#the spotted owl looks so awkward and nervous to be here

[articskele]

(Source) Owl select screen my beloved

[plasticfangtastic]

American Royalty Ch. 12

A Homelander x F! Reader/Dadlander fic

A/N: This chapter its a lot longer for it is the penultimate chapter, just wanted to thanks all who have read till this point and I hope you look forward to the final chapter after reading this. It was a joy to write this story, if y like to be in the taglist plz let me know. prev chapter:

Tags: fluff, romance, slow burn, dadlander, child neglect, child abuse.

Chapter twelve

Names

You let him have the wedding venue and the honeymoon destination… you didn’t expect for him to drag you to Tasmania but just like you did with the house he did this out of spite, but ignoring the cool heat… it was beautiful. 

It felt personal and small even if there was a whole camera crew and millions of people watching.

Homelander excuse had been that while taking Ryan for a flight he had spotted this national park on the small island, staring into the violet painted lake, the way he recanted how the mist blanketed the lake shore… you knew he wasn’t gonna settle for anything else, and of course it was as far away from William Butcher than he could get.

He had lifted this place out of a fairytale, every corner had elaborate details. No doubt he had some Hollywood set designer build this, he was a romantic to the extreme… corny too, but as you look at the million flower petals scattered around you, you blushed. There was really just you and him, no groomsmen or bridesmaids– the guests were nonexistent either.

Here you two were forcing each other into an unhappy marriage, but no matter what you told yourself… Homelander would be happy in this supposed misery, perhaps it was only you who was unhappy... were you? No matter how fake this all was, he did cry when he saw you, he even stopped caring that William Butcher was there taunting him with his presence– yeah he did turn red when he spotted the smug bastard smiling knowing he was untouchable with all these cameras around… god knows what he was planning, but he stopped caring as he saw you in that dress.

Nevertheless there wasn’t any pretense as he smiled during the reception, the way you felt his heart against your chest as you danced, as you caught that nervous look trying to hide itself not from the cameras nor from his peers but from you.

There you were blushing as you saw him visualizing every step of your routine, trying to keep it together as he tried guiding you.

“Geez just take a fucking breather–  relax.”

“We are live!” He whispered with panic.

“John is not for them… is for us.” You kissed his neck, resting your head against his shoulders to hide your face but also so he could feel your nerves more clearly– I hope you’re having a good time… is fun… I… this is so beautiful… thank you.” You looked up once more– you look good in a suit… you should wear them more often… I like it a lot.” your voice was more breathless than you realized as you stared into his blue eyes.

“Thank you…” He kissed you before forcing another awkward dance move– I just expect to be the last man to ever see you in that dress.”

“Maybe…” Your smile made his ears red– I could be okay with that.”

He was puddy in your hands after that, making the wedding not the worse day of your life, Helena did cursed at having to wear an itchy dress but Ryan was over the moon, and as you rested your feet for a moment, and the cold wind tousled the chiffon on the ornaments, and petals flew away in the breeze.

As you looked at the trees and catched the singing of barking owls hiding in the racketeering of leaves.

For a second you bought into the lie, your daughter would have access to everything the world could offer and beyond, and this boy would get a family, even if the two were struggling to get along, even if the boy still seemed anxious around you, forcing you to walk on eggshells… maybe he would come to love you… maybe you could be happy inside this family. 

“I have to ask… why did you came here?” You lifted the actual french champagne bottle towards the dark haired man.

“Worry I’ll ruin the day for you, luv?” he placed his glass closer.

“I would love it if you did… John is probably trying to find the right commercial break to kill you.”

“You invited me but I am here for Ryan… never thought I’d get to have dinner with him under his nose… after I kill the cunt… I always did worry ‘bout him– I never pictured myself surviving. But now he has a little sister.”

“Well if you kill him, I’ll get custody of Ryan and then you can also make me marry you if you like.” He took the bottle of your hands after tasting the bubbly it had simply been divine, looking at the label and knowing how pricey that was he gave it a long messy gulp– just gotta top this.”

“No thanks.” He took a short sip also admiring the insanely picturesque view of the lake– why did you agree to marry him? Even after–

“I don’t care… Flight 37… working with Neuman, killing Stillwell… the supervillains he helped made– I don’t give a fuck. Why would I care now…? Caring will get me killed, and I got two children who need their mother… Homelander is who he is and I can’t change that, even if he did change, it won’t change what he’s done, so I’ll just move on and take him as he is.”

Butcher almost seemed disappointed but he opted to keep his tongue tied, the thought of Ryan losing another mother over a moral dilemma didn’t sit well with him.

“Want me to get you a to-go box? The cake is divine… I’ll let Ryan know you’re leaving… don't try anything funny…”

“I’ll think I’ll stay until they serve the coffee…”

“We got tea too… 2 sugars?” you say forcing a smile.

“Honey, and a little wedge of lemon.”

“Then I’ll guess I’ll get the kid… hopefully he does kill you.”

He gave you a dirty smirk as you went looking for your adopted son.

Catching the skittering glimpse of Homelander as he kept a watchful eye on you too.

The Honeymoon was beautiful as you headed for the mainland, a bit short but beautiful nevertheless… William didn’t ruin the wedding but he did bother you two during the honeymoon.

A year had passed, here you were sitting in the sitting room while you awaited for Homelander to crawl out of the dressing room. 

Just thinking about how ridiculous it looked to have a closet bigger than your kids bedroom and for him to have nothing to wear made you squirm in your seat, but he was hard to please, without the super suit he just felt small and ugly, even if was still just as handsome as before.

“We can't miss this doctor’s appointment…”

You pushed your tablet aside, as he emerged in a black t-shirt, a wine jacket and black pants, he kept staring at his shoes as if they weren’t the right match, but at this point you had been waiting thirty-six minutes.

“Homelander… I don’t think anybody is going to roast your shoes, so can we go?”

“I just want them to look at me and say that I look conf–

“Chill. You're not the one who's gonna get implanted with some eggs, but feel free to carry them yourself if we keep delaying this. Being late won’t convey any confidence.”

He looked at your clothes, just sweatpants and a nice colorful t-shirt, dissaproving but he bit his tongue instead.

“I’m nervous… what if it doesn’t work again… this is our third time.” He bit his lip trying not to think about the journey here– my fucking sperm its useless…”

“We survived the fire… we are good… we got a couple embryos. It worked now. I gotta hope my oven works once more… you know I'm no spring chicken– i'm in the geriatric category” You stood up reaching after him to comfort him, he just slumped into your shoulders– we had Helena and you made Ryan, you can do it again…”

In all honesty the process had been difficult for him, he had completely misunderstood what was wrong with his body, when the topic was brought up five months into this marriage it had come off as a shareholder asking for investment returns, he had given you everything you asked but here he was asking for his return so why were you surprised? You were mildly disturbed about how much he’d prepared behind your back, it almost came off as if he had already been preparing with somebody else but you pushed that strange gut-feeling aside, the calendar certainly playing a part but you rather not think more of it– your part had been easy, you made eggs, your body was sufficiently healthy and you weren’t that old that it would prove more than challenging to get it to work, but he had been the issue.

At the mention of getting a sperm donor he had almost killed the doctor for the suggestion, he shot down any mentions of adoption, he didn’t want to consider it, he didn’t believe in it, if they weren’t his blood he didn’t want them– he had already won the odds lottery with his two kids so why push it? It only made sense to him but you didn’t voice your concerns.

He was back to being that young man who thought he would be alone forever, he was enamored with the notion of having another child, looking at parents and their kids thinking how perfect it all was when they had beyond plenty, staring at the baby clothes at target when you dragged him shopping, looking at all the spare rooms in this home and wanting to fill them… a son or a daughter it no longer mattered, he had his preferences but if tomorrow they told him he would have another girl he would be happy, he would still cry and he would go and paint the walls pink himself.

But seeing himself in the mirror he was disgusted by all the naked eye couldn’t see.

“is going to be alright, John.” You kissed his temple.

Maybe it was seeing him like this that mellowed you, or perhaps it was that nothing was set in stone, those eggs might not survive, you might have to give up and the thought of your womb being a rental would fade from both of your minds.

But it didn’t.

He cried a lot when it didn't.

If he had been a groomzilla during the wedding he had become a neurotic mess once the bump settled.

He had made it clear he wanted that baby from the get go– admittedly he put up with some of your worst behavior solely because he wanted this, asking you to schedule sex on your terms, you two even discussed this in a room full of lawyers the sex acts you were okay with– threesomes off the table but risky public sex was in the maybe’s.

 Then after that you had to settle on starting fertility treatments as part of the conditions of your marriage, admittedly the agreed divorce settlements left you in a comfortable spot and Helena was always going to be cared for but it came with prerequisites… of proof that you indeed had tried instead of pretending– he had accommodated you beyond expectations… so here you were staring at the slight bump forming under your navel.

The maids duties had doubled, he didn’t want you putting a single extra ounce of work, an elevator being installed was discussed but would’ve taken far too long on remodelations to be realistic, a brief argument took place where he suggested they all moved back to the Vought penthouse as it was less stairs but it was shut down by the majority party. 

Even taking out your stand mixer had him on edge, poor Ryan had to rush to help you if he was nearby just so his dad wouldn’t give you that look– where he scanned your body to make sure the bean was still fine.

As it grew bigger and your body began to waddle and wobble more concerns arrived.

Even showering had him on edge on the off-chance you would trip and fall on your stomach, so he insisted on joining you or at least demanded you showered only if he was in the house, depending on your hormones, your preference was either, altho you knew the kids bodyguard was always informed by the staff if you showered or took bath just to be alert.

“Ricardo? Cassandra? Terry? Damian? Kathy?” You looked at him then back at the TV screen, your feet might as well have been covered in shredded glass so you tried to rest but here he was pestering you– There has to be a name you like… like how did you name Helena?”

You looked at him again, lowering the volume on the screen.

“I think Maeve said the name once… thought it sounded pretty.”

Homelander stopped his pacing as his brows touched and your expression grew confused, he took a deep breath.

“I was in the hospital in a lot of pain… I thought of other names… but maybe the nurse had a similar name, why?”

“You named my kid after Maeve’s piece of shit girlfriend!” he barked.

“… wait really?” You said perplexed.

“Her name is Elena!” He was frumpy.

“Maybe the nurse's name was Yelena or Helen.” You rather not dwell too much in that memory– I like Cassandra altho that’s the Deep’s ex-wife no?”

“Argh…” He cursed under his breath– what about Freyda… Vivienne… Loukas… the name has to be perfect… the names Helena and Ryan freaking jumped in popularity after people learned those were my kids names– it will create trends!” He sank on the arm chair throwing the book to the side– it has to be perfect… their name needs to be like poetry… I want to fall in love with them everytime I say their name… and I think it's a girl.”

Homelander paused, catching sight of you.

“You couldn’t bring a cake to tell me that?” You cursed under your breath holding on to your stomach, you took some deep breath feeling your blood pressure spike–... Genevieve… I almost named Helena that… there was this nice lady back at the half-way house… she was lovely and she helped me out a lot… she was getting out of an abusive marriage– her name was Odelia, she helped me get my first job and sort of my food stamps and such” You bit your cheeks trying to suppress the bitter taste in your tongue– either way she went back to her husband and I never saw her again, even if I called it send me nowhere… her middle name was Genevieve.” 

He smiled.

“If it's a boy I like the name Jason.”

He would continue looking for names helplessly, tempted to post an online poll to help determine but even Ashley said that might backfire.

Each added centimeters to your waist made his nervousness worsen, during those awful months trying to conceive he had tried all the hokum– between the drugs and the smoothies, he had become obsessed with himself but now it was your food bothering him, bringing dieticians and nutritionist to plan menus to boost your health, suddenly your years of expertise were nulled– your diet wasn’t a problem he just didn’t want to believe you. 

Your pantry was filled with wholefood crap and every matter of organic good and insipid health scams, all the meats and veggies now source directly from vetted farmers or killed by himself, somehow a single youtube video taught him how to perfectly cut and portion salmon that he’d caught twenty minutes before… on top of making sure to keep track of your health with his powers, so Homelander made sure everything that entered your mouth passed his standards.

Like a dog caught eating something forbidden, his fingers tempted to pry those fried oreos out of your mouth, but here you were getting fried oreos and beignets and guzzling ice tea as he stood outside the candy store, both kids behind you trying to wipe the powdered sugar off their shirts as their father eyes grew wider.

“I need sugar, John… is called a craving.”

You crossed your arms as you swallowed that beignet whole, you knew it was coming as you reached the end of your first second trimesters– you were hit with monstrous cravings, you devoured M&M’s and so many slices of dollar pizza, you put a dent on your suffering bank account back when you were pregnant with Helena, but now you didn’t need to drink water to calm yourself. 

You could buy the food you denied yourself before and here he was about to scold you for it.

“That’s poison.” He stared at his kids. He entered the cramm and small eatery as the elderly owner stared at him in awe– and you two… I expected better from the both of you.” He said firmly.

“She was cranky” Helena says as she sucks her fingers– moms need to meet their cravings.”

Ryan nodded in agreement as he slurped on his egg cream.

“Think of your cholesterol.”

“Says the guy who hasn’t eaten anything for two days… maybe that’s why you’re cranky.” You barked back already picking your bag off the ground as you headed out– oreos are vegan anyhoo so it’s healthy.”

“You know that’s not true!” He follows you behind as he pushes his kids out the place.

Rolling your eyes as he continues his incessant baragery as you stuffed each sweet into your puffed cheeks.

At night it kept you awake, the memories of endless cravings, of pawning and selling your beloved knives and cooking equipment just to make enough dough to stay in a crappy motel, to get some coins to eat, each meal had to be carefully considered, you had no steady income, you couldn’t eat much of anything but water at times as you picked between buying nappies for newborns and clothes for the baby over another real meal, you at least had the multivitamins… telling yourself this was gonna kept her strong.

Your stomach growling as you look at your diminishing wallet, your stomach growling as you slept in couches and not wanting to burden anyone, not wanting to annoy them as you ate something off their side of the fridge, even your mother gave you grief when you ate a whole tub of yogurt in a sudden urge.

But here as you woke up from a nightmare you looked around and saw that this was your beautiful house and this was your beautiful husband hovering above you panicked as he hadn’t build-up the courage to wake you up.

“I thought you might punch me and break your hand if I woke you up.”

You latched onto him, wanting him to comfort you, he didn’t question a thing as you asked him to bring you yogurt from the kitchen, holding you as you ate with a quiet sob.

He wanted a fat baby, a healthy baby and a super one too, as you ate he could see its tiny stomach fill but behind his worries there had been bigger concerns– he had read the files on Becca’s pregnancy, about how the fetus demonstrated abilities while inside the womb, pictures of her glowing stomach, Becca had been made to stay in a facility during the last trimester just out of fear the fetus would kill her or injure his containment.

Your files weren’t so alarming, you experience horrible pains, most of your medical debt had been from having to be in and out of a hospital for so long, but Helena didn’t shoot lasers nor did she fly, her strength slightly over average and her skin just resistant enough that super strength was needed to administer stitches, but this baby wasn’t any different from the average.

The what-if his child was a mud person repulsed him, but nothing he couldn’t fix.

“You can program it already?”

Helena looked up from the desk, before her all manner of high tech equipment and a computer she had been typing mindlessly for an hour before her father had showed up.

“In theory… I’m still struggling with the human issue. If anything I’ve been more successful with already doped up supes– Elmo’s case for example… The Russian government had been testing Soldier Boy, managing to develop their own Compound V… Serum MGH…” She pulled out some classified documents on her screen– … Their version is a lot more interesting and unstable but they wanted to make: You. their version already managed to “program” flight and strength but highly volatile and dangerous even the animal subject didn’t last long… all I did was stabilize it.” She pushed her overgrown bangs aside just to let her father peek at her unamused expression– this is about the fetus, no?”

“Your sister.” He seemed concerned at her tone.

“Looking at your files and Ryan’s I guess the odds are in your favor… altho…” She took a couple minutes to find the files– about twelve years ago one of your girls aborted a fetus at 14 weeks and according to this autopsy the fetus did not contain any significant compound V traces– god knows what that means.” a couple pages down– and the other died from ‘spontaneous human combustion’ so maybe don’t worry if the fetus its human at the moment”

Homelander had a hard time swallowing the cold delivery of his child, moseying the documents with disinterest, he took a seat as his body grew heavy.

“You can fill this form and request the same purity percentage of the Compound V used on your trials, but you know how random it’ll be.”

“How long have you known about those?” His mouth so dry, it's painful, his tongue swelling as his hands grew cold and painful..

“A while. They really wanted you to fly” She stays still instead of facing him– Why did you never kill Dr. Vogelbaum? or Dr. Park?”

“I dunno…” He had never given himself an answer, nor did he understand why his heart ached after the man died before him.

Helena squints lightly as she types a couple notes, the sound of the keyboard swallowing him whole.

“Sentimental attachments or misplaced love… interesting.”

Homelander didn’t see Helena sitting in the room with him, there was something different about her, as he saw her type on the computer and that disinterested expression that he saw his doctors once again, watching him like a sample.

“If you weren’t my daughter…” He hissed.

“You already made my replacement and this one would be a lot cuter don’t you think?” her fingers stopped gliding for a second– regardless what exactly are you looking for in terms of powers? Got plenty of genetic material to work with from all the failures from here, Sage Grove and Godolkin… I like the challenge and I’m sure you would be nice enough to get me some raw materials if needed.``

She opened a notes screen, ready to be entertained.

Homelander shoulder got closer, staring at her, her voice venomous but she was still dainty… the ire of a jealous child, she had gained a brother whom her mother loved and now another baby in under two years (not even) she has been trusted to cope– she was still a kid. His hand found her head, her eyes blinked blue ready to protect herself, thinking of how easy it would be to have her skull crushed against this desk, of the shape of the dent he would leave.

“I love you Helena… just as much as I love Ryan and I love your sister.” He said softly pulling her chair towards him, her hand glued to the desk as it squeaked– she’s not you. she’ll never be you, she won’t be my perfect little peonie. That’s you, my love.”

“Am not jealous, I feel pity for the both of you. Ryan might be an imbecile but I can tell my mother doesn’t love you and neither do you.” she groaned, pushing his hand away– you’re both babytrapping each other… poor unborn sod nothing but an addendum for your custody battle.”

“You really believe that?” He recoiled from her.

“Really?” her voice was firm– do you love Y/N or you love what she could do for you?”

“I love her in my own way… am not stupid. I know she wanted me for money and I don’t doubt her affections towards your brother are motivated for money! Even yourself Helena! All you want is this!” He gestures to the room– You think am an idiot! Do you think so lowly of me?” His voice had a different tone, she began to wonder if she could hold him back but for how long?-- so save me the crap!”

“Is you who thinks so lowly of me.” her tiny fist squeezed the hem of her skirt– you bastard!”

The chair slid and crashed against the thick wall, she sank into her chair covering her head as his open palm raised.

His hand froze in the air held by an invisible force against his own, he blinked awake, watching his reflection in a glass beaker, small tears budding on the corner of her eyes as her breathing struggled to keep steady.

“I-I-I didn…” 

Homelander lips clattered, his whole body shivering as he caught the gravity of his display, he dropped on his knees taking her into his arms forcefully, the girl squirmed but stayed quiet, he held her drowning in her delicate scent, wanting to barf as the cocktail of her fear poured out of her skin.

“I am sorry… I am sorry” He repeated over and over under his breath as the girl just said nothing

Helena's eyes closed.

“All I done has been for you… I will bear anything your mother gives me, all her scorn and hatred if it means I can have you… have you and your brother and now your little sister… your mother will have anything she ever wants and all I want from her… is you.” He whispered with a shrill voice– she has the mansion, and the maids and not a single worry left… all you’ve ever wanted to give her. I’ve given them on your behalf… so you can be freed of worries… a father's job is to provide for his family. Is not his daughter’s job.”

His vice tightened just enough to mask his shivering self.

“Dad is sorry. I’m truly sorry I didn’t mean to scare you.”

He kissed the sides of her temples, afraid of letting her go.

Helena had seen the reports, she avoided the images as much as she could but the descriptions had been more than plentiful, she seen the violent things done to him and done by him, she wasn’t oblivious to him.

She should’ve been more careful, she thought.

“You could have kill me.” she said with annoyance.

“You’re not scared?” he looks at her face, seeing the red in her eyes but also the stiffness in her expression– we good?”

“We are good, dad.”

She could see there was a conversation taking part in his head as he kept looking past her.

Thinking of an odd hand-written note buried in the pyre, she looked at her screen and how everything looked so big in this room, she hit her forehead back on his shoulders, his face softening as he took her gesture, holding her, wanting to go back in time to stop himself for he had threatened to tear apart all he had worked for and endured. Helena knew that this was the only way to keep the world around her.

“I need to go back to work… regarding the fetus… I only got ...what an hour or two before home time…?”

“We can put that aside.”

Helena stood watching the street from the terrace, all the houses just as tall and the massive hotel building next to their house a motivating factor for the purchase, the trees lining their streets and the few lights coming from the hotel next door and next door neighbors, it was as loud as it was silent.

“Is it loud to you?” She looked up as her father parked next to her, trying to ignore the sounds from the hotel– you think at this price tag…”

“It's close to Madison Avenue, perfect to spend my paycheck, no?”

She turned to see he had a giant stuffed axolotl in his hands, completely disregarding his passive aggressive comment.

“You went to build-a-bear?” she raised her eyebrow.

“I had to do the whole heart ceremony. I bet it's all over TikTok now” His whole face was tight and red as he handed the stuffed animal to his daughter– had to rub that stupid little heart on my knees, and that's a hard angle to reach on this suit!”

She giggled.

“You could have just bought the display one– they sell them to you, y’know.”

“What?” He walked towards the rail trying not to cry as the memory of being made to make a wish to the green haired store attendant as she spoke with the same tone she used on small children on him– what’s next it's optional?”

“Yeah.” she hugged the thing dragging the tail as she sat on one of their chairs– am sure they’ll think it's cute.”

“Who's ‘they’?”

“The worthless masses.” burying her face in the soft fabric– I love it.”

He blushed.

“What happened today… it’ll never happen again… I swear.” he swallows listening to your steps below as you worked on the cupcakes for your upcoming baby shower. He had wanted a big gender reveal party but you had forced him into just a quiet event with only a handful of friends old and new– I do love your mother– just so we are clear”

“Is okay I forgot for a second you aren’t human… the only thing that could touch me before has been fur not people… so let’s just not dwell in the past…”

“I didn’t mean it… what I said about you and Y/N and money… sometimes I just think the worst of people'' he looked vulnerable and painfully human as he spoke– what your mother and I have it's more complicated than most people could understand– even you!”

“Just don’t divorce… I’ll leave with mom… she would need me…” She mumbled looking away from him.

“I’ll never leave her.” A wicked glint coloured his eyes as a half smile amused him– She can’t leave me either. Not with Genevieve now in the picture… I mean I would go broke if I did…”

“How bad was your prenup?”

“The things I gave up just for getting christmas with you and Ryan… horrific… a bloodbath.”

“Maybe you should go win mom over.”

He took that as a small victory, Helena let herself be taken back inside, Ryan wondering where she got the toy, making a quick promise to take the kid to a toy store.

A maid took the tray into the fridge as you welcomed your husband home.

“Hey, a new episode of that Kdrama we've been watching came out today. Just getting some snacks ready for tomorrow then I’ll go join you guys to watch it.” You said cleaning your hands on your sides– you went to build-a-bear?”

“Long story. Our little genius did a great job in the lab and deserved a present. Right baby?”

“I should have asked for a raise shouldn’t I?” 

“Maybe discuss that with ‘bossman’ overthere.” 

They both gave you strange looks sharing a quiet conversation away from you.

That night he was unusually touchy, wanting to keep his hand against your stomach and his head close to your bosom, the kids cursing at the stupid behavior of the love birds on the screen as they continued to miss the signs, your hand unknowingly finds itself stroking his ear and chin, as he caressed your stomach.

“She sleeps a lot you know. that's good.”

“Thanks for officially killing the surprise there, honey.” You knock your head back– you better keep it quiet until the cake is cut!”

“Oh! Am having another sister!” Ryan sounded both happy and sad– you think she’ll like baseball?” 

“Anything else you want to spoil?” Helena mentioned as she flicked popcorn in his direction.

“She’s very blonde.” 

He did get to sleep in the bedroom that night, you simply couldn't fault him for being overly excited… this was now just how he was for some reason.

“Put the beds together… you can hear her better that way no?”

He does without protest.

A pillow wedged under your stomach and your head, frankly you only needed his arm to help bolster your neck, knowing that as you kicked in your sleep, he would keep the pillows in their strategic spots to ensure your comfort, for he slept very little.

“I like the name Genevieve… it's elegant… it's perfect.”

He stifled a yawn as you twisted your neck to look at him.

“Sorry is not a son.”

He stroked your stomach, feeling every minute movement your child did inside, telling himself that she was reciprocating.

“I don’t care she’s everything to me…” he kissed you lightly– I just want to meet her already even if she looks like a blonde alien.”

“You’re not even a real blond” you rub your body against his as you try to get comfortable– don’t call her an alien, you meanie.”

“Thank you for our little area 51 escapee.”

“Don’t listen to him, honey. Your father is just mad, he isn't a natural blonde.”

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[ninjastormhawkkat]

Valentine's Day One Shot

(featuring an oc by @erraticeris) Dr. Two Brains was surprised by the knock on the door. "Huh. I wonder who could that be." The mad scientist spoke to himself. He wasn't expecting any villains coming by to see him today nor any packages. Two Brains was also sure Becky's friends were busy right now as well, so it couldn't have been them coming by. Dr. Two Brains decided to open the door where he was met with a horrific sight. "Hello sir is Becky home?" A boy around Becky's age asked. Two Brains did not respond. His body was frozen in place as his red/pink eyes became wide and transfixed on the boy's appearance. The young male looked confused and worried at the villain's frozen expression. "Um sir?" The young boy asked again. Trying to get the villains's attention and snap him out of his petrified state. Dr. Two Brains did soon snap out of his frozen state when the boy tried to touch him in order to hopefully spark a reaction. He did not expect the villain's reaction. "OWL!" Dr. Two Brains screamed in fear before racing away from the door to hide behind a couch. The boy was startled and alarmed by Dr. Two Brains fearful reaction. Soon Becky raced downstairs in a panic to see what her father was screaming about. "Dad what is going on?" Becky exclaimed with worry and alertness. Two Brains poked his head behind the couch and shakily pointed a hand towards the boy who was still standing in the doorway. "T..there is an owl k..kid right over there!" Dr. Two Brains exclaimed in a frightened tone. Becky looked to see where her dad was pointing. Her body relaxed as her expression became calm and slightly annoyed. "Dad that is just Owlbert. I told you about him before. His family moved here a while back and we met at school." Becky explained. The boy, Owlbert, just gave an awkward wave. "Well you didn't tell me the kid was part owl!" Dr. Two Brains exclaimed in an exasperated tone. Though he still did not move from his spot behind the couch. His mouse brain continuing to glow in a frightened, erratic, tone. Becky folded her arms. "Well his name is Owlbert. Violet and I talked about him openly before." Becky spoke in a frustrated tone. Dr. Two Brains crossed his arms and let out a huff. "Well just because his name is owl related doesn't automatically mean he is connected with owls." Dr. Two Brains tried defending himself. He wouldn't admit he didn't hear his daughter's conversations with Violet about this kid. Becky just sighed and rolled her eyes, not ready to deal with her dad's antics today. Owlbert gave a little cough to direct attention back to him. "Well sir, my family and I are all part owl. But we don't eat mice. Some members keep them as pets like any other person would." Owlbert explained as he hoped this would ease any fears and tensions Dr. Two Brains had about him. Dr. Two Brains just stared at the kid with a cautious and guarded expression. "Dad Owlbert's a nice person. Please go easy on him." Becky pleaded. Dr. Two Brains relented, the kid freaked him out, but he trusted his daughter's judgement. "Okay alright. Hi Owlbert what are you doing here?" Dr. Two Brains rudely grunted. "Oh I am here to pick up Becky and take her to the park. There is an area where literary authors are retelling the works of William Shakespeare in public." Owlbert explained in a slightly nervous tone. Becky's eyes lit up. "That sounds amazing. I'm ready to go right now if that is alright." Becky spoke. She hoped they would retell the story of Romeo and Juliet, her favorite play, at the event as well. Owlbert gave an elated nod. "Yep. I'm ready when you are." He exclaimed. Becky jumped up in the air. "Great. Bye dad. I'll be at the park." Becky stated as she raced towards Owlbert and ready to head out. Two Brains gave a wave. "Okay just be back before dark." The scientist called out. "We'll do." Becky replied and the duo soon left to head to the park. Dr. Two Brains let out a sigh and a soft smile. He was happy his daughter was making new friends, even if that person was an owl.

[kellyurban18]

Chapter Eleven

*Again a sort of filler chapter filled with a bit of plot, but not much. This is just to get the relationship rolling between Harry, Sirius, and Remus. This was a last minute decision to publish together so I rushed through editing so if there are any mistakes let me know.*

It took two days before Harry owled off a copy of his new updated class schedule with only twelve classes and a copy of his NEWT testing schedule to Remus and Sirius, He also sent a copy of those new schedules to James and his Papa with a little note explaining what it was to James because Harry didn’t remember if he told James his schedule would change or not.

The next day they replied that they would be by Friday since neither of them had classes after lunch. Harry was nervous, but he was also excited because this part had always been what he had been most excited for, spending time together even in silence.

Harry didn’t have any classes after one o'clock that Friday, but he did have a NEWT Saturday morning meaning he was excused from the few classes he had that day, but had to do the work during the weekend. The day was the perfect day for inside work which was perfect since Harry completely intended to study his dorm room with Sirius and Remus no matter how awkward or how much they tried to protest. The gloomy day made sure that the library was full and other study spots were taken.

“There you are.” Harry turned surprised, but excited to find his Papa and Uncle Frankie coming up to him.

“Hi, what are you guys doing here?” Harry asked turning to them

“I know you’re busy and you forget the essentials when you’re busy so I bring gifts.” His Papa said holding up a gift basket.

“And I just miss you so I tagged along.” Frankie said pulling Harry into a hug that Harry quickly returned snuggling into his chest a little

“I missed you too.” Harry told him, pulling away and taking the gift basket, “Chocolate, the good kind I see.”

“The expensive kind you mean.” His Papa teased, “Chocolate, bags of different things you like, salty and sweet. Your favorite teas you like to drink when you’re trying to focus on your work, and other stuff you’ll find buried in there. I went a little overboard I’m afraid.”

“When have you not gone overboard?” Frankie asked amused.

Frankie was an older man, but he was fit. Long curly gray-black hair falling to his chest that was more broad and muscular than your normal fifty-something year old man. He had a thick beard and mustache perfectly trimmed that covered a deep scar along his right jaw line from one of his many ‘adventures’ as an alpha wolf. Despite the scary and hard demeanor and aura he grinned easily and freely and he had always been the best player in all of Harry’s imaginative games.

“Shut up Franklin.” His Papa said, “I could say the same to you.”

“At least I don’t try to pretend I don’t spoil the lad. I’m very honest about my spoiling.” Harry shook his head, this happened every six months or so, Frankie and Papa fighting about ‘spoiling’ him.

It was never a real fight of course and when Harry was younger he had assumed it was more than playing, but he had grown out of that ridiculous thinking. Frankie and Papa were brothers in everything but blood and name. They had known each other for years, none of them ever told Harry the real truth as to how they met, but Harry had stopped asking when he recognized the deflection wasn’t because he was too young, but rather because Frankie always looked a little broken than before he had asked.

“Well thank you for the basket. I am sure I will use everything in it by the end of next week.” Harry told them glancing out to the pathway finding Sirius and Remus making their way towards the school.

“Does James know they’re here?” Papa asked, smirking lightly as he folded his arms, Harry refused to admit he was blushing even if he could feel his face getting hot.

“I’m not sure. We had a little fight Saturday and then Monday morning they proposed they come here a few times since I’d be too busy to go over there.” Harry explained

“Fight? Fight about what? He seemed accepting when we spoke at lunch two weeks ago.” Papa frowned, folding his arms again, it was his tick Harry had come to realize.

Papa had to fold his arms when he asked Harry something he deemed important so he wouldn’t get distracted by doing something with his hands. It was especially effective in the kitchen where he would normally start doing anything and soon got distracted by whatever it was he was doing.

“It’s nothing.” Harry told him with a small shrug which made both his Papa and Frankie raise their brow at him.

“What happened?” His papa asked

“I’ll tell you about it another time just…not right now.” Harry said lowering his voice as they grew closer

“Fine. But I’m asking again later.” Harry nodded, turning to Remus and Sirius as they entered the school. Sirius was laughing about something as he shook his head much like a dog would, Remus looked resigned as he had water shook on him as if it happened everyday.

“Must you do that everytime your hair gets wet in the rain?” Remus asked

“Yes. It keeps it fluffy.” Sirius said smiling as he walked to Harry, “Hello Harry.”

“Did you do that before or after you became an animagus?” Harry asked

“After.”

“Don’t lie to him. He did that when he was eleven coming out of the shower with only a towel around his hips. It’s no wonder he is able to turn into a long haired dog later in life.” Remus said, running a hand through his own wet hair, “Good afternoon Harry.”

Harry could see his Papa and Frankie share a look between them with a secret smile that Harry decided to ignore.

“Hi. Oh um this is my Papa and my Uncle Frankie.”

“Henry.” His Papa greeted holding his hand out, Remus took it with a grin.

“Remus.”

“I’m Frankie.” Harry knew Frankie and Remus would take a minute to get used to each other, both being alphas, but they didn’t let it affect them outwardly. Harry only knew because he could hear the slight growl in each voice and the territorial way they were acting around him. Even his Papa knew something was wrong as he grabbed Frankie’s arm and pulled him back two steps, Harry doing the same to Remus. Sirius looked wide eyed but stood closer to Remus as if prepared for anything.

“I’m Sirius.” Sirius broke the tension a little bit as he shook both of their hands, “It’s great to meet you both finally.”

“You as well.” Frankie said much more relaxed as he took Sirius’ hand in his then he turned to Harry, “Love you. I will see you soon, okay cub?” Harry nodded, stepping forward and hugging him tightly, but very briefly, “I’ll wait outside, but it was great to meet you both,” Frankie smiled at them both then he stepped outside just enough for their shoulders to relax and for Remus to grow a little sheepish.

“Don’t worry about it. It’s normal. He probably likes you more because you acted that way.” His Papa said with a laugh, “anyway Harry if you need anything-”

“I know. Owl you any time day or night no matter how big or small.” Harry said with a smile as he looked at his Papa, “You’ve told me that anytime I’ve left the house for a night. Just think in just a few weeks I’ll be home so much you’ll be begging for me to leave.” Harry joked smiling

“I doubt that.” His Papa said, stepping forward and gripping his chin gently before kissing his head, “Love you Harry.” Papa pulled away and looked at him, “Be good. Take care of yourself. I mean it, you better eat. I didn't go all the way to Switzerland to get you the expensive chocolates, just so they will sit in the basket untouched. I know how you get when you’re cramming for an important test. Pretty sure you lost ten pounds during OWLs.”

“Six pounds.” Harry corrected with an eye roll, “Are you going to leave or do I need to invite you to sit with us while I study too?” His Papa laughed shaking his head

“Alright I’m leaving. I know when I’m being kicked out. It was great to meet you two finally, make sure he eats anytime you’re with him he forgets sometimes.”

“We'll make sure he eats.” Remus promised

His Papa looked to Harry for a moment before he nodded and turned to leave before he stopped after a few steps and turned to Harry.

“What now?”

“Have I told you how proud of you I am this month?”

“Considering it’s the first of the month and I’m just now seeing you? No you haven’t.”

“Well I am very proud of you.”

“I know. You tell me almost every month. You’ve missed a few, but I don’t hold grudges.” His Papa laughed, shaking his head as he turned and left the school stopping briefly beside Frankie before they walked together.

“He seems great. No wonder James likes him and tells us how lucky it was you had him.”

“He’s overbearing at times, but yeah I suppose he’s great too.” Harry said as he walked between them, “Don’t worry about Frankie, it’ll just take you two some time to get used to each other and he looks intimidating, but he once pretended to be a cat because we were playing some game and I guess I told him the spell turned him into his nemesis. I was a very dramatic eight year old apparently.”

“Just the right type of intimidating that if we hadn’t been thirty seven and fought against Voldemort in the first war we’d probably be terrified.” Sirius told him making Harry laugh, “it’s good thing you’re not mated to a teenager, they'd never survive that stare he gave us.”

“They would have survived just not as dry.” Sirius laughed and Remus shook his head, “We can go to my dorm and before you give me any look, trust me you do not want to be in a crowded room with the type of students I call classmates. Even Frankie doesn’t like being in the library with more than a few people in it, he says the synchronized page turns give him nightmares.”

“Wherever you’re comfortable.” Remus said, “though we definitely will be telling James all about the synchronized page turns.”

“Does he know you’re here?” Harry asked

“Yes and No. He knows we planned to see you away from him occasionally, just not today. He’s trying, but the three of us are never going to get anywhere if James is there and we feel the need to be so cautious around you for his sake.” Remus told him

“He’ll come around.” Sirius said, “We suggested he talk to your Papa actually and he seemed to consider it. Maybe he can help him more than we can.”

“Maybe.” Harry agreed

The walk to the hall that housed his dorm was quick, the dorms were scattered in different corridors, no real organization to it at all. His dorm was on the fifth floor in the West Wing Corridor. It also housed a few seventh and sixth year girls and a few other boys from all different years. Celeste was outside in the hall looking out the open archway that served as a window with spells to keep the weather outside except the occasional breeze. She turned when she heard them.

“Oh hello Harry.”

“Hello Celeste.” Harry said politely as he walked to his door.

The cubs at the pack makes him a sign each year he leaves, this one was horrible. It was atrocious though they all are to be honest, but this one hit a new trier. It was orange and pink and some sort of green shade with ‘Harry’s Dorm’ written in white lettering. Harry loved it. Though he felt the need to explain that he didn’t make it and five three year olds who couldn’t decide on the color had. He didn’t, but mostly because Celeste was staring at them. Harry opened his door and let Remus and Sirius enter first.

“Goodbye Celeste” Harry said, closing the door behind him as he entered the room.

His dorm room and he assumed everyone else’s dorm room was almost like a flat style except it lacked a kitchenette. It had its own bathroom with only a shower, toilet, and sink, it had a full size bed, a desk, a wardrobe, a couch with a small fireplace that didn’t connect to the public floo network only the Headmasters’ office so a student could inform the headmaster of an emergency or an illness without leaving the dorm. It was a one way connection, opened only from inside the dorms so there were no accidental…anything.

The room opened up into a short hallway, the door on the left side leading into the bathroom. The hall opened up into a bigger room. The bed was in one corner, the foot of the bed nearest to the fireplace in the opposite corner. The couch beside the head of the bed and the desk and desk chair opposite that. The wardrobe beside the desk in the last corner available to use.

“Okay I am officially jealous.” Sirius said, “Well the teenager who had to share a dorm with other boys while trying to sneak my boyfriend into my bed for a very quiet slow paced sex is jealous.” Harry laughed as he walked further into the room and set his bag down on the bed then removed his school robes.

“Yes I’m sure my peers have taken advantage of the single room style many times. Imagine how many teenagers have had sex on that very couch.”

“On second thought-”

“I’m kidding. We’re allowed to change the furniture we’re in these dorms for seven years after all. I couldn’t stand the smells of the furniture when I moved in after my thirteenth birthday, I had to have Uncle Frankie and Papa get me new everything before I could sleep properly. Two years later I went shopping and bought a few different things. I’ll probably just leave everything here when I leave except for that desk.”

“The desk? Why?”

A second passed. Two. Then Harry spoke as he pulled his books out of his bag.

“It has secret ink pot holders.” Harry said with a grin laughing and dodging the stinking hex Sirius aimed at him.

It was a cover, they all knew it was a cover for the real reason, but no one said anything. Harry didn’t even know if they knew about Matteo, he didn’t know what James has told them or what he hasn’t told them since learning they were his mates. It was not a story Harry wanted to get into today or any day when he had a NEWT so soon. Though the secret ink pot holders were the second reason was neve getting rid of the desk.

“So you’re taking eight NEWTs this month.” Remus said

“Yeah I was going to go for ten, but they would have scheduled one of them on the Full Moon and I didn't want to risk it. Sometimes my leg hurts so badly I can’t leave my bed for a few hours so it was best to just go with eight. I did ask if my testing location could be changed so if I need to go to Hogwarts this month they can accommodate considering each of my NEWTs I’m getting a private instructor since not everyone is doing them this month or that day.”

“Why would you need to go to Hogwarts?” Sirius asked while sitting on the couch with Remus, Harry laid on his stomach on his bed facing towards them so they could continue to talk.

“Well we don’t really know how Remus’ first rut is going to affect him and there are different types of Ruts too just like there are different types of Heats. Like my first heat I cried the entire week and just needed to be with my Papa cuddled up in bed. When he left to pee I would feel like he was leaving me forever. It was terrible, Papa barely slept that week. Typically the sex crazed ruts and heats are the most common of course, but there are different kinds. The comforter I left there should work for most if not all ruts. It’s heavily scented, but if it doesn’t I’ll need to at least be in the family room where he can sense I’m close by.”

“So is it true I can’t have sex with him during his rut?” Sirius asked

“Again it depends, but it’d be safer if you didn’t just in case. This is the first time he’s going to be getting a knot and you won’t be able to take it safely until you’ve trained your body to do so. There are toys to do that and certain lube types to make it easier the first time or two.”

“There are toys? Remus! You never told me there are toys!” Sirius said, turning to Remus who had stayed silent determinedly ignoring the conversation going on around him.

“Can we stop talking about this?” Remus asked

“You prude. Fine but we are definitely coming back to this conversation.”

“Great. See what you did Harry. You’ve gone and- are you seriously turned on right now Sirius?”

“I am always turned on, Moony. This shouldn’t be a surprise to you.” Remus shook his head

“Grade your papers and stop talking about sex. Both of you.”

“You’re very bossy.” Harry said opening his Magical Creatures Studies class, it was his first NEWT and it was the one he was the most confident about this month mostly because it had been so easy with his Papa being a magizoologist. But he wanted to just read up on some more of the tricky creatures just in case.

“Tell me about it.” Sirius mumbled, “OW!” Harry laughed, glancing over to see Sirius rubbing his leg.

“Grade your papers.”

Sirius grumbled but otherwise did as he was told. The room fell into a soft silence…for five minutes then Sirius was talking again. Sirius apparently couldn’t work in silence, Harry had seen that last Friday when he and James spoke while grading their own papers.

“Was Magical Creatures Studies just a class to have an easy O or are you actually interested in it?” Sirius asked

“Kind of. I knew most of the coursework, but there were a few things I didn’t know and so it was interesting in that aspect, and when I signed up for it I wasn’t yet an Omega so I thought I would go into Magizoologist like my Papa. But some animals don’t react well to werewolves or Lycans especially omega ones so I had to change plans. It wasn’t that big of a deal, it was just an interest at twelve. I’ve changed career paths so many times before and since then that it didn’t bother me too much.”

“Is it similar to Care of Magical Creatures that Hogwarts offers?”

“I think so though ours is probably more in depth. All of our coursework is more in depth than Hogwarts I think. It’s really amazing how much they took out and yet you guys still have things to teach the student for ten months of the year.”

