#the way she immediately threw him under the bus for NO reason

[k4pp4-8]

The spectrum of pirates under cover

[ultralightpoe]

Hits Different - Tangerine

Hits Different - Tangerine

Authors Note : Heya! I am so glad I finally got all the songs filled and am so ready for the event!

MIDNIGHTS EVENT HERE

Word Count: 3433

Warnings: none I think

Enjoy!

I washed my hands of us at the club

You made a mess of me

I pictured you with other girls in love

Then threw up on the street

Like waiting for a bus that never shows

You just start walkin' on

They say that if it's right, you know

Each bar plays our song

Nothing has ever felt so wrong

Nothing really registered properly at the moment, the only thing you knew was your palms were digging into the grass below you as your best friend cursed behind you, holding your hair back as you puked in the shitty college town park you had stumbled into. 

If this had been a normal outing the roles would have reversed and it would have been you holding her own hair back with a sober attitude she wouldn’t be able to recognize, too wasted to know that you were fuming, but for once in your terribly long friendship it had been you that took far too many shots. This time it had been you that had to be dragged away from some random guy with a wedding ring tan. 

Tan…..oh Tan.

Just at the memory of the nickname you feel the need to vomit again, tears stinging your eyes as your best friend giggles behind you, obviously not concerned for the mental breakdown you were currently having. 

“Do you think he has a new girlfriend?” You slur out, knees wobbly as she helps you up, leaning down to snatch the weapons off your feet so you can walk across the grass with her. She leads you to a public hose, or at least she hopes it’s public as she turns it on. 

“Definitely babe.”

“I don’t get it! This never happens to me!” By this you mean being left behind. 

It was no secret amongst your friend group that you were a flight risk when it came to relationships, always leaving before you got attached but just late enough that your significant other had already said the three words. You had never said the three words back….ever…..well until him.

“Just forget him babe,” She sighs out, grabbing your hands gently. “You keep waiting for him to call, and it’s been three weeks. He’s not calling back.”

“But I told him I loved him.” You hiccup, flinching as the cold hits your hands. 

She doesn’t respond and in your drunken stupor you can’t help but feel like a massive burden, so you shake your head with tears and whine out “I’ll stop talking about him, I swear.”

“It hurts right now, I know that. But soon enough you are gonna wash your hands clean of the whole thing.” She smiles, and you think about that for a moment before nodding and scrubbing your own hands under the water. 

From tonight on you won’t get Tangerine the satisfaction. 

You are washing yourself clean of him entirely.

But little did you know the entire time you were washing your hands you were humming yours and tans song, the whole reason you began to have the mental breakdown at the bar in the first place. Your best friend doesn’t point it out, she owes you that much. 

How many times had you wiped her mascara and bought her ice cream after being dumped? This was an easy act to return.

Oh my, love is a lie

Shit my friends say to get me by

It hits different

It hits different this time

Catastrophic blues

Movin' on was always easy for me to do

It hits different

It hits different 'cause it's you

('Cause it's you)

You were proud to say that you weren’t the one that brought him up during the weekly sunday brunch three days later, only to be immediately shamed by the way you head snapped at attention when your friend said his name. 

“Any news?”

Your best friend shakes her head from beside you, pouring more bottomless mimosas for you as you try to muster up an answer, really just anything to explain what had happened there but the truth was you had no clue yourself. 

“No, and honestly I have been running through all our last conversations to figure out what went wrong, was I too clingy? Did I scare him off?” You explain, watching all the girls lean forward in their seats. “And it’s so weird because I said I love you and he said it back. I don’t know-”

“I think you just panicked because of our teasing.” You best friend lies, batting her eyelashes at you. 

“Yeah! Girl I don’t think you really loved him, you were probably just in overdrive to prove us wrong. You are so lucky he left when he did.”

“He probably has a wife.”

“With kids.”

“That live in a nice suburban home-” You rush away from the table, sick of all the images they were giving you. They were obviously looking for reasons for you to feel better but none of it was helping because you knew you loved him.

He had been your first l word. 

And it had been wasted. 

I used to switch out these Kens, I'd just ghost

Rip the Band-Aid off and skip town like an asshole outlaw

Freedom felt like summer then on the coast

Now the sun burns my heart and the sand hurts my feelings

And I never don't cry (no, I never don't cry) at the bar

Yeah, my sadness is contagious (my sadness is contagious)

I slur your name 'til someone puts me in a car

I stopped receiving invitations

A year ago you had been covered in a sweet scented sun balm, topless at the beach and tanning under the nice heat of the day as whatever lover you had at the time ran to get you both something to drink. You were holding your sunglasses in one hand and a book in the other, facedown on the poolside chair when two feet emerged in your vision. Two feet that you had not recognized. 

