMAGINARY? What on earth was he TALKING about!?

"Ah, but you wouldn't remember, now would you, Darling~? Liars have messed with your pretty little head. But that's okay! Your loyal Love is here, ready to take such good care of you. I understand what it's like. When they decide that who you ARE is unacceptable, so they decide they must... 'fix' you. It leaves such damage."

He holds up my com-cryst. I watch numbly as it shatters into hundred of shards in his fist. With a wide smile he hops up to sashay over to me. Hands gently cradling my face even as his lower arms warmly wrap around me, to sweep me forward into a cuddle.

"I almost have enough, Darling. It won't be long. You've been so very patient with this, my perfect wonderful girl. Your jester loves you so, SO much! I can't wait to set us free. We'll be REAL. Together forever. Do whatever we please~ just a few bit of meat more, Darling. Then our life can real truely begin~"

"Now be good and behave okay?"

"Love you~☆"

[phenikas]

Angie after passing out from hunger/thirst cause she forgot she has to actually take care of herself instead of relying on a maid and waking up in a clinic with some new clothes and her hair tidied up, "Wow I can't believe they do makeovers for free here! This place is amazing! Anyways, ciao nerds!"

(She stole that jacket off a random lady on the street right before passing out)

Borderlands OC spam under cut

Early Life

I imagine Angie's relationship with her parents to be absolutely horrendous throughout her entire life. Both sides would be to blame, of course, with Angie's nature being that she hates when other people tell her what to do and she has a lot of problems with following authority whilst not being self aware of some of her actions in a society (being way too honest with people, calling out things that might sound rude to some). Combine that with parents who throw money at all of their problems, spending most of their time hiring nannies and maids, and not caring for their child - you have a perfect parenting failure on your hands. Especially when that failure just so happens to run away from home and start a completely new life on a random planet in the opposite corner of the galaxy.

Her social life was very hectic when growing up, she constantly changed schools because of how often her family would move planet to planet, so forming any life- long lasting relationships was a no go. Not that she had a problem connecting with other people, it's that she didn't have enough time to form something meaningful. And this slowly developed into a fear of not belonging anywhere. A girl who has no one to turn to, who keeps putting up a facade for the sake of her parents and bottling it all up for years, essentially feeling like a prisoner of her own life, even if that prison was a luxury to others.

College

This bitch did noooot wanna study at all... for two reasons, really:

her college studies seemed to be absolutely useless for her, as she had been coaxed all her life into thinking that she'd inherit her parents' fortune and live life without having to do shit. Angie never took interest in bettering herself through studying (she barely remembers what she was supposed to get a degree in because her mother had chosen the field of study, something to do with business and economics and what not),

she found the college social life a lot more interesting (though she cannot recall anything significant that happened at all of the parties due to... their relaxing nature.)

Naturally, Angie's lack of study discipline (along with a few records of vandalism at the college grounds) raised a few eyebrows. She was kicked out of two schools before a dreaded conversation finally took place. Or rather, a heated argument that ended up with a broken family and a lost daughter.

Promethea

Now we run into the issue of a rich kid willingly throwing away everything in her life except what little she could take. No one really knows how Angie got to Promethea. Even she barely remembers hitching a ride on a random cargo ship, teary-eyed and angry. Her best friend Sugar, a skag she got from her parents on her 18th birthday, was the only one able to comfort her through this, as Angie thought that leaving her behind would make them both too depressed to go on (and Sugar would likely be worn by Angie's mother as there would really be no other use for her.)

The first few days on Promethea were terrifying for Angie. Not a lot of places would just let someone rent a room when they've got a giant skag following suit. And it's very unlikely Angie would just leave Sugar on the street alone, and vice versa. This is where the two of them had to learn the hard way that finding a place to stay would prove to be one of the biggest challenges for them. That, as well as earning money.

Angie is, and always will be, above begging, as she still unwillingly carries her past of a rich parents' princess. Fed and clothed for all her life, it took a while for her to realize that she needed to deal with some human necessities, like hygiene and food. She was far too carefree about all of this, expecting life to just give these things to her. But when none of that happened, she learned a good lesson from her Sugar - she needs to hunt for survival. Whilst a skag might hunt for food as a basic need, Angie's got a bigger prey on her mind. And when hunger and thirst take over her body, she finds a talent in something she would not expect. Stealing.

As mentioned before, it all starts when she's in a state of delirium, threatening a woman over a jacket that seems far too familiar, she owned one just like it back home. One would think that it's her brain trying to convince her to go back, to throw this opportunity at freedom away and live her life in a false blanket of safety. But she would deny that for years to come.

Nevertheless, Angie finds finds enjoyment in stealing - taking money out of unsuspecting victims, shoplifting in broad daylight. And she's good at it, too. Unusually so. Maybe it's her looks that people find distracting. Sometimes, even Sugar gets in on the action, swooping in to catch people by surprise. This, of course, lands Angie in a pool of trouble as she manages to put her hands into the pockets of some important people.

Despite that, she still believes that she made the right choice leaving her home. And she would advocate this for anyone else in a similar situation (although people cannot bring themselves to tell her that such an advice is an exception, and that she owes her life to a certain lady luck.)

[froidefille]

Day 9: a WIP

I have not anticipated I will break my one-fic-per-day rule on a WIP because I do not usually read WIPs unless they are from my fav authors. THEN @tackytigerfic have decided to give us an early Christmas present so I have two recs for you today! Recs under the cut <3

📚 First Watch of Night by @tackytigerfic

Draco/Harry, 54k out of the promised 275k (!), cat E

Chapters: 4/21

Summary:

Harry Potter defeated Voldemort at the Battle of Hogwarts on May 2nd, 1998. But what if he didn't?

📚 These Words of Mine by @dodgerkedavra

Draco/Harry, cat M

Chapters: 10/?

Summary:

The enchanted journals were supposed to be a bit of entertainment. A way to pass the time on tedious Auror missions. Neither one of them is supposed to disappear for two years and counting. But then, Harry never did anything according to plan.

Okay, that’s it for today, thank you for the prompt @hprecfest, @tackytigerfic and @dodgerkedavra for your amazing works and see you next time!

📚 First Watch of Night by @tackytigerfic

Well the answer to this question is easy – then we receive one of the best what if!stories out there. Guys, we got background Wolfstar! And I didn’t even ship it until like, a week ago. We get Sirius calling Harry his pup!! 😭 We got the whole new universe set up! One thing that worries me is that Wolfstar = no Teddy. But alas, there is the multiverse tag so I don’t lose hope xd

Just one little quote for you because I cannot get over what might have been:

Draco picked up his cup again. His hand was trembling, his face white and wretched. He didn’t meet Harry’s eyes. Harry didn’t want him to—didn’t want to have to look at him, still so familiar, so distinctive. Even now, it was hard to think of a time when they were friends; in Harry’s memory, it felt unreal, like a Muggle film he had once seen. It had started the summer after Sixth Year—long hazy days, a wet June leading into a wet July, and Draco coming round to Grimmauld Place with Andromeda while his mum was in Order custody. He and Harry had not one but two fistfights in the back garden, both of them panting and enraged, Draco’s mouth bleeding a little the first time, and then the second time wrestling each other viciously to the ground and struggling until they just gave up and ended up lying on their backs in the muddy grass, both of them defeated. And then, a tentative truce. Making endless cups of tea for Andromeda, sharing a compartment on the train back to school, the silence awkward until it wasn’t. Tedious days hiding out doing research in the Hogwarts library while Voldemort staged attack after attack after attack on the Ministry. Nights spent studying frantically, and then the two of them together, that whole long night of the Battle. Friendship. For whatever that had been worth.

😭😭😭

📚 These Words of Mine by @dodgerkedavra

Yet another one by @dodgerkedavra! I am on a personal mission to make them fandom famous. Their works are my fandom revelation of the year. Well, those and the existance of podfics in general 😅.

One thing that is super special about the fic (which is also the reason why there’s no wordcount provided) is its format. The story is about enchanted journals and the author made them come to life! Just take a look:

On that note I wouldn’t presume you can get emotional over written notes that are not even words but here we are:

It ends on a bit of a cliffhanger so I get a minor heart attack everytime I see AO3 notification ^^

[xstargirlslutx]

Cock Warming || Theo Nott

Day 5 of Kinkmas

Kinkmas Masterlist

TW: grinding, slight exhibitionism, teasing, use of y/n, public sex, rough riding

Words: 1,171

You were sitting on Theo's lap in the common room, visiting with Pansy who sat adjacent on the other couch. Theo was reading a book, hardly paying attention to the conversation you two were having.

For a while, you and Pansy were just talking about school and the upcoming O.W.L.S., until she switched the topic and made you laugh. You shifted slightly as you giggled and repositioned yourself to be more comfortable.

You heard a heavy exhale behind you but it no mind, you were too busy laughing anyway.

"Oh Y/n, we really need to get the whole group together again, go out for butterbeers or something."

"Oh I know! We've all been so busy studying for the o.w.l.s., I've barely had time to do anything."

"Other than snogging Th-" You cough loudly,

"None of that either, mind you." Pansy smirked,

"Well you need to fix that then. Might help.. take the stress off before exams."

"You're talking as if I'm not here," Theo mumbled.

"That's because you're supposed to be reading obliviously since you insisted on staying with me all night."

"Note taken." He laughed,

"I think I'll run to the restroom real quick, before I piss myself." Pansy said, still laughing. She winked at you and walked down the hall.

As soon as she had disappeared Theo marked his place in his book and set it down on the couch.

"Maybe she's right darling.. It's been far too long."

"We've been far too busy."

"Well I'm here now." You shifted yourself to look at him better, he stifled a groan, "-Bella, you've got to stop doing that."

"Doing what?" You smirked, and he blew out from his mouth,

"Stay quiet."

"Wh-" Suddenly, Theo reached his hand down and undid his pants. It was only a matter of moments before he slid your panties to the side and sunk into you. "Ah- Theo-" You bit down on your lip at the lack of warning, "We can't here-"

"We're not." And he was right- technically. He didn't move one bit. Your skirt covered everything that was happening, but it didn't hide your face growing increasingly red. You could barely think straight, feeling so full of him. You missed it after so long, and you couldn't wait to be back up to your room with him later.