“Well some of us find little loopholes to teach the students a few things the Ministry doesn’t want us to, but not much. Like the patronus charm is considered unessential, but Remus still teaches it and gets away with it because he says he’s preparing his students in case they ever want to be a guard at Azkaban.”

“Everyone’s dream job I’m sure.” Harry said as he read over the passage about the Chimaera, “Just the fact you have to find loopholes like that for a spell that doesn’t even harm anyone is ridiculous. I might go into politics just to tell everyone how stupid they are.”

“I really don’t want to be seen with a politician can’t you do something cool like be a quidditch star.”

“I used to play quidditch. We have an international team which means we play schools who don’t have houses that play each other like Beauxbatons and Drumstrang. The winning house team at Hogwarts used to play us, but they stopped during Grindelwald I believe.”

“Oh yeah? What position?”

“Seeker. Got on the team my first year. Youngest Seeker in a Century.” Harry said

“Does James know this?” Remus asked

“No, I don't think so. It hasn’t been brought up. Besides, I stopped during my fourth year. I only stayed long enough for a new seeker to be found and trained and to play a few games we knew we were going to win. After Yule I was off the team.”

“Why’d you stop?” Sirius asked

“I wanted to focus more on my academics.” Another cover, but they didn’t know that like they did with the first one. Harry bit the pad of his thumb as he turned to the Fwoopers chapter.

“Don’t ever tell James that.” Remus told him making Harry laugh

“Yeah I wasn't planning on it. Poor guy would die of a broken heart.”

Conversation continued. It was light and easy. Sirius liked to talk, he liked conversation even if it was meaningless. Harry came to realize that Sirius talking and his classmates talking were very different, or maybe he was just biased, but he didn’t mind being pulled into a conversation about his favorite type of cuisine while he read about the Ramora. When Sirius declared he was done grading despite the large stack of ungraded papers and came to lay beside Harry on the bed and ask about the creatures Harry was reading up on or passing, Harry didn’t mind. He also didn’t mind when his study session turned into him telling Sirius about the creatures he hadn’t learned about at Hogwarts. He also told him about the animals he had around when he was growing up and all of his past and present pets.

***

“So…” His papa said the next day as they sat at a table for lunch after his NEWT test. Harry looked at him confused.

“So?”

“How was studying yesterday?” Harry was unable to stop the blush as he thought back to the day before, but Harry just shrugged as he grinned at his menu.

“It was fine.” He said

“Oh come on tell me.” His Papa begged

“There’s nothing to tell. Remus graded his papers, SIrius graded some of his papers then came to lay beside me on the bed while I studied and told him about the creatures he didn’t learn about at Hogwarts and about the ones we had around the house growing up.”

“He laid beside you on the bed?”

“Yes.”

“And asked about magical creatures? A topic you know almost if not everything about?”

“Yes.” His Papa grinned suddenly, but Harry was confused, “What?”

“And did his shoulder brush yours on occasion as you two laid beside each other?”

“I mean..yeah..I guess?” His papa gave him a look, eyes wide, eyebrows raised, “What?”

“Merlin's Balls Harry he was flirting with you.”

“What? No he wasn’t. Why would he need to flirt with me? I'm his mate.”

“You think flirting just stops once you’re serious with each other?”

“Doesn’t it?” His Papa laid his head back with a groan laughing.

“No it doesn’t. I’ll have you know Matteo and I flirted a lot when we were married. I’m sure Sirius and Remus still flirt with each other. It’s fun.”

“Lying beside each other and talking about magical creatures was his way of flirting?”

“For someone so smart you are so clueless.” His Papa said, shaking his head, “No. Lying beside each other and talking about a topic you are clearly interested in and like and touching each other was the flirting part.”

“That’s incredibly lame. Isn’t flirting sexual? That wasn’t sexual.”

“Flirting is not sexual-”

“Pretty sure that’s the definition of Flirting.”

“Harry stop being so literal. Flirting is a lot of things. This was probably his way of just telling you he likes you and he doesn’t see you as only his best friend's son. A way to get closer to you.”

“He could say those things in words?” Harry suggested much to his Papa’s exasperation as he laughed.

“You’re hopeless.” His Papa said, “Anyway you were going to tell me about the fight you apparently had with James last week.”

“It was nothing.” Harry said, but his Papa didn’t drop it so Harry told him exactly what happened and about the lunch and about the conversation afterwards. He was angry, Harry knew this as soon as he told him what James had said to Remus, but he was also angry because he knew, even if Harry didn’t tell him, that it had hurt far more than Harry had let on to James.

“Do you want me to talk to him?”

“Sirius and Remus suggested he talk to you and that maybe you could help him, but no I don’t know. It’s up to you.

“I’ll owl him and ask him when he’s available.” His Papa said, “If he ever hurts you to a point where you can’t or don’t want to forgive him it’s okay to stop talking to him. Temporarily or permanently. I don’t care.”

“Papa it’s fine it’s not like that. He didn’t-”

“I know he’s still learning but I mean later. If you need time away from him at any point tell me and I’ll make sure he gets the message loud and clear.”

“I know Papa.” Harry hesitated for a moment, “What have you told James about Matteo?”

“That we were married and then when you were thirteen, during your fourth year he left. What have you told them about Matteo?” Harry shrugged as he looked at the menu again

“Just that he is your ex husband and we no longer talk to each other.”

“Why do you ask?”

“Just curious.” Harry said with a shrug, “So I am thinking about getting a soup. What are you thinking?”

His Papa pressed his lips together, narrowing his eyes a little at Harry, but after a few moments he sighed and finally told him he was thinking about a salad. THankfully his Papa decided to be nice and not bring it up again as he instead asked him how he thinks his NEWT went and if he was ready for the others. Their lunch passed quickly after that and once it was finished Harry went back to school to do some more work.

[teletraan-meets-jarvis]

What I Want - Part 2

AO3 Link

Chapter Title: What I Need

Pairing: Crosshair x fem!Jedi Reader

Summary: Following the awkwardness of the night before, you go to an old friend to try and process your feelings for Crosshair.

Click here for Part 1

Warnings: 18+, a bit more frisky business but not full on so rated 18 just to be safe. Swearing.

Word Count: 2.6k

Author’s Notes: You ask, you get!! Thanks so much for all the support and love for part 1 ❤️. As a thank you, I bring you part 2, I hope you enjoy! If this one takes off a bit as well, I do have an idea for a little bonus chapter around the Bad Batches' reaction. As always, feedback/comments are massively appreciated along with reblogs. Fic is below the cut off, thanks for reading!!

Taglist: @aerynwrites @shannon-lynn-21 @saltywintersoldat @tired-night-owl @wille-zarr

A comm alarm beeped softly, slowly pulling you out your slumber. Giving the device a sleepy glare, you shut it off and huffed back onto your bunk. Wrecker’s snores were echoing off the small ship barracks, you rolled your eyes at his sleeping form across the room as you swung your legs over the side of your top bunk. Below you, Tech slept soundly, he managed to fall asleep with his goggles on which were now sitting wonky on his relaxed face. He also had a datapad clutched to his chest, almost like a teddy bear, which made you chuckle to yourself.

You’d barely slept after getting back from the mission but being a General stopping over on Coruscant meant rest would be a pipe dream. Your alarm was set to get you out of bed and ready for the first of what you were sure would be a hundred and ten briefings today. You were always happy to shoulder the politics for the team, removing that burden from Hunter so they could keep to themselves. But today, you could really do without it.

You looked over at Hunter and Crosshair’s bunks, the former sleeping up top with an arm over his eyes. Probably to block out the few small coloured lights on the ship that shone from critical systems, preventing the room from being truly pitch black. You didn’t envy Hunter’s enhanced senses, they seemed to cause him quite a bit of discomfort when they weren’t on missions. You should probably pick him up an eye mask one of these days.

Below him, Crosshair slept with his back to the open room. One of the few times you ever saw his body relaxed was when he slept. You cringed as you remembered yesterday’s awkwardness with the sniper and mentally cursed at yourself for causing, what was, an easily avoidable situation.

Shaking your head you jumped silently off of your bunk, mindful to not wake any of the batch. You gently removed Tech’s goggles, placing them in their usual spot before moving over to grab some fresh robes and head for the fresher. Today was going to be a real drag.

—————————————————

“Hey! Look what the Lothcat dragged in” someone called after you as you trudged up the steps to the GAR Headquarters. You turned around to see none other than Anakin Skywalker jogging up behind you.

“Nice to see you too Skyguy” he chuckled at the nickname as he threw an arm around your shoulders.

You fell into companionable chatter as you made your way to your first meeting, the dark halls of the military headquarters looking indistinguishable as you attempted to find the correct room. Members of the Coruscant Guard patrolled the halls, nodding politely to you both as you strolled past.

Eventually you found the room where Mace, Plo and Luminara were waiting, along with some clone and human high command. You stood outside the door for a moment, readying yourself to seal your fate of being talked at for a solid eight standard hours.

Eventually you caved, mostly as you were on the verge of being late if you debated standing outside any longer. Begrudgingly, you sat through briefing after briefing. All the voices and different rooms blending into one grey blur as you tried to take in what information you could, but your tired and stressed mind was having none of it.

While it was nice to catch up with some of the other Jedi, you always felt a bit out of place among the perfect members of the council. More so now than ever.

You ended up wandering back to the temple with Anakin where you both retired to his room and you flopped down onto his simple bed with a whine.

“Okay, what’s going on? You’ve been off all day” Anakin was the closest thing you had to a brother, you trained as Padawans together and due to your similar age you became fast friends. You knew about his marriage to Padme and decided that if you could offload your dilemma on anyone, it’d be him.

“I fucked up” you groaned out from behind your hands.

“What’d you do?” Anakin replied in a playful tone.

“I might’ve got a bit hot and heavy with one of the clones in my squad, led him on and then cut it off” Anakin raised an eyebrow at your confession. “And now he’s pissed at me”

“Why?” You weren’t entirely sure which part of that entire thing he was questioning.

“Because I started the whole thing, I wanted it. Then all of a sudden I did that whole guilty Jedi, must follow every word of the order thing, gave him some pathetic look which said really sorry I can’t have attachments mate, hope you understand. He called me out on it before I could even utter the banthashit excuse and then he stomped off and hasn’t spoken to me since.”

“In his defence, seems like he was probably wound a little tight” Anakin replied with a chuckle which you just groaned at.

“He has every right to be pissed. Hells, I would be if the roles were reversed. Whats with this whole self-righteous act us Jedi have going on?”

“Look, it’s hard being a Jedi at the best of times. It takes an inhumane amount of self-control, which is why its not a path for the weak. But being a Jedi while at war… it’s a lot. You’re emotions are running high, you’re forming bonds with soldiers on the battlefield that you shouldn’t be, but none of us can help it because it’s uncharted territory. Maker knows I’d hunt down anyone who hurt Obi-Wan or my Captain. Yes, It’s not the Jedi way, but neither is fighting a grand-scale war.” Anakin’s eyes were alive with emotion as he spoke, be he quickly caught himself and then it was gone.

“My point is, don’t beat yourself up so much. No one is getting kicked out the order or in his case reconditioned if that’s what you’re worried about. Figure out what it is you want, and then just be discreet about it” you looked at Anakin like he’d grown two heads, he just winked at your confused stare.

“Okay let’s keep it simple. Are you attracted to him?” You thought back to the night before and firmly nodded in response.

“Do you like him as a person?” You pondered his question.

“Well, it’s Cross. I wasn’t sure if he even liked me for a long time. He’s closed off, anti-social, but he’s also a good guy, cares about his brothers, has saved my ass multiple times, and he is kinda funny in his own, snide way” you rattled off with fondness in your words.

“Well then I suggest you go and talk to him.” Anakin replied, giving you a knowing look when he spotted the small smile on your lips as you spoke about the sniper.

You took a deep breath, glad to have finally gotten that off your chest and feeling content that you now knew what to do next. “Thanks, Ani”

“Ugh please don’t call me that” he moaned back, apparently only Padme was allowed to get away with that one.

————————————————

Your walk back to the Marauder felt like it dragged on and on. Your brain ran over a thousand scenarios of what to say, how he’d react and you were about to short circuit. There was so much risk, so much possibility, that you did your best to shut your mind off and let yourself handle it in the moment. These things never went as planned anyway, it was best not to guess.

The large door to the ship hissed open, your boots clanking on the metal surface as you cautiously walked into your home. It didn’t take you long to find Crosshair, he was sat in the main hull methodically cleaning his hand blaster. Everyone else must’ve been asleep. He was just in his blacks, the material hugging him in the most wonderful way, it’s like whoever designed those things was trying to trip you up. The contours of his arm muscles flexing as he worked, his strong chest looked practically chiselled at the heart of his lean frame. You had to force yourself to calm down a little bit.

“Uh, hey” you greeted awkwardly. “Mind if I join you?”

You took his silence as a well he’s not saying no. He didn’t spare you a glance as you walked in and took a seat opposite him. As a General in the GAR, you rarely got nervous. War, as a concept, was simple. You knew your purpose, your objective, you had a job to get done and you’d do it. The risks never stopped you, rather they fuelled you. Probably why you’re such a good fit for the bad batch.

But this right now, personal feelings, not knowing where you stand with someone you care about. Because if you were honest, you really did care about Crosshair, the same as you did the rest of the team. You’d only been with the squad just under a year but you’d gladly lay down your life for any of them in a heartbeat. If you could at least get back to where you were before the other night, you’d be over the moon.

You weren’t used to being so nervous, you let your hands fiddle with you dark Jedi robes as you readied yourself to speak again.

“Look, I’m not here to throw some crap about being a Jedi at you, I promise. And I’m sorry for trying it before” he still didn’t look at you, finding his blaster much more interesting. But you could tell he was listening, you had his attention. Might as well keep babbling.

“In terms of an explanation for what happened yesterday, well I guess I panicked.” You sighed as you tried to find the next words “The way you made me feel that night, I… I’ve never felt like that before and everything i’d been taught over the years screamed at me that what I was doing was dangerous and wrong. I now realise that I’m just an idiot. I make my own decisions and I… uh -well, I stick by that one, starting something that is.” Still nothing.

“I know this is probably a long shot. But in the interest of being transparent” you rambled “uh… if you want to go down that road again, I’m up for seeing what happens, can be as casual as we like. I promise I won’t freak out on you again.” You chuckled and thought you almost spotted a slight pull in the corner of Crosshair’s lips “But if you want to go back to how we were before, I’d also really like that.” You watched him for a while as he gave no acknowledgement of your words, his cleaning finished as he now gave the weapon a once over in his hands. Having said everything you needed, you got up from your seat, looking away from him.

“Well, if I can do anything else, let me know” you turned on your heel to leave, feeling slightly defeated but glad you’d at least made the first step.

“I could think of a few things” he finally spoke as he leaned back into his seat and continued to stare at his blaster, still not meeting your gaze.

Well that caught your attention, you turned back around to face him as he carried on ignoring you. While his tone was unbothered as he spoke, you knew him just enough to know his words held a meaning. He was playing with you, back to his usual teasing and you could’ve laughed at the relief that washed over you. This you could work with. A cheeky idea popped into your head and you’d decided to run with it.

“Oh really?” Throwing caution to the wind, you strode over to the sniper slowly. His gaze finally meeting yours after all this time, watching you as you got closer and closer. Practically drawing you in with his amber eyes. You pushed him back by his chest, creating enough room so you could straddle his lap. “Care to elaborate?”

He huffed out a short laugh at your words, his face overall unbothered but his eyes, they were burning into you. “You’re a smart girl, I’m sure you’ll figure it out”.

You hummed in response, deciding to kick things up a notch you wrapped your arms around his neck, bringing your faces just breaths apart. “Something like this?” You asked, pausing for another second before bringing your lips to his in a surprisingly soft and gentle kiss. You felt his hands come up to rest on your back, pulling you closer as you continued your slow dance. This was so different from the other night, where before there was desperation and lust, now there was something more… tender, passionate. You were quite glad you weren’t standing as the way he moved against you would’ve definitely made your knees weak.

Dragging yourself away from his lips, you searched his face. His mouth pulled into a barely there smirk “That’s a start.”

“Who said I was finished?” And just like that, the last few strands of tension between you both snapped and you relaxed in his arms. You fisted your hands into the front of his blacks and pulled him back to you, his tongue slipped between your lips, curious and demanding. He was everywhere again, filling your nose with the scent of the standard cheap GAR soap but mixed with something earthy, something so distinctly Crosshair and you couldn’t get enough.

You could tell why the Jedi order frowned upon such activities, kissing Crosshair was intoxicating. You couldn’t think of anything else other than the handsome clone in front of you and just how much you wanted him in that moment.

His hands wandered lower and lower down you back until they rested comfortably on your backside, pulling you further up his lap. Feeling mischievous, you started trailing kisses along his jaw. Setting a teasing, languid pace as you mapped out the spots that made him squirm. Crosshair was never a man of many words, so you made it your mission to see just how vocal you could make him.

As your lips met his pulse point, he gave a loud exhale and you smirked in victory against his skin as you continued the onslaught on his senses. You definitely seemed to be doing something right as his hands found themselves in your hair, clutching slightly and you couldn’t help the soft moan that escaped you. Even while trying to gain the upper hand in the situation, he always had some control over you. It was maddening in the best way, setting your veins alight with desire.

Determined to get another victory you traced your tongue against the base of the side of his neck and trailed it all the way up to the bottom of his ear, which you teasingly took into your mouth, teeth grazing the soft skin. A strangled moan escaped the clone and that was the moment where you knew you were hopelessly and utterly gone. Your mind filled with nothing other than wanting to be closer to Crosshair.

“Not very Jedi of you” he commented, slightly breathless when you finally stopped teasing him and came back up to meet his eyes. Looking down at where your bodies were pressed against one another, you chuckled.

“What exactly about this situation led you to believe I was ever a model Jedi?” You smirked, though it was only visible for a second before his mouth was back on yours, devouring you as his hands greedily roamed your body.

You continued making out like teenagers for most of the evening, taking the time to explore each other, enjoying the closeness. Contentment settled over your body, almost as if this was were you were meant to be. If Crosshair’s arms were where you belonged, well, you could think of worse places to be.

Back to Part 1

Back to Masterlist

[fallenflowersfromgrace]

Wrote a fic off of a stupid toh au @stupid-toh-aus

Well, to say this was going to hell was a massive understatement. Katya, Derwin, and Amber had been most likely taken to the Conformatorium, Darius and Eberwolf were literally hunting them, and the idea of escape seemed impossible at the moment. 

“I have an idea,” Eda said as she saw the two other coven heads take off following her shoes. “And it’s probably one of the weirdest ones ever in existence.”

“Eda, any idea is a good idea in this situation,” Raine responded as they glanced cautiously in the direction of the distraction. 

“No, trust me, this is going to sound really we-”

“Eda-”

“No, it’s-”

“Eda.”

“I don’t even know if you’ll be okay with it!”

“I can’t tell you if I am or not unless you tell me!”

“Raine,” Eda sighed deeply as she tensed up slightly, “I need you to kiss me.” 

“...what?”

Both witches turned bright red as Eda tried not to stumble over her words. 

“I told you it sounded weird!”

“Eda!”

“Okay, public displays of affection make people uncomfortable, and considering that we were so underprepared for this and that the tiny one can sniff out a scent, we’re not coming out victorious.” Eda explained, “So, we play it off as if we’re like two teenagers coming back to their secret spot for a makeout session, gross them both out, pray to the Titan this works because I have no idea what we are going to do if it doesn’t, then we can bust the Bats out and come to fight another day.” 

“That depends on your acting skills,” Raine teased in silent agreement to the plan and Eda felt her face heat up.

“I don’t need to pretend how I feel about you,” Eda smirked back in triumph when the bard witch turned red.

“Eda, I-” 

“Shut up and kiss me, Rainestorm.”

“Oh. My. Titan.” Darius almost laughed at how fast both heads snapped up at him but the discomfort was winning over amusement. 

///

There were a lot of things Darius was expecting today and on the top of the list, finding the turncoat was the goal, and technically, he did (but he didn’t exactly know it) just not in the way he ever thought he would. He had no idea leaning over the top of a rock would end up with him finding Raine Whispers and the Owl Lady, who was pinned against it, in the middle of a very heated makeout session.

“Oh my Titan,” Raine repeated in a mix of embarrassment and horror. Was...was the Owl Lady blushing? Wait a second, Raine had turned red too-oh.

“What are you do-oh my Titan, is that a hickey?” Darius winced as he closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. The implications were not something he wanted to think about.

“N-no!” Raine weakly protested and slapped a hand to their neck as a young teenager in trouble with their parents would. 

“The Owl Lady gave you a hickey,” he deadpanned and nearly groaned at how red the two got until he noticed how low the neckline of the Owl Lady’s dress was. It wasn’t scandalous, but he had a feeling that if he had arrived a few seconds later it would’ve been a very awkward conversation for all parties involved. “Raine…” he inhaled deeply, “why are you...making out with the Owl Lady over here?” 

Wrong question considering that the two lovers were both matching shades of red and both were trying to stumble out an answer that he couldn’t understand. 

“Okay, let’s try again,” Darius sighed deeply and silently prayed to the Titan the Owl Lady would be a lot easier to talk to than the nervous blushing wreck of a bard. “Owl Lady, what are you doing here?” 

“This used to be our spot when we were younger and did...adult things for the first time,” she explained.

“Eda!” Raine shrieked in embarrassment and covered their face with their hands. 

“What? He asked!” The Owl Lady shouted in defense.

Darius looked up, begging the Titan to lend him strength. He didn’t need to know that. He really didn’t need to know that. There was no way the two of them were part of that stupid rebellion-wait. 

“What happened to your shoes?” Darius asked and Raine had tense up as they slowly removed their hands from their face and the Owl Lady gave Raine, not Darius, a shit-eating grin. 

“Well, we heard you shouting, and considering we claimed this spot before you did, I decided that we needed a distraction to shoo you away-ha, get it, shoe-”

“Eda,” Raine said in a warning tone and that made the shit-eating grin bigger, “don’t you-”

“I just wanted to make Whispers scream,” the Owl Lady smirked, satisfied with herself as Raine inhaled deeply, the tips of their ears turning red as they hid their face back in their hands, and Darius tried to mentally burn that idea out of his mind while wondering if this is what hell was like. 

“Why are you like this?” Raine muttered and the Owl Lady had responded by going for the Bard witch’s neck, probably to leave another mark. 

“Okay, okay, enough.” Darius sighed. He was not paid enough to deal with this, “Raine, Owl Lady, I am on a mission, and you two are so not helping. So let’s do this, you two continue...this elsewhere, and I’ll continue my mission.” 

And once again, he was met with blushing witches and instead of letting them try and regain their words, he rolled his eyes and he grabbed them both, and sent them away from the area. Titan, did he hope Eberwolf was having better luck and less trauma than him. 

///

“I cannot believe that worked,” Eda laughed as she leaned slightly on Raine. 

“Well, you probably scarred Darius for life, so today wasn’t a total loss,” Raine shook their head in amusement. “You could just see the life leave his eyes.”

“It was glorious,” she cackled as she and Raine came into the clearing where the race had just ended and Luz and King crossed the finish line. “So, you ready to meet my kids so we can bust out your kids?” 

“...Eda, you have kids?!” Raine shouted in surprise and Eda immediately recoiled. 

“They’re not mine, mine! I adopted one from a stray island and the other one helped me break into the prison and then she started a small riot! And both of them tried to save me from being Petrified but King almost got turned to stone and Luz faced Belos and threatened to torch Kikimora-”

“Eda-”

“Titan, does that sound so much worse out loud, but-”

“Eda!”

“Sorry…”

“I would love to meet your kids.” The smile Eda gave them was one that Raine would remember forever.

“Great! Although beware of Luz because she’ll try and squeeze stories out of you. And don’t tell her anything about our Hexside days or the kid will never let us know peace.”

And so, after a surprise adoption of King adopting Eda as his mom, and the four of them going to bust the BATs out of prison, Luz was the one to break the ice.

“So...when you and Raine get married, am I allowed to tell this story of how we broke my step-siblings out of prison?” The teen asked with stars in her eyes. 

Both adults had turned red, neither of them protesting the idea of a wedding.

“Oh, I have read enough of Luz’s fanfics to know where this is heading,” King cackled. 

[15-dogs]

everything and anything |s.b.|

hello hello!! this is for @chudleycanons writing challenge!! everyone go check emmy out, she’s an amazing writer!! congrats again on 600 emmy :)

pairing: young!sirius black x reader

summary: sirius offers to take you to the ball but has other intentions in mind

warnings: the reader describes being insecure about their looks

prompts: fake dating, “Did I mean anything to you?”, “Dance with me”

guide: (Y/N) = your name, (Y/L/N) = your last name

word count: 3797

If anyone ever asked if you liked being the mom friend, you would instantly say yes. There was no doubt in your mind that you absolutely loved the position. You had this knack for taking care of everyone out of the pure goodness of your heart but you certainly weren’t afraid to throw a few punches if someone looked at your friend funny. That’s just who you were and you never wanted to change that.

However, as all things do, the title came with its downfalls. One being that you were always last in line to be picked from the group of eligible bachelorettes that were your friends. It usually would have never bothered you if it weren’t for a large, end of the year ball that Flitwick had decided to throw together. 

Alice had partnered up with Frank, Marlene was going with Dorcas, and Mary was going with Peter. Remus had the full moon the night before and Sirius had decided not to attend so there goes your two other options. Lily had promised that if you and her didn’t get dates by the time the ball rolled around, you two would go together. However, James had his way of working into her heart with very little effort. So there you were, stuck without a date.

It didn’t just make you embarrassed, it made you ashamed. And you shouldn’t have been! A few weeks prior, you thought that a Ravenclaw fancied you but you were quite mistaken, seeing as how they blew you off for dates. It wasn’t until you spotted him making out with the prefect opposite him during rounds did you realize he didn’t like you at all. You choked back the sobs that bubbled up in your chest and ran to your dorm to tell the girls all about it. When you got there, Lily was jumping up and down with excitement, claiming that James and her kissed. Decidedly, you did not tell the girls about what happened between you and that Ravenclaw, feeling like you were clouding Lily’s joy. 

Yet, the thought of you being the “less attractive” option than your friends still kept you up at night. Your friends were beautiful, they always were getting asked out on dates and you were always cheering them on, giving advice, whatnot. It was fun, or at least for a while. Sometimes it became tiring having to hear about how they were dating a new person each week while you sat, wondering what on Earth you did wrong.

You always pushed those thoughts to the back of your mind as you celebrated Marlene’s birthday in the common room. She squealed as she opened your present— a new jean jacket with patches of which you had hand picked and sewn on yourself— and immediately began to thank you. You felt awkward under her praise, opting to get the food ready instead.

You came back a moment later with snacks in your hand and some drinks, leading Dorcas to suggest you all play a drinking game. You teetered with anxieties as you remembered how everyone (and that meant everyone) acted when they were drunk. Maybe you should just stay sober. The group booed you but you merely shook your head, claiming that they’d thank you later when they were stumbling up to their dorms in their drunken stupor.

About an hour in, the drinking game turned into a group of drunk 7th years playing truth or dare. You decided to hop into the game, considering that you didn’t have to drink but instantly regretted your choice the second everyone started talking about the ball.

“Have you picked out a dress?” Mary asked Lily, leaning forward and biting her thumbnail. Lily nodded excitedly.

“Yes! I’m picking it up this weekend at the tailors from Hogsmeade.”

“You’re joking!” Marlene gasped. She looked between her and Dorcas before looking back at Lily. “We’re picking our dresses up this weekend at the same place! We should all go together! Mary? Alice? (Y/N)?”

You felt your heart sink and forced a smile on your face. Sirius, sitting beside you, nudged your knee with his. You looked up at him and he raised his brows.

“What?” you whispered.

“Are you okay?” Shockingly, his breath smelled the least like alcohol which was a rare occurrence for the party-crazed boy.

“I’m fine,” you shot out quickly. “Totally, perfectly fine.”

The truth was, you were not fine. Sirius knew it, too. Hearing that the girls were going to get their dresses felt like a slap in the face— you shouldn’t go to the dance at all. If you were going to mope around the whole time, what good would you be?

But it wasn’t because you were going alone, not really, anyway. It was because you were scared. To say that you didn’t like the way you looked was an understatement. You loved wearing dresses and skirts just as much as you loved wearing jeans and pants, but something about formalwear had your heart lurching in your chest. You wanted to be pretty, that was it, and you were afraid that people would laugh.

Someone of sound mind would have been able to reassure you that no one would have laughed at you, but no one knew of your insecurities and you didn’t plan on telling them. You constantly scolded yourself about those feelings but they kept resurfacing in every way possible.

When your attention shifted back to the group, you had realized they asked you a question. James let out a stifled giggle at your blank face and Lily swatted his arm.

“Huh?” you mumbled.

“We wanted to know how things are going with that Ravenclaw, Elliott,” Lily explained. “Did he ask you to the ball yet?”

Your lips parted and closed again, feeling that familiar sense of shame form deep in your stomach. “Oh,” you muttered lamely, “well, er, we aren’t...he’s not…”

“Oh, Godric. What did he do?”

“Oh, it’s— believe me— it’s nothing. I just, well, I think I misinterpreted a few signals here and there.”

“And how’s that?” Remus asked.

“I, um, walked in on him...snogging Jennifer, the other Ravenclaw prefect.”

A chorus of disgusted and shocked exclamations sounded around you. You looked away from their penetrating gazes, fiddling with your hands in your lap instead. One gaze struck you as particularly attention grabbing: Sirius’s. You looked up at the boy to the right of you on the couch, his gray eyes softened at your somber expression.

“He was leading you on, (Y/N). He’s a right git, easily. This wasn’t your fault.”

“I…” you trailed off, confused by his words. Yet, they comforted the part of you that was aching most. “Thanks, Sirius. I think I needed to hear that.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Your eyes locked with his and you felt a strange shift in the air. It was like an electrified silence. Although, it wasn’t silent. Marlene had been calling your name for the past minute now.

“Babes, hello!” Your eyes snapped up to Marlene’s at her words. “Who are you going with then?”

“About that, well, I don’t think I’m going to-”

You were cut off but groans and sighs from the girls around you. They immediately shot out protests, seemingly begging you to reconsider. You awkwardly shrugged when Sirius nudged you with his foot.

“Just because some bloke was an arse to you means you aren’t going to the ball? Come on, (Y/N), that’s not the you I know.”

“That’s not it,” you shot.

“Listen, I’ll go with you.”

Your eyes met Sirius’ with shock. You blinked a few times, then rubbed your eyes. “You can’t be serious.”

“Oh, please, love”— he leaned in towards you so that his breath was hot against your ear— “I’m always Sirius.”

You elbowed him with a smirk, feeling a sense of guilt creep up in your throat. You blushed and shook your head. “It’s fine, Sirius, you don’t have to do that-”

“No, I want to.” His words took you by surprise. “It’s not like I was going with anyone so why not you?”

You shifted awkwardly in your seat, trying not to think about the implications of his words. But you couldn’t help thinking about how he wasn’t even going in the first place. Your heart sped up in your chest but you were convinced it was from gratitude and surprise. So, as you were swept off your feet by your friend of 7 years, you said, “Okay, let’s go to the ball together.”

A decision you’d later come to regret.

—

You sat with your friends at the Gryffindor table, eating your breakfast before you left for Hogsmeade to pick up your dresses. You were rifling through your bag to see if you had some extra money to buy some chocolate for Remus when you heard excited gasps surrounding you. Your eyes snapped up just in time to see a single rose fall in front of your face. The owl that held it hooted and flew away, only for another owl to repeat its actions.

All eyes in the Great Hall were on you as the few roses soon turned into a bouquet. You held a careful hand over your mouth as you searched for the culprit. Fortunately, you didn’t need to look that hard. Unfortunately, it was because the sender— Sirius— had jumped onto the Gryffindor table as he called out your name. He walked towards you, students pulling their plates to their chests with each step. Finally, he stood in front of you, arms crossed and grin smug.

“Sirius!” you hissed. You glanced up at the professors’s table, where McGonagall eyed Sirius warily. “Would you get down from there?”

“Only if you go to the ball with me!”

Murmurs quickly filled the room.

“That’s what this is about? You’re mental! I said yes a few days ago!”

“Is it still a yes, then?” Although Sirius was acting with a confidence like no other person you’d seen, he still seemed nervous to hear your response.

“Yes, you git! Now get down!”

You stood up as you reached out your hands, tugging Sirius back to the ground as he cried, “She said yes!”

Glares from people without dates landed on you but you tried your best to ignore it. You chanced a look over your shoulder to meet the confused eyes of Elliott boring holes into your back.

You felt your cheeks heat up furiously but you couldn’t help but laugh at his behavior. Your laughter was suddenly silenced as Sirius stood inches apart from your face. You tried your best not to inhale his cologne that strangely had you weak in the knees but you simply couldn’t help it with your close proximity.

To make matters worse, Sirius reached up to tuck some hair behind your ear and you were positive that you felt something towards him that you hadn’t felt before. He winked at you and chuckled handsomely before pushing away to meet up with his friends.

Your friends quickly surrounded you as they asked repeated questions about what in the world just happened between you and Sirius. You couldn’t process, though. Not then. All you could do was hold your face in your hands with blank eyes as you feared the tiny, miniscule, barely there crush that you might have on Sirius Black.

—

In Transfiguration a few days later, you sat at your desk near the front, awaiting Lily’s arrival. When you heard a familiar, bubbly laughter, your head whipped around to the back to see James with his arm around Lily as she sat in Sirius’s seat. You were a little saddened that she had left you to sit with her boyfriend, but you didn’t let it show— after all, you were happy that they had finally gotten together.

You felt an arm snake around the back of your chair, causing you to jump. When you looked over, Sirius was in Lily’s seat, his arm wrapped around your shoulders, the dumbest grin on his face.

“Good morning, (Y/L/N).” You hated the way his deep, slightly raspy voice made you shiver.

“Morning, yourself, Black.” 

You studied him out of the corner of your eye as he relaxed into his chair. Merlin, he looked handsome with his sleeves rolled up and hair mussed. You sucked in a sharp breath with horror at your thoughts, butterflies occupying your stomach as his thumb stroked your shoulder. You thought that you might die when his hand slipped down the chair to rest on your waist, only for him to tug you closer.

“I asked Evans to sit with Prongs today; she didn’t seem to mind,” he whispered roughly against your ear.

You hummed. “Hm, I wonder why?”

He stifled a laugh as he tipped forward, looking at the blank piece of parchment on his desk.

“I meant to ask you, what color is your dress?”

You blinked in shock at the change in topic. “It’s blue.”

He rolled his eyes. “Shades of blue, love.”

“I didn’t know that the different shades mattered to you,” you said, pretending to be impressed by his prompt.

“Shockingly, I’m more than just a pretty face.”

“Really?”

He fought back a chuckle and shook his head. “Shade, love, go on.”

“It’s baby blue.”

His eyes roved over your body for a moment too long. You became self-conscious at his stare, angling away from him. His eyes softened at your actions. You felt his slightly calloused hand take yours, raising it to his lips as he kissed your knuckles. Your eyes darted around the room to see if anyone saw what was happening, if it was as out of the ordinary as you imagined. Your eyes landed on Elliott who watched with distaste as Sirius acted like he was much more than just a friend, a sense of satisfaction filling you.

“You’re going to be gorgeous, love. You are gorgeous.”

When you looked into Sirius’ captivating gray eyes, you knew you were done for. You didn’t know what game he was playing, but you were sure you didn’t want it to end.

—

You were rushing back from the library, just having noticed that you were late to meeting your friends. You had all decided to get ready for the ball together, mostly because you were no good at makeup but quite good at hair, Lily was no good at hair but quite good at accessorizing, Marlene was no good at accessorizing but quite good at makeup, and so on.

You made it to the portrait and were about to state the password when someone stopped you. “Hey, (Y/L/N)!”

You turned around to see Elliott bombing towards you. “Hey, what’s going on?”

He slowed to a stop in front of you, his lips twitching into a smile. “I was wondering if you wanted to go to the ball with me?”

You scoffed, but felt an immediate sense of guilt at your response. “Sorry, Elliott, but I’m going with Sirius-”

“I know.”

You looked around, seeing if Sirius was hiding somewhere to tell you he set this up, that it was all a joke. You clenched your eyes shut before eyeing the Ravenclaw in front of you.

“I don’t know what you want me to say, Elliott.”

“Say yes. Go with me, not Black.” He took a step forward, ducking to meet your gaze. “I fancy you.”

You shook your head hurriedly, whispering the password as you darted away from him, your head swarming with severe thoughts. He called after you but didn’t dare follow as you ran up the stairs to your dorm.

You slammed the door shut behind you, panting as you slid your back down it. Lily nudged your foot with hers, causing you to look up at her.

“What happened to you?”

You jumped to your feet, running your hands through your hair as you muttered, “It’s bad, quite bad.”

“Well, we have the time as long as you get ready.”

So as you got yourself ready for the ball, you explained the direness of the situation. A sinking feeling set into your stomach with each word as you realized that you might fancy Sirius a little more than you let on. Mary blinked with shock, studying you carefully.

“Aren’t you and Sirius going together?” she asked.

“To the ball, yes.”

“No, no.” Mary waved her mascara wand in the air as she shook her head. “I mean going together. Like, dating.”

“What?” you cried, causing Marlene to smack your arm in order for you to stay still while she did your eyeshadow. “What made you think that?”

Dorcas snorted. “What didn’t make us think that?”

You went pale. “All of you thought that?”

You heard grumbled agreements and your stomach flipped. Was it because you were too obvious about your little crush? Or was there something else that had caused them to think that? Either way, you desperately needed to talk to Sirius.

The six of you went downstairs to meet your dates, all waiting in the Gryffindor common room. Seeing Sirius standing there with a tiny, blue morning glory which matched your dress had your heart lurching. You didn’t even realize that he was talking to you until he took your hand in his.

“Are you alright, love?”

You sucked in a sharp breath, nodding at your friends that they should leave without you. Once the common room was empty (and Sirius was thoroughly puzzled) you said, “We need to talk.”

Sirius sighed knowingly, scuffing his food against the ground. “Take it Elliott asked you to the ball, then?”

“I-...y-yes, how did you know?” You fiddled with your hands to avoid meeting his eyes. Everything about this situation made you want to run away and hide forever.

“Because that was the plan, (Y/N). Did you say yes-”

“The plan?” Your eyes snapped up to his, a new feeling ruminating behind them. Sirius cowered under your glare. “What plan?”

“That’s what this was all about, wasn’t it?” he tested. You crossed your arms and huffed. “It was about getting Elliott to realize he was stupid, it was about me pretending to be your...something until he realized that he shouldn’t have turned you down.”

Your heart shattered. All of Marlene’s hard work on your makeup went completely to waste as traitorous tears slipped down your cheeks, streaks of mascara coating your face. You felt sick.

“That’s what this was about, then? You were my something.” You tried with all your might to control the shaking in your voice but there was nothing you could do; you were a mess.

Sirius, finally aware of how his words affected you, took a step towards you with the intent of taking your hands in his. You jerked your hands away from him with a strangled sob.

“No, listen, that’s not-”

“Did I mean anything to you?”

The words weren’t supposed to come out of your mouth, they weren’t. Yet, they did. And you meant them. That was the worst part.

Sirius was silent.

No, that was the worst part.

Your breaths became labored and you didn’t want to cry in front of Sirius, so you ran up to your dorm room. As you leapt onto the stairs, a strong voice stopped you.

“You mean everything to me!” Sirius shouted after you. You froze midstep. “You’re always going to mean everything to me!”

You slowly turned around on your heel. “I don’t understand-”

“It was supposed to be innocent, good natured fun. I was supposed to be helping you out with Elliott. But then you had to be yourself! You had to be funny, and beautiful, and gentle and I was not supposed to fall for you, but things never go according to plan. So, yes, you mean everything and anything to me.”

The room was silent save for the music that radiated from the Great Hall into the common room. You took a few sobering breaths as Sirius awaited a response.

“I said no, by the way. I couldn’t do it. Not when I knew how I felt about you.”

His eyes lit up and he took a step towards you. “And, er, how do you feel about me?”

You rolled your eyes as you made your way back down the stairs. “Don’t let it go to your head.”

He chuckled as he outstretched an arm to you, helping you walk down the last few steps. He pulled you close to his chest, searching your eyes for something that wasn’t present. He guided you to the portrait hole but your feet bolted to the ground.

“I can’t go out there looking like this!” you explained.

Sirius fought a snicker as he saw your panicked expression. He guided you back to the middle of the room, an intenseness in his gaze that you’d never seen before. He let go of your hand only to hold it out to you again.

“Dance with me.”

You tried to protest but your words died on your tongue. You reluctantly took him up on the offer, gasping when he pulled you flush against his chest.

Suddenly, things began to feel out of place. You didn’t deserve this. You didn’t deserve Sirius. You had never been “chosen” out of your friends because that wasn’t you, you weren’t the girl that people went after. Your heart panged with guilt as you looked away from his piercing stare.

“You’re doing that thing again.” Sirius tucked your head into his chest, his voice vibrating against your ear.

“What thing?”

“You get that little look on your face where your eyebrows knit together and you can’t look anyone in the eye because you’re scared.”

“Scared?” you asked incredulously.

“Scared of getting things that you deserve.”

You lifted your head from his chest to meet his eyes. “And what exactly do I deserve?”

You expected something smart from him, something that would make you roll your eyes and groan. Instead, a small smile tugged at the corner of his lips as Sirius said, “Happiness, complete happiness.”

In a moment of impulse, your hands wrapped around the back of his head to plant a kiss firmly against his lips. 

In a shocking turn of events, Sirius hesitated. His eyes went wide when you kissed him and it took him a moment to process your actions. However, once he did get hold of himself, he pulled you impossibly closer by the waist, kissing you passionately like there was nowhere else he’d want to be.

And that was true, of course. There was nowhere else he wanted to be besides with you. 

And seeing the way that Sirius looked at you made everything worth the wait.

[kitababie]

could i request manager being flirted with for the other schools? those were great :)

Of course! I’m happy you liked the others enough to request! These will be shiratorizawa and karasuno, I don’t know if I’m confident enough to do fukurodani even tho I love my owl boys it would end up being very akaashi heavy lmao

Here are the first ones if anyone is interested

the way I couldn’t find a nice panel of all of shiratorizawa; look at shirabu

Damn these giant centres...you may have gotten lost after leaving for the bathroom during a tournament. Glancing at your phone you still had some time before the match started 

You could only see a few people around, maybe one of them knew the way back to the main gym

“Excuse me, do you know which way the gym is? I got a little turned around...” the brunette boy you asked turned around with a smile, he seemed willing enough

“Of course! I’ll walk with you” he outstretched his arm for you to grab, you didn’t even know his name but he was so charismatic you gave in. He seemed familiar too....

Along the way you found out his name and school-oikawa tooru, seijoh-realizing you knew him from your team beating his last year, you were never introduced

You spotted your team and grew a little nervous, it would probably be an odd sight, their manger clinging to the pretty boy rival captain

He was quite flirty, and asked for your number, I mean what’s the harm in that? You grabbed his phone and started typing in your contact

You yelped as you felt someone jump on your back “y/n!! What are you doing dear manager-chan!” stumbling back you turn to see Tendou

“Oh uhh I was just talking to Oikawa, I’ll be right there sorry.” You flushed, this was so awkward “I’ll text you later I guess” you wave the setter off

Goshiki was quick to run up to you three yelling about how Ushijima wanted to start warm ups

Tendou was walking circles around you singing ‘k-i-s-s-i-n-g’ you grumbled, begging him to stop before reaching the rest of the team. He did not

Goshiki turned bright red and apologized many times for interrupting you and the seijoh captain

“What about y/n and Oikawa?” Semi asked with glare

“They’re star crossed lovers! Rivals on the court, stealing passionate glances past the net-” “Tendou please!”