You had picked your head up slowly, blinking to clear the sunspots in your vision as the stranger came into view, brown hair tousled and gold chain glinting in the light. There was a pinkish tint to his shoulders and chest, and he smirks as you trace your eyes over his figure. 

“Can I help you?” You keep your voice sultry, eyelashes batting up at him as a slow smile spreads across his face. 

“I was hoping you’d be so lovely and share some of that sunblock with me,” His accent is thick as he squats down to be at the same level as you, eyes filled with something close to adoration that has your heart spiraling. “As you can see love, I’m burnin away here.”

“I do apologize for that, the sun can be quite the enemy…” You smile, reaching down to grab it, moving to hand it to him. His eyebrows shoot up and he feigns a look of shock for a moment before one of fake hurt.

“You can’t expect me to do it, lovey. You see I can’t reach my own fucking back…”

“How dare I!” You gasp, playing along and trying not to laugh. 

“Yeah, how fucking dare ya.” His toothy grin pulls a matching smile from you and he turns slowly to let you rub the balm onto his back, and you cast nervous glances around for the date that had brought you to the resort. 

“Don’t worry about him right now, yeah love? Your Kenny doll won’t mind us having some fun.” If you knew his secrets you’d have known that Tangerine had handled the man in the restroom, scaring him off so he could make a move. But you would never be allowed to see any of that. 

Oh my, love is a lie

Shit my friends say to get me by

It hits different

It hits different this time

Catastrophic blues

Movin' on was always easy for me to do

It hits different

It hits different 'cause it's you

('Cause it's you)

“What was that fucks name again?” Tan laughed, reaching to pinch your ass as you pass him to grab the popcorn for your movie night. 

“How am I supposed to know?”

“Mmmhmm, my lil’ fucking heartbreaker.” He grunts out, pressing his body against yours and kissing at your neck drawing a giggle from you. 

“We’re never gonna watch the movie if you can’t control yourself, and you were the one that begged for this movie night rather than a night-”

“I know I know.” He sighs, allowing himself one more kiss before moving to the living room to set up. It takes you a couple more minutes to grab the tray of snacks, and when you finally shuffle out to the living room you find a huge fort made out of pillows and blankets with your boyfriend nowhere in sight.

“Tan?” You call, setting the tray down and leaning to check in the fort for him only to find it empty. The lights of the tv are your only source of light so you don’t see the figure behind you until it’s too late and he snatches you by the waist and spins you around in the air. 

A laugh pulls from you as he yells out a battle cry and throws you both into the fort where all the pillows were laid out. 

After a couple minutes of laughter you catch your breath and play with his hair as he leans over your outstretched body, his own pressed against yours and his fingers trailing love touches up your side as he stares at you. 

“I love you, you know that?” You blurt, watching a smile crack across his face. 

“I love you too.”

You ended up never watching the movie, choosing to stay in the fort and admire each others bodies in a way you had never done before, panting and moaning under the faint blue light the tv sent through the sheets of the fort. 

I find the artifacts, cried over a hat

Cursed the space that I needed

I trace the evidence, make it make some sense

Why the wound is still bleedin'

You were the one that I loved

Don't need another metaphor, it's simple enough

A wrinkle in time like the crease by your eyes

Except you woke up alone in the fort, covered in blankets that you did not remember grabbing, and the tv had been turned off. 

He must have been late for work and you simply overslept, it was a rational answer you gave yourself because normally Tan would wake you up before he left. Or maybe there had been an emergency with his baby brother. 

There were many reasons he could be gone so you simply sent him a good morning text and moved on with your day, telling yourself you would take the fort down later. 

But then the goodmorning text turned into a question about dinner that had gone unanswered, and late at night you sat at the dining table with pizza shoved in your face as you anxiously messaged him asking if he was okay. 

You imagined all the men that you had used for trips and money laughing at you right now, a heavy sense of irony and then you shook your head and reminded yourself that it’s only been a day, this wasn’t a ghosting situation…..

Except it had been, and by the second week you had sent him so many messages that you were sure he finally blocked you when the messages started ready ‘not delivered’. 

An embarrassed sob had clawed up your throat at that, furiously wiping your eyes and chugging the glass of wine you had poured before moving to pick up the fort. 

If anyone had been confused by the sobbing girl in the laundry room of the apartments at 2 am they never said it and you were slightly thankful for that as you washed the sheets from the fort. 

It was time to move on, you were better than this.

You ghosted people, not the other way around. 

This is why they shouldn't kill off the main guy

Dreams of your hair and your stare and sense of belief

In the good in the world, you once believed in me

And I felt you and I held you for a while

Bet I could still melt your world

Argumentative, antithetical dream girl

You hadn’t realized that getting dumped was this hard to get over though. Sure you had cheered your friends up from it but you had never felt it yourself, this was a different world to you. You cried when you threw the photos away, and you cried when you packed up anything he left in a box to donate to goodwill. 