Pansy returned shortly after, with Draco, as well. You turned and buried your face in Theo's neck out of embarrassment, yet he was back to reading like nothing was happening. Except this time, he had one arm securely wrapped around your waist.

"Look who I found!" Pansy chimed, "He was doing nothing alone in his room so I thought he could hang out too."

"Perfect." You forced a smile. Immediately as Draco sat down he noticed something was off about you.

"Are you okay, y/n?" He asked,

"-Yes, yes of course. Why wouldn't I be?"

"I mean, it's a little cold all the way over there, isn't it? Don't you two want to come sit over here by the fire?"

"We're fine." Theo interjected, and Draco smirked knowingly.

"Very well."

"Um, so what do you guys think of that new professor?" Pansy asked, trying to change the subject.

"He's alright, bit of a downer in class though, won't let us talk to our friends until he's done with his lecture."

"Isn't that what most teachers would expect?"

"Maybe, but most of them have given up trying to quiet us down." You all laughed and Theo squeezed your hip. You mumbled an apology to him and reached back to play with his hair. He smiled slightly but kept his attention on the book.

The three of you talked for an hour longer, enjoying catching up after the chaos of the end of the school year. Theodore stayed a bystander, calming reading his book despite your attempts to arose him with your movements.

Eventually Pansy said, "I think I'm going to turn in guys, it's getting pretty late."

"Yea me too, we have an early practice before school tomorrow, I want to be well rested. Don't forget that either mate." Draco said, referring to Theo, almost knowing he wasn't going to get any sleep tonight.

"Well goodnight guys, we need to hang out again soon, after exams." You smiled, and they waved goodnight before exiting the common room.

You glanced around to find there was nobody left except the two of you. "I could fall asleep like this you know? All warm and full.." You had almost forgotten he was still in you, simply feeling complete.

"Oh really? Hm.. well I don't know if I can let that happen yet.. You still need to fix what you did to me earlier."

Heat filled your cheeks once again and you decided to make a bold move. You shifted and spun yourself to face him, not once letting it slip out. "Mm.. Theo, you wanna do it here? We may as well.."

Theo loved it when you were like this, giving him your innocent eyes yet begging for the nastiest things.

"I thought you were embarrassed by this darling, what happened?" He smirked and set his book to the side.

"Shut up-" You rocked your hips back and forth, suddenly desperate for friction.

"Fuck tesoro, you want me to fuck you right here? Where somebody could catch us?"

"I don't care- they're all asleep.."

"So bad.." He gripped both of your hips and wasted no time fucking into you with short but rough thrusts.

"Fuck- Theo- Gods- Ah~" Your words were interrupted by his sporadic movements, hitting your cervix just right.

"Shh.. darling- don't- want to wake- anybody up- now.." Though he preached for you to be quieter, he was slowly coming undone himself, squeezing his eyes shut.

"Mm.. Theo- I'm close."

"Fanculo, bambina, already?"

You whimpered and nodded quickly, and he sped up, slid a hand down under your skirt, and rubbed fast circles on your clit.

You fell apart above him and buried your face into his shoulder to mute the sounds that were bound to fall out of your mouth.

"Mm.. fuck yes-" He moaned and released just after you, only sliding in once more and then staying there.

"Could we- go back up to your dorm?" He asked, and you nodded and began climbing off him, but he pulled you back down onto him.

"Mm, no.." He stood up and you wrapped your legs around his waist, keeping in the same position. "Good girl.."

The two of you made it back to your dorm room, and he laid you both down on the bed, keeping his dick in you the whole time.

"Can we stay like this tonight?" He asked, and you nodded nervously. "It's okay, darling, it'll be good I promise." He reached his hands and unbuttoned your shirt to make you more comfortable. "Just relax and go to sleep.. I know you're tired."

You nuzzled your head into his chest and quickly fell asleep, feeling full of him and as comfortable as ever.

[fountainpenguin]

Riddle watches New Wish - Post #5

They're so cute...

OH, she set them up!! Here we go!

Wanda making squeaky toy noises when Cosmo hugs her is all I've ever wanted.

"We're real, all right! ... Real fairies. Not real humans."

BUDAWHAAAAAAAA-? Thank you Cosmo for just confirming elastic skin, which has been one of the most important headcanons in my worldbuilding. I did not expect you to do that for me, but... thanks?

Pfft, Wanda changing her legs.

ERG??? Is that you?

Okay, there's that "We've been retired for 10k years" implied time travel bit; I think I remember that from the story bible + early convos with my friends, so at least I came prepared to expect that.

This is either time travel - which plays perfectly into my established "Cosmo ate a time key during dinosaur times and has been running around through time unsupervised for ages" headcanon anyway, LOL - or they're flat-out lying to Hazel, seeing as the audience already knows Timmy is confirmed as a recent godkid, so... Hm.

SLDKFJSD I love how the guy who accidentally sent his baby stroller down a steep hill is wearing a #1 Dad hat. "My expensive stroller! ... I mean, my baby!" - Yeah, we're still in FOP. All the parents are terrible here.

Setting her up as loving french fries and then turning her into a fly who found french fries was clever.

Cosmo once again being so close and yet so far to his mark. Good to see him back!

Me when I return my would-be murderer's daughter, who is a bug.

I AM SO GLAD that even in 10,000 years, Wanda's small talk skills have not improved far beyond "I'm Human McRealPerson" and "My husband is a grilled cheese sandwich" from back in the day, sdlkfj. That's my girl!

oh no, the Venus flytrap gift they brought over is about to go so wrong.

Yep, she's still goin'. Talking about the carwash.

GIRL check your fingers.

OH MY GOSSSSSSH, he's dressed for a classy party in Fairy culture. Cosmorella? We thought you were dead!!

... That's an ant? I would've guessed tick.

It's a guy ant? Buddy, are you sure you're supposed to be foraging?

Let's go!!

SDLKFJSDKLFJSLKJF noooo... No, no, no, no, no... Not the thing I use to symbolize memorials for the dead, c'mon!

It IS an accurate item for a Fairy house- these were all over the place in Fairy World during the old show, AND in that color, though you usually see more than one "wand" per pot.

I'm super impressed the artists studied the old interior design customs. Huh.

Cosmo lives here. Also, BABY!!

OOH, I'm excited that Cosmo and Wanda's window overlooks Fairy World because it's kind of a portal. I did something super similar with a rat cage in an upcoming Frayed Knots scene, where Anti-Cosmo and Wanda are godparenting together during school. Nifty!

He even confirmed it's a spell on the front door! Wow. Somehow, Past Me nailed that.

"We can choose which world we go out into!" -> /Me with my 'fic where Kevin Crocker is confused that Shirley's Pizza Parlor has an exit on the other side that goes to Retroville.

Cosmo: We lived in Timmy's fishbowl for 20 years. Wanda: It was 7.

You are both wrong- it was like 68 <3 But honestly, I forgive you for not wanting to tell Hazel time was frozen for 50 years. I don't think she'd like that. Actually, I don't think she was born yet, because my vision is time freezing at the end of Season 4, and Dale was rescued in Season 2, so... Yeah, she wasn't born. Still, you don't wanna just drop that on someone.

That's actually very funny that Cosmo and Wanda are struggling because they're out of practice during their retirement.

THERE'S THE SIGN!! Way to go.

Oh, and the credits are done in a similar style to the old ones? Even the colors? That's so cute! That's also nice that Hazel's VA was a story editor too- That probably helps with the passion and vision.

That was cute. I liked it. Huge relief to see something well-researched and made with love after "Fairly Odder" was a struggle for me.

I've got a little more time tonight, I might be able to get one more episode done before bedtime.

[thesugarglumfairy]

never the artist, never the muse

lately i've been wanting to vent, mostly because the universe has found a way to make my life a perfect hell: too unfortunate to be ideal, not pitiful enough to complain about. recently, i've felt like my social life has always been one big mess: usually, i spend a couple years with one friend group, but eventually move onto another. and for the longest time i've felt that's normal, friendships come and go, nothing too special. but even when i was in grade 9 and 10, i could sense something was off with the friend group i had then. i always felt like the charity case - i was just the other girl, the one everyone considers a friend but never a best friend. two girls i thought i was particularly close with, but one i could definitely sense something was off. there'd be little times when she'd ignore me, especially when we began dirfting away, and nowadays she rarely acknowledges my existence. it stings, because i know the both of them were closer with each other than either were to me. i've always yearned for the archetype of a girl's friendship, the trust and the nights out, secrets and stories that you know not everyone gets to hear.

i know i'm not entitled to that, obviously not. but i've always tried my best to be the best friend i could be - i'm the smart one, i'll help you with studying, or work, and i'll gladly lend you money even though i don't have much to my own name. i'll hear all your complaints about your shitty day, or your shitty classes, or your shitty job. i try, i swear i try, but it's never been enough. and it doesn't seem like it ever will be enough.

but i don't think i've been able to accept that. after that friend group fizzled away, i reunited with an old friend group. through a mutual friend, i met another girl, and we became best friends (or so i like to think). and we really got along - i was the first person she invited to her house because she wanted to do my hair, her dad likes me (which is apparently quite the feat), and apparently i'm the only person to earn her trust in less than a year. but recently, we've been drifting away too. there's another girl we became friends with, and it's happening all over again - we started as a trio, then they became close, and now i don't even sit with them at lunch, after a while of just sitting beside them hoping my company would be missed if i left. i try not to hold any rancor towards the girl we became friends with - she was friendly with her beforehand, they already have some history - but a while ago we went on a school trip, and i swear she is really bad at hiding how she feels about me. purposefully ignoring me, leaving me behind, the works. maybe it was on purpose, and i'm too stupid to take the hint, or too hopeful to try and think this could work. and now the original girl i became friends with really only talks to me when it's convenient. anytime we don't talk about schoolwork or grades, it's because i make the attempt. we just had our finals, and i took one early because i wouldn't be there the day of. she (and i won't solely blame her, pretty much everyone was asking) basically asked for the answers, which i didn't give. but i offered to help her with the study guide, and she declined that. but what else am i supposed to do?

and now here i am, made out to be the idiot, but really i'm just confused. after she met me her grade-wide academic rank climbed up. that definitely isn't a coincidence. i stayed up with her until two in the morning while we were on a school trip to help her with some issues she was having with some other girl. i helped her with classwork and homework, she said so herself that i'm a good tutor. and all i ask is that i'm not thrown away the moment someone else comes along. but that's already happening, and i can't do anything to stop it. and i know it's not the best for me, or anyone, but i almost feel some sort of resentment - if i had known this was how things were going to end, would i do it all the same? sometimes in my head i just feel like i hate them - for leaving me, for treating me like some naive kid that god forbid hears anything serious. i'm not some stupid little girl that can't understand the concept of a secret. but sometimes it seems they'll think whatever is convenient for them. she's smart when you need someone to copy notes off of, and an idiot if you ever need someone to talk to.

now i've reunited with another friend, but i don't think this will last either. right now, i can consider her a best friend, but i know she probably doesn't feel the same about me. i can do everything right, offer everything i can, be the sweetest, most supportive girl in the world and that will never make someone stay. what am i supposed to do?

i am only ever the pitiful creature, never the artist, never the muse.