Shirabu muttered something under his breath with a pout “better not be planning on transferring or anything”

“Guys we just met! Go warm up or whatever!”

Ushijima and Reon just stood on the sidelines, blinking and rolling their eyes, respectively.

“I don’t see the issue. y/n is pleasant, if they want to date someone from a lesser team that is their choice.” Ushijima stated before finally starting the warm ups

Semi gave you a pat on the back and a half assed reassuring smile

Oh these chaotic crows

It wasn’t often that their third manager was late to practice, and if you were you made it a point to let someone know about your delay

But ten minutes late wasn’t like you at all, Sugawara volunteered to take a quick look around for you

As he opened the door he spotted you, the path to the gym was blocked by two boys, he yelled for Daichi and walked towards the trio

“I mean I’ve heard that the volleyball club had cute managers but you’re smokin! Man you should ditch them and join as our manager” the other boy nodded in agreement before saying something about the vbc hogging all the good ones

Suga cleared his throat making the two boys spin around, you let out a sigh of relief and squeezed your way past the two boys to stand by the setters side

“Sorry to interrupt but you seem to be blocking the way, maybe now would be a good time to leave.” He said with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes

“Y/N-SANNN!!” Tanaka and Noya came barrelling towards you, they jumped between you and the pushy boys and started...barking?

Daichi was quick on their tails trying to stop their yelling and grabbing at their collars

Hinata was hidding behind Kageyama with a weary glare, they behind you and behind them was the rest of the tram popping their heads out the door to see what was happening

By the time Kiyoko and Yachi came out to see if you okay the two boys had left

Asahi let out a breath of relief that the situation had been resolved

The other second years offered some smiles and thumbs up as you finally came into the gym

Yamaguchi asked if you were okay, you nodded and smiled at him

Tsukishima stood beside him looking only barley concerned, but he nodded, clearly glad to hear you were alright

Your fellow managers suggested that you all walk to and from practice together from now on, you happily agreed

[harrysweasleys]

let me show you my world // h.p

summary: A Harry x muggle!reader where he takes her to the wizarding world for the first time please?

warnings: mentions of food, very very slight ptsd if you’re really looking

word count: 2.5k

a/n: short and sweet! i hope you all enjoy, it’s been a while since i’ve written for harry!

[i do not give permission for my work to be reposted on any other platform]

Today was the big day.

After what felt like weeks of waiting, today would fall the day where Harry promised you he’d take you to see his side of the world — the side that he had hid from you for the first few months of your relationship.

Until, of course, you stumbled in on him using the “lumos” charm one night in the dark kitchen while he thought you were asleep. It was a nearly unbearably long night of explanations and questions, but once you came to grasp with the idea that your boyfriend could perform spells and magic, you were awestruck.

For months you pestered him about showing you more, showing you the magic of his world and the thrill that came with it. You’d never be able to perform a spell, that was for sure, but you wanted to dip your toes in the life that was being a wizard. Maybe you could relate to Harry a little more.

He loved to talk about his time at Hogwarts and all the fascinating creatures and wild spells that he had learned about, but it wasn’t something you understood. Sure, you’d nod along and stare at him with wide eyes as he encountered his memories with a faint smile, but you only wished you could experience a smidge of it.

So, finally, he agreed to introduce you to his life by inviting you as his plus one to Ron’s birthday, which was conveniently being held at the Burrow — where Harry had really fallen in love with magic the first time — and you were over the moon.

“Remember, if something comes flying at your head, duck,” he said, your hand in his as he pressed a light kiss to your skin, clearly a little nervous.

You stepped closer to him and put your hands on either side of his face, “Harry, this isn’t going to scare me off. Don’t worry. If anything, I’m going to be even more interested in you. Which will only go badly for you, really. I won’t be able to leave you alone.”

He gave you a little smile and nodded his head, eyes piercing yours. He had dressed up with a nice shirt, a tie, and had even wrapped up a little gift for Ron, which was sitting in a bag by the front door. You weren’t sure what it was, but by his laughter as he had wrapped it, you figured it was an inside joke.

You had met Ron before, of course you had. The two were practically inseparable, both in and out of school. But you had never met Ron’s family, nor had you seen what his lifestyle was like. You could only imagine that with a family full of witches and wizards, you were in for a wild ride.

Now, Harry had told you countless times about what apparation entailed, but nothing could prepare you for the feeling that it put your body through. As he gripped your hand, you felt your weight vanish. It felt like you were being sucked into a vacuum, your body being warped through the material of reality.

Only when your feet hit solid ground did you feel your balance get restored.

You gripped Harry’s arm as he let out a chuckle, “Warn me next time.” Your breathing was heavy and your voice came out weak, but you were alive and in one piece. Your first taste of magic hadn’t gone too wonderfully.

“Sorry,” he shot you a quick smile, sliding his hand into your clammy one before walking up to the house. Harry had a certain sparkle in his eye tonight, and it wasn’t due to the sunset. He was excited, you could tell. His hand swung with yours as the two of you approached your destination.

What Harry called the Burrow was unlike anything you had ever seen. It looked like multiple homes stacked on top of one another, being held together by wooden boards and nails. Smoke came out of the chimney, and the smell of fire reached your nostrils. Light glowed from the many, many windows on all the floors of the house — were there seven floors? Eight? Ten?

“This is… wow,” you let out an impressed sigh, eyes scanning the entire building. It looked like it was held together by magic, and knowing Harry’s world, it definitely was.

“That was my reaction too,” his eyes followed yours before he gave your hand a squeeze and began leading you up to the front door, “Ron has quite a few siblings, so it might get confusing, but you’ll get the hang of it.”

You nodded, still a little speechless. If this was what the outside looked like, you couldn’t imagine what was awaiting you on the inside.

Harry brought his hand up and knocked on the door, cutting you short of your thoughts. As excited as you were to see what it was like inside a true magical household, you couldn’t bring yourself past the nerves.

Though, you didn’t have much time to dwell on that before the door was swung open and a tall ginger man with scars across his face stood on the other side.

“Bill,” Harry grinned, letting go of your hand before the two of them shared a hug.

The man had the same hair colour as Ron — no surprise there — but he was much leaner and taller. You had also heard about the werewolf incident, so it didn’t come as much of a shock to see the deep, aged wounds across the pale skin of his face.

“This is Y/N,” Harry turned to face you as the two of them pulled apart from their greeting.

The man named Bill nodded and gave you a comforting smile, “We’ve heard a lot about you. Come on in.”

Harry stepped in first and you followed closely behind, Bill closing the door behind you. The smell of cake filled your senses and you felt a smile begin to form on your lips.

By the front door, you could see into the kitchen. Spatulas and spoons moved about in the air, untouched by human hands. In the sink, dishes were being cleaned by themselves and soap bubbles floated up and popped near the ceiling. A little broom moved across the floor, collecting dust and crumbs in a pile by the kitchen garbage, sweeping in an elegant and quick manner that no human would be able to do themselves.

Your cheeks began to hurt due to your smile, and you brought yourself to turn away and look into the living room. By the crackling fireplace, a pair of knitting needles worked by themselves to knit a thick, woolen pair of socks. Books and magazines moved around and placed themselves on shelves, and you spotted a dark grey owl perched by the window.

“It’s something, isn’t it?” Harry placed one of his hands on your lower back and grounded you to reality. Or, whatever dream world this really was.

You nodded, still speechless. You couldn’t believe the kind of stuff magic could do, that all of this was real. Sure, spells and stuff were a given, but you never considered that people could run their houses like this. That with a flick of a wrist, things would go back to their rightful place and chores would do themselves. It only made you a little jealous that you couldn’t do these things yourself.

“Yeah,” you said, slightly in awe, before removing your jacket and placing it next to Harry’s by the door.

He linked his hand with yours once again and followed Bill into the house, into what you figured was the dining room. Windows were open and a fresh spring breeze rolled through the room, almost making the room feel even more surreal.

Your eyes landed on the people sitting around the table, two faces which you recognized already. Ron and Hermione sat at the end, both smiling and waving at you. The rest, however, you didn’t know.

“Guys, this is Y/N,” Harry said after going around and greeting everyone, “Y/N, let’s make rounds. You’ve got Bill and his wife Fleur, then we’ve got Charlie, Percy and his fiancée Penelope, Fred and his girlfriend Angelina, and his twin brother George, Ginny, and then Ron’s parents, Mr and Mrs Weasley.”

You nodded, but you hadn’t really been listening. You’d forget all the names anyways. You were more focused on the small floating candles, and the fact that there was another owl perched on the back of one of the chairs. It gave a little hoot and began to doze off.

“Hi,” you finally spoke up, turning to face Mrs Weasley, “Thank you for inviting us.”

“Of course, dear!” she grinned, waving her hand in dismissal, “Everyone is always invited here.”

“It’s true,” Mr Weasley spoke up from next to her, his eyes bright and a cheerful smile on his face, “You’re a muggle, yes?”

You felt your eyes widen a bit as you answered, “Oh, uh, yeah. No magic here.” An awkward chuckle escaped your lips and you began to fiddle with your fingers.

Harry placed a hand on your arm before Mr Weasley could ask you any more questions, and guided you to the two open chairs next to Ron, both of you taking your seats. You could feel eyes following you but you decided to brush it off. Harry had warned you about Mr Weasley’s fascination with muggles, so you couldn’t really be surprised.

From next to you, Ron and Harry began to chat as if they had spent no time apart, and from the other side of you, a thin blonde woman placed her hand over yours.

“I’m Fleur,” she smiled a dazzling smile, her sleek hair shining under the candlelight, “Is this your first time seeing this kind of environment?”

You nodded, “It is, actually,” you turned away and glanced at the owl once more before turning your attention back to the woman, “I haven’t actually seen much apart from the basic spells Harry uses around the house.”

“It is fun, isn’t it?” she pulled her wand out of the purse that was hanging on her chair, twirled it in between her fingers, and then placed it on the table top, “Not something you get used to, even if you’ve been surrounded by magic your whole life!”

A twinge of jealousy surged through you at the thought that you never got to experience this as a kid, and that you’d never really get to experience this as an adult either. That the only taste of magic you’d get would be through Harry, that you’d never feel the feeling of it running through your veins.

“I bet,” you responded with a smile, eyeing the room, “I’m sure it’s incredible.”

You lost yourself in your own thoughts, looking around the room at the way Ron’s family interacted with the things around them. The twins, who you couldn’t tell apart just yet, were making a little firework buzz around the table. The other brother which you were sure was named Percy was scowling at them, clearly hiding a smile as the firework sparkled next to his ear.

Harry’s hand found its way to your thigh and he gave a slight squeeze, “It’s a lot, I know.”

It was pretty overwhelming, and you had trouble wrapping your head around it all, but your heart felt full. You could feel the tingle of thrill in your veins as you thought of all the things one could do with magic. Harry had done some basic things around the house — made flowers grow, put the dishes away, helped organize a few things. But you knew he had often used his magic in self defence, and now that he had defeated that evil, he didn’t always want to use it. It served as a reminder of what he had done in the past.

“It’s something,” you grinned, turning to face him, “Thanks for letting me see this.”

He shot you a wink, sending your heart into a flurry, and brought you into his conversation with Ron and Hermione.

——

The evening had been a blast. Ron’s brothers had put on a show of fire and spark for his birthday, and Mrs Weasley had made a massive multi-layered cake that was large enough to feed dozens of people. Harry had brought you on a small tour of the house, with the Weasleys’ permission of course, and pointed out all the fun little enchanted trinkets that hid in plain sight.

As the night drew darker and people began to leave, Harry had suggested you two do the same.

You agreed, following him to the front door to grab your coats before bidding a good night to the family. Ron and Harry shared a hug as Hermione embraced you, and shortly after, you two were back in your apartment.

Apparating had been a little less dizzying the second time around now that you knew what to expect. You let out a small chuckle at Harry’s tousled hair before he raised his hand to pat it down, giving you a small glare in the process.

“Thank you for that,” you muttered after you had both tossed your jackets by the front door, pulling him into a hug. He was warm, and he smelled the same, but after everything you had witnessed tonight, you now saw him in a somewhat different light. You understood his world a little more now, and in an odd way, you felt so much more connected to his past.

He wrapped his arm around you and rested his head against your shoulder, placing a light kiss on the spot where your neck and shoulder met, “It feels good, showing you all of that. There’s a lot more to see, of course there is, but I feel better. I was pretty nervous about tonight, honestly.”

You grinned, placing a kiss against his cheek as you pulled away from the hug, “A lot more to see, yeah? Does this mean we’re going on a magical adventure where you give me a detailed tour of the wizarding landmarks?”

He rolled his eyes and let out a chuckle, his hands not leaving your waist. His shoulders were slouched and his body felt relaxed under your hands, causing a bubble of joy to burst in your chest. Harry had always been casual and chilled, but you knew he was always afraid of showing you this side of his life. And now that he had, clear relief was written all over him.

“If that’s what you want,” he grinned, stepping a little bit closer to you, pressing a kiss to the tip of your nose, “Diagon Alley is next, then.”

taglist

@grierpilots @hxfflxpxffs @mikumana @msmimimerton @pit-and-the-pen @diary-of-an-onliner @theweirdsideofstuff @thoseofgreatambition @theweasleysredhair @haphazardhufflepuff @awritingtree @thisismysketchbook @valwritesx @vogueweasley @hufflrpuffforfred @phuvioqhile @marvelettesassemble @shadowsinger11 @breadqueen95 @hahee154hq @inglourious-imagines @amourtentiaa @pxroxide-prinxcesss @spacexcowgirl @lumos-barnes @gcdricreads @bolaurel

[suganovakawa]

A scenario of reader getting jealous when a girl try’s to shoot her shot with bokuto? ❤️

AHHHHH YES jealous scenarios are MUAH and i get to write about kou ??? ugh yes i do b blessed doe

𝐀𝐂𝐄 𝐎�� 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐒 .

PAIRINGS : koutarou bokuto x fem! reader

GENRE : fluff , slight comedy

SYNOPSIS : you’ve been wanting to confess your feelings to the happy-go-lucky ace of fukurodani for a while , but every time the opportunity presents itself , you chicken out . you’ve gotten motivation to try again once more — but all of a sudden you overhear someone else wanting to confess to bokuto ? not on your watch !

word count : 2.4k

— check out my masterlist !!

a / n : WOOOOOOO i love bokuto unconditionally; needless to say, this was much much much fun to write!

⠀you were a hopeless mess.

⠀yet again, you failed to do the one, the one thing you've been wanting to do for the entire school year. you slumped away in shame as bokuto found his way back to akaashi, the two males soon walking away to volleyball practice.

⠀today was supposed to be the day, dammit!

⠀you were finally going to confess your feelings to him!

⠀everything went so smoothly until you chickened out; today was the perfect day to tell koutarou how you felt about him. the plan you set up for yourself was perfect - hook, line and sinker. the kicker was, you pulled too early and didn't get a catch. your eyes had closed once you were outside of fukurodani, your hands making way to your face as you muffled your yell of disappointment.

⠀your friends were gonna get a kick out of this one tomorrow.

⠀they placed a bet on this time today, all of them fed up of you chickening out countless of times. oh, the amount of yen you owed them tomorrow. they thought for sure that with money on the line, you'd step into shape and gather the guts to make the confession quick. it didn't matter if kou accepted your feelings or not - god, you really hoped he would - you just needed to finally step up and do it already.

⠀you felt kinda stupid, just standing in front of your school after hours. you had no reason to be there - none of the teachers were able to stay after school today, so you couldn't just camp out in a classroom and wait for a second wind to confess. at least, try to confess.

⠀koutarou bokuto was literally the most easy going person anyone could ever meet. the positive energy levels he possessed were through the roof; it was contagious, too - he hardly ever failed to make anyone smile, regardless of who they were, and how they were previously feeling. at least, that's how you managed to fall for the ace of fukurodani - you happened to bump into him after one of the worst days in history, and all it took to make you smile again was a couple of jokes and a "HEY HEY HEY" before he patted you on the shoulder and ran off for practice.

⠀your eyes caught a glimpse of long hair sneaking by you, a box of chocolates in her hand as she entered the school stealthily. if you hadn't noticed her eye from the corner of your eye, you probably wouldn't have noticed her creeping by you. your lips pressed together as she disappeared into the school, and something didn't feel right.

⠀chocolate was associated with love.

⠀with valentine's day.

⠀as a stress reliever.

⠀as a way to win someone over.

⠀was she going to confess to someone?

⠀your e/c eyes widened as it hit, she was going to confess to someone! she clearly had more guts than you; she'd probably end up doing it. but who was she going to confess to? there were hardly any others at school after hours today, besides the volleyball team.

⠀your stomach dropped. was she going to confess to someone on the volleyball team?

⠀even worse - was she going to confess to bokuto?

⠀oh no.

⠀no no no no no.

⠀before you could start thinking rationally, your worries got to you as you turned, your legs moving into a nervous jog as you brought yourself back inside of fukurodani. this was your big break, you couldn't let that happen. you were the one who was going to confess to bokuto, not anyone else! your jogging soon turned to sprinting, your mind figuring out where that girl was, and how you were either going to stop her, or find koutarou first.

⠀you then stopped abruptly. what the hell were you gonna do next?

⠀what, were you going to confess your feelings for him, or something?

⠀your second wind was already dying down, and you hadn't even stood face to face with bokuto yet. throwing in the towel already seemed like the easier option, to let that girl confess to your beloved owl boy and watch them have their happy ending.

⠀"y/n?" your thoughts paused as you turned around to see akaashi himself, looking at you quizically as you just stood in the middle of the hallway. "why are you still here? practice just ended."

⠀"it did?" were you really in a daze outside for that long you didn't even realize how much time passed? "oh! i, uhm, forgot something in a classroom. i just came back quickly to get it, that's all." you looked around for a few seconds before turning back to keiji once more. "where's bokuto? he's usually with you, right?"

⠀"oh, him." he chuckled, bringing a hand up to support the bag over his shoulders. "i promised him i'd wait outside; he's currently with some girl, she wanted to talk to him right after practice. knowing him, he'll probably be out pretty quickly. he'll reject her as he rejects everyone else."

⠀"reject?" your heart sunk at the word alone. "you mean, she's confessing to him right now?"

⠀"oh, yeah. she actually spoke to me earlier today, wanted to make sure that bokuto was available after practice to confess. i was the one who recommended she give him chocolates, too." he stopped speaking for a few moments, before a small smile took over his lips at the very obvious sight of your distress. "bokuto and that girl are right in front of the gym, just down the hall - in front of the main doors. in case you're here for... other purposes."

⠀your mind went blank. "huh?"

⠀"it's not my place to pry, so that's all i have to really say." his usually stoic eyes held a glint of something mischievous as he shrugged. "in my honest opinion, y/n - you have a much better chance of confessing than she does. just saying." he waved to you before walking away. "good luck, now."

⠀that second wind blew you over the moment keiji disappeared outside of the school. you had to get there, to koutarou. now.

⠀you were a bit flustered that akaashi read you like a book, but it worked in your favor as your legs gained the momentum to sprint to their location, your breath caught in your throat as you hid behind a set of lockers, right near where you overheard a mostly one-sided conversation going on.

⠀"i really hope you like these chocolates, bokuto! i bought them especially for you, i heard these ones are your favorites!"

⠀"you don't say, huh? well, thank you very much!"

⠀"and there's something else i wanted to tell you, too! i-if you'd let me, that is."

⠀your breathing shortened as a whole. this was it. she was going to do it.

⠀"oh, sure! just be quick though, akaashi is waiting for me outside."

⠀"i-i've liked you for a while, bokuto! a lot!"

⠀well that was certainly quick. you felt your heart drop in your stomach as she confessed so hastily, you didn't even realize it was a confession until it registered in your head moments later. defeat hung in the air as you began to turn and flee, like you always do, but not before koutarou had a chance to reply.

⠀"aww, i like you too, y'know! you're a great friend, and very thoughtful to have bought me these chocolates! i'm glad we're friends!"

⠀you suppressed an uneasy cough at his reply. that was friendzoning, right?

⠀"o-oh, yeah. f-friends! yeah, we're great friends, bokuto..." your chest clenched painfully at the dejection in her voice. you felt kinda sorry for her, in a way. giving her a pat on the back sounded like a magnificent option. "i-i'll see you around, i guess... good ol' friend of mine."

⠀your face contorted into a cringe before pressing your back against the locker, watching with a held breath as she ran away, not noticing your cheap hiding spot as she left the school in a hurry. the butterflies in your stomach were acting up more than usual; you had to get out of there.

⠀"i think the coast is clear..." lifting yourself from the lockers, you took a deep breath, only to bump into a certain someone as he turned the corner. you suppressed a scream as koutarou looked down at you with his big friendly grin - that same grin that probably friendzoned that poor girl. "b-bokuto! funny i've run into you today!"

⠀"y/n! hello!" his eyes lit up at the sound of your voice. "what are you doing here, after school? no teachers are here today."

⠀"ah, yeah, i know..." bringing a hand awkwardly to the back of your neck, your own eyes drifted to look at your feet. "actually, i-i was... looking for you. but i see you're busy, so please don't let me bother-"

⠀"oh no, you weren't bothering me at all!" he interrupted you a little too eagerly, causing your head to snap upwards and look at him in astonishment. you gasped in horror as he handed you the same box of chocolates he was gifted not too long ago. "care for these? they're not actually my favorite."

⠀"they... aren't?" you hesitated on taking the box - after all, they were bought for him, not you. "but didn't someone buy them for you, bokuto?"

⠀"yeah, but it came with a confession. i feel kinda bad, eating the chocolates from someone who i rejected." he laughed it off, shaking his head as he pushed the box into your hands once more. "c'mon, i won't tell anyone, so don't feel bad."

⠀"thanks, i guess...?" against your better judgement, you took the chocolates from kou and held them in your arms loosely. this was awkward. "i should get going now, i'll see you around?"

⠀"but y/n, thought you said you were looking for me? what is it you need?" your face flushed as the third year's lips formed into a pout, his head tilted slightly as he looked at you confusedly. "i can just text akaashi if it's too long, i'm sure he won't mind!"

⠀"w-well, i..." every part of your body was yelling at you to run. escape. flee. anything to get way from the current situation. this was just setting yourself up for utter failure. you'd much rather lose a yen bet than have koutarou bokuto reject you. "it's nothing too important, i assure you!"

⠀"it's important enough to have made you wait until after school to tell me, y'know." a nervous lump caught in your throat as he narrowed his golden eyes.

⠀damn, he got you there.

⠀"y-you're right about that..." you hesitated, the confession just bubbling in the back of your throat, waiting to explode. this was now or never. and you chose now. "i... i wanted to confess to you. i like you, bokuto. i like like you. a lot, actually. i have for a while, i've just been too shy to say anything until now. but after hearing your run in with the other girl, i understand if we're just going to be friends! totally, absolutely fine." your hid your tomato of a face downwards after spitting everything out in one go, your stomach spinning a mile a minute but a ton of bricks sliding off of your shoulders at the same time. at least you didn't owe your friends money now, right?

⠀"aww, i like you too, y/n!"

⠀your eyes met kou's, your embrace around the second-hand gift tightening. "haha, as friends, right?"

⠀"what? no. i like like you too, y/n."

⠀WHAT?

⠀you didn't even catch onto his obvious reply as he pulled you into a hug, his arms wrapping around you securely as he let out a laugh. "i've liked you for a while too, y/n!" he exclaimed jovially. "i didn't want to confess to you either, i always assumed you didn't like me in that way."

⠀"are you kidding? literally almost everyone likes you in that way! i certainly am no different." you could hear your heart beating in your ears as you gathered enough self control to hug him back just as tightly instead of just screaming out of pure shock.

⠀"well, i always assumed you weren't part of that 'almost'. it still feels like a dream that you are." he pulled away from the hug, but kept you in his arms. the feeling of it was entirely surreal. "i've always wanted you to be the one to confess to me, so i would reject every other confession in my way. after so many confessions, though, i nearly gave up." he grinned goofily. "but i didn't, and look at what my luck gave me! you!"

⠀"bokuto-"

⠀"it's koutarou to you now, missy." kou leaned down and left a kiss on your forehead to seal the deal. "i'm so happy right now, y/n! this is awesome! i'm gonna take you out this weekend, so count on it!"

⠀"could you please hurry up already? i've been waiting for twenty minutes now." you squeaked as a displeased keiji appeared behind you and bokuto, his arms impatiently crossed. once he saw you, though, he smiled. "ah, i see. looks like luck was on your side after all, y/n."

⠀"akaashi!" you paused for a second, looking down at the chocolates in your possession before bringing your eyes back to him. "i thought you said you recommended koutarou's favorites to her?"

⠀"oh, that. i lied." he chuckled. "if you really know bokuto, you'd know that he doesn't have favorites."

⠀you looked to kou, who nodded his head in agreement.

⠀"anyways, if you two are just going to stay here and hug in the middle of the hallway for another twenty minutes, i'll see myself home." keiji waved before placing his hands in his pockets. "i'll see you two tomorrow." you tried waving goodbye to the setter as he walked off, but you were abruptly pulled into another embrace.

⠀"hugging for another twenty minutes? that sounds wonderful!" bokuto smiled widely as he held you in his arms. "but maybe we shouldn't be doing that in school. i'll walk you home, y/n! i can give you a goodbye kiss from there."

⠀"thank you, koutarou!" a happy blush colored your cheeks nicely as he stepped back from the hug, only to stand at your side and lock fingers with you, leading you outside. a kiss? oh how you were so looking forward to that. you nibbled on your own bottom lip excitedly as the ace of hearts threw you into a random conversation about volleyball; you didn't know much about the sport, but with how much koutarou had to say on the subject, you were able to just listen to his voice and enjoy your time together walking home.

⠀man, you really were a hopeless mess.

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[forthehpfanboys]

Calling It Even

Pair: Ron Weasley x Reader; he/him.

Summary: You just moved 'across the pond' from Ilvermorny to Hogwarts, but before you actually moved you'd made a friend! Well, two and you just so happen to bump into them at the Leaky Couldren!

Warnings: Swearing, Slightly Suggestive (Ron's raging hormones™).

Note: Hi! This is my first time writing and posting a fic in a few years, so I'm sorry for spelling errors or stupid mistakes! It'll get better as I rewarm my.. Writing.. Muscles? Anyway, Thank you for reading! Let me now if this is good and enjoy!

~DO NOT REPOST ANYWHERE~

-

Moving from the US to Britain was just as stressful as you figured it would be, but going from Ilvermorny to Hogwarts felt like an actual asteroid was thrown into your world. You had to leave behind your friends, close relatives and of course your home, then you had a whole new school to deal with on top of that. Different houses, different teachers, different classes and the rules. Merlin's beard, were the rules different. You can distinctly remember bombarding your guardian with question after question. You were still surprised you got to carry your wand around with you outside of school! Of course the actual moving process had taken its toll on your guardians, and they knew what it was doing to you. You were tired, emotionally, physically- Godric, did you need a break before school started.

You would be starting your fifth year when summer ended, and that was in a few weeks or so. This should’ve given you the time to gather up the books, potion supplies and robes needed, maybe even find some friends your age, but you had other plans, apparently. You had spent the entire summer huddled over their desk waiting for an owl to return with a response letter and avoiding the cluttered shopping strip. You didn’t wanna tackle getting lost and missing a response from your favorite redheads. Now, your headmaster at Ilvermorny had recommended you create a quill-pal at Hogwarts so it felt less chaotic when you arrived, but you ended up finding two that were the pure embodiment of chaos.

So, technically, you did end up making friends with the program, just not what you expected. Each letter was seemingly cut in half, one with orange ink, one with purple. In said response, you learned the orange was usually Fred and purple was usually Georges. In said letters, you learned they are two years older than you, live in what they call a ‘Burrow’ and owning their own shop was definitely wrapped in their future. You spent a solid year getting to know the Infamously Famous,Charming and Totally Destructive personality of the Weasley Twins. Honestly, you seriously looked forward to seeing them in person, even if it was their last year. You three managed to get along like you’d known each other their entire lives. Best part is they promised to find you on the first day and show you around!

You remember Fred mentioning their roles on the Quidditch team and George saying something about pranks with fireworks and you knew. Oh, you knew the three of you would cause chaos and you were so excited. The red-headed duo also promised they’d introduce you to their friends and their extensive family. Fred had brought up having a younger brother your age and judging from the cluttered moving photo they sent you, he was awkward but in the best way. You managed to remember the names of the red-headed family members only because of the scribbled writing on said photo pointing out who was who. But for whatever reason, the youngest Weasley son always manages to be the first one you notice yourself staring at. He was genuinely really cute. Blue eyes, freckles, red hair, absolutely adorable- Ok. So you may have a crush on him without even knowing him but you can not blame yourself. The twins told you stories about the younger redhead and he only got cuter as time went on, but I’m getting ahead of myself, aren’t I?

Currently, you are walking down Diagon Alley. Not only did you need a break from unpacking, sorting and waiting for the Weasley's owl to return, but you also needed to restock on quills. Yup. Of all things, quills. (P/n) has this terrible chewing habit and adores the flavor of quills, or so you guess. You loved the rascal to bits, but damn, they ate the feathers like they drank water. Your guardian said they would finish unpacking the very few boxes your family were collectively avoiding while you went shopping down the popular alley. Oh! And speaking of water, you glanced up from the cobblestone pathway and noted the Leaky Cauldron sign hanging a few shops down. You’d heard stories of how comfortable the atmosphere of the little restaurant had been from the Weasleys and you couldn’t help but overhear wizards and witches around you chatting it up about possibly getting a butterbeer. You decided, why not? Could spare a few coins to buy the golden drink or maybe just a water. It was, like, 90 degrees outside and the cluttered path way didn’t help the soft summer breeze flow through at all.

You gently nudged your way through the bustling crowd of wizards and witches and pushed open the creaky old door. The smell of sweetness and smoke hit your noise as you stepped in, your eyes briefly wandering over the crowd, looking for an empty table. Once you spotted a table for two in the corner, you gently shuffled past crowded tables and rushed waiters apologizing as you went by. Finally sitting down at the small table, you let out a relieved sigh, not noticing a set of eyes following your every movement. Your eyes easily wandered around the shop but landed on piercing blue across the small restaurant. You immediately snapped your gaze to the fire pit and walls, choosing to avoid the gaze until a server walked over. You were tracing the gray, worn down bricks of the wall right next to you when an older woman in a simple uniform walked over the table.

“Good evenin, love. What can I get you?” she casted a bright smile your way, her hands in the small pocket of her apron as she waited for a response.

“Just a butterbeer, please.” You managed to stutter out, sending her a shy smile back. She nodded her head and headed off to another table after putting in your order.

Once she left, your eyes met a set of blue eyes once again. The longer you looked, the more you thought they were formilair, but you turned away, choosing not to dwell on anything besides the table that was placed in front of you. You were so busy tracing the grooves in the old wooden table, you didn’t notice the owner of the blue eyes nudge the red-head next to him and point in your direction. What finally brought you out of the tracing trance was a glass mug filled with liquid golden and soft foam slide toward you, followed by the sound of chairs scraping the old wooden floor and a distinct female voice calling out “where are you two going now?” Your hands wrapped around the glass and just before you could bring it to your lips, two people moving toward the table got your attention. You turned to look up and almost choked on air, your chest shaking as you coughed causing your mug to nearly empty all over the table. You didn’t even have time to fully register who was advancing closer because the warm drink was flowing off the table and onto your new shirt.

“Shit-!” You grumbled down at the spilt mess. Feeling the heat rush to your cheeks, you placed the mug down hoping to save what was left in it as you grabbed napkins.

“Now, I knew we shocked people, but I had no idea we had this kind of effect, Georgie.” Fred spoke and took up the seat across from you, causing his twin to let out a snort. Your head shot up at the sound of the British accent. He'd managed to effectively put a stop to you drying up the mess with one sentence. Fred grabbed a few to help wipe down the table, but was far more focused on your reaction. Your eyes snapped over to George as he leaned on the back of his brother's chair and flickered between the two freckle covered idiots. You made a mental note of who was who.

“Do you always sneak up on your victims or do you introduce yourselves like normal people?” You scoffed out, a smile growing on your face as you awkwardly piled up the useless napkins.

“We only sneak up on people we’ve been friends with for years and finally get to meet.” George spoke, sass laced in his voice.

“Oh please. It’s been like 1 year.” You rolled your eyes, reaching for your cup again and taking a small sip.

“And I don’t think we got an anniversary gift from you, love. I believe you owe us an apology. Missing our 1 year anniversary like that.” Fred spoke, a hand going to his chest in fake shock as George just tsked and shook his head responding with his own ”Shame, really.”

You let out your own soft laugh and raised an eyebrow. “Oh, I'm sorry.” You spoke setting your glass down again, sarcasm dripping from you as you crossed your arms over the table and leaned forward. “I didn’t realize I got something from you two for our ‘one year anniversary’.” You used air quotes, outlining the obvious.

“Godric, it’s so good to meet someone who finally matches our sass level.” Fred smiled at you. “But how did you not see us?” he used his thumb to point at a table behind him, almost taking out George's eye.

“Oi. Watch it.” the ever so slightly younger twin shoved the hand in his face away.

“Well, obviously, I didn’t expect you to run into you guys here.” You spoke, finishing the little amount of what was left of the butterbeer. After wiping your mouth on your sleeve, you shot the two a playful glare. “You owe me a drink.”

“Or you can meet Ickle Ronniekins and we can call it even.”

“That doesn’t even come close to equal.” You whined, sitting back in your chair, your head hitting the wall behind you a little too sharply. As much as you wanted to meet the younger bro, you were nervous. You may have let it slip out to the brothers that you desperately wanted to get to know Ron, but what if he didn't like you?

It didn't matter what you thought. You didn’t have a choice because the two may or may not have shipped you two, but that’s for them to know and for you to never, ever, ever find out. The twins let out a laugh at your demise and both stood up, one grabbing the empty mug and the other practically dragging you out of your cozy corner.

“I say it’s fair.” George spoke, following the older redhead who was almost quit literally dragging you by the arm. The two idiots led you to a table in the middle, where it was borderline empty besides 3 people sitting, all chatting to themselves. The chatting came to a stop when George set your mug down in the middle and Fred forced you to sit across from another redhead, who you quickly recognized.

“Um, Fred..” The witch next to Ron spoke up just as Fred sat to your left and George to your right. “Who is this?”

“This, Granger, is our quill-pal, (Y/n). He comes from America and just transferred over. Good old quill-pal (Y/n), meet Hermione Granger, Harry Potter, and our own little Ickle Ronniekins.” Fred pointed to each witch and wizard, pointing them out so you could put names to faces. The nickname caused Ron to groan out a ‘shod off, Fred’, to which the older brother just snickered.

“Oh, hi! I’ve heard alot about you guys.” You smiled, casting them a small wave. Your accent, to them, was very interesting. It was so different from what they were used to, which definitely wasn’t a bad thing. They actually thought it fit you really well.

“Well, (y/n), it’s great to meet you.” Harry spoke up, a smile replacing the confused expression he once held. He was just relieved you weren’t asking for an autograph or constantly shaking his hand. It was refreshing.

“Likewise!” You flashed a smile to the messy raven haired dude before stretching back in your chair, head turning, trying to avoid the twins in his view to find a waitress. You gave up on searching when the twins purposefully blocked your view and Ron cleared his throat.

“Wait.. This is (y/n)? The bloak you guys don’t shut up about?” Ron pointed at you, almost as if accusing you of causing him pain. The twins nodded their heads, in sync, while landing a kick to both of his legs. “Ow-! I'm just asking!” he rubbed his bruised shins and rested his chin on the table so he could shoot them a glare. “Arse holes.” He grumbled. The twins gave him a sort of look that meant ‘shut up or we will not hesitate to strike again’ and honestly, Ron felt a tiny bit of fear enter his soul and his glare dropped.

“Aww! Did you two really mention me that much? I’m flattered, boys!” A confident smirk stretched across your face as the twins blushed ever so slightly, George a little redder than Fred.

“No.” They countered.

“Yes.” Ron groaned out, wanting revenge for the kicks. ”Merlin. They’d go on and on about how cool you were. ‘Ma, he said he plays Quidditch, too! Can we get the booms out?’, ‘His favorite color is (f/c) and his favorite animal is (f/a)! We should work on (f/c) (f/a) fireworks for him!’. My family officially knows more about you than I know about the Chudley Cannons.” He ran his right hand through his hair and his left waved around as he spoke. You couldn’t help but snicker. “It’s been actual hell. I’m just glad you're here so they can shut up.”

Harry nudged his best friend in the side before speaking. “Hey, be nice, This is probably their first crush!” The comment caused Hermione to almost snort butterbeer, Ron let out a very loud laugh and you to high five Harry meanwhile the twins turned redder than their quidditch uniforms.

“Oi, Potter. I will burn your broomstick.” Fred threatened, pointing at the boy who lived.

“Aw come on Freddie, be nice. It isn’t their fault you gave them the material for this. Relax, bud.” You shoved his hand away.

George took your mug and slid it out of your reach and to the end of the table. “Well, we were gonna buy you another drink, but since you're being an arse, you're not getting a sickle from us.” George turned to you and stuck out his tongue.

The simple banter continued as the 6 of you sat in front of the simple fireplace, laughter filling the little stone eatery. You had known the group in person for about 15 minutes and you already fit in like a puzzle piece. After a few more butter beers and another 15 minutes later, the 6 of you had decided to go on the hunt for some goodies, so you all paid for the drinks and led the cluttered restaurant. Fred and George started off leading the group, but got sidetracked at Zonko’s. Hermione had practically dragged Harry off into Flourish and Blotts when he mentioned not having his school supplies. That left you and Ron alone to get to know eachother better.

“So, what’s Ilvermorny like?” He asked, his hands in his pockets as he walked beside you.

“Well.. " you hesitated."Definitely different, if what Fred and George said was true. We don’t have a sorting hat, instead statues would pick who they want. It’s a whole history thing. Everyone's robes are blue and this reddish color, so i'm excited for a change! And jeez, the wand rules. They're, at least, 10 times stricter than here. I had to get sorted before I could even hold a wand and Ilvermony students can’t legally have wands until their 17. Bullshit if you ask me.” You scoffed. “I was put in Wampus. I guess that's a cool thing.” This caused Ron to let out a snort and a cackling laugh.

“I’m sorry- you got put in what??” He turned to you, a huge smile on his lips.

“A-A wampus?” You spoke, hoping he’d ignore the stutter. You ended up staring at his smiling face, making a promise to make him laugh whenever it was physically possible. It was so perfect.

“Aaaanndd that is what, exactly?” The redhead's smile turned into a small smirk as he responded. “Is it like- like a creature or a plant? It sounds like a plant-”

“How on earth does Wampus sound like a plant??” You looked at him with a confused expression. Your arm shot out to punch his bicep lightly. “Of course it’s a creature, Ronald!”

You went on to explain all about what a wampus was, however, Ron was no longer listening. He was slowly drifting toward the quidditch shop, his jaw practically on the floor. He pressed his freckled covered hands to the glass window of the shop.

“You really must be yanking my wand! Do you see this?!” The redhead was drooling over a brand new broom. The little plastic sign next to the window model read ‘Firebolt Y.5’

“Oh my go-Is that-” You stood next to him, a look of shock. “How did I walk past this shop and NOT see this??” You grabbed his arm and whisked him away from the window, bringing him into the shop. Quidditch, of course, was your favorite sport. You were even on the Wampus quidditch team! You played a seeker and you loved to believe you were the best! “Oh my god, yes. If I had this across the pond” you spoke while pointing at the brooms hanging on the walls, "I'd be the best damn seeker in Ilvermorny history!” You all but squealed out.

While you were ranting about the possibilities of owning this bad boy, Ron was noticing something. He was noticing, since you grabbed his arm, he wanted to hold your hand. He was noticing how your eyes lit up while you were talking about destroying other teams on the fields and how big your smile was and how cute- Cute. Cute?

Wait.

Hold on. Cute? You? He thought he thought Hermione was cute? But now, now it was you. You suddenly clouded his mind and he'd only know you for less than an hour? He blamed his hormones.. Or maybe it was the way your eyes were sparkling so much more when compared to the photo you sent his brothers. Or your stupid perfect hair was so perfect even if it was a mess from constantly running your fingers through it. Every freckle, every mole, every dimple on your skin, he wanted to memorize it all. Suddenly, you turned to him, the smile wider than before. Shit, you were waiting for a response, but he was too wrapped up in how perfect you were for him to think straight.

“WhUt?” His voice cracked as he basically shouted at you. His face turned pink with embarrassment, but it transformed into a color to rival the Gryffindor red he usually sported during the school year. The poor git basically melted into a puddle when he heard you let out a giggle.

“I was asking if you wanted to split the cost! Fred and George told me when Harry got his Firebolt, but I bet it’s nothing compared to this baby. We could split it!” You were basically jumping up and down.

Ron blinked a few times, his brain trying to process everything. “Split?”

“Yes, Ronnie. Split.” You giggled, wrapping your arm around his shoulder, pulling him closer to your side.

“Ronnie split.” He muttered without realizing it. “OH! Oh- The broom! Split the broom! Cost! Right!” he ran a hand through his hair, his entire face felt hot. Ron was sure his face was blending in with his red locks. “I-I can check! With Fred and George and- and we see?” He squeaked, noticing how close he was to you. He audibly gulped, his tongue poking out to lick his suddenly dry lips.

“Cool! We could all share it!” You reached into your pocket, pulling out all the coins nestled in your pocket. As you counted over the coins, the only words that stuck in Ron’s head were ‘we’ ‘share’ and he could basically hear sirens going off. You’d already gotten to know his older brothers. What if you already liked one? Or both? He didn’t even know if you were single.

“Ah- Well i'm sure we can just handle it. Just the two of us.” He clapped his hands together, choosing not to think of how much attention the noise brought him. You looked at him with a confused expression but let it be with a shrug.

“If you say so, Ronnie.” You smiled, shaking your head. You had no idea the redhead was avoiding the idea of his brothers sharing you instead of the broomstick.”Iiisss there a reason you don’t wanna share?” You asked as you shoved your hands in your pockets, putting the coins away. You missed Ron's face turning bright red as you gazed on at the Chudley Cannons merchandise hanging off the walls.

“I-I’m just sick of sharing with my siblings, y-ya know?” His voice cracked as he spoke, but he tried to cover it up with a cough. “Um.. I do have a lot of older brothers, so hand-me-downs are really all I get-”

“Oooh, right. Right. That’s fair.” you looked down at your feet. You forgot. Gerd and Feorge didn't throw it in your face, but they did mention when money got tight and how they planned on opening a joke shop and how they told their products to kids for extra cash. You should've remembered. You cleared your throat, your eyes darting to him, to the door back to him. Desperate for a way to change the atmosphere, you offered leaving the store. "Honeydukes?” you asked way too loudly in the small shop. ”Wanna.. Go to Honeydukes?" You cleared your throat into your hand. Ron couldn't have agreed fast enough.

