#the last 24 hours has been really busy or i would have answered sooner

[fireolin]

ao3 wrapped [writers edition]: 3, 15, 18

Hey Munen, thanks very much for your ask! (Relating to this.)

3. What work are you most proud of (regardless of kudos/hits)?

I've just answered this for the previous anon here.

15. What WIP are you taking into next year with you?

This is a nice, easy question, ahaha. I'll be taking 'The Wishing Hunt' into next year, because despite starting almost two years ago, I'm still not done. It was meant to be a short break before I edited a novel I drafted. But, perhaps because of the format, where I'm responding to the votes I'm putting up at the end of chapters, it's taking longer than I thought.

Luckily I don't mind, because while being unable to predict the outcome of the vote means I can't write ahead, it also keeps things fresh. I've ended up writing the alternatives I wouldn't always have chosen first myself sometimes. Also, setting the votes up means I brainstorm more ideas for future chapters than I usually would, so it's forced me to be more creative. And I'm relaxed about writing it, because the vote stops me pressuring myself to write in an unbroken marathon to the finish.

18. The character that gave you the most trouble writing this year?

Oooh…the Phantom Troupe characters in my fic are the hardest to write, for me: Shizuku, Franklin, Uvogin, and Feitan. One reason they're difficult is because they don't appear much, so there's less chance to get a feel for them as I write. Also I haven't written them before in a published fic. (Although I have written Uvo in an unpublished draft, which was fun.) I've wanted to write Shizuku for ages, even though this probably isn't the context I would ideally write her in. I'd like her to be more central and I'd enjoy showing both her forgetfulness and her sensible decision making.

I'm anticipating them being even harder to write now that the new manga chapters are out (which I'm loving), because this new backstory has bearing on their characters, and I'd like to depict them recognisably, even if I don't succeed in showing them as perfectly as a writer who writes on them regularly might. The new window into their minds might contradict how I've shown them already, and I'll have to be true to the characters as they are so far in my fic. So we'll see. I think it will keep being a challenge when they appear. This is a really interesting question to answer!

Thanks for sending these in! I hope you have a good holiday season however you're spending it this year.

[torialeysha]

Cold feet: Part 20

Exodus 21:24

When the night cries itself away Dyin' in the light of day Our endless love will remain Until we meet again - Song: if I should go before you - city and colour

“How long has it been?” You asked.

Adas hum vibrated from behind you as she stopped brushing your hair. “It’s been a week since the fight.”

Where the hell had 7 days gone? You were still staying at Thomas’ stately home which you now knew as Arley hall. Arthurs funeral had come and gone, which you didn’t attend out of respect as you felt you were to blame for his death, but still you mourned. The overwhelming sense of loss from all sides was suffocating. Leaving you with the terrible feeling of falling into a bottomless pit of utter despair. You had told Tommy everything you you could recollect, which he listened to stoically but hadn’t seen anything of him since. You kept yourself to yourself, rarely stepping out of the guest room. Most days not even bother getting out of the bed. The nights were worse than the days, endless hours of slipping in and out of consciousness, none of it restful due to the consistent flow of nightmares. Ada kept a close eye on you, checking in on you during the day and staying with you most nights. She gave you updates on Alfie and assured you he was on the mend. When you asked to see him she would go quiet and tell you she’d ask Tommy when she saw him.

“Have you heard anything?” You asked hopeful.

“No.”

“I want to see Alfie.” You demanded softly.

“I know you do.”

Her answer was once again frustrating. “Why am I not allowed to see him?”

“I don’t know. I’m just a messenger.” She sighed. The bed moved as she stood, busying herself with the tray of breakfast and tea which you had barely touched.

“Then I need to speak to Tommy.”

“Tommy’s busy. There’s a lot at play here, Y/N. The Changrettas are putting on the pressure. They’ve taken over Alfie and Sabini’s territory in London and they’re trying to do the same here. I’m not even sure we’re going to be able to stop them. You need to try and be patient.”

The hair on the back of your neck stood to attention. “They’ve taken Camden, the bakery? When?” You queried worriedly. “Is Ollie ok?”

“Yes… I telephoned him after the fight and told him what had happened. That you were safe…and to warn him to be careful.”

“I should have let him know myself. How careless of me.” You mumbled, guilt swamping you.

“Stop being so hard on yourself. You’ve got enough to contend with.”

“And so do you. You’ve lost, just like I have. Why didn’t you tell me this sooner?”

“I didn’t want you to worry. You’re already not sleeping as it is. Did you get much rest last night?” She diverted quickly, unable to look you in the eyes. You couldn’t help the feeling that she was hiding something, maybe it was her grief for Arthur.

“Not really. That woman singing in the early hours didn’t help.” You admitted, unable to get the evocative tones of the sweet melody out of your head.

“Woman singing?” She questioned. “There’s only me, you and the kids staying here.”

“You didn’t hear it? I thought that Maybe it was the maid.”

“I highly doubt it.” She scoffed.

“Well I definitely heard it. It echoed down the hallway just before dawn.” You insisted upon seeing her dubious expression. She turned suddenly striding hastily towards the window.

“Come on! You need to get out of bed.” She demanded firmly flinging the curtains wide.

The brightness stung your tired eyes.

“I don’t feel like it.”

“You’re not spending another day in bed. Talking about hearing women singing? You’re starting to sound crazy and I won’t allow it.” She tore the covers off you, threatening to drag you out if you didn’t move. Saving her the trouble you huffed loudly and hobbled on stiff legs out of bed.

“There’s some clothes of mine I’ve left for you on the dresser. Go and get ready while I wait here.”

“It looks like it’s going to rain.” You told her hoping it would change her mind.

“Then we’ll take umbrellas.”

Thankfully the grey, rain filled clouds held off during your walk. Ada linked her arm with yours guiding you carefully across the uneven grassy ground which was soft and damp with the early morning dew. Birds chirped overhead and the occasional neighing snort erupted from the stables on the other side of the field. You inhaled deeply. The the crisp, fresh air filling your dusty lungs. The tranquility of the peaceful morning stroll seemed to settle your heavy heart and for that you were grateful. You hiked a circle around the grounds silently and proceeded back on to the gravelly path of the driveway that lead to the front of the mansion.As you approached you noticed that there were 2 cars sitting idle and 3 silhouettes standing on the steps in front of the open door.

“Who’s that?” You asked.

“I’m not sure…” Ada replied as curious as you.

Your pace quickened, your eyes straining to get a better view of the figures.

As you got closer to the gates of the driveway you could see the two strangers next to Tommy clearer. You couldn’t place one of them but you was sure it was one of Alfie’s men, the other was a familiar lanky lad with thick, black curly hair that was squashed beneath his kippah.

“It’s Ollie!” You exclaimed. Unlinking your arm from Adas and rushing towards him.

You came at him from the side taking him by surprise when you flung yourself around him in an embrace.

“Ollie. It’s so good to see you.”

His chest shuddered as he snaked his arm tentatively around your waist.

“Alfie’s alive, Ollie. He’s alive!” You sobbed in to his collar.

“I know.” He sighed softly. His dejected tone caused you to pull away from him. Your eyes studying the grim setting of his face.

“What are you doing here?” You asked suddenly suspicious.

“I’m here to take you home.” He replied matter of factly.

“Home?”

“Back to Margate.”

“With Alfie.” It wasn’t a question.

Both Tommy and Ollie stayed quiet.

“I’m not going anywhere without Alfie.” You insisted sternly. Your gaze drifting between the two men.

“You don’t have much choice.” Tommy mumbled.

“This is what Alfie wants Y/N.” Ollie spoke over Thomas.

“How would you know?” You frowned at Ollie in confusion.

“He told me.”

“You’ve seen him?”

Ollie nodded.

“So Ollie can see him but I can’t?” You accused Tommy.

“Alfie didn’t want to see you.” Thomas replied bluntly.

“What? I-I don’t understand.” Your head spun wildly.

“This has all been arranged. It’s for the best Y/N.” Ollie assured.

Your breathing accelerated anxiously.

“Arranged? By who? Alfie? Then he’s not in his right mind, it’s the drugs talking. No, no! I’m not going Ollie.” You stated firmly. “I want to see Alfie now.”

“It’s not going to change anything.” Ollie grumbled expecting your reaction.

“I want to see Alfie!” You screamed over him.

Ollie looked to Tommy.

“It don’t matter to me.” He shrugged. “Let her have her goodbye.”

Your body shuddered at his coldness “Goodbye?” You sputtered.

“I’ll take her with Ollie.” Ada interjected, appearing by your side, her gentle touch causing you to jump.

“That’s settled then.” Tommy sighed turning to Ollie. “Now get the fuck off of my land.”

As the car pulled up at the entrance of the hospital you begun to shake. What was waiting for you? And how much more could you take before you broke completely.

“Y/N?” Ada called softly next to you. “Look at me.”

You obliged.

“Pull yourself together.” She dabbed beneath your eyes with a hanky at tears you weren’t even aware was there. Then she gently pinched your cheeks a couple of times to bring some colour to your drained face.

“I’ll come up with you and wait outside.” Ada assured, stealing a glance at Ollie in the front passenger seat.

“He’s not himself.” Ollie warned. “Best take anything he says with a pinch of salt.”

You thought about his advice for a moment then realised… “I don’t know what I’m going to say to him.” The urgency to see Alfie had disappeared, replaced by fear and uncertainty.

“You’ll work it out when you see him.” Ada assured pushing your hair behind your ear.

You nodded meekly and exited the car. following Ada through the bustling entrance and up the stairs to a level that was a lot quieter. The two peaky lads standing opposite you immediately gave away the room in which Alfie was recovering. The boys stood to attention as you approached. Eyeing you up and down with disdain.

“Let her in.” Ada ordered them. They exchanged glances, unsure. She rolled her eyes and barged past them to open the door for you. You took a deep breath and entered.

Alfie was sat propped up in bed, his right eye was closed, the left covered by a weeping dressing. You thought he was asleep until he spoke.

“Bout time you showed up, this bandage ain’t gonna change its fucking self.” He moaned, eye still shut.

“It’s me.” You said softly. His right eye shot open and fell upon you. He was a sorry sight, gaunt and pale. But it felt so good to see him that you didn’t know wether to laugh or cry.

“Yahalom?” His expression bounced from soft to hard in the blink of an eye. “Are you really ‘ere or am I hallucinating?”

“I’m really here, my love.” You confirmed.

“Even though I didn’t want you to come?…Well I can’t say I’m surprised. You never have done as you’re told.” He sighed. “You look like shit.”

His words hurt although you were sure it was the truth if you looked anything how you felt. But he was a fine one to talk. You’ve never seen him look so weak - helpless, just like you. You cleared your dry throat to reply when a nurse entered.

“Here she is!” Alfie sung “been waiting for you all morning treacle.” There was something in his tone that rubbed you the wrong way.

The nurse blushed and strode passed you, barely acknowledging your presence. You couldn’t help but notice that she was young and pretty, flouncing around in a blithe manor that you resented instantly.

“I’m here to tend to your wounds Mr. Solomon’s.”

“That all?” He asked cockily. “That’s a shame.” His flirting - harmless or otherwise, was just another blow to your already winded ego. The blushing nurse giggled causing your blood to boil. Having had enough of the embarrassing spectacle, you rushed to the door and flung it wide.

“Leave us!” You ordered her harshly.

Her eyes flitted between you and Alfie in confusion.

“But his woun-“

“It can wait.” You told her abruptly.

“…You heard ‘er.” Alfie finally chimed in when she still hesitated.

With a huff she stuffed the fresh gauze back in to her apron and shoved past you. You closed the door and turned on Alfie.

“I know what you’re doing and it’s not gonna work so pack it in now.”

“I don’t know what you’re on about?” He exclaimed.

“You’re being spiteful on purpose, trying to push me away again. I might have fell for it before but not this time.”

He paused then smiled guiltily.

“Go home, Yahalom.”

“You are my home!” You told him on the brink of tears. “You’re hurting me with this Alfie, please stop.” You begged him.

“Hurtin’ you?” He erupted then winced. “Do you know how much it fuckin’ hurts me, you seeing me like this?”

“What?!” You spat incredulously.

“This ain’t how I wanted you to remember me.” He gritted.

“Remember you? I won’t have to remember you. You’re alive! You’re here in front of me right now! You, Ollie and Tommy, how you’re all carrying on is making no sense.”

“Not much does in my world, Yahalom. I’ve told you before. The best way I can explain it to you is an eye for an eye.”

“You can’t be serious. You’re telling me Tommy’s kept you alive just to kill you?” You choked.

“Right, because he wants to be the one who kills me. My blood for his.”

“You’re wrong.” You whispered unconvincingly, dread pulling at your insides. “Arthur’s dead because of me. Because you were protecting me. If the blame should be on anyone’s head it should be mine.”

“Oi! Now listen ‘ere, none of this was your fault, right?”

“How can you say that? Arthur, Ishmael, Daniel. They’re all dead because of me.”

“Ishmael and Daniel should have done their job properly and handled it. What happened to them was their own doin’.”

“They were only followed because I did a runner.”

“And who insisted you did a runner, ay? Me! Now I ain’t gonna tell you again, Y/N. Your hands are clean. Any fault lands on my ‘ead, right.”

“Why did you do a deal with them, Alf? Before they took me? Why did you even entertain it?”

He paused, his jaw clenching.

“…I was testing ‘em out. Seeing what they wanted. I weren’t gonna go through with it.”

“Bollocks.” You accused boldly. “More like they made you an offer you couldn’t refuse.”

“If you think you know then why fucking ask? Aye?... I was tryin’ to set Ollie up weren’t I? And yeah, I added a cut for myself. I was angry, right, pissed off at Tommy that he dragged us in to his fucked up shit heap. I weren’t gonna go through with it. It was-“

“It was foolish and greedy is what it was. How did you even think this would end well for us?”

“How many more times I gotta say it? There’s no us about it. Any repercussions are on me.”

“You don’t get it do you?” You smirked humourlessly. “Anything that hurts you hurts me. If you die-“ your voice wobbled. “then so does a part of me.”

“Of course I fucking get it. Everything that’s led us to where we are now, yeah, has been me tryin’ to protect you. Because I didn’t want you to get hurt.”

“But it’s not working is it? You wrapping me in cotton wool, deciding what I can and can’t handle, it’s caused nothing but grief!”

There was a long frustrating silence. Then in typical Alfie style he changed the subject.

“What happened when they took you?” His voice was low, menacing. His question taking you by surprise.

“Who?” You stalled, angling away from him defensively.

“You know who. Them 2 days they ‘ad you. What happened?”

“Nothing happened.”

“You’ve always been a terrible liar, Yahalom.” He sighed.

You paused, composing yourself from the fresh memories that still haunted you. You shook your head to banish them, finally turning back to Alfie who was staring ahead into space.

“Look at me.” You ordered him softly. Hesitantly he did so. “Nothing happened.” You stressed again. “Charles.” Your mouth couldn’t help but struggle around the name. “He couldn’t even look at me when he found out. I was locked in a room until the fight. The journey to Birmingham was the only time I was alone with him.” You lied as convincingly as you could muster.

He grunted, thinking for a moment and then to your relief let it go.

“You need to go, Yahalom. You and that baby of mine. Get out of this shit ‘ol. You’ll be safe. I’ve sorted it with Ollie.”

That’s when you lost it completely. Every ounce of composure you summoned fled your body in an instant. You begun to tremble, your lips quivering uncontrollably, a shaky breath later you managed to pluck up enough courage to speak.

“It’s just me.” Your whispered, brow furrowed still not coming to terms with it yourself.

“What?” He shuffled in the bed giving you his full attention.

“I lost-“ your voice broke. Another painfully shaky breath left your lips. “I lost the baby… I’m so sorry.” Your tear flooded eyes lifted to Alfies timidly. He was stunned. His face becoming tighter and brightening with rage. You waited for him to say something but he couldn’t speak. He was speechless, looking through you. The painful silence was more than you could take.

“I’ve let you down.” You squeaked inaudibly, the words cutting your throat like blunt razor blades.

“What?” He growled. His brow furrowing in your direction. You shook your head unable to repeat it.

“C’mere.” He commanded. Opening his arms.

You flew to him, making him winced as you buried yourself in to his chest, when you made to move he held you tighter. You closed your eyes, breathing him in greedily. Being in his arms was the most at peace you had felt in days. There’s no way you could let Tommy take him from you.

“So now you need to understand I can’t lose you aswell. I won’t allow it. I’ll make Tommy see sense-“

“You’re wasting your time, Yahalom.” He sighed.

“So you’re just giving up?”

“Na… I’m counting my blessings. The assurance of your safety is all I’ve ever wanted.”

“…All I’ve ever wanted is you.” You whispered back.

His chest rose harshly then shuddered violently against your head. His breaths coming in short violent bursts as he tried to hold it together. It was shocking to witness, in all the years you had known him you’d never seen him so fractured and powerless. It changed something inside of you, reinforced your determination and courage to be strong like Alfie had been so many times for you in the past. You wouldn’t let this be it. You’d fight, do anything you could to change Tommys mind because it’s what Alfie would do for you. You pulled yourself up from his chest and wiped at your wet face. Leaning down to rest your forehead and nose against his. Your eyes dropped down to his mouth, at his dry, full lips which were parted invitingly for a kiss. You refrained purposely knowing the finality it possessed.

“I’m going now.” You informed evenly.

He was about to say something but you silenced him.

“Whatever you have to say, tell me when you see me again because… dos iz nisht zay gezunt” you wasn’t fluent in Yiddish but when you saw the stunned acknowledgment cross Alfie’s features you knew he had understood.

You had left without another word and marched down the hall towards the stairs, Ada’s heels chasing rapidly behind you.

“Y/N?” She called catching up to you. “What in the hell happened?”

“You need to take me back, Ada. Take me back to Arley hall now.”

Previous

Tag list: @storm-bjorn @alsheyra @lililolli @jaegers-and-kaijus @lightwoodt @stars-trash-18 @anrm1 @innerpaperexpertcloud @alitheamateur @hardygal69​ @boysinurdream @cuethedepession

[silma-words]

#24 please for Adrian and mc

There it is, my first attempt at prompts! :) Thank you so much Anon and @adriansbiss for these great asks!

Apologies for merging your two requests into one, though, I hope you don’t mind. I was already well into #24 when the ask for #36 came up, and it fitted so well with what I had been writting that I couldn’t help myself 😊 Thank you both for sending the prompts, I had way too much fun working on these!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Choices: Bloodbound

Pairing: Adrian Raines x MC (Ellie)

Rating: Mature/ NSFW (+18)

Category: Fluffy smut (is that even a thing?)

AU Chronology: Bloodbound AU (after book 1 – the events of book 2 never happened) – Before "The right thing to do"

Summary: Just a bit of weekend fluff for Adrian and Ellie, inspired by prompts #24 and #36 from Prompt List #1:

#24-“You’re so fucking hot when you’re mad”

#36-“Is that my shirt?”.

Warning: A little bit of cursing, and quite a lot of touching 😉

Words: 3300 words (got a little carried away here)

**Disclaimer: Characters and background plot are the property of Pixelberry.**

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Cursed

It was late afternoon when Adrian woke up from his much-needed Saturday sleep in, after the insane week he just had at the office. He was so fast asleep that for once, he had not been woken up when Ellie had snuck out of bed in the middle of the afternoon, getting on quietly with her business around his apartment, as she often did most week-ends if she was staying over.

He probably would have slept longer if it had not been from the sudden racket that echoed across the penthouse and that made Adrian jump in alert. For a second he worried that it might be a burglary, or some kind of home invasion scenario, judging from the sounds of tumbling kitchenware and slamming doors. That was until he could make out above the dim a series of curse words and groans, making him smile and shake his head with a chuckle: Ellie was clearly up to something, and whatever it was, it was not going according to plan. 

Slowly getting up to head towards the crime scene, he looked around for the shirt he had tossed aside before going to bed and let out a long, amused sigh when he could not find it, understanding that it was probably worn by the woman currently tearing his kitchen apart. She always did that.

Giving up on the shirt and quickly putting on his black sweatpants, he carefully pried the door open to have a sneak peek at what was going on out there.

His suspicions were quickly confirmed. Ellie was busy rummaging through the kitchen cupboards, the rest of the room a mess, mumbling and swearing in turn at the kitchen appliances and at her tablet, her shorts and his shirt covered in flour and stains of unidentifiable origin. He had no idea what the hell she was ranting about, but it was clear from the smells hanging around the living room and the open plan kitchen that she had tested a new recipe – probably from an online blog, judging on the way she insulted the tablet resting on the counter – and that it was not a success.

Adrian could not help but keep observing her from his spot with an amused grin, Ellie too absorbed by her battle against the universe to notice him leaning against the doorframe. Although he was used to see her cook or bake – and usually pretty well – it was an unusual sight to see her loose her tempter. She was usually pretty calm and well-organised, enjoying the peacefulness of the activity when following a recipe, or the creativity of it when she got to be adventurous and imagine something from scratch. Her calm and composure were also something he would praise at work, as she would often help diffuse some heated negotiations or business interactions with tactful interventions, although she did lose her tempter a few times when facing particularly obnoxious individuals.

Seeing her so worked up over a situation like this was, weirdly, a heart-warming sight for Adrian. He’d much rather watch her get angry at a misbehaving blender than at one of Lester’s disgusting innuendos. However, he’d probably better intervene sooner rather than later, more particularly before she could notice him standing there, potentially getting her even more worked up thinking he was mocking her.

Finally making a move towards the kitchen, he cleared his throat lightly to avoid startling her and pissing her off over more, greeting her as casually as his amusement allowed it. “Hey beautiful! Everything all right?”.

She swirled around abruptly, her hands filled with random items she had just grabbed from the pantry, the surprise her eyes quickly shifting to annoyance. “Does it look like everything is all right?!” she snapped, before letting out a long groan and rolling her eyes seconds after seeing Adrian’s reaction.

She hated when he looked so contrite and innocent whenever she was in a bad mood, like a deer caught in the headlights. She hated how cute it made him look and how guilty it made her feel for snapping at him for no decent reason. She hated how much it made her swoon even more. *Damn you, Adrian Raines!*

Adrian held back a smile, fully capable by now to read her facial expression and the changes in her heartbeat to know when he was gaining ground during moments like that – as rare as they were. Stepping a little closer and taking in the view of the carnage she had made of the kitchen, he risked asking, “Care to explain what the issue is and how I can help, maybe?”.

Ellie sighed once more, still fumbling around the room searching for something and cursing under her breath. “That…. ‘effin… dumbass… recipe… has all the proportions wrong….” she grunted behind clenched teeth, barely intelligible, knocking angrily her tablet aside in a small cloud of flour.

“And now… I’ve used up all of the right ingredients… and have been trying to find adequate alternatives for the last hour….”. She let out another annoyed grunt while turning her back to him and stepping back to investigate the top shelf of one of the cupboards, obviously still distracted by her mission, dead set on rescuing this failed recipe at all costs.

“And I guess the alternatives did not work out?”, Adrian risked softly, trying to make sense of all the discarded items and used pots abandoned across the room.

“Nope. It did not” she replied with an annoyed sigh. “Nothing worked, and now I am out of alternatives, or I can’t find anything in this damn kitchen!... oh, and your blender and food processors are shit, by the way!”. Slamming the door of the cupboard shut, she raised her hands in the air as if cursing at the universe, her fists tight in defiance, still her back to Adrian.

Settling his back against the kitchen island to watch the scene, Adrian couldn’t help but smile. Yes, she had made a mess of the place and had probably destroyed his blender and food processor. Yes, she also had ruined his shirt in the process. And yes, she had been unnecessarily sharp in her answers to him just a few minutes before. But damn, she was so adorable when she got so passionate about things like this! Her tiny figure, only covered by her shorts and his stolen shirt, standing in front of him pointing her fists at the sky, was a sight that had to be reckoned with.

Her hair was a mess, tied in a loose bun, because she didn’t bother brushing them on days off like this. Her feet were covered in flour and other bits of random ingredients that had fallen to the floor, because she would always walk around the apartment bare feet. Her shirt – well, his – had barely a few buttons fastened, because she never bothered too much with these in the first place, and she always got too hot when she was moving around the house. Her cheeks were flushed, and the tips of her ears were pink from the exertion caused by her fumbling and cursing around. She had food stains up to her elbows, and from what he could see, something must have splattered in front of her at some point – likely due to his faulty blender, he deduced - because she had some tiny stains scattered all across her cleavage. Adrian loved being able to see this side of her, far from the professional look that he would see around the office on working nights.