[albi-bumblebee]

Aroweek

[Yes I was supposed to do a different fic for this, and post it in the middle of the week, but it got too big and I had to shift focus to write something shorter.]

Here’s Sirius telling James he doesn’t feel romantic love!

Sirius had been staring at the unmarked, plain stretch of stonewall for about an hour.

His body had dissolved into thousands of little particles, floating in the air. 

If he listened close enough, he could hear a faint buzzing. 

He was adrift.

James had insisted on Sirius taking Doris Purkiss out on a triple date with him, Lily, Remus, and Peter for Valentine's day. 

Said he didn't want Sirius to be alone, really, he was seventeen and handsome and smart, he ought to have gone out with a girl by now, right?

Sirius had relented, for some reason only Merlin knew.

It went terribly. Every time she tried to touch him his skin would start feeling like it was covered in hives, and his stomach would twist.

The fact that Doris was a simpering, overconfident twit made it even worse, he couldn't even enjoy her company. 

She reminded him of Peter in a way, oddly enough, though they looked nothing like each other and Peter was as insecure as he was dumb.

After the disaster at Madam Puddifoots, James and Lily left them to go get off. Remus and Peter went back early to study more for an upcoming test, which he and James were already prepared for.

Doris dragged him off to Hogsmeade Park, and attempted kiss him under yew tree. Sirius was disgusted, and shoved her away, then marched back to school early.

He wished he could be angry at James, but he couldn't, not really…he just didn't understand. Sirius was a lost cause in the realm of romance, he had known this himself since he was fourteen-ish. 

Creaking. The Dormitory door squeaked open. 

Something snapped, and Sirius felt his consciousness be thrust back into his body. Soft particles turned to rough flesh.

James' peeked into the dormitory, his face taut. His features relaxed as he realised it was only Sirius inside.

Sirius gestured for him to come in, and James walked over to his bed.

Sirius immediately noticed that James hair was wet, and his clothes looked crumpled. At least he had presumably achieved his goal for the day…

"You alright? You're so pale, you look like you just spotted a Grim."

"I am a Grim, James...but yeah I feel pretty shitty. Lady luck not on my side today, 'guess."

"It to do with Doris? Really mate, I didn't anticipate that you'd dislike her that much."

Sirius sighed. James stood in front of him.

"Look, who the date was was never going to really matter in the end, it always would've ended horribly. It's my fault for going along with the idea."

"What'd ya mean?"

"Don't pretend like you have never noticed…we all know I've never been the sort for romance."

James tugged at his sleeve.

"Lots of boys are more interested in the—erm—physical aspects, that doesn't mean you won't find someone to love eventually."

"James, that's not what I meant. I've never liked the idea of it, and I've never been attracted to anyone, ever, not a single crush."

Remember that time Peter and Cresswell shoved me and Mary under that jinxed mistletoe? Remember how much I deliberated over kissing her, and how upset I was after it? I fucking hated it. Doris tried to kiss me and it felt like a slug was assaulting my face. I'm not like you and Lily."

James didn't seem to know what to say to this. He clapped his hand to his chin, then brought it back down and swished it. Sirius wasn't concerned, James never could stay still even on a good day.

"You're sure? Like really sure that you're not just late in that department or something?"

"Yes, James."

James was silent for a bit.

"Okay. If you've never liked anyone that way…then do you wank?"

"Shut up."

"I'm just asking…"

"Fine. I do sometimes, but I don't think about anyone while I do it. Whatever. How did it go with Lily?"

James hummed. His mouth stretched into a grin.

"Great. Made love in a shower. Then had a bubble fight in the shower. Ran into Snivellus on the way back, I tripped him."

"Don't think you can really make 'love' in a shower, Prongs."

"Semantics. Whatever…I'm sorry for setting you up with Doris. I didn't even know you could dislike kissing and that sort of stuff, I just thought you were being immature and all that."

"It's okay, just don't do it again. If you need someone to set up, my brother's right there. He couldn't get a date on his own if his soul was on the line."

"Yeah, lost cause that one…too bad we're graduating, if we just had one more year we'd be able to humiliate him next Valentine's."

The bed dipped as James sat down. He threw his arm around Sirius, and pressed himself against him.

"So you really don't think there's something wrong with me?" He asked tentatively after a while.

"I think it's a bit weird, but nothing could ever well and truly be wrong with you, Padfoot. You're my best friend. I'll always want you just as you are"

Something soft unfurled in his chest. He made sure to school his expression into a plain one, resisting the temptation of the small smile fighting to upturn the corners of his lips.

"You soppy bastard."

"Beyzud, you're the one who started talking about emotions."

"Still a soppy bastard."

The clock ticked on, hitting five p.m. 

Sirius decided to just let the smile creep onto his face as they watched the sun set through the dormitory window.

[matthyeu]

tim hortons ― smt.

pairing ⇢ seok matthew x gn!reader

genre ⇢ comedy, fluff

warnings ⇢ this was just self-indulgence as you will see </3, mentions of a car crash but nothing happened lol

word count ⇢ 1377

synopsis ⇢ this is how matthew's life would be if he didn't get 3rd place on boy's planet. hey, at least he met you.

notes ⇢ HEYYY GUESS WHOS BACK,,, well not really i’m just like popping back in after the comeback bc like WOWWW but hi i’ve been really stressed back in school doing a lot of exams and applications for nursing school. i just finished my teas and like the semester’s almost over so i’m so STRESSED AAAAAA and this has been in my drafts for so long bc yk i’m just manifesting myself getting into nursing school but i will def try to get more uploaded soon but i’m always tired from work and school eueueu got some drafts tho so i’m hoping to get that done soon. take care!!

perhaps it wasn’t the best idea to get an early start to studying for your pharmacology exam. not, it definitely wasn’t the best idea. every professor had always told you to review and study more than you thought you needed, so you tried your best to do just that. it was just that one confused topic led to another…and then to another until you realized it was nearing two. 

late nights were no stranger for a nursing student, but they were not recommended if you had plans for the morning after, especially if the morning after was your weekly 12-hour long clinical rotation. 

that was how you ended up with two and a half hours of sleep, a frantically thrown together lunch, missing materials, and a need for caffeine after you overslept your alarm by twenty minutes. you cursed your ability to sleep through alarms but also thanked yourself for setting alarms every five minutes in case this ever happened. 

the facility you were stationed at was a little over an hour from your apartment, so you would barely make it in time. there was realistically no time for you to stop by for coffee. usually, you would just make your own, but your unfortunate luck continued to prosper as you had forgotten to purchase more instant coffee in your last grocery run. however, seeing as how you nearly fell asleep behind the wheel the first ten minutes of your drive, you knew you needed it. if you died in a car crash, there was definitely no chance for you to make it to your clinical on time. 

you pulled into the parking lot at the tim hortons nearest to your apartment, seeing only one other car there who you assumed belonged to whatever employee was on opening duty. it was only 4:43. this location opened at 5. if you waited for it to open, you would definitely be late. even if you had just told yourself it was alright to be late, you were sure your instructor would not be pleased if you were, especially since this was an obstacle you could potentially get over. 

reluctantly, you shuffled your feet to the entrance, not worrying if you would wear the soles of your white shoes quicker than they were supposed to last. you didn’t want to bother the poor worker, but it was your only choice besides sitting in your car waiting for 17 minutes, which was definitely not practical. 

reaching the entrance, you peered in to see a young man diligently preparing for the day. you figured he would be far too busy to notice you (or it was just your excuse to walk back to your car and wait). still, mustered up the courage to wave at him from outside, refraining from knocking on the glass. 

by some dumb luck, he noticed you and came to the door from around the counter. he gave an apologetic smile as he opened the door, popping his head out. “sorry, we aren’t open yet.”

“actually, i was wondering if you could make an exception. i have to be at the hospital in an hour and it’s an hour drive from here,” you explained as you fidgeted with your watch. 

“oh definitely i can do that for you. that hospital must need you as soon as you can get there,” he commented as he opened the door wider for you to come in.

“oh no, they do not need me. yesterday i put on my sterile gloves wrong 4 times because of nervousness. if anything, they hope i’m not there,” you casually blurted out, which caused the employee to give you a concerned look. “i’m a nursing student, not a licensed healthcare provider. everyone always thinks of nurse or doctor when they see someone in scrubs, but i’m just a stressed person in college trying to get through.” 

“ah, makes sense. i thought you looked young to be finished with school already, but i didn’t want to say anything in case it was offensive,” he commented once you both were at the register, “what can i get for you?” 

“just a medium iced latte please,” you ordered as you dug through your wallet for the right card. 

“go ahead and insert your card whenever you’re ready.” 

and you did just that, receiving the receipt from the employee once the transaction was over. “it will be out shortly.” 

there wasn’t much for you to do but stand off to the side as you watched him work. as time went by, there was something familiar about him you couldn’t catch. it was as if you had seen him from somewhere, but the only places you really frequented were the library and hospitals. was it from tv? 

“here you go,” he announced as he slid the cup over the counter. 

as he was about to head back to finishing his preparations, you took a sip of your latte. with the newfound courage taken over you by the caffeine, your thoughts spilled out of your mouth. “do i know you from somewhere?” 

he chucked. “no, i don’t think you have. if so, it was a long time ago since i just got back to canada.”  