The two of you walked out of the store, making small, awkward talk as you continued your stroll across the stoley path. When you came up to Honeydukes Ron, to your surprise, hurried to the door and held it open for you. As you walked in, he did a playful bow as if you were royalty. It brought a smile to your face and things fell into the rhythm from before.

"I'm not too keen on pumpkin pasties, but I do love chocolate frogs. When I was a kid, I dreamed of being put on one of the cards, but that kinda faded. I’m thinking maybe a famous quidditch player? Not quite sure yet." You rambled as Ron grabbed what someone might consider way too much of the chocolate treat. He would call that someone insane and double the batch. While he was literally filling his arms with the small boxes, you were busy looking at the candy wands, your mouth practically drooling at the idea of sweets. "We don't have a lot of this across the pond." you muttered to yourself as you reached across a table to grab a few different boxes of candy you've never tried before, one being Bertie Bott’s Everything Flavored Beans.

"Really? What are you used to?" Ron spoke up behind you, his eyes going from the candy resting in your hands to your forearm. The redhead found his eyes trailing up and landing on your bicep, causing his mind to wonder and basically dive head first into the gutter.

"Well, we had candies like Skittling Soot Poppers. They're these dark chocolate little balls that pop in your mouth once the chocolate melts. It's so cool! If you put one in your mouth and keep it open, sparks will come out. All kinds of colors, too." you smiled, remembering staying up far too late into the night with your Wumpas housemates and munching away. "Oh! And these little cakes called Twinkles. They would glitter like gold in the moonlight, but turn silver in the sun. They always taste like vanilla and cream."

Ron gulped. We all know what he's thinking at this point. He'd love to try some cream, and not the filling of the Twinkles, if ya catch my drift. He blinked out of a fantasy and shook his head. Bad Ronald. He scolded himself, but was yeeted out of his head when he heard you laugh.

"What? What's so funny?" his head tilted like a confused puppy, one of the chocolate frogs falling from the top of the pile and landing with a soft thud. As you bent down to pick up the box for him, you answered his question.

"Nothing, you're just being cute." you set the chocolate frog box on top of his pile and began down the aisle way.

"W.. Wait, really?!"

His response brought a snort out of you. He sounded so excited it made your heart jump. "I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it, Ronnie. Godric, even that was cute." You spoke as you turned the corner and headed down a new aisle. Your eyes scanned along the other treats laid out on the shelves while your hand grabbed a few sugar quills. “Ok, I think we got enough now. What do ya think?” You turned to where you thought he was, but your view lacked the pale freckled boy. “Ron?” Your voice carried through the store. “Ronnie?” You called out again as you went to the last aisle you saw him at. When your head popped around the corner you were met with a sight you thought was kodiak worthy.

There he was, bright red in the face, bright wide blue eyes standing out against his red skin, mouth hanging open and every chocolate frog box laying at his feet. You broke him. How the hell did he manage to get cuter?

“Ron?” Your legs moved without you even demanding them too and soon you stood in front of him. Has he even blinked? Is.. Is he ok? Shifting the candies in your arms, you managed to free a hand to gently close his mouth. “Hello? Are the lights on inside?”

“You said I was cute.” You were lucky you heard him over the crowded shop.

“Yes, Red.” You spoke, a giggle escaping your lips. “We established this already.” You shook your head, but it was halted when his blue eyes finally landed on your own, causing a heat to spread to your ears.

“Yeah.. But what KIND of cute?”

“Kind? What?”

“There are different kinds. Like am I cute like a crup or am I.. Am.. Like am I romantic-” He froze again when you leaned over and kissed his cheek, hopefully answering his question. You chose to ignore the grumpy customers trying to fit down the aisle and, instead, rested your hand on his hand. You would’ve held it but the stupid boxes of cursed choco frogos where in the way. “I hope that was ok.” You, also, chose to ignore his tiny, squeaky ‘bloody hell’ and dragged him to the counter.

“Ya know, when your brothers told me about you, I couldn’t get you out of my head.” You confessed, laying all the candy out on the counter and turned to him again. His blush had died down and he wasn’t as jumpy or frozen. Ron followed suit and dumped the boxes onto the counter and immediately whipped his hands on his jeans.

“I-I was glad I got to hear about you everyday.” He smiled, rubbing the back of his neck as he stared down at his shoes. “I um- I wanted to write, but uh, thought it would be weird.” He didn’t turn to look at you but his crystal blue eyes bounced between you, the candy and the glass counter in front of him. “A-and I’d love to get to know you more. And m.. Maybe do this again? Just you and me? Again?”

Your face almost split in two as you felt Ron’s hand brush against yours.. “I would absolutely adore to do this again, Ronnie.” He intertwined his fingers with yours, his blush coming back easily, causing you to let out a chuckle. While you did end up paying for most of the candy and forgetting about the quills, you managed to leave hand in hand with the red haired Chudley Cannon loving dork. Of course this caused the twins to tease you relentlessly about falling so hard for their baby brother. Hell, they even made a lame song, something about ‘Ronnie I love you’ and ‘when we’re apart my heart beats only for you’. It literally never stopped. In fact it got worse as time went on, especially when you were sorted into Gryffindor once school started.

Oh, but was so worth it.

[queen-of-my-goofball-army]

Now This Story Has Some More You'll Hear It All At The Candy Store Fic

Hi everyone! So I finally have some writing for everyone, I know that it's been nearly a month since I've last posted something that I wrote. I love writing but if I get depressed then I can't write anymore. But now that I started taking more time for me the ideas that I've been having are actually being finished for once! This idea came to me last weekend when I decided that I wanted to get caught up on Owl House. The moment that I met Hunter I was a goner. I knew that I was screwed when I heard his "BYE" in the first episode. So I welcome you to my newest poly ship between my OC, Edric, and Hunter!

“So before you go in there Ken, there’s something you should know.” Luz mentioned right as we were passing the woods to get to the Owl House.

“What’s that? Did King leave another disaster that we have to clean up before we can actually start the club meeting?” The girl laughed a little bit rubbing the back of her neck. I could tell that this was something that she had put off telling me about.

“Not exactly as far as I know anyways. It’s that Eda’s adopted another kid, he was the golden guard.” My eyes widened and I instantly looked around to make sure that it was just the two of us here.

“Are you sure that he’s… that?” She nodded her head a little bit nervously. I sighed a little bit, wondering what kind of scheme was clearly going on inside the other teens head and if he would cause harm to the human girl.

“He’s a good person though. I can tell, he’s basically kinda become like my brother. I was an only child back home so I never got to really have any siblings. I was lonely a lot of the time since everyone I knew had somebody to talk to. But me, I had nobody.” My heart broke for the human girl that had fallen into basically my younger sister’s lap.

“I understand I think. I always had Kendra and Kelvin. When I wasn’t with them I had Ed and Em. I always had somebody around to keep me company. I’m sorry that I was so judgmental. It’s just that I’m worried. This is the nephew of the Emperor’s Coven. I hope Eda knows what she’s doing.” Luz just smiled softly at me.

“Trust me I can just tell that he isn’t a threat. He wants to have a better life a real family. The Emperor surprising to no one is a really shit dad.” I laughed at Luz loosening my hold on my satchel that was around my waist.

“Does Amity know about this?” She nodded her head with a small laugh thinking about her girlfriend and the brother that had come into her life.

“She does that’s why she isn’t walking with us. She got a free period this afternoon and wanted to go to the house before we did. How did your big illusion presentation go today?” I opened my cloak to show her the being that I created using my magic to show her a purple dragon baby with a pink belly and orange horns, wings, spikes and talons on his feet.

“That’s amazing!! You’re really, really talented at what you do Ken!!” She encouraged me and I felt a bright pink flush come over my cheeks.

“Anyone could have done it if they just put their mind to it. Edric and Emira just mainly use magic to goof off but I’ve always taken it way too seriously. I love my boyfriend but… damn he’s an idiot.” Luz just laughed at me lightly nudging my shoulder.

“I’m sure that Amity has the same thoughts about me sometimes. That awkward moment when you realize you have a soft spot for goofball idiots that can’t not create chaos. That’s another reason why I think you’re really going to like Hunter.” For some reason the idea of meeting Luz’s brother now made me really nervous. The same nervous that I used to get when I had to be around Edric for any length of time when I was pining after him.

“Well I’m sure that I will too…” I saw the house in front of me and when Luz opened the door I was instantly caught in a hug attack from King.

“Kenny!!” I hugged the demon pup close to me with a small laugh as I saw magenta eyes out of the corner of mine.

“Sorry! He got away from me, I was watching him with Amity but as soon as he heard your voice he started running for the door at notch twelve.” Oh hex. This is not going to end well for me. A boy with fair skin, a gap between his teeth, scars on his ear and his cheeks, dark circles under his eyes due to a serious lack of sleep, and ash blonde hair in an undercut. Tell me that this isn’t Hunter Luz, tell me he’s just some rando that was here to get help from Eda.

“Hunter? Did King find Kenny?” I saw Amity standing in the doorway with a small smile on her face as she saw my current predicament.

“It would appear to be that way, I’m Hunter. I’m.. staying here for a while.” He rubbed the back of his neck a little bit awkwardly and I looked at him with a small understanding smile.

“I’m Kenneth, I go to the same school as Luz and Amity.” I introduced myself to him and I saw his small smile.

“You make illusions? Can I see one?” I nodded my head with a small smile summoning Figment again and bringing the dragon back.

"I made him myself! He got me an A on my assignment from earlier. Ed and Em pulled another prank on the teacher and got in trouble for that. When my boyfriend starts taking magic seriously give me a call. It would be really helpful.” I whined a little bit and Amity just laughed at me giving me a hand while King was continuing to cling to my side.

“He’s been having one of his more touchy days he was curled up between us while I was painting his nails.” I heard King mutter something optimal cuddles that made my heart melt. I looked down and saw the painted nails of the boy across from me.

“That’s fine, I get it I can deal with it. It’s like having one of my younger siblings not wanting to leave me alone so I can bake or get something done.” I shrugged it off like it was nothing pressing a gentle kiss to the forehead of my best friend.

“How long have you known your boyfriend?” Hunter asked and I turned to focus on him with a small smile on my face pushing a lock of hair behind my ear.

“My boyfriend is Edric! I’ve known him since I was five years old and he’s one of the best things that ever happened to me. He’s one of the goofiest yet at the same time most exhausting people I’ve ever met. I say that with the utmost love.” Luz put her backpack down and saw her brother’s face fall a little bit when she nudged his shoulder.

“You good bro?” He nodded his head with a weak smile that reminded me so much of Edric when he was trying to pretend that he was okay when in reality he was the exact opposite.

“Don’t worry about me Luz the Goose. I’ll just be in my room I guess. Have fun at your meeting.” He turned and went up the stairs to his bedroom and I looked down at King.

“Did I say something wrong?” I asked Luz and she just sighed a little bit running a hand through her brown hair.

“I don’t think so. He is still adjusting and sometimes he’s just needing quiet time to himself. He doesn’t have any magic. It just… never came. So maybe either seeing you make Figment or you talking about how you met Edric at such a young age got to him.” So it was my fault. I put King onto the floor lightly getting down on his level.

“Can you tell me which your brother’s room is?” I asked the small puppy and he nodded his head scampering up the stairs.

“At first when he got here I was hesitant. Mostly because I was always the only boy around here. But I rather like Hunter. He’s a good kid really smart. I know that he cares about Luz and Eda even though he’s still calling her Miss Owl Lady. He’s been through a lot that much is clear. He goes to therapy twice a week for PTSD at Eda’s encouragement. He’s only been here for a little over a month. It’s why Luz hasn’t wanted to hold the book club meetings here.” My heart broke for the boy that was clearly just trying to keep his head above the water. I saw the door with his name on it and I sat next to it. “I’m not going to come in if you don’t want me to. I know that you’ve been through a lot and you don’t have to tell some stranger about it. I wouldn’t ask that of you anyway. I’m sorry that you were born without magic. I can’t even imagine what that life must be like for you. In a world where magic is everything to not have it that’s got to be the worst feeling in the entire world. I just wanted to apologize because it felt like I said something that was wrong.” I apologized to the boy that was inside of his room and I heard him sit down next to the front door to his bedroom.

“It wasn’t your fault. I never really had friends or knew people my own age. I guess hearing you talk about knowing your boyfriend for so long made me think about how lonely my life has been so far.” I sighed a little bit hitting myself in the forehead.

“Stupid, stupid, stupid, I’m an idiot. Look I’m really, really sorry Hunter. I didn’t mean to make you feel bad about your childhood. That wasn’t your fault because the Emperor is a coldhearted dick. You have a family now right? You like being at the Owl House?” I heard a soft but watery laugh that made me tear up with a sad smile.

“I do. It’s just that sometimes I wonder when I’ll get thrown out of here too. I’ve already been thrown out of one home it’s only a matter of time before it happens again.” The sound that left me was somewhere between a broken sob and a cry of utter sorrow.

“I’m so sorry that happened to you. I can’t even imagine what that was like for you. I’m sorry that I brought up my relationship with my boyfriend. If it makes you feel any better I won’t talk about it around you.” The door opened behind me unexpectedly and I fell backwards hitting my head on the hard floor that was behind me.

“Ow! I’m fine, I’m good nobody needs to panic.” I rubbed the back of my neck with a small smile on my face as Hunter looked at me.

“I am so sorry! I didn’t know that you were sitting literally right there!” He apologized frantically and I just laughed a little bit.

“I’m fine, you’d be surprised by how often that happens to me. I’m really klutzy. Let’s start over yeah? I’m Kenneth Krantz, it’s nice to meet you Hunter.” I introduced myself to my new friend that was kneeling across from me.

“I’m Hunter Clawhorn still getting a bit used to the last name. This is my paladin.” I looked at the bird that was on his shoulder that chirped and nuzzled against his master’s cheek.

“That’s adorable! I love that so much. My paladin is probably Figment my dragon that I can make but I haven’t officially decided on that yet. It was just an idea that I had. That was my presentation today I had to summon my own paladin. I thought what better than a fictional dragon who’s idea is to make the world a more creative and imaginative place.” I explained a little bit about what my thoughts were about creating my own paladin.

“I think that would be really cool! I’d love to see if you could actually do it!” He exclaimed and my heart leaped at his enthusiasm towards magic and spontaneously broke because he couldn’t do it himself.

“If you two could stop the flirting we do have a book club meeting to run.” Amity told us from the hallway and I flushed a bright pink.

“We weren’t! I wasn’t! Don’t tell Ed…” I put my cloak hood over my ears tapping my feet against the floor.

“Hey, my brother will understand okay? Hunter, go downstairs I’d like to talk with them for a minute alone.” The boy smiled meekly at me before he picked up King and went down the stairs. Amity sat down on the floor next to me.

“You know that there are some people out there who can love more than one person right? Luz tells me that they’re called polyamorous relationships. Most of the time they are sexual in nature which I know is not your thing but if anybody needs platonic physical affection it’s him. I knew that this would happen if you two ever met. Admit it Ken your type is idiotic goofballs that are super dorky.” I buried my head in my hands feeling the humiliation come over me.

“I always said that Ed would be the only person that I’d ever love. So I don’t know what’s wrong with me right now or why this boy with a gap between his teeth decided to show up and ruin everything that I had going for me…” Amity squeezed my hand with a small smile on her face. She just leaned against my side her lavender hair clashing with my cloak.

“Kenny you’ve always said that because you thought that you’d never meet anybody else. You can still love Edric and Hunter at the same time.” She made the mind blown mime with her brain and I felt tears escape my eyes.

“Or I could just sit back and do absolutely nothing. I’m going with stand back and do nothing and hopefully these feelings can go away.” She sighed a little bit pushing a lock of hair into my ponytail. I untied my hair retying it again.

“Kenny you spent five years not doing anything but pine for my brother. I love you, you’re one of the best things that have ever happened to me other than Luz. You change people for the better. I can’t sit back and watch you torture yourself for no reason. Just talk with my brother.” She entwined our hands lightly thumbing over my hand.

“He’ll hate me for sure though if I tell him and he’ll never trust me again…” Amity just sighed a little bit running a hand through her hair.

“I can’t talk to you when you’re like this. I love you both and you make my brother incredibly happy. He’s going to understand and do you know why? Because he flirts with literally everyone. He’s going to find him just as quirky and adorable as you do.” I tapped my feet against the floor knowing the younger girl that was next to me.

“Come downstairs when you feel better.” She kissed my cheek with a sympathetic smile on her face before she left me alone. My phone buzzed with an impending message. The username alone made me groan.

My idiot: I miss you already gorgeous!! I know how much these book meetings mean to you though. I sighed a little bit wondering if this was a weird thing to discuss over text.

Me: Can I ask you something? It would be a lot less awkward for me if I did this over text and I instantly got a response.

My idiot: Of course you can ask me anything!! What’s going on Kenny? I bit my lower lip hard enough to leave an indent as I messaged him back. Me:Luzhasanadoptedbrothernowandhe’ssocuteIcan’tfunctionIstillloveyouIswear I sent the text without even thinking about it and before I could regret anything.

My idiot: Whoa!! Slow down, I didn’t understand any of that it’s going to take me a minute, all I got was Luz and adopted brother. I sighed heavily running a hand through my bright pink hair with a nervous smile on my face.

Me: Luz has a new adopted brother, his name is Hunter, he’s really, really, really cute. I can’t help it he’s just the cutest thing that I’ve ever seen in my entire life. I smiled nervously as my boyfriend sent me a series of question marks.

My idiot: Send me an image!! I summoned what Hunter looked like to my idiot and got a message back in all caps.

My idiot: HOLY HEX THAT IS A 10/10 CUTIE!! Kenny, if don’t flirt with him what are you doing?! I give you full permission if this ends you two kissing. We’ll talk later come by the house once you’re done!! I blinked owlishly at the boy that stole my heart.

Me: So wait a minute, you’re not going to hate me? Break up with me because I can’t keep a normal relationship? I looked down at the living room when I heard a soft laugh that literally lit me up inside. It was the cutest sound that I’d ever heard in my entire life.

My idiot: Babe, this is a “normal” relationship. Every relationship is different. If your relationship entails adding a cute ex-cop to our dynamic who I can totes learn to love than what’s the harm? As long as we’re happy why should anybody else give a rats behind? I couldn’t help the light laugh that left me in sheer disbelief.

Me: You’re right baby. I’m sorry for freaking out on you I was just so scare that you might break up with me over something like this. I love you so much it’s just that this boy… he has me thrown all off my guard. I don’t know what to do around him other than just comfort him. He’s never had friends before. The Emperor kept him from literally everything. I say that we talk about this between us after the meeting. I’ll come over to the mansion. I should really get down there and join everyone. I kinda had an emotional breakdown. I smiled softly. Ed understood and was willing to talk about what this meant for our relationship. I knew that I’d always love my childhood friend but this new arrival I couldn’t help but be drawn into his orbit. I wanted to get to know him, to be his friend. To eventually learn for him to trust me… and then we’d figure everything out from there. I went downstairs with a contented smile on my face seeing the found family curled around the couch.

“Sorry about all of that everyone. I just kinda feel like I was hit by a thunderbolt.” I sat down on the rug that was in front of couch even though there was a spot but it was between Luz and Hunter. I didn’t want to take any chances of doing something that I’d regret later on.

“You don’t want to sit on the couch Kenny?” Eda asked me a small smirk on her face and I looked at the witch that changed everyone’s lives that she came into contact with.

“It would be kinda cramped. I don’t want to cause any problems.” I murmured and she just smiled softly at me ruffling my hair.

“It will be a little bit tight but I don’t mind.” Hunter argued and I felt my heart pick up speed. It wasn’t a feeling that I was used to having with anybody other than Edric.

“Yeah Ken!! There’s plenty of room!!” Luz encouraged taking my arm and nearly shoving me into the seat next to her brother. I flushed a bright pink turning away and looked down at my cloak wishing that I could vanish into it.

“Luz Goose what the hex was that for? Are you okay?” Hunter asked me inspecting for injuries while I could hear the light cackle of laughter. Oh she absolutely did that on purpose. I was not nearly as bad with her and Amity when they were just friends. I’ll get my revenge somehow one of these days.

“I’m fine thank you for checking hun.” The pet name accidentally slipped and I covered my mouth a bright pink flush covering my mouth.

“What is my problem?” I muttered to myself pulling at the ends of my hair with a huff of breath curling my arms around my waist.

“Sweetheart, there is nothing wrong with you and you have no problems.” Eda’s voice brought me out of my head and I looked over at the woman that helped me out with finding my confidence.

“Does anybody want snacks?” I quickly changed the subject opening my satchel with a small apprehensive smile on my face.

“Did you bring cookies?!” Luz asked me excitedly and I handed her the individual bag of cookies that had her name on them.

“Everyone has individual favorite flavors but I didn’t know yours. Do you like chocolate chip?” I asked the boy next to me and he nodded his head tentatively.

“I actually have no idea I’ve never tried cookies before…” My heart broke for the boy breaking one of mine in half so that he could try it. Watching his eyes bulge and the sound of surprise leave him made my heart warm and grow three sizes.

“I’m still trying to get him to learn what it means to be a normal teenager. There’s a lot of things that I haven’t gotten around to having him try yet. I love having him around though. He’s picking up glphys a lot faster than I did.” Eda ruffled her son’s hair with a loving smile on her face as Hunter reached into my bag and took his own individual cookie.

“These are the best things that I’ve ever tasted… you’re really amazing Kennth.” My heart started to skip beats and I shook my head animatedly.

“It’s nothing really all that special. It’s just baking and following a recipe. My parents run a human bakery where they sell all sorts of things that they have in the human realm. I work there part time when I don’t have club meetings.” I got out the book from my satchel well worn after many years of use. I had read this book so many times when I was growing up.

“Can I share yours? I still need to get my hands on a copy. Luz lended me some of her’s but I want to collect them all. I’m a bit of a nerd about magic.” He rubbed the back of his neck and I nodded my head opening my book while he leaned over my shoulder. If he leaned a little bit closer he’d be pressing against my cheek. If I could have another gay panic that wasn’t slow dancing with Ed I would have another one right here.

“How are you doing over there Kenny?” I glared half heartedly at Amity mouthing that she was dead to me.

“I’m fine.” I lied lightly trying to just get through this two hour meeting so that I could talk with my boyfriend about how this would all go. I didn’t know I’d get through this without knowing if it was okay for me to flirt with the magenta eyed boy.

“You look about as fine as I did when I was pinning for Luz.” I kicked her foot harshly hoping that she would drop the subject.

“Not another word Amity, not one more word or I swear I won’t talk to you for a day.” I threatened lightly and heard Hunter’s light chuckle.

“That sounds like my threats to Luz when I can’t think of anything else.” My heart positively melted when I heard his light chuckle. I fell in love with Edric when I first heard him laugh once I got old enough. Hearing somebody laugh was how I knew where they would fit into my life. Actually being able to hear Hunter’s was how I knew that I was positively screwed. There was no getting out of this situation.

“I know I’ve had a day cut me some slack. If I had a better day then I’d be more threatening. And here I thought that I was the smooth talker of the three of us only to turn into a flustered awkward mess…” I muttered picking at a thread on my uniform even though my mom always lectured me when she saw me doing it because I could tear a hole in it.

“Smooth talker?” He asked curiously and Amity put her legs across her girlfriend’s lap with a relaxed smile.

“That’s their role with my siblings. Since they often get into trouble they needed to be the one who got them out of trouble. That was their job. They learned to get over their social awkwardness and became stronger because of it.” My heart warmed as Amity bragged about how usually smooth I was until you put me next to a cute boy by force just about.

“How were you able to get over something like that?” Hunter questioned curiosity burning in his magenta eyes and I couldn’t not answer him.

“It wasn’t easy I can tell you that much. Basically what happened was I finally learned to stand up for myself for one thing. I’ve always been good at telling a story and once I found my sexuality and my gender identity I became a lot more confident in my abilities. I used my intelligence to get us out of quick situations.” My new friend finally settled against me with a small smile on his face. Luz lightly nudged my arm and mouthed touch starved.

“Shut it Goose you’re the one who introduced me to platonic touch. Are you okay with this?” I nodded my head with a small smile on my face my blush finally going away.

“I’m fine with it. Thank you for asking though.” I thanked him before finally clearing my throat and flipping to the page where we left off our last meeting.

“Have you read this one?” I asked the boy that was now settled against me and looking over my shoulder at the book.

“It was the last one that I just finished. It’s where she has to fight the sultan snake right?” I nodded my head. This had been one of my favorite books, Azura and The Magic Lamp. Ever since I was a kid it brought me right into the action and the adventure.

“That’s right! But that isn’t until the very end so spoilers geez!” I lightly teased and he just laughed at me. It was the first time that I heard his actual laugh and not his quiet little chuckle. I also couldn’t help but find his gentle teasing nickname of calling his sister a Goose one of the cutest things ever.

“Oh I’m so sorry that I’ve spoiled a book that knowing the three of you, you’ve read twenty times already.” Ohh cutie adorable has an attitude problem… not going to lie that makes me even more attached to him.

“This part is good.” He mentioned off handedly and I cleared my throat before I started reading the fairy tale that I had grown up reading.

“As Azura rubbed the lamp that laid in her hands after feeling her most betrayed and left for dead at the bottom of the cave a sudden puff of pink smoke erupted from the lamp…” Reading aloud had always been one of my favorite things. Seeing Hunter finally relax against my shoulder and all the tension left him and just left him with a soft smile as I read the pages aloud.

“And that’s the chapter for today.” I closed my book and Hunter whined plaintively that I had stopped reading my book.

“One more?” He begged and I couldn’t help but feel my heart warm a little bit at the look on his face. He was just so innocent and pure. How anybody could hurt a face that looked at them like that and decide that they want to stab them in the back amazed me. I will protect him. I have the ability to protect others and I’m going fight to keep him safe. Not that I think he needs my help or anything he can take care of himself. He did for many years. It’s just that he wasn’t alone anymore he had friends and a family now. No matter what happened between us even if he didn’t ever want to be anything more than friends with me.

“Sorry Hunter we only do one chapter per meeting. It’s what we’ve always done because most of the time Luz gets distracted.” The human in question whined and kicked her legs back and forth against the couch.

“It’s not my fault blame my stupid ADHD.” Her brother just laughed a little bit at her getting off my shoulder. I instantly missed the warmth of his weight there and just wanted to pull him back to where he had been originally sitting.

“Do you have any mental health problems Kenneth?” I shrugged my shoulders toying with a lock of pink hair that was on my head.

“I probably do. I’ve honestly never really thought that much about it. I don’t need help or anything like that. I mean maybe I have aspergers but I’ve always been able to make friends since I came out of my own shell. I probably had it a lot worse when I was younger. What about you?” I asked him carefully and he just sighed a little bit.

“Other than PTSD from having to deal with you know the Emperor being my father figure and all that fun stuff I’m pretty much normal.” Luz squeezed his hand reaching over my lap to hold her brother’s hand with a small smile on her face.

“You’re getting better though Hunty. Your nightmares are still prevalent but they’re probably going to stay that way for a while.” My heart broke at the idea of this poor thing waking up screaming from a nightmare.

“I’m sorry for asking…” I apologized and the boy just shook his head. I could see all the pain from years of isolation from the rest of society written all over his face.

“It’s not your fault you were just curious if there was anything else. Besides King probably already told you so it’s not some big surprise. I love him but he’s a blabber mouth.” I laughed a little bit at the idea of the demon puppy being a blabber mouth because it was true. I looked over at the television seeing a copy of Mulan over the top of it.

“Mulan is one of my favorite Disney movies. I have a soft spot for Sleeping Beauty. I know it’s trash and not the best out there but it’s the one that I grew up watching the most. I love the atmosphere and the artistry the most. It’s so pretty.” I talked about my favorite animated film from the company on Luz’s world that tried their best to bring the world of magic into their world.

“I haven’t seen that one yet. I’m still trying to get through the popular ones. I just watched that one last night it was really amazing. It was probably my favorite that I’ve seen so far. Do you watch a lot of them?” I shook my head with a small laugh at the thought of my movie night’s with Ed and Em. It was mostly just with Ed now because Emira couldn’t be around us for too long without fake gagging. “I love both cheesy horror movies and the real psychological ones. Most of the time that’s what I pick to watch when I have movie nights with my boyfriend.” I looked to my left only to find that Luz and Amity had dipped.

“We didn’t want to listen to you two flirt!!” I blushed a bright pink looking down at my periwinkle uniform that I was wearing.

“Like you two are any better you’re almost nauseating to be around!” Hunter shot back at his younger sister and I couldn’t help but laugh at the two of them.

“It must have been a big change for you. Going from not having anyone to having Luz basically being like you’re my brother now deal with it mentality.” He laughed a little bit and I put that into my recorder so that I could replay it later on.

“It was a lot for a while. I’m still working on feeling comfortable around here because it’s just so loud. It was all but silent in the castle. That’s probably why I became so loud. I wanted to stand out in that environment so I adopted the persona of Golden Guard. This fake aura of confidence like my whole life was fine when in reality it was hell. He tried to make me get rid of my paladin. That’s when I finally left because I wanted to learn wild magic. I was always fascinated by it. Funny the kid with no magic fascinated with the wildest kind of magic that’s out there in the world.” I listened to my new friend rant about his childhood. He was so kind that it hurt my heart how people had treated him.

“Well you can come to the bakery whenever you want if you want a break from all of this. I can’t promise that it’ll be quieter and my younger siblings might ask you a lot of questions. I have fraternal twin younger siblings, Kendra and Kelvin. All of us have K names I don’t know why specifically that letter won my parents over but it’s what did.” I offered him the out to come to where I worked part time not even thinking about how embarrassing my parents would be. I would have to sit them down and explain to them everything that I talked with Ed. Hopefully they understood what I was talking about and would still accept me. It would be my third time coming out about something to them. It was almost becoming a running joke. It had been three years since the last time that I came out to them and six years since the first time we talked about the fact that I was probably gay.

“I’d really enjoy that. Plus if there are more sweets like those delicious cookies that you brought with you then I might have a new favorite place to study when I want some quiet. Sorry that you only got one of them.” He apologized gesturing to the bag of cookies that I had brought for me. I couldn’t help but laugh and shake my head at him.

“It’s no big deal Hunter, I didn’t know that you were here. Luz told me right before we reached the Owl House. I love her I really do but she needs to work on her bringing about bad news. After she told me I was a little bit worried. I mean, the Golden Guard. But you’re nothing like what I had expected you to be.” I mentioned to him and he just looked at me his eyes big with a small nervous smile on his face, like he would get shut down at any moment.

“Really?” I nodded my head. I sat up on the couch putting my book into my satchel. The sooner I went to talk to my boyfriend the better so we could set up some ground rules as to how this all would go.

“Really. I want to spend more time with you believe me I do but I want to talk to Ed about something kind of important. Did Eda give you a cell phone?” He nodded his head writing down his phone number on a corner of notebook paper. I looked at the number seeing adorably dorky little hearts on it.

“I hope that you come by the bakery sometime. Just ignore anything that my parents tell you. They can be really, really embarrassing.” I rubbed the back of my head a little bit putting the note into my pocket and putting the cell number into my phone next to a golden heart.

“I think that’s most parents that raised their kids. They know everything about them so that’s why they can be so humiliating. Eda is already definitely becoming the embarrassing parent the more she learns about me.” I couldn’t help but laugh a little bit at Eda’s I heard that you little punk from the kitchen. I finally got off the comfortable couch.

“It was great meeting you Hunter. I’ll text you for sure.” My new friend smiled softly nodding his head a soft glimmer of hope in his magenta eyes.

“I look forward to it.” I smiled softly before turning around and with a heavy heart leaving the boy on the couch. I couldn’t help but smile when I saw Amity and Luz holding hands and going over homework together.

“I’m going back to your place Amity. Want me to cover for you?” I asked the teen and she just nodded her head with a faint glimmer of a smile.

“You got it! Consider yourself covered. I’ll se you both at school tomorrow. Bye Eda! Thank you for having me again.” I thanked the Owl Lady before I left the house waving to Hooty and ignoring the calls that he yelled at me. The walk from the Owl House to the Blight mansion wasn’t actually that long but I saw the car that was sitting in the driveway.

“Guess we’re going the back way today.” I twirled the key that was around my neck as I crept quietly behind the house so as to not draw the attention of Odalia Blight.

“Kenny!!” Em whisper yelled from her bedroom and I looked up at my best friend waving to her. I walked carefully over to her bedroom.

“What’s up? Why are the parentals home?” I whispered back to her and she just sighed heavily running a hand through sea green hair.

“They found out that Ed and I got sent to the principals office again today. So we’re under strict surveillance right now. Did you want to talk to him about something? There’s an abomination at the back door so I’ll help you get in if you want to talk to him about something if it’s critical.” I nodded my head climbing the tree next to my best friend’s window and she offered me a hand inside.

“There we go, good job Kenny!!” She whispered encouragingly and I saw the divider that led to her brother’s side of the room.

“Gorgeous!!” He accidentally said a little bit too loudly before he pulled me into his arms while Emira stood guard at the front door of their bedroom.

“How did book club go?” Ed asked me leading me around his piles of filth and dirty dishes that were in his bedroom.

“It went fine. Luz did something really embarrassing I think that the teens are definitely onto something. Especially Amity I think after five years of watching me pine for you she knows what my expression of smitten looks like. Luz shoved me next to Hunter.” As I told him the story about what had happened earlier that afternoon at the club meeting he just laughed at me.

“I’m sorry that happened to you Kenny but hey it all worked out alright? Did he seem interested in you? Did you tell him about me? More important what did you tell him about me?” He started asking me rapid-fire question a million miles an hour and I couldn’t help but overwhelmed.

“Ed hex don’t overcrowd them, they’ve obviously had a rough meeting if they had to deal with a cute boy. You know how they get when they’re around a cute boy.” I wanted to ask her what she was insinuating with that sentence but I knew what she meant. All my natural smooth talking went right out the window whenever I encountered a cute boy.

“He did seem a little bit interested I think? He’s going to need some time though and you’re going to have to give it to him Ed. I just want to be his friend for right now. He needs a friend. The Emperor in all his assholery kept him isolated from the rest of society so he’s never had any real friends before. He doodled hearts next to his phone number on the notebook paper.” I smiled softly pulling out the notebook paper that the boy had drawn on. Edric picked up the piece of paper and plugged it into his phone.

“Hey don’t you dare Ed, listen to me don’t you dare okay? We have to give him time to adjust to this sort of thing. I don’t even know what this is so I don’t want you talking to him. Not until I’ve figured out for myself what I want. It might have just been a fluke as to what I felt for him today.” Ed gave me a look of outright suspicion.

“Did you save his laugh so that you can replay it in the future?” I blushed a bright pink burying my face into his shoulder with a small whimper.

“Maybe? Is that creepy?” I asked him curiously and my boyfriend just laughed at me a little bit. He thumbed over the sides of my cloak.

“I don’t think so since mimicking voices and faces is a huge part of your magic. You need to have it as part of your arsenal but I’d like to hear it anyways.” I summoned the laugh that had lit me up from the inside that I had heard earlier.

“Why won’t you let me text him?” He whined a little bit and I toyed with the ends of his sea foam green hair.

“Because you’ll just openly flirt with him and it’ll scare him away. I don’t want to say that he’s fragile because he isn’t. It’s more like you can be super intense with your feelings and you tend to throw all caution to the wind and just do whatever you’re feeling anyways. I know that you want to help me with this recent development but you are just going to have to trust me. I’ve loved you since I was ten. I thought that I would only ever love you. Only to find out that I was totally wrong.” I rested my head against my long time love’s chest and he just lifted my chin making me look into his golden eyes.

“You know that’s okay right? To love more than one person at one time? That there isn’t ethically wrong with it? It’s just society thinks that it’s wrong because people are only supposed to have one according to their skewed logic.” My boyfriend reasoned and I felt tears come to my eyes when he kissed my forehead, cheeks, nose and then me gently.

“Thank you for understanding Ed. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it. I know that I want to spend more time getting to know him. He’s a good person I can just tell.” Ed just sighed a little bit running his hands through my hair.

“I know that you have an excellent judge of character sweetheart and I know that you can do whatever you need to. Do you think that he’d like me?” I cradled the cheeks of my idiot for a boyfriend laughing a little bit.

“He’d have to be stupid to say no sweetheart. Trust me I know that he’s going to agree to date us I just want to be there for him as a friend until either he comes to me or I decide what exactly this is.” He just huffed a little bit crossing his arms over his chest. I melted into the affection until I heard footsteps coming up the stairs.

“Hex, Kenny you’ve got to go!! If mom finds you here I don’t know what will happen but it won’t be pretty.” I kissed my boyfriend one more time squeezing his hand softly. I got out of his bed and he just waved to me when I went down the side of the mansion.

“I love you gorgeous.” I smiled softly at him blowing him a kiss as I ran off of their property. I picked up my headphones that Luz had given to me for tuning out the rest of the world. I had fallen in love with the sound of older music, especially Elvis and Johnny Cash.

“Kenneth!” My mom called out to me from inside of the bakery and I put my headphones around my neck with a small smile on my face.

“You’re just in time! I was starting to get worried, did you stop somewhere else on the way home from the Owl House?” I nodded my head taking off my cloak and putting on my apron and my work clothes. I heard the familiar sounds of Ballad Of A Teenage Queen coming from the speakers of our small establishment.

“I stopped at Ed’s sorry mom I had to talk to him about something really important.” I tied my apron into a bow around my back and she just smiled softly at me.

“Was it really or did you just want to sneak away to make out with your boyfriend?” My face turned a bright pink and I got out the big bowl that I usually used to make my treats.

“Mom…” I groaned and she just laughed at me openly without shame that I was feeling. She was whipping frosting for my double chocolate cupcakes.

“What? Did I say something wrong?” She joked lightly and I just sighed heavily looking deep into the bowl in front of me.

“Mom… did you ever think that you could have feelings for somebody other than dad but still love dad?” She cocked her head confused at me and what I was insinuating. It suddenly dawned on her and she put her hand on my shoulder.

“When I was around your age I thought that I was in love with your aunt Miri.” My eyes widened, of all the times that I had come out this was the first time that I had heard anything about my mom being anything less than a straight edge.

“We dated for a little while actually the three of us. But then we decided that we were better off just friends. She found out that she was more gay than straight and that she was mostly with me and Jared because she wanted to be with me. Shortly after that she met your aunt Claude and things went happily ever after for her. So yes there was a point in time where I dated your father as well as somebody else. Almost a year of the three of us dating. I wanted for it to work out so badly but some people just aren’t meant for a poly relationship. Did something happen when you were at the Owl House today?” I nodded my head thinking about the former Golden Guard with the dorky laugh and obsession with magic.

“Eda adopted another kid, a boy this time around. The former Golden Guard after he found a paladin that he didn’t want to get rid of. His name is Hunter. He’s this kind of dorky magic obsessed all sorts of adorable boy.” I summoned an image of him to show my mom and I watched as her heart melted in front of me.

“Oh sweetheart he’s adorable. I’m sure that you three will be very, very happy together. What’s his paladin’s name?” I laughed a little bit getting out the ingredients that I would need to make my double chocolate cupcakes.

“I didn’t ask him actually. I’ll make sure to ask him the next time that I see him. I told him that he should come here sometime if that’s alright with you mom.” She just kissed my forehead with a small understanding smile on his face.

“My project today actually got me an A! They are letting me use something that isn’t from this world. I think that the magic world is quickly growing become more accepting of people that are different. I think that we have Luz to thank for that.” I summoned my purple dragon and gave him a strawberry that my mom was working with.

“That’s amazing sweetheart! I’m so proud of you baby you’ve been doing so well in school. I for one can’t wait to meet your new friend that you made today. I don’t know how your siblings will handle it. They’re still so young and there’s a lot that they don’t understand about the world around them. I’ll talk to them before he comes here. Remind me to do it tonight.” I nodded my head and saw my dad peak his head into the kitchen where we were.

“Hi Ken!! How was your school day? How did your project go?” I nodded my head with a small smile on my face.

“I got an A on it! I worked really hard to make it as realistic as possible so everyone was impressed when I told them that I carved it myself using my illusions.” I bragged a little bit since I got my magic from my dad. He was always really good at using his illusions to tell stories for the younger twins.

“That’s great, I knew that you could do it!! You worked your tail off on that assignment once you found out that you could do your own fictional creatures for the illusions track. Let met guess, your boyfriend and Em used it as an excuse to pull some big elaborate prank.” I sighed a little bit with a small laugh mixing the wet ingredients together.

“However did you figure that out dad? They got sent to Principal Bump’s office and I wasn’t able to talk him out of it this time. They got suspended for a few days and their parents, mostly their mom, is super mad at them.” My dad just sighed a little bit ruffling my hair with an understanding grimace at the horror of Odalia Blight.

“You know that she doesn’t really hate you love. It’s just that well she’s a wicked person and doesn’t have the speckle of love that most people do. It’s not your fault. You can’t make her love you.” My dad reasoned already knowing that’s what I was upset about.

“Dad that sounded like a she hates me but she also hates everyone mentality. It didn’t really help me.” He just laughed at me lightly cradling my cheek in his palm.

“I know that you want to do what’s best for your boyfriend. But if you keep doing what’s best for him you’ll stop doing what’s best for you. I get that you worry about Ed but he’s alright. He’s still his same goofy self always getting into trouble the whole nine yards. I’d say that at his point you have a right to be selfish just like everybody else does in the world.” He reminded me and I just sighed heavily knowing that he was right. The something that would make me selfish though is really selfish. Why should I want to have another partner when I’m perfectly happy with Edric? Why does Hunter strike me as so unique yet so familiar at the same time?

“Darling if you keep thinking so hard you’re going to pop a blood vessel in your head.” My mom joked lightly hitting my hand with her wooden spoon.

“Sorry mom…” She just turned off her hand mixer and turned so that she could face me. She took my hands in her’s.

“There is nothing for you to be sorry about. I know that it must have been a lot for you to deal with in one day. Going from thinking that you could never love anybody but Edric to finding out that there’s a boy out there that you want to love as well. I don’t think any less of you though sweetheart. It’s not selfish to chase the things you want if Hunter wants them too. That could never be selfish. Love is pure and innocent. It’s the one thing that everyone in the whole world wants collectively and dreams of finding.” I felt tears escape my eyes and she just lightly thumbed over my cheeks with her hand.

“It’s okay to want to be selfish. That’s something that everyone wants in the world. We don’t get to do it a whole lot at least not until we find the person or rather in your case, the people that we want to be with. That can never be wrong not ever. I’m so proud of you Kenneth. My sweet darling child. You’ve come so far just in the last year able to admit your feelings and why you’re feeling them.” The bell rang overhead and I saw Edric slip into the back kitchen.

“How did you escape?” I asked him with a small laugh as he slid into his spot next to my work station where he’d usually keep me company.

“Warden let me off for good behavior.” I rolled my eyes knowing that hadn’t been the case in the slightest and that he’d pulled a trick on her.

“You snuck out of the window didn’t you?” I saw the scratch on his uniform that proved me right and I sighed a little bit.

“I’ll have to mend that now. Why did you sneak out the window Edric?” My boyfriend lightly took my hand kissing it gently.

“Because our time was cut short due to her ranting and raving like a madwoman about how we’re making the wrong choices in life. I don’t care about what she thinks of me. I care about what my partner thinks and what they want to do.” I smiled softly at my boyfriend lightly kissing his mole underneath his eye. I finished the cupcake batter adding it to the individual tins.

“I want to ask Hunter out on a date. Just me though, we work our way up to you. If that’s okay with you anyways.” Ed just sighed dramatically but I could tell that he would say yes after he acted like a drama queen for a few minutes.