When Ellie turned around, done with her complaints to the gods, she was still fuming, but interrupted her mumbling when she saw the smirk on Adrian’s face. “What?”, she grunted once more, standing straight in front of him, her hand on her hip, taunting him. “You think my pain and misery are funny, don’t you?!”.

Adrian chuckled at her adorable angry pout, and smiled even wider than before. “No at all” he reassured her, with the usual gentle tone that he would always use in casual conversation.

He then made a move to step closer, his eyes suddenly bright with mischief, his gait and his gaze nearly predatory. Swiftly bridging the gap between them to stand right before her and force her to lie back against the kitchen counter, he settled his hands on the marble behind her to girdle her tiny, dishevelled form. His face now only inches from hers, he then simply added, with the lowest, huskier voice he could manage “I was just thinking that… you’re so fucking hot when you’re mad”.

Taken aback by both Adrian’s sudden closeness and by the gleam in his eyes, it took Ellie a few seconds to register what he had just said. Her eyes darting between his clear blue eyes and the discarded ingredients on the kitchen island behind him, she grunted slightly, her brain still too worked up to figure out what she could answer to that. Or whether she should answer at all.

“Yeah… right”, she only managed to mumble with a line drawn between her brows, clearly not convinced, before trying to wriggle herself out of Adrian’s encaging arms. However, the vampire would not budge. And there was nothing she could do against it.

“I think we should really try to work on your anger management, Miss Reed”, he purred in her ear, his breath hot on her skin, making her shiver despite the heat her body had been accumulating from her restless afternoon.

Finally drawing a breath and taking the time to stare back at Adrian properly, she felt her cheeks flush instantly, finally noticing the wicked grin gracing his features as his eyes kept darting between her mouth, her cheeks, and the vivid pulse throbbing in her neck.

*Damn you, Adrian Raines!* Damn him and that damn mischievous grin that wouldn’t leave these lips. Now, she was that stupid deer caught in the headlights! And he was fully aware of it.

Relinquishing how the tempo of her heartbeat had changed so quickly after he had trapped her, Adrian didn’t feel like anything could stop him from continuing to tease her. This was way too much fun, seeing her all dishevelled and fuming, confused between her previous state and the new sensory cues he was subjecting her too. This was way too delicious. And she was damn too fucking hot when she was mad.

Taking a step closer to trap her further between his body and the kitchen counter, he brushed a finger up along her arm, before tracing the shape of her clavicle on his way down her chest, reaching for the hem of the stained shirt she was wearing, and giving it a gentle tug.

“Is that my shirt?”, he questioned softly with an arch brow, his tone clearly teasing her as if about to reprimand her about it, his voice low and husky.

“Well…” She straightened herself, matching his false daring glare. “It was. Now it’s mine.” Her tone was challenging, her stance fierce, and her poker-face intact.

However, there was nothing she could do against Adrian’s hyper-senses and the way he could hear the blood rushing to her ears, feel the way her body temperature suddenly peaked, and see the goosebumps on her chest where his fingers had just trailed.  

“Oh is it, now?” he chuckled, slowly drawing his finger down along the fabric, his eyes challenging hers. “Well, I'm sorry if I have to disagree with you, but I don't recall agreeing to this".

Ellie was boiling inside. Not that it had anything to do with anger and frustration any more. Maybe it had to do with the way he was looking at her. Or the low rumble of his voice that she could feel vibrate against her skin where their bodies touched. Or maybe it had to do with how his bare chest was pressing against her, his strong arms on either side of her acting as both a physical obstacle and a wicked temptation, the dark lines of his tattooed brand nearly brought to life as his muscles twitched and flexed, alert.

But she could not cave now. Not yet. She had to keep that poker face on, as long as she could. It was a matter of pride. Or maybe she just enjoyed playing the game.

“Well, not much you can do about it, Mr Raines, now that it's ruined", she simply stated, holding his daring glare, and putting a hand on his chest to make him back off *as if she wanted him to*.

“I don't care that it's ruined” he insisted, edging his mouth closer to hers to command, “I want it back".

His gaze did not waver, even when he noticed the way her pupils dilated at his words and the way her breath caught in her throat, her heart pounding louder in her chest, although she did her best to keep her composure.

“Fine", she blurted out, suddenly pushing him a few steps back, hastily reaching for the front of the shirt to undo the few buttons that she had bothered to fasten earlier in the day.

A flicker of a smile finally graced her face, mischievous, upon seeing Adrian’s eyes finally shifting away from hers to watch her fingers work on the fabric, their colour subtly darkening as more skin became exposed. His irises had completely turned to that mesmerizing gold that she knew so well by the time she had opened the blouse, revealing her round breasts unceremoniously and shrugging off the white material quickly, eager to shove it in his hands as an excuse to close the gap between them.

“Happy now?”, she grinned, pressing her body flush against his, pushing him backwards in the process until their motion was stopped by the cold marble of the kitchen island behind him.  

“Can’t you tell?” he teased, subtly grinding his hips against her as he tossed the shirt to the floor to free his hands and grab her backside firmly.

That was it. That stiffness pressed proudly against her and those callous hands pulling her towards it were the end of her composure. And of Adrian’s as well, for that matter. A genuine and cheeky smile now lighting up her face and eyes dark with need, she threw her arms around his neck to reach for his mouth, locking her fingers in his hair to pull him closer so that she could wipe that stupid smirk from his face.

She kissed him as fiercely as she could, their lips clashing against each other in a wet mess of flesh and teeth, Ellie wriggling against his chest furiously as Adrian was trying to take over the control of their embrace.

Their dance had nothing gracious or flirtatious anymore. It was a fiery battle of mouths, grabbing and pulling, although both of them were wearing the same playful grin on their lips every time their eyes met and battled for control.

The endorphins in her body were sending confusing signals to her brain, torn between the will to prove herself feisty and able to dictate the game – which she was, as they both knew it already-, and the desire to let Adrian show her how much he wanted her right now.  

Adrian was doing his best to hold back his strength and his urges, savouring the way the tension Ellie had accumulated from her frustrating culinary experiment had slowly morphed into a very different kind of tension under his touch and devouring eyes.

The satisfaction he was feeling from seeing her respond to him so well was not even about the power he knew he could have over her in moments like this. Because she had just as much power over him. It was about that trust that they were carefully building together and that allowed them to be themselves with each other. The kind of trust that could free you from your deepest insecurities and help you explore truly who you were. And although Adrian once thought that there was no more corner of himself that was left to unveil, she had gradually made him realise that he was wrong. And he wanted her to be empowered to do the same. Empowered to explore and discover who she was, and define who she wanted to be. And in this moment, she was entitled to express her frustration and blow it off in any she wanted to, even if the reason for her initial outburst was trivial and kind of amusing. He would stand by and take her cues, although incredibly eager to watch it all unravel under his eyes and against his skin.

The fire and hunger in her eyes and in her touch were not making it easy, though. Nor was the warmth of her chest against his and of her fingers playing with the hem of his sweatpants.  

“I know the shirt was yours…” she chuckled between kisses, breathless, as she felt his hands fumbling with the waistband of her shorts. “… but I don't recall these ever belonging to you, Mr Raines". Her eyes were daring and mischievous. She was clearly enjoying their little power-play as much as he was. And it was intoxicating.  

“Fair point, miss Reed” he conceded, before letting his lips trail down her throat. “But I do recall you assuring me very, very clearly, multiple times over the last few weeks, that what was underneath did belong to me”.

Ellie could not stop the giggle that escaped her lips at his words, the warmth pooling dangerously between her thighs and her cheeks flushing brightly as glimpses of the moments Adrian was referring to flashed in her head. By the time she had managed to pull herself back in the moment, he had already made quick work of the last bits of clothing she had left, and had taken advantage of that brief distraction to lift her from the ground. She instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist, too aroused by now to keep pretending she had not been craving for this all along.

“So, where shall we take this, Miss Reed?” he whispered in her ear, his smile warm but his eyes dark with lust.

Ellie stared at him with hunger for a few seconds, taking the time to nip at his bottom lip as if carefully evaluating their options. “Hum… we wouldn’t want to make a mess of your bedroom, with all that flour and grime on me, wouldn’t we, Mr Raines?”.

“On this we can fully agree”, he muttered against her lips, before claiming her mouth again, her lips parting invitingly so that their tongues could meet.

Their kiss was long, gentle, and agonizingly chaste at first, but it took merely seconds for their heated bodies to yield to the yearning for each other once more, as if the dam that had been holding down their urges up to that point had now finally collapsed with a spectacular bang. Breathless and dizzy, Adrian could feel his legs stagger dangerously with the frenzy of Ellie’s kisses and the tantalizing way she was shamelessly slithering up and down against him, using all of her upper body strength to grind her hips along his length.

The next thing they knew, she was sat on the edge of the kitchen counter, his hips working urgently between her legs. Her fingers digging in his back. Her heels pressed into the back of his thighs, still covered by the fabric of his pants as none of them could have been bothered to pull them further down than what was required. Her mouth was devouring every inch of his chest, muffling the cries that she could not control any more.