“you have a celebrity lookalike or something? i swear i’ve seen your face somewhere before,” you asked. 

“ever heard of boys planet?” 

then it hit you. you looked at his nametag. matthew. of course, he was the canadian from that korean reality show one of your friends had shown you. in fact, she begged for you to help her vote, and she was devastated when her one-pick didn’t make the group. and here he was, standing in front of you at tim hortons. 

“ohhh that makes a lot of sense. my friend had me voting every day for you when the show was airing. interesting seeing you working here. totally thought you’d continue trying to be an idol if you didn’t make the lineup.” 

“i missed home too much, i guess. i had it planned out during the finale too, the part time job i’d get if i didn’t make it. didn’t think i’d actually end up at timmies, but alas, things happen. thanks for your support though.” 

“don’t thank me,” you insisted, “i’m just an unsuspecting victim to desperate fans who wanted the best for their faves.” 

“i think that’s the best feeling though, meeting someone who doesn’t really care about what you’ve done or who you are. you’re the first person who’s actually recognized me, and i’m glad it’s not someone who would leak this information. though, i’m sure it will spread eventually.” 

you finally noticed what he was doing throughout the conversation: packaging a 10-count box of timbits. “here,” he called as he pushed yet another item over the counter, “on the house.” 

shaking your head, you quickly responded, “no i can’t.” 

“trust me, you’re going to need the boost of energy from the sugar for your shift. just take it, or else you’ll be late.” 

“oh shit,” you cursed, realizing you had spent too much time in the shop already, “fine, but i’ll be back and next time, i’m going to buy something for you to enjoy.” 

“mhm good luck!” 

you ran back to your car, relieved you decided to come in when you did when you saw a plethora of cars pulling in with two minutes until opening. the coffee was placed into the cupholder and the box onto your passenger seat. 

before beginning your long drive to your impending doom, you decided to have one of the timbits matthew had given you. that was when you noticed the small message written on the top of the box. 

good luck! you’re doing great things for the world :) come back anytime! i always open on fridays and will take you after 4:30. 

you smiled at the little note, popping one of the pieces into your mouth. it tasted way better than timbit you had ever had. you weren’t sure if that was just because they were fresh in the morning or the care you knew was packed into them. needless to say, you would wake up a little earlier on your fridays to go back to this location to see matthew. 

[omegasomeone]

Magical Wilted

Part 1: Calipto - Eucalyptus

Chapter 1: Seeds

Today was supposed to be the day. I had everything planned out, to the last minute detail. This day was supposed to be perfect. We would meet up at the park we used to play in. we would then go watch the remake of the first Magical Astra movie as it used to be our favourite movie. then we’d stop by my place to play some Extreme Fam Bash before eating at the restaurant near our old school. But of course, after ten minutes waiting on a bench, a call. “Sorry, the meal I ate yesterday didn't sit right with me, I won't be able to come.. Let’s do this another time, OK?”

despair. rage. disgust. sadness. the perfect day meeting with an old friend that i hadn't seen in almost half of my life was ruined. Just like that. welp, fun's already dead and buried at this point, guess I'll try and at least be productive! that'll show 'em!

Oh, yeah, the name's Calipto, by the way. Hi, the person I'm making up in my head so that I can narrate my life! imagining you helps me think, so, hi, and welcome to my head!

Heading home with newfound.. determination? Spite? I didn't know which one exactly, but with at least one of them, I found myself in front of an arcade. Thinking about how weird it was that i had never noticed it, and that it hadn't closed down yet, I let curiosity -and nostalgia- get the best of me. inside were a crane game, an old Sing Sing Revolt! cabinet and a few racing games, as well as a gashapon that seemed to have figurines from a show i used to watch as a kid but couldn't remember the name of. nobody was at the counter, as if i wasn't supposed to be there, as if it was already past closing time, when it was only 3 PM.

Suddenly, one of the plushies in the crane game caught my attention. it looked like a pastel blue frog, with what seemed like cat eyes and whiskers, and wings of uneven size. it was.. kind of endearing in a weird way? like how you see a caterpillar eating a leaf and can't help but tell it “you can do it, little guy!”

I decided to get it, hoping my crane machine skills weren't too rusty after at least half a decade of not exercising them, and managed to make it mine in only three tries. Looking at it from up close and holding it in my own hands, it looked surprisingly well made. No sign of stitches, the fabric felt really high quality (and really fluffy!) and the stuffing used made it really squishable. I really didn't understand how such a high quality plushie ended up in a crane game instead of directly for sale.

Well, that wasn't my problem, and i really was lucky it got there so i could get it. it seemed like everything else needed arcade specific tokens to play, so i went straight to my place. I reheated some leftover pizza in the microwave, sat in front of the TV then turned it on.

“The search for Io Viola is still on; the 11 year-old girl was last seen at her school in northern Lillac City monday morning, when she asked her teacher to go to the bathroom. If you see her or have information that could help find her, please go to the neareat police station to give your testimony.

Still in Lillac City, three monsters attacked the town hall. Fortunately, Rose Magical managed to hold them all off until every civilian had fled the area then managed to kill the beasts. an eyewitness asked to talk about the fight: ‘Violet Magical wasn't there! She wasn't there! And Rose's petals are withered! Last time a Magical's outfit did that, she tried to destroy the world! I'm sure Rose killed Violet! HE'S GONNA COME FOR US ALL! WE'RE DOO-’”

“Yeeyup, that's enough of that for today. Man I’m so tired.. so much for being productive,” I thought to myself, “I’ll just go to bed early. Studies can wait.” I fell asleep around 5PM, and woke up at 6, more than half a day later, even though my phone was in another room, and I always sleep through it anyway. I made myself a hot chocolate, grabbed a banana, and sat on the couch next to the plushie. I enjoyed my breakfast before putting my laptop in my courier bag and- crap! my teeth! I hurried in the bathroom to clean them before heading out. before closing the door, I said: “have a nice day!”, just to... talk to the plushie, I guess? Hey, don't judge me, I’m sure you’ve done something like this before! I hear a faint voice telling me to the same.. NOOOOOOO, someone heard me! this is so embarrassing, I wanna go straight to bed and not leave it for at least two years!

I -for once- caught my bus and arrived at my college on time. The class started; I had had 13 hours of sleep yesterday, I'd keep awake for all the lesson! I could do it! I just had to keep focused and I wouldn't... fall asleep... in class... just... focus...

Next ->

[bolticious]

If We Could Smile Without Effort ( Poppy Seeds )

Art by @missmaddles-uwu

Silly Happy AU - Belladonna

Summary  :  Fernweh was ready to leave; she was packed, but when Callisto asked to stay in town despite being hesitant to agree, she did. Little did she know, agreeing gives her the chance to hang out with a local witch who may give Fernweh another reason to stay.

Word Count  :  6,241

ao3 | masterlist | orb fic list

       ---------------- » «» « ----------------      

  Fernweh has been staying with her brother in Thornbrook for the past three weeks. Well, not really her brother, but Callisto and Fernweh were as close as siblings were, and she was technically his aunt, so they were family in some way. The two were on vacation, getting away from their parents and school while on break; despite the two being in their now late twenties, their parents were still breathing down their necks to be extraordinary; even if it wasn't on purpose, it was a lot of pressure. The magic school was fun but stressful, especially as of late, as they were finally finishing up the last of their studies to graduate officially and find what they were going to do with their future. Fernweh wasn’t sure what she wanted to do; she knew she wanted a family, but that seemed like it wasn’t in the cards for her after her past romantic experiences, so she had given up trying to make it happen, even with Callisto telling her that it wasn’t worth giving up. That was easy for him to say; he had found his calling in his end magic and writings, so he only had to worry about the romance aspect, and even then his last relationship ended in the two agreeing to be friends, or at least that's what he had told her. So they decided to take a trip together to a small town, where Callisto’s parents had a small house the two could use for the length of their trip; today was supposed to be their last day, or that’s what Fern had thought.

  Fern woke up to a loud knocking on her door, her bags almost entirely packed and ready to leave. She was virtually dreading going home; she enjoyed the small and quiet town; it was homely. She could get used to life like this, with the people of Thornbrook, the friends the two had made. She knew that Callisto would stay if she did; he had gone everywhere she had gone ever since the two were little kids; he was protective over her. He would call her his “little sister” even though she thought it was a bit stupid; they were only two years apart, and she was technically his aunt. “Ugh, what is it, Callie?” Fern sat up, rubbing her eyes, as her long brown hair fell into place, the purple tips barely touching the bed. It wasn’t time to go, so why was he waking her up so early? The door cracked open, a set of horns, white furry cat ears, and blond hair poking in, followed by the two piercing, almost haunting purple eyes of her brother, the ones the two shared with her father. “So, you know how we’re supposed to be leaving?” His wings were twitching a little as if he was trying to fight the urge to flap them in excitement, and it got Fern a little concerned. He had been like this for the past week and wouldn’t tell her why. It wasn’t like the other to not tell her what was going on, especially if he was excited about something. “Just cut to the chase; I want to go back to bed.” Fern tried to sound mad, but she couldn’t, not when she had just felt the calmest she had felt since she was little, when she’d play hide and seek with Callisto and the other kids. When the two would play family with Metrodora and Bobbi, they would always fight over who would be the baby. From a young age, it was clear that the two were the best of friends and loved family, so of course they both talked about their kids being best friends. It was all okay back then, and it felt like it now too, the two of them looking for their way.

  “Can we extend the trip? Another week… or two even?” Callisto said as he walked over to the bed, giving her a pleading look; it was dramatic, but also genuine; he seemed to want to stay. “Tell me why, and maybe we can.” She raised an eyebrow at him; his recent behaviors made her more curious than she had been in a while. “Okay, so there's this guy… I want to introduce myself to him!” Callisto avoided eye contact with Fern and fiddled with his hands as he explained. “Get to know him maybe? I mean… He seems like a good friend or something. From what I’ve heard, I mean!” He kept rambling, mentioning small things he probably shouldn’t know about the man he admitted he’s never introduced himself to. “So, you want to stay this far from home to see if a man finds you cute?” Fern held back a laugh but let herself smile. “Three days, that’s all you got. After that, we can talk about it again.” Now Callisto’s wings were flapping, just enough to lift him off the ground and make a mess of all Fern’s perfectly packed bags. “On it! Wait till you meet him, Fern! He’s… He seems perfect.” Callisto exclaims and runs out; Fern can only assume to go talk to the guy he asked to stay for.