“I suppose that I can let my gorgeous partner go on a few dates with a cute guy that isn’t their devilishly handsome boyfriend.” I shook my head at his stereotypical dramatics huffing a breath before putting my cupcakes into the oven.

“You’re devilishly something alright. Maybe devilishly annoying.” He gasped at me loudly shaking my shoulders with his overly enthused nature.

“Am I annoying to you?!” I put my hands on top of his to make him stop shaking me mainly. I squeezed them softly and understandingly.

“Baby no way you are the exact opposite of annoying. I was just messing with you seriously. I love you, you know that right? I would do anything for you. It’s different with Hunter. I want a different relationship with him than I have with you. It’s complicated and I know that it isn’t selfish now.” He shook his head at me resting his forehead against mine.

“Even if you never want me to meet Hunter I know that you’ll still love me. The only reason that I’m not freaking out right now is because it’s you and I trust you. I know you’d never leave me but that fear is still there. That I’ll be all alone one day.” I sighed a little bit putting my arms around him despite me being covered with flour due to work.

“I promise if anything changes I’ll talk to you okay? For right now this is what I want to do. It might change in the future and it might not. I might have two husbands one day and I might have just the one. I don’t know what the future holds for either of us. I know that you both make me happy though. Happier than I’ve ever been with anybody else.” I reminded Ed with an understanding smile and I saw that little bit of doubt melt away.

“Whatever the future holds as long as there’s a spot for me there we’ll be alright. You’re my best friend Ken. I don’t know what I’d do without you. I’d probably be stuck with my head inside of a hole at this point. I love you so much Ken.” He reminded me lightly and I nuzzled his nose against my own. Having Ed in my life taught me so much about myself. He taught me about taking risks and what things were worth the danger.

“I love you too Eddie. I know that you’re just doing your best and I’m so proud of you. Even if I have to often talk you out of trouble it seems. Is Em overing for you back at home?” My mom just smiled at the two of us and went out to help my dad at the front of the shop since more kids were coming in after they had finished school for the day.

“She is, I owe her a big favor though. She hasn’t exactly figured out what that favor is going to be yet but I just know that she’s going to make me pay for it. What about you? What are you going to do the next time that you see Hunter?” He asked me and I sighed a little bit leaning my head against his shoulder running a hand through my pink hair.

“Probably just try and not look like the most flustered dumbass to ever flustered dumbass.” Ed just laughed openly at me and I stuck my tongue out at him.

“What if he doesn’t mind the flustered dumbass side of you?” I sighed wistfully at the idea of maybe the cute boy actually liking me despite what a mess I was currently.

“I should hope so. Because as you well know I’m like this around cute boys that flirt way too often. I hate it.” I huffed turning away from my boyfriend and he just lightly cradled my jaw in his hands looking into my violet eyes.

“I wouldn’t change a thing about you Kenny. Even when you are a flustered awkward mess of adorable. That’s simply another part of who you are. You’re the smartest person that I’ve ever met able to run academic laps around me and Em. How you’ve stayed best friends with the two of us nimrods never fails to surprise me. I think that Hunter would be lucky to have you whether that be as a friend or as a boyfriend that’s all up to you. Does that mean that I can finally flirt with other people too?” He winked jokingly at me and I averted my gaze.

“It’s not like I’ve ever stopped you anyways. You’re one of the most flirty people that I’ve ever met in my entire life. I know that you’d not listen to me even if I made that rule. One of these days I’ll introduce you and Hunter. Just let me get comfortable with him first. Then we’ll figure things out from there.” The oven dinged and I saw the cupcakes had risen. I tested them with a toothpick and found that they had perfectly cooked.

“It’s rare that people catch your attention like that right off the bat. I’ve tried to get you interested in other men over the years and you’ve never looked at any of them twice. So what’s so different about him?” My boyfriend went back to his seat his long legs dangling over the edge as I cut the sour belt that I would use around the top of the cupcake.

“I don’t know what’s so different about him okay? Just that something about him intrigues me and makes me interested in him. He’s cute and adorably snarky once you get through his walls. He’s clingy with physical affection because he can’t get enough of it. He grew up without it so when he snuggled against my side after asking if that was okay how could I possibly ever say no? Not when he looked at me with his big magenta eyes that are just the right shade of beautiful. I don’t know how to function around his style of beauty. I really don’t. Like who decided to make him so cute and awkward?” I asked my boyfriend animatedly starting to mend the sour belts to form mermaids tails for our under the sea cupcakes.

“Apparently somebody figured out that you have a soft spot for cute and lovable dorks like me. How long do you think you’re going to be able to last?” I half heartedly glared at my boyfriend. He knew how impatient I was when it came to something that I wanted to get my hands on. And I never wanted to get my hands on something nearly as much as I did with Hunter. You might think that during my pining years for Edric that I would be comfortable in this spot of pining but this was an entirely different beast.

“I haven’t the slightest idea. I’m just trying to stop myself from texting him and asking him on a date right now.” My phone buzzed and my boyfriend typed in his password, the date that we met in preschool.

“It’s from him!!” He showed me my phone and my pink eyebrows scrunched together as I read the message that was written there.

Hunter <3: Is the bakery busy today? I know that we just met today but I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind me passing by? I wanted to talk with you more than I was actually able to without Luz the Goose or Calamity sitting around. I laughed lightly at his nicknames for her sister and basically my younger sister at this point.

“If I wasn’t calling her Mittens already I’d be calling her Calamity. That’s actually really smart.” I smiled softly at the thought of how well the two boys in my life would get along. I shook the thought right out of my head.

“Oh god he wants to come here, where I work? I’m not even remotely ready. When I offered him I thought that he’d come in like a week or something not the same day?! Edddddd help me…” I pleaded my boyfriend and he just lightly thumbed over my cheek.

“Hey, you’re going to do just fine sweetheart. I know that you will and I’ll tell you why. Because you’re a gorgeous, intelligent, amazing, kindhearted, naturally gifted wizard that is going to make this Golden Guard their new beau.” Edric encouraged me blustering up my confidence with an understanding smile on his face.

“Alright I can do this, it’s just the cutest boy on the entire planet that I’ve ever met. Other than you but you’re more handsome than cute. This guy is just cute.” He laughed at me settling back into his chair as I typed out a text with my right hand finishing the tails on my sour ropes.

Me: Wow! I didn’t think that you’d come you know today or anything. You can come whenever you’d like! I’ve already done what was one my list for the day. I have this deal with my parents where I’m only allowed to make one of my recipes per day and my mom helped me out on this one. You can taste test them! I hope you like sour belts. They’re super sour we make them in house. They’re delicious though! We sell them in the candy store that we also own next door to the bakery. They came as a package deal. I smiled softly at the idea that my new boy of interest was actually coming to the store today.

“I can’t compete with cute looks wise. I know that you’ve always had a soft spot for the cute ones. Which is why I was surprised when you told me that you felt the same way that I did about you. I didn’t think that you’d ever reciprocate my feelings.” I squeezed my boyfriend’s hand understandingly picking up one of the cupcakes and started to swirl the icing around it.

“He texted back!! He said that he’s never tried sour candy but that you’ve intrigued him. He also said that he can come at another time if you’re busy. Want me to write a response back of my own creation or be you as best I can?” I sighed muttering be the best me that you can while I’m doing this. I just hope that he wouldn’t say anything embarrassing. I swirled the top of the cupcake adding the shimmery dust to the cupcake and finally the crown on the cupcake’s head along with the tail that I made.

“Princess mermaid cupcake number one complete! Only fifty more to go. We can do this, we can do this, we can do this.” I hyped myself up and my best friend cheered for me from his spot as I started getting down to business not letting myself be distracted by the idea that Hunter was on his way from the Owl House.

“Hey gorgeous, can I ask you something?” I nodded my head listening to my boyfriend’s question that he had for me.

“Do you think that Hunter would like me? I mean you’ve known me for most of your life. I just think that I’m catching the feels already and I’m kind of panicking about that right now.” I smeared a little bit of my icing on his nose with my magic.

“Hey!! Actually, hey that’s really good frosting.” I laughed at him as he did the same to me cuing a frosting fight using magic.

“Oh my Titan, he’s on his way oh no I look AWFUL Edric!” I shouted at him and he just rubbed the back of his neck a little bit.

“The frosting is a really pretty color that matches your skin tone really well?” He offered as compensation and I sighed a little bit heavily.

“Why do I let you talk me into doing stupid things like this all of the time? I don’t even know why I listen to half of your ideas. You wasted a good amount of frosting. Now guess who gets to help me with the rest of these. That’s right it’s you.” He helped me ice the rest of them and decorate them as I heard the bell ring in the shop seeing Hunter with his plasmin looking around the shop.

“Oh crap, cute boy alert that’s my cue to go bye good luck, love you gorgeous!!” He encouraged me and I put on an illusion that my face wasn’t covered in flour and frosting from my food fight with my boyfriend. I carried both of the trays outside of the kitchen leaving two of them on plates and cutting up an apple tart for the bird.

“Kenny, there’s a cute boy asking for you out front, goes by the name of Hunter. What does he want?” My dad asked me helping me carry everything out since I was struggling to balance both of them and the plates with everything.

“He’s Luz’s new adopted brother and the newest member of the Bad Girl Coven that Eda started. He just wanted a quiet place to read and study and I recommended the bakery. I didn’t think that he’d come here so soon but I have really no idea what he wants.” I watched as Hunter looked around at all the treats in sheer awe. It was really, really cute.

“Hi! I’ll be right with you I just have to get these all set up. I just finished baking all of these. I have to put them out for display and then I can talk with you.” I explained and I saw my younger sister peak her head into the shop.

“It’s okay Kendra, he’s a friend. You and your brother can come out. This is Hunter, he’s Luz’s new adopted brother. Eda adopted him and now they’re siblings.” I explained to her and she tentatively came out of the side room where she and Kelvin usually played.

“It’s nice to meet you both. I’m Hunter and this little guy is Rascal he’s my paladin.” He introduced himself and my sister looked at the bird that was perched on his shoulder.

“I’m Kelvin! The shy one is my older sister Kendra she doesn’t talk a whole lot to people that she isn’t comfortable with.” My new friend got down to my younger sister’s level with an understanding smile on his face.

“That’s okay. I hope that you know that you don’t have to be like everyone else in order to fit in. You just have to be yourself and somebody will want to be your friend.” He reminded her lightly pushing a lock of hair into her braid.

“That’s what I’ve been telling as well. She’s always been different and loves reading books unlike her brother. Kelvin is the one that we have to keep an eye on since he has the terrific tendency of getting into trouble.” My younger brother just looked a little bit sheepish down at his shoes that he was wearing where they weren’t tied.

“Come here, I’ll show you my trick…” I got down onto my brother’s level with a small smile on my face concentrating on tying his shoes for him.

“You make a loop de loop and pull…” I showed him so that he could do the other one which he did making me smile.

“Good job kiddo!” I supported him and Hunter looked at his shoes with an understanding smile. I got up from the floor balancing the three treats.

“Does Rascal eat food usually?” I offered him and the bird slowly crawled down his arm smelling the apple tart before nibbling at it.

“He likes apples, which I guess makes sense. Now what exactly am I looking at here?” I laughed a little bit showing him my cupcake.

“That is a double chocolate cupcake. It’s basically like two times the chocolate they are the cookies that I make for Amity usually. They’re chocolate cookies with chocolate chips inside of them. The frosting is tye die buttercream that has blue, green, and purple inside of it. Then I top that with a fondant crown, and a sour belt tail around it. We call it the Princess Mermaid cupcake.” I explained all the technicalities of the cupcake that was in front of him. He tentatively unwrapped the cupcake before trying it.

“That’s really good! I actually like the sour flavors a lot. It’s not as god as the cookies that you had with you earlier today but it’s still good.” He encouraged my love of making treats and I felt my heart seize up when he found a smidge of the frosting that landed on his thumb. People should not ever, ever be this cute. It’s hazardous to my health.

“So your paladin, I’ve been meaning to ask, where did you find a baby dragon? They’re really rare at least that’s what I’ve read.” I blushed a bright pink giving my dragon the crown and flew around in small circles.

“Well I made him myself using my magic. I wanted to make something myself that I had full creative freedom over. That our bond could be unique and special because nobody had ever done that before. They had only found ones that were already in existence. I asked Principal Bump and my teacher if that was allowed and they both agreed that they would love to see what I came up with. I named mine Figment. I wanted to do something using my imagination to bring something to life just like I do with my illusions. Except he isn’t an illusion he’s actually tangible. That’s what makes him so special. It took me a lot of trial and error but eventually I was able to give him his own personality and his own special interests.” I explained about my new friend that I had made to the boy across from me who looked at me in awe.

“That is so cool! Oh my titan so you made yours completely out of your own head? Nobody helped you?” I shook my head shrugging my shoulders with a small smile. To me it wasn’t anything nearly that special it was just something that I was passionate about.

“I’ve always been a really creative type of person especially about the things that I know a lot about. I know a lot about my magic, my hobbies mostly baking and sewing, and I’m super into animation. I’ve always been fascinated how you can create something like that and bring it to life. I found my first Disney movie in the trashcan here. It was Sleeping Beauty. Ever since then that’s been one of my favorite movies. Now that I’m a bit older I love watching cheesy horror movies and non cheesy ones.” I reasoned why part of me would always be interest in the way that magic worked.

“I’ve only seen a couple with Luz because she’s still trying to introduce me to the genre of animation. She wants to show me something called anime next. I have no idea what that means for me but I just hope that it isn’t a bad thing.” I laughed at the boy that was planning to spend some quality time with his sister as I settled into the cushy soft booth behind me.

“So I’ve been wondering, how exactly did that happen? How did you meet Luz and Eda?” A small smile appeared on Hunter’s face as he talked about his adopted sister and mom.

“I had found them on an island when they were trying to track down some mythical creature to make big money. I was just out there doing my job. My uncle… he wanted me to set them back a few paces and that’s what I tried to do. It didn’t go as I originally planned. But that’s how I met my family and I wouldn’t trade it for anything. It was like I instantly knew that there was something special about them. Especially Luz. I always wanted a sibling that I could share my interests with. It just so happens that I got lucky and my sister is also a huge nerd. ” I laughed openly at his description of Luz since that was really accurate to how I saw her as well.

“Can I ask you something though? I don’t want to come off as rude or anything but what pronouns do you go by? What’s your sexuality?” I blushed a light pink knowing that this was coming thumbing over the end of my frilly blue apron.

“I have they/them pronouns. I started off male, I was just your average gay cis male. But once I started taking potions classes and I learned about cosmetics I got really into the idea of makeup. Shortly after that came well me wanting to wear skirts and dresses. I thought that there was something wrong with me at first. I came across a book in the library about gender. I looked at the book and saw that it talked about a gender identity called gender fluid. It’s basically where you feel male some days and female somedays. It all depends on the mood that you wake up in that day.” I explained my sexuality and gender to the boy across from me and he just nodded his head understandingly.

“That made perfect sense to me. I think that it suits you really well because you have a very feminine sense of self. But you still have masculine characteristics as well.” My younger sister looked up at me and I patted the seat next to me.

“You can sit up her too witchling hold on one second. I’ve got to help her up.” I picked her up and lightly sat her down when my mom came over to our table.

“Do you want anything else Hunter? A hot chocolate maybe?” She offered and I watched my friend’s head tilt to the side.

“Hot-what now?” I laughed at him nodding my head since I had wanted one as well and my younger sister probably did as well.

“It’s a chocolate beverage that’s warmed milk with chocolate. But we make ours fresh in house you’ll love it I just know it. It’s so good.” I bragged and my mom just threw me a wink and a thumbs up from behind her as she got us some cocoa to drink while we talked.

“Do you go to school yet Kendra?” Hunter asked my younger sister who nodded her head hesitantly. She kicked her legs back and forth squeezing her stuffed animal with a small smile on his face.

“I do. I don’t really like it though. The kids are mean and bully me because I don’t have any friends yet.” I squeezed her hand with a small smile of understanding. She had been through so much of what I had to deal with when I was her age and the empathy that I had felt for her was unreal.

“I’m sorry to hear about that. I wasn’t able to make friends until recently either. It takes time to figure out the good ones the ones that aren’t going to hurt you like others have. That hurt doesn’t go away either you have to learn to live with it. Thankfully you’re still young and you have plenty of time to make friends with your classmates and people around your age.” He reasoned with my younger sister who’s eyes welled up with thankfulness and emotion.

“How did you get that scar?” She asked him pointing to his face and I lightly looked at my younger sister sighing.

“You don’t have to tell her that. Princess we’ve talked about this, you can’t just ask people things like that. You have to remember what thoughts aren’t seen as polite and that you should keep to yourself. I know that it isn’t your fault that you’ve struggled with that sort of thing for a long time. I did too. It’s alright though sweetheart I understand what you’ve been through. I was the same when I was your age.” He shook his head with a small understanding smile on his face. He squeezed my sister’s hand as he looked at her his magenta eyes filled with emotional turmoil.

“It’s a battle scar that I got that made me stronger despite the person that gave it to me. I got from somebody that I thought that I could trust but he stabbed me in the back.” My sister gasped and her eyes filled with tears.

“I’m sorry mister I didn’t mean to bring you back unpleasant memories…” She apologized genuinely and Hunter just waved his hand with a small smile.

“Don’t worry about Kendra it’s okay. You didn’t know any better and you’re just a kid you shouldn’t know what that experience is like.” Hunter reminded her lightly and his words were genuine despite not knowing my sister very well.

“Are you happier staying with miss Eda and Luz?” He nodded his head with a small laugh as he rubbed the cheek of Rascal.

“It’s definitely a lot more entertaining than I’m used to. The whole house is chaotic so I’m just trying to adjust and keep my head above the water at the moment. I love having them around now they’re good people especially Eda. She didn’t need to take me in but she still did. I don’t think even she knows what that meant to me. It’s the fist time that I’ve had a real family. All my life I haven’t had anybody around me but myself. It was a lonely childhood but I think that things are finally starting to look up to a not so lonely teenage years and adult years.” He reasoned and I smiled softly at him as my mom came delivering our drinks to us winking at me.

“I like the Owl Lady she’s funny. Sometimes she comes here and gets sweets for Luz and King. King is my favorite he’s cute like a little demonic puppy.” My younger mentioned with a small laugh kicking her legs back and forth as she colored in her coloring book that she had with her.

“You’re very good at coloring in the lines Kendra, do you like coloring?” She nodded her head a little bit nervously about the mention of her passion.

“I love coloring it’s one of the few things that gives me complete control over what I can and can’t do. Creating things has always been one of my favorite passions. Mom says that it’s going to get me into potions magic when I get older. What kind of magic do you have?” I felt the little bit of anxiety for my friend come creeping back up my spine.

“Kendra love, he doesn’t have magic. He can’t use it at all. He uses glyphs the same way that Luz does. Has she been teaching you?” I asked him and he nodded his head tentatively. He smiled watery at me thankful that he didn’t have to answer that.

“I’ve been getting better at them the more that I practice like anything else in the world. You work hard at something and you practice even harder to get what you want.” Kendra looked at him in this state of awe and wonder for the boy that taught himself to do magic.

“I’m still too young to have any magical talent at all. I hope that I get it soon. Then I can use that magic to help people.” Hunter looked over at what she was coloring and I saw a curious expression on his face. She had the coloring book that I made for her with my designs since her favorite movie from the human realm wasn’t common.

“What are you drawing?” He asked her curiosity peaked as she stuck her tongue out and colored in the fairy’s green eyes.

“So her favorite thing right now is this Irish trilogy of movies from the human realm The Secret Of Kells, Song Of The Sea, and Wolf Walkers. Even more than Disney that’s what she’s really interested in. I’ve always been a decent enough artist and for her birthday I made her coloring books for all three films. That’s her Secret Of Kells book. What she’s coloring is her favorite character Aisling. She’s a fairy that can transform into a wolf. Maybe Luz knows about she at least knows about Wolf Walkers because she showed that one to her.” I explained the background of what my sister happened to be coloring in as Hunter looked at the page in surprise.

“That’s amazing that you actually made that all by yourself Kenneth. It’s clear that you love your sister otherwise you wouldn’t have gone through all that effort in order to make something that she’d enjoy. What about your brother? What does he like doing?” I smiled softly at my younger brother that was on the floor building something with his LEGOS.

“He loves superheroes at the moment that’s stuck around for a really long time. He has a lot of fun with those because you can pretty much do anything with that. My sister takes more after me with her interests when I was younger. I loved movies, I loved imagining things, and I loved coloring. That was how I got my creative energy out when I was younger was I colored. Now that I’m a lot older I feel more creative freedom as to what I can’t and can do.” My younger sister finished coloring in the green eyes of her character and moved onto her gray dress.

“You’ll have to show me those movies sometime Kendra. I love finding new forms of art.” My sister looked up in surprise that my friend wanted anything to do with her interest that she found to be so carbon copy.

“Are you sure?” He nodded his head in affirmation with a small smile gracing his features. My sister packed up her things and went scampering up the stairs.

“She’s probably going to go and find the first one right now. You should tell Eda not to expect you back for some time. I think you just walked into a landmine. I’ll try to get her to only show you one but I make you no promises that she’ll follow through with it.” I teased and my new friend just laughed at what he had gotten himself into.

“Well I’d rather spend more time with you if I’m being really honest. I want to know you better Kenneth. Something about you is fascinating to me.” My cheeks flushed a bright pink for the first time since I put up my illusion.

“Umm you have frosting everywhere.” I blushed an even brighter pink wishing that this chair would just do me a favor and swallow me whole.

“I got into a frosting fight with my boyfriend before you got here. You flustered me and my defensive illusion fell. I’m sorry I look like such a mess right now.” I apologized and my friend just shook his head at me scooting over to my area.

“It’s alright you don’t look like a mess in the slightest. Here, it’s actually not that bad.” He looked at me face and managed to get rid of the frosting.

“There it really wasn’t all that bad Kenny. Sorry! I heard Amity calling you that earlier.” I nodded my head with a small smile.

“I found that when I transitioned it was easier for me to shorten my name to nicknames. I don’t mind my full name it’s just that I like it to be shortened. I didn’t want to say anything because it’s just kind of awkward to talk about.” He shook his head at me and I old see the varying emotions in his magenta eyes glancing at me sympathetically.

“It doesn’t have to be awkward not if you’re happy with yourself. If you’re happy then who else cares?” The way that was worded reminded me so much of how Edric reasoned with my anxiety of not being perfect.

“The way that you worded that reminded me so much of my boyfriend. It’s kind of adorable. Sometimes I need to be comforted about the silliest of things.” I rubbed the back of my neck my tying my hair into a better ponytail to keep it out of my face.

“Did you grow up watching the older Disney movies? What was your favorite other than Sleeping Beauty?” I laughed a little bit getting the book off of the shelf that was next to me showing it to him.

“Alice In Wonderland was my childhood favorite. It was the one that I watched the most because my parents prefer classic Disney. My sister is still the biggest Frozen fan so I’ve had to watch that movie way too many times over the last decade. It’s my curse.” I joked and he just laughed openly at the idea that I would always be there for my younger sister.

“Just because you’re a good older sibling doesn’t mean that you’re cursed to have to watch the same girly movie over and over again. I think that the message is really good. I still need to see a lot of the classic ones. Could you show them to me?” I nodded my head with a bright smile on my face at the idea of introducing him to the things that I had grown up with.

“The original animated film is the best keep the live action one’s away from me. I hate them. They tried to make them too serious and that’s not what this is. It’s chaotic and unique I get to pick the next book to read to my siblings and this is the one that I want to read to them.” I felt Hunter slowly start to shift a little bit closer to me.

“There’s something that I should tell you…” He looked down a little bit nervously and I blinked in confusion.

“You can tell me anything that you need to. As long as it doesn’t make you uncomfortable hun.” I encouraged him letting the pet name slip this time without fighting it back down again.

“I think I really like you. More than I should like a friend and I don’t know how to approach the topic because you’re clearly in love with your boyfriend.” I hugged my new friend with a small smile on my face.

“Oh hun I get that. That’s why I bailed so quickly on you earlier today. I had to talk to Edric about how far this all could go. I care about you too more than I should probably considering that before today I thought that I had only room in my heart for one idiot. Only to find that there was another one out there that surprised me. I want to be there for you in any capacity that you’ll allow for me to be. Whether that be as your friend while you get your bearings or something more once you get more comfortable with whatever you want me to be. I know that I don’t want you to meet Ed until you know what you want. He’s tried to get me to give him your phone number but I don’t want him to scare you off. He can be… a lot on a person and he’s just got a lot of chaotic energy and forgive me if I just want to be selfish and keep you to myself for as long as I can.” I felt new friend hug me as he leaned his head against my shoulder with a small smile.

“I want to be something more than friends with you I know that much. But I also want to wait until we’re better friends if that makes any sense at all. Is that okay with you?” I nodded my head knowing that it would be difficult for me to not just simply bundle him up in a blanket and keep him protected from the rest of the world.

“That’s perfectly alright with me. I won’t lie and say that it won’t be a challenge for me. I’ve always been the type to just go with the first emotion that I feel which usually isn’t good.” Hunter just laughed softly against my shoulder.

“I appreciate it. I’m still adjusting to having a normal life and it would be nice to have some sort of normal before I decide that I want to make a big life decision and start dating the most amazing person that I’ve ever met in my entire life.” My cheeks flushed a bright pink. Keep it together Kenny you can do this who cares if he’s the cutest boy that you’ve ever seen?

“I knew that I’d probably have to wait until you were more comfortable which is also why I’m trying to keep you away from Ed. See with my magic is I can replicate images of people and also save people’s voices to little places with my powers. Usually I save little things. Want to hear Edric’s genuine laugh?” He nodded his head excitedly and I used my summoning to summon the sound that I loved so much when I got to hear it.

“Oh my Titan that is the cutest thing that I’ve ever heard in my entire life…” I couldn’t help but smile softly at the fondness of that sound lighting me up inside.

“He’s a snorter when he laughs and it’s always adorable whenever I hear it. He rarely does it genuinely unless he’s really tickled by something because his parents had to go and make him feel self conscious of it.” I sighed a little bit thinking about Ed’s relationship with his mom. Hunter pulled back from the hug and I instantly wanted to wrap him up again.

“He’s been through a lot too?” I nodded my head playing with the tablecloth beneath my fingers taking a sip from my now cooling cocoa.

“This is the best thing that I’ve ever tasted… I used to just live off of black coffee.” I gagged feeling my reflex coming on really strong.

“You’ve got to add things to coffee Hunter. You can’t just drink it straight up because that’s disgusting. Haven’t you ever tried a mocha? You add hot chocolate mix to your coffee.” I asked him and he shook his head animatedly.

“That sounds amazing. I’ll have to take your idea and try it the next time that Eda gets coffee for Luz and I. She has to get decaf because Luz on caffeine.” He shuddered at the horror story and I laughed openly at the idea.

“I can imagine that’s a story that I would love. I love crazy Luz stories. That sounds like Ed and Em on a sugar high which is an absolute nightmare to manage. They get into even more trouble with sugar in their system. It’s why I can’t give them more than one treat whenever they come in. If it’s big they have to share it and give a majority of it to Amity. You’ll hear him call her Mittens quite a bit. That’s the family nickname for her. I call her it sometimes as well to mess with her.” I hummed the song that was playing over the radio today. It was one of my favorite older country songs by Johnny Cash, Ballad Of A Teenage Queen.

“Are you good at singing?” I nodded my head with a small smile on my face. Everyone that I’ve ever come into contact with told me that I was a good singer and I sang a lot to help Kendra and Kelvin get to sleep at night.

“I love singing I always have it’s one of my favorite things to do. Singing my siblings to sleep has always been something that I’ve done. I do it every night they curl up and listen to me sing. They still share a bedroom but we’ve been talking about them moving into separate bedrooms for the future. They’re almost six now so they should have their own spaces to be happy.” Hunter leaned against my side listening to my rambling about my siblings.

“I’m painting their bedrooms as well. I haven’t decided what to do for Kendra’s maybe something garden related? She really loves the outdoors.” He entwined his fingers with mine and I couldn’t help but melt into the touch.

“I’m sure that whatever you design for her that she’ll love it either way because her older sibling is the one that put forth all the hard work and effort to make her happy.” He reminded me lightly and I sighed a little bit into the touch of his caring nature.

“Is this okay?” I nodded my head with a small smile on my face. Affection was something that I always soaked up like water to a sponge. I could never get enough of it.

“It’s perfect thank you for being so supportive. Is there a particular reason that you came to the shop so quickly?” I asked him out of sheer curiosity and he just blushed a light pink looking down at his shoes a little bit.

“Well it’s because I just really wanted to see you and spend more time with you. You interested me in a way that nobody ever really has before. You intrigued me and I wanted to know more about you, about your family and what they did. I thought that if I did I’d find out what it was about you that fascinated me so much. Only to find out that your whole family is just full of this unique energy to them. You all understand each other and the needs of everyone in the family.” I laughed a little bit because my family was crazy and he just didn’t know that.

“You might think that now but my parents are kinda goofy I’m just giving you the heads up. You probably think that I’m just joking or whatever but no I’m being totally serious. They make up their own songs the whole nine yards. I just hope that are never around when they do that.” I warned him about the sheer insanity that happens in our kitchen from time to time. My entire family was just full of this concentrated quirkiness that we had to get out someway but never really knew how to do so.

“I actually really want to see that mostly to see if you do the same thing.” I flushed a bright pink nodding my head tentatively. Sometimes my mom would start singing her own made up song and I’d take it from there.

“I probably shouldn’t have told you that. When Ed found out he basically never let me live that down. It’s so embarrassing but he gets entertainment out of it. I’ll have to put you a chair in the kitchen so that maybe you could keep me company while I work. Ed has his own and I should make one for you.” I played with my index fingers a little bit and I saw his small smile.

“I’d really like that. I can distract you with my own rambling according to Luz I can be quite the bookworm.” I laughed a little bit at the idea of Hunter getting engrossed into something because the thought just seemed so adorable and cute. I could picture him rambling about whatever he was reading about magic related and my heart warmed at the thought of it.

“I’m a rambler too so I get that feeling. It’s hard when you’re the only one that does it because you eventually worry that people tune you out. Thankfully Luz is a rambler too so you can do it together.” I encouraged him and he just laughed at me a soft but at the same time open sound.

“Yeah that’s the plus side to it, does your sister do it?” I nodded my head with a small smile thinking about my younger sister who was probably debating which of the movies to show Hunter first.

“She does but she’s still kind of learning what words mean what so her rambling is really cute. She’s a lot like me when I was that age so I’m a bit closer to her than I am to Kelvin. Sometimes I don’t know how to relate to him or how to be a good older sibling to him.” I heard Kendra’s call from upstairs that she had the movie ready.

“It looks as though we’re being summoned. Come on you can take your drink with you. I’ll carry it the stairs can be quite treacherous.” I referenced one of my favorite movies to watch around Halloween and when I heard his laugh. Not the quiet one but one that I heard earlier the open one where his shoulders shook with humor.

“Luz showed me that movie it was one of her favorite’s that she would always watch with her mom. It was really, really funny. I was going to ask if you had ever seen it since it is your style of movie. That kind of cheesy horror movie that you mentioned earlier.” Rascal flew behind him and I couldn’t help but smile softly at the two of them.

“Do you know how Rascal got his scar?” He nodded his head and I looked at him curiously as I carried our drinks up the stairs.

“He had an abusive master before me. He never told who but I guess we had that in common and that’s why he picked me.” He shrugged it off like it was nothing but my heart went out to him and all the sorrow that he had seen.

“I’m sorry for all that you’ve both been through.” His smile even though it was soft it was still something that made my heart light.

“It’s okay. I’m getting through it just like everybody else does that struggles with the same pain that I did. I’m not alone anymore. I have Luz, I have Eda, and I have you now.” He grinned boyishly at me as we walked up the stairs together. My cheeks flushed a bright pink but I just led him up to the couch where Kendra had her mug on the tray in front of her. I put ours next to hers and made sure that everyone knew who’s was who’s. Hunter leaned against the back of the couch as his eyes widened at what he saw on the screen. I hoped privately that it wouldn’t be the last time that I’d get to see him with stars in his eyes.

[petri808]

Bakudeku 31 days of winter ice skating prompt

No one is willing to work with rich but hot-headed pairs skater Katsuki Bakugou,  but he needs a partner if he wants a second shot at the Olympics. His coach is desperate and finds former hockey player Izuku Midoriya who was injured at the last Olympics and can no longer play who agrees to give it a shot. The journey pushes Katsuki to change his ways so he doesn’t lose the one partner who gives him a second chance.

It’s generally based on the movie The Cutting Edge. Angst & Fluffy AU. 10K Modern AU

“This is ridiculous!” Katsuki snaps at his coach while pointing to Izuku. “He can’t be the best option! He’s not even a figure skater! And what’s with the hair! It’s a fucking mess! Where are you from, the slums?! Baggy flannel, really?! You look like a hobo! What about that Iida guy I told you to get?! Or Kaminari?! Someone that’s at least in the fucking right sport?!”

Coach Eijiro Kirishima pinches his brow and sighs, “no one else is willing to work with you after your behavior at the last competition. So, it’s this or give up your chance at next year’s competition.”

As the two men argued, Izuku Midoriya just stood there confused in the doorway of a large expense home. All he knew, is the coach had contacted him and offered a generous paycheck to skate again with a partner. It wasn’t ideal and he had no experience with figure skating. But the check cleared, and he needed the money badly. After a devastating injury on the ice sidelined his hockey career, life was a struggle. It took six months just to heal and medical bills needed to be paid. He’d assumed Katsuki Bakugou knew what the coach was up to... but apparently not. “Um, Eijiro, if he really doesn’t want me here, I’ll leave.” Just seeing the explosive attitude Katsuki is exhibiting is making him nervous.

“No, no,” Eijiro moves back to Izuku, while glaring at Katsuki, “he does, he just doesn’t realize it yet.”

“Pfft!” Katsuki sneers back.

“O—kay.” This is going to be interesting...

Maybe interesting is the wrong word, hair-pulling is more like it. Katsuki’s parents are rich, hence the mansion he’s now rooming in and to top it all off the guy has a personal ice-skating rink! An ice-skating rink! No wonder Katsuki was such a brat! But— the man is good, like really good on the ice... Katsuki’s skill as a figure skater is breathtaking to watch as he glided across the smooth white surface. Elegant, strong, and very handsome. But then the man opens his mouth, shattering the fantasy, and Izuku remembers who he’s really dealing with.

“Argh! Get it right Deku! Toe pick! Toe pick! Toe pick! Fucking learn how to use it! Two fucking weeks and your still face planting!”

“I’m sorry, okay! We don’t use toe picks in hockey!”

“This is not gonna work Eijiro!” Katsuki snaps at the coach. “I’m done today! Come get me when he fucking learns how to skate!”

The two men watch Katsuki storm out of the building. Izuku flinches at the sound of the door slamming shut. “Sorry Eijiro. I had no idea figure skating is this difficult.”

“You’re doing fine Izuku. Just keep practicing. You’ll get it soon.”

Izuku was never a quitter and no matter how much his hot-headed partner put him down, it only fueled his drive to get better. Early every morning he would wake up and skate until his legs hurt, then he’d ice them down at night, and start the process again in the morning. In hockey, elegant wasn’t necessary and being a little sloppy on the ice didn’t matter because you were too busy keeping from being slammed up against bodies or walls. But if there was one thing, he truly hadn’t anticipated was the physical prowess required for figure skating. When you watch the sport on tv, no offense, but those skinny bodies in tight leotards doesn’t make one think of powerhouses... until you attempt to pull off the technical moves that they do and learn really quickly how hard the ice can be on a human frame. If Izuku thought his injuries from a hockey match were brutal, figure skating is quickly tallying up the bruises and cuts to take the lead.

It’s been six months into the training and Izuku was growing curious as to what had caused Katsuki to lose his former partner. Eijiro was hesitant to tell him but did lead him towards where to find the answer. So, late one evening, Izuku pulls up YouTube and punches in the description the coach had given him. The results were... surprising to say the least and frankly shocked him because the partner he’d grown to know just didn’t fit what he was seeing. He closes the app and tucks the information away for the time being. It wasn’t worth focusing on the past if he wanted to get through the present. He just needed to buckle down and practice so that when the nationals arrive in 5 months, he’ll be ready.

As the smaller of the two, it’s decided that Katsuki would be the base and Izuku would perform the lifts. Such an act requires a lot of skill in balance and trust which wasn’t exactly the partners forte at the moment.

“Kacchan, we need to practice you lifting me up.” Kacchan is his new nickname for Katsuki. He didn’t know if the man really liked it, but he’s never stopped him from using it.

“You’re not ready,” the man replies curtly.

“That’s why we need to practice!”

“And what, break your neck?! Izuku, you ain’t ready yet!”

“Katsuki, he is ready,” Eijiro counters. “And Izuku is right, you both need to practice the moves in order for it to be spot on. If you’re afraid—“

“I’m not fucking afraid! Fine! You wanna practice, well practice, but don’t you tell me I’m afraid of tossing his ass in the air!”

Three more months, that’s all the time they had left to get two routines down perfect. A short program and a long program. Just trying to remember all the moves is hard enough, but having to execute them in synchronized patterns, smooth transitions, with elegant refinement, someone please remind Izuku why he took the job again?! As a partner, Katsuki is such an asshole to work with. There were so many moments when Izuku questioned his sanity in staying. The money was helpful, but is it really worth the abuse? And yet... there were also the moments when Katsuki might say something nice or a random ‘good job’ to Izuku that made him think, maybe Eijiro was right after all. Maybe Katsuki just needed the right partner. One who’s able to handle his outbursts and see through the hardened facade he shows to the world. It might have been lonely growing up as only child... Izuku should know since he’s an only child. But he grew up surrounded by neighborhood kids. Perhaps Katsuki had been isolated in this mansion for most of his life, because that certainly would stunt his social abilities.

The month before the competition was a whirlwind of activities. Grueling practices, costume fittings... Katsuki was monitoring what Izuku ate and how much sleep he was getting, like a paranoid mother. It got so strange, that Katsuki moved Izuku out of the guest room and into his own in order to watch him more carefully. Granted that Katsuki had a California king sized bed with a lot of space, but it was still awkward for Izuku to share it with him! What if he snored or rolled— sometimes he moved in his sleep. Plus, Katsuki was an early sleeper while he was a night owl. They are such opposites in personality and behavior. The first night fried his nerves so badly Izuku barely slept, only to be cussed out the next morning because he couldn’t focus during practice.

“Kacchan, please, I rather sleep in the guest room!”

“I don’t care what you want, this tells me I need to keep a closer eye on you.”

Izuku groaned and pushed away off the ice to get lunch. He knew there was no arguing with Katsuki unless he was ready for a fight. Wasn’t getting a restful night of sleep the better idea if he was so worried?!

Their afternoon practice did nothing to help his frayed nerves. Katsuki was acting so strange lately. When he talked it’s more like screaming at him, but when they trained... Katsuki’s touch was gentle? Intimate. ‘Duh’that’s what pairs skating is! Izuku chides himself. Like a dance of two lovers on a floor of ice. ‘Sex on ice... Stop it!’ Izuku couldn’t stop the heat flooding to his cheeks. ‘Don’t think like that!’ Ugh, he groaned again, now the mental image is going to torture him and if things couldn’t be worse, Katsuki saw him blushing to himself looking like a weirdo. Thankfully, all it gained was a raised eyebrow. Izuku is gay, but Katsuki isn’t the type of guy he normally went for and he swore he saw a photo in the man’s bedroom of a woman.

Putting aside all the crazy thoughts, Izuku finishes the day without invoking anymore of Katsuki’s wrath. They had dinner quietly before he was forced to go to bed at 9pm. Izuku prepared for another sleepless night as he lay there stiff on his side facing away from the other male. There was almost 2 feet between them, so he tried to pretend he was all alone, just him in a strange bed. Like at a hotel on the very first night and you’re still adjusting to its nuances. It was a comfortable bed, probably expensive with soft, silky sheets, and even the pillows were some fancy memory foam type. Perhaps it was sheer exhaustion, for after a short amount of time, Izuku fell asleep while running the choreography through his mind.

‘Wow it’s really hot today...’ Izuku stirred unconsciously from the dream and pushed the blanket down to his torso. ‘Maybe Yagi will let me go home from work early today, cause it’s exhausting to hang drywall on days like this.’ Izuku tries to turn around but he couldn’t. Panic set in the dream, and the walls closed in around him. ‘What’s going on?!’ He was working and now he’s trapped! Izuku pushes the wall with his back only to feel pressure increase around his body. “What the?!” It instantly snaps his mind awake and suddenly the construction site turned into the dark room of Katsuki’s bedroom.

“Stop... f’ing... moving...” the gravelly voice mumbles right next to his ear!

Izuku’s eyes blow wide as he looks down and sees the arm around his torso, registers that the heat he’d experienced in his dream was Katsuki! ‘Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!’ Why was Katsuki spooned up to him?! With every breath from the sleeping man blowing along his neck and down his back, every fiber in his body shivered, sending too many electrical pulses misfiring and blood rushing to the wrong places! Katsuki hadn’t just rolled too close, this was an intimate embrace! This couldn’t be real! Izuku tries to pry the man’s arm away gently without waking him only to have his ass grabbed by Katsuki’s other hand.

“Go the fuck to sleep, Deku.”

Izuku squeals. He can’t take this anymore. They weren’t that kind of partners. “K-Kacchan! Wh-What, why?!

“Can’t you just take the hint and go with it. I don’t do the whole flirting nonsense.”

“Oh, my god.” Izuku breathes out, he’s serious! And though a part of him gravitated to the idea of having this handsome partner in a relationship, Izuku worried mixing business with pleasure would blow up at some point. “Kacchan. I’m flattered, more than you might know, but I think we should just be partners on the ice.”

There was silence for several minutes and Izuku started to wonder if Katsuki had fallen back asleep and didn’t hear what he’d said. But it was the calm before the storm. Without warning, Izuku was pushed so hard from behind, he flew off the bed and landed hard on the ground. “GET OUT!!” Katsuki raged. “Get the fuck out of my room! Get the fuck out of my house!”

Izuku couldn’t see the man on the bed through the darkness but could almost feel the anger on top of the sound. One pillow, two pillow landing close to where he lay on the floor, then a lamp crashes on top of his hip. Izuku screams, scrambling up despite the pain and stumbling for the door.

“I-I’m sorry Kacchan—.”

“Get the fuck out!! I don’t wanna see here you in the morning!”

Izuku wiped away blinding tears as he packed up his few belongings to leave the mansion in the dead of night. He’d paused at Katsuki’s bedroom door on his way out; was the man crying behind it? It was hard to image the hot head crying but those were clearly the sounds of sobbing coming through. Izuku hung his head, fuck! He really messed up this time. But what could he do? Katsuki told him to go, and this was his house. He writes a quick note and slips it under the coaches door before taking a cab to the train station. The competition was only 2 weeks away, what about that? Is Katsuki going to throw away his chance to compete? Then again, people do crazy things because of emotions.