Lost in the comfort of their entwined bodies and echoing moans, Ellie could not remember how the hell this all started in the first place. Her earlier furious complaint to the gods was now long forgotten, only to be replaced by curses of a very different kind.

~~~~~~~~~~

(Still accepting prompts from List #1 Imagines and nsfw prompts)

Tag list:

@adriansbiss

@itsjustwinter

@shanzay44

@purvishraick

@choicesficwriterscreations​

[jaefluenza]

In Case You Don’t Love Yourself | J.jh

word count: 2,4k words

pairing: Jaehyun x prostitute!reader

warning: suicide attempt, suggestive content, mention of sex, arm-cutting, drugs, self loathing etc

a/n : i didn’t write this to mock or use the idea of not loving and appreciating ourselves, but through this little package of scenario i would like to pass on a message that; you cannot truly love another until you know how to love yourself. be proud of who you are, and not ashamed of how someone else sees you. forgive yourself and seek help from professionals or loved ones if needed. remind yourself every day that you’re not alone :) i’m here with all of u <3

I am very much aware that I am in a place where everyone thought is wrong and sinful. Everyone has to hide whenever they'd want to taste and jump into this particular world where they call it the devil's lair, but I get to taste and feel it almost every day.

Everyone eyes me with lust and greed, but no one ever looks at me with even one hint of respect. I know that I don't deserve any of it, but what about love, appreciation, and self-worth? I keep looking for them, oh, I swear I'd chase them to the end of the world. But my dirty body and this filthy mind of mine are banning me to look for who I really am. And I eventually came to the conclusion that I, a nobody in this big hellish world, do not deserve a single fucking love.

Sometimes, I thank God for allowing me to see the rays of sunshine through the small window in my miserable apartment, even though I'm not sure if He was listening. No one ever wants to listen to any of my prayers. I too, sometimes, are listening to people begging the Almighty, to forgive their sins almost every weekend. But that makes me do a lot more thinking, will He ever forgive me? I don't know, who would I ask?

That was until I met Jung Jaehyun.

Working in a place where I met a lot of dirty old men, some young perverts, and curious male students, I didn't expect myself to find a soulmate in any place in the world. For fuck’s sake, I couldn't even find myself. A soulmate? Sounds needy. But that one night, I didn't even know it changed me for the better.

He came with his two friends. One with long beautiful blonde mullet, and one with astonishing pink hair. Him? Not really that special, just a dazzling golden brown hair. I was so awe-struck by the three of them, and I knew that they couldn't just land in this kind of place without actually getting lost. There's no way that they instinctively came here to seek touch from a woman, I thought. But I was wrong.

"The name's Jung Jaehyun. And I would like to order three champagnes for the night. We're celebrating," He ordered with a gorgeous wink. I took his order, and as usual, I offer the services of the ladies we have here. Surprisingly, they didn't ask for any list just like any other guys did. He chose me. By the means of him, yes, only him chose me. The other guys bluntly said that they weren't coming for the sex, but he was. I immediately said yes and two hours with hell-like sexual tension later, I found myself having fun with the devil with him in the VVIP bedroom.

The only thing good from having this job was you got your sexual needs fulfilled, as any other human beings would say. And the only thing bad from having to be this kind of woman was you never got to find love. Moaning each other's names even though you only heard it like fifteen minutes ago never gives you the kind of love that everyone kept talking about. The lust-filled kisses you'd get every night will never compare to the ones they said will sweep you off your feet. They feel either as rough as if an abuser would grab a fist of your hair.

But that one particular night felt faithfully different. Jung Jaehyun kissed me like it was the last night he would ever see me. Jung Jaehyun stripped my upper top as if he would open a whole new fragile world. He sucked on my body like I am the most precious thing in the world. He made me feel like, maybe, I deserve some love in a tiny space called moment. Hang on, was that even love?

I had no idea, but some ideas did come to me at the moment. Something like adoration? Appreciation? Everything that sounds like love and affection.

And when I thought he kissed me so passionately like it was the last time he was gonna see me, we never ended there. He got my number, and I thought I was just gonna be a call girl.

He did call me two days after that hook-up, and I expected him to request me already naked in a sexy nightgown somewhere in a fancy motel, but no. You wouldn't believe me, but he requested my presence in a small cozy cafe for a lunch date. I remember blinking at the sound of his delicate question, before actually saying yes to him. He replied with a simple, "nice" before telling me when we should meet. And for the first time, my heart beats quickly in excitement.

Do I want to end my life? Yes, sometimes. When I feel like my lungs are filled with guilts and regrets, I'd want to just disappear out of this uncaring world. No one would know, anyway. But life does not work that easy, right? When life would suffocate my little existence, I know I can not just end it. Instead, I have to keep on fighting. As much as how dirty and useless I am as a person, I still have these little rays of pride and hope.

Back to Jung Jaehyun. He took me on a real date, something that I couldn't believe truly happened that day. He paid for the lunch after we ordered some fish-and-chips and two glasses of peach ice tea which felt like a fancy dinner compared to the countless ramen cups I had almost every day.

And, though it may seem strange, we talked. Like, having a good conversation as actual human beings who love to chat with someone under good weather. He asked about how I've been living, and I lied about how I live just fine, even though I wasn't sure if he had noticed the glint of my shaky eyes. He casually informed me about his life, how he lives with other four boys in the apartment, before telling me that he is, as a matter of fact, a celebrity in a strained manner.

I didn't dare to judge him. I mean, who even am I to judge? Everyone would know that I am nothing but a piece of trash compared to what he is. He is far beyond me. And I plucked up the courage to ask him the question that had just popped in my mind with a bitter laugh, "If you're a singer, then why would you be sitting with me here in daylight, and not spending some time singing or slaying the stage like you usually do?"

And he unworldly answered, "Well, because I'm interested in you?"

I know it was wrong to lash out on him like that. I was confused, I was pissed that he said he was interested in me. It's like he was saying that I got to feel this whole new experience, just because he was interested in me. I could never understand why he would be fucking interested in me, while there are millions of women he could just pick out to be his, but me? Hell no.

Though there was a little bit of regret when I unpleasantly ended the date, I couldn't do anything besides shoving him off when he offered to send me home.

Jung Jaehyun was indeed a whole new experience to me. He didn't give up just like that. He might know that it would be uncomfortable for me to receive his text at the moment, so he came again to the pub. I bit my lips nervously when I offered him a drink which felt like deja vu, and he only smiled. "I would like you for the night."

I wasn't ready for the sex, though I secretly crave a second time with him, and he seemed to know that. We ended up at the same VVIP room just like we first met, but he didn't touch me.

I sat down as he told me so, and when I thought that it could be a hint of dominance in bed, he also sat next to me on the edge of the bed. "You're not going to touch me?" I asked. He shook his head, "As much as I want to, no. We're just going to talk." I knew that I couldn't lose to his pair of sharp eyes, so I sighed and listened to him.

"That lunch, I apologize if what I said to you was offending." He paused before looking straight into my eyes. His deep brown orbs dig through my own pair as if he was looking for something hidden in them. "You did not actually offend me, but I was just overreacting."

"May I perhaps... know your concerns?" Oh, how much I love that gentle voice. It gives me reassurance and calmness.

"I was just confused. Like, how come a snazzy person like you, be interested in me who is a literal nobody? I was just feeling like you make a joke out of me. I'm sorry I made you apologize," I explained.

He chuckled beautifully. "You don't have to be sorry. It is not wrong for you to think like that, I wouldn't judge you. But after almost a week of knowing you, you are not that worthless like what you have just said." And for once, I believed in someone.

We continue to seek each other, him occasionally trying to tell me to quit the dark nightlife, and me trying to adjust to his busy schedules. We called each other as lovers, and I could finally say that I found the love I never thought I could find. I ended up quitting my job sooner than I expected, and move into his newly bought apartment one month after we started dating.

But, does life finally give up on hammering me down?

To be in love with Jung Jaehyun would be an understatement. We love each other so much to the point that I started to forget my anxiety and insecurities in awhile. He made it clear to me every day that I am worthy of being myself, being loved, and being cared for. Every time I would look at the mirror, he would get there as quickly as he can, to reassure me that he loves me, for everything I am, and I believe in him.

But is that enough? I don't know. As much as he showers me with love and fondness, he's not home 24/7. He works for our future, as he promised. And those alone times would have me overthinking on the big lavish sofa, am I really worthy of his time? Why would he stay with me, a literal nobody who still needs her pills every night before she falls asleep to keep her calm?

Yes, I never told Jaehyun that I have meds to keep my sanity steady. I never told him that sometimes I ordered some syringes of sedatives to keep my cries away. He never gets the idea of what's behind the reason why I'm always able to smile in front of him.

I don't want him to know that I hate to cry alone, at the thought of being a useless parasite leaving under his wings. I don't want him to find out that I'm just a drug addict that makes him look like a fool trying to convince me that he truly loves me. And those negative thoughts would eventually turn into something bigger, something that'd make me walk staggering into the kitchen, to where we kept our knives.

I always promise myself that I need to keep on fighting, but sometimes, feeling enough was never enough. The more I convince myself that I can be happy with him in this full-of-twist life, the more those monsters crawl onto the back of my mind. I hate being whispered that I'm not good enough for him, and anybody else and that I don't deserve the love I've been dreaming of getting. It hurts, it's killing me inside. It feels like its thorns are ripping through my lungs as I try to slide the knife into my arm-

"What the fuck are you trying to do?!"

Jung Jaehyun opens the door as the exhaustion started to dart away from his body. He expected his lover to be greeting him with those lovely eyes, and a bear hug would be nice. But what he found as soon as he reached the kitchen has made his senses almost flying out of his mind.

She dropped the knife just as she heard the panic in his scream, eyes red from the fear of death. Scattered on the floor, there she is, sitting weakly while coming into a realization that she almost broke her own promise, to keep on fighting. "J-jae..."

Jaehyun immediately runs toward the poor woman. He quickly scoops her into his arms, hugging her close to make sure that she feels safe. His eyes stutter in the fear of losing her, worries start to creep into his brain about what if he was a minute late, or so. He sighed in relief in her ears, whispering a string of "Oh my goodness" as an indication of ease that she's still here with him.

He loves her with all his might, but why would she doubt him?

Loving Jung Jaehyun is not easy, as the journey wasn't even close to that yet. The first step is to love me first, to accept who I really am, and to forgive what I had in the past. Syringes and pills slowly disappear from my life, just after I found out that telling him and a professional my every story would help much better.

I learned how to see the future ahead, with the help of a man whom I'm trying to love dearly with all my imperfections. He no longer promises me things like he used to before, though it sounds so much reassuring whenever I hear them, but now his actions directly and clearly tell me that I'll be alright. We'll be just right. And I'm still learning to believe in myself and to believe in him as well.

I love you, Jung Jaehyun. I love myself, too.

NCT 127 Masterlist

Jaefluenza navigation

[dinosaurtsukki]

Tsukki fanfic owo S/o is always loving and caring towards tsukki but one day tsukki keeps being emotionless and neglecting s/o. He thinks that s/o will always be there cuz s/o has always been the one saying how much she loves him. But s/o gets mad cuz it was a bad day and tsukki is still emotionally off. S/o ain’t like screaming or anything but silently crying cuz that’s how tsukki is and thinks that she should take care of her own emotions. Tsukki sees this and opens up about being stoic.

Heyyy if you’re taking requests for tsukki fic, can you do a wholesome tsukki and s/o kinda thing. I wanna have one where tsukki laughs and enjoys his time with s/o. like he secretly thinks a lot about how much he loves s/o. idk but I just wanna read fanfic where tsukki laughs and smiles a lot :”)

okay i know these two were probably sent by two diff. people but i kind of wanted to do both of these in one, slightly long drabble hehe. i hope you all like this i had a ton of fun thinking of it and writing it :). also, i made reader a university professor because that’s an occupation i’m more familiar with. and,,, i hope this is what you were looking for ? (i kind of went off a bit ahh i’m sorry!) 

You and Tsukishima struggling with being around each other 24/7 during quarantine 

(feat. arguing, pen-clicking, and then some singing and fluff later on)

between you and tsukishima, it was him who predicted that the pandemic would inevitably lead to a long lockdown period where you two would have to live in the same space, twenty-four hours a day. it was your one ray of light during that dark time when the world was essentially on fire. you and tsukishima tended to have busy work schedules with him at the museum and you teaching at the nearby university so you saw the lockdown period as a way to spend more time with your boyfriend.

the first few weeks were fine aside from the constant caution whenever you or tsukishima went out for groceries. neither of you had work yet with the university and museum still adjusting so you two spent the time learning how to bake bread, sleeping in until noon, and staying up late, curled up on the couch and re-watching the Jurassic Park series.

the next few weeks were... less than fine. both of you had to get back to work, which meant a whole lot of online meetings. tsukishima spent hours working on the new online exhibits that the museum was doing while you were grading papers for days. that’s when you started picking up on some of the annoying things that your boyfriend did, like: not putting the milk back in the fridge, hogging the blankets when you guys slept, and playing the music on his headphones really loud that you had to remove them yourself to talk to him. but you weren’t the only one picking on annoying habits. tsukishima felt that he was just now realizing how many products you had in the bathroom that he couldn’t even find his own shampoo. he hated that you always finished the hot sauce by dumping two tablespoons on your food whenever you ate. and he absolutely loathed the sound of you frantically clicking your pen whenever you were stressed.

but, those few weeks were still somewhat alright. the two of you either dealt with things by talking it out or just ignoring them altogether. tsukishima would still carry you to be whenever you passed out on the dining table and you still made him an extra cup of coffee in the afternoon.

and then, the next few weeks happened. at this point, tsukishima barely had any work to do with the museum’s online exhibit up, except for answering the occasional dumb question on their website. he spent most of the day pacing the house, looking for something to do unless he was going to lie in bed while blasting music. you, on the other hand, were chest-deep in writing course packs, syllabi, compiling readings, emailing students, and conducting online classes. almost everything you two did led to you or tsukishima jumping at the other’s throats. 

and that’s when the metaphorical shit hit the metaphorical fan.

you were in the middle of checking papers, knowing very well that your deadline was fast approaching and if you wanted your students to get on with their next task, you had to send them the drafts of their papers as soon as possible. as per your usual habit when you were stressed out, you were clicking your favorite violet pen like crazy. tsukishima, who was at his desk on the other side of the room that you two shared as your office, could feel his sanity hanging by a thread that was unraveling with every click of your pen. and you were clicking your pen a lot. 

‘it’s their nervous habit, it’s their nervous habit, it’s their nervous habit,’ tsukishima repeated as he closed his eyes and increased the volume of the music he was listening to in hopes to drown out the sound.

click-click-click-click-click-click-click-click-click-click-click-click-click-click-click-cl--

“can you not?” tsukishima tugged his headphones off and swiveled around to yell at you. the sudden volume of your boyfriend’s voice made you jump in your seat but unable to react fast enough when tsukishima stood up and plucked the purple pen from your hands. 

on any other day, you would have simply apologized and reasoned with tsukishima about your nervous habit. but, you weren’t grading a shit ton of papers on any other day.

“easy for you to say when you don’t have all these papers to grade!” you stood up and looked at your scowling boyfriend right in the eye. both of you had dark circles under your eyes and unwashed hair and neither of you cared. “why don’t you get out of the room if it’s so damn annoying?”

“maybe it’s because i also live here and i have every right to be comfortable in the office without having to hear the sound of your pen 24/7!” tsukishima yelled.

“well it’s not like you have anything important to work on,” you snapped, putting emphasis on ‘important’. that struck a vein with tsukishima and you could see the irritated quirk of his eyebrows. 

“are you saying that i’m useless here?” he said slowly and menacingly. “it’s not my fault that the fucking museum isn’t open at this time.”

“i’m not saying that but it sure would be nice for you to give me a helping hand once in a while when you know what i’m going through,” you huffed. you knew that you two were straying far away from the discussion about your pen-clicking habits but all those weeks of putting up with each other’s habits and other frustrations were bubbling from the surface.

“don’t you think i wish i could just take a break from all this? it sure would be nice if you just asked me how i was doing or cooked dinner more than just a few times a week!” you yelled.

“what am i, your mom?” tsukishima scoffed.

“no, you’re my boyfriend,” you emphasized. “and you’re just supposed to do things like that especially when you know what i’m going through. like, i get that you like keeping to yourself most of the time and you’re not super into cuddles or anything but, i don’t know, a ‘how are you?’ once in a while would be fucking great!” you gasped for air after your rant ended. for a fraction of a second, tsukishima looked almost sad or sorry and you began to hope that maybe you got through him. but, as quickly as it came, tsukishima scowled and turned away.

“if dinner’s what you want then fine, i’ll make something later. but for the love of god, stop clicking your fucking pen,” he sighed and sat at his desk before putting the headphones over his ears. you fumed at his indifference, you could practically feel your face heat up from anger. in a few strides, you crossed the room to his desk.

“we’re not done talking tsukishima!” you yelled over how loudly you knew tsukishima was blasting his music. in one quick motion, you unplugged the aux cord of his headphones.

unluckily for tsukishima, his phone did That Thing called ‘Playing Your Music Out Loud After Removing the Headphone Jack’ that he desperately avoided again and again by constantly lowering the volume on his phone before removing his headphones. even more unluckily for him, he was blasting his playlist full of taylor swift songs that had somehow held his sanity for the past few weeks.

and you, a sworn taylor swift fan, heard the very familiar opening track of ‘Wildest Dreams’. 

both of you were quiet as the intro played, both very shocked from the sudden interruption that had broken your heated argument. and then, tsukishima reacted by reaching for his phone. unluckily for him again, you reacted faster and grabbed the phone first.

“no way,” you exclaimed as you opened his playlist and scrolled through the songs, your anger quickly forgotten. 

“y/n, give it back!” tsukishima gritted his teeth and swiped at the phone in your hand. he could feel his own face heating up from embarrassment at his secret being revealed. 

“why are you embarrassed about it? it’s cute! you should have told me way sooner and we could have listened to folklore together,” you grinned at him. “and i love this song. ‘you said let’s get out of this town--’”

“give it!” tsukishima grabbed the phone out of your hand while you were distracted singing. 

“no, no, no! don’t pause it! i love this!” you whined, grabbing at his arm as he sat down. tsukishima was one press of a thumb away from ending your enjoyment. but, it was exactly that which stopped him from pressing ‘pause.’ now that he thought about it, when was the last time he heard you laugh.

and besides, ‘Wildest Dreams’ was a good song.

“come on tsukki,” you grinned cheekily. “look! it’s about you! ‘he’s so taaalll and handsome as heeeellll,’” you sang, trying to reach taylor’s high notes. 

“do you realize how embarrassing you’re being right now?” tsukishima sighed, but the hand over his mouth hiding the grin on his face betrayed how flattered he was.

“sing with me! sing with me!” you chanted, jumping up and down on the balls of your feet. “come on, nobody’s watching! in case you haven’t realized it, it’s literally been just us here.”

tsukishima looked at you. he wasn’t that unhinged from the lockdown yet that he would start singing taylor swift out loud.

but the ecstatic look on your face was something that he undoubtedly missed, along with his favorite strawberry shortcake at the cafe you two frequented. and you were right. it was just the two of you.

“...say you’ll remember me,” he sang softly. the grin on your face widened and you let out a giggle before joining him.

“standing in a nice dress staring at the sunset babe,” you sang. tsukishima smiled freely as he sang and watched you enjoy yourself. and then, you held at his hands and tugged him from the chair.

“what are you doing?”

“we’re going to dance. duh.”

“wh-what? no!” tsukishima shook his head even as you successfully tugged him out of his chair. “singing is one thing and dancing is another thing.”

“think of it as more like, you already sang so might as well dance,” you smirked at him. tsukishima stubbornly kept still even while you held his hands and swayed from side to side. “tsukkiiiiiii,” you whined when he still refused to move. you kept swaying while pouting up at your boyfriend. finally, he let out a sigh and put a hand behind your back before pulling you closer to him.

“that’s not how you dance, idiot,” he muttered. 

“so... you’re going to show me how?” you smiled cheekily. tsukishima rolled his eyes but proceeded to sway you back and forth as he hummed along to the music. you enjoyed the slow dance before, without warning, tsukishima grinned and spun you around.

“hey!” you laughed, feeling yourself stumble before being pulled back into tsukishima’s arms. 

“what? i thought you wanted to dance?” this time, it was his turn to smile cheekily at you. 

“yeah but--” you were cut off with tsukishima spinning you around again. “tsukki-- i-- stop!!” you attempted to say in between your boyfriend laughing and repeatedly spinning you around. 

“stop! i’m dizzy!” you erupted into fit of laughter as you wrapped your arms around your boyfriend to stop him from spinning you again. “where the hell did you learn that?”

“mom always had this thing where she would suddenly dance during christmas and new years when she had too much to drink,” tsukishima smiled at the memory as his hands circled around you. “usually, it was akiteru who she pulled to dance. i kind of, picked up a thing or two.”

“hmmmm, a new fact about tsukki,” you hummed and looked up at him. “i’ve learned two new facts today.”

“two new facts that you’re going to keep secret,” he emphasized, flicking you lightly on the forehead. 

“yeah, yeah. you can stop burying yourself in your headphones now and blast your favorite artist on loudspeaker,” you sang. 

“fine,” he muttered, wrapping his arms around you tighter. tsukishima realized that he hadn’t hugged you like this in a while. hell, you two hadn’t had this kind of break in a while. after weeks of feeling like he was ‘putting up’ with you, tsukishima remembered what he was doing sharing a living space with you in the first place. 

“hey... i’m actually not that bad at grading papers. like, i know grammar and how to write a proper argument. also, i had to tutor two idiots throughout high school,” tsukishima said. you looked up at him with a relieved smile on your face. tsukishima felt a knot in his chest loosen. maybe he should have offered that weeks ago.

“that would be great, tsukki,” you smiled. “i’ll... try not to click my pen too much.”

“yes please,” tsukishima sighed with relief and let you go. “i’m getting some water from the kitchen. need anything?”

“some tea would be great right now,” you nodded and sat back in your chair.

“got it,” tsukishima nodded and started for the door. but before he left, you called out to him.

“love you, kei.” 

tsukishima smiled as he reached for the doorknob. “love you too, y/n.” 

taglist (still open to anyone who wants in): @montys-chaos​ @miyumtwins​ @strawberriimilkshake​ @pocubo​ @sugawara-sweetheart@akaashisbabydoll @laure-chan@therainroguefanfiction@atetiffdoesart@stephdaninja@oikaw-ugh @charliefredb @dramaqueenweeb1469@tremblinghearts @applepienation also you @janellion because you’re responsible for any swiftie!tsukki content that i write from now on

[rowanwhitethornisbae]

Faking It Ch 2

A/N: Thanks for all the love on chapter one! I’m defiantly going to make this at least ten chapters so buckle up haha. TW: Language 

Aelin couldn't remember when she’d lost count of the number of shots she’d taken. All she knew was that the alcohol coursing through her veins offered temporary relief from the breathtaking pain. The pain that had her sobbing so hard that she vomited her guts up each and every night. These pointless high school parties were her only escape from reality. Her parents were dead. Who gave a fuck about anything. Stumbling a little, Aelin made her way over the kitchen sink, prepared to vomit if need be. 

“Are you okay?” A low voice asked from behind her. 

“Fine.” She muttered and leaned against the counter for some semblance of balance.

“You don't look it.” The stranger said kindly. 

“Well isn't there some saying; Don’t judge a cover by its book or whatever.”

The mystery man laughed and Aelin finally lifted her head to look at him. He was handsome. So much so that if she hadn't already been leaning on something she might have swooned. His eyes were green, the colour of a pine tree in the dead of winter. The sleeves of his white shirt were rolled and a tattoo crawled down the length of his arm and decorated the edge of his collarbone. 

I like men with tattoos. She thought. 

“Thanks.” He said, laughing awkwardly under his breath. 

Oh shit. She avoided meeting his eye, instead landing her gaze upon his silver hair. 

“Do you dye your hair.” She asked casually. 

He seemed slightly taken aback, but smiled all the same. “No. Do you?” 

She gasped as if it was the most preposterous thing he could've said and ran a hand through her long blond hair. 

“I’d sooner eat snakes.” Aelin grinned.

“People all over the world do that voluntarily.” The green eyed man mused. 

An image of someone eating snake popped into her head and Aelin suddenly felt bile rise in her throat. Before she could vomit on the perfect stranger, she bolted from the kitchen and into a vacant bathroom. Gagging, she fell onto her knees and was violently ill. 

So gently that she barely even noticed, her hair was pulled back from her neck and shoulders as her stranger eased himself onto the cold tile beside her. When Aelin had finished vomiting, she wiped her mouth on the back of her hand and slumped against the wall. 

“Thanks.” She said, tying her hair into a messy bun with shaking hands.

“I’m Rowan.” He answered, extending a hand. 

For the first time in weeks, she felt a smile tug at the corner of her lips. 

“Aelin.” 

“Miss Galathynius are you even listening.” Her math teacher’s voice snapped her out of that very unwelcome flashback. 

“Do you want me to lie to you?” She asked, earning a few laughs from her classmates and an elbow to the ribs from Aedion. 

“Take a walk.” He snarled, and Aelin breathed a sigh of relief. She needed fresh air anyway. 

The hallway was practically empty, save a few students on their way to the bathroom, and Aelin started towards the side doors to the parking lot. She passed a locker that had been decorated for someone’s birthday. Streamers flowed down from the top, framing the collage of photos perfectly. The girl in question looked to be a freshman, with a bright smile on her face and eyes that screamed innocence. The things Aelin would do to go back to freshman year. To live with that lack of knowledge and trauma that she so desired. But she couldn't. 

She was rounding the last corner when something made her stop dead on her feet. There, leaning against the wall in a way she’d seen so many times before, was Chaol Westfall. Still, it wasn't the sight of him that send her heart into a flurry. It was the girl fiddling with her hair opposite him. It took Aelin a minute to recognize her. Nesryn Faliq, they had advanced chemistry together. She laughed at something Chaol said and reached out a hand to brush his arm. Shivers ran down Aelin’s spine at that hint of a touch. Chaol smiled back at Nesryn and leaned in to whisper something in her ear. 

Unable to watch anymore, Aelin turned on her heels and bolted to the women's bathroom. She was breathing too hard, her heart racing much too fast to be healthy. God this was an awful time to have a panic attack. Slowly, she managed to calm her breathing enough to splash water on her face. 