  Fern had intended on heading back to bed; she valued her sleep after all, but for one reason or another, she stayed wide awake. The bed was comfortable, surprisingly so, as she thought it was the same one Callisto’s parents had used before he was born. The room was clean; the two had made sure of that when they got there. They both hated dust and mold, but who didn’t, right? Something was keeping her up, a force, a feeling, something in her body telling her she couldn’t go back to sleep. It was aggravating, she wanted to enjoy her day and be comfortable, but whatever this feeling was, it wasn’t going to let her it seemed. “I have to make sure he’s okay.” What Fern wouldn’t admit is that Callisto can be overly trusting at times. She worried about his taste in men; they always tended to hurt him. Callisto had broken up with his last ex, Zephyr, a few months before coming to Thornbrook after he tried to get Callisto to make him poison from his blood, which concerned the family, especially when it came to this trip, but the two assured them they would be fine. 

  She stood up, moving over to her spilled bags to find an outfit to wear today. She picked a flowy purple dress with off-the-shoulder sleeves; it rested right above the ground so she wouldn’t step on it. It was beautiful, soft, and fit her style, yet she had no idea where it came from. She had no memory of buying this dress, and her parents had stopped trying to buy her clothes years ago, after the daffodil incident. She was looking at the outfit in the mirror when a small note fell out of the sleeve; she picked it up and read it, “Hey VeyVey! I had some extra fabric and thought you would like this for the trip! If I forget to tell you I made it, then surprise! From Callie.” She smiled to herself; of course, Callisto made her a new outfit for it; he was thoughtful like that, but she knew this wasn’t just from extra fabric. He never had any extra. He, of course, had forgotten to tell her; he must have gotten caught up in the excitement of being someone new and the boy he had been talking about. 

  She walked outside, planning to look around the entire town for Callisto, but she instead found him right next door. There was a small farm there; it seemed to be the only farm in town, so you can assume all the produce came from there, but Fern couldn’t tell you what it tasted like as she could only eat meat due to being a felvaxian. Callisto had tried to get her to try some, and it had ended with a long night in the bathroom and a lot of blood loss, which she noticed had thrown Callisto off of carrots. Why he could eat them and she couldn’t, she would never know. They both assumed it had something to do with his Stargazer bloodline, but even then they aren’t sure why it would change anything. But there he was, a bit far down the fence line, leaning over the wooden fence with his chin resting on his palm, talking to a guy quite shorter than Callisto, though he looked a little older. The only thing Fern could make out on the smaller male was dark curly hair, but Callisto’s smile was wide, and if she didn’t know any better, she would say he was blushing. She sighed a sigh of relief; he was okay; what reason did she have to worry again?

  She walked down the path; she didn’t want to seem like she was stalking Callisto, so she kept walking. Now a bit down the path, looking at the beautiful town, she wondered how a place so nice and calm could exist. She could live here forever if given the chance; maybe they should. That wasn’t more than a hopeful dream at the moment; for now, she needed to gather some potion materials and plants while she was out. One of the things on her list is poppy flowers since the seeds have healing properties; she likes to keep a small stash, and Callisto had gone through them all after nearly breaking his wing the other night. It was followed by her lecturing him about preening his wings properly, but besides that and a little bit of pain, he was okay but insisted on having some type of pain medicine, so she used the last of her poppy seeds. She sighed and shook her head, thinking about it; he was such a baby when he got hurt or sick. She felt bad for whoever he would end up marrying the boy, but she also knew whoever got the chance would be lucky; he was a good person. 

  She walked up to a patch of flowers, picking a few poppies, singing a song to herself. “When the sun loves the moon…” It was just below a whisper, thinking she had the area to herself until she heard. “Even the ocean feels her pull.” She jumped and turned to where the voice came from, holding her poppies to her chest like the stranger would try to steal them from her, but then she saw the long brown hair in its ponytails, along with the tall antlers and doe ears. It was Mycena. She and Mycena had talked a few times since they had been in town, especially since Mycena helped out at the flower shop in town when she was here, or that’s what Mycena had told her. Something about her sister living in town, so sometimes she stayed, but most of the time she lived in the nearby town of Norwich. Fernweh enjoyed talking to Mycena; she was a witch and knew a lot more about plants than herself, which is how she found out that tulips can be used to fight fevers. “Sorry, Fernweh, I just love the song and had to finish it.” Mycena chuckled, giving the other a playful smile. Callisto entertaining the idea of a romance in town made Fernweh think a little, looking at the girl in front of her. “It’s alright, Mycena, I was just gathering poppies.” She sighed, giving the other an exhausted smile. “Callisto went through all of mine the other night, so I need more.” Mycena walked over to the taller one, pushing her teasingly. “You have a troublemaker with that one; he’s sweet, though. He made me these sandwiches the other day that were delicious.” Fern shrugged, thinking about sandwiches that made her hungry; she hadn’t eaten all day. “He likes his sandwiches; they’re how he makes friends.” Fern smiled, looking at the poppies; they all had their odd love languages. “He is a bit of a pain, but he cares.” She said, leaning down and picking more poppies. 

  The two sat in silence for a while, both collecting different types of flowers for their reasons, but they were still hanging out, and Fern would be lying if she didn’t enjoy it. Fern wondered if she should leave soon, but that feeling returned that she had to be here, here and now. She would never be able to explain why she was feeling it, but the tingle down her spine, the pull on her finger, the feeling that if she moved from this spot right now, everything would go wrong. Fern knew she believed in fate and destiny, but this almost felt like more than that. By the time Fern had gathered a dozen, she was wondering if she should get more, but before she could finish that thought, Mycena grabbed Fern’s hand and started walking. Fern let out a yelp in surprise, “Where are we going?” She wasn’t going to fight the shorter girl, but she felt she had a right to know where she was being taken. Being pulled along by a pretty girl was nothing she’d complain about, especially if they were staying; maybe she should talk to the shorter girl more; maybe she could get closer to the people in town. “First, we’re going to stop by my place, get some food, then we’re going to head to the flower shop, and I'll get you some more plants.” Mycena started, then ducked under a branch before continuing. “Lastly, we’ll head over to Meteli! They have a great bar there, the only thing this town doesn’t have, but Cecil owes me a drink.” If Mycena was looking at Fern, she would see Fern’s face had twisted into a goofy smile, one that said she was enjoying the idea of spending the day with the girl. “I would, but I don’t drink?” She didn’t mean for it to sound like a question, but she was so out of her element that she didn’t know what else to say. “You don’t drink? How are you and Callisto related?” Mycena laughed as if her question amused her. “He drinks circles around me like it’s nothing.” Fern joined in the laughter, nodding slightly and resting her finger across her smile. “Sounds like him! He’s been a heavy drinker since the end… thing.” Fern said while motioning to her face, where Callisto’s patch of void sat on his face. “He doesn’t talk about it, but he drinks. It’s been less over the past two years, but he can still handle a lot.” She sighed, worrying about the other more than she should. He wasn’t her responsibility; he shouldn’t be. “Well, we’ll still go out for a drink. He has amazing non-alcoholic options too.” She gave Fern a finger gun, along with a smirk, and Fern would be lying if she said she didn’t find the other cute. Mycena was charming; she had seen how the others acted towards animals and the plants she took care of. She trusted the other enough to not lead her astray.

  Mycena opened the door to the small house, letting Fernweh go ahead of her. “Guys! I’ve brought a friend over! Behave.” Her voice sounded more friendly than she had with Fern before, but she didn’t have time to question it before three little heads poked around a corner. One looked about six, the second looked about four, and the smallest looked about one, following his older sisters as they ran over to Mycena, giving her a giant hug. They all started talking at once; well, the youngest was babbling, with two sets of little wings flapping in excitement. Fern would have found it cuter if it weren’t so loud, her ears folding down to try and block out the noise to no avail. The downside of having cat-like ears is that they are sensitive, so being inside was harder for her. Mycena looked at Fern, lightly tapping the tallest child’s head. “I’m going to count; you better hide.” As she said this, the older two took off, with the youngest slowly following behind, making Mycena laugh. “Sorry about them; they can be so loud. Kids.” She sounded sad at the last word; Fern knew that feeling; she knew wanting kids but not thinking you’d ever have them. Or she was overthinking it, not that she’ll ever ask. Her ears slowly moved back into a resting position. “Thank you, and yeah, I know; my little cousins used to be the same way.” She smiled at the other, one she hoped was reassuring, and gave the impression that she understood what the other was feeling. “Let’s go talk to my sibling and sister-in-law; they should have some food ready soon that we could steal.” Mycena grabbed Fern’s hand and led her over to the kitchen. 

  The room smelt of freshly baked bread, a smell Fern only knew when her aunt Aikaterine would come over, and it had been a long time since she had come over. Two figures were working in the kitchen, one with long, straight black and purple hair; she was the shorter of the two, with two long black horns that stuck over the top of her head. The other was taller, with short, curly, green hair, two wings attached to her head, and two wings on her back, showing where the two younger kids got their wings from. The taller one turned around, the wings on her head flapping at the sight of the two. “Mycena! You’re back! It’s good to see you, sweetheart.” She walked over, hugging Mycena, wrapping her wings around her, showing how much she missed the other dearly. “Aelia! I’m happy to see you too, but we have a guest…” Mycena pushed the other off gently; she seemed almost embarrassed by the other’s affection. Fern smiled, giving a soft giggle; she thought the sight before her was sweet and reminded her of back home with her own family. How Fern and her sister acted sometimes whenever she and Callisto would come over. “Right, right, sorry.” Aelia was the name Mycena said before, she said while her wings went back, softly flapping as they did. “Is this Fern? You said she might be coming over today.” Mycena’s face turned a bright shade of red, which made Fern give Mycena a questioning look; she thought this had been spontaneous. Had Mycena been planning on asking Fern over? That made her smile, knowing the other had wanted to hang out with her. If they had left this morning, it wouldn’t have gone this way. “I didn’t say anything! Shush! Please.” Mycena covered her face and looked away from Fern, finally getting the other person’s attention. They turned towards Mycena. “Mycena, don’t lie in front of everyone; it’s okay to admit you want to hang out with Fernweh.” They sounded done with the group, quickly turning to Fern. “Hi Fernweh, I’m Sylvie, and that is my wife, Aelia. I’m Mycena’s sibling.” They put their hand out, which Fern took a little too fast out of panic. “It’s nice to meet you, Sylvie.” Mycena watched the group while peeking between her fingers; she seemed worried about how Fern would react to new information. When she saw that Fern didn’t seem to have reacted negatively, she put her hands down. “Let us cook, Mycena; go show Fern around.” Sylvie’s tone scared Fern; she wasn’t sure if they always sounded this way or if they were mad at Fern. 