When he arrives at the station, Izuku find out that the next train to his town won’t arrive for another 6 hours. Just great. None of the food stalls were open at 2am, so he drops onto one of the benches and uses his duffle bag as a pillow. He sets the alarm on his phone and tries to get some sleep... that doesn’t come easily. Could he have handled the situation better? Okay, it wasn’t fair to blame him for making Katsuki cry. It’s not like the man gave any indication he was interested in Izuku in a romantic sense. Who does that?! Just forces someone to sleep in their bed and surprises them by spooning up in the middle of the night?! “just take the hint...” “Argh!” Izuku curls to his side and covers his face to block out the light. ‘This is not my fault! Stupid Kacchan!’ Tomorrow will be a new day. He’ll go home and just start over. Who needs Katsuki...........

“Wake up Izuku.”

“Ugh... go away,” Izuku groans and slaps away the hand shaking him.

“Izuku, get up. I’m here to take you back to the mansion.”

Wait, what?! Izuku opens his eyes, this can’t be happening. “Eijiro?!” He sits up, shaking his head and waving his hands to wipe away the man’s statement. “Please no! I don’t wanna go back there.”

“Look, I don’t know what exactly happened, and Katsuki isn’t telling me anything, but if you leave now all that work is for nothing and you don’t strike me as a quitter.”

Izuku shakes his head. “I’m not, but I don’t see how Katsuki would be willing to be partners. It’ll be uncomfortable for both of us.”

“He has no choice. This year’s national’s determines who goes to the Olympics.”

“What?!”

Eijiro grins. “Oh, did I forget to mention that?”

“Um, yeah! I-I signed up to— you know I was already concerned about nationals but now you’re telling me this is for a bid to the Olympics?! No! No! N-O, no way. I-I’m barely hanging on as is keeping up with figure skating!”

“Izuku think about it this way. You’ve both had a shot at the Olympics that were dashed. This is your second chance.”

“What do you mean both? Katsuki’s competed in the Olympics?”

“Yeah, the same year as you. I was surprised you didn’t recognize him.”

“I didn’t pay attention to the other sports because I was too busy worrying about my team.”

“Well,” Eijiro asks again. “Don’t you wanna have a second shot at gold?”

“Pfft,” Izuku sighs, “let’s just see if I can survive nationals.”

“Wonderful! Come on,” Eijiro grabs Izuku’s bag, “breakfasts on me.”

When they arrive at the mansion and walk into the house, Katsuki is standing in the living room with his arms crossed just glaring death daggers. Izuku gulps hard as he stands behind Eijiro who’d told him to let him handle Katsuki when they arrived. He was ready for the cursing, but the man just stood there.

“A-Are you sure it’ll be okay?” Izuku quietly questioned the coach. “He’s not gonna kill me in my sleep?”

“Well, at least not until after nationals.” Eijiro stared at Katsuki as he spoke. “Because he knows he has no choice.”

“Tch,” Katsuki stomps away.

‘This is gonna be a lo—ng 3 weeks!’

Excruciating to be exact. If there’s something that became brutally clear through this year to Izuku, is that in pairs skating, the chemistry between the skaters plays a role in how well they are received. They could be as technically perfect as required, but they won’t win over the audience and possibly even the judges if you can’t ‘feel’ their routine.

Their practices became mundane and performances, robotic. Katsuki didn’t touch Izuku in the same ways he had before, and he was noticing it more than ever. He realized the night Katsuki had made a move wasn’t the first time after all. Katsuki had been flirting with Izuku in his own subtle way, but he’d never caught on to it. That made Izuku feel even worse, but he also couldn’t go back on what he’d said because he meant it. Risking a relationship meant risking their careers. If they could just get through nationals and make the top 2 spots, they’ll get into the Olympics next year. So, despite the emotionless aspect of their routine, it was as good as they were going to get it to, and they were ready to take the risk...

But it still hurt.

The backstage area of the skating arena was a mad house with all the competing singles and pairs skaters cordoned off in their own dressing areas. Katsuki’s parents spared no expense on a team to get them ready. Perfect outfits, hair, and makeup to make them pop for the cameras. They looked amazing in their complimentary outfits, a perfect couple by design in every way except reality.

Ever since the night of the fight, Katsuki only spoke to Izuku as necessary in gruff tones. He would even look in his direction and never made eye contact during the practices. Eijiro tried so hard to talk to him. ‘You need to sell the illusion Katsuki. No one’s gonna buy your routine if you won’t even look at the man!’ But the hot head was unflinching in his stubbornness. His face would be towards Izuku, but his eyes looked elsewhere, and smiles were non-existent.

They were next in line, so the runners called them to the waiting area. As the pair stood and watched the performance going on before them, Izuku noticed Katsuki’s expressions growing angrier and angrier. It was his old partner with a new partner doing an amazing routine. Izuku recognized the man from the YouTube video as Shouto Todoroki and his female partner was fairly new to this level of the sport, named Momo Yaoyorozu. Had they been a couple, Izuku started to wonder, is that why Katsuki was so angry? Shouto and Momo’s scores elevated them straight to the number one position.

As they walked off the ice, both skaters smiled and nodded to Izuku, who returned the gesture with a bright smile. He had nothing against them even though they were rivals.

“No hard feelings Katsuki,” Shouto stuck out a hand.

But Katsuki slapped it away, “fuck off ice boy.”

Izuku immediately steps between them. “Sorry, K-Kacchan is just stressed.”

“Don’t talk to them Deku!” Katsuki grabs his hand and pulls him towards the ice.

As Izuku does as he’s told, he sees Shouto shaking his head in pity and he couldn’t blame the guy. Shouto seemed genuine, but it was Katsuki being the asshole. Needless to say, going into a routine angry was not the best idea.

“Kacchan, please,” speaking softly, Izuku begged one last time as they took up their positions. “Because you look too angry.”

“Don’t worry about me and just make sure you don’t screw up!”

‘Argh!’ “Got it.”

If there was one good thing, he could say about Katsuki, is the man is a machine and once the music starts, he’s all business, executing each step with precision like nothing was bothering him. Izuku too, stayed on track, meeting and exceeding his own expectations. He had been so worried that when the pressure really hit, he’d freeze up, make mistakes, and cost them this opportunity. The routine ends right on point to the wild sounds of clapping in the audience. It takes them a few moments to catch their breath before breaking apart. He tries and is rebuffed by Katsuki to hold hands as they bowed. Nevertheless, Izuku catches himself and plays it off, not wanting to appear unhappy for the judges. He thought they’d done an amazing job! At no point can he remember either making a mistake. Everything was right on point, especially the moves that carried the highest point values. They had to get 1st place! But when they stepped into the waiting box as the scores are tallied and posted, it wasn’t to be. The technical points were flawless, but the judges ranked them lower in components score... clearly the judges saw well and clear this pair was not a matching pair at all.

Katsuki storms away to the backstage area livid.

“This is all your fault Izuku!”

“My fault!” Oh, that’s it, Izuku wasn’t gonna hold back anymore. “I warned you, Eijiro warned you! You’re fucking attitude is what killed us! Every—body sees what an asshole you are except you!” He flails his arms in contempt. “A spoiled brat that can’t handle being told no!”

“You fucking take that back!” Katsuki lunges at Izuku who counters and pushes him away.

“I’m done!” Izuku screams and starts to walk away but turns back. “Oh, and for the record. I saw your last skate and Shouto did nothing wrong. You screwed up, you! Your hand slipped in the lift. No wonder you can’t keep a partner!”

Katsuki is so shocked, his mouth slams shut.

Eijiro tries to keep Izuku from leaving, but he’s done. They were in 3rd place and the odds of the last pair screwing up was slim to none because they were also former Olympic level skaters. But just as Izuku steps away they hear it over the PA, “oh, no! She fell!”

Their coach turns excitedly to the two men, “we are in!”

“No, we are not,” Izuku states matter of fact and walks away. This time he really is done. Done with all the fights and uncomfortable, complicated emotions. Going back to the Olympics would have been... the tears well up, but he closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, before continuing his stride out of the room. It would have been amazing, but he’s not turning around this time. He can hear Eijiro calling his name. He can hear the sound of something smashing against the wall... it won’t change his mind. If Katsuki can’t change his attitude, then why should he have to put up with it? It’s not fair to him. A part of him once gave the man the benefit of doubt, but perhaps Izuku should have taken a hint from all the partners of his past. Katsuki Bakugou will never change. His arrogance destroys all of his relationships, and that’s not the kind of man Izuku wants anything to do with.

He grabs his belonging from the hotel room, checks out and goes straight to the airport without looking back. The whole ride home, Izuku sat in first class with his cap kept down low to avoid human interaction. It was a four-hour flight back to the mansion and his plans were to grab all of his stuff and leave before Katsuki and Eijiro could get home too. A whole year wasted... Izuku cried softly to himself in the darkened cab of the plane. Now he’ll just go back home to Minnesota and pick up where he’d left off. Going back to working with his brother in construction wasn’t the worst thing. At least he wouldn’t have to put up with being yelled at all the time or being treated like shit. And hey, he could figure skate now! Maybe he’ll find a new partner like Shouto had done. Oh, that would piss Katsuki off so bad! Izuku snorts a small laugh. He never considered himself the vindictive type, but the thought made him laugh at least.

Back home, Katsuki stood in the empty doorway to the room Izuku was using, quiet, his head lowered, not listening to the words Eijiro was saying to him. They’d arrived at the silent mansion and deep down he knew Izuku wouldn’t be there, but that didn’t make the pain hurt any less. They’d hidden the fight from the media and Olympics committee, so as far as the world knew, they would be representing the United States in pairs skating.

“We’ll need to find a replacement Katsuki... we’ll just make up a story that Izuku got an injury or something to smooth it over.”

But Katsuki doesn’t respond to the coach and simply walks away, slamming his bedroom door closed. He falls back against it, slumping down to the floor with his knees up, arms wrapped around them and his head down. This wasn’t the first-time people have walked away from him, fought with him, but Izuku was different from all the rest and when that man walked away without looking back, Katsuki felt something he’d never experienced before. Problem was, he didn’t know what it was! And so, his only recourse was to resort to what he knew which is anger. He’d smashed the makeup case against the wall and broke a mirror with the costume stand.

How dare Izuku stand up to him like that?! As far as he was concerned, he built that man into a figure skater, gave him a new career path better than some stupid construction job! This was an opportunity of a lifetime! He’d even offered Izuku a chance to be his boyfriend, doesn’t he realize what an honor that is?! Katsuki knows exactly how good he is, and any man or woman would kill to have him as their boyfriend! Yet this guy turns him down?! Ridiculous! Just walks away from going to the Olympics?! His fist is clenched so tight, he can feel the pain of his nails digging into the palm. He was so angry! So furious! So... destroyed... Izuku turned his back on him. Fuck him! Fuck— why does he care so damn much! He’ll just get a new partner. He’ll make someone else’s dreams come true...

But he didn’t want anyone else...

No, fuck that! Katsuki jumps to his feet. Izuku was beneath him. How could he have every thought this man could fit into his circle? The guy was a former hockey player from some rural town, while he came from wealth for fucks sakes! Yeah, fuck him! Know what?! Fuck everybody!

Katsuki pulls out his phone and dials his mother. “I’m going on vacation for two weeks... no. Not with him, we— I’m going alone cause I need a break!” Click Next, he calls an airlines and books the first flight to anywhere, he didn’t care where, he just wanted to leave that night. The only option for first class was Hawaii. Oh, good, they had a vacation home there anyways. Katsuki packs a carry-on of just essentials, too irritated to pack a full suitcase. He can buy more clothes when he gets there. Before he leaves, he writes a note for Eijiro with explicit instructions not to contact him until he returned. He slips it under the man’s door then takes his car to the airport since his driver is off for the rest of the night. This whole year left him emotionally unstable, so maybe some beach time and relaxation was the cure.

It was early in the morning by the time Katsuki had arrived at their vacation home on the picturesque Kohala Coast of the Big Island of Hawaii. He’d called ahead for a limo service to pick him up and drive him the 50-odd miles from the airport in Kailua Kona, and the groundskeeper to prep the house for his arrival. His plan was to do nothing but drink, relaxing alone, and to sort out whatever it was that plagued him. He’d slept for most of the ride over, but his mind would keep going back to Izuku. He tosses his bag onto his bed and walks straight to the kitchen for a shot of something, anything he didn’t care.

“ARGH!!!” Katsuki growls in the empty house. “Why the fuck can’t I stop thinking about him!!!” He takes a longer swig of the hard liquor before capping it off and heading the shower. It’s been about 36+ hours since his last one before the competition.

Day in and day out, Katsuki’s depression takes hold, alternating between fits of anger and crying until he passed out from the amount of liquor he’d consumed. The poor housekeeper that came each day, did her best to steer clear, cleaning up after those fits, to keeping the pantry stocked with bottles of liquor to avoid his wrath. For the life of him, Katsuki couldn’t understand why, of anything. Angry and feeling jilted by his partner. Confused as to why Izuku’s leaving hurt so damn much. He’d never experienced this level of despair before, just couldn’t fathom what was really causing it... okay, that was a lie. Katsuki knew damn well why he was so upset, but he just couldn’t bring himself to accept it. And so, he drank his emotions away, buried it under a tidal wave of alcohol and lived in a stupor of dreamless misery.

“Oh, thank goodness,” the housekeeper greeted Eijiro. “He’s passed out in his room.”

“Thank you, Ke’ala.” Eijiro thanks the woman and enters Katsuki’s bedroom. He rips the curtain open.

“Time to get up Katsuki! You need help.” The man on the bed is so drunk, he doesn’t even flinch. Eijiro pulls harder on his leg. “Get up Katsuki!”

The drunk mumbles something, then rolls onto his side. “You leave me no choice Katsuki.” Eijiro picks up the dead weight and carries him into the shower. He puts the man onto the shower floor fully clothed, then turns it on full blast, hitting him dead center in the face. That wakes Katsuki up real, quick!

“What the fuck?!” The man defends against the cold water, flailing his arms pitifully, and scrambling along the tiled floor until his back hits a wall. He wipes his face, “I told you not to contact me till I returned!”

“First off, your parents pay my bill and they’re the ones who sent me. Second, take a goddamn shower cause you stink to hell. Then meet me in the living room.” Eijiro tosses some clean clothes onto the counter and walks away without another word. He hears Katsuki swearing behind him, but he didn’t care.

Thirty minutes later an angry but sober, cleaner Katsuki walks into the living room and plops down onto a couch opposite of Eijiro who pushes a cup of hot coffee towards him. He takes the cup and starts to drink it, though his expression remained accusatory, with furrowed brows, just glaring at the coach. “What do you want Eijiro?”

“Do you even realize you’ve been gone a month?”

No... he hadn’t but, “what’s your point?” Katsuki retorts because he didn’t want to show he cared.

“Do you or don’t you want to go to the Olympics?”

“Of course, I do. But y’all were right all along. No one wants to be my partner, so guess that means I’m done.”

Eijiro sucks in a breath at the revelation. This was the first time he’d ever in their seven-year working relationship heard this man admit a failing. He was a little caught off guard, but in a good way. “Katsuki,” Eijiro sighs, “is this the first time you’ve ever been in love?”

Katsuki puts his cup down and leans forward. “What did you just say to me?!”

“You heard me. Just admit it, you’re in love with Izuku Midoriya.”

“Get out!” Katsuki jumps up and points at the door.

“I’m not leaving. The only way to get past this is to accept the fact you’re in love and because he left you, you’re angry and confused. You pushed him away— admit it to yourself for once in your life and just own up to it!

“I-I’m not in love with Izuku!” His hands fly up and grip to the sides of his head. All of this commotion and the emotions coupled with a hangover is creating a storm of a headache. “I’m not! I’m not! I’m not!” He shakes his head as tears start to flow. “Why is this happening to me?! I-I can’t be in love with him!” Katsuki’s hands drop, but flail in front of him. “And so, what if I am, he turned me down! I have nothing to go back to, no Olympics, no Izuku, just an empty mansion, so just let me drink myself into oblivion!” He drops back onto the couch, cradling his face in his hands as the dam of tears burst free. “Just leave me alone, please.”

Eijiro gets up and kneels in front of Katsuki, placing a hand on the man’s knee. “It’s not too late to fix things. Izuku is angry because of how you treated him, but he doesn’t hate you.”

“You don’t know that,” he grumps back.

“Oh, I’m pretty sure about it. In fact, I’m quite certain he likes you too, but the way you handled approaching him, scared him. Katsuki, relationships... they require honesty, sincerity. You can’t force someone to love you. You have to make them feel loved and appreciated.”

“I don’t... know how. I don’t know what he wants! A-And I’m not good at showing my emotions.”

“Why don’t you try talking to him? Be honest with him and tell him how you feel.”

Katsuki pauses for several minutes as if his coaches words are truly sinking in. Is it really possible? Could he do it? But he’d been such an asshole to Izuku, who in their right mind would give him a second chance. Because he certainly would not... and maybe that was part of his problem. He couldn’t handle the rejection, and so he did what he knew how to do which is lash out, and that’s exactly what he did to Izuku. Katsuki sighs forlornly, “I don’t deserve a second chance.”

“Everyone deserves a second chance Kacchan.”

Katsuki’s heart stops at the sound of Izuku’s soft voice, too afraid to even look up and confirm it wasn’t a figment of his imagination. If Izuku was really here, does that mean he’d heard and saw everything from the moment Eijiro had arrived too?!

Eijiro squeezes Katsuki’s knee. “When I told Izuku what we saw you doing here, he agreed to help bring you home.”

“S-Saw?” Katsuki closes his eyes and whispers.

“This place has security cameras. So, after three weeks had passed by and you still hadn’t come home, your parents pulled up the footage and showed it to me. If I knew things were this bad, I would have come sooner.”

Katsuki’s eyes only tighten when he feels the cushion next to him depress, and the scent of Izuku’s cologne hit him, to block a new wave of tears from escaping. He had no idea how much of the footage they’d seen, but it was highly likely they’d seen the days and weeks passing by with Katsuki drinking almost non-stop. He barely ate or took care of his personal hygiene, because he’d stopped caring, and all he wanted to do was numb his pain.

“Kacchan... I didn’t mean for you to hurt yourself like this. I was— still am upset about things, but like Eijiro said, I don’t hate you and if you’re willing to work with me, like a real partner, then... then I’ll come back. But we need to set some rules, like respect. You can’t keep yelling at me and expect me to stick around.”

Katsuki looks up. “But why would you give me a second chance?”

Izuku blushes and voice softens, “because Eijiro is right. I do have a small crush on you.” But when he sees Katsuki’s face brighten, he quickly adds to his statement. “I-I’m still torn about it, s-so please don’t take that as I wanna jump into a romantic relationship right now. I’m the kind of guy that likes some sentiment, to be wooed or swept off their feet. It’s gotta build up to a point where I’ll be comfortable with the idea, because mixing business with pleasure scares me. Just look at what happened when I turned you down. It ruined everything.”

“I guess I never thought of it that way,” Katsuki breathes out. “This is all new territory to me, and I really don’t know how to handle it.”

“See, this is great!” Eijiro cuts in. “You guys are talking like civilized people, it’s wonderful.”

“Are you done?” Katsuki grumps.

“That depends if you’re ready to start fresh and get back to training together?”

“Kacchan?” Izuku looks over beside him. “I’m willing.”

Katsuki sighs, his heart desperately wants to, but he knows it won’t be easy to control his feelings for Izuku. “I’ll give it a try.”

The trio spends one more week in Hawaii, to give Katsuki time to fully recover from all the alcohol consumption as well as simply enjoy a Hawaii vacation. It was the first time Izuku had ever been to Hawaii and wow, he couldn’t get enough of all the food choices! And the sunsets were just stunning, glistening off of the water! So many colors, it was like heaven greeting earth each clear day.

“I’ll bring you back here on vacation,” Katsuki tells Izuku one day as they’re roaming the Waikoloa shops. “I mean, if you want to.”

Surprised, but happy by the gesture. “That’d be really nice Kacchan.” Since they had to stay longer than expected, Katsuki insisted on buying Izuku some clothes and souvenirs to take back home. He tried to refuse, but the man wasn’t taking no for an answer. It was the least he could do, was the reply for putting up with him. Katsuki also refused to step into any shop he deemed of low quality, so the King’s Shops at Waikoloa is where they went. Tori Richard’s, Tommy Bahama, and Michael Korrs, all places Izuku would never have shopped at.

As they sat in the dining room of Roy’s Waikoloa bar & grill, Izuku stares out over the manmade lake next to the shopping center. He’d adjusted to fancier food because that’s all Katsuki’s cook would make but sitting there with the man in a restaurant was a totally new experience. It was really nice, and for possibly the first time since they’d met a year ago, Izuku relaxed.

He didn’t expect a miracle, or for Katsuki to suddenly change overnight for that would be unfair, but as long as the man tried, Izuku wouldn’t leave like he’d done before. Oh, but was it tough in the beginning! In Hawaii, Katsuki could control his outbursts, but the moment the pressures of training kicked in, so to, did his old personality. Unlike before, Izuku was quicker to say something, telling him to stop before he says something he’ll regret. It seemed to do the trick. The man would stop and move on. After a month, Katsuki started to catch himself, literally mid-sentence stop, and walk away. Izuku wished he’d be more open with him instead of running away, but it was definitely an improvement. By the third month back, he even apologized. Izuku remembered the first time Katsuki said sorry and after a moment of shock, he smiled and said it was okay.

But there was one thing he hoped would come back. He still remembers the heated tingles he’d feel when Katsuki would hold him in positions. It was lost after their fight, and the man almost seemed, afraid, to touch him in the wrong way. Afraid he would make Izuku uncomfortable and risk chasing him away again. He didn’t know how to convey such a desire without confusing Katsuki and opening up a door he wasn’t ready to walk through yet. So, Izuku kept his mouth closed and focused on encouraging the man to keep improving on his social skills.

With six months left until the Olympics, the pair had their short program already choreographed and perfected. That left the long program, and the most important skate of their careers left to solidify. It was a skaters last opportunity to showcase a brilliant program and garner the highest amount of points possible.

“We need a showstopper, something new, something so damn amazing the judges will have no choice but to give us the win!” Katsuki tells Eijiro. “Whatever you need, choreographers to help you, I’ll get it.”

“Well...” the man picks a folder up from his desk, tapping it in his hand before opening it and pulling out a few sheets. He walks over to the ice where the two men were standing, slowly placing each sheet down onto the ice as he spoke. “There is one thing that my old mentor passed down. It’s never been used— because the difficulty level makes it quite impossible.”

Izuku picks up the first sheet, “it’s basically a bounce, spin into a toss, spin?”

“That’s illegal,” Katsuki looks over the man’s shoulder at the paper. “We can’t do an illegal move!”

“Legal, illegal, it’s more of a gray area,” Eijiro clarifies, “just extremely difficult.”

The longer Izuku stares at it, the worse the hairs stand up on the back of his neck. “K-Kacchan would have to spin me like a centrifuge, throw me, then catch me...” he mumbled out as the blood drains from his face. “This defies the laws of gravity and if he slips...” he doesn’t finish the sentence, but the image in his head was of a face scraped off and bloody.

“It takes a lot of skill, a lot of practice, and above all trust between the partners.”

“I don’t know...” Izuku mumbles.

“I think we can do it. Hell yeah! This would win us gold! Come on Izu, don’t you wanna win?!”

“Of course, I do, but—.”

Katsuki grabs Izukus hands, holding them firmly with such excitement behind his eyes and a sultry charm to his voice. “I really think we can do this together.”

“O-Okay,” Izuku melts under Katsuki’s sway. “I believe in you.”

“No. I believe in us.”

Izuku’s eyes widen, his heartbeat speeds up, and all those tingles rush over him. Their eyes meet and hold as seconds silently pass. The cold air of the room disappears, replaced by the warmth centered from their conjoined hands. In that moment, Izuku was willing to believe, that yes, they could pull it off if they trusted each other.

Eijiro clears his throat, “I take that as a go ahead... so!” He claps his hands. “This will be incorporated as the finale of the program.”

“Way to kill the mood man.” Katsuki grumps causing Izuku to blush.

They order custom made training outfits designed to be aerodynamic but with padding in specific areas to absorb shock from falls. It was a brutal regime, especially on Izuku’s body and nothing in his past experience with hockey could compare. Rigging could only be used as they practiced the solitary spin itself, so when they practiced without it, he suffered fall after fall, tossed onto the ice when Katsuki lost his grip on Izuku’s legs. Frankly, it’s a miracle he never broke a bone, but bruises and cuts often slowed the training down. Katsuki himself added upper body workouts to strengthen and increase his ability to not only hold onto Izuku but control the spin. Remember, this is still part of a choreographed piece to music, so timing was everything. It fell on his shoulders not to screw up and miss a step. Three months into this intensive training, Izuku finally demanded a break after a particularly brutal fall that was a breath away from dislocating his right shoulder.

“I brought you dinner,” Katsuki walks into Izuku’s bedroom where he’s resting. It was wrapped by a doctor and he was told not to use that arm for the next five days just to make sure it didn’t get worse.

“Aww, thank you Kacchan.” Izuku smiles, “you didn’t have to.”

“It’s fine.” He tries to hide his blush. “I feel bad cause I messed up again.”

Izuku takes Katsuki’s hand causing the man’s blush to grow, and squeezes, smiling, and conveying more than words ever could.

With one month to go, the pair had everything in their long program down solid, except for the new move which they’ve decided to name in honor of Eijiro’s mentor, the Pamchenko. They’ve landed it twice successfully in the last two months, and the probability of sticking it under pressure at the Olympics was slim. So, with time running out they practiced a separate move instead to fill the void. It was still pretty spectacular, but not as jaw dropping.

Katsuki’s frustration had returned much to Izuku’s disappointment and he did his best not to anger the man. It sucked to be walking on pins and needles all over again, especially because being so close to the end, quitting would be crazy. Izuku just grit his teeth and ignored the man’s tirades, then cried himself to sleep some nights in his bedroom. They’d had six months of doing so well... he really thought Katsuki was changing for the better and growing into the kind of man Izuku would get into a romantic relationship with. But worst of all, is Katsuki hasn’t noticed his effect on his partner.

Izuku flops onto his bed after dinner and lets out a deep exhale, staring at the ceiling. ‘Maybe you really can’t change some people.’ Win or lose, once the Olympics was over it was time to say goodbye to Katsuki Bakugou.

There’s something to be said about the starting of the games and the walk the Olympians do. All dressed in the colors of their countries, head held high waving to the fans as their flags signal, their arrival. It’s a proud moment that such a small number of athletes in the world ever get to experience. Through blood, sweat, and tears, this was it, this is what they’d worked so hard for years to achieve. It was a second chance for he and Katsuki to shoot for their gold medal dreams. Which is really about pride not monetary gain. It’s to prove you’re the best in the world.

The morning of the short program was spent getting prepped like usual. Costumes, check. Hair and makeup, double check. Skates shined and sharpened. Music provided to the program director. There was nothing more for them to do but wait until it was their turn. Izuku focused on staying calm and not hurling up his breakfast, while Katsuki paced like a caged animal listening over the P.A. for the results as one by one each countries teams took the ice. They could go and watch the performances, but that might fry their nerves even more than it already was. Then again watching Katsuki pace wasn’t helping either, so Izuku steps out of the dressing area and into the hall for a break.

“Izuku Midoriya?” A voice spoke from his left.

“Yes?” He turns to look and smiles. “Oh, hello Mr. Todoroki. Heading up?”

“Soon. I just wanted to congratulate you on making it this far.”

“That’s really kind of you. Congratulations as well to you and Ms. Yaoyorozu.”

“Also, for surviving Katsuki. You must be quite the man to stick around.”

‘If only you knew.’ “Um, thanks,” Izuku chuckled nervously, praying that Katsuki couldn’t hear them from inside the room. “It’s been interesting to say the least.”

“So, you plan on staying his partner after this?”

Izuku pauses, debating whether to speak up or pretend nothing was wrong. But who was he kidding, Shouto had worked with Katsuki and was his partner at the last Olympics. This man would probably know if Izuku tried to lie about anything. He lowers his voice, head shaking in emphasis of his words. “No, well, I haven’t fully decided yet.”

“Well, if you don’t give me a call. I’ll help you find a new partner.”

“Oh. Wow. Thanks!”

Shouto tips his head. “Good luck to you Izuku Midoriya.”

He smiles. “Good luck to you too, Mr. Todoroki.”

The smile on Izuku’s face stays firmly planted as he watches the man walk away. Shouto Todoroki was easy on the eyes for sure, and he appreciated how nice he was unlike his own partner. Yaoyorozu was a lucky woman in more ways than one ever since they’d announced their engagement two months back. Ah, well. One day he’ll get lucky in the love department too. Still smiling to himself, Izuku goes back into the dressing room, but instead of a pacing Katsuki he finds a glaring one looking right at him.

“Kacchan, are you okay?”

Unlike in the past, the man says nothing and doesn’t respond. He can see Katsuki’s fists clenched at his sides as if he was barely controlling his anger. Had the man heard his conversation with Shouto?! Well, you know what? After all he’s been through, he didn’t care if he had. “Fine, ignore me. We’re up soon, so be ready.” Izuku walks back outside without missing a beat. He was through with Katsuki’s behaviors.

So, surprise, surprise, the short program was like a repeat of their qualifiers. Perfect technical scores, but the components... high skating skills, high transitions, compositions, and interpretations... mediocre on the performance element. Their whole vibe lacked an emotional tie to the music or each other and the judges reamed them for it. At this level of competition, when scores differed by fractions of points, the smallest misses could be your death sentence. It left them in 4th place, 2 levels below the other American team. To reach gold now required an extraordinary long program.

The limo ride was tense the entire way back to the rented villa, with Eijiro stuck in the middle of two men refusing to even look at each other. “This is why you scored low!” He snaps at them the second they walk into the front door. “You,” he points at Katsuki. “Your anger is killing this team! I had such high hopes for you both, but without the Pamchenko, it’s over!”

“Tch!” Katsuki crosses his arms, “I ain’t got no problem with that.”

Eijiro opens his mouth to counter, but it’s Izuku who snaps first. “You, selfish, spoiled brat! It’s easy for you to say cause you’re not the one taking the greatest risk and I’ve already left the Olympics once with a sidelining injury, so I’m not gonna risk it again!” Tears break free unencumbered as he walks straight up to Katsuki and slaps him as hard as he can across the face. “Just when I’d started to fall in love you reverted back to this,” motioning up and down at the shocked male, “the asshole who only cares about himself! How could someone like you ever love me?! How?!” Izuku screams at the top of his lungs... then silences his tears, “you can’t, not like this.” He runs away to his room, slamming the door, and leaving a flabbergasted Katsuki standing there like a fool.

“He’s right,” Eijiro walks up and stares him down. “All these years I’d hoped you would change— that he might be the key, but now I don’t know.” He walks away to his room too.

“Argh!!” Katsuki screams and leaves the house. Everything was falling down around him again! “Fuck!” But he knew it was all his own damn fault. He’d wanted so badly... and now to find out Izuku... “Fucking dumb fuck!” He screams at himself! How the hell does he fix this?!

The sun had not yet risen by the time Izuku and Eijiro were up and eating breakfast quietly in the kitchen area. Neither said anything, just looking down like robots programmed to follow mundane human behaviors. Katsuki’s bed was empty and it was clear he hadn’t slept in it, but no one knew where he was. The doorman told Eijiro the man had left after the fight and never returned, and he had turned off his phone. The coach was pretty certain Katsuki wouldn’t have left the area without retrieving his belongings, plus the airline ticket was still unused. So, where was he?

“We’ll go to the arena like normal,” Eijiro tells Izuku. “Hopefully Katsuki turns up.”

Izuku himself wasn’t in the best state of mind either and mindlessly nods at the coaches words. He knew the things he’d said to Katsuki were true and needed to be said, but that didn’t mean it made him feel any better. Part of him wanted to just forfeit and leave, but at the same time, he didn’t want to be labeled the reason a U.S. team had to forfeit. If Katsuki really was going to be the stupid one, Izuku wasn’t going to let the man take him down too. Katsuki came from wealth and didn’t need anything. All Izuku had was his reputation and honor, and that was worth protecting.

The longer the day went on with no sign of Katsuki, the more Izuku really wished he could just curl upon in some hole. He felt as if everyone in the field was silently judging him. ‘Where’s his partner? Did they have a fight? Poor guy. Aww how sad...’ there he was all dressed and ready for the long program with no partner. He warmed up on the ice just in case, but it was pretty miserable doing it all alone.

Less than two hours before they were set to skate, Katsuki’s mother walks in, dragging her son behind her. Eijiro gets up to meet his employer, but Izuku barely manages a smile when the woman comes up to him.

“I know we’ve never had a chance to meet Mr. Midoriya, my name is Mitsuki Bakugou, and I extend my warmest thanks for working with my problematic son.”

Not wanting to be rude to the woman, “it’s nice to meet you Mrs. Bakugou. Your son he... he has his good sides.”

The woman laughs, “no need to be humble, I know my son is a brat. And that’s my fault, I shouldn’t have spoiled him so much. But I just want you to know that you really have made a big impact on him.” She chuckled, “It’s been quite shocking for my husband and I to listen to Eijiro’s reports.”

“Oh...” Izuku’s eyes widen. He never knew the coach was spying! “I, um am not sure what to say,” he stammers.

“Okay, okay old hag,” Katsuki suddenly interjects and starts to push his mother out the door. “We gotta get ready, so we’ll see you after the program!”

“Don’t call me a hag you brat!” She yells at her son, then waves at Izuku. “It was nice meeting you!”

“It was uh, nice to meet you too,” Izuku responds and waves back.

Katsuki returns a few minutes later and approaches Izuku. “Could we talk in private somewhere?”

“You need to get ready first,” Izuku states matter of fact. “We skate in less than 2 hours and we need to be ready.”

Katsuki nods without arguing and goes to the stylists chair, telling them to make it quick. And it doesn’t take very long for them to dress and tame his hair. Once that’s done, Eijiro and the stylist quietly take their leave.

“So,” Izuku stands there with his arms crossed, “what did you wanna say to me?”

Katsuki sighs, long and deep, hanging his head and closing his eyes. “I know saying sorry won’t mean much at this point, but for what it’s worth, I’m truly sorry Izuku.” He opens his eyes full of tears. “Last night when I left, I was so angry at myself, at the world, then I saw you with Shouto again and that pissed me off, and I took it out on you again, and that’s not right. So, I kept walking, and walking, just thinking about everything. My life, about this sport, and most of all you. I-I don’t deserve you, at all, I know that.” He pauses for a moment and closes his eyes again. “And when I found myself standing on the edge of a pier ready to jump, I called my mom to come get me.” He chuckled forlornly, “me still crying to my mother at this age, it’s so fucking pathetic. She convinced me to come here today and finish what we’d started for better or worse, make it right by you because I’m the one who dragged you into this world and it’s not okay to make you face it alone. If you hate me, I—,”Katsuki squeezes his eyes shut again as he takes another deep breath. “I-I’ll accept that. If you never forgive me, I’ll accept it because I don’t expect your forgiveness. But I just wanna say thank you for everything and I’ll always love you Izuku.”

The whole time Katsuki spoke, the man never made eye contact with him, but Izuku could feel the waves of regret flowing from him in a way he hadn’t expected. It was different from the time in Hawaii, much more heartfelt. Not that Katsuki hadn’t been trying back then, but he wasn’t exactly sure how to describe it. This apology hit Izuku more deeply somehow and when the man said he’ll always love him— he just knewKatsuki meant it with every fiber of his soul... and he knew no one could ever replace Katsuki in his own heart.

“Oh, Kacchan I don’t hate you.” His voice was soft and full of tenderness. He closes the gap between them and takes the man’s hands, forcing him to look up. His eyes were filled with happy tears, and his ear-to-ear smile was brighter than any other time in his life. “I can’t say I’m not frustrated, but I don’t hate you. Okay? We’ll work on stuff together.”

At that moment, Eijiro pops his head back into the room. “It’s time to hit the ice guys.”

“Okay!” Izuku answers cheerfully before turning back and wiping away Katsuki’s tears and his own. “Come on,” he pulls Katsuki from the dressing chair, turning as he talks, “we’re gonna kick everyone’s ass with the Pamchenko!”

“What?!” Katsuki pulls Izuku to a stop. “No! You’re right it’s too risky! We’re not doing it!”

“Yes!” Izuku continues pulling and walking, dragging Katsuki with him, “we’re doing it!” He smiles genuinely, causing Katsuki’s cheeks to flush red.

“N-No, I don’t want to risk you getting hurt Izuku! It’s too dangerous!”

The closer they get to entrance of the rink, their voices lower but the back, and forth argument continues. Yes! No! Yes! No! Yes!! The announcer calls their names, so they skate onto the middle of the rink and assume their positions.

“If you think I’m doing all this to get a routine out of you, you’re wrong! Izuku, why are you doing this?!”

“Because,” he smirks back, “I’m in the mood to kick a little ass!”

Izuku’s statement and the energy exuding from the man, makes Katsuki’s eyes flash with an adrenaline rush of excitement. He’s never felt such a rush before a program, and he loves how it feels! Any doubt he’d had of his feelings for Izuku, melted away the second the music began.

Their bodies moved in perfect alignment, truly lost in the music and their long-practiced routine flowing as a dance along the ice like two lovers pushing and pulling against each other in reflection of the journey it took to get to that point. The audience ooh and awed, spellbound as the pairs hands, strong yet covetous, molded in loving embrace before heart stopping explosive leaps and spins send their toes curling, and lifting them off their seats. But no one was more enraptured then the two skaters. The world simply fell away, and the competition became a blur around them.

Izuku had no time to process the sheer excitement coursing through his veins or those elusive tingles he’d longed to feel again from Katsuki. But they fueled him, drove him towards their end goal, and made him feel more alive than he’d ever felt! It was magic, pure and simple.

They flowed effortlessly into the first stage of the Pamchenko, with no falter to the strong grip Katsuki had on Izuku. The man was confident which in turn made him relax and relinquish all control to Katsuki’s capable hands. Izuku stayed focused, his arms kept tightly to his sides, counting each spin as the g-force momentum built up to the perfect pitch... and finally the release. The audience goes silent as Izuku’s body spun through the air, one, two, triple axel... caught! In Katsuki’s arms as Izuku hits the ice again. The entire stadium erupts while the pair glides to a smooth stop in the middle of the rink, with Izuku dipped and cradled in Katsuki’s arm.

Neither cared about the judges or competition nor the screaming fans on their feet, cheering in a thunderous roar. It was just them gazing at each other as they caught their breaths with camera lights flashing all around them.

“But why?” Katsuki���s questions Izuku again, because he genuinely couldn’t understand why the man was willing to take such a high risk. “You didn’t have to do it.”

Izuku beams back, “I told you before,” eyes softening. “Because I love you.”

Katsuki’s heart skips and soars as he swoops in, kissing Izuku with all the pent-up passion the man brought out of him. It was magical, freeing, and nothing could compare to this moment, not even winning gold! He helps Izuku to his feet and takes his hand as they bow for the crowd then skate off the ice to await the scores. “I still don’t deserve you Izuku, but I’m gonna spend the rest of my life spoiling you rotten to earn it.”

Izuku giggles, “I just want the real Kacchan, that’s all I need to be happy.”

“Well, too bad,” Katsuki laughs back, “I’m still gonna spoil you.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

“No.”

“Yes.” Katsuki clasps Izuku’s face in his hands with a grin. “I’m gonna work hard to curb my anger,” placing another kiss on the man’s lips, “but this is one fight you’ll never win, so just accept it.”

A tear trickles down Izuku’s cheek, which Katsuki smooths away with his thumb. Izuku felt like a damn princess in some fairytale, his eyes twinkling in the light. “Oh, Kacchan...”

[abloomntime]

A Bloom In Time Ch23 Poppy’s Day Out

"Last stop Express Town. Thank you for choosing PenCo Metro for all your space travels. We at PenCo value your time as customers and hope to see your lovely faces again soon. And hope you enjoyed your space traveling experiences with us." The few penguins that were on the metro along with Poppy, Cookie, and the girls excited the space train as it sat still in the giant tower like structure funnel that would take it back upwards to the moon. Passing a few other penguins and maybe an owl or two heading back towards it. "Attention boarding passengers. The Evening Express back to the moon will leaving within fifthteen minutes. Please be sure to have your luggage in hand when you board."

"Does he always have to say the same thing every time we use it?," Mu asked earning a slight frown from Cookie.

"That's his JOB. It's what he's supposed to do. Don't complain about him doing his job correctly."

Whelp. Here they were. Down on the planet finally and had real dirt under her feet.....Or sand. Really, REALLY hot sand. Blue eyes gazed around her at the scorching desert surroundings and the decently sized town of owls walking around. It looked as if she just walked into a western movie and stopped. There must've been at least a hundred and twenty different buildings if she was estimating it good enough from their spot on the hill. It was a decent sized town all right. Not too big. Not too small. But absolutely hot with the afternoon sun beating down on them and such. One gigantic building stood in the dead center of the town and it had a decent sized parking lot too. She was certainly more at ease and comforted at least. Express Town certainly looked more her time than the flashy neon lights of Moon City that's for sure. Smiling she followed along Cookie as the girls ran ahead of them a few feet giggling and playfully shoving at one another kicking up sand.

"This place looks pretty rustic," Poppy commented smiling. From the hill she could also see a set of train tracks leading into and away from the town and beside that was a train station. Everything just looked as it was in a western like town in her day. Not that she's ever been to one, but she did have relitives who did.

Cookie nodded in front of her watching the girls with a smile. "That there big building is the Dead Bird Studios. Most of the owls who live here work there or in the small shops around town. You see Conductor may be a little.....loud but he loves supportin' local shops here. He gets all his costumes from the famous clothing store nearby, and his coffee from Jukebox Cafe'. They have a delicious bird seed chocolate cappuccino...If you don't mind birdseed that is. My own little resturaunt is right across the street from the studios. I always wanted one, and thanks to the directors' generosity I finally did."

".....I think I actually saw one of this Mr. Grooves's picture shows now that I think about it." Her memory went to two night before while cleaning the attic and kitchen. She still couldn't sleep after a while and stayed up a bit watching something she couldn't remember fully on the television the girls left on.

"Oh really? Well Mr. Grooves certainly has a more flashier taste than Conductor but his are just as nice if you ask me," Cookie replied unbiased before looking over her shoulder at her. "The first place we'll stop by is Hawk's Eye Pawn shop."

".....Pawn shop?"

"It's kinda like a trading post. You trade things there for pons or bye somethin' they have on the store shelves."

Oh. So a trading post. She knew what those were alright, had one on the edge of the town she lived in. Where she got most of her furniture and goods actually. Following Cookie, they all went into the town of owls. And she got a good look at everyday life in a town of owls and birds. As soon they stepped foot in there she could see that everything was made a little taller thank goodness, she didn't feel like crawling through any more doorways and tunnels feeling awkward and big and clumsy. Funnily enough most of the houses they passed seemed to be nothing more than homes, if the stores didn't have open signs or display cases in their windows, she would've thought all of these were just more homes for these owls. And speaking of the owls, most were just walking around minding their own business, walking in or out of buildings, and Poppy even saw a few elderly owls in the comfy seats of rocking chairs on shady porches watching the world go by. The girls giggled and ran past them in a game of tag with Bow reaching her hand out trying to catch Hattie or Mu. And some of the old birds smiled at the energetic children. Poppy would admit they were definately a cute bunch as well. Still following the cat, Poppy lifted her arm up to wipe at her long bangs and forehead. It sure was hot, not surprising since it was a desert, but she hoped they'd get to this 'pawn shop' soon. And hoped it was cooler inside. The girls never got too far from them as they ran around kicking up dust and sand in their game as Poppy switched between watching them and looking around fanning herself. Where did they all get that energy? It was too hot to play in her opinion, and the weight of the gold in her apron was starting to hurt her neck and shoulders a bit. That was soon all solved when Cookie turned in front of an all brown wooden building and started up the steps leading into it. Of course Poppy and the girls following behind and running in. A small bell above the door rang out as the door was opened and Poppy sighed at the wave of cool air hitting them as they waltzed in. But was surprised at the stuff she saw. Calm guitar music played from a small radio in the corner as an owl held his head in his wing looking boredly at them from the desk, to his right was a register. All around the place was cluttered items jammed everywhere. From beds, to pots and pans lining the walls, to random objects she'd never seen before.