This was bad. Really fucking bad. They’d broken up barely 24 hours ago and Chaol was already flirting with the entire female population of Terrasen High. Fine, maybe that was a bit of an exaggeration.

Clearly Lysandra had been right. Aelin slumped down against the wall and curled her knees to her chest. She needed a rebound, and fast. Aelin pondered names as she ran her fingers through the grooves in the bathroom wall. Name after name came forward and she found herself subconsciously shooting them all down. 

Nox, Fenrys, Sam, Lorcan, Sartaq. None sounded right. 

In fact, the only one she could ever see herself with was Rowan Whitethorn. The silver haired senior who’s heart she’d held in her hands sophomore year. Held and crushed. She deserved every ounce of the hatred he had for her. 

Still, he wasn't a bad option. She knew he found her beautiful, he’d told her as much. The only problem was that he would never go for her again. People tended to put up a guard after having their heart shattered. 

Flirting with him would be futile and unfair. The only way she could ever get him to date her was if she gave him something in return. 

“Holy shit.” Aelin swore, jumping up so fast that she nearly hit her heat on the sink. 

If there was anything Aelin knew about Rowan, it was that he wanted to play on the football team. He’d gone on and on about it before. According to him, he had been deathly ill during tryouts and had ended up vomiting off the side after one hit. He’d begged and begged the coach to let him try out again but it was four years later and Rowan still wasn't on the team. Lorcan, Fenrys, Vaughn, and Gavriel all were and Rowan was half miserable because of it. 

There it was. A plan. She’d get him a tryout, somehow, and in exchange he would help her beat Chaol in whatever sick game they were playing. With a newfound purpose, Aelin washed her hands and walked back to math class.

Lunch. She’d make her move then. 

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

The cafeteria was mostly empty, a normal occurrence for Tuesday afternoons. The lunch provided was some weird crossover of meatloaf and mashed potatoes that had most students eating out. Unfortunately for Rowan, Fenrys had convinced them to eat in the cafeteria today in his attempts to stalk a blonde girl on spare in the lounge. 

Now, he was picking at his food as his friends discussed the football game tomorrow. Rowan was just beginning to think his day couldn't get any worse, when he felt a gentle tap on his shoulder. 

“Can I talk to you?” Someone asked from over his shoulder. He knew that voice. Had heard it in both his dreams and his nightmares. Rowan’s grip on his fork tightened and his knuckles went white. His foot began drumming against the floor as he braced himself for impact. Everyone else at the table was rapidly flicking their gaze between Aelin and Rowan. 

“No.” He said harshly, not daring to turn around. Rowan didn't think he’d have the will to deny her anything if he was forced to meet her eye. 

“Please.” Aelin pleaded. “I have something to say to you.” 

“Well that’s too fucking bad because I have nothing to say to you.” He responded, voice carefully exempt of any emotion. 

“Then just listen.” She begged. “If you don't like what I have to say than we can go back to ignoring each other like you wanted.” 

“I wasn't the one who wanted that.” He snapped before he could take it back. 

Rowan felt more than saw Aelin stiffen behind him. Lorcan was drumming his fingers on the table, as if prepared to hold Rowan back if called for. 

But it was Fenrys, the friend who was kind to everyone, who spoke. “I think you should go Aelin.” 

She swallowed audibly behind him. “Alright.” She relented. “I’ll be at the Starbucks during fourth for spare. Come find me if you want.”

Rowan didn't bother to nod. Instead, he gripped his fork harder, letting up only when the sound of retreating footsteps subsided. He looked up slowly to find all eyes on him.  

“So that just happened.” Lorcan mused. 

“Yes thank you so much for that observation.” Rowan sniped sarcastically. 

“Woah.” Lorcan replied, throwing up his arms in mock surrender. “You’re mad at Galathynius, not us remember.” 

“Whatever.” He mumbled and went back to picking at his food. After a few seconds he threw his fork on the table and let out a groan of frustration. 

“This food is the worst thing I have ever eaten in my entire life. It is terrible and horrible and fucked up and I have no idea what to do with it.” Rowan half-shouted. Heads swivelled in his direction and he ignored them. Judgement from people he didn't know was the least of his many concerns at the moment. 

“Is that supposed to be some sort of metaphor for your life?” Vaughn asked, dead serious. 

“Excuse me?” 

“Seriously Rowan. All I've heard for the last year and a half is Aelin Galathynius this and Aelin Galathynius that and now she’s finally speaking to you and you’re not going to do anything about it.” 

“I don't talk about her that much.” Rowan mumbled under his breath. Lorcan shot him a look as if to say “Yes. Yes you do.”

“I know I'm normally not one to get involved in deep shit, but Vaughn’s right. I’ve never seen you nearly as happy as you were for those few months in tenth. And honestly, what’s the worst that can happen. You hear what she has to say. You like it, great. You don't, fuck it and forget about her.” Rowan had never heard Fenrys speak for so long without sarcasm in his life. 

“To be fair,” Gavriel said, always the buffer. “We’ve also never seen Rowan as broken as he was after Aelin. Maybe the risk outweighs the reward on this one Fen.” 

Rowan didn't reply. He was too busy struggling to get the memory of those painful few weeks from his head. 

“Just talk to her man. Who gives two fucks it’s high school.” Despite being mainly in an attempt to end this conversation, Lorcan’s words made sense. It was just high school. In one more year he’d be out of this shit hole and hopefully across the world in Rithfold. Talking to Aelin was just one step along the way. 

“I’m going to.” He said, willing his tone to stay confident. 

“Great man.” Fen said, patting him on the back. He barely felt it though. Barely felt anything as the rest of the day passed by in a blur, his thoughts occupied by a beautiful blond haired girl. 

---------

It had been twenty minutes and Aelin was starting to think Rowan wasn't coming. In all honestly she should've expected that outcome from the beginning. Even though she understood, the way he had acted towards her at lunch had hurt more than she was willing to let on. 

Instead of wallowing in her own self pity, Aelin took a long sip from her coffee. It seared her tongue and burned her throat, the pain helping to ground her in a way nothing else ever could. She was picking at her fingernails, head down, when he arrived. 

A metal chair scraped against the cobblestone, a bird sung from a oak tree, a paper bag rustled in the wind, Aelin Galathynius blinked. That’s all she had time to do. One blink to compose herself before she was looking dead into the eyes of Rowan Whitethorn. 

She allowed herself a brief second to take him in up close. His high and defined cheekbones, perfectly crafted nose, striking green eyes, and silver hair had always made for a truly stunning combination. He looked the same as ever. Except he didn't. His eyes no longer possessed that unbridled joy and love that she’d seen whenever he looked at her. Instead he just looked done. Done with life and done with her. 

Aelin swallowed audibly and handed him a coffee. “Cream and sugar.” She smiled, trying to lighten the mood. 

Rowan’s hands tightened slightly. “You remembered.” It wasn't a question. After a brief moment of hesitation he accepted the coffee and went back to staring at the table. 

“What is this about Aelin?” He asked softly. Although his voice was gentle, his tone was hurt in a way anyone else would’ve missed. She hated that. Hated that now, even a year later she was still somehow hurting him. 

“So you know I broke up with Chaol. Or, he broke up with me.” She tried to keep the tremor out of her voice. Rowan nodded once, nearly imperceptibly, and she took that as a sign to continue. “Anyway, Lysandra says that I need a rebound and I need one first because Chaol is the one who broke up with me.”

Rowan’s eye flared with surprise and something else she couldn't place. “I won't be your rebound. Please don't disrespect me by asking.” 

Her heart nearly cracked open at the pain lingering in his words. “No no I would never.” Aelin paused for a brief moment to regain her bearings. “Here’s the thing. I don't want a rebound. I’ve been in a relationship for as long as I can remember and I'm in desperate need of a break. But, I’m also the most competitive person you'll ever meet. Like seriously it’s an issue, once -” 

“I know.” Rowan interrupted. “Once you sprained your ankle 8 km into a 10 k run and still finished first because you couldn't stand the thought of losing. You told me already.” 

Aelin just stared at him for a second, her chest unbearably tight. Rowan’s eyes looked her up and down and she could've sworn his eyes flashed in satisfaction at the pain written on her face. 

Not wanting to look at him anymore, she went on. “I figured maybe instead of me actually doing the whole dating thing, we could fake date.” 

She held out a hand as Rowan opened his mouth to protest. Begrudgingly, he restrained from commenting and gestured for her to go on. 

“That way I'd beat Chaol in whatever this is, I wouldn't have to answer everyone’s condolences on my being dumped, and I’d be saved from the whole post breakup dating fiasco.” 

Rowan’s voice was hoarser than before when he finally spoke. “What do I get out of this.” 

She took a deep breath in. “I’ll get you a football tryout.” 

His knee slammed into the table and Aelin couldn't help but flinch. His eyes were wide and lit up with hope. “Seriously? How the hell are you going to do that?” 

“I have a plan.” She tried to sound confident despite her growing doubt. 

Rowan let out a small laugh. “The last time you said that we ended up in the back of a police cruiser covered in raw eggs and paint.” 

Aelin’s face broke into smile and she began to laugh. For a moment she could almost pretend they were back in sophomore year, lying on Rowan’s lawn and watching the stars. Neither of them had known anything about constellations so they’d made things up based on what they looked like. By the end of the night, Aelin’s stomach hurt from laughing. She wondered when the last time she’d been that blissfuly happy was. 

Just as suddenly as they had arrived, their smiles and laughs died on their lips. An uncomfortable silence seized the air and Aelin began to play with the hair elastic on her wrist. 

After a few more seconds, Rowan cleared his throat. “I’ll do it.” He announced, although it sounded like he was still trying to convince himself.  

“Great.” Aelin smiled. “Why don't you come over tomorrow and we can work out logistics.” 

“Don’t you live with Aedion?” Rowan asked cautiously.

“Yeah but he’ll be at Ren’s place tomorrow for a project. I checked.” 

Rowan nodded slowly and rose from his chair. “Alright.” 

They stared at each other for a moment, Rowan standing and Aelin sitting. “I’m going to uh... go.” He said at last, severing the quickly brewing tension. 

Without waiting for answer, he turned and fled, leaving Aelin to do nothing but watch. So they were actually doing this now. What’s the worst that could go wrong? 

TOG Tag List: 

@queen-of-glass

@courtofjurdan

@fictional-horan

@bamchickawowow

@julemmaes

@in-love-with-caramel-macchiato

@chieflemming

@morganofthewildfire

@http-itsrebecca

@captainswanandclintasha

@booknerdproblems

@sassys-world

@thegoddessofyou

@cityofchelsea16

@loudphantomdragon

@poisonous00

@wesupremeginger 

@becarefuloflove

@more-espresso-less-depresso-xx

@tillyrubes10

@perseusannabeth

[headcans-oneshots-and-stuff]

Moonflower

Warning: I mean kidnapping, but it’s more funny than angsty, also slight Yandere vibes torwards the end  Word count:  exactly 2222 (nice) Summary: It was a rather usual evening for you, a Gala, trying to avoid the mayor, getting kidnapped- what more could you want from your night?

This was requeste from a  phenomenal anon: Okay this is really silly, but cute to me for some reason. But could you write, like, reader is kidnapped by the Riddler as a hostage for Batman. But whether they wanna just mess with him, or if they like him, or whatever, for some reason, reader kisses Riddler. On the lips. Idk, I just think the idea is cute as well as whatever Riddler's reaction would be. I hope you like it ☺

Part 2 - Masquerade Part 3 - Magical/Misery/Massacre

You were almost thankful when the light in the ballroom of the city-hall flickered off and fog filled the area that was now only lit up by the lights from outside. The Gala you had been attending, one of the almost monthly charity gala's that some rich-guy (this time the mayor himself) held to make himself look better and to keep close contacts with all the other rich-guys in the city, was so boring that you were minutes away from crashing it yourself. Admittedly, your father was also an all-time favorite Gala host, but he had the excuse of having to keep face with his "side-business" and his parties were often at least somewhat entertaining. But this one? Horrible. Of course, you had somehow managed to be the only one "available" to go, so, not only were you extremely annoyed, but you were also completely alone in a room of rich old couples that tried to lick Bruce Wayne's eldest daughters, possible the next leader of Wayne inc. and one of the most prominent and appeared people in the Wayne-family (as the only one who wasn't dressed up every night and went fighting), boots. You had to admit that you could understand them somehow. Other than your siblings and your dad -who all kept it pretty low with the media- you were on every second tabloid, at every second event and on every second talk-show. You had quickly become the new face of the name Wayne, "proudly" sharing the place with your father. So yeah, you were more available than the rest of your relatives and with ever appearance in the media, they thought more and more that they knew about your opinions and the way you think. Some times you regretted your decision to keep away from the vigilante lifestyle to focus on keeping the Wayne-name alive. You couldn't quite remember when you made that choice, but you knew that as a girl, your father didn't want to train you any further than self-defence, because he was scared you'd get hurt, then Dick came along and was around your age, but still got to train and fight with your dad. Back then you'd been furious about that, but whenever he actually got hurt you felt like it was maybe the right thing to do. Then Dick left and in your anger at your dad for just picking up the next best kid and basically forgetting your sibling, even though you soon warmed up to Jason and accepted him as a second brother, you started focusing on school more and actually started to enjoy conversing with the business-people at Gala's about the news and the market. And somehow, after Jason died and you planned to take Wayne inc. away from your father as revenge for letting your brother die (a plan that you soon let go off when you recognize how much it actually had hurt him), you were somehow in the position of the heir of the Wayne empire, even though at some point -you were pretty sure- your dad asked you if you wanted to be trained like your other siblings to become a vigilante yourself, you were now on the way to business. That way was usually pretty bearable, but completely alone on a Gala that was like an exact copy of all the other ones, you would rather be stuck in a 24-hour business meeting. So, yes, when the Party was cut short by a villain attack you were probably a bit too happy. You heard the panicked calls and shouts of the other guests and quickly activated the bat-alarm ("Cool name dad, thanks for that") that was placed on the back of the necklace you wore (you had many other necklaces that included it too because in modern society you couldn't wear the same jewelry too often). Deciding not to risk waiting for them (and hoping that you could maybe make it to the small dinner down the street to eat something before one of your brothers (most likely Damian who would cling to you every time the two of you were together (even if it was more than the two of you)) found and dragged you back to the manor to check you over), you grabbed the skirt of your rather heavy dress (of course today was the day you decided to wear one of your bigger dresses), pulled it up to your upper thigh and quickly rushed to were you remembered the nearest exit to the Veranda to be. When the cold evening air hit your face you let out a small sigh. Very nice, you thought and started to walk towards the gate, when you felt a sharp pain pierce through your neck, immediately followed by numbness flowing through your whole body. "For real?" you managed to mumble before your legs lost their strength and you tumbled over, not sure if you even hit the ground before you blacked out.

When you woke up, you were almost sure that you'd be back in your home. The last few times you got taken, your family had been quick enough to get you before you even entered any hideaway. But you weren't home. You woke up laying on a rather slim matt on the floor of a small cage. You looked down at yourself to see that you were still wearing the dress that you'd worn earlier and that, even though the gaps between the bars wasn't large enough anyway, you couldn't really escape on your own in that. Damn modern fashion. When you had scanned the area around you you widened your radius to the hall your small personal jail was located in. It was literally just a big, empty warehouse, no-one in sight. "You know," you shouted into the emptiness, hoping someone would hear you, "kidnapping me is really uninspired, you aren't even the first one to do it this month." You sighed when no answer came and instinctively put your hand up to your neck to play with the necklace. Your breath got caught in your throat when you realized it wasn't there. Suddenly a spotlight flashed over the roof of the room, illuminating something that was hanging at the highest point. You didn't need to be close to recognizing your piece of jewelry. "Tell me, Miss Wayne," a voice suddenly filled the room and you started to look around, not sure where it came from, "why does a businesswoman like you have her own personal dog-whistle for batman?" You swallowed hard but kept your composure. "For many reasons," you started in the most confident voice you could manage, "I am in quite of a demand." "So is the mayor and I don't see him having one," the voice got closer and finally a figure stepped close enough for you to make out. You still couldn't see who it was though. "Well, maybe you just didn't see it, maybe it's in his shoe or something." "I don't think so," he stepped closer and you finally recognized the figure and his outfit, but you couldn't even mumble Riddler before he continued: "I studied all the kidnapping patterns of the most important figures in Gotham and somehow you're the only one who the bat always gets to in a matter of minutes." Okay, it's worse than I thought. Time to buy dad some time. "Okay first off, thanks for calling me one of the most important Gothamites," you said, playfully brushing your hair behind your shoulder, "and second if you really know that he has his eyes on me, shouldn't you be worried? I mean I'd think you would have figured out that there's a tracker in it by now." Of course, you knew that he knew and you also knew that he probably had some way or another to block it, but the longer he talked, the sooner your dad would find you. "You're not so stupid," he said, stepping closer to you, somehow already standing in front of your cage, "I've been watching you for a while now and we both know that you're just trying to stall for time, my dear." "You know, it's kinda creepy to say that you watched me. I mean, sure, you're the evil guy here, but still. Stalking?" He chuckled a bit but seemingly ignored what you said. You had to pull other levers, you realized when he turned around. "Don't you still want to know why I have my own Bat-whistle?" you shouted a bit too loud, but effectively managed to get him back to you. "Why would you tell me?" he asked suspiciously. "Well, I guess you want to know that and I really want to know what you think you could gain out of kidnapping me, so you tell me yours, and I'll tell you mine," you winked at him, mischievously. "Hmm," he eyed you, "fine. Even though it's quite obvious isn't it? You're the perfect moonflower for my bat-trap," he said, raising his hand to just slightly hover in front of you. For a second it felt like there was some kind of static energy between you, but you tried to ignore it. "I guess it's my turn now," you breathed out, ignoring the weird mood around you, "As you probably know, the bat has a very weird, honestly with a somewhat strange undertone, relationship with my dad. In exchange for some, uh, financing as my father put it, he agreed to keep his eye out for me a bit more. It's just the result of a parent's protectiveness and business." You weren't really lying, even though the way you said it clearly gave off a very different picture than what was actually the case, but it seemed like the man in front of you bought it. Shouldn't he be here by now? "Well, I guess the reason he protects you a little bit more than the rest of the city is irrelevant as long as he is searching you," he shrugged, seemingly satisfied by the answer and at the same time not really happy about it. You couldn't risk him losing interest again. "There's another secret you might want to know," you whispered ominously, gaining his attention for a second time that night. Before he could investigate your sentence, your hands slipped through the gaps between the bars and grabbed the Riddler's collar, pulling him flush against the poles and crashing your mouth with his. At the feeling of your soft lips against his, he immediately froze, fixed in position like a statue. When you needed to take a breath again, you pulled back, smoothing your dress down and fixing your hair, the man in front of you still completely stiff. "I should probably tell you that the tracker in my necklace isn't the only one on me, you should've really taken my advice and checked the shoes," you smirked and winked again, the Riddler's gaze fixed on you with eyes as wide as dinner plates when the wall behind you crashed open and your family came to your rescue. "Until next time," you shrugged at him when your cage was broken open and Nightwing picked you up and carried you out, from what you could see before you were out of reach, the man you just kissed never moved.

[Bonus]

It had been a fairly long day at Wayne Inc. and the suit you were wearing was starting to be annoying and you wanted nothing more than to peel out of these clothes and get into your jogging pants and one of Jason's oversized T-shirts. So, as quickly as possible, you rushed to your room, ignoring Damian's plead to join him on a walk with Titus, only to stop in your steps after you had opened the door. Your (alarm-wired mind you) window stood open and allowed a cold breeze to fill your room. For a second you contemplated calling someone to check it out, but your curiosity got the best of you. You quietly closed the door and sneaked over to the window with the plan to check if someone was outside, but when you stood in front of it, your eyes landed on a small package that stood on your windowsill. You looked around again, before closing the window (and checking that the alarm wiring was still intact) and sitting down on your bed to open the small box. It was packed neatly with a grey wrapping and a Y/F/C ribbon, making you especially careful when opening it. Inside was a perfume bottle that took your breath away. It was gorgeous. The Cap was adorned by a glass flower that was completely white and round, but other than that there was nothing on it that would give away the contents of the bottle. Having been briefed about poisonous packages by not only Wayne inc. safety regulators but also at least every member of your family at least once, you didn't spray any of the perfume, instead, laying it back into the box. It was then that you noticed the card in it that had the same colour as the inside of the box, making it easy to overlook. You took it out and turned it around to read the words that were written on it with the neatest font you've ever seen. Until next time my Moonflower...

[official-weasley]

The Irreplaceable Charlie Weasley: Pt. 6, Ch. 3

PART 6: THE YEAR WHEN EVERYTHING FALLS INTO PLACE Chapter 3 - The Sneaking Stories

Charlie

I was enjoying my Sixth Year a lot more than my Fifth. I finally felt like I had more time to do the things I wanted even though we had a lot of school work. The thing was, I think we got so used to the amount of work the professors were giving us that we managed to learn how to find free time.

I was spending quite a lot of my time with Hagrid. He finally deemed me old enough so I could go into the Forest with him. We met Torvus a couple of times and I can't even begin to explain how awkward it was the first time, even though Hagrid knew Nova and I snuck into the Forest and met Aragog.

We managed to save a Unicorn, who got its leg stuck in a tree vine, and brought Fairy eggs to a Bowtruckle family. It was so fun that I would do it every day if Hagrid would have the time.

Nova also snuck me in a few times to see her Salamander. Kettleburn gave her access to the Creature Reserve and she brought me along even though she made a promise to him that she wouldn't sneak in any students. Now, that's a true friend! We even took Pip once with us so he could meet Pyro. At first, he wasn't amused at all but when the Salamander indicated that he wanted to play, he was up for it immediately.

Nova took the opportunity to sit down and draw them both together. She knew it would make Pip happy if she drew him again, even though she had a whole notebook filled with drawings of him. He just really liked her attention and we had that in common.

I was having so much fun with her. I could hang out with her 24 hours a day for a week and couldn't get enough of her. If we weren't in the Reserve, we were down by the Lake.

We loved going to Hogsmeade and not just for Butterbeer, sometimes we just strolled around and reminisced on our Third Year when we first visited the village and how much fun it was to have Bill around even though we swore we would never admit to him that we miss him at Hogwarts.

—

There was a moment before Christmas when we took a trip to Hogsmeade and Nova wanted to go for a walk. I wanted to get her opinion on my motivational speech for my Quidditch Team. I knew I was good at catching the Snitch but I was not a smooth talker. The Hufflepuff vs Gryffindor game was approaching after the Holidays and I wanted to impress them for the first time.

We were coming up with all sorts of things to say and then we started to create really funny ones, where I would throw Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans at them or the one where I would threaten them with Tonks' Dungbomb if we would lose. Nova was laughing so much that I never wanted to stop creating these silly speeches just so I could admire how beautiful she is when she laughs.

And there was this moment when she laughed so hard that she buried her head in my shoulder, grabbing my elbow with one hand and my hand with her other one. I tried to act as unphased about it as I could even though I was quite sure she could hear how fast my heart was beating. At that moment I didn't know what to think of it. For a few seconds we were practically holding hands and I know it doesn't sound as exciting but it was a rather big deal to me.

It made me realize that I would have to tell her sooner or later about fancying her but I couldn't gather the courage to say anything as she still seemed not to notice that there is something between us.

—

Nova also attended every single one of my Quidditch practices just to support me being Captain. Which reminds me that she was right when she said that I will find someone great to be Keeper for my Team. His name is Oliver Wood and he is brilliant!

He is a big Quidditch enthusiast and attended every Quidditch World Cup with his dad since he could remember. As a Captain, I was proud of my Team and I really don't want to brag but we destroyed Hufflepuffs this year. Only Slytherin and Ravenclaw to go. I fully supported Nova to quit Quidditch even though I can't help admit I will miss fighting for the Snitch with her.

One downside about spending so much time with her, was that my feelings for her are growing stronger and if I think about it, perhaps it was for the best that we didn't play against each other because I knew I wouldn't be able to leave these feelings off the Pitch anymore.

Nova

I woke up to a sunny Sunday morning. I made my way down to the Common Room alone because Tulip was already gone. I opened the door, ready to go down for breakfast as I yawned.

“Wotcher, Blackwood!” I jumped into the air and if I wasn't completely awake before, I definitely was now.

“Tonks! Merlin's beard, you scared the living ghost out of me!” I pressed my hand against my chest, trying to calm down.

“You called?” I jumped into the air again as I heard a voice right behind my ear.

“Peeves?!” I exclaimed. Too much was happening for someone that hasn't eaten breakfast yet.

“Tonks, what is going on?” I narrowed my eyes at her. She wanted something, I knew it.

“I need your help.” She grinned. I did not like the look on her face or the sound of her voice.

“What with?” I asked.

“Listen, Blackwood! We are in our Sixth Year, we have to focus!” Her grin was getting bigger and she began to terrify me.

“What on? Studying?” I asked, perplexed as I knew that was the last thing on her mind, giving that it was only the beginning of our second term.

“Mischief!” She rolled her eyes as if she was completely disappointed that I didn't guess that. I knew I didn't like the expression on her face!

Tonks has always liked to wreak havoc but she usually did it with Tulip or Jae. Penny didn't want to participate after they placed the Dungbomb in Filch's office. I was, like today, usually dragged into it against my will and Charlie was too busy sneaking into the Forbidden Forest so Tonks rarely found him. Otherwise, I am sure, she would drag him along.

“Tonks, I really...”

“Yeah, yeah. You can tell me on the way.” She grabbed my hand and started dragging me down the corridor.

“But-”

“We can stop in the Great Hall so you can grab a sandwich.” How did she know I wanted to say that?

“But-”

“I already told your Dragon Boy that you will meet him later.” Was she reading my mind?

“But-”

“I know. I know, you're a Prefect and you have responsibilities, blah blah blah.” She mimicked with her hand. At this point, I was sure something was wrong with her.

She was always full of energy and ready to mess stuff up but this mood she was in right now was unusual, even for her.

“Where are you taking me?” I finally gave up as I knew I couldn't get out of it anymore. At least I got my sandwich.

“You'll see.” That wasn't exactly the answer I was expecting.

“And why is Peeves here?” I looked up. Peeves was floating just above our heads and humming something to himself. I never knew what to make of him. If I could, I avoided him. I had no idea that he actually listened to Tonks.

“You'll get your answers later, Blackwood!” And why was she calling me by my last name?

“Tonks?”