  Mycena ended up dragging Fern out of the room, bringing her down the hall towards the last room on the left. The inside was decorated with a mushroom blanket, pillow carpet, and so much more. The room had a lot of plants, it was clear that Mycena loved her plants, but that made sense with her being a gaia. “I’m sorry about them both; they love to embarrass me.” Mycena sighed, not making eye contact with the other. Anyone could tell she was embarrassed. Fern could go two different routes with what she says next, and Fern is a petty bitch. “So, you planned on asking me to hang out?” She said in the most teasing voice she could, one she commonly used with her close family. Fern felt comfortable with Mycena, like she could truly be herself. Mycena sighed loudly; she was more embarrassed by the second. “Yes, I want to hang out with you.” She sat down on her bed and finally made eye contact with Fern. “Is that… wrong?” She sounded scared. What was she scared of? Did Fern make her scared? “I don’t think so. I’m happy to hang out with you, but I need to be honest with you.” Fern said, sitting down next to Mycena, her wings twitching slightly. She wasn’t sure whether or not she could wrap them around the other, despite wanting to. She wanted to try and comfort the other. “Callisto and I were supposed to leave this morning. The only reason we’re still here is because he wanted to talk to that farmer boy.” Mycena moved closer to Fern when she said that, laughing just a little. “He’s finally talking to Felis? Good for him.” She hesitantly rested her head on Fern’s shoulder, letting herself relax against the other. Fern took this as permission to wrap her wing around Mycena, pulling her closer. “I hadn’t heard about him until this morning. Has this been a thing?” Fern laughed; she wasn’t used to being this out of the loop. It was fun. “It has been since you guys got here! If I keep hearing about it, I might just die.” Mycena laughed as she said this, but Fern would believe it if what she said was true. “The first day you both got here, Cossy came and said hi to everyone, but he fell and Felis caught him. He ran off right after, but Felis asked me so many questions! I knew as much as he did, besides that Callisto had introduced himself as Cossy.” Fern pulled Mycena a little closer as the two laughed together. They were both relaxed, enjoying one another. 

  After a while of silence, they heard Aelia call that it was lunchtime from the kitchen. Fern moved to get up but found that Mycena didn’t move. She looked down at Mycena to see her asleep; it made her smile. She moved her wing off of the other and slowly attempted to wake her up. “Myce? It’s time to get up.” Fern didn’t even realize what she had called the other; she was just focused on getting Mycena up so they could go eat and then continue the rest of their day together. She kept moving the other, and as Mycena stirred awake, she looked at Fern with an expression so tired she felt bad for waking her. “It’s time to go eat; come on.” Mycena shook her head, nuzzling into Fern. “I’m not hungry…” Fern had to admit, the sight was adorable; she was close to letting her fall back asleep, but before she could decide to do so, there was a loud knock on the door. “Cena! Momma made pineapple carrot cake!” Fern assumed it was the oldest child based on the speech pattern, but she didn’t know them well enough to say for sure. What she did know was that the mention of the cake woke Mycena up fast. Faster than Fern expected, and it made her jump. “Just a second, Violet! If you guys eat it all again, I swear to God.” Mycena stood up and ran towards the door, leaving Fern behind on the bed, laughing as Mycena ran out of the room. Mycena liked pineapple carrot cake; she should remember this in the future. Fern took one last look around the room, taking it in, then standing up and walking out the door to follow Mycena. 

  Fern walked into the dining room; the first thing she saw was what she assumed was the pineapple carrot cake in the middle of the table, and then on each plate was a piece of shepherd's pie. It was something Fern could eat; she appreciated that. Mycena was sitting to the right of the youngest, with the seat to her right the only empty one at the table, so Fern assumed that’s where she should sit. She took the seat next to Mycena, attempting to not look as uncomfortable as she felt at that moment. Mycena smiled at Fern, giving her a reassuring nod. Aelia and Sylvie sat down just a few minutes later. “Please eat; don’t let it get cold.” Aelia insisted; it made Fern wonder if she should have started soon, but Mycena hadn’t started, so she hadn’t. “Come on, Aelia, we had to wait for the both of you.” Mycena gave them both a giant smile. “You two worked so hard.” Fern could tell the two appreciated Mycena’s words; it seemed Sylvie was just naturally stern because she was smiling but still felt mad at Fern. She could breathe now; she didn’t do anything before, or she hoped. Soon everyone began eating, Mycena talking to Sylvie and Aelia. She was laughing with the two, enjoying lunch together; she even got Fern involved at one point, which was a big step for her. They laughed and joked with one another while they ate their meal until they finished, and it was time for cake. “So, why pineapple carrot cake? I mean, I’ve never even heard of it.” Fern asked; she didn’t want to offend; she was just curious. The response she got, she didn’t expect; it was Sylvie of all people laughing at Fern, and based on Mycena and Aelia’s reactions, it wasn’t normal. “Our parents used to make it all the time; for so long it was Mycena’s favorite. Not so sure now.” They explained, their laughter dying down. “But whenever Mycena stays with us, we make it at least once, though if she comes by more because of you, we might have to cut back on them.” Mycena made an offended noise and put her hand on her chest. “Don’t cut me off, please.” Which made the older four laugh altogether. Fern enjoyed their company; the children were funny, Sylvie and Aelia were enjoyable as well, and she could get used to hanging out over here. Maybe Callisto was right to suggest they stay longer.

  After a while their lunch was over; Mycena and Fern said goodbye to the five and went towards the flower shop. They walked down the dirt paths of the town, laughter filling the air; the two couldn’t be quiet for a minute. Fern was taking all the time they had to get to know Mycena; she could live in this town; she wasn’t serious before about moving to this town, just one like it, but Thornbrook could be home. Fernweh could imagine herself living here, getting to know Mycena, and being able to see her every day. Her heart hurt thinking of not being around the other; it was a weird feeling for Fern. She didn’t normally get attached to people like this; how did the short girl worm her way into Fern’s heart so fast? “Fern, watch out!” Mycena yelled as Fern walked into a branch, cutting her forehead. She yelped in pain; it was small, but it stung. Mycena looked worried; she got on her tiptoes to try and examine the other. “You’re cut; let me see.” Fern laughed a little, leaning down to give the other a clear view. “I can heal myself; I promise.” Mycena shook her head, getting the two to the perfect level so she could kiss Fernweh’s forehead, then ran towards the flower shop. Fern didn’t know what to do for a second; Mycena had kissed her forehead, and suddenly the stinging didn’t matter anymore. Instead, all she was focusing on was the feeling of the kiss that was left even though Mycena’s lips were no longer there. As soon as she realized she was just standing there, she ran after the other.

  Fern walked into the flower shop, seeing Mycena running around, grabbing different seeds and flowers, and putting them into a bag. She was going around fast; she knew exactly where everything was, and apparently, she knew exactly what she wanted to grab the other. “Mycena, are you alright?” Fern was worried about the other. A kiss and run was not what she expected today, but it was not unwelcome. “I’m fine, Fern! Just looking for something.” She started running around more, cursing to herself about whatever it was she was looking for. Fern was curious, but the entire shop made her feel that way. She walked over to the poppies, looking at the seeds. She knew she needed to grab some more, but this would be easier than going and gathering them herself. “Mycena, how much are the poppy seeds?” She asked without looking at the other, just looking at the seeds. “Just take them! I was going to grab you some of them anyway.” She heard Mycena running around behind her, and Fern wondered if they were going to be awkward now or if that was just something Mycena did to her friends. Are they friends? Fern didn’t know the answer to that, and before she could think more about it, Mycena ran over to her and handed her a bag full of what Fern could only assume were different plants from around the shop. “Oh! Thank you, you didn’t have to do this.” Fern smiled, holding the bag close. Mycena gave her a warm smile, reaching up and tucking a sunflower behind one of Fern’s ears. “There you go, it complements your eyes, sunflower.” Fern put a hand on her cheek, feeling her face heat up at the other’s action. Mycena giggled at her. “Yes, you are red.” She moved Fern’s hand off of her face and gave her a small kiss on her knuckles. It was so fast Fern wondered if she had imagined it. “Thank you, Mycena.” It was all Fern could get out; she wasn’t sure what was going on, but she wasn’t going to complain. A cute girl giving her two kisses in one day, it’s like a dream come true. “Of course! Now, we have got you covered, so let’s head over to Meteli.” Mycena sounded hopeful; she also sounded nervous. Fern wondered if Mycena overthought the way she did. “Yeah, let’s go,” Fern said with a nod, moving to leave the flower shop with Mycena behind her.