With a sigh the owl spoke. "Welcome to Hawk's Eye Pawn Shop, where we have a hawk's eye view for priceless and useful objects. Feel free to ask if you need any help.....or not, " he said in a flat tone. Giving Poppy the feeling of slight annoyance in her as she raised a brow. Luckily Cookie stepped in before anyone else could as the girls ran around looking at things like normal children their age did. Walking right up to the desk as the owl followed along lazily with his eyes as he stared at Cookie before rolling his eyes. "Hello, Ma'am. How may I assist you this fine evening?"

"Glad you asked." Cookie pointed over at Poppy. "My friend here has a lot of gold she'd like to trade in today."

"..Gold?" Immediately the owl's interest peeked as he chuckled and finally smiled at them, "Oh w-well this IS a surprise! Please come, come! You've come to the right place, Miss." He gestured for Poppy to come over and reluctantly she did as the owl rubbed his hands-....uh..Wings together and smiled widely at her. "Just allow me to measure it a-and we can get you your pons, Ma'am."

"Uh...Ok." She reached down to the larger pocket of the two and pulled out the heavy gold cheese wheel, it must've been fifteen pounds at least. She set it with a small thump on the table and the owl hooted in surprise at the large item she placed down. Blinking and gawking in surprise at the large thing. ....Which was followed by the trophy, and the potion bottle out of her large pocket. And then the Mafia statue, pencil, candle, gear, and cheese slice. The owl gawking at all the things laid out before him in pure gold glory. "There ya go. That's the lot of it."

The owl sputtered blinking at them all....Before reaching up to pull out a small magnifying device out of his breast pocket and picked up the golden candle. "T-T-This is!...INCREDIBLE!! I've never seen such fine craftsmanship in my life! AND IN PURE GOLD!! It's unmistakable! Pure. Solid. Twenty four carrot GOLD!!" He could almost FEEL the heat radiating off the candle, it almost looked like it could've been real at one point. He looked back at Poppy unbelieving. "W-Where did you ever aquire such beautiful items?!"

"Oh...I- Uh..." She had to think fast. She wasn't about to tell some stranger some magic alien potion turned these things into gold by some king roach. They'd think she was crazy. So why not tell the truth but a different truth. "My g-great granddaddy on my mama's side was a blacksmith. He worked with metal's all the time." Which was true. Her Great Granddaddy Silver Copper-field on her mother's side was a blacksmith.

"But we found them in the attic," Bow innocently chimed in tilting her head confused.

Mild panick flashed on Poppy's face. "Uh...W-Well people find all sorts of old things in their attics all t-the time!"

Which was another truth. But the owl seemed too enchanted by the items he rolled over his his hold to care about her nervous tone at all. "Well he must've been a fine crafter in his day. I've NEVER seen such beauty." He snapped up to her suddenly slamming his hands on the counter and leaning over making her jump in surprise and lean back. "I MUST have them! Won't you part with them! It'll make me the talk of the town for once besides those ratty directors!! I'll be the only bird in the world to have them!!"

Now Poppy could sense pretty well when some one was gonna fight being raised around a bunch of rowdy country folk that often fought over land and territory. And BOY! The way the two little girls and Cookie bristled at the comment the owl made sure did look like they were about to argue, but that was NOT what she came here to do. She wanted to get out and have a relaxing day seeing this new place, so thinking quickly she got between them and the owl smiling more than a greedy pirate. "Deal. But on the condition ya give me what I'm owed for it all, and the promise ya won't say a word about where ya got it from." She didn't need someone asking around in case.

He quickly agreed grabbed the gold one by one. "Oh I promise. I very, very promise. Hmhmhmhmhm!! Not one word out of me. After all I don't want anyone else to have one but me."

Poppy sighed and watched as with great difficulty the owl man just gathered up all the gold in his arms teetering and wobbling about as he went towards the left side of the counter. They all watched as he wobbled his way towards a large scale against the wall that reminded Poppy of the large scale the local banker used to have to measure her pons in whenever she went to put her savings in the bank, only much bigger. A few large clanging noises rang out as he dumped the gold into it and watched as the red arrow of the scale tipped until it measured-

"F-F-Fifty two pounds!," the owl gawked at the scales before giving a thoughtful look. "Let's see. Minus tax on gold fifty two equals up too about....." His eyes widened and he suddenly let out a hoot gripping the feathers on his head. "F-F-Five thousand pons!!"

"Oh....Do you not have that m-many pons?"

"Uh..." The owl nervously looked between her and the statues. "N-No. J-Just a little over half of it. B-B-BUT I-I C-CAN OFFER A TRADE!!" He quickly pointed around the cluttered place, as if nervous to lose the precious gold he so desperately wanted. "I-I can pay half and trade for the other! W-Whatcha say?"

Poppy stopped for a minute. Looking around the cluttered place with a raised brow, and gazing over everything slowly. That wasn't a bad idea actually. Since she could use some knew things once she gets settled on her own again and didn't need anymore help. And getting stuff for free? Now they were talking! Maybe this was the universe paying her back for all her troubles and hard work finally! Smiling she happily agreed to the deal much to the Owl's delight and he quickly scrambled about to grab all the pons he needed for the trade from a giant vault in the back and they began searching. Well, the girls found lots of little knickknacks like small toys and for Bow a large sunhat with a pretty blue bow on it and how could Poppy say no to that? Well, the red head wasn't going for any random fancy stuff like antique clocks or any other fancy thing right now. But considering $2600) was a lot of pons to trade for, she could spare them to choose a bunch of things for themselves. But looking among some used exercize bikes she found a few things she was really looking forward to see again. What else but some good old fashioned farming tools? A rake, gardon hoe, pitchfork, shovel combo! She hit the giant jackpot!! Smiling as she dragged the old things out of the dusty corner and examined them. They looked to be in good condition. Rusty and dusty, but a mighty fine condition if ya asked her.

"Uh. Ma'am, are you sure you want those?," the owl said leaning back over the counter staring, "T-Those are antique farming tools that were just dumped in the corner. No one would want them.

"I sure do!," She said smiling back at his confused face, "They're just what I needed.

"Well...Y-Yes, t-t-they're in great condition for three hundred year old tools. That's why they're here, they could run in the thousands. Are you sure you want to waste your time with them?"

"Yep!" She Heaved all of them over one of her shoulders with a smile. "I got a plan for these babies. You just keep counting the pons."

"Ok. If that's what you want. It'll be nice to get them out at least," he mumbled to himself ducking back behind the counter.

Continuing looking around a little bit, Poppy managed to find a gold club bag along with her search and stuck her new tools into it, slinging it over herself and able to carry about her new beauties easier. Turns out those tools and the old antique stove Cookie kept looking at. Poppy saw the way she kept longingly staring at it every few minutes of looking around and gladly said she'd take that for her friend here. Cookie insisted she didn't have to but Poppy's mind was already made up anyways, as stated she didn't need that much pons leftover to trade back here again anyways. And she deserved it for all the kindness she had shown Poppy a complete and utter stranger. Well it turns out the knick knacks Hattie stuffed in her hat, (just random things like a few teddy bears, jewelry, a grappling hook, and anything else a girl like her would enjoy) combined with the old stove and it's set, along with those old tools were just enough to cover the other half but she did have to fork over another 100 pons to cover the extra 100 pons the tax came out to be. The bag she was handed wasn't really big, about maybe a small decent sized pumpkin and weighed about as much as a large house cat did. And that went into her large apron pocket for safe keeping while slipping the gold back of farming tools over her. She still had $2,500 to spend. And that was quite a lot of pons especially. Luckily the things weren't as expensive as made out to be. But that did leave another question, what were they supposed to do now? Luckily Cookie had a fantastic idea after seeing the way the uh....tacky dress Poppy was wearing and had the idea for them to stop by the local clothing store much to the children's protest about how boring it was going to be. So they once again found themselves leaving the greedy owl to fond over his new prized possesions and left back out into the hot sun. Resuming their routine of Poppy following behind Cookie as she lead them down the street to wards the far side of the town as the kids ran around again chasing one another. The only difference was Bow was using one hand to keep that giant sun hat on her head now as she went around running after the first two. Poppy still couldn't figure out how Hattie kept all those things in her hat. Alien magic?

"You'll adore this lil shoppe," Cookie happily told her giving a bright grin, "They're real experts at fancy sewing. You see they make most of the costumes for the studio and the directors' movies."

"It sounds like this whole town thrives on that place huh?," Poppy stated giving a look around the old buildings and many owls walking by.

"Oh, this town has been here for quite a long time with the studios," Cookie corrected, "It's only until recently that business really thrived for lacol birds. In the less hotter winter seasons, people come from all over to get a glimpse at the two kooky canaries running those studios. Means Conductor gets some extra business running his train too, he likes to say more budget for his movies come from it."

"Wow. Really?" So this place was some kind of famous spot because of this Mr. Grooves and Conductor, whoever they might be. From what she's heard of them so far, they seemed really nice supporting local business and bringing in so many customers. And she had no reason to not trust Cookie so far. A smile graced her face when he spotted the girls run a little ways ahead of them and caught an earful of their giggles. That was until one fell over. It was just a small rock hidden in the sand that she didn't see, but that didn't stop Bow from tripping over it and faceplanting the sand, knocking up some sand in her crash. Poppy and Cookie both gave a small gasp of surprise and Poppy instantly ran over to her, metal tools clanking together on her back. Hattie and Mu had stopped hearing the thump in the sand from behind them at Bow's faceplant and watched as the curly haired girl pushed herself up. Bow laid there unmoving for a few seconds but by the time Poppy got over there to kneel next to her, she had pushed herself up crying a bit with her eyes shut and spitting out more sand from her mouth. Sun hat falling off her head as she did. Two hands grabbed her and turned her around to face the worried face of the red head as she looked her over. "What happened? Are you alright, Sweetheart?"

"My eyes burn!," Bow cried reaching her balled fists up to wipe at her face but was stopped by Poppy pulling them away.

She sighed. "Well don't rub them, you probably just got some dirt in your eyes needin' ta be flushed out." Looking around she spotted an outside water pump fountain like the one her old home hand and without another thought picked up the tiny girl and stood back up. Bow still crying at the stinging and wrapping herself around Poppy's shoulder as she walked. "Oh hush now. All you need is to rinse it out with a lil water and you'll be right as rain!" She carried Bow over to the small pump across the street and pried her off to set the small gal down in front of the Nozzle. "Now I'm going to pump some water out, and I want you to start rinsing out those eyes and mouth of yers. Ok?" Bow sniffed still crying small tears down her face and Poppy grabbed a hold of the pump handle. Pushing n pulling it up and down to summon the water underneath. A garbling sound came from the pipe's inside and with a pop sound, cold water burst out from the pipe and sprayed the small child in the face. Bow jumped in surprise at the sudden cold water on her but sputtered and swiped at her face and the stream of water hitting her. After a few more seconds of it, Poppy stopped and allowed the strong stream to trickle slowly before stopping completely. She watched as Bow turned her cheek the other way and spat out a mouthful of water, coughing and wiping at her face. Now all soaking wet. She rubbed at her eyes for a moment before blinking her eyes open and looking up with red eyes. There we go. Now that she could see, her eyes would be irritated for a lil bit, but it wouldn't be worse than just someone suffering from a bit of hay fever. "There we go. All better."

....Bow sniffed and blinked. Wiping one eye with her hand and looking down at herself, her other hand grabbing her white jacket. "Now I'm all soaked and cold."

"Uh...Yeah." Poppy rubbed her head. "Kinda figured the sun would dry ya out, but I guess I can buy ya a new dress while we're at this here clothin' store.''

"...*sniff* Really?"

"Absolutely." Walking back over, Poppy bent down and repicked Bow up into her arms letting the little girl grab onto her. "We'll get ya a nice pretty dress that'll make you look like a darlin' lil princess!...Well more of a princess than you are already."

Bow smiled again sniffing and Poppy smiled at her...But paused when she heard someone else awing at them from behind and when she turned around there was a pair of old birds on a shady porch right behind them. The old birds were smiling at them from their rocking chairs like what they were seeing was the most precious thing in the world. "It's so nice to see such a responsible and caring young mother these days," one of them spoke smiling widely, "Your daughter looks like a darling little one."

......Poppy blinked. "Mother? Who me?" She pointed at herself with her free hand before shaking her head. "O-Oh! No, no! I'm not her mother! I'm just watching her for someone I know!"

"Oh, that's too bad. You would make a lovely mother for the dear."

Poppy chuckled nervously but Bow seemed to be looking at her with a strange look. "My...Mother?"

Giving a small thanks Poppy quickly excused herself from the watching eyes of the old birds and back over to Cookie who was waiting for them with the other two children. Wiping dust from the pretty sunhat and looking up at the soaked child in her arms. "Well. I can see we'll be needing to take care of that while we're in there too."

Poppy gave another nervous chuckle but grabbed the sun hat, handing it back to Bow who gladly plopped it back onto her head. Well, guess they weren't going to wait on getting this lil gal some dry clothing. Following Cookie the rest of the way there, they all came across possibly the girliest lookin' store Poppy had ever seen. It was all painted pink and white and had flowers in window pots. Well seeing those cute lil things made her smile at least, she always loved flowers. Above a sign was nailed above the door reading Mrs. Talon's Fabric Shoppe. Guess they were going in when Cookie walked right on up without a second thought so naturally Poppy and the children followed suit. A bell above the door rang like before and thank PECK it was another building big enough she didn't have to crawl through to get there. Upon entering it was the same pink and white themed as the outside. Along the walls was shelves upon shelves of fabric, balls of yarn and threads of all colors, sewing machines for sail along with smaller kits, and anything else one would need for making clothes. Such as buttons, sequins, patches, and books of patterns or techniques. Poppy noticed there was also a giant pink curtain in the back and next to that was a rack of already made dresses with a sign that said 'discount bin half off'. In the very front of the store was a white counter, and a lady owl wearing a floral dress with glasses that made her eyes look too big for her face, but unlike the first owl this cashier welcomed them all with a smile and friendly voice.

"Good Evening, Customers! Welcome to Mrs. Talons! Here we tailor to creatures large and small," she replied in a high pitched tone, "How may I-...I-I..." Her impossibly large eyes went wide seeing the crew of five girls waltz in as Poppy closed the door shut with her foot. "I-....I DON'T BELEIVE IT!!" She suddenly squealed startling the red head woman into almost dropping Bow and blinking at the pig like squeal before the owl lady leaned over the counter looking at Cookie. "I DON'T PECKING BELIEVE IT!! THE COOKING CAT IS IN MY BOSS'S STORE!! M-Ma'am I'm your b-biggest fans! My owlets love your deep fried worm and rice recipe!" Cookie didn't even seem fazed as she chuckled and waved. Making the more owl all the more nervous at having the cat celebity in her store. "H-How may I help you, Ms. Cat?"

"Please. Call me Cookie." Cookie pointed at Poppy still holding Bow in her arms. "We got a youngin' who's in need of some dry clothes and a fashion emergency if I say so myself."

The owl looked up at the two humans adjusting her glasses and frowning at Bow's soaked clothes and the absolutely ghastly amount of tacky lace and fake rubies studded to the collar of Poppy's dark blue dress. Not a good mix, it looked like she was a desperate rich lady trying to play the part of princess. "Oh...I certainly see why. Well, unfortunately with my boss away currently working on a large order for Mr. Grooves, I can't offer anything except for the designs left out from last year's tourism season." She gestured a wing over towards the bargain bin and Cookie slightly frowned at the limited suppy.

"Are you sure you can't make one?"

The owl shook her head. "Sorry, Ma'am. For you I would in a heartbeat, but I'm just the cashier. I ring people out and offer assistance if the customer has questions. The only tailors are my boss and her assistant and they're already away on a giant order call. But if you're interested we do provide everything you need to sew yourself."

"That won't be needed," Poppy cut in slowly lowering Bow to the ground and standing back up and walking to the bargain rack, "I ain't the kind of picky prissy gal a lot of folks I knew was." Walking up right to the rack she skimmed through the options of dresses available and to be honest most were plain day to day dresses without any patterns, but that suited her just fine. She wasn't real picky when it came to clothing as long as it fit ok and it didn't look like the ghastly thing she was wearing so she just grabbed a few random dresses off the bargain pile that was the same size she was wearing. A plain all pink and green one. One that was all white with purple flowers all over it. Another green one with a picture of a kitty cat in the middle of it. And just a purple one with some kind of black vine pattern. Looking back up, she noticed Cookie writing on a piece of paper as the owl excitedly watched, and she gave another small squeal when Cookie handed whatever it was over to her. How strange. Two of the girls were boredly bouncing some yarn balls...Where was- She got her answer when Bow pushed past her and reached up to rummage of her own accord, after a moment pulling out the only thing they seemed to have in a child's size. A bright orange dress with a single daisy on it's front. Her cringe made Poppy chuckle a bit and reach down to pat her head. "Hey. May not be the most pretty, but it's just til we get back an' then you can wear anything ya want. Alright?"

She didn't look happy but relented. "Fine."

"That's my girl!" She gave bow a smile as the little girl blinked and gave Poppy a confused look as she walked to the counter dresses in her arms.

"Your girl?"

Well, the clothes were bought. Which equaled up to about fourty six pons for all of the dresses including Bow's which she changed into behind the curtain. She was dry now but she didn't look like it stomping out and staring at her clothes in disgust. Well with two more bags in hand, one for her new dresses and one for Bow's, they excited the store and the girls were glad to not be coped up in there anymore except for Bow who followed the first two with crossed arms as the adults followed out.

"Come back anytime! Thank you for your purchase!," the cashier called out behind them and Cookie waved back.

"Ya seem to be well known, Huh?," Poppy asked the cat and Cookie shrugged.

"Lots of folks enjoy my work. Who am I to complain?"

"Touche." Poppy sucked in a deep breath and looked out into the world around them with a smile. "Man it's good to see ground that ain't littered with ghosts! But I wish it wasn't so hot!"

"Well this is a desert." Cookie smiled at Hattie chasing Mu around the two using Bow in the middle as a barrier from each other. "But they don't seem to have a problem with playin' anyhwere."

Poppy shrugged. "Doesn't surprise me with what I've seen. But I am surprised they aren't thirsty."

Cookie turned to her. "Why? Are you?"

"Well. A lil bit. When's the next ride back to the moon again?"

"Uh...Well I believe it's just a lil bit past noon, ya'll have to wait for the night train at ten o' clock."

Poppy snapped her head to her with a surprised face. "Wha- THAT LATE?"

"Well it IS the night train for a reason Sugar. But tell ya what, I'll treat ya'll to some real good food at the Jukebox cafe while ya wait." She started stepping towards somewhere else and Poppy slowly followed after.

"Oh no. You don't have to. It's alright."

"And let you eat nothing but a cheese wheel and apples?," Cookie shook her head, "Oh no, no. That wouldn't do at all."

"Ain't there a market or tradin' post with food in these here parts?," Poppy asked back making Cookie chuckle nervously.

"Well....Yes. B-But since everyone in town are actually birds, they don't really sell food catering to humans or many other species except for coffee and what's served in the cafe's since those places get to see more of a diversity especially when tourism comes a callin'. Otherwise it's bird seed, worms, insects, some fruit, and anything else birds eat. Most of what else they get is ordered from the city a couple miles away or mafia town. "

"Oh great. Guess it's cheese and apples for supper tonight then." Her stomach growled and she placed a hand to it shyly making Cookie chuckle.

"Don't worry. I'll send ya'll home with some left overs from mah kitchen set at the-...." Poppy suddenly stopped mid step body completely frozen as if she was paused in the middle of a movie and Poppy almost stepped on her tail stopping just in time. Cookie suddenly grabbed her fuzzy cheeks with a frown. "Oh no!"

"What's wrong?"

"I left my handbag at my set in the studios! My bird passport and wallet's in there, it let's me get free supplies from the cafe with the reward points."

"So...That means?"

"We're going to have to make a pit stop at the studios before anyone eats."

[jksmoongf]

Baby’s Breath [pt.8]

Pairing: (idol!dad!) Jungkook x reader  Genre: angst / fluff /smut  Wordcount: 8.1k Plot:  Sometimes one reckless night is all it takes to completely turn your life upside down. But what if you can’t even trust your best friends to keep your secret? Warning pt.8: drama, awkward!jk ( a hard fave), just some baby fluff if you squint.  A/N: so it’s been a long time since I last updated BB (I’m kinda nervous tbh) but now that KF is finished, I’m finally getting back to it. I hope someone still reads this but probably not lol.  As always, feedback would be nice, my loves! 💕 I wanna thank @struggleofarmy​ for always helping me :( D. you are angel, without you I’d probably never write anything and ily 💕

The car came to a halt; she watched as Jungkook hastily unbuckled his seatbelt and stumbled out of the car. He felt the need to run - to run as far away from his life as he possibly could but his legs gave out when his feet sank into the sand, falling to his knees. He didn’t even try to get up, cowering down as he hid his face in his hands.

How was he supposed to feel okay again? His whole life took a complete 180; the universe had pulled the carpet from underneath his feet as he had tried to make things right for his little family. Not for one second did he have any bad intentions, he just wanted everyone to be happy but it all backfired.  

All this hurt inside his chest really sucked the energy out of him; from day one the other members had looked after him, comforted him when he needed them, he had learned everything he knew from them and for them to betray him like this, was too much for him to handle. His heart was crumbling to pieces, bits floating in his body - and he knew they would never find their way back to repair the cracks.

Why did they have to betray him like that? He always tried his best to make them proud, and although he knew he wasn’t perfect, he was there for them to comfort them, to cheer them on, to listen to their worries. Was it all his fault that they went behind his back? Did they only care about themselves and their career and not at all about his happiness? His right hand balled into a fist, repeatedly hitting the sand.

His stomach churned, when his mind wandered off to the headlines when people eventually found out about him leaving the group, bile forced its way up into his mouth. He didn’t want the fans to hate him for leaving but for the first time in a long time, he had to put himself first. He wanted to see his little girl grow up, he wanted to be there on her first day of kindergarten and school; he wanted to go dance recitals and pick her up from school. He wanted to sing her to sleep and comfort her when she was upset. He wanted to help her blow out her birthday candles and see her eyes light up when unwrapping presents. He just wanted to be there for every important moment in her life; even the small ones that people always tend to forget but he seemed to remember those the most. 

The thought of being a father had scared him to death when y/n had confessed to him that she was pregnant but now he would’ve given everything to turn back time, just so he could be there for her; holding her hand through all of it - he had been too weak, too selfish back then. But maybe it wasn’t too late to make things right, he would be there for her, for his daughter, no matter what; even if it meant to give up his dream. He would be okay as long as he could be with them.

“Kookie…” Y/n said softly, her hand rubbing circles on his back. “Baby…hey.” She managed to pull him up, his eyes were puffy and red from crying, lips quivering, she brushed his hair from his face. “It’s cold, we need to get you somewhere warm, okay?”

But Jungkook didn’t feel the ice-cold breeze that was seeping through his clothes, everything inside him was numbed to protect the last bits of his heart from breaking. “No..” He yelped, his voice too weak for any real protest but to his surprise, she sat down next to him. “Okay.” Carefully she wrapped her arm around his torso. “We can just stay here for a bit.”

Shakily he exhaled, as his eyes closed more tears seeped from them without his consent. Her fingers intertwined with his, his head was resting on her shoulder as he listened to the calming ocean waves hitting the shoreline.

At that moment he knew that everything would be okay again; they could start over and be happy together- they would fight all the odds that were against them. No one was going to keep them apart; not his company and not his brothers - he so desperately tried to push them to very back of his mind. If he just stopped thinking about them, they wouldn’t be able to hurt him any further.

With his sleeve, he wiped the tears from his cheeks, eyes still fixated on the ocean. “I-I’m sorry I dragged you out here…” He whispered after a little while. “But we had to go, we couldn’t stay in Seoul. They were going to separate us again.” “Who?” “The others told the boss about you and me and he told me I wasn’t allowed to talk to you ever again because it would ruin my career…” Deeply he sucked in a salty breath of air to stop the hiccuped sobs that were piling up in his chest. “He threatened to stop giving you money if I broke the rules and I just snapped…” He trailed off, trying to find the right words to describe what had happened a few hours ago. “I yelled at them…I pushed Jimin, I didn’t care that I hurt him…I just wanted to know which one of them rammed a knife in my back and wanted to take you away from me again…” Closing his eyes to stop the tears from escaping again, he tightened his fingers around her hand. “I-I just can’t believe they would do this to me, they are my family.” “You know they love you, Kookie. They just wanted to protect you, don’t be too hard on them.”

He pulled away, shaking his head. “No, they don’t deserve it. They wanted me to be miserable again, they wanted me to go through all this pain of losing you again.”

“I don’t think that was their intention, they worry about you and they only want what’s best for you.” She tried again to make him see that others were just looking out for him but he ferociously shook his head once more. “Then why can’t they accept that you’re what’s best for me?”

She didn’t say anything, only taking her bottom lip in between her teeth; not wanting to make him feel pressured when he was so upset, knowing him well enough to be sure that he would come around sooner rather than later. He had to forgive them, after all, they were a big part of his life, one screw up surely wouldn’t ruin the bond between them.

For a little while longer she let him rest, just listening to the ocean, hoping that it would wash away his sorrows. “Kookie…” She mumbled, shifting in her spot trying to suppress the shivers that were about to riddle her body. “Can we go back to the car? We need to check on Soo-Yun…” “Oh, yes. Yes, of course.” Within seconds he had gotten up and also pulled her to her feet. “Let’s go.” She smiled, holding her hand out for him to take. Carefully he intertwined his fingers with hers, following her to the silver SUV.

“Why did you leave her in the car?” The question was burning on the tip of his tongue. “I- it’s too cold for her and she was sleeping, so I didn’t want to wake her up. But I-I also wanted to give you some time alone…before I went to check on you…” She rambled, not looking at him.

Without giving it any thought, he stopped in his tracks, pulling her back to face him. His shaking hands cupped her face, thumbs gently caressing her cheeks before he crashed his lips onto hers; the tingling sensation of her warmth making his heart flutter. He knew it would be too soon to say those three words that held so much meaning but he needed her to know that he was still in love with her - hoping she would feel the desperation that had been caged up in his chest. She pulled away, cherishing the warmth his hands provided on her cold skin. “What was that for?” “I’m just happy to have you back in my life. I really missed you.” He knew, he’d be able to blame the cold air for tinting his cheeks and ears red in embarrassment.

Clutching his sweater, she got on her toes to peck his lips once more. “You’ll have such a hard time getting rid off me now…” He puffed up his cheeks, letting out a grunt. “Can’t believe you’re making me say those things…” “What things?” “Cheesy things…” He tilted his head. “You know I’m not good at that.” “It’s okay, you can always just text them to me if that’s easier for you.” She winked, before turning around to open the car door. “She’s still asleep, thank goodness.”

Jungkook peeked over her shoulder; Soo-Yun was still sound asleep, the tiniest snores he had ever heard, leaving her mouth. “Can you believe we made her?” He said in awe, still having a hard time wrapping his mind around the fact that he took part in creating the most beautiful little girl he had ever laid his eyes on.

“Well, yeah she was inside my stomach for 9 months and gave me a really hard time sleeping. She was a night owl just like you…” His hands subconsciously wandered to her shoulders, gently applying pressure. “I should’ve been there for you, I’m sorry.” “You’re here now, that’s all that matters.” Her hand closed around his on her shoulder. “Kookie, please stop feeling guilty, you didn’t know.” “If I- I should’ve reacted differently and none of this would’ve happened.”

She turned around, now cupping his face. “Listen, I’m not mad at you and I’ll never hold it against you so please stop apologizing. You’re going to be a part of her life and that’s all I ever wanted for her.” He nodded, feeling tears brimming in his eyes - hoping that eventually, the overwhelming feeling of guilt would subside.

*

“Okay, the tank is filled up.” Jungkook shivered as he got back into the driver’s seat, rubbing his hands together for warmth. “Where do you want to go?” “I don’t know, I was thinking we could go to my place in Jeonju but…” She trailed off, tracing the rim of the window to her right. “We shouldn’t. I’m sure that’s where they’re going to look for us first.” “I mean, my parents’ house is not too far from here…” He muttered, finally revealing to her what he had wanted to do ever since he had left the dorm. “It’s only a little over an hour to Busan…” “Don’t you think they’ll come looking for you there too?” “Probably yeah but do you have a better idea? At least my parents can help us and it would be easier to take care of Soo-Yun there instead of hotel rooms and they could meet you…finally”

She scrunched up her nose. “Okay, yeah…let’s go to Busan.” Not able to bring herself to crush his newfound sense of positivity, she agreed. Jungkook leaned over the middle console to kiss her cheek. “I’m just going to let my brother know that we’re coming.”

Forcing a smile onto her face, she nodded. It didn’t feel good; she didn’t want to burden his family with her presence and surprise them with a grandchild they didn’t know about. It made her stomach feel queasy as her leg bobbed up and down nervously. She knew his parents had known about their relationship but they had never met and she wasn’t sure if she wanted to meet them under these circumstances.

“Ah, I hope my mom has some food for us, I’m so hungry.” He beamed as he started the car up again - it was almost like he had forgotten all his troubles at the prospect of seeing his family and she couldn’t help but softly smile at his excitement.

Every now and again her eyes drifted off to Naver Maps on Jungkook’s phone on the dashboard, focusing in on the small timestamp that disclosed their time of arrival at his parents’ house; the nauseous feeling still swimming in her stomach, was slowly rising up in her throat.

“Is everything okay? You’re awfully quiet…” He muttered, not averting his gaze from the road. She wanted to lie and tell him that she was fine but her mouth betrayed her before she could bite her tongue. “I’m nervous.” “Why?” Judging by the tone of his voice, it didn’t occur to him that it was a weird situation and that everything that had happened on that day felt simply overwhelming. “I’ve never met your family…and under these circumstances - it’s just making me nervous.”

“Ah, they’ll love you, my parents are really cool. You don’t have to worry about anything. They will be so happy to finally meet you and Soo-Yun and Junghyun is really excited that we’re coming.” For a brief second, he smiled at her, his right hand leaving the steering wheel to give hers an encouraging squeeze.

“Okay…” She mumbled, forcing a smile onto her face. Maybe Jungkook wasn’t aware of the implications of him bringing her and their daughter to meet his parents; maybe he was in over his head and he couldn’t think straight. “I’m being serious! Please don’t be worried, I know my parents will be over the moon when they meet you.” “Sure yeah…” But before Jungkook could try to calm her down, even more, Soo-Yun started whining in her car seat. She turned around, simultaneously sending a prayer up to the gods for the distraction. “I think she’s hungry.” “How do you know?” “I can just tell from the way she cries…” Shrugging her shoulders, she fished the small box of crackers from her bag that Jungkook had bought at the gas station. “Really? Do you think I’ll be able to do that too?” He wondered, watching his daughter munch on one of the wheat crackers in her hands in the rearview-mirror. “Probably, yes.” Turning back around, she offered the box to Jungkook. “Do you want one?” He nodded his head, and she held one up to his mouth so he wouldn’t get distracted from driving. “I’ll have to feed her when we get there…” Jungkook handed her his phone without warning. “Text my brother that we’ll be there in 15 minutes and let him know that we’re hungry.”

She gulped down the lump in her throat when she quickly read the Kakao chat, even in writing he sounded really excited to go home and although he only mentioned a surprise to his older brother, he seemed just as happy that his little brother was coming home for a little while.

*

Jimin let out a disgruntled noise when he sat up in bed, his back was still sore from when Jungkook had pushed him. His hand automatically flew to apply pressure to the bruise that decorated his skin next to his spine.

“Jungkookie…” He mumbled to himself, as he got up, his face scrunched up in pain and he slowly waddled down the hallway to the youngest room. He had locked himself in and wouldn’t come out or make any noise, even after Jin had told him that there were leftovers in the fridge for him if he wanted something to eat, Jungkook had stayed quiet. Jimin knew he was hurt; someone had stabbed him in the back but he couldn’t help it - his heart felt heavy for his little brother. He just wanted him to be happy and so did the other members but to Jimin’s dismay, Jungkook’s behavior had left a sour taste in their mouths. He had stayed up until the early hours of the morning in hopes of catching Jungkook sneaking into the kitchen which would have given him the perfect chance to talk to him and maybe straighten things out, but it never happened. His feelings must have been seriously hurt if he shut them all out completely.

Carefully Jimin knocked on the door. “Hey Jungkook-ah, are you awake? Can we talk?” He asked his voice piping up in hopes that some sleep would’ve helped to calm things down and make the youngest act more rationally and maybe he would be willing to listen. But he got no response, so instead, he pressed his ear to the wooden door, trying to hear if he was awake yet.

“Screw it…” His hand slowly pushed down the door handle and to his surprise, it actually swung open. “Jungkook-ah?” He asked again, taking a few steps into the room, his eyes looking for the raven-haired boy but his bed was still made and he was nowhere to be found. The first thought that popped into his head was that Jungkook might have gone to the gym to release his anger lifting weights but his gym shoes were still lying on the floor next to the black backpack he always carried around.

“Something’s not right…” Jimin crossed the room, inspecting the wide-open closet. A few hangers were sticking out, others were scattered on the floor. It was very unlike Jungkook to make a mess of his closet, yes his room was always a little messy but he kept his closet remarkably tidy, even color-coding his shirts.

“Jimin-ah, what are you doing?” Hoseok’s voice made him spin around, only to see his roommate standing right behind him, a coffee mug in hand. “Where’s Jungkookie?”

“I don’t know, I wanted to check on him but he wasn’t in here…”

“Maybe he went to the gym?” Hoseok suggested, shrugging his shoulders.

“That’s what I thought too but something is very off…” Jimin let his eyes wander around the room. “You see all the hangers?” He mumbled absentmindedly when his eyes fell on the small collection of backpacks in the corner. “His army backpack is gone…”

“What? How do you know?” Hoseok peeked over his shoulder.

“He always keeps his bags there and it’s the only one missing…” Jimin’s mind was racing, making his heart rate speed up. “I think…hyung...I think he left…”

“Maybe he just needed to get out for a bit to clear his head? I’m sure he will be back soon.”

Jimin nodded, not wanting to worry the older boy but a bad feeling was stirring up in the pit of his stomach. No matter how bad their fights had been in the past, Jungkook had never left, not like this at least - making him feel sick.

*

“Look, that’s where my friend Kangdae from school lives. We used to go to Taekwondo together.” Jungkook pointed at a house as they drove past it in the dark. “And that’s where I fell because I was wearing Junghyun’s skates and they were too big and I scraped my knee pretty badly.”

She couldn’t help but chuckle at how happy he was to be back home and to share a part of his life with her that she had only ever heard him mention a handful of times. He always said that he didn’t have a lot of memories from home and that his life as a trainee was more memorable to him but it was heartwarming to hear his little recollections of his childhood in Busan. Fondly she ran her fingers through his hair. “You’re so cute…maybe you can show me around and tell me more stories…” She suggested, earning an enthusiastic nod from him. “I’d love to, we can take Soo-Yun with us…you know so she knows where I grew up.” “Oh! I-we didn’t take the stroller with us.” She gasped, wanting to slap herself for forgetting one of the most important things. “Don’t worry, we’ll just buy one.” Even in the dark car, his eyes twinkled like stars in the night sky and everything seemed okay for just one moment.

Jungkook turned the engine off. “That’s my house…” He proudly announced, gesturing to the modest house on the right side. “Oh, I gotta text my brother…” Quickly he grabbed his phone when the door opened.

In a daze, she watched Jungkook getting out of the car as fast as he could and running up to his brother.  After unbuckling her seatbelt, she slowly got out of the car but hesitantly stayed still next to it, wanting to give him and his family a moment of happiness before she had a chance to ruin it. “Mom! Dad! Come here!” His brother called over his shoulder before ruffling Jungkook’s hair. “I haven’t told them you’re coming.”

Moments later his parents appeared in the doorway and his mother let out a squeal, pulling her son into a bone-crushing hug. “You look so thin.” She scolded him lovingly, cupping his cheeks in her hands before her eyes narrowed and she could feel goosebumps travel down her skin when their eyes met for the first time.

“Ah, right. I-…” Jungkook paused, rushing to her side. “Come on, they won’t bite you.” He mumbled, only holding her hand a second before he let go. “I want you to meet y/n.” He grinned, gently nudging her to take a step forward to properly meet his family but he immediately left her side again.

“It’s very nice to meet you.” Forcing the corners of her mouth upwards before she bowed, her legs wanting to run in the opposite direction. “Y/n…” The resenting tone of his mother’s voice was petrifying - she knew that she had broken her son’s heart into a million pieces over a year ago. “Nice to finally meet you.” Junghyun smiled, the all too familiar crinkles around his eyes forming but before he could say anything else, his mother stood in front of her, hands on her hips, a stern look on her face.  “I don’t want a dirty girl like you around my son. Leave.”

Y/n’s eyes darted from Junghyun to Jungkook’s father who was silently pressing his lips together,  perhaps he didn’t want to argue with his wife or maybe, he wanted her to leave as well - it was posing more than difficult to read his facial expressions. She felt awful, her heart falling from her chest down to her stomach; she knew that coming here was a bad idea - why did Jungkook think that his family would welcome her, the girl that hurt him so badly, with open arms? “Mom, I think it’s a little too late for that…” Her older son chuckled when footsteps were heard right behind them.

“I’m assuming you don’t want to meet your granddaughter then…” Jungkook slowly walked up to them, Soo-Yun propped upon his arm, the other tightly wrapped around her as she held onto his neck. Her big eyes wearily evaluating the tense situation. “We can go somewhere else, all three of us need to be welcome, mom.”

“Gr-granddaughter?” His father repeated in disbelief, staring at the small child in his youngest son’s arms. “Yes, this is your granddaughter.” “Aw, she’s so cute.” Junghyun made grabby hands at his niece, waiting for his brother to let him hold her. “She surely gets her beauty from her uncle!” He made cooing noises at her. “Yes, you do. Ah, she’s so cute, my heart.” Soo-Yun giggled, as he held her closer to his face to get a good look at her and her hand grabbed a chunk of his hair.  “You are the prettiest little girl.”

His mother cleared her throat, trying to regain her composure; still not fully able to wrap her head around what was happening. “Are you even sure she’s yours?” She addressed Jungkook while side-eying the baby, who was happily babbling along to the cooing and kissy-faces.

“Mom, just look at her. She looks just like Jungkookie!” Junghyun held his niece up to his mother’s face and her expression softened immediately. Although she was hellbent on disliking the girl that broke her son’s heart, she couldn’t deny the fact that this little girl looked so much like him when he was a baby - from the little button nose down to the big brown eyes that she had always adored on her son.

“I know, I hurt Jungkook when I broke up with him and I understand that you don’t like me but…”

“Y/n, don’t.” Jungkook interrupted her. “Mom, she’s mine and if you can’t accept y/n or Soo-Yun then we’ll leave. I thought you’d be more understanding but I guess, I was wrong.” Without waiting for an answer, he took his daughter from his brother before turning around to go back to the car. “Let’s go.”

“Mom!” Junghyun’s tone was pressing, fearing that once Jungkook left, he would never come back. “Wait!” His mother called out. “You can stay here.” “Are you sure?” He raised an eyebrow, trying to figure out if his mother was being sincere or not. “Because if you’re not then we’ll…” “I am. You’re all welcome to stay.” She cut him off, an ounce of panic straining her hoarse voice.

Almost immediately, Junghyun took his niece back into his arms before disappearing in the house. “You know, you should forget about those uncles back in Seoul. I’m your real uncle…” “Thank you.” Jungkook mumbled, pecking his mother’s cheek before his dad wrapped his arm around his shoulders and led him inside. Hesitantly she followed them, making eye contact with his mother in passing - she still didn’t look happy but she forced a smile onto her face.

It was awkward to be at his parents’ house, she just didn’t feel like she belonged; she had anticipated his mother’s reaction but seeing his brother and father playing with her daughter on the couch made her feel a little less on edge. Maybe his mother would eventually warm up to her; she could only try to imagine how shocked and overwhelmed she felt. 

“Can she talk?” “No, not yet, still waiting for her first word.” “Soo-Yun can you say Halbi…Hal-bi…” Jungkook’s dad tried to encourage her to call him grandpa but the little girl just eyed him curiously before he started tickling her and her cute giggles echoed from the walls.

“Come on, I’ll show you around.” Jungkook whispered, taking her hand as he pulled her out into the hallway and up the stairs. “I’ll start making dinner for you.” His mother called from the kitchen, where the rattling of pots and pans could be heard. “If you need help, let me know.”

But she didn’t respond and as they reached the top of the stairs he came to a halt. “This is my parents’ bedroom…” He pointed to the left. “Next to it, is the bathroom and that’s Junghyun’s room, which leaves us with my room..” He opened the door last door on the right that had a few paint chips missing.

“Cute…” She commented, trying to suppress a giggle as she walked around the room. It still very much looked like a kids room, posters on the wall, ribbons from sporting competitions and comic books filled the two small shelves on the left wall. “I’m never really here, so they just left it like this. Last time I was here, I wanted to change it but I never got around to it…” He sat down on the bed that was clearly only fit for one person. “Plus if I changed it, it just wouldn’t feel like my room, you know?” “I get it.” She sat down next to him. “Are you okay?” Feeling his eyes on her, she turned her head. “Yeah, it’s just a little much but I can handle it, don’t worry.” “I know but we’re safe here and my mom will come around. She’s just…she knows I had a really hard time after we broke up, she’s worried.” “I understand, if I were in her shoes I’d probably react the same way.”

He nodded, pinching his bottom lip between his index finger and thumb. “I’ll talk to her, I want you to feel comfortable here.” “Thank you.” She smiled weakly and out of the blue he pressed her down into the pillows, innocently planting little kisses to her lips that she wished would last a little longer each time. His hand softly traveled up and down her waist, slowly disappearing underneath her shirt when his lips left hers to trail down her neck, the tip of his nose brushing against her skin. “Kookie it tickles…” She whined, kicking her legs lightly but he didn’t care, covering every inch in butterfly kisses. Someone coughed, making them pull away from each other.

“Hyung.” Jungkook felt his ears heat up; he let himself get carried away - it wasn’t easy to stop when he felt like he had to make up for all those months they were apart. “Mom says dinner will be ready in half an hour or so but I can just tell her you’re busy…” He winked, making his brother jump to his feet. “No, hyung! No, don’t tell her, please.” “Calm down.” He patted his shoulder. “But - I never thought I’d see you with a girl in here, dreams do come true.” He wiped away a fake tear, earning a slap to his arm from Jungkook. “Stop teasing me.” He pouted, stomping his foot just like he would when they were kids.

“Where’s Soo-Yun?” She interrupted their bickering after checking her watch. “Downstairs with dad, he’s playing peek-a-boo with her.” She nodded. “Would it be okay if I took a shower?” “Of course, I’ll go get our stuff from the car and Soo-Yun.” “Thanks.” Smiling at both of them, she excused herself to the bathroom.