“Yes?” She kept looking straight ahead, her eyes sparkling like those of Charlie's when someone told him they liked animals or wanted to talk about Dragons.

“Did Penny experiment on you with her potions again?” I couldn't help but be a bit worried.

In our Fourth Year Penny gained access to Snape's potion ingredients and his classroom. The Calming Draught for Tonks was the only normal potion she made so far. She wanted to create her own potions for every occasion and when she asked us if anyone would volunteer Tonks was the only one with her hand up. We were grateful for it and said nothing as the rest of us didn't want to get even close to Penny's little experiments.

So far she had more failures than successes as she made Tonks' teeth grow so large that she looked like a beaver and Madam Pomfrey had to sort her out. She made a potion that made Tonks lose all her hair and then made the antidote that made Tonks look like a Yeti.

This time, I was sure she gave her an energy potion, as I was already tired next to her and it wasn't even 10 o'clock. I just wanted to go with Charlie to the Forest to read this book we got in the Library about unregistered beast species. He found a nice spot going to the Forest with Hagrid. It wasn't too deep in and it didn't look like anyone would be bothered by us being there and it had just enough sunlight so we could read.

“No, Blackwood. I'm sober as a pickle!” She snapped me out with her answer.

We didn't speak until we reached the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, where Tulip was waiting for us.

“Hi, Nova.” She grinned. What was happening? Is every day with them like this?

“Tulip, what is going on?” I was hoping she wasn't on some kind of a potion too, so somebody could explain to me why I am here.

“Peeves, go check if the coast is clear.” All hope was lost for me to get any information, when Tulip whispered to Peeves, ignoring my question and he entered the classroom.

“Nobooooody insiiiiiide.” Peeves sang as he came back. Tonks gave him something that looked like a Fanged Frisbee and he flew away.

“Blackwood, you're up!” Tonks pushed me towards the door.

“I don't even know what we're doing!” I turned to both of them, more confused than I have ever been before.

“I reckon you didn't tell her about our plan?” Tulip rubbed her chin, looking at Tonks.

“Alright, listen carefully, Blackwood!” She pulled both Tulip and me in a half hug and stuck our heads together.

“We are sneaking into Rakepick's office.” She started.

“Rakepick's office!” I knew that her office was part of the classroom and it did make more sense that they would want to get in there rather than the classroom alone, but I failed to understand what they wanted from her office.

“Blackwood, focus!” She pointed two fingers to my eyes, almost poking me in the process, and then pointed them at hers.

“We are going to steal something from her!” She said proudly as if she just finished telling me a mastermind plan.

“What are we going to...” But before I could ask the question, I already knew the answer. “Her Niffler!” I gasped. “Are you mental? Rakepick is crazy, she will find out it was us sooner or later.”

“It depends how good you are at lying, Blackwood.” She slammed my back, making me stand straight.

“Why do you need me for this job?” I asked as I still didn't know why wasn't I with Charlie in the Forest instead of here being confused.

“I thought Ravenclaws were smart.” Tonks frowned at me as if it had to be clear as a Sunny day as to what my part in all of this was.

“We can't smuggle a Niffler without being too obvious.” Tulip finally started to explain. “So we need your Transfiguration talent.” She pointed her wand to the door and cast Alohamora. The door unlocked and creaked when she pushed it open.

“Transfigure it?” I whispered when we closed the door behind us. “Are you mad!”

“Perhaps, Blackwood. But that's a topic for another day.” Tonks answered. She ran upstairs where the bookshelves were, opened the doors to Rakepick's office, and brought down her Niffler.

“How did you know he was going to be in there?” I was impressed just how fast we were able to find him.

“You underestimate us, Blackwood. We were planning this for weeks.” Tonks beamed at me, handing me the Niffler.

“Yeah, thank's for filling me in!” I said, sarcastically.

“No problem.” I frowned at her as she made me sit down.

“So...” She put her hand on her chin, looking like she was deep in thought. “What do you reckon he looks like?” She asked. At this point, I honestly gave up on questioning her.

“A turtle? A snake? An owl perhaps?” I stared at her, my eyes as wide as they possibly could be.

“A turtle?” I turned to Tulip. “What did Penny give her?”

“She's always like this when we're up to no good.” Tulip swung her hand like Tonks' behavior was completely normal. If this was Tonks every time they went to cause mischief, I needed a new strategy to hide from her.

“C'mon, Blackwood! You're supposed to be good at this. Which spell that we did in class would, you reckon, be the best to Transfigure this Niffler?” I finally understood what she meant when she was listing animals. She was trying to remember all the animals we transfigured in our class.

“I could try turning him into a pincushion without pins...” At this point, I just gave in and I knew the faster I would do my part, the faster I could get out of here. “Or he is rather small, perhaps he would do as a Goblet?” I took out my wand.

“Ericius Languo.” As soon as I tapped on the Niffler, he turned into an empty pincushion.

“Blimey.” Tulip whispered in awe.

“Bloody Hell, Blackwood! I knew you were the right person for the job!” She tapped my back, gentler this time.

“What are you going to do with it?” I forgot that I didn't even know why we were doing this.

“We wanted to see how long will it take for Rakepick to figure out her Niffler is gone.” Explained Tulip, now holding the pincushion and observing my work.

“We reckon she is mistreating him.” Added Tonks.

“And if she notices he is gone at once?” I narrowed my eyes. It was a nice gesture for the Niffler but still, I believe we could find a way where he wouldn't be stuck like a pincushion for like a week.

“Then we will need your help transfiguring it back and we would return it.” Tonks said most casually as if what we were doing was just another Sunday.

We snuck back out of the classroom, Tonks gently holding the pincushion Niffler and they finally let me go. I ran down to the Forbidden Forest to meet Charlie, hoping he didn't already finish the book.

—

We had Defense Against the Dark Arts the first thing the next morning. I thought that we got away with it as we didn't leave any traces behind. I didn't even tell Charlie about what we did, not to drag him into the whole thing. The second Professor Rakepick stepped from her office, I saw on her face that she was missing a Niffler.

“Before we start today's lesson, I have a question for you.” She leaned on her desk and looked at every single one of us, narrow-eyed. Her gaze stopped at me and I gulped.

“Miss Blackwood!” She pushed herself away from the desk and slowly made her way to me in the third row.

“Where were you yesterday morning?” She stopped at my desk and crossed her arms on her chest, waiting for my answer.

“I was snogging Charlie by the Lake.” For the life of me, I couldn't understand why I said that. Charlie, who was snoozing on my shoulder and failed to wake up when Rakepick started the class, rose his head up at once, his eyes wide open.

“Mr. Weasley, nice of you to join us.” Rakepick's eyes moved to him.

“You did what?” He turned to me, completely ignoring our Professor.

“I'll explain later, just follow my lead.” I whispered, still looking at Rakepick. I glanced at Tulip and she winked at me. I swear I will murder them both!

“Did you, or did you not snog Miss Blackwood down by the Lake yesterday morning?” Rakepick leaned towards Charlie who was just as red in the face as I was and repeated the question.

“Yes, ma'am. That was me.” He replied, awkwardly. Apparently, the answer worked, as it left Rakepick with no further questions.

She then took a step backward and stopped at the desk in front of us, where Jae and Tulip were sitting.

“Did you snog and then Obliviate me?” Charlie whispered as Rakepick was trying to have a stare-off with Tulip.

“Char, later.” I replied, my cheeks still burning.

“You know, if you want to snog me, all you have to do is ask.” At these words, I turned to him and he winked at me. He was so smooth lately that I couldn't believe half the words that came out of his mouth.

“Miss Karasu.” Rakepick's voice saved me as I didn't really know what to reply to Charlie's offer.

“And what were you doing yesterday morning? Were you snogging too?” She leaned on her elbows, inches away from Tulip's nose. She was on to us.

“As a matter of fact, I was.” She said casually, leaned towards Jae, and kissed his cheek. Charlie and I exchanged looks and I couldn't help but feel sorry for him as I have never seen him so confused in his life.

Rakepick didn't quite know how to react to this, so she glared at both of us angrily and started the class.

As we made our way down to the Great Hall after the class was over, Tulip was still laughing despite being quite proud of my answer.

“You should have seen your face Charlie when Nova said she snogged you.” She was holding her stomach, laughing so hard. Charlie's cheeks turned pink again and he rolled his eyes at her.

“She did what?!” Charlie, Jae, Tulip, and I all turned around to see Tonks winking at me and Penny holding her hands over her mouth.

“Nice catch, Nova!” Tonks tapped my shoulder.

“You two are finally together?” Penny's voice was higher than Flitwick's.

“What?” Was all I managed to say. What did she mean finally?

“We are not together Penny, I don't know what's going on either.” Charlie explained, completely calm.

“But you snogged?” Penny looked rather disappointed.

“In Nova's story, we did, yes.” Charlie pointed at me. Tulip was so busy laughing that I didn't have the time to explain to Charlie what was going on.

“Did you dream you were snogging him?” Penny beamed at me.

“Oh, for Merlin's sake!” I rolled my eyes and pushed them all into the Great Hall. We finally told them what we did and why we had to lie.

“Nice one, Nova! Making her uncomfortable.” Tonks gave me a thumbs up. “We are definitely bringing you along next time.” She grinned.

“Help me.” I whispered to Charlie, who chuckled in reply.

I couldn't believe that Rakepick didn't catch us. That same Monday, the second Peeves annoyed Rakepick so much that she chased him out of her classroom, we sneaked inside, I transfigured the Niffler back to his original state and we ran as far away from the door as we possibly could. I couldn't help but wonder if this is how our entire term will be like.

The next day Tulip, Tonks, and I were having breakfast together and Pip came to greet us during Owl Post and gave me a letter. It was from Penny and she asked for the three of us to meet her in the Dungeons. I was hesitant to go as this year Penny experimented with her potions more than last year. She used so many of Snape's ingredients that one potion got her detention for 2 weeks! I never thought that I would say the words detention and Penny in the same sentence but here we are!

We ate quickly and made our way through to the Dungeons and entered the Potions classroom with our eyes closed. Tonks was the only one excited, while Tulip and I were hoping she wouldn't give us anything to drink or test for her.

“What do you have for us today, Penny?” Tonks grinned while rubbed her hands together.

“Ladies, you might wonder why I only invited you and there are no boys here today.” She was ecstatic.

“Not really.” Tulip answered, still worried about what she will show us.

“Yeah, we don't hang out that often, just the four of us, so it was quite a pleasant surprise.” I said.

“Oh, I know!” Penny exclaimed. “What do you girls say about having a slumber party!” She clapped her hands.

“That is not a bad idea.” Tulip rubbed her chin, thinking about it.

“Oh, we could talk about all sort of things and we could play Truth or Wand!” Tonks grinned. Penny, Tulip, and I stared at her.

“Play what?” I asked, puzzled.

“Haven't you ever heard of Truth or Wand?” Tonks rolled her eyes as if we were playing the game every day.

“It's this game where you enchant a wand to hover in the air and the one who asks a question uses another wand to spin the one in the air. Whoever the spinning wand stops on they either have to answer a question they are asked and tell the truth or they get hexed or jinxed, all minor spells of course.” Tonks explained.

“That sounds...” Penny started, stunned.

“BRILLIANT!” Tulip and I shouted together.

“When are we doing it?” Penny asked, excitedly.

“First of all, if we want to stay out after curfew we will have to bend some rules.” Tonks thought about it.

“We can ask our Heads of House if they would make an exception so we could enter each other's Common Rooms.” I suggested.

“That's not a bad idea.” Penny thought out loud.

“We're not allowed to enter each other's dorms?” Tulip asked and when we looked at her she was flushed.

“You didn't know that?” Penny asked puzzled.

“A better question to ask is, WHICH Common Room did you breach, Tulip?” Tonks asked, wanting to know how she got away with it.

“You can ask me when we play Truth or Wand!” Tulip said quickly.

“Oh, this is going to be so good!” Penny clapped again, already making a mental note to ask Tulip the question.

“So, we ask Flitwick and Sprout tomorrow, and if everything goes well have the slumber party in the Ravenclaw Tower on Saturday?” I asked.

“Sounds like a plan to me!” Tonks and Tulip said in unison.

“Penny, we completely forgot why you brought us here!” I suddenly remembered that the sleepover wasn't the reason we were in the Potions classroom.

“Oh, right! I got so excited by Tonks' idea that I almost forgot!” She grinned.

“You're welcome!” Tonks winked at her.

“Come here I want you to see something.” She gestured for us to sit down in front of a cauldron that had something brewing inside.

“Be careful around it, you DO NOT want to drink this.” She said and smacked Tonks' fingers, who was already reaching for it.

“What did you make, Penny?” I got worried again.

“It's my first ever brew of Amortentia!” She exclaimed.

“Amortentia? I thought Andre likes you?” Tulip chuckled.

“It's not for Andre!” She rolled her eyes. “It's not for anyone actually. It's just an advanced potion and I wanted to perfect it!”

“And why did you invite us here?” I agreed with Tulip, I didn't see the point if we won't be using the potion.

“Amortentia is one of the most powerful love potions ever made. Something, none of us needs.” She winked at me. Why me? “However, it does smell differently to every person based on what they are attracted to and if they happen to have feelings for someone it can smell like that person.” She beamed, proud to know all about it.

“It's different for everyone and I thought since I brewed it and I will have to throw it away anyway or Snape will give me a month's worth of detention, I thought it would be fun to see what we find attractive.” She was so happy about it that I got excited too, even though I had no idea what to expect.

“I will go first so that you know I didn't trick you into something.” Tulip narrowed her eyes at Penny, watching her carefully leaning over the cauldron. She didn't trust her one bit.

“I smell...” She closed her eyes and took a whiff of the potion. “I smell old books, butterbeer, and...” She had to think about the third one. “A very gentle male perfume.” Her cheeks turned pink.

“So...” I started, trying hard not to giggle.

“You basically described Andre?” Tulip was thinking the exact same thing I was.

“He wears cologne?” Tonks asked, surprised.

“He is a man of fashion and Quidditch, of course, he wears cologne.” Tulip chuckled.

“So, ahem...” Penny cleared her throat, now even more red in the face. She was adorable. “Who's next?”

“I'll try!” Tonks said and she switched places with Penny.

“Hmm...” Tonks took some time to think. “I smell fresh laundry and a hint of sandalwood.”

“Tonks, do you even fancy anyone?” I asked as I don't think we ever asked her about her crush. That day on the train when we found out that Penny had a crush on Andre, she was the only one who said that she doesn't fancy anyone. Tulip fancies Jae and me, well I don't know what is going on with me.

“I dunno. Don't think so?” Tonks answered and I believed her. She was too busy to think of these things. Something I thought for myself not so long ago.

“Perhaps we can ask her again on Saturday.” Penny winked as apparently, she didn't find Tonks' answer as sincere as I did.

“Okay, Tulip you're next!” Penny pulled her in front of the cauldron.

“Does it smell like Jae?” Penny teased and Tonks and I laughed. Tulip showed us her tongue and we laughed even harder.

“I smell candy canes and cupcakes.” She said and took another whiff just to be sure she didn't miss anything.

“So, basically the Kitchens?” Tonks giggled.

“So, basically Jae?” I added.

“How sweet!” Penny clapped.

“Oh, shut it, will you!” She swung her hand at us, red in the face and we started laughing. I was having so much fun and I was now even more excited about Saturday. I missed just the four of us hanging out.

“Nova, you're the last one.” Penny jumped from excitement. I couldn't help but be nervous.

I stepped in front of the cauldron and inhaled deeply. I felt my cheeks turn red at once.

“Nova, what are you smelling?” Penny asked suspiciously.

“Yes, tell us, we can see you blush!” Added Tulip.

“Does it smell like Quidditch?” Tonks asked and they all started laughing.

“I smell grass and honeysuckle.” I finally answered in a whisper.

“Honeysuckle?” Asked Tonks surprised.

“Murphy smells like grass and honeysuckle?” Tulip couldn't believe it either.

“I wouldn't know, I never got a chance to get so close to him.” I lied. I knew Murphy's scent and what I smelled in that potion, smelled nothing like him.

[lilacyennefer]

The Siren's Song II

Part 2

Summary: Jax meets with Grace, a singer, in Nero’s bar, and he can’t help, but fall in love with her immediately, and sooner he realises he never met with a woman like her before

TW: mention of a wound

24 hours passed since Jax asked Grace out on a date, and he didn’t call her yet.

To his excuse, he was really busy with some club business, and even got into a fight leaving him with a cut on his eyebrows. 

He was somehow ashamed to go on a date with Grace while having a cut on his face, but this was part of him, and his world. 

This made Jax worry about their future, if they’ll have a future. He still didn’t know much about her, but he knew that Grace didn’t know that Jax was the President of a biker gang, and she didn’t know that he was an outlaw, so he didn’t know her view on this. 

This terrified Jax, he didn’t want to lose her, but he wasn’t sure she could handle this life. It’s never too late to back out, he still could just not call her and ask her out, knowing it would leave both of them with a broken heart. But Jax’s heart would break even more if she’d leave him because who he really is, or worse, if something would happen to her because of who he was.

It was Sunday, and Jax knew that the club is closed on Monday and Tuesday, so Jax waited for Monday morning to call her, hoping that she wouldn't be mad at him.

On Monday morning Jax took her business card out of his pocket where it’s been resting since she gave it to him, and dialed her number.

After a few rings, she answered.

“Hello?” Grace’s voice was sleepy.

“Grace, hi! It’s Jax.”

“Oh!” her voice was more awake now.

“I’m sorry, did I wake you?”

“Not really, I was already up.”

“Grace.” Jax started “I’m sorry I didn’t call you earlier, I was really busy. I know it’s not an excuse.”

“Jax, it’s okay. I understand.” Jax felt like he could breathe again when Grace told her she’s not angry at him.

“Do you have any plans for today?” Jax asked the Siren hopefully.

“No, I actually don’t.” The truth was that Grace planned to spend the day in bed, watching stupid tv shows and eating trashy food.

“Would you like to come on a date? This afternoon?”

“What do you have in mind?”

Now that question made Jax stop talking. He didn’t have a plan yet.

“I don’t want anything fancy.” Grace answers for his silence. 

“Are you sure?” Jax hesitates, wanting to give her the best.

“Yes. I spend most of my days in a fancy bar. And I prefer casual anyway.”

After their phone conversation Grace texted her address to Jax so he can come and pick her up. 

She was nervous and excited about her date with Jax. Maybe, she was more nervous than excited. She didn’t have to know Jax well to know that he’s experienced and confident, he certainly is aware of the effect he has on women.

And Grace was the opposite of this. She was shy, she only had one relationship and that wasn’t a good experience, so she wasn’t sexually experienced either. The only time she felt confident was when she was on stage singing. She didn’t find herself attractive at all, but this can be led back to her first and last relationship. 

To be honest, Grace didn’t know what Jax saw in her, why someone like him asked someone like her out on a date. 

But, sooner or later, she will figure it out. 

After their phone conversation Jax had to figure out where he wanted to take Grace.

Casual, but lovely were the keywords. 

He didn’t talk about Grace to anyone yet, not because he was ashamed of her or anything like that, but because he tried to protect her from this world as long as he could. 

Jax kept thinking about where he should take her, he wanted to be alone with her, quietly, and he wanted some anonymity to himself.

And finally, he had an idea. 

Grace lives on the nicer side of Charming, with big and nice family houses, making Jax feel like an outsider again as he parked his bike in front of her house. 

As he walked to her house Jax swore he never was this nervous about a woman before. He didn’t want to fuck this up, he couldn’t fuck this up. Just the thought of hurting her in any way made Jax sick in the stomach. 

He ringed her doorbell and waited for her to open the door, and when she did and he finally saw her again, he gasped. 

Grace was breathtaking.

She was wearing a simple jeans and a blouse that had a delicate cleavage, not showing too much, but it was enough to make Jax’s blood rush south. 

“Hi!” She greeted him with a big smile that faded quickly when she saw his scar. 

“What happened?” Grace asked worried.

“It’s nothing, don’t worry about it.” Jax replies immediately, but he saw she didn’t like the answer. “I’ll tell you later, okay?” He promised. Either way, he’d have told Grace about what he actually does. 

Grace nodded in answer.

“Hey, you look breathtaking.” Jax complimented her, making Grace blush immediately. 

“Well, thank you. You don’t look bad either.” She avoided eye contact with Jax as she spoke, and the blush in her cheeks were deeper when she complimented him back. 

Grace looked down to the floor before she looked back at Jax, but her eyes never reached him when she saw his bike behind him.

“Is that your bike?” Her face lit up again as she looked at Jax.

Jax smiles at her as he replied “Yes. Do you mind if we use it?”

“Oh, no! Not at all.” Jax swore she was excited. 

“C’mon, let’s go then.” Jax waited for Grace to close the door and follow his lead to his bike. 

“Where are you taking me?” Grave asks the Biker as she puts on the helmet Jax gave her. 

“That’s a surprise.” Jax smiles at her. 

Jax could see Grace get nervous and her smile faded a little bit.

“I wouldn’t do anything to make you feel uncomfortable.” Jax quickly says “If you want me to tell you, I will.” 

Grace hesitates for a few seconds before she replies “No, it’s fine.” she takes a deep breath “I trust you.” 

There was something in Jax what made Grace trust him. She didn’t knew the Biker very well yet, but something deep inside her told her she could trust him. And the fact that Nero knew him and trusted him confirmed her feelings. 

Grace’s heart skipped a beat when she sat on the bike behind Jax and wrapped her arms around him. She could feel how hard his body was under his t-shirt and this made her heart beat faster and a heat rushed between her legs. 

Not long after they left Grace’s house, Jax parked his car in front of a huge park.

“Figured we’d get coffee and walk around the park, or just sit down to talk.” Jax says as he turns towards Grace.

“I love the idea.” She smiles at him, making Jax’s chest ache as feelings rushed over him. 

He helped her off of his bike and led her to one of the coffee shops nearby the park. Jax ordered for both of them, he drank his coffee dark with lots of sugar, then they walked back into the park and sat down on a bench. 

“So, tell me. Do you do anything else besides singing?” Jax asks her, then takes a sip of his coffee. 

“I do many things. I love to be creative. I actually write the songs I sing, and besides that I love to draw, paint, cook and bake.” She shrugs “You know, just do something creative.”

Jax never met with anyone like her before. He never met with artists like Grace, and never knew anyone who liked to do such stuff. And Jax himself wasn’t artistic either, but he had great respect and admiration towards people who were.

“So, are you gonna tell me what happened?” Grace asked him.

Jax clenched his jaw and looked down to the warm coffee in his hands.

“I’m going to be honest with you, Grace. You deserve it.” 

Jax swallowed hard before he talked again.

“I, uhh. I have a motorcycle club. I am the President.”

“This still doesn’t explain the wound.” Grace said softly. 

Jax nodded, agreeing with her. “We don’t have a legitimate business. We’re trying to leave this behind and go legitimate. But shit goes down sometimes with other MCs and we have enemies.”

Grace was silent for a very long time after Jax told him about the Sons of Anarchy, and this made Jax really worried. 

“Grace, I understand if this scares you, and this world isn’t for you.” Jax licked his lips.

“Jax“ Grace sighed. “I live in Charming. Everyone in this town knows who you are, so I knew what I was getting myself into when I agreed to come on a date with you.”

Jax almost forgot about this.

“I really like you, Grace, and I don’t want to lose you. However, if you decide you don’t want to see me ever again, I will accept it.” Jax said.

Jax’s confession about both what he’s doing and that he really likes her surprised Grace, and suddenly she didn’t know what to say. 

“I really like you too, Jax.” Grace whispered so softly Jax thought he imagined it. “I just need time to adjust to this. If that’s okay.”

Jax nodded “Anything you want.” and he brushed his fingers over her cheeks, making Grace bite her bottom lip.

The way how Grace was looking at him, Jax knew he’s already deeply in love.

They were talking for hours in the park until it started getting dark and colder, and Jax saw that Grace was freezing so he took her home.

They were standing on the front porch of her house, saying goodbye.

“I really enjoyed today, thank you.” Grace said, her cheeks are crimson coloured again.

“I’m glad to hear that. I enjoyed it too.” Jax replied, and he took a step closer to her, cupping her cheek in one hand.

Grace gasped from feeling Jax’s rough hand on her soft cheek.

“May I kiss you, Grace?” Jax asked his Siren. 

Grace gasped again from his question, and blushed even more. 

“Yes.” Her voice was barely a whisper, but Jax heard it clearly and her answer made him smile.

He looked deeply into her eyes before leaned closer to her.

Jax saw her lick her lips and he couldn’t wait any longer, he crossed the distance between them and pressed his lips against her soft ones. He felt her gasp a little, but a few seconds later she melted against him, placing her small hands on his chest as he kissed her, slowly. 

Grace moaned into the kiss and Jax took the opportunity to slip his tongue into her mouth, eager to do anything to make her moan again, because the sound drove Jax absolutely crazy.

And she did, she moaned again as Jax brushed his tongue against her, massaging her velvet tongue with his. 

Jax didn’t want to pull away from her and stop kissing her, but his lungs were screaming for air so he had to pull away. And he was so satisfied when he did, because the look on Grace's face was worth everything. Her cheeks were flushed, her lips were full, and her eyes were dreamy and were shining like a thousand stars in the night sky. 

This perfect moment was interrupted by the hungry grumble of Jax’s stomach, making Grace laugh.

“Fuck, I’m sorry.” Jax says with a shake of his head. 

“It’s okay.” Grace smiles at her “Do you want to come in? I have some leftovers from my lunch, and I can hear them calling your name.” 

“If that’s not a problem.” Jax says, uncertain.

“I wouldn’t have offered if it was.” Grace assures him as she opens the front door of her house, inviting Jax in.

“I hope you like veggie lasagna. I don’t eat meat, but I promise this lasagna is worth it.” She explains as she goes further into the house, and takes her shoes off.

“Please, take your shoes off.” She asks Jax, and he obligates, stopping behind her and taking his shoes off.

“I made the pasta for it myself, and the vegetables are from my garden. I even made the tomato sauce myself.” Grace explained excitedly as she led the Biker into her kitchen. 

Jax was listening to her talk while he tried to see as much from her house as he could, and he couldn’t help but smile. Not only because it was so heartwarming to see Grace this excited about something she made, but also because her house was so warm and homey, and full of art. 

Her kitchen was big, and Jax could tell that she was using it a lot. 

“Take a seat.” Grace said as she walked to the fridge, taking the lasagna out.

“I always cook a lot more for some reason, so I usually eat the same food for like a day and a half.” She explains and she puts the food on plates. 

“It looks really good.” Jax smiles at her, and Grace looked up from the plates with a big smile.

“Wait until you taste it.” Is all what she said as she put his plate first into the microwave.

“Grace.” Jax called her name “Come here, please.”

Jax wanted nothing else but kiss her right now, wanting to feel her lips against his.

Grace slowly walked to where Jax was sitting, she was eyeing him as she walked in front of him, and stopped. 

“Closer.” Jax whispered, and Grace took a step closer to him until she was standing between his legs. 

“You’re the most beautiful person I’ve ever met with. Not just on the outside, but inside too.” Jax spoke softly, and his words turned Grace’s cheeks pink. 

“You barely know me yet.” Jax shook his head at her reply.

“I don’t have to know you for long to know this.”

Grace looked down between them, and the look on her face made Jax worried.

“Did I say something wrong?” 

Grace shook her head as she took a deep breath to calm herself down, but Jax could see tears in her eyes. 

“It’s just…” it was Grace’s turn to make a confession. 

“You’re so different. You’re so confident and I’m...I’m not.” She was avoiding eye contact with Jax, but even as she was looking down to the floor, he could see her face. 

“I don’t know what you see in me. I’m shy, and don't really have experience in relationships or in bed, and the one I have is a bad memory.” Grace took a deep breath. “I bet you’re used to different women, with more experience, and I’m worried now that you know how inexperienced I am, you don’t want me anymore.”

Grace really thought after her confession, Jax will get up and leave and her tears started to fall, but when she felt Jax’s hand on his cheeks, wiping her tears, she looked at him.

“Do you really think that I’d leave you just because you dated with some asshole before?” Jax asked.