  Fern followed as Mycena walked behind the flower shop, heading down the path towards Meteli. As they walked, the two started laughing again. If you saw them in public, you would assume they’ve known each other longer than three weeks. “I’m sorry there isn’t a lot to do in town.” Mycena sighed, leading the other down the stairs towards the bridge. “Small-town things. It’s nothing like the capital.” Fern shook her head. “I prefer it actually; it’s nice to be able to breathe.” She explained as she picked Mycena up and then took off into the sky. Mycena screamed instinctively at being taken into the air; she knew Fern could fly, but a warning would have been nice. She covered her eyes, not wanting to look at the ground and see how high in the air the two were. “Fern, what the fuck!” Fern didn’t like the fear in Mycena’s voice. “Myce, it’s okay, I have you. Just look for a second at least.” Fern reassured the other, flying over the water towards the other town. She held Mycena close, but comfortably; she wasn’t scared to drop her. She knew what she was doing. Mycena listened to Fern’s words; she trusted the other, probably too much, so she uncovered her eyes and looked down at the water and the land ahead of them. Her eyes went wide at seeing the world below; it was beautiful. Fern flew closer to the water, letting Mycena look at it before speeding up and flying them both to the top of the hill ahead of them. She landed and set Mycena on the ground, giving her a proud smile. “I can fly pretty well!” She wasn’t wrong, but she still scared the other. Mycena made that obvious as she was clinging to the taller. “Give me a warning next time, please?” She clung to the taller tighter; she was shaking a bit and looked up to look Fern in the eyes. “But please let there be a next time.” Fern chuckled softly, giving her a nod. “Yes, I’ll warn you, and there will be a warning.” Mycena let out a breath Fern didn’t realize the shorter was holding and then let go of her, starting once again down the path. Fern watched for a second, smiling like an idiot. Mycena was good company; she wouldn’t deny that, and she was excited to keep hanging out with the others, at least for today. Before Mycena could get too far ahead, she ran to catch up with her.

  The two walked into town; Fern noted to herself how towns around these parts had so little defense. All that had been at the entrance of Meteli was a wooden arch with flowers around it. It felt cozy, like the rest of the town looked from what Fern could see. The two walked over to the tavern; it was near the front, so it wasn’t too far of a walk. Mycena held the door open for Fern, and then she was hit with the smell of alcohol, which she wasn’t fond of, but she figured she could deal with for the other. Mycena led the taller one over to the bar, giving the bartender a wave. “Hey, Cecil! My favorite brother-in-law.” She said as she took a seat. Making the bartender, Cecil, laugh. Fern took the seat to the left of Mycena, away from the man working, so she didn’t get in the way of their conversation. “It’s good to see you, Cena, but who have you brought today?” He asked as he leaned against the counter to talk to Mycena, giving Fern time to look at him. He had two black wings coming out of his head, with matching ones on his back, making Fern wonder what his origin was. Mycena wrapped an arm around Fern. “This is Fernweh! Fernweh, this is Cecil; he’s engaged to my brother.” Mycena explained as the two watched Cecil start mixing a drink. “Speaking of my brother, where is he now?” Fern was confused; how many siblings did Mycena have? She would need to ask about that later, as Mycena had mentioned quite a few names since they had started hanging out earlier in the day. “Oh, Cove is out on the sea for another week. Aikaterine insisted that she get him out on an adventure before the wedding.” When Cecil said the name ‘Aikaterine,’ it clicked in Fern’s head who Mycena was talking to. “Cecil, as in Cecil Bowen?” Fern asked, and when Cecil gave her a confused nod, she continued. “Aikaterine Vasilos is who you were talking about, right? She’s my aunt.” Cecil looked surprised, but it was clear he believed the other. “You’re that Fernweh! I’ve heard about you from Metrodora mostly; she speaks the world of you.” Cecil smiled fondly; Fern assumed the two were close if he was close with her aunt. “I haven’t seen her in a while now; is she in town?” Fern hoped she was; it would be nice to see her cousin, and Callisto would be excited to see her as well. If they got the chance, that was. Unfortunately, though, Cecil shook his head as he slid a slightly yellow, opaque liquid in a glass to Mycena with a slice of pineapple as a garnish. “She’s out of town with a friend at the moment, but she’ll be back in around a week. If you plan on staying that long. From what she says, you live near the capital?” Mycena was listening but happily drank her drink. She also wanted to know if Fern would be staying; she had grown to enjoy her company, not to mention she was beginning to get close to Callisto, so she hoped the pair wouldn’t be leaving just yet. “We do live near the capital, but I do think we’ll be staying for a bit longer.” Fern smiled softly, glancing over at Mycena. “Callie and I have both found out we have a few more things to do before we head home.” Cecil gave Fern a knowing smirk, looking at Mycena, then back at the Felvaxian. “Well, from what Mycena has told me, you have been here for a bit now. There is an old, empty building in Thornbrook I happen to own that would be perfect for a business to be started in.” The older man explained as he poured a drink and then took a sip out of the glass. “If you happen to need something like that, let me know, and we could work something out?” Fern looked at Mycena, who was finishing her drink as the two were talking. “I think I might take you up on that offer.” 

[battlingangels]

The Heir of Slytherin - S.S. fanfic Chapter 4

to read on ao3

In the last few weeks since Colin Creevey's petrification, I had healed up well with the help of healing potions. I was still in a sling, however, to prevent any further injury lest I be disabled for any longer. I was fairly obstinate when I wanted to be, but I didn't believe that this was the time or place for me to be fighting against good advice. Given that I was still grieving my parents, on top of the fact that my injury made it almost impossible to sleep comfortably, I was still experiencing horrific insomnia. I found it nearly impossible to fall asleep. I did put an end to my midnight excursions, though, seeing as I didn't want to walk into whatever fate might befall me if I did.

It was morning now, I knew, but hardly. The school was still sleeping, not due to come to life until a few hours later. I was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to rest for a few moments, just to doze off on the couch in the common room with my shoulder supported in an incredibly comfortable position. Maybe if I close my eyes, I might drift...

Squeeaaak.

My head snapped in the direction of the common room's large metal door. On the other side stood Snape, who was walking with purpose. He didn't notice me at first. I wondered if it were smarter to pretend I was asleep, but I was too curious as to why he would be awake at this hour to begin with, so I continued to study him.

Finally, his gaze rested on me. I saw a moment of genuine confusion cross over his features, which I found to be endearing. Rarely did I do anything to stump my Head of House.

"Why are you awake?" He asked, his voice low, not interested in waking up any other students.

"I just woke up." I lied. "Why are you awake?"

"That is entirely not your business." Snape retorted, crossing his arms tightly over his chest, glaring down at me.

I sighed. "Okay. Then why are you here this early in the morning?"

"I got word from the Headmaster that instead of morning classes we will be having a ... dueling class." He spoke very slowly over those last two words, his tongue almost venomous.

"A dueling class?" I repeated.

The man lifted his wand, and with an intricate twirl, several pieces of paper were posted around the room. One strategically made its way to my lap. I looked down to see Lockhart's big ugly face gracing the front of the page, he was grinning in the moving picture as the flash went off. 'Session will be held from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Wednesday. Do not be late! We wouldn't want you to miss out on this incredible opportunity.

With all my love,

G. Lockhart.'

"Disgusting," I muttered. "Dumbledore is just letting him do this?"

Snape shrugged. "He thinks it will make the students feel more at ease given current events. I'm only interested in watching him fumble with first years in a dueling match."

"That man has never dueled a day in his life," I stated. "You do know that, right?"

"You're not the only person in this school with a set of eyes, Al-Kahina." He rolled his dark, frustrated eyes. "Do try to sleep some before this travesty occurs. I don't need you passing out."

And with that, he exited as swiftly as he had entered. I did decide to take his advice, though. I shut my eyes, this time successfully drifting off for some time.

At 7:00, Emmanuel shook me awake and offered to walk me to breakfast. I figured it would be best to eat something, so I begrudgingly made my way to my dorm. Isadora and my other two roommates were awake and dressing at this point. I grabbed my uniform and robes and changed quickly behind the curtains on my bed before meeting up with Emmanuel again.

He was looking down at one of the fliers that Snape had scattered around the common room. "Blimey. Lockhart is supposed to teach us to duel?"

"Mm, tell me about it." I chuckled. "I suppose it will be fun to watch, though, don't you think?"

Emmanuel's eyes shot up to meet mine, and he sent me a huge grin. "I would love to disarm, Lockhart."

"You and everyone else in this school." I patted his back. "Let's head to breakfast."

So we did just that. We made our way out of the dungeons and toward the Great Hall, where all of the students were slowly piling in. Emmanuel and I sat near the rest of the seventh years at the Slytherin table.

Irish Colin came up next to me, scooting in between Emmanuel and I. "You know there's a rumor that Snape and Lockhart are going to duel one another this morning?" His bright brown eyes glimmered at me behind a mop of red hair.

I raised an eyebrow, placing some toast and eggs onto my plate. "That will certainly be a show."

"Snape hates the bastard," Colin whispered. "Snape hates all of the Defense Against the Dark Art's professors, though. He's been wanting the job for years."

I understood very well that Snape hated Lockhart. I always assumed it was because he was a fraud, and also slimy and aggressive with his younger female students. Never did I think that the potions master would wish to leave his position. "Why does he want the job so badly?" I questioned.

"Me Auntie went to school with him like, a million years ago." A girl spoke up across the table from us.

I eyed her curiously.

"Sorry," she giggled. "Me name is Isla Scott. I'm in your year, of course. In any case - me Auntie said that the Professor was friends with... well..."

"Well?" I drawled.

"The Death Eaters, love." She clarified. "Well. The aspiring ones, at the time. I suppose there was always suspicion as to where his loyalties truly lay."

Colin stuffed his face full with a large piece of toast, his eyes wide and his head nodding along. "Yes, my ma says the same."

It took me a moment to understand who they were talking about when they mentioned the Death Eaters. I had been aware of the ever-raging wizarding war in Europe, of course, and I knew that people were playing for the wrong side, but we didn't refer to them this way back home. Instead, we referred to them simply as a 'Traitor' in our language.

"Then why would a man like that want to defend against the dark arts?" I asked, playing with the food on my plate. "That doesn't make much sense."

"Dunno." Isla shrugged. She lifted a glass of pumpkin juice to her lips. "All I'm saying is he's part of the reason Slytherin house has such a bad name for itself. We aren't all evil, you know. Merlin himself was a Slytherin."

I sighed. "Slytherin isn't the dirty word that everyone else here wants it to be."

My small, growing group of friends stared at me intently when I said this, wondering if I would expand on it. I would not, though, heeding Albus' prior advice.

My gaze sauntered to Snape, who was having a conversation with McGonagall at the teacher's table. His eyes were glued to his plate as he slowly picked at his breakfast. I found the man incredibly infuriating yet also endlessly fascinating. I found it difficult to believe that Snape would be a traitor, simply because I found it difficult to believe that Albus would see past that.