Junghyun followed his little brother downstairs to the car. “Is everything okay? The other day you told me that you were really busy with practice and now you’re here…” He trailed off while lifting the suitcase from the trunk.

Jungkook wanted to lie and pretend like everything was fine and that his heart wasn’t painfully contracting in his chest every time he thought about his other brothers back in Seoul but he couldn’t. “Not really, hyung. Something happened, something really bad happened…” “What’s going on?” He wanted to tell him that they betrayed him, that he yelled at them and that he hurt Jimin but the words got caught in his throat; he wouldn’t believe him anyway. “I-I don’t want to talk about it right now…”

Junghyun watched him as he got the purple plush puppy and the car seat from the backseat; he knew his baby brother was deeply hurt, his eyes drooping in sadness but he didn’t want to press the issue. Jungkook would talk when he was ready. “Let’s go free your baby from dad’s grasp.” “Is it that bad?” His eyes widened. “No, it’s actually really cute how he plays with her.” “To be honest, I thought mom would be the one to…” “Give her some time, she’ll get used to it. You know, when we heard how upset you were from Jin…” He paused when he noticed the tortured expression on Jungkook’s face at the mention of his member’s name. “Mom was really upset as well, she wanted to go to Seoul to take care of you, you’re still her baby and now you have a baby, I think she just needs to process everything.”

He nodded, pressing the button on the car key to lock it. “I hope so, I really want mom to like y/n and Soo-Yun…” “I’m sure she will, don’t worry. When did you find out anyway? You haven’t been with her in over a year.” “A couple of days ago…” Jungkook’s voice was really quiet, almost inaudible when he followed him back inside. Slowly but surely the sinking feeling in his stomach told him that what had happened back in Seoul must have been a result of Y/n being back in his life.

She wrapped the dark blue towel around her body before she took a closer look into the mirror - she was a tired mess, even a steaming hot shower wasn’t able to hide the bags under her eyes. Faintly she heard Jungkook’s voice coming from his room when she walked back, it was a higher pitch than usual when he sweetly talked to Soo-Yun. “Are you sleepy? Oh right, your mommy said you were hungry earlier. I’ll get the crackers, wait.” She watched how he clumsily reached for her bag and rummaged through it to find the small carton.

“It’s okay, I’ll feed her now. It’s almost time for her to go to bed anyway.” She announced herself, crossing the short distance from the door to the bed. “Ah, perfect. Would it be okay if I jumped in the shower real quick? I feel like I have stand stuck everywhere from earlier.” “Sure.” Pressing his lips to her forehead, before he grabbed clean clothes and disappeared in the bathroom.

“Are you hungry?” She sat down, picking her daughter up to place her on her lap. “You’ve been such a good girl today but it’s almost bedtime, princess.” Soo-Yun usually demanded to always be fed on time, she just loved to eat and snack all day, although she was a bit fussy when it came to vegetables, cucumber being her favorite by far but before bed and once during the night, she still wanted milk. Naturally, her chubby little hands reached for the towel that was standing in the way of her dinner, once she had cradled her in arms like she usually would.

“I can’t wait for you to only eat solids.” She cooed, gently pushing her daughter’s hair from her forehead when the familiar sucking noises started.

For a moment she watched her drink, the little eyelashes fluttering shut before she busied herself on her phone. Three messages from Jihoon and two missed calls were amongst the messages from her sister and brother in law wondering where she was. Quickly she replied to the latter, not wanting them to worry but Jihoon was a different story. They weren’t dating- they had kissed a handful of times but only ever after she had cried to him about her struggles with Soo-Yun and to her they were just good friends; maybe she was trying to fill the void in her heart that Jungkook left but to him, they were clearly more than friends. Before she could type out a reply to yet another ‘I miss you’ message, she heard a gasp.

Looking up from her phone, she saw Jungkook standing in the doorway, staring at her with his mouth open, only in his underwear and a t-shirt. “I’m so sorry, I’ll go…” He covered his eyes quickly, wanting to give her some privacy but his body had turned to stone. There were too many thoughts rushing through his head to sort through them. To say that he was embarrassed was an understatement, he could feel himself starting to sweat profusely, his cheeks burning up in a crimson red.

“You don’t have to go, you can stay…I don’t mind.” “No, no…I’ll go…” He wanted to turn around. “Kook, are you embarrassed?” She raised her eyebrows, not fully able to banish the amused tone from her voice. “I-I…” He stuttered, still not looking at her, just wanting to hide somewhere until she was done. “You don’t have to be, it’s normal. Babies have to eat too.” “I know that…” He mumbled, dragging his feet over to the chair by the small desk. “I just thought…she was eating food and you didn’t have to…" Ungracefully he gestured towards her, not wanting to say the word breastfeeding out-loud. “For the most part, she eats regular food, yes, but she still likes her milk in the evening and at night…just like you, you love milk, so that’s something you have in common.”

Jungkook scrunched up his nose, his ears were on fire and he still couldn’t bring himself to look at her. “If you have questions, just ask…” He didn't even have to think twice, there was one question predominantly pushing its way forward in his brain. “Uhm, you know…the other day when we, you know…I did that too and nothing came out…” She burst out laughing, earning a disgruntled noise the baby in her arms. “I guess, you were just lucky. I should’ve warned you, I’m sorry.”

Throwing his head back, he let out a whiny cry. “Yes, you should have. That would’ve been weird.” Suddenly his head snapped back and he was directly looking at her, a mischievous smirk playing on his lips. “You know, I was wondering why your boobs were a little lopsided” “Just like your balls.” She shrugged, shifting her focus back to her daughter. “What? Are you serious? Is one really bigger than the other?” He leaned forward, trying to inspect his lower region through the black fabric of his briefs. “You’re an idiot.” Rolling her eyes, she reached for a pillow, aiming it directly at his head.

*

“You did what?” Hoseok whispered yelled, although it was just him, Yoongi, Namjoon and Jin who were at the dorm, while the two youngest were out looking for the maknae. Jin nervously hid his hands inside his pink sweater when he ever so lightly nodded. “I can’t believe you two were the ones that told on Jungkookie.” Hobi’s face was pulled into a grimace of contempt. “So he was right. Unbelievable…” “Well, it was mainly Namjoon who did the talking, I didn’t say much….I couldn’t….” Jin tried to defend himself, still feeling the heavyweight of guilt resting on his shoulders. “Doesn’t matter, you were his accomplice!” “I thought, I was doing the right thing.” Namjoon covered his face with his hands. “He was so happy but I knew that if management found out later, it would be a lot worse for him, them…all of us.” “That was not your decision to make. You did stab him in the back.”

“Hoseok-ah, he just wanted to help and it won’t do any good or change anything if you keep scolding him now.” Yoongi crossed his arms. “I don’t condone what you did but I get it. We all worked too hard to have this potentially ruin everything. You had good intentions but it blew up in your face.” “You should’ve talked to Jungkook first, I’m sure, he would’ve understood what’s at stake here.” Hoseok lowered his gaze. “I-I really only wanted to do what’s right. I didn’t think he would listen to me and I thought, he would understand if the boss told him that he’s making a mistake.” “But he always listens to you, you should’ve been the one to knock some sense into him.”

Namjoon let out a heart-wrenching sigh. “I know that now…” They fell silent for a moment, where they all succumbed to their thoughts. It was the first time that a fight between the members had gotten so out of hand that one of them ran away and didn’t come home. “We have to make sure Jimin and Taehyung don’t find out what you two did, they will take it to heart.” Yoongi muttered, his thumb pressed against his bottom lip before he sunk his teeth into the already tortured skin - if things didn’t start to look up again soon, he’d never be able to break this terrible habit.

*

Dinner had been awkward, to say the least; not once had Jungkook felt this strange and out of place in his parents’ house, even the light-hearted conversations his brother had tried so hard to hold, faded into silence very quickly.

Y/n was sitting on the floor in his room, watching as Soo-Yun peacefully let out little snores in the car seat. “Do you think she’ll be comfortable enough in this thing the whole night?” He wondered, carefully eyeing his daughter, feeling bad that it was too late to get a proper bed for her to sleep in. “Maybe we should have stayed at a hotel for the night…” “It’s not ideal but it should be okay for one night, don’t worry too much.” She turned around, now kneeling in front of him. “How’s your hand?” She inspected his knuckles, that had slowly started to bruise. “It’s a little sore.” “What did you do anyway?” “I might have punched a wall…” He trailed off, watching her mouth open in shock. “Jungkook, what? Are you serious?” “I was angry, they were still lying to me. I-I just needed to do something and it was better than hitting one of them.” “You know there’s pillows or punching bags for that so you don’t end up with a bloody hand.”

Letting out an airy chuckle, he cupped her face and moved in closer. “Thank you, what would I do without you?” She smiled against his lips before they connected sweetly when suddenly the door opened. Quickly they pulled away from each other, his mother scrunched up her nose, holding extra bedding in her arms.

Crudely she walked over to the bed. “Here, help me put this on. Your father is bringing the air mattress in a few minutes.” “Air mattress?” He repeated with a dumbfounded look on his face. “But we don’t need it, we can just sleep in my bed.” She let out a sardonic chuckle through her pursed lips. “You two are not sharing a bed. Evidently nothing good comes from that.”

“Mom!” He protested, feeling a sting in his heart from the snide remark aimed to hurt his and y/n’s feelings. “Jungkook-ah, I don’t want to hear another word.” Silently he nodded his head as he started helping his mother with the bedding. “Is there anything I can do to help?” Y/n offered, when his father walked in, carrying the old air mattress. “No, I think you’ve done enough already.” Quickly Jungkook looked at her, mouthing ‘sorry’ before stuffing a pillow into its designated pillowcase. “Honey, where do you want me to put it?” “Hm, over there, in front of the bookshelf.” His mother instructed her husband after making sure there would be enough space between the mattress and the bed. “Here’s a fitted sheet for you.” Coldly she handed it to y/n, shooing her husband to the door. “Don’t stay up too late.” “We won’t. Goodnight.” Jungkook wanted to close the door behind her but instantly his mother pushed it back open. “The door stays open!” “But mom.” He whaled, feeling like a little kid again that was being treated unfairly. “If you insist on closing it, you can sleep in your brother’s room, then y/n can have your room all to herself and close the door if she pleases.” She smiled sweetly, her eyes drilling into her son’s, letting him know that she didn’t appreciate his behavior. “Fine.” He mumbled, just pushing the door a little so it wasn’t fully open. “Is that okay?” “No.” “But mom, y/n has to feed the baby later, please…” “Just for tonight.” She caved, turning to leave. Impatiently Jungkook waited for his parents’ bedroom door to close before he sat down on his bed again.

“That’s unbelievable. I’m not a kid anymore.” “It’s okay, at least you don’t have to sleep in Junghyun’s room.” After finishing putting the fitted sheet on the air mattress, she sat down on it. “But still, we’re not teenagers anymore. We’ve already done it, there’s no need to keep us apart.” Groaning, he let himself fall back, hitting his head on the wall. “Ouch, I forgot how small his bed is.” “See, maybe it’s good that I’m sleeping over here.” “You’re not sleeping on that old thing. You can have my bed and I’ll sleep on the floor.” “I don’t mind, you can really sleep in your bed.”

But Jungkook wouldn’t budge, he got up and grabbed the end of the air mattress, dragging it over, right next to his bed before he lifted her up with ease to make her sit on the bed. “Ah, much better.” He smiled, sitting down cross-legged. “You know, your mom will be mad if she sees this.” “I don’t care, I want you to be comfortable and I can sleep pretty much anywhere.” He pulled the duvet over his legs. “Do you need me to set an alarm for when you have to feed her?”  “No, my body now wakes up by itself at 2:30 am…fun, right?”  “That’s usually my bedtime.” Jungkook watched her, as she tried to get comfortable in his bed, pulling the blanket up to her chin.  “We can stay up if you want.” She yawned, her eyes already hooded with sleep. 

He simply shook his head, reaching for the light switch of his desk lamp. “No, it was a long day. I’m glad when it’s finally over.” Rolling onto his side, he closed his eyes. Maybe tomorrow would be different, maybe tomorrow would be a better day where he didn’t have to think about his brothers at all; his priorities had shifted so fast that maybe he would be able to forget about them just as quickly. “Kookie?” “Hm?” He hummed drowsily, wanting to open his eyes when she didn’t reply but then he felt her hand underneath his duvet, searching for his; their fingers intertwined. His body relaxed instantly into the mattress, and although he couldn’t sleep in the same bed, it was more than enough to know that she was there, holding onto his hand - and heart like she always did. *

Namjoon was pacing up and down in front of the sofa; his hands were clammy so he repeatedly wiped them on his sweat pants. “Can you please sit down? You’re making us all nervous.” Hoseok’s eyes were glued to the clock on the wall, his pupils moving rapidly as they kept up with the seconds that passed. “Sorry, I’m just…” The leader was cut off when the two youngest members hurried into the room. “Did you find him?”

Taehyung shook his head. “He’s not at the gym, nor is he with any of his friends…” “They could be lying and are covering for him.” “I doubt it, hyung, most of them said that they haven’t heard from him in a while.”

Jimin slumped down on the floor. “He’s not responding to messages and when I try calling him, it goes straight to voicemail. Have any of you tried calling him?” All of them pulled their phones out but every call ended with a disappointed sigh. “Voicemail.” Jin mumbled, dropping his phone to massage his temples.

“He’s just mad and needs to clear his head, he’s probably with y/n.”  Yoongi tried to reassure his members but even he couldn’t entirely ignore the uneasy feeling inside of him.

“I tried calling her too earlier but the same thing happened.” “Well then we know that he told her what happened, that’s something.” “It’s not, we still don’t know where he is and if he’s okay.” Taehyung sat down next to his best friend. “I’m sure he’s fine and will be home soon.” Yoongi tried his best to sound hopeful, only to earn a sad look from both boys on the floor.”

“Maybe we should call the police. It’s been over 24 hours…” “But Jungkookie is not missing…” “Yes, he is! We don’t know where he is and that makes him a missing person!” Jimin protested, determined to find the youngest. Namjoon cleared his throat. “We can’t call the police, but we can tell one of the managers what’s going on. They have to know.” “And what are they gonna do about it? If we can’t find him, they won’t either.” Jimin threw his hands up in despair. If only Jungkook would have talked to him; he was sure that he would’ve been able to calm him down and make him stay.  Was this just part of a plan to make them all feel bad or had the youngest been so heartbroken, so upset that he couldn’t stand living with them anymore?  They would never turn their backs on him but Jungkook had just walked out of their lives. 

[lavishedinjimin]

Little girl -> pjm (m)

↳ Pairing: jimin x reader ↳ genre: vampirejimin!au ↳ word count: 6.0k ↳ warnings: vampire!jimin, shapeshifters, dd/lg themes, dom!jimin, sub!reader, cunnilingus, spanking, dirty talk, overstimulation, unprotected sex — synopsis: After you’ve agreed to go to a campfire with your friend, she introduces you to a rather unique group of people. But then you meet Jimin, who had a way different first impression than everyone else. 

(Before you read! Info may not all be true, please enjoy reading anyway :D)

If agreeing to your friend’s request of going to a campfire in the middle of the woods at twelve midnight wasn’t the most horrifying thing someone can do, then you’re wrong.

It all started when your closest friend, Hyerin, technically forced you to join her to this ‘twelve-midnight campfire’ agenda with a couple other people that you hardly ever know.. Hyerin literally begged on her knees, pleading with those stupid puppy eyes that you couldn’t help but to say ‘yes’ to. “Hyerin, I’m just going to be awkward and say nothing. I’ll look so stupid and out of place.”

“Y/n, my friends are also your friends and—”

“Okay, that’s so not true.”

“Okay, whatever. Don’t worry, all of them are very nice and we’ll get along easily! There’s nothing to be afraid of,” she smiles and shows off her pearly whites, “You’ll love them.” 

Rolling your eyes playfully, you scoff at her, “They better not be shapeshifters like you.”

Hyerin smirks, “No comment.”

~

“What the fuck is this place,” You whisper, holding your coat jacket closer to your frail body as the cold winds were brushing your skin. Walking even deeper inside the dark, abysmal woods, the forest of tall but thin trees were the only things visible as far as the eye could see. The crinkly sounds of the dry leaves crushing underneath your shoes perceptible as you tried to find a red-orange light anywhere. “Are you sure this is the right way to go?”

“What a dumb question, Y/n. I’ve been here lots of times.” Hyerin chuckles as she intertwines her arm around yours to guide you. “You know? When I’m feeling the need to go for a little run in the woods.”

“Hyerin, you scare me sometimes,” you say in a soft voice, making her giggle. She pulls you closer to her body as she maneuvers you to the left – and you immediately saw the large fire amid a cleared-out area. Your eyes spotted a girl and four other boys, and your heart immediately pounds hard in your chest. With only the feeble light of the full moon above you, you couldn’t see their faces clearly. They appeared to be already in a deep conversation as they were sat on a huge tree trunk.

“There they are,” Hyerin says as she walked faster, dragging you along with her. You felt your heart jump when one of the boys looked directly at your eyes, and you feel your face burning. You couldn’t even see his face that clearly. The boy said something to the group and it made the rest of them look at the both of you, smiles painting on their faces.

“Hyerin!” the girl was the first one to stand up and greet the two of you. “This is Y/n, Y/n, she’s Solji.”

You greeted her politely, going in a little hug. “If you don’t mind me asking…are you a doe too?”

Solji laughs, tipping her head back as she places her hands on her stomach. You laughed along with her awkwardly, furrowing your eyebrows as the question of “Why was that funny?” crossed your mind. She places a hand on your left shoulder, “Yes, I am. Gosh, didn’t Hyerin tell you?”

You look at your best friend with a glare and looked back at Solji, shaking your head, “No. She just said ‘no comment’.”

Solji emits a chuckle and turns around to look at the group of people behind her. “Over here,” she starts, “we have three other shapeshifters. But don’t be afraid, one’s a normal human being just like you.”

Your eyes expand at her words, feeling bewildered. You immediately scanned the group of people and suddenly all of her words made sense. You felt Hyerin place her hand on your shoulder, “Y/n, they won’t hurt you,” she snickers, “They won’t hurt such a delicate and cute little human like you.” You slap her hand away from her words, “Shut it, Hyerin.” You have never met any other shapeshifters before besides Hyerin, and you didn’t know how others behaved.

“They’re not like that, Y/n. Promise you.” Hyerin says comfortingly and you finally calmed down a little. Solji motions you to come with her and all three of you walk closer to the crowd. “Guys, meet Y/n.”

Their heads instantly whip to your direction and you felt your cheeks blush from all of the eyes on you. “Hello,” one of the four boys stands up for a handshake, “I’m Hoseok, nice to meet you.” You notice how his eyes sparkled, his smile looked bright and authentic. You obviously weren’t good at analyzing who’s a shapeshifter or a human being, but Hoseok definitely looked pretty normal to you. You shake his hand back with a polite smile.

“Guys, don’t be rude and introduce yourselves to Y/n.” he turns around to the other boys and one of them – a tall and well-built man stands up from his seat on the log and walks over to you with a confident strut.

“Jungkook, nice to meet you.” He simply smiles, and his grip on your hand was firm and strong. “N-Nice to meet you too.” You mentally slapped yourself for stuttering, but you couldn’t help it. You heard him let out a heavy sigh that made you crease your brows at him. “Do you already know that…uh, that we are—”

“Shapeshifters?” You cut him off, and Jungkook only nods at you with a little smile.

“Yeah. I’m glad you knew. I’m a bear, by the way.”

A bear? A fucking bear? You were about to retort an answer but he was quicker to continue his words.

“That’s Seokjin over there—” he points to a very tall, bright and energized looking guy. Seokjin smiles at you kindly and nods once, “He’s an owl.”

You let out a little giggle “Looks like one,” you mutter.

Jungkook furrows his brows down at you, “Is that an insult? Anyway… This,” he directs to another man who was leaning forward on his seat, resting his elbows on his knees. He looked very laid back and relaxed, his jet black hair parted in the middle to show his eyebrows. “His name is Jimin. He’s a vampire.”

“A vampire?!”

Maybe you said that a little too loud, and Jimin’s head immediately whips at your direction. The moment his eyes locks on yours, you felt your body tingle at the weird and unfamiliar sensation it brought you. The sudden cold wind brushed your face and you involuntarily shivered. His look was so firm on yours, unwavering. He kept his eyes on yours and you can’t help but think if he’s the one controlling everything. But then again – you know nothing about vampires.

“Hyerin didn’t tell you?” Jungkook asks as he cocks his head to the side. Your eyes never looked away from Jimin’s, even though you wanted to. His eyes were dark, looking at you deeply with such intensity that you couldn’t escape. It made you nervous, thinking that he might be doing something to your body or to your mind that you didn’t know.

“S-She,” you took a deep breath, “She told me nothing.”

“Oh,” Jungkook shrugs, “Oh well. Now you know!” He shouts with a big smile on his face. He drags you to the circle and invites you to sit beside him. You politely smile at whoever eyes you meet, trying to find a comfortable spot on the rough wood. You were sat in between Jungkook and Hyerin while the others sat on their own logs. After the weird little occurrence between you and Jimin, you fought your hardest not to make eye contact with him any further.

“So, Y/n, what do you shift into?” Seokjin asks you genuinely, leaning his body forward. His big and round eyes looking at you innocently. You heard Hyerin chuckle beside you, shaking her head.

“I’m—”

“She’s mortal.”

Jimin’s deep and sultry voice spoke unexpectedly, and all heads turn towards him. He wasn’t looking at anyone, instead he was playing with his fingers, head hung low. You swallow the heavy ball that formed on your throat, heart beating faster once again. How does he know? Jimin’s aura was quite something; he was giving off some rather mystifying and peculiar vibes. But underneath all that, you felt intimidated. His dark irises were the most captivating and intense pairs you’ve ever laid your eyes upon.

“She is?” Seokjin says, “How do you know that?”

~

How do I know that?

Vampires can figure out anything about a person with just a smell of their blood. We know if a person has shapeshifting abilities or not. We can recognize how one feels, emotions, and comprehension in the easiest of ways. Y/n – in this case – radiates such a true and natural vitality. She smelled so good¸ and I haven’t sensed anyone this untainted and unadulterated in my whole life. Y/n, that girl, seemed so pure, and the blood in my veins boils because of it.

Shrugging my shoulders simply to Seokjin, I replied, “Just felt it.”

I couldn’t help but lock eyes with Y/n again – just the way how she always seemed so nervous, how her cute and big eyes grow wide made me insane. It was insane how a simple girl can make me feel that way, yet I don’t even know who she is.

I wish I could come closer to her, to smell her, to feel her – but I knew that it would be too much, right?

Noticing how Y/n forces a little smile, I felt my heart jump. She was so adorable. She was still trying to fight her tense little persona in front of her, and all I wanted to do is to comfort her, tell her that there’s nothing to be afraid of. But she’s too afraid of me. Too intimidated.

“I don’t have a clue how Hyerin persuaded you to join us. You look absolutely terrified right now.” Solji exclaimed to Y/n, which lead to Hoseok slapping her forearm with creased eyebrows.

“Well,” Y/n coughs to fix her voice, “It’s sort of hard to say no when she’s literally begging on her knees.”

“Not the first time she’s in that position,” Hoseok grins knowingly, which lead everyone to cackle in their seats. I turn to look at Y/n, and instantly notice the blush forming on her cheeks. My lips form into a smirk, eyeing how she sits so properly, hands playing with the fabric of her leggings while her head hung low. She looked so out of place, so dangerous for a sweet, little girl like her.

“Hoseok, shut up. Y/n doesn’t like hearing these sort of things…” Hyerin attempts to make her feel better but Y/n just feels bad. 

The girl shakes her head side to side, “No, no, it’s alright,” she exclaims, “I’m old enough.”

I chuckle at her words and suddenly find the courage to speak up. I nod my head to her direction, tilting my chin up, “Then how old are you, little girl?”

The petname made Y/n go red, and I could feel how she was getting shy. I wasn’t really intending to call her that, but the little nickname just slipped past my lips. It was involuntary, and she looked very youthful.

“M-My age?”

I snicker at the way she stutters. She was startled to speak, I can tell.

“I…just turned eighteen.”

All the blood inside me instantly shoots down to my core, feeling my cock twitch beneath the skinny jeans that I was wearing. “Fuck,” I mutter, pulling my head low so no one could notice. I was always attracted to those who had such a pure aspect, and she was still so young. Innocence was just an internal desire, and it makes me want more from her. It always turned me on how one can easily corrupt themselves and give away their innocence to someone else. How someone can completely lose their control and let their partner handle them in whichever way they want.

Somehow, young ones were more fun to play with. More fun to chase. Y/n exuded such a fragile aura that makes me want to hold her still in my hands, take care of her, let her know who’s in charge. Yet, there’s this feeling where I just want to bend her over a table and spank her cute ass until it’s all red with my handprint, wanting to punish her, to degrade her for being so naughty for a vampire like me. I’d imagine how tight she would be, already knowing that her past fucks weren’t as good as a girl like her deserves.

Damn, what is she doing to me?

~

Did I say something wrong?

You thought as soon as you saw Jimin lowering his head down. Still, you tried to shrug the thought aside and let yourself calm down. You still weren’t over the fact that he called you ‘little girl’, and you feel like you won’t. The petname somehow struck something inside you, and you couldn’t explain what it was.

The evening went out nicely, the other boys were pretty kind to you as they tried to keep a conversation going. They got to know you a little bit better, how you became friends with Hyerin, how you reacted, and all that without looking at Jimin. You would often notice observe how Jimin would run his hands through his thick hair, or how he’d lean forward on his elbows. They were such simple actions but he made it look so alluring to not notice.

“Hyerin…” you whispered, tugging on her sleeves. She turns to you with a raised brow.

“I badly need to pee.”

All of the muscles in her face tense from your words, and you see her clenching her jaw. Your foot tapped repeatedly on the ground, panicking.

You shouldn’t have drowned all those bottles of water earlier.

“Just go hide here in the woods.” She said a matter of factly, and as if it was just such a simple task. Her voice was a bit too loud as she intended it to be, and a few other heads turned to the both of you.

“She wants to go to the toilet?” Solji asks, and you felt your face blush in deep red. Mouth opening to reply, but Hyerin was faster. “Mhm. I told her she can just pee on plants, it’s a good thing.”

“She isn’t a doe like you, Hyerin.”

“She acts like one.”

“Is that a compliment?” You butted in, but Hyerin shushes you.

Solji fills her mouth with a handful of popcorn that someone has brought, munching as she speaks, “There’s a little cabin somewhere, it has a working toilet.”

“It’s too far from here, she’s gonna pee her pants.” Hoseok says who was apparently listening attentively to the conversation. You groan in annoyance as you stomped your feet on the soil, your bladder getting weaker and weaker every second.

“Do you want me to take her there?” The familiar deep and sultry voice speaks, and your head instantly flips to his direction with creased brows.

“Yes!” “No!”

You and Hyerin both say at the same time, and you both look at each other with a confused look.

“Y/n, he can take you to the cabin in a speed of light. You’re either gonna go with Jimin or you’ll have to pee your pants.”

Jimin smirks to himself as he sees you contemplating whether to go with him or not. But you feel like you were about to burst in any second, so you agree.

“Okay, okay, I’ll go with him.”

Solji and Hyerin sighs in relief and Jimin swiftly stands up. You gulp, walking to his direction.

Jimin makes a ‘come here’ motion with his index finger and you simply oblige. He places his right hand on your back and was about to crouch down, but you stop him. “A-Are you sure you can carry me?”

Jimin lets out a deep chuckle which resonated all throughout your body, sending electrifying shots. Instead of replying, he continues his interrupted scheme and lifts you up swiftly, bridal style. You blink rapidly when Jimin sends you a wink, biting his lip teasingly. You wanted to feel disgusted at his rude actions, but you were rather turned on. Some of the black strands of his hair fell down on his forehead, which gave him a very seductive and hot look. He holds you without any difficulty, your body feeling like a sack of feathers. You nervously wrapped your arms around his neck, not knowing if he was okay with it until he nods, reassuring you. You gulped the knot forming in your throat.

“H-How fast can you—”

Before you could even finish your sentence, the surroundings around you immediately turned blurry, feeling a cold gush of wind hitting your body with such force. It felt like all the blood in your body was gone as you shivered. You didn’t feel nor see anything, not until three seconds later and you were in front of a brown cabin.

Jimin settles you down but you stumble on your feet, losing your balance for a moment. He was quick to place his hands firmly on your waist, preventing you to fall. “Hey, hey, you alright?” he rasps, looking straight at your eyes. Something about his firm grip on your body made you feel so tiny around him. It was such a stern and domineering hold which ignited a fire in your stomach. You forced a smile, “Y-Yeah.”

Jimin smiles, eyes turning into little crescents as he motions you to go inside the cabin with one hand.

“Can you hold my coat?” You ask with a small voice which made him chuckle. Jimin thought you sounded so adorable, crossing his arms together as one hand played with his bottom lip.

“Of course.” He simply states and smiles, shrugging your coat off and handing it to him. He hung the clothing on his left arm as he watches you walk inside the shed. It didn’t have a door, and you immediately saw a lot of dusty tools, metal scraps and wooden planks all over the place. There was a large wooden table which had an empty flower pot placed randomly on one side which you furrow your brows to.

Nevertheless, you walk towards the other side where there was a separate room (that thankfully has a door) and you spot the toilet, quickly rushing to relieve yourself. Whether it was a clean toilet or not, you didn’t care – because you’d rather sit on a few bacteria rather than have a huge wet spot soaking your leggings.

“Thank god,” you sigh once you were finished, walking out of the little room to find Jimin fiddling with your coat. He was holding onto it so tightly, almost bringing the fabric up to his nose. He lets out an involuntary groan from the sweet and candy-like scent, his eyes almost closing shut.

You were not gonna lie, but the sight turned you on. The action looked so goddamn filthy and that it made your core tingle. Jimin can sense your presence, of course he did, and he looked up to meet your wide eyes with a smirk forming his luscious lips.

“Do even fucking know how good you smell?”

You would’ve understood that question just like any other normal human would be, and you took it as a simple compliment. You tilt your head to the side, “Well, thank you, Jimin.” The man in front of you chuckles, looking down at the dusty wooden floors as he shakes his head in disbelief.

Of course you wouldn’t get that.

“What are you doing to me, baby?” You faintly hear him say beneath his breath and before you knew it, he was pressing his whole body against your own, towering his height over you. You gasped at how fast it all happened at once, heart beating very fast when Jimin takes your chin with one hand to force it upwards. His eyes suddenly turned into a deep-black color, clouded with hunger and desire.

“Precious, cute little girl you are,” he growls, his tone a lot lower than before, “You dirve me fucking crazy.” Jimin lowers his head and nears it on the crook of your neck as he places a sweet and tender kiss on your soft skin. You shiver at his touch, and he smirks when he sees the goosebumps appearing on your skin. “You turn me on so much, Y/n. The things I want to do to your body…” he trails off and his hands lower to your waist, pulling your body even closer to his. He was now firmly pressed against you, and you were almost holding your breath.

You didn’t know what to feel, though. You were nervous because hell – he was still a vampire – and he could probably kill you at any time he wants. You were also turned on because of his words and his hot aura, the way he was presenting himself to you with such a dominating quality. His hot breath was fanning your face, and you could feel yourself getting wetter and wetter as each second pass.

“I-I…I didn’t do anything, though.” You mumble but you immediately felt electricity running through your veins when Jimin releases a degrading chuckle, making you blush. He runs a hand through your messy hair, but suddenly grips it tightly that causes you to gasp and your head is tilted back. Your core tingled at his rough action, your soaking underwear was making you uncomfortable.  

“You give off such an innocent and sweet vibe, baby. I get so horny whenever you’re near.” He grows the last sentence and you gulp, trying to look at him with big eyes. “I know how wet you are, baby. I know that you’re so turned on right now, you love how I talk dirty to you, huh?” he asks with a stern tone and you instantly nod.

“Words, my little girl.”

“Y-yes, I love it.”

Jimin tsk-ed and releases the hold he has on your hair. He places your coat on the table behind you and grabs your body to roughly push you against the cabin’s wall. You release a soft ‘oof’, and he takes your hands to trap it against the wood. He was being so rough with you – and you loved it.

His lips were teasingly brushing against yours as you felt him press his hips on you. You felt his hard member against your lower stomach, causing you to moan softly. Smirking, he was slowly grinding his hard-on against you as he analyzes your reactions. You bite your lip to prevent yourself from moaning, but Jimin releases your hands to grip your jaw. “Moan for me, baby. C’mon, don’t be shy,” he mocks, his sinister smirk growing larger.

Jimin grinds even harder and you finally let yourself loose, moaning and whining for him. You close your eyes shut as you let him control you. “Look at you, fuck,” he mumbles, “I’m not even doing much and here you are, whining for me.”

Without warning he rips himself off of you and pushes you to the table. He gave a firm push on your upper back, making you bend over the table. He suddenly lands a spank on your right ass cheek, causing you to whimper. “I fucking love it when you whimper,” he spanks you again, and you hold yourself up on your forearms as you close your eyes tightly. The cruel sound resonated throughout the small room, and it was making you drip. 

Jimin chuckles, “You like that?” He spanks you even harder than before, not having any mercy. “My little girl loves being spanked, huh? Who would’ve known that a girl like you could be so fucking twisted.”  

He pulls your leggings down and he releases a guttural moan when he sees how wet you are for him. You were soaking your panties, and he couldn’t help but to take a deep inhale of you. “Fucking shit,” he groans and spanks your already red butt once again, “practically dripping for Daddy.”

D-Daddy?

Your stomach did triple axels and thousands of backflips at that word. It was always a fantasy of you to call someone Daddy, and today may be the blessed day.

“Only for you, Daddy,” you purposely whimpered in the hottest way that you can, obviously teasing him.

He lands another hit to your cheek accompanied by a groan, “You love teasing Daddy, don’t you?” he chuckles. “I’m gonna eat that wet fucking cunt of yours, got it little girl?”

“O-Okay, Daddy.”

Jimin kneels down and he was now eye-level with your heat. He releases a deep sigh and palms his throbbing dick to relieve some pleasure. You smelled so sweet, and it was messing with his senses. He didn’t wasn’t any more time and pulls your panties down to reveal your glistening lips.

“Fuck,” he rumbles as he takes two fingers to separate your puckering labia, letting your juices drip further down your slick. The cold touch of his fingers made you quiver from excitement, and you involuntarily pushed your hips backward for more. Jimin snickers at your attempt and uses both hands to massage your behind. “Hmm,” he spanks you sharply, making you gasp, “you’re so wet, baby. Do you want my tongue on that cute little pussy?” he asks and slaps you again when you don’t answer fast enough.

“O-okay, okay. I want your tongue so bad, Daddy.”

“That’s what Daddy likes to hear, little girl.”

Jimin leans in to lick a bold stripe from your clit and up to your entrance, collecting your sweet juices in his mouth. His eyebrows were furrowed from how blissful you tasted, like candy-water on his tongue. Jimin feels his dick twitch in his pants – begging for attention.

“Sweet cunt, I can eat you all night.” He groans and leans in again, this time sucking on your clit while giving it little kitten licks. You felt so overwhelmed, you feel like your head was about to explode in pleasure. You tried to hold onto something on the table but failed miserably and you only scratched your nails on the old, dusty wood.

Jimin all of the sudden prods the tip of his tongue inside your hole, and you almost burst then and there. “A-ah, please…” you whisper in need, biting your lip harshly when he inches the muscle further and further until you were shaking. Jimin removes his tongue for two seconds before pushing it all back it as his hand flew up to toy with your clit. All of the sensations were too much for you to handle at once as his sinful tongue keeps punishing your entrance. He had no mercy, he like a man on a mission. His tongue swirled around your slick and sucked on your clit until he brought you near an orgasm.

“D-Daddy, I think I’m gonna cum…” you said brokenly, eyebrows creased and your mouth hangs open in pleasure.

“Yeah? Wanna cum on my mouth like the good little girl you are, hmm?” he mutters as his fingers furiously rubbed on your clit. “Gonna let Daddy get a taste of you?”

You nod immediately, “Yes, yes, please…” you mewled, and Jimin grins. “Cum.”

Your walls frantically clenched as your cum spilled out of you. Jimin wastes no time to catch your cum on his mouth, lavishing you on his tongue. He growls as he continues sucking and licking your sensitive heat. He finally stands up after cleaning you up with a smirk and flips you around. With great strength, he lifts your body up the table and you lay down on it. The way how Jimin handled you with such roughness made you blush. You liked it.

“You’re such a naughty, naughty little girl aren’t you, baby?” he mutters as he leans his head closer to you. His plump lips glistening in your wetness was making you clench around nothing. His words truly were affecting you, and he knows that you like it. “Do you want me to continue, hmm? Would you let me have you, y/n?”

You nodded your head, clearly being impatient, “Yes. I wan’ it Daddy…” you breathed out. He smiles evilly and proceeds to unbutton his pants. The sight you had in front of you was making you drool, and he kept his eyes on yours. His eyes, those deep irises that always lit a fire inside of you was making your breath hitch. He removes his shirt away, too, and you gawk at his neatly-toned stomach. He had such a thin waistline that looked so fucking hot, and your hands were craving to run it all over his abs.

“Daddy’s not going to remove your shirt, baby, it’ll be too cold.”

“But Daddy, I can handle it…” you whine, but Jimin only shakes his head and tuts. He takes both hands to grope your covered breasts, and your nipples grew harder than it was before. You whimper quietly at the action. “Listen to me, little girl. Or else you’ll be in great trouble…” his voice deepens on the last sentence as a warning, making you gulp and immediately obey him.

He finally pulls his underwear down, his long and hard dick springing out with a bounce. You verbally moan at the sight, wanting to cum for a second time then and there. Jimin chortles as he wraps his hand around the shaft, teasingly stroking it as he looks at your reaction. You lick your lips when you see him spreading his precum, using it as lubrication. The view was too much to fucking handle. His other arm reaches up to comb his jet-black hair back, while the other one kept stroking his cock. You knew he was doing this to get you more riled up.

“Please…” you mewl, getting so desperate for his cock. You’ve never felt so eager before, and he was messing with your mind. “Please fuck me…”

Jimin smirks as he tilts one eyebrow up at you, “Really? You want me?” he taunts while stepping forward to just lightly brush the tip of his dick against your throbbing hole, making you squirm. “How bad do you want me?”

You groan in annoyance yet Jimin only chuckles. “Words. Daddy needs to hear those words, little girl.”

“Please please please, Daddy. I want you to fuck me. I want you to fill me up, I want it so bad. Please…I’ll be a good girl for you. Only yours…” You couldn’t believe that those words really came out of your own mouth. Yet you didn’t care, you couldn’t think of anything else but to have Jimin dick you down in this small, dusty wooden cabin.

“That’s what I like.” He groans, and finally enters you carefully. Inch by inch, you were already a moaning mess beneath him.

“Thaaaat’s it. That’s my good fucking girl,” he growls with creased eyebrows. You were so tight yet so wet that he had no trouble in entering you. Your walls were clenching sporadically around him, and Jimin didn’t waste any time and started to thrust hard and deep inside of you.

“O-ohh, Da-ddy,” you whimpered, clawing at his back for support. He had the table shifting on the floor which made your whole body rock back and forth.

“Who would’ve known a cute, preserved-looking girl like you would let a vampire fuck her tight little pussy, huh?” he snarls as he keeps going faster and harder, making your eyes roll back from the pleasure. Suddenly, his hand reaches up to wrap around your jugular, and you almost came at that moment. The way he held your throat so possessively and so firmly caused you to whimper, looking straight into his orbs. “Oh, you like that, huh?” he smirks as he tightens his grip just a little bit, making you gasp.

Jimin was astonished that you didn’t even react weirdly to his little action, thinking that you’d be uncomfortable. But you handled everything he gave you like a champ. You looked so cute underneath him as he pounded into you, a whimpering and moaning mess. You tugged on his hair as he fastens his thrusts in an inhumane pace, and you instantly felt the knot in your stomach for the second time.

“Mmnggf, Daddy…I’m so close,” you whined and Jimin’s mouth came in contact to your lips, kissing you tenderly. You feel your body and mind about to burst from all of the overwhelming sensations that he was giving you, yet you loved each second of it.

“I know, baby, I can feel it,” he grunts when you tighten your walls around him, “Wanna cum on my cock little girl? C’mon, I know you can do it.” He removes his hand around your neck and instead lowers it down to reach for your clit, rubbing it just the way you liked it. Your body quivered as you arched your back from the addicting and blissful feeling, shutting your eyes tight. “Come for Daddy.”

And with that, you released your load around his cock. Your walls were spasming intensely, making Jimin release an animalistic growl. “Goddamn, baby,” he mutters as your orgasm kept going, “such a good girl.”

Jimin catches his high as well and pulls away, pumping his cock several times until his cum spurted into your lower belly. Jimin threw his head back in pleasure, his abs flexing as he was breathing heavily. Beads of sweat trickled down his forehead and his chest was moist, and both of you looked fucked up. Literally.

After you both calmed down, Jimin reaches for his underwear and pants and pulls it back up. He helps you get dressed too, assisting you in putting your coat back on. He turns you around with a smile on his face, pressing a kiss on your lips. He pulls your body closer to him, “You did so well for me, Y/n,” he nuzzles his face on the crook of your neck and he smells you once again. You smelled even better than before if that’s even possible. “So, so good.”

You giggle at his remarks and you push his face away, “You were amazing too, Daddy, the best I’ve ever had.”

Jimin raises a brow up at your sentence, “The best you’ll only have, baby.”

His words surprised you. Did that mean…

“Anywho, let’s go? They’re probably waiting for us.”

You disregarded the thoughts you were having from his earlier statement and instead you nod your head. “Yeah, let’s go.”

~

“There you guys are! Holy fuck,” Hyerin yells as she sees the two of you in her sight, making everyone turn their heads. Jimin lays you back down on the ground with a little smirk on his face.

“It’s been two and a half hours, where have you been?” Solji asks, standing up as she walks over to you and Jimin. Solji creases her brows when she sees you blushing, and Jimin with that shit-eating grin on his face. “Odd,” she tilts her head to the side, “I sense something odd with the two of you.”

Hyerin stands up as well and approaches you with a concerned look, “Are you okay, Y/n?”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m okay, don’t worry.”

Neither the less, Hyerin shrugged her shoulders. “Anyway, what took the two of you so long? We were already eating smores without you.”

“Did Jimin lose his vampire abilities? Maybe they had to walk back.” Jungkook laughs with a mouthful of smores, making his cheeks look puffy and full. Jimin rolls his eyes at the youngest, “I didn’t.”

“Then why—”

Solji suddenly comes closer to you and takes an inhale, raising her brows right after, “Y/n smells like sex.”

Everyone, besides you and Jimin, releases a teasing satisfactory sound. Your face immediately goes red, covering your face in your hands. You felt Jimin’s arm snaking around your waist and tugs your close to him. Jimin lowers his head down to press a kiss on top of your head in front of everyone. He had no shame at all.

“Well, Jimin, you like her?” Seokjin asks with a smirk.

Jimin locks eyes with you affectionately and flashes a genuine smile, “I do. A lot.”

~

Okay, I apologize if I kept all of you waiting for me to post, but I now present you a little Jimin oneshot. School has been preoccupying me lately but I’ll find time to write more. 

Please show your support by leaving notes, it really inspires me to continue <3