“How do you know he was an asshole?” Grace asked, confused.

“You said it’s a bad memory, so I had a good guess.” He wipes his thumb across her cheeks “But Grace, darling, believe me when I tell you that I don’t care how experienced you are. You could have been with 0 or 100 people, I still want to be with you, because you are you. And when you decide you want to share your bed with me, I’ll make sure to show you how amazing sex can be.” Grace looked down to the floor again from his words, and Jax could feel the heat radiating from her cheeks as she blushed. 

“And I promise you that I won’t pressure you. We will wait as long as you want, until you feel ready.” 

Jax’s words were interrupted by the sound of a microwave, making both of them jump a little. 

Before leaving Jax, Grace pressed her lips against his, surprising Jax for a second before he kissed her back. 

The food was indeed amazing, Jax swore he never ate anything this food before, although he wouldn’t say this in front of his mother.

After they ate, Grace showed him around his house, and it was full of art, but not any kind of art, it was all Grace’s. The paintings and drawings on the walls were all her work, and although Jax wasn’t big into art, he knew that Grace was really talented in anything she did. 

Jax stayed for hours as they talked, and shared so many things about each other, gaining each other’s complete thrusts.

Tag list: @innerpaperexpertcloud @lady-evans @agirllovespasta @oldstuffnewstuff @claudiahxrdy @keithseabrook27 @alexa-rae-dreamz @minnicelli @woahitslucyylu @de-profundis-ad-astra @mylifeliterally @happyhenners @rebel-without-cause-x

[longitud-de-onda]

Being Steve’s cousin and having an enemies to lovers relationship with Javi headcanons pls ;)

i loved this and it got kind of long, oops. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ i don’t think anyone’s complaining.

Your company is opening an office in Colombia and you’ve been asked to assist with the transition. A two months in Bogotá sounds like a dream and you’re even more excited to see your cousin, Steve. 

He and his wife have offered up their guest bedroom, and you’re thrilled at not having to work out a living situation. 

Plus you and Steve were best friends growing up. You went to the same elementary school and were close until your family moved away. You still got to visit him all the time because your moms were two of the closest sisters in existence. You wondered often how they could get along so well. You hated your siblings growing up.

You finally make it down to Colombia and after a 24 hour grace period for the jet lag, Steve is begging to take you out to his favorite restaurant.

Connie loves watching the two of you smile like idiots while bickering, and calls in the reservation before you even agree to going.

When she says a reservation for four you stall, and she explains that Steve is best friends with his coworker, and that you have got to meet him, since he’ll probably be around more than half the time anyways. They’re practically like family now. 

That night you’re waiting for this mysterious coworker at the restaurant, absentmindedly snacking on some appetizers while Connie and Steve act way too cute then should ever be allowed in public.

When Javier comes in with his tight pants and leather jacket you know exactly what kind of man he is, which is only confirmed by the way he greets you with a sickening grin.

“Well who do we have here?”

And you kind of want to puke because first of all, ew? And second of all? Connie said he was always around and if you had to be with the sort of guy who would be trying to get into your pants, you wanted a flight back to the states. 

Things only get worse as the night goes on and the conversations slows, causing Javier to ditch the table to go up to the bar and start hitting on some poor girl who actually falls for his charm and is all over him.

He turns around to wink at Steve before making his exit, the woman clinging to his arm.

Steve just shakes his head and chuckles.

“You’ll get used to it. That’s just Javi.”

“It’s disgusting, Steve.”

Thankfully things get busy with the DEA and you’ve become bogged down with new employee training so you don’t really get the chance to be bothered by Javier for a week. 

You have to go into the embassy to fill out some paperwork for US companies in foreign countries. You had cooked something for lunch and packed a second container, thinking that you might get the chance to drop some off for Steve. He hasn’t been home for a meal in a few days and you know home-cooked food can make a big difference.

The smile on his face at the bright red tupperware is worth all the pages you had to read that morning.

He can’t stop to talk for too long since he’s got way too much work.

Javier returns to the office, muttering about a bad meeting with someone from the CIA and Steve laughs. 

“I’m gonna head back, nice seeing you, Steve,” you smile.

Javier only just notices that you’re back. He takes in the container on the desk and Steve’s newly refreshed expression.

“Playing housewife now?”

You almost punch him. 

Instead you just walk out of the office.

As you leave you hear them talking.

“You really don’t like her, huh?”

“She’s too much of a goody-two-shoes.”

“Careful, Javi, she’s my best friend. And she’s family.”

“Doesn’t make her an interesting person.”

You try to forget about it until a week later when you’re back with some coffee for Steve. When you get to his office, Javier’s the only one in.

“Can you give this to Steve when he gets back?”

“Do it yourself.”

“I would but he’s not here, obviously.”

“Fine.” 

You scoff. This guy’s really an idiot, “Fine.”

A day later Steve and Connie invite you to go to a bar with them to unwind. That lasts all of thirty minutes, as the happy couple disappears into the bathroom, leaving Javier and you groaning.

“They’re the worst. I hate going out with them,” he says and you’re surprised.

“You hate it too?”

“It’s like they’re rubbing it in everyone’s face, how perfect everything is.”

You find yourself laughing, and the night goes by surprisingly fast as you discover that Steve has been on both your cases about being single. Steve’s been trying to match you up with random guys from the embassy, and has been dropping all these hints to Javier that he should be settling down by now, not out sleeping with informants all the damn time.

You go to sleep that night wishing you weren’t thinking about Javier and his goddamn smile.

You start going out with the three more often, teasing Javier when he gets rejected by girls and having him complain when you get drinks bought for you all the damn time and reject every single one of the guys.

“You’re exactly like all the girls who are ruining my night.”

Secretly, you're glad every time he’s turned down. 

Your return flight is coming sooner than you expected, and two weeks out you get an offer to stay in Bogotá for a two year contract. But this has really just been a vacation, a nice one, but you’ve got a life back home, right? 

Apartment. Job. A friend or two. (Maybe not really a life if you were willing to admit it. The past few weeks have got you living more than you have in the previous few years.)

One week away and Steve and Connie are out for a date. You’re spending the evening with a microwave dinner and some tv when a knock on the door reveals Javier with two beers in hand. You haven’t exactly been the type to hang out together without Steve facilitating things, but he’s here and you’re not complaining.

After sitting and talking for the better part of an hour he asks you about the suitcase in the corner of the room. It’s one of the two you brought down, and it’s all packed up for your flight. 

“You’re really leaving, aren’t you?”

“Yes?’

He lasts maybe another five minutes before excusing himself. You could tell something changed. 

You sit, sipping at the bottle for a little longer, thinking about leaving Colombia. It’s a lot sadder than you had expected it to be. 

And then you realize you don’t like the idea of waking up and knowing there wasn’t the chance of Javier nagging you about something or telling you off for being an asshole to another “well-intentioned guy.”

You have to do something so you leave the apartment, run down the stairs and practically slam down his door. 

Javier answers, a confused look crossing his face and he opens his mouth.

But he can’t get a word out because your lips are on his and your hands are around his neck. When he realizes what’s happening you can tell because he reaches on hand up to your face and the other around your waist and the kiss deepens in intensity. 

You pull back.

“What was that?”

“I can’t leave, Javi. I can’t leave you. I can’t ignore this.”

“Really?”

“No. I’m going to take the job down here. I—I think I might love you.”

“Thank god,” he exhales and grins. “I thought I was the only one.”

[wordsfromafangirl]

@cookiedoughmeagain

Saw this post.

Answered some of the questions.

Long post warning. Spoilers too for those who haven't seen the show or want to. Bare with. I did mostly answer Nathan and Duke oriented questions and there's no way I can answer those without shipper goggles on, sorry. Also, I think Haven left a lot of holes for the audience to fill in about the town. Don't know if that was intentional, but I often found myself wound up in subtext, things that could happen off screen with just those one lines, like you brought up about hijinx and illegal things Nathan might've done but we never see or really hear about.

For many of the questions concerning Vince and Dave, I just kind of assumed that half the time they were the old guys of Haven who kept its secrets and so anything they did was always suspect. They covered up the truth. They basically tried to keep their involvement a secret (all the time). Look at Vince and how he was the apparent leader of the Guard to keep troubles in check and help those (with mostly volatile and uncontrollable troubles) in need, but the Guard looked like that oppressive middle ground where they sometimes play both sides with or without Vince in charge…? Personally, Vince and Dave would be the sus people of the town. They know everything and sure when they are giving me my Haven newspaper everything seems peachy, but how far could you delude a town until it starts asking questions or rather everything implodes, and everyone just knows? Not an inner circle of people, the whole town knows now either because they were newly given a trouble or because they finally caught on that Haven was not a “normal” town. Vince and Dave are the gossipers and busy bodies but kept (dare I say) hypocritical secrets of their own? (<And this could answer the very last question about why they'd write an article if they knew, but memories were wonky that day except for knowing they found "The Colorado Kid" dead...?)

Now onto the questions that really got me curious:

5. What was Evi doing working with the Rev? Was she genuinely simply trying to help Duke, or was she working an angle? Did she know about the Troubles? What did she think the Rev’s motivation was? What were her final words (“If you don’t tell him, I will.”) about?

Honestly, this intrigued me, but I assumed Evi had to know. Didn’t she also mention something about Duke being powerful? I do not know, it has been a while since I watched it, but she had to know about the troubles. The Rev must have filled her in that Duke is a vital part of the plan but as my mind goes back to 2x09; in order to sway Duke, they could not allow Nathan to oversee anything. Nathan would stand in Duke’s way because it is someone who can convince him otherwise. Someone who would see the use of Duke’s trouble as “wrong” and uncontrollable and always try to stop him. Of course, we know there is more emotional ties between the boys that would make Duke stop and think about abusing his trouble. Or not even at this point because in 2x09 Nathan has no qualms about locking Duke up even if that meant they would (as they did) shoot Evi. Nathan could not stand the thought of Duke being injured?? I am digressing from the point, because you mention, “if you don’t tell him, I will” and that must mean she knew about the trouble(s)? She knew what Duke could be capable of, but they had to get Nathan out of the way? Literally, the Rev wanted to attempt assassinating Audrey and mostly Nathan because…that is the one person who would be in Duke’s way…in the guise of the Rev’s prejudiced mind when dealing with people who had troubles…then in the end look who Duke ends up siding with? "Just so you know I'm the lion."

6. On one of the commentaries there is talk of how Duke and Nathan got up to “hijinks” together as teenagers. WHAT WERE THE HIJINKS?

Many of their HIJINKS were probably pranks, you know. Duke would mostly prank Nathan of course and then occasionally Nathan finds himself wrapped up in one against other people. Or they are the kids riding around on their bikes (like the IT gang) and just causing a ruckus? They could be in a group. Yet I think sometimes Nathan and Duke ventured off alone…

I think if you consider off screen hijinks as teenagers it is probably why Duke acts so snubbed towards Nathan all the time. If you think about it, Duke lost a friend who would be the “bad boy” with him. Nathan turned into stuffy, stick up his butt Nathan either A. because of his trouble or B. because he had to follow in Garland’s footsteps and be a cop. It reminds me of Harmony right there at the beginning of the show, episode 3? Nathan is lying about everything, according to Duke and so he is being a Pinocchio like usual; not a real boy, which is also in reference to “his condition” of feeling no pain/nothing. And it is probably because Nathan was a “bad boy” and the only one who keeps that information in confidence is Duke. Nathan wants to keep it that way. Duke never really tells anyone anything and truthfully, he just likes fucking with “law-abiding” Nathan. Duke of course misses those times when they were teenagers just messing about and getting heckled by Garland, but maybe once or twice getting cuffs slapped on them only to be let go an hour later? Sooner or later, Duke would see that shift. Nathan would start becoming interested in law enforcement and Duke seeks a path towards smuggling/criminal activity. Duke is the only one being arrested by the time they are 17-30 and sometimes it is by Nathan (small head canon: Duke does it on purpose. He is an attention seeker and hell if he does not like Nathan putting him in handcuffs). Then suddenly Duke has up and vanished for a little while (guessing from 30 to 35ish? Or some time frame shorter). Nathan would lie about missing him, but because his trouble was activated how does Nathan really know? He just knows, but never admits it, hence the whole love/hate game we get between them when Duke does come back.

24. In Harmony Duke says something to Nathan about “does she know the things you’ve done?” - implying that when they were younger Nathan did something illegal and/or possibly immoral that Duke knows about (because he was also involved?) but most people (or at least, Audrey) don’t. WHAT THINGS?

Primarily? IT’S LOOKING THE OTHER WAY WHEN DUKE DOES SOMETHING ILLEGAL. It is essentially just being there as a participant while Duke breaks and enters? Or being there while Duke is smuggling something because I venture to think that business started early on for Duke. 18ish and onward? It is giving Duke a pass once, twice, three times and more. Nathan cannot be mad at Duke. Then there is maybe those few times is it was Nathan picking the lock. It was Nathan doing something illegal and Duke of course did not care. He would look the other way or help him along. This is something that would always stay between Nathan and Duke, which is why I think the relationship is so rocky. Duke is holding secrets that could jeopardize Nathan’s “law abiding” reputation and he never once tells a soul, right? This is a testament to loyalty and how neither of them hates each other. Of course, for me, from space they can be seen as exes. The on and off type of relationship because Duke’s smuggling business got in the way or as I think of it, Nathan got so tired of Duke being sort of unchanging that he would break it off and then suddenly he had run back to Duke, hop on the boat and beg to be taken back. Duke would chuckle and take him back. Was this secret? Or did the whole town see it? Most likely people knew, even Garland. Not so sure Simon approved, but somehow while their relationship was fucked up and Simon ends up dying, I don't think Duke necessarily sought his approval on anything? Truthfully, his feelings for Nathan were his business alone and Nathan mostly felt the same way so who cares?

26. What’s Duke’s side of the story about the fishing trip when Nathan’s Trouble got triggered?

Duke knows he fucked up.He used Nathan as a distraction while some illegal procedures were happening underneath his nose. Nathan thinks oh well maybe I still have a friend, because they’re probably in the middle of their: “Oh, seriously, Duke. Put your hands behind your back.” “Oh, come on Nathan, can you just this once not.” Too late. Nathan grabs his wrists and puts his hands behind his back. Duke feels the familiarity of handcuffs and smirks his whole to Nathan’s Bronco. Ironically.

If I track it right Nathan’s trouble was triggered on this fishing trip before Duke left Haven right? So therefore, this was probably to make amends? It might have been that good old let us just actually hang out as friends (or more…because my brain goes there) but it turns out I need you as my cover while shady shit goes on in town. Nathan finds out. They fight. It triggers the trouble. And presumably Duke feels so guilty and thus he decides to leave. Or he had already decided and did not know how to tell Nathan on the fishing trip, but part of leaving and getting out of dodge meant also doing some smuggling for parts, money etc.

35. Wouldn’t Nathan have recognised Duke in The Colorado Kid photo? (Especially given that he would very probably have seen the photo when he was a kid?) And wouldn’t he have told Audrey that from the beginning?

Everyone’s memory was effed up right? So perhaps Nathan did not remember? Though, you are right. Nathan would have recognized him. Would he have told Audrey? Not so sure, because Nathan would be in that battle inside his head. How far can I trust Audrey? I immediately liked her. Duke does too. That should mean she is great. But Duke is kinda sorta my friend…my ugh whatever, tell him or do not tell him? Imagine Nathan knowing about the photo before Duke reveals to Audrey that it is him…and so Nathan is sitting in his house waiting for coffee to cool off and contemplating…I could tell Audrey. It is crucial information, and I don’t know why Duke isn’t saying anything? Is there a reason? Should I talk to him first? Then at one point he just gives up and lets Audrey continue playing detective in hopes Duke would just fess up. For me, Nathan is in a constant battle of loyalty when it comes to Duke and Audrey, but when he realizes that Duke cares just as much about Audrey...(okay, we're not talking about threegulls and the relationship that is the three of them...)

23. Were there ever any female Crockers? If there were, would they have had the same curse?

Hey! There is a female Crocker isn’t there? Or does she since she cannot even be near Dad at all, inherit the trouble of the dock worker only? Whose name slips my mind. But I venture to think that Duke’s blood would overcome that, but the baby had life draining powers because that was the trouble of the dock worker. Baby after baby only to suck the life out of the father like some metaphorical siren.

Personally, I always think that if the babies survive and we know she did, then I think by the time she’s a teen all life draining powers would just go away [because I assume that’s the curse, never being able to keep the baby but the baby doesn’t get the full curse; however what about duke’s trouble [at this point is his trouble is inactive like a volcano, but can it still be passed on? Volcanoes sit there and stew so the genetic thing of the trouble must still be there…isn't it implicated that families still have the trouble but can go on without it being activated?]…anyway, Duke’s blood is taking over and she finally realizes something funky is going on so she searches out her father because Nathan made sure to tell the adoption services that any parents who fosters or even adopts her down the road they should tell her that her real father is out there and he did not, would not just abandon a baby (even if it happened in real time and not some sped up sci-fi version).

Basically, in any version (in my head) of the Crocker bloodline, Duke is probably the first to have a girl and yes she'd get the same trouble, because imagine a badass woman who looks like Duke manage the Crocker trouble (the eye thing). It seems to me though that it was bloodlines/legacy that stuck with men because apparently boys were it in the Crocker family. And many other families seemed that way too. Some troubles seemed bound by legacy born from the men and carried on, etc. I like to think that Duke subverted all that shit. And funny enough, his trouble went away at one point, but I think if there were ever any female Crockers? If there were, would they have had the same curse? If there were that baby girl could have still had it. Meaning his fate could have been different if they played an angle of that daughter coming back into the story. Someone else who had Duke’s trouble and then of course, it would turn into a reason for Duke to live (still bitter because I’m being biased as to who is my favorite in the Haven world). Imagine juxtaposition story lines of Dwight and Duke fighting… Duke: “She’s my daughter!” Dwight: “Well, that’s my daughter too!” Then they would both just take a deep breath and realize they are fighting on the same side.

Okay, so I am blowing smoke with an answer to this question but really, I see it and go, damn, I wish we could have seen more of Duke being fatherly. I mean we got the pirate episode of him taking care of that young girl who could manipulate your will, but honestly, Duke raising a kid…

__

Much of this may not be an answer at all. It's head canon really, because often with Haven I felt like I had to fill in experiences of the characters. Mostly did so with Nathan and Duke, individually and then together. However, there's something about this show, because questions always pop up even when you revisit it. Like wait a minute? What? Was this intentional? How in the world did this happen? Sure, we'll just accept some things even if it's strangely abnormal to the plot, but after all it's Haven.

[2460nodone]

Breaks

Title: Breaks Category: Plays/Musicals » Les Misérables Pairing: Enjolras/Eponine Author: AliceInSomewhereland Language: English, Rating: Rated: T Genre: Drama/Romance Published: 05-24-13, Updated: 05-24-13 Chapters: 1, Words: 3,788 Originally posted: fanfiction.net

Summary: When Eponine trips over Enjolras and breaks her hand at a party, he's the only one who can take her to the hospital. But suddenly it becomes less about her hand and about so, so much more. e/é (fic war prompt on tumblr)

Original author’s note: Ok, here's yet another for the e/é fic war! This time, the prompt (from tumblr user stargazingandsunshine) is: "A very drunk Eponine accidentally trips over Enjolras, and she breaks her hand. He has to take her to the hospital. Bonus points if Eponine is a flirty drunk (not that she wouldn't be anyway, but... you know)."

Chapter 1/1

Enjolras isn't quite sure how he ended up here.

No, actually, he is sure. Courfeyrac and Grantaire.

Somehow those two morons always talk him into going out with them and the rest of the Amis, and for some reason, always against his better judgment, he gives them the benefit of the doubt and agrees to go along. Tonight is no different.

The party – yet another graduation party (they graduated from college three weeks ago, for God's sake!) – was at Bahorel's apartment, and it was loud, smoky, boozy, and just about everything that wasn't Enjolras.

So he went out on the balcony, where the breeze was cool and the air clean and the noise confined to normal nighttime sounds rather than the bad DJ skills of Jehan (he was playing "My Heart Will Go On" when Enjolras exited, and that was the last straw for many of the recent graduates).

He was surprised to find Courfeyrac out there with that girl, the one who was in love with Marius Pontmercy. She shadowed him – around campus, at parties, at bars, she was everyone. To his credit, Pontmercy seemed to genuinely like the girl, but he was too thickheaded to see her feelings for him.

Enjolras had no time for nonsense like relationships. He was headed to law school in the fall, and was going to make a difference with his life. Women didn't fit in to that.

But as he stepped outside into the cool night air, he realized he had interrupted Courfeyrac and what's-her-name. They were making out, of course.

Enjolras couldn't help but roll his eyes. Courfeyrac was a manwhore, and as far as he knew, this girl was a tease of a drunk. And given that Marius and his blonde girlfriend Cosette were inside canoodling on the couch, it was not surprising to find what's-her-bucket sucking face with someone kind of random.

According to Courfeyrac, they hooked up semi-regularly. But this was the first time Enjolras had seen it; usually, when she was with their friends, she was either following Marius like a lost puppy or "brochilling" with Courfeyrac, Bahorel, and Grantaire (at least, that was the word Courfeyrac gave it).

When the couple realized that they were no longer alone, Courfeyrac pulled away, grunting and wiping his mouth, glaring at Enjolras, who simply shrugged in return.

Then Courfeyrac actually high-fived what's-her-bucket and left. Enjolras rolled his eyes. He couldn't believe that these were his friends.

She turned to him. He could smell the liquor emanating from her person.

"Enjolras, right?" she asked, flashing a winning smile and flicking her dark hair off her face. He had never officially met her before (hence why he did not know her name), and had actually never been this close to her. She was much prettier than he had previously noticed, with a round face, olivey skin, and dark brown eyes. Her hair was thick and fell in easy waves around her shoulders; it was mussed in the back where Courfeyrac's hand had been anchored.

"Yeah," he said, uncertain of how to tell a woman he didn't know but had spent ample time around that he had never learned her name.

"I'm Eponine," she announced. He wondered if she had realized he didn't know her.

"Nice to officially meet you," he said formally, wishing that she would just go inside and leave him out here in peace.

"Not your thing?" she asked, jerking her head towards the party.

Enjolras shook his head. "Not really."

Eponine stepped closer. He noticed that, despite her sober manner, she tripped over her own feet a bit.

"It helps to be drunk," she offered.

He just looked at her.

"Ah, but that's not really your thing either, is it?"

Enjolras wasn't sure whether she was simply making an observation or teasing him, so he remained silent. Instead of answering, he busied himself with sitting on the floor, against the wall. Courfeyrac had moved all the chairs from the little balcony inside for the night.

Eponine sighed exaggeratedly, moving to sit next to him. It displeased him; he didn't want her company. She would most likely chatter drunkenly next to him for the remainder of the party, avoiding Marius and Cosette (though he was certain she would force him to talk about the couple for hours) and all the other people she could be making out with.

Then he wondered if she would try making out with him. The thought made him scowl. Women….

Eponine stumbled on her way over to him, and he belatedly wondered if he should get up and help her. But it was too late, because she went too far and tripped on his leg and–

She fell to the ground with a thud and an alarming, sickening crack.

"Shit, Eponine, are you okay?" he asked, reaching for her shoulders to help her up.

"Son of a fucking bitch, oh mother fucker that hurt!" she cried as he sat her up.

Enjolras caught sight of her wrist and hand, swollen and looking a bit… off. Eponine followed his gaze, and the impressive stream of cursing began again.

"Let me see," he muttered, reaching out for her. But when he gently touched her arm, she cried out in pain and alarm and wrenched away from him.

Sighing – this is not how he wanted his night to go – he ordered, "Wait here."

Eponine just nodded, hissing through her teeth in pain.

Enjolras went inside, looking for Courfeyrac. But when he found his friend, he was too busy vomiting into a trashcan. Grantaire and Bahorel were both too drunk to do anything, and the rest of his friends were either making out with random people, too drunk, or missing in action. Marius he didn't even bother; the boy made no effort for anyone else when Cosette was around.

He returned to the balcony, opening his mouth to speak, but stopped when Eponine turned away from him, sniffing. "Hey, you okay?" he asked her awkwardly.

Her good hand went up to her face, wiping her eyes. "Yeah, sorry, just a little painful is all," she replied, turning back and giving him a watery smile.

Jesus, now he not only had to deal with a drunk, injured girl, but he had to deal with a drunk, injured, crying girl, he thought. Just his luck.

Still Enjolras, ever the gentleman, offered her his hand. She took it with her good one, and he easily pulled her to her feet. "Let's get you to the hospital," he murmured, trying not to sound as irritated as he felt.

He held onto her arm as he escorted her to his car – which, when they reached it, Eponine announced she loved (it was a vintage red Mustang. He explained that he had saved his money for it for years, and had fixed it up himself. She replied that she loved a man who knew his way around a car, and that car oil on a man was extremely sexy, and a surprisingly good lubricant. He hoped the dark hid his blush).

When she was buckled into the passenger side, and he settled in and driving and trying to keep her from messing with his radio settings (though she seemed impressed with the classic rock station he had blasting), Eponine fixed him with a disconcerting stare.

"I never noticed how cute you were before," she informed him bluntly.

Enjolras flushed. "Oh… thanks."

"Yeah, I get why your friends call you 'Marble Man," she continued with a grin that was a little too mischievous for his liking, especially considering the very real possibility of a broken hand or wrist. "You know, with that chiseled jaw of yours and those text-book good looks." Eponine glanced at him sideways before sliding her good hand towards him. "Unless there's something else that's marble that might've earned you that nickname," she said, walking her fingers up his leg towards his crotch.

Enjolras jumped at her touch and did his best to squirm away from her. When did this car get so small? And how did he get stuck with the job of driving the drunk girl to the hospital? It took him a moment to realize that she was laughing at him.

"You're cute when you're flustered," she informed him.

He had no response. Nor did he respond very much to any of the other things she chattered about on their way to the hospital – it was a fairly short drive, thank god – other than to try and remove himself from her grip when she flirted with him. It didn't take him long to realize that she was teasing him so much because she was getting such a rise out of him, but he couldn't help it. He didn't have any experience with girls, didn't want any girls – especially not silly, drunk ones like her.

*