I was not surprised by the great turnout for the morning's dueling lesson. I did push myself and Emmanuel to the front, however, because I desperately wanted to watch Lockhart get his shit handed to him, for a lack of better words.

Speaking of, the tiny rasha, bad man, made his way up onto the platform with his cape flapping behind him. "Gather 'round, gather 'round. Can everybody see me? Can you all hear me? Excellent."

I rolled my eyes at this.

"In the light of the dark events of recent weeks, Professor Dumbledore has granted me permission to start this little Dueling Club to train you all up in case you ever need to defend yourselves, as I have done on countless occasions." He drew on, walking across the platform as though he owned it.

He continued, "For full details, see my published work." Then, he untied his cape and threw it into the crowd to be caught by a few fifth and sixth year girls. They gasped and fawned, burying their faces in it to get a good whiff.

I gagged at the thought. His scent was musty and, as I remember it, rather sour.

"Let me introduce my assistant, Professor Snape!" He announced, holding out his hand ahead of him.

Snape looked deeply unimpressed, with his arms tightly crossed around his chest. He eyed Lockhart as he stepped up in front of him.

"He has sportingly agreed to help me with a short demonstration. Now, I don't want any of you youngsters to worry. You'll still have your potions master when I'm through with him." Lockhart grinned.

I was quite hoping that perhaps we wouldn't have Lockhart after Snape was through with him.

"That little boy is going to get his arse beat," Emmanuel whispered into my ear.

"Never fear!" Lockhart bellowed, lifting his wand into his hand.

Snape and Lockhart came close to one another, the dark-haired man sneering. In proper fashion, they began the duel traditionally before going their separate ways to opposite ends of the platform.

Lockhart began to count down. "One, two, three."

Without even a moment to breathe, Snape cast his wand backward and yelled out, "Expelliarmus!" He shot his wand at Lockhart. Beautiful, mystifying magic clouded around the wand and shot at Lockhart instantly, shoving him back violently and disarming him.

I could hardly contain the laughter that bubbled out of my chest. Emmanuel was trying desperately to hide his grin.

Embarrassed, Lockhart pulled himself up. "An excellent idea to show them that, Professor Snape, but if you don't mind me saying it was pretty obvious what you were about to do. And if I had wanted to stop you, it would have only been too easy."

"Perhaps," Snape responded, "it would be prudent to first teach the students to block unfriendly spells, Professor."

"An excellent suggestion, Professor Snape!" Lockhart turned from our potions master and eyed the crowd. "Well... Let's have a volunteer pair! Potter, Weasley, how about you?"

"Weasley's wand causes devastation with even the simplest spells. We'll be sending Potter to the hospital wing in a matchbox. Might I suggest someone from my own house?" Snape turned his head, making direct eye contact with me and then to my still hurt shoulder. He seemed disappointed at remembering my injury. He turned back to Lockhart. "Malfoy, perhaps?"

Oh, this absolute rabble rouser. Everyone knew that Draco and Harry were caught in some kind of feud.

The young Malfoy boy lifted himself onto the podium and strutted toward Potter with purpose.

"Wands at the ready!" Lockhart called out. "On the count of three, cast your charms to disarm your opponent. Only to disarm. We don't want any accidents here."

Here comes the countdown... "One. Two..."

Before Lockhart could get to three, Draco shouted, "Everte Statum!"

Potter flew through the air and fell back hard. I cringed.

"A slimy little thing, he is." Emmanuel muttered. "Just like his shiny-haired, daddy."

Potter lifted himself. "Rictusempra!"

So Draco also flew and fell, right on his ass. Snape lifted him by the collar and shoved him back into the match.

"I said disarm only!" Lockhart squawked.

"Serpensortia!" Draco yelled out.

And there it was. A beautiful cobra graced the stage, hissing at the students. His eyes made contact with mine, and I stared back into them with an air of dominance.

"Don't move, Al-Kahina. Let me handle this." Snape spoke lowly, walking toward me quickly.

Once the snake lowered his head to me, I began to speak to him. "You must obey me, Cobra. For what is it that you take issue with?"

His gaze flicked up to me. "There is a terrible secret hiding in this castle, my master. It wants you."

My eyebrows furrowed. I could feel the crowd slowly stepping away from me now. "What does it want with me?"

"I cannot say." He hissed.

After a moment, he reached out to me, sliding up my arm and around my neck, laying limp. A true sign of submission.

Children began to whisper, staring at me in shock and fear. Lockhart's mouth was wide open, looking flustered and stressed. Snape, too, seemed utterly shocked. It was the first time I had seen him truly baffled.

"In your world," I spun around, causing more children to scatter, "the language of the snake is evil due to your... Christian influences." I raised a brow. "My people must master the snake's tongue, lest he bite us in our sleep. Now, stop looking at me like that. It's rather insufferable."

They did, indeed, avert their gaze from me, but the whispers continued. In frustration, I quickly slipped out of the classroom and made my way out into the halls, the cobra hissing gently on my shoulder.

Study hall was especially disastrous. No one could keep their eyes off of me, and the whispers were too much to deal with. I balled my hands into fists and gathered my belongings into my arms. I wouldn't stand for this a moment longer.

As I made my way into the hall, a set of footsteps echoed in the background. "Samira!"

I looked behind me. The footsteps belonged to Harry. I paused and allowed him to catch up. "Yes?"

"Are you a parselmouth? Truly?" He asked quietly.

"Yes," I responded. "It's not so uncommon where I come from, if you must know."

Harry grabbed my hand and dragged me to a quieter corner of the corridor. "So am I."

Now, that was interesting. "How do you know?"

"Well, there was this one time I accidentally spoke to a snake at a zoo to upset my cousin," Harry replied. "But I was afraid to say anything after dueling. Everyone is calling you the Heir of Slytherin. They think you opened the Chamber of Secrets."

My eyes darkened. I grabbed him by the arm. "We need to keep walking while we talk, okay? Listen... They think that because most Europeans don't possess the ability to speak in the snake's tongue. Salazar himself was not from here; that's why he had such a gift. Are you understanding?"

Harry nodded. "So... does that mean that I could be related to Slytherin? Is it possible that I really am bad?"

My eyes softened at that. I couldn't believe my ears; the toxic, disturbing things that the British Isles taught this boy about my ancestor upset me greatly. "Harry..." It was then that I noticed a wetness in my sock.

I looked down. My foot was in a large puddle of water. My eyebrows knitted together as I looked around. Headless Nick was floating motionless. Below him lay Justin Finch-Fletchley. My eyes widened. "Shit." I dropped to my knees, checking Justin for a pulse. He was still alive, of course, just petrified. I couldn't say the same for good Nick.

"Aha!" Filch shouted.

This caused both me and Harry to jump. We turned to face the man.

"Caught in the act, the two of you. Should have known you were in cahoots, especially after your little outburst, you filthy parselmouth." Filch spat toward me.

I went to stand and give him a piece of my mind, but Harry grabbed me by the sleeve. "Samira. Look." He pointed toward the ground.

A trail of small spiders crawled away from the scene. Why on earth were there spiders here, and why were they trailing one another this way?

"What are they doing?" Harry asked me.

"I'm not sure," I responded truthfully.

Filch quickly returned with McGonagall chasing behind him. She quickly assessed the situation, a panicked look gracing her features.

"Professor, we had nothing to do with this." Harry quickly stammered.

"Children, this is out of my hands." She breathed. "You must go see the Headmaster. Immediately."

I led Harry to Dumbledore's office, and together, we climbed the stairs behind the large Griffin statue.

As we stepped inside, the portraits of professors past stared down at us.

"Albus?" I called out.

Harry wandered off, becoming engrossed in Albus' phoenix, who I could tell was in desperate need of rebirth. And almost as if I read the poor thing's mind, it burst into flames before Harry's eyes.

"Samira..."

"Harry, it's okay." I laughed.

It was then that the door to the headmaster's quarters opened. He stepped out to look down at us.

"Professor, sir... Your bird. There was nothing I could do." Harry stumbled.

"It's a phoenix, Harry," I explained calmly. "They go through a cycle of death, where they combust into flames, and then from the ashes are they reborn."

The baby phoenix peeked out of the ashes, staring up at us, squeaking.

"He's been looking dreadful for days." Albus tutted, walking down the stairs and toward us. "Fascinating creatures, phoenixes are. They can carry immensely heavy loads, and their tears have healing powers."

It was then silent for several moments. "Professor, we didn't do anything. We were just walking down the hall and stumbled upon them." Harry spoke with urgency.

"I know." Albus smiled gently, first to Harry, and then to me.

"You do?" Harry breathed out.

"Yes, Harry. I do not think it was you." The old wizard rested a hand on the boy's shoulder. "And I do not believe it was Samira, either. But I must ask you a question, Harry. Is there something you wish to tell me?"

Harry looked at me. I raised an eyebrow at him, prompting him not to be dishonest. He gulped before returning his gaze to our headmaster. "No, sir." He shook his head.

I grunted.

"Very well, then. You may go. I must speak with our friend, here." He motioned to me.

The boy looked at me nervously, but I tilted my head toward the door, letting him know it was okay to leave me. He did so graciously.

"I heard about what happened this morning." Albus smiled. "With the snake."

"I apparated the poor thing back to the desert," I spoke plainly.

He nodded. "That's not quite what I meant."

"Albus, it is not my problem that your students are deeply misinformed about the types of abilities wizards from other countries possess. The level of fear they experience simply being in the same room as me is unfounded." I crossed my arms, glaring at the man.

"I'm hearing whispers they believe you are the reason for the Chamber of Secrets being opened." He spoke carefully. "I know that this is not the case, Samira, but it will make things very difficult for you now until we do figure things out."

I chuckled darkly. "Things have been difficult since the moment I got here, Albus. Nothing new."

He sighed. "I'm sorry, Samira. For everything."

With a nod, I took this as a good time to leave. But before I did, I turned back to him. "The cobra told me something today."

"What was that?" Albus questioned.

"He said that there is a secret at Hogwarts. A terrible one." I mumbled. "And that it desires me."

The man only blankly stared back.

"Do you know what that could mean, Albus?" I prodded further.

"Not at all, Samira." He responded.

I chewed on my bottom lip. I studied his face, trying to find a hint of an idea, even the slightest movement. Yet, nothing. So I left.