Enjolras was walking Eponine into the emergency room, her injured hand cradled against her torso, when she stopped short, just before the doors.

"Are you going to be sick?" he asked, already worn out from her antics.

She just shook her head, slowly shifting her eyes to meet his. She looked wary. "I just don't like hospitals," she said quietly. It was the first time all night, perhaps ever, that he had not seen her drunk or being loud and disruptive and trying to get attention. He wondered if it was because Marius wasn't here.

Something in her face, however, indicated that it was not just Marius' lack of presence that had her mood shifting. It almost looked like fear.

Enjolras walked up to her, gently grasping her shoulders. She looked up at him. "The sooner we go in, the sooner we get out, right?" he asked, not unkindly. He suddenly felt a little sorry for her, and was curious about the memories that had a girl that had always seemed so boisterous and fearless suddenly so small and timid.

Eponine nodded slowly, staring into his eyes as if she would find some sort of strength there.

He put his hand on her back, giving her a very gentle push through the door, and following her in.

"Your eyes are very blue," she told him. It was clear that she was trying to get back to where she was in the car, but her voice had lost its flirtatious edge.

*

Enjolras waited for her as the nurses took her back to take her vitals. It took only a few minutes, and she joined him in the waiting room almost immediately, still trying not to trip over her feet.

"I hate it when they know I'm drunk," she grumbled.

He wondered what that meant.

"Did they say how long we'll have to wait?" he asked, trying to stave off his curiosity about her experience with hospitals.

Eponine shrugged. "A few hours, anyway. They have to wait for an available doctor, then I have to get x-rays, then probably a cast. Damnit I'm stupid. Look, I appreciate you bringing me, but you don't have to stay. I'll be here all night, and I hardly know you. There's no reason for you to spend your night in the ER with a stranger. Go home, I'll figure out a way home later," she urged.

Enjolras liked the sound of going home, of crawling into his bed and passing out. But his conscience could not let him leave this girl here alone – not when she was drunk, in pain, lacking transportation and company, and obviously a little freaked out. Plus, he was suddenly a little curious about who she really was, apart from her infatuation with Marius, and he was eager to learn more.

"No, no, I'm not going to leave you here alone. Besides, this is like the last hurrah of college, right? My college experience wouldn't be complete without a night spent in the ER."

Eponine gave him a rather large, grateful smile. "Thank you," she whispered, taking his hand in her good one and squeezing it. She laid her head on his shoulder then, and was promptly asleep, her hand still clasped in his.

Enjolras had had the foresight to bring his backpack – which had been in his car during the party – into the ER, and as she dropped off surprisingly quickly into unconsciousness (where he hoped she would sleep off some of her drunkenness), he found himself digging around inside it to find his book (it was his third read of The Brothers Karamazov. He would never get tired of it). All the while, he kept his hold on her hand.

*

She woke up about eighty pages later, however long that was.

Enjolras felt her stirring against him, and realized that he was still holding her hand. He promptly tried to drop it, but she was clasping him as she came to with a groan.

"Good book," Eponine rasped.

"You've read it?" he asked, surprised.

"Of course, no book has ever taken me on such an emotional journey or made me question my faith the way that one has," she replied, sitting up with a whimper and rolling her neck. "God you have a bony shoulder!"

"So I've been told." Enjolras was incredibly impressed with her. "How are you feeling?" he asked. "Any less drunk?"

"Ugh, yes, now I'm hungover. And the booze was good to keep the pain from my hand away, but now that hurts like a bitch too," she responded miserably.

Enjolras realized their hands were still clasped, so he squeezed hers supportively.

*

They had been reading along together after Eponine woke up. She still would not let go of his hand.

"You read slowly," he remarked teasingly, grinning over at her. The more he learned about her, the more he liked her. She wasn't the obnoxious drunk girl he had always perceived her to be; she was smart, sharp-witted, funny, and extremely well-read. He had entirely too much fun distracting her from her hangover and the pain in her hand by debating different authors and books. Then they had settled into sharing his book.

Eponine shrugged. "I like to really soak it all up, you know? Each word and each sentence. Writing is so beautiful, and authors spend so much time and put so much of their souls into their work. I feel like I'm doing them a disservice if I don't take my time and let what they're saying really settle in."

"You sound like a writer," he joked.

Eponine flashed that beautiful smile at him. "I am a writer – or at least, I want to be one. Someday."

"Really? What do you want to write?"

Eponine was quiet for a moment, mulling over his question. "Happiness," she finally said, her voice seeming a little far away as she stared off into space. "And people," she added, shifting her gaze to meet his. "I want to write about girls who find their way out of their miserable lives and find happiness, about boys who overcome their obstacles and live the life they've always dreamed of."

"Those sound like good books," Enjolras appraised.

She just shrugged, looking off into whatever yesterday her eyes had previously been fixed on. "I used to believe that you couldn't adequately write about something without experiencing it. But I don't believe it anymore. Writers are observers. I don't have to have a happy life to understand what one is and to write well about it. I can be miserable and write about happiness very easily. And I'll get to experience it along with my characters, so that's something, right?"

The depth of Eponine's statement actually kind of shocked him. "You just graduated college, Eponine," he reminded her softly. She looked at him with eyes that were heavy and, surprisingly, a little teary. "What's not to be happy about?"

Eponine smiled patiently and squeezed his hand. "I'm happy to have graduated. It doesn't fix my problems, though. It doesn't fix my life or my past or my family. It doesn't even secure my future. So I'm happy, yes. But it's just a fleeting happiness, not a life changing kind." Her smile was noticeably sadder now.

Enjolras didn't know what to say. She was so much more than he had judged her to be, and he found himself suddenly wanting to find a way to make her happy. He was actually about to tell her as much when the nurse called her name.

Eponine stood with a groan, and he opened his hand to let go, but she pulled him along. "Come on," she murmured, waiting impatiently as he marked his page and threw the book into his bag.

"Eponine Jondrette?" the nurse at the ER door asked.

Eponine nodded. "This is my boyfriend," she said, utterly shocking Enjolras. "I'm bringing him back with me."

The nurse hardly gave him a second glance before leading them back to a curtained-off empty bed. He helped Eponine settle on it – she was awkward with only one working hand – before lowering himself into the empty chair next to her bed.

He waited patiently as the nurse asked Eponine some information – feeling very uncomfortable when they briefly discussed her period (though Eponine didn't seem the least bit distressed) – and then left.

"Enjolras," Eponine said, the humored edge back in her voice, "Your cheeks are red. Is discussing my period a little too much for you?" she teased.

She waited a moment or two, gleefully listening to him stutter, before sobering. "Sorry to drag you back here and call you my boyfriend and everything. I just – I just hate hospitals and didn't want to be back here alone," she told him.

"Why?" he asked, before he could stop himself.

Eponine gave him an appraising look, but did not refuse him the information. "I spent a lot of time in the hospital growing up. For injuries of my own, then when I would bring my little sister and brother. My parents – well, they weren't the most loving…." She trailed off, turning her head away from him as her voice strained.

Enjolras was fairly certain that all this meant that she and her siblings were abused as children. The thought sickened him. No wonder she acted like she did, with one personality for around her friends and another for when she was alone in the darkness. His heart broke a little for her, though he could hardly show it. Somehow, he knew she wouldn't thank him for that.

So instead, he stood up and took her hand in his while she was still turned away. He slid partway onto the bed next to her – it was fairly narrow, and as she was sitting in the center, he had to keep one foot anchored on the ground – and smiled as she turned to look at him in surprise.

"I'm here," he reminded her.

Eponine gave him a timid smile, and actually turned away, hiding behind her curtain of hair.

The potentially very awkward moment (or very touching) was cut short by the return of the nurse, who took Eponine for an x-ray.

*

An hour later, they were leaving the hospital. It was close to five in the morning. Eponine had broken the part of her hand between her pinky finger and her wrist, and was now grumbling about being in a cast for the next six weeks. Although, the cast was bright purple, so Enjolras suspected that, at least for the time being, she was somewhat content.

When they were back in his car, he dug around in his glove compartment. Eponine looked at him questioningly until his hand found what he was looking for. She smiled as he pulled out a sharpie.

"Might I be the first to sign your cast, mademoiselle?" he asked, smirking at her.

Eponine nodded enthusiastically, smiling as well, and offered him her purple hand.

He gently held it, twisting her arm to where he wanted to sign, then signed his name (and drew a smiley face) right over the break. For some reason, he wanted her to know that he would be there as she healed. He wanted her to know that he would always be there, breaks or no. That suddenly, he wanted to help heal the breaks in her soul in a way that he couldn't heal the break in her hand.

Enjolras let go and she twisted her hand around to look at it, smiling widely.

"You signed over the break! Are you breaking up with me?" she punned, wiggling her eyebrows.

He snorted. "Well, your hand has to heal before you can have that purple monstrosity taken off. So technically, it's like I'll be there, stitching you back together."

Eponine's smile faded from a teasing one to a rather shy one. "That's harder than it looks," she whispered.

He wanted to remind her that her wrist was already set, that it would heal no matter what, but he knew they were no longer talking about her physical break. And he did not hate the thought of healing her other broken parts, because maybe he had some of his own that she could help with.

Eponine was not the girl he previously thought she was, and he suddenly wanted to be there for everything with her, to learn everything about him.

"Challenge accepted," he replied, grinning at her.

Eponine just smiled back and slid her hand back into his. Enjolras' heart quickened at this; he had come to like the warmth during their night in the ER together.

Eponine cleared her throat – it would seem she did not like sentimental moments (even better, as he hated them too) – and said, "Well now I only have one working hand. So let's take a shower, I'll need someone to wash my hair!"

Enjolras felt his face flush and he started the car, hurriedly driving away as though he could leave her teasing laughter behind at the hospital. She was cackling, completely aware that she had succeeded in flustering him, and stroking his hand with her thumb where it was clenched in hers.

[ma-gic-gay]

Leaving a former assassin turned mob boss alone with his thoughts and anger about his... Whatever him and Carly are, since that seems to change every ten minutes going through what she went through, is a stupid idea. Especially for two hours.

It's either that or confront the fact they've kissed and had sex in the same 24 hours.

Not exactly the most friendly things to do.

This is exactly what he's not supposed to be thinking about, yet it's what he's thinking about while he's sitting in a chair at the hospital.

Turns out that when he's not doing illegal things, he can actually have time to think and not freak out about the cops finding out what happened. Time to think about them and how he doubts they'll ever go back to normal. A one night stand is one thing, a kiss after you get kidnapped and raped is a completely other thing.

Go figure, the one person who he could willingly discuss this with is the same person who he can't right now.

Maybe talking about this with Sam would work?

Nope, scratch that. Even though she's moved on from their relationship, they're not that close of friends and really only hang out for their kids sake.

If this was a year ago, he'd say he should go to Sonny, since he can't go to Carly about it. But then again, if it was a year ago or if Sonny hadn't vanished, been presumed dead long enough for even Carly to believe it (which meant he, by extension, believed it finally as well), last night never would've happened. Not in a million-

Alright maybe it would've happened but he doubts it. After all, a year ago, he was with Sam and Carly was with Sonny.

Does this count as a betrayal, sleeping with her? Not like conceiving a child on his biological brother's grave with the woman who's the reason he's dead. Or knowing that your best friend is in love with someone but sleeping with her anyways out of horniness.

Maybe he's still a little bit mad about those things.

Or a lot bit mad.

Thinking of all the times Sonny's betrayed him is definitely not helping the fact that anger is just about the only emotion he's feeling right now. Notably, that comes with the exception of confused and that one's only because he's seriously confused about what the hell him and Carly are right now.

Just thinking about what she must be going through right now... It makes him so furious he could take someone out for even mentioning the word. Or something negative even in the slightest bit about her.

That last part might be a telltale sign he needs to do an evaluation of his feelings for her but after this. Probably should right now, but he doesn't want to.

Even the mention of what happened to her, which is spreading through the hospital like wildfire (whoever spread that information first is on his shit list and that is not a good place to be), makes his blood boil.

Cyrus did that to her, he decided to treat her like an object. Like she's some disposable thing, that after he had his fun with her she'll be killed to hurt his business competitor. And the fact that he'd managed to scare her, that he'd managed to do something so difficult he thought it would never happen again unless something happened to one of her kids or him. That part makes him want his head on a stick outside his front door.

And the only reason he did it is to hurt Jason, to make him feel hopeless and in despair and angry and hurt. The only reason she went through that is because of him. That's the worst part, for him, that he's responsible for her going through that, that it's his fault. Even though he knows that's not how it went down, that he's not responsible for Cyrus's actions or her kidnapping and rape, that's sure as hell what it feels like. It feels like everything's getting blurry, like the lines he had drawn in his life are bleeding into each other.

Keep her safe, that was always his number one rule. Even if it meant getting hurt himself (which it normally did), keeping her safe has always been his priority. It's why he tries, unsuccessfully, to shelter her from the mob.

When she needed him, really needed him, he couldn't do that for her. He wasn't there when she needed him the most, when she needed him to save her and get her out of that situation.

No matter how you frame it, what he's doing is beating himself up for something that he knows to be his fault. Maybe if he'd been there, sent someone else to deal with Florence and stayed at the house with her, he wouldn't be dealing with this right now. Maybe then, she wouldn't have been kidnapped and raped.

"Jason?" Britt asks him, noticing he's zoned out. "She's fine. Carly's not pregnant and we gave her a pill just in case to prevent against it. She doesn't have HIV or any other STD's, I ran a full test. As far as I can tell, her uterine health is great right now."

"Thanks, for the update," he thanks her, remembering where he is. "Can I, uh, can I go see her?"

"Yeah, the sedative wore off and she's been complaining and crying for a few minutes. She's in room 3115," she tells him, noting the relief and pain on his face. "You doing okay?"

"What matters right now is whether Carly's okay or not." Jason answers her quickly and his feet take him to the room she's in, somehow. He doesn't even know this hospital that well.

That's new.

"I woke up a few minutes ago and they told me they were looking for you, where were you?" Carly asks, aggravated.

"I was in the lobby," he tells her, wiping away her tears as they come. There's a look of relief on her face through everything, which doesn't surprise him in the slightest.

"Why didn't they let you in before the sedative wore off? I thought I'd been taken again, I was yelling for you," the blonde complains.

"Apparently I'm a hard guy to find."

"You have seven black shirts, seven pairs of blue jeans which you haven't replaced since the 90s, and a leather jacket. That's pretty much all you ever wear. I can't remember the last time you wore a suit. Or a shirt with any color in it at all. How hard could it be to find you?"

"You're just saying that because you always know where I am. It's a sixth sense of yours."

"True. Maybe it's time to spice up your wardrobe with some colorful shirts. We could start with blue and then ease into colors like yellow or white eventually," she suggests cheerfully.

"Carly," he warns. "I like my clothes."

"I know you do, but you need more variety in your life, Jason," Carly argues.

"You keep life interesting enough, trust me," he assures her. "I'm sorry for what happened to you tonight, you know that, right? It's my fault, if I'd gotten there sooner or I hadn't left you alone, this never would've happened."

"No, it's not. Cyrus would've gotten me another way, or he might've gone and snatched one of your kids. Danny, Scout, Jake, they don't deserve that. Neither did I, but if that happened to one of your kids? You wouldn't be able to live with yourself and he could've killed them easier. At least with me, I'm alive. Severely traumatized, but alive," Carly says, hugging him gently as to not hurt herself.

"Yeah but if I'd been there to protect you-"

"Then he would've gotten to you another way or waited until you went to sleep or went back to your dull apartment where the only piece of decor is a moss bowl. I'm a target, alright? We've known this for years, and what happened to me is not your fault. It's as much my fault as it is yours. No one deserves what he did to me, not even that dirt bag himself, and you cannot blame yourself."

"He did this to you as a way to hurt me!"

"And if Sonny were still around it would've been as a way to hurt Sonny. He hates me, alright? Cyrus hates me so much he wanted to hurt me, just as bad as he wanted to hurt you. It's not your fault that he's a monster." She attempts to help him see that it's not his fault, but he doesn't.

"The only reason you know about this business is me. Practically every bad thing you've gone through, Carly, is because of me by extension," he tells her, feeling a tear slip out of his eyes.

"You didn't force me to be a part of the business, Jason. Hell, it was your worst nightmare. I made that choice for myself, to marry Sonny and, when he died, helping you run his territory. I knew the risks and I did it for me, for you, for my family."

"For me?" Jason asks, confused. "How do I factor in?"

"How do you factor in? You're my family and you needed help. Of course I was going to help you! Even when you tried to talk me out of it," the blonde continues, smiling widely.

"That help could've come with Max or Milo or someone else."

"And there's a reason it came in the shape of me. You trust me more than them, even with this business," she smiles.

To be continued when school ends because FUCK IT'S BACK NO

@ryleighjosephine

[wordsfromthesol]

Forever Together…Hopefully Not. (2/2)

Author: @wordsfromthesol

Pairing: Jason Todd x Reader

Summary: Red Hood asks for your help on a case, but things go sideways quickly and now the two of you are closer than ever before.

Warnings:  Language (when is it not?), implied smut

Word Count: 1.7k

Part One

You had just agreed to suffer locked to each other for 24 hours in hopes of the spell wearing off. The next day the two of you tried to do as little as humanly possible. Jason propped a barstool for you to sit on while he cooked breakfast. After that, the two of you sat there reading or watching tv until Jason got a call from Dick.

“Alfred is expecting you in an hour. You know he’s the last one you want to piss off Jaybird.”

“I’m in kind of…a unique situation here Dick. Not sure I can make it.”

“Find a way. Or the next time Alfred will be knocking on your door.”

Hearing half the conversation was enough for you, “Jason. No. There’s no way we are going.”

“Listen, you were going to have to meet them sooner or later, Y/N/N.”

“Uhm, why?”

“I can only keep you off Batman’s radar for so long…”

“Why would…he’s your dad isn’t he.”

“The one and only.”

“Alright, but can we try to keep,” you raised your joined wrists, “this to ourselves. I don't need any more charity.” You lowered your voice and mumbled, “you’ve already given me plenty.” Thankfully Jason was too caught up with how the two of you were going to pull this off to hear your comment. You had always felt like Jason’s charity case, especially after you found out he was the lost Wayne heir. You hadn’t even told him your last name, though you were pretty sure he knew it.

**

The ride to the Manor was a silent one, Alfred had sent a car, so at least you didn’t have to endure the bike again. I can’t believe I’m doing this. What are we even going to say? Should we get our stories straight? Your thoughts were racing but you couldn’t bring yourself to form any words. Just as you turned into the gate Jason turned to you.

“So, they probably already know who you are. Especially after Dick met you. But you don’t have to tell them your…side business, if you don’t want to.”

“If I don’t, what are you going to say?”

“That I brought a friend. I’m very good at directing the subject elsewhere.”

You nodded, Jason was the only one you’ve ever told your identity to and you kind of wanted to keep it that way. It made the secret more special. The car pulled up to the door and Jason got out, with you in tow, and didn’t bother to knock but instead call out as he waltzed in.

“Alright, Alf, I caved! You got me here.”

You watched as an older man walked into the hallway, “Master Jason. How good of you to join us. You brought a friend?”

“Yeah, I thought she could make the night more bearable…with dad.” He winked at Alfred and began to walk to the dining room, you had no choice but to closely follow behind him. You grabbed his wrist to stop him before Alfred was out of sight.

“Sorry for his rudeness, I’m Y/N!” You called out before Jason continued walking.

He whispered, “Don’t volunteer information, rookie.”

You scoffed at him, “This isn’t an interrogation Jason, it’s dinner with your family.”

“A dinner where I hope to avoid vigilante talk. You come quite in handy for that.”

The two of you took your seats at the empty table, “Well then now you owe me two.”

“Two?!”

You side-eyed him, “The grappling hook incident.”

Jason let out a laugh remembering the startled look on your face as the two of you soared through the air, as Dick entered the room.

“What, couldn’t get rid of her?”

“Get rid of who Dickiebird?” Jason played the innocent victim and put his hand to his chest.

Dick gave the two of you a knowing smile and sat beside you, just as Tim and Damian came stumbling in.

“I had you!” Damian exclaimed.

“If you had me, it’s only because I let you.” Tim retorted.

“I call for a rematch –” Damian stopped short as his eyes fell on you. “Todd seems to have brought company.”

Jason shrugged, “Thought a buffer might be a good thing. Keep things…civilized.”

Two pairs of eyes shot in your direction, as if asking you to elaborate, but you headed Jason’s earlier warning and did not offer up any information. Dick, however, could tell what was happening and simply laughed. Bruce walked in and took a seat, his eyes never leaving you.

“Jason, I thought we could talk about family matters tonight.”

“Why do you think I brought her, Old Man?”

“Hm, perhaps after dinner then.”

“I don’t know,” a huge grin formed on his face, “I’m kind of attached to her.”

You quickly brought you free hand to cover your mouth as a laugh escaped. Though the rest of the boys just looked around confused.

“I’m sure you can spare a few minutes later.”

“Just for you Brucie, I’ll try. But I’ve found it quite difficult to have her not at my side.”

You were pleasantly surprised by the rest of the dinner. In fact, you don’t even think any of them asked your name, though Alfred did address you by it when he entered the dining room. As it came time to leave, you looked down at your watch and sorrow spread through your features.

“Something wrong, Y/N?” Dick noticed your sudden change in demeanor.

You looked at Jason, “24 hours,” as you tried pulling your wrist from his.

“Fuck.” He turned to Bruce, “Well Brucie, looks like we might get that talk afterwards.”

Tim, Damian, and Dick all looked up in surprise. “I’m sorry Jason, did you just agree to chat with Bruce?” Tim questioned.

“Well, you see. Me and the misses here are in a bit of a predicament –”

“Don’t call me that.” You huffed.

“We may be kinda stuck together.” He held up your wrists and tried to pull them a part, forcing you to be pulled and knock into him.

“Really?”

“Easiest way was to show them.”

“Jason, how did this happen? She’s a civilian.” You could hear the tension in Bruce’s words.

“Hate to break it to you, but I don’t think she is,” Dick piped in and looked at you, “Aurora, right? So that’s why you two were so close last night. By force.” Dick let out another laugh.

You rolled your eyes, getting annoyed with his amusement in the situation, “Yes.”

“It’s done, so whatever. Tim, can you –” Jason began.

“Already done. She’ll be here soon.”

“Who will?” You questioned, your vigilante stint had been short, and you didn’t tend to wander outside of Gotham. Before anyone could answer, Zatanna walked into the living room.

“Got yourself in some trouble, huh Jay?”

“Can you fix it, Z?” Jason looked at her with hope in his eyes. She took both of your hands in hers and mumbled some words.

“In time, though I think it might be easier for the two of you to do it yourselves.”

“Don’t you think we would’ve if we could’ve?” You scoffed at the unknown person in the room.

“Ha, well maybe if you understood how. It’s simple really, kind of a freaky Friday thing. You just have to understand the other’s point of view.” She waved her hand, “If that’s just too impossible I should have a reversal spell in…48 hours.”

“Two days?! Are you kidding me? I can’t be attached to him for 48 more hours!” You turned to look at Jason, who actually seemed hurt by your outburst.

“Well, then maybe try talking to each other…like a normal couple.” A mischievous smiled adorned her lips.

“We are not –” You didn’t finish your statement before she had vanished.

**

The two of you somehow made it out of the manor and back to your apartment before Jason spoke again.

“Am I really that bad?” His voice sounded defeated as he ran his fingers through his hair.

“Wha…no... I just…” You couldn’t think of the words you wanted to, especially when he still looked like a wounded puppy. The two of you stood in silence in your entry way until you watched his features shift.

“Why won’t you just talk to me?!” He turned his back to you and began walking to the bedroom, forgetting that you were forced to follow him until you let out a small yelp.

“Jay!” He turned and realized he was nearly dragging you behind him.

“Sorry…I forgot.”

You sighed, finally giving in. “I’m tired okay. I’m tired of being your charity case. I’m tired of having to ask you for help. I’m tired of…of not being good enough for you.” You watched as his face contorted with confusion.

“Why would you…why would you ever think that?”

“Why else would you help me? Because you feel bad for me.”

“I started helping you because I saw myself. You could hold your own in a fight no problem, but there’s so much more to it than that. I recognized the drive and more importantly, the recklessness.” He took your hands in his. “Then the more I got to know you, the more I did worry. I don’t know what I would do if you were hurt, so I kept you close. I want you to ask for my help, then I can make sure you’re being safe and being smart.” He scoffed, more to himself than to you, “And you. You are too good for me, in every sense.”

With those inner revelations, the bind was broken, though the two of you didn’t notice. You both stood there motionless, holding each other’s hands, until you finally broke the silence.

“You deserve so much more than you give yourself Jason Peter Todd.” You pulled him closer and pressed your lips to his. He backed away, looking at you in shock before taking your head in his hands and drawing you into a deep passionate kiss while slowly backing up to the bed.

[t0ngue-tech]

Longing For You | Three

“’N-No! We’re best friends.’ You chuckled softly. ‘We’ve known each other way before elementary school.’

Hoseok gave you a look of worry as you finished your sentence, but you smiled and shrugged at him. You were used to saying it.”

↠ angsty highschoolAU bestfriendAU ↞

word count: 4.3k

↠ series: 1 | 2 | ↞

A/N: I UPLOADED AGAIN???? WHAT WORLD AM I LIVING IN LMAO??? hennywayz, enjoy the chapter my loves ♡

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Hors d'oeuvres . 

Your mother specifically said hors d'oeuvres and you were expecting small sandwiches or a fruit platter, but your mother had you cooling three racks of cookies and deep frying breaded pork chops on the side. Leave it to your mother to make an entire meal as an “hors d'oeuvres .”

One by one, the council members appeared and they each offered to help you in the kitchen. It was starting to look like a normal lunch-get-together with the entire squad and you made a mental note to start the meeting once everyone settled down. 

“We should always have meetings at your house, y/n” One of the members, Jimin, took a nice bite out of a pork chop and made himself comfortable on your couch.

“Yeah! And thanks for the food, y/n.” Nayeon chimed in and took a seat next to you on the floor.

“You’re very welcome. It was my mom’s idea to have this much food and I bet all of you five bucks that she’s going to walk in the door later with either dinner, dessert, or both.” You smiled fondly. Even if cooking and cleaning everything afterwards was tiring, you appreciated your mother’s initiative in taking care of your friends and treating them like her own children.

“Okay everyone, I don’t mean to be a party pooper, but we should get started on this meeting. We have a lot of shit to get through.” You pulled your laptop from the coffee table onto the ottoman in front of you. “And the first order of business is the damn winter formal.”

An orchestra of groans floated around your living room and you couldn’t help but laugh. You all have been purposely avoiding planning for the formal because trying to think of a theme has been a train wreck. Everything that you all came up with prior to this meeting all sounded remotely similar to what other high schools were doing or it didn’t have any pizzazz. 

“Can’t we start on the other things?” Hoseok asked from the kitchen.

“I’d love to but Mrs. Kwon is going to grill me if I don’t have the proposal done for the formal by Monday.” You groaned. Being student council president was fun and all, but because of your position, you took the majority of the heat.

The living room fell silent as you all took a brief moment to think of a theme. You thought about all of the failed suggestions and after thinking too hard, your mind wandered off to last night when Taehyung called you a Disney princess. 

“Okay, this may sound cheesy, but hear me out,” You started. “‘A Winter Fairy Tale.’ We could have white and blue decorations and kind of branch off a Disney theme.”

“Oh my god,” Dahyun exclaimed. “That sounds so cute! Everyone is gonna feel like princes and princesses!” She stood up and twirled around in her skirt with a cookie in one hand.

“I’m for it.” Jimin smiled and everyone else chimed in, agreeing and spewing out decoration ideas. 

If only you had thought of this idea sooner then Mrs. Kwon would have spared you the lecture from the previous week.

“Pssst! Y/n.” Nayeon scooted closer towards you while some of the others were in the kitchen stocking up on cookies after working for about an hour and a half. You tore your eyes from your laptop to give Nayeon your undivided attention.

“What’s up?”

“I was wondering…” she started off quietly. “Is Taehyung seeing anyone or likes anybody?”

It felt as if your chest caved in a little.

“Uh, he hasn’t mentioned anything about someone he likes, but he’s currently not seeing anyone either.” It pained you to be honest, but you didn’t own Taehyung. He was your best friend not your boyfriend and he was allowed to date whoever he wanted.

“Oh! Okay. I was wondering if you could put in a good word for me? I always thought he was cute and maybe I could ask him to the dance.” Nayeon stared at you with puppy eyes that gleamed in natural lighting and you felt guilty for even considering lying to her.

There was nothing wrong with Nayeon. She was with the council since last year as secretary, but she decided to be a council helper so she could focus on cheerleading during her senior year. She was trustworthy, reliable, and had an aura everyone loved. There was nothing about her that Taehyung would hate; she was perfect.

“S-Sure, Nayeon. I’ll be sure to work a little bit of magic for you.” You smiled weakly and patted the top of her head.

Her eyes lit up and she squealed in delight. “Thank you so much, y/n! I would have asked someone else from the basketball team, but I know you two are best friends so you know, you know him on a more personal level.”

Yeah.. I do..

“Thanks again, y/n. I’ll get us more cookies.” Nayeon stood up. “How about a refill on juice?”

“Yes please. Thanks.” You watched as she retrieved your glass and walked away with an extra pep in her step.

Ugh. What the fuck am I supposed to do?!

“Did Nayeon just asked to be set up with your Taehyung?” Hoseok whispered and crawled over to sit next to you.

You raised an eyebrow at the “your Taehyung” comment before answering him. “Not exactly. She wants me to put in a good word for her because she wants to ask Taehyung to the formal.” It was clear to Hoseok that your eyes weren’t matching your smile.

“Are you really going to go through with it?”

“I have to, Hoseok. Taehyung isn’t my boyfriend.” You sighed. “Plus, Nayeon is a great girl. Taehyung would like her a lot.” This wouldn’t be the first time a girl asked you to set her up with Taehyung nor would it be the first time he’s had a love interest.

Your movements against your keyboard began to slow down at the thought of Taehyung possibly having another girlfriend. Maybe it wouldn’t bother you as much if Nayeon wasn’t close to you, but that wasn’t the case. 

You were definitely overthinking this whole situation. 

She wasn’t asking you to set her up with Taehyung, she didn’t even ask for his number, but you were taking it to the next level on your own.

How were you supposed to even do this?

↠↞

The meeting ended around five and your suspicions were right, your mother brought back food for the council members. There were now extra pieces of pork katsu, cookies, boxes of pizza, and a box of custard filled donuts--she wanted to make sure the members had food to take home.

You were in the kitchen with your mother and Hoseok who stayed back to help clean up the dishes and any other mess you all made. Your father was on skype and after catching up with him, your mother went to her room to discuss business matters in private with him.

“Is it lonely since your dad is always away?” Hoseok asked.

“Ehhh...sort of, not really. He calls periodically and texts me every morning so it’s like he’s still here but cooped up in his office 24/7.” You handed another plate for Hoseok to dry off. “I can’t believe you haven’t met him in person yet. I’m pretty sure he would love you just as much as he loves me.”

Hoseok chuckled. “You’re sure about that? He’s not going to accuse me of being the boyfriend of his precious-only-daughter or say anything else?”

“Yes! Trust me. My dad’s brother recently got married to his boyfriend of four years and he’s his number one supporter if that’s what you’re worried about.” You smiled softly at Hoseok and he nodded in relief.

“Ugh, I’ll be back. Bathroom again.” Hoseok winced and darted down the hall.

“I told you to go easy on the donuts and cookies!” You called out after him.

The doorbell chimed and you were already 100 percent sure that it was Taehyung. You sent him a photo of all the food you had and his instant reply was “SAVE ME SOME OR ELSE” with multiple crying emojis at the end.

You opened the door and a blush rose to your cheeks.

Taehyung’s hair was tousled in all sorts of directions and he wore a plain white shirt that you loved seeing him wear. His cheeks were slightly flushed, probably from running to your house and he had a dust of sleep still settled in his eyes.

God, he’s so cute.

“Well, good morning. Tae.” You smiled.

“Food.” He answered instantly.

You moved out of the way and gestured him to walk into the kitchen. “Use one of the plates on the drying rack! I really don’t want to wash a new one.”

Taehyung began ranting about how exhausting his day was. He only meant to drop off his mother to work, but his basketball friends called to have a game at the park. Then, they went to have lunch at the mall so they could set new high scores at the arcade. Before he knew it, Taehyung had to leave to pick up his mother and she needed to do a little grocery shopping. As soon as he got home, he dropped onto his bed and drifted off to sleep before waking up five minutes later to your text message.

“Why don’t you just pack up your food so you can go finish up your nap.” You suggested.

“You see, that’s where your bed comes to play,” Taehyung replied with a mouthful of pizza. “I can take a quick nap here after digesting so that I’m refreshed to do some homework when I get home.”

This would’ve been the perfect opportunity to ask Taehyung what he thought of Nayeon or if he even knew her, but the words were caught in your throat. 

What am I doing? Just say it, y/n! Say it!

“Oh, hey Taehyung.” Hoseok walked into the kitchen wiping his hands on his jeans. You had to admit, you were relieved to see him.

“Hey, Hoseok.” Taehyung waved his pizza slice in the air.

“Is your mom still on the phone? I’d like to say goodbye before I go.” Hoseok quickly helped you wipe down the island counter and put away the leftovers in your refrigerator.

“Yeah, she’s still in her room. I’ll tell her you said bye though.” You smiled at him and handed him his food to take home.

“Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow morning then.” Hoseok placed his hand on your lower back and Taehyung propped his head up.

“What’s happening tomorrow?”

Hoseok explained that the council finally came to an agreement about what theme to do for winter formal and that while waiting for Mrs. Kwon to look over the proposal, it would be best to at least have an idea on what the layout of the gym would be. Taehyung clasped his hands together and begged the both of you to tell him what the theme was, but no matter how much he begged, you insisted that he waited until the announcement came out for school.

“Aw, I thought we were boys.” Taehyung pouted.

“Sorry, Tae.” You chuckled. “The announcement should probably be out sometime next week.”

“Yeah. I think everyone would love the idea.” Hoseok added. “Alright, so I’ll come by to pick you up around 10:15? Then we’ll go and get Jimin at his house.”

“It’s a date.” You joked and Hoseok rubbed your lower back. “Come on, I’ll walk you to the door.”

Hoseok fist bumped Taehyung and followed right behind you. “See you, Taehyung!”

“Yeah. See you!”

↠↞

You planned on sleeping by 11 pm, but of course that didn’t happen because Taehyung stayed until 1 in the morning talking with you and having a quick chat with your father via skype. Now you were groggy and starving because you had no time to heat up any leftovers for breakfast. On the bright side, Hoseok picked you up with coffee waiting for you in the cup holder. At least this was going to keep you full until you had time to eat.

The layout of the gymnasium worked perfectly for the “winter fairy tale” theme everyone chose. There was enough room for tables, the dance floor, photo booth, and decorations. Dahyun suggested a carriage near the entrance of the gym as a prop and large pieces of cotton to replicate snow, hence the name winter fairy tale.

After scoping out the gym, the three of you headed off to the council room to do some more planning. 

“We should get started on fundraising for the costs. I mean, we still have enough money from prior fundraisers but we also need money for senior prom and we have to go all out for that.” Jimin suggested.

“Hm, you’re right. We can definitely do the bake sale again. We raised a lot of money from that last year.” Hoseok typed away at your laptop that you brought with you. “Any other ideas, y/n—? Y/n!”

You jolted up from your seat realizing that you had fallen asleep. “Oh, God. I’m sorry.”

“Long night?” Jimin questioned.

“Yeah. Taehyung didn’t leave until one in the morning.” You rubbed your eyes and leaned back in your seat.

“Taehyung? Was he there at the meeting?” Jimin mumbled to himself. “Hey, what is the deal between the two of you anyway? Are you guys dating? You’re together almost all the time.”

“N-No! We’re best friends.” You chuckled softly. “We’ve known each other way before elementary school.”

Hoseok gave you a look of worry as you finished your sentence, but you smiled and shrugged at him. You were used to saying it.

After a little more intricate planning, Mrs. Kwon entered the council to officially approve of the theme for the winter formal. She even took a look at the fundraiser ideas you three brought forward and took the time to fill out the proposals.

Now that the theme was out of the way, this meant you were going to be extremely busy with the rest of the responsibilities that came with the winter formal like money, forms, entertainment—sigh, I feel like death is inching closer and closer to me.

Jimin treated you and Hoseok to lunch at a small burger joint near the school because he could automatically feel the stress weighing on the president and vice president. Even if the three of you tried to avoid the topic of school, it naturally came up because you were seniors who were a part of the student council that had extracurricular activities and had lives that involved family and friends. Although the main topic was school and stress, the afternoon was spent well with good company; it was something all three of you needed.

You ended up staying out a little later than you had planned and it was all thanks to Jimin, who wanted to try out the bakery that opened in the next town. He offered to drive Hoseok’s car and you each gave Hoseok money for gas.

The afternoon was great, but it was even greater going to the bakery and back home; singing your hearts out to Jimin’s playlists, taking the wrong exit, spending a little too much money on baked goods and lattes, and attempting to be friends with stray cats near the bakery.

You haven’t felt this stress-free in weeks.

↠↞

“Sigh, Hoseok. Today was great.” You sighed happily. Hoseok helped you carry your things onto your porch because he had to get back home to finish up some homework.

“Hell yeah. We should do it again sometime.” Hoseok suggested and you readily agreed.

“Hey, Hoseok.”

You both turned around to find Taehyung standing in your driveway with his hands stuffed in the pockets of his hoodie.

“Oh, hey, Taehyung! Hold on, I’ll be out of your guys’ hair soon—y/n, here’s your satchel.” Hoseok shimmied the strap of your bag off his shoulder to put it over your own. “Alrighty-roo, I’ll see you two tomorrow. Y/n, I’m gonna be about thirty-minutes late to the meeting tomorrow because of science team duties.”

“Yeah, no problem. Drive safe.” You smiled and waved him goodbye. “Taehyung, can you help me?”

Taehyung assisted you up to your room where he propped his entire body down on your bed. You waved the takeout box of almond cookies near his face and he immediately jumped up to snatch the box out of your hands.

“Oh. My. God. Where did you get these?” Taehyung asked with a satisfied groan.

“Jimin, Hoseok, and I went to the new bakery. We have to go there dude! It’s quite the drive, but their mocha lattes are uh-mazing.” You hopped on top of your bed and laid your legs out over Taehyung’s thighs.

“Oh shit, okay!” Taehyung swallowed the rest of his cookie. “When do you want to go?”

“Uhh…” you suddenly remembered how busier you were going to be and frowned. “Ugh, actually, I’m not even sure when. The winter formal is going to keep me extremely busy now that the theme is approved.”

“That’s alright, y/n.” Taehyung reached out to lift your chin up with his fingers. “We’ll figure out a date soon enough.”

Your cheeks instantly burned at the touch of his fingers. How were you going to put in a good word for Nayeon when you felt this way about him? But you thought about all of the good words there were to be said about her and you decided to grow a pair and just do it.

You swallowed the lump in your throat and clenched your bed sheet. “H-Hey, Tae. What do you think of Nayeon?”

“Nayeon?” He repeated with a cookie stuffed in his mouth. “The one from council?”

You nodded your head.

“Hm, I don’t really know her that well. What’s up?”

It pained you staring into his eyes. Taehyung was not your boyfriend. He was not yours.

“Well, she’s honestly a sweetheart a-and…” you bit the inside of your cheek. “And she thinks you’re cute.”

Taehyung smiled and raised his eyebrows. “Really? Wow. She’s a cheerleader too right?”

You nodded again, slowly this time.

“Hm, I guess if I see her tomorrow I’ll say howdy.”

You snorted. “Please don’t say howdy. I’m begging you.”

“Wha—why not?!”

Taehyung playfully argued with you about how his howdy greeting was not as embarrassing as you thought it was. He mimicked the way he used a cowboy accent and tipped an imaginary ten-gallon hat. You laughed until your stomach hurt and tears rimmed your eyes.

Your smile slowly faltered as you thought about how there was no way Nayeon would ever change her opinion about Taehyung. He was goofy, welcoming, and incredibly kind; any girl would be lucky to have him--you were already lucky to know him on such a personal level for so long.

↠↞

Ugh. People. Communicating. Eye contact. Exerting energy.

It never occurred to you how tired you were until the students in your classes were giving off a lot more energy than what you were used to. They all were laughing and smiling while you were huddled in your seat wanting nothing to do with anybody or anything. The mindset you were having was not good, but in your defense, you didn’t sleep well last night.

You kept tossing and turning thinking about how happy Nayeon and Taehyung were going to be together. They looked like an attractive couple in your head and you were just making it harder for yourself to go to sleep. It was obvious that you were overthinking everything--you’ve been doing since Nayeon asked you about talking to Taehyung. You were constantly reminding yourself that she was only asking you to speak well of her not setting them up for a date, but the war of selfishness and friendship was raging inside of you. How were you supposed to sleep?

Now, here you were, bags under your eyes and a sick feeling in stomach. Even the radiant atmosphere of your council peers couldn’t fully lift up your drained spirit. 

The meeting consisted of designing the form for the winter formal and picking the announcement date; it was a good thing that the winter formal wasn’t as big of an event as senior prom, although the workload was almost similar.

“Okay, Hoseok and I are going to be here early tomorrow so that we could put up some fliers before the entire student body shows up. Dahyun, and Jimin, you three are going to put up the posters tomorrow during lunch. Nayeon, Doyoung, and Wheein, just have lunch in the council room just in case students show up to ask questions on the formal--Mrs. Kwon is going to be here too.” You spoke at the head of the room and scribbled in your notebook, making changes to your schedule. Everyone agreed and you adjourned the meeting to tomorrow.

Your peers all waved goodbye and advised you to get some sleep because the dark circles under your eyes were prominent. After each of them left, you slumped onto one of the chairs and sighed loudly.

“Did you drive to school? I can take you home if you’re that tired.” Hoseok tidied up some of your paper to give you a break from standing up for so long.

“I’m fine Hoseok. I drove today.” You tipped your head back and covered your eyes with your forearm.

“So… did you talk to Taehyung?” Hoseok asked quietly.

“I...did…” you replied softly and brought your head back down. “Heh… he’s willing to talk to her to, you know, get to know her and stuff.”

Hoseok blew out a breath and stood behind you to stroke your hair. “Hey… it’s alright… I-I’m sorry, I don’t really know what to say.”

You smiled and stood from your seat. “It’s fine, Hoseok. I’m just overreacting. I don’t own Taehyung. I can’t make his decisions. I’ll be alright.”

Hoseok tried to give you a comforting smile, but you could tell he was hurting for you. He knew you were going to have to brace yourself for conversations with Nayeon about Taehyung and vice versa, he knew all too well how much it hurt to see the person you like go out with a good friend and he just wanted to be there for you.

“Okay…” he handed you your bag. “Come on, I’ll walk you to your car.”

You dragged your feet against the tiles in the hallway while Hoseok had his arm around your shoulders. He was telling you a few stories about his skype dates with Seokjin to cheer you up because you always enjoyed hearing about their relationship. You had to admit, you were a bit jealous but you were extremely happy for them nonetheless. 

“And then he lifts up his burger and goes ‘burger-ndy!’” Hoseok failed to hold in his laugh as he talked about his boyfriend’s puns. “I swear his puns are the worst sometimes, but this burger one was pure gold.”

You laughed full heartedly hearing the delightful squeaky sound of Seokjin’s laughter in your head. “I guess you can say puns are his resPUNSibility.”

Hoseok pulled you into a headlock and you choked on your laughter, apologizing and begging him to let go. “Maybe you should stop talking to Seokjin. His jokes are rubbing off on you and I already have to deal with him, I don’t want to have to--” His voice grew softer and his footsteps halted.

You wriggled out of Hoseok’s, now loose, headlock and questioned why he stopped all of a sudden. He stared off into the distance and you looked forward, breath caught in your throat.

In the distance, you saw Nayeon leaning against the row of lockers with Taehyung standing off to the side. Judging by their smiles, it seemed like they were having a riveting conversation. You watched as Nayeon pointed towards the nearby classroom and Taehyung nodded. She disappeared into the classroom and your heart broke at the sight of him smiling as he watched her go inside.

Suddenly, Taehyung turned his head to find you and Hoseok. He flashed his boxy grin and stuck two thumbs up. Even with tears in your eyes, you grinned and returned the gesture. Hoseok also gave Taehyung a thumbs up and then waved at him after catching a quick glimpse of your facial expression. Hoseok put an arm around you and guided you back towards the other exit of the building.

You walked silently beside Hoseok for a few minutes and before you even reached the exit doors, you stopped walking and felt a tear roll down your cheek and you began to chuckle to yourself.

“Ha.. heh… it’s--why am I crying?” You tried to laugh about it, but all you could see was the pure bliss on Taehyung’s face as he watched Nayeon go into the classroom. “Why am I…?”

Hoseok whispered your name and enveloped you in his arms. He rubbed your back and softly repeated it’s okay, it’s okay.

It wasn’t okay. You were going to have to stand by on the sidelines once again as Taehyung got himself romantically involved with someone, but it was different this time. You knew the girl. She was a dear friend of yours who was perfect in every way possible while all the other girls Taehyung ever dated or had a thing with was someone he knew from another friend of from class; you didn’t know them personally. You had a gut feeling that everything was going to work out perfectly between Nayeon and Taehyung. Why wouldn’t it?

This wasn’t supposed to hurt this much.

It wasn’t okay, but it was going to have to be.

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♡ rae jagi

[thekpopcloud]

Minho (Lee Know) as your boyfriend

requested by @vkookbangtanboys

(gif not mine! credit to owner!)

confession:

okay let’s get one thing straight...

If Minho hadn’t been pushed to confess then he wouldn’t have

bASICALLY

Everyone knew you and Minho had a thing for each other

Everyone knew Minho was head over heals in love with you, every time he looked at you it was like hearts were pouring out of his eyes

But the only person that didn’t see it? You guessed it,,,,YOU

And eventually the rest of skz got sick of seeing the two being so oblivious

They took matters into their own hands....which could’ve gone terribly to be fair

Jisung had an idea, which meant it was already was probably stupid, of locking the two of you in a room together

So after a very very very long discussion they decided to get you two into one of the practice rooms.

*in the spongebob voice thing* one day later...

Minho was on his way to practice when he got a text from Woojin

I need to talk to you about something, come to the practice room, as quick as you can

At the same time, you were at home doing some work when Jisung has texted you

HEY! MEET ME IN THE PRACTICE ROOM, ASAP! WE NEED TO TALK :)

Thinking nothing of it, both you and Minho headed towards the same place, completely unaware of what they were planning.

You arrived first, getting comfortable on the couch then texting Jisung

I’m here, hurry your backside up, it’s too quite in here

From the other end of the phone, the boys were hollering and cheering cause their was plan was going to plan.

A good...10 minutes later Minho rocked up stopping dead in his tracks when he saw you.

“what?”

“what?”

confusion,,,nothing but confusion.

He walked into the room and in the reflection of the mirror he saw Felix and Jisung peeking in the door.

“GOOD LUCK YOU TWO” they screamed and slammed the door shut, locking it.

You jumped to your feet, practically racing to the door to try and pry it open.

“HAN JISUNG! OPEN THIS DOOR OR SO HELP ME I’LL-”

“niether of you are leaving this room until you confess! So Minho, tell y/n how much you love them, y/n you do the same” that was chan’s voice.

“i hate you so much Bang Chan” you whispered, hitting your forehead on the door.

Minho, gaining some ounce of confidence, paraded over to you and gently grabbed your arms and spun you around, pushing your back against the wall.

“Listen to me and do not say a word, i’m gonna have to thank the boys for because frankly it’s getting frustrating. I like you, a lot, and i guess the boys got sick of seeing me acting like a lovesick puppy, You don’t have to feel the same, you don’t have to like me back, just know how much i like yo-”

You decided to cut him off, giving him an answer but pressing your own lips on his.

His brain must’ve short circuited, cause he froze like literally FROZE.

It took him a moment, but he kissed back with a new found passion.

“I like you too, more than you think” You commented when you pulled back, pecking his lips once more.

first date:

Minho didn’t wanna overdo it, but then again he didn’t wanna under do it.

So he decided to take you on a lovely little picnic down at Han River when the weather was just write.

He spent a good few hours putting together food for the two of you, which the boys wouldn’t stop tryna steal.

You dressed in your nicest outfit, putting in a effort for once in while.

He met you at your home and you walked down to the river, basking in the sunlight, enjoying the breeze.

Once y’all started eating and relaxing, Minho wanted to be cute and laid his head in your lap, asking you to feed him.

it was so cliche and he loved it

he took so many selfies and photos of you when you weren’t looking and photos of the two of you with cute filters

and yes, when he went back to the dorm, he gushed over you so much the boys wanted to him to shut up.

The two of you stayed out for ages, opting to stay and stargaze

he disappeared later in the day and went to the shop, coming back with some drinks for both of you

Good drinks, the open night sky, you by his side...Minho was happy.

He walked you home, his arm wrapped tightly around your waist, keeping you close to him.

Minho walked you right to the front door, promising to take you out when he had time, before kissing you.

Boyyyy was he smiling when he got home

first ‘i love you’:

loool, minho is too dramatic sometimes

the two of you had gone to lotte world on a date...and he was slowly regretting it

because the one ride you were focused on getting on was the Viking Ship

but minho? his heart was running a hundred miles an hour as you dragged him towards it

He was putting up a brave face though, cause he loved you and if you wanted to go on it then he would too

“Min, are you alright?” you’ finally asked him. 

“Yeah...yeah i’m good” He replied, visibly shaking like crazy. 

before you had time to say anything you being pushed onto the ride, minho grabbing a hold of your arm at lightening speed. 

the ride started up sooner than he’d hopes and his grip on you arm got so tight it almost hurt. 

as the ride started swinging, he basically screamed in your ear, rather dramatically. “If i die here, just know that i love you!!!” 

the two of you jumped of the ride, minho looking as pale as a ghost. 

“I love you too min” you casually mentioned, swinging your hands. 

He went from as pale as a ghost to as red as a tomato in half a second

first argument:

admittedly, the argument was kinda your fault, and you’d well accepted and acknowledged that

minho, being an incredible dancer, had been tasked by JYP to help some of the trainees with their dancing

of course he obliged and helped them

 the only minor problem, in your books at least, was the sheer amount of time he was spending with them

jealousy? maybe. 

the ONE thing bugging you was one of the trainees

you’d dropped in on one of his sessions to bring him some food an the first thing you’d notice was how clingy she was and how he hadn’t even realized. 

it went on for weeks and weeks and he still hadn’t noticed

in fact he’d gotten closer with her an started spending more time with her, than he did with you

and yes, though you’d tried to deny it, you were jealous. 

and as a result of your jealously, you’d unintentionally given minho a cold shoulder and ignored him. 

until one day, minho had decided to confront you. 

“baby, are you alright? you’re never usually this quite?” 

shrugging, you mumbled something and turned away. 

he still persisted, wanting to find out what was wrong. 

“babe, what’s wrong?” 

“nothing minho! jeez...” 

“i can tell somethings up babe, talk to me” 

you rolled your eyes, not really thinking before you spoke. 

“why don’t you go and spend time with what’s her face? seeing as she’s all you seem to care about!” 

minho was shocked, stunned, surprised....shook? 

“are you jealous?!” He scoffed. 

you could feel the anger bubbling up....and you snapped. 

“maybe i am, okay!?! you’ve been spending all your free time with her recently!! I don’t remember the last time we spent time together!” 

minho was now getting frustrated “she’s just a friend! i don’t need to be by your side 24 fucking 7! your just being stupid!”

you were both saying things you’d wished you hadn’t, insults being thrown left right and centre. 

it wasn’t until your emotions got the better of you and all the emotions spilled out, coming out in the form of tears. that was when minho froze and shut up. 

“are you...crying? oh baby i’m so sorr-” 

“no it was my fault min, i let jealously get the better of me, i’m so sorry” you were basically shaking by now. 

minho stepped forward and wrapped his arms around you, lettimg you cry into his shoulder. 

“it’s okay baby, it’s okay. i hate this, let’s never fight again” 

kisses:

minho? more like minhoe

my guy loves kissing, whether it be sweet innocent kisses or....something else ;)

he loves the pure feeling of his lips on yours. 

this boy will literally drag you away from a busy setting just to makeout

hickies galore, there’s always some sort of love bite left on your body from him

usually in the most obvious places

your first kiss was a bit weird, he’d kissed you to shut you up during an argument

most of the time your kisses are hot and full of passion, but sometimes they’re short and sweet...but only sometimes

absolutely loves to kiss along your shoulders and neck, especially when hes backhugging you  

he is s h a m e l e s s and will 100% kiss you in front of the rest of skz

when he’s jealous though...oh ho ho you’re in for a long night

he does seem to like kissing your knuckles, being all cliche and slowly bringing your hand up to his face to kiss it.

hugs:

oof he’s a big hugger

you see what he’s like with Jisung? amplify that by about a million and you’ll see how clingy he is with you

arms around your shoulders, pulling you into his chest and not letting go...at all...for anything 

he will genuinely find ANY chance to cuddle with you

like a big teddy bear

loves cuddling on the couch with you on top of him, the biggest blanket you could find wrapped around the pair of you. 

cuddling and hugging you is almost a stress reliever 

after a long day all he wants to do is curl up against you with his head tucked into your neck, probably falling asleep like that 

doesn’t care if the boys tease him, if he wants cuddles he will stop at NOTHING to get them

if you’re not there or too busy to cuddle he’ll sulk a sadly cuddle a pillow...or Jisung

overall:

he’s the perfect boyfriend

has an attitude towards others, an angel to you.

absolutely WHIPPED over you

probably had already decided he wants to marry you