He plagued your every waking thought, the image of his eyes and the sound of his voice filling your thoughts whenever you allowed yourself to relax so you spent most your time cleaning or working to distract yourself. 

A little over a year with him, and this is what it came to? 

Your best friend tried convincing you to be angry which led to you puking in a clubbing dress in the middle of a park. And the girls brunch had left you just a little more miserable when the conversation had turned to the engagement party of one of your close friends, and by the time you crawled home you ended up in a ball on the carpet of the living room floor, closing your eyes for a quick nap to shut the world out for a bit. 

You didn’t need him, fuck you had traveled the world before him, you could just go back to that. 

I heard your key turn in the door down the hallway

Is that your key in the door?

Is it okay? Is it you?

Or have they come to take me away?

To take me away

Going back to dating after a year of a relationship had been rocky, and your first date back had led to you cheering up your date as he talked about his own ex, and by the time you packed him into an uber that night you felt a bit better about yourself. You weren’t over your ex, but so what? No one else was either?

And any anxiety you had about dating had gone out the window at that, because you had realized you had the perfect weapon in your hands. 

So you cracked out your best and sexiest dresses and by week 12 of no contact with Tan you began spending your nights putting on the performance of your life.

You would sniffle, and you would bat your eyelashes as you talked about how heartbroken you were, the men would be hooked at the sad doe eyes and you would spend the meal talking about how nice and kind they were, then when the check came you would put the nail in the coffin with the tiny tears on how they were so much better than your ex. 

But they weren’t, they were free meals and free wine that you enjoyed toying with. Because no one had ever pulled your heartstrings the way Tan had, and no one had been able to break your heart the way he had. You were sure you would never give anyone else the chance. 

So you followed your own routine after that, when the man of the night would lead you to the sidewalk and call an uber thinking he was about to get laid, you would start crying and then crying would turn to blubbering as you talked about how amazing they were. 

Nothing scared a guy off faster than clinginess, this you knew well. 

They are always scared off at the blubbering mess of sobs, putting you in an uber and paying for your ride home, desperate for you to stop crying. 

There had been one uber driver that had picked you up 3 times, and always laughed when you stopped crying the second the poor fool was out of sight. You shared your gum with her and she promised to mention you in a novel she was writing, you told her to make you iconic. 

And then you would be dropped off, where you would sit, slightly tipsy, in your very lonely apartment. 

Some nights you would trick yourself into thinking you heard Tans key in the door…. You never did and the pitch of excitement you got always ended in a pained feeling so you began to listen to headphones rather than silence. 

Oh my, love is a lie

Shit my friends say to get me by

It hits different (it hits different)

It hits different this time

Catastrophic blues

Movin' on was always easy for me to do

It hits different (it hits different)

It hits different 'cause it's you

Your date tonight had chosen a really good restaurant tonight, and not only that he had actually been pretty funny. So when you left the restaurant stuffed and laughing you nearly forgot your performance, but he seemed like he didn’t expect anything as he kissed your cheek to call you a ride, telling him to call you when you crawled in before shutting the door softly and you felt a small smile spread across your face. 

“That one seemed sweet.” Niama comments, watching you through the rearview mirror of the uber. You smile even more and pull out the dessert you ordered. 

“I got this for ya.” You hand it to her and she laughs. 

“And if it hadn’t been me?”

“I would have gone home and eaten it myself. It was a win win idea.”

When she drops you off that night she gives you her number and tells you that she demands an amazing interview for her book, and as you walk up the steps to your apartment you are left with a giddy feeling from a good night. 

Maybe that’s why you didn’t notice it at first. Too busy laughing to yourself to notice the familiar smell of mint on the doorstep, or the fact that your door was unlocked. 

But the second you enter it’s clear something is off.

The lights are on, and you know for a fact that you had turned them off before you left. The kitchen was cleaner then you left it and the smell of mint filled your lungs. 

Everything was right and yet it was so so wrong. 

You find yourself frozen in the doorway, one hand clenching the doorknob as the other tightens into a fist at the center of your jacket, doing your best to wake yourself up from whatever dream this was. 

“Y/n?” He calls, the same familiar accent that had talked you to sleep nearly every night for a year. And then he is there, limping harshly as he comes around the corner. 

His entire face is covered in blisters and bruises, a cast on his left arm.

He watches you in the doorway, and you blink back at him struggling to find something to say….anything, a single word would be fine. 

“H…..Hey lovey.”

Oh, my, love is a lie

Shit my friends say to get me by

'Cause it's you

Catastrophic blues

Movin' on was always easy for me to do

It hits different (yeah)

Hits different 'cause it's you

His normal cockiness was gone, and you can see the fear in his eyes in an instant, as he looks you up and down. 

“You……look stunning.”

“You look like hell.”

He nods, taking his unbroken hand up to wipe his tears before he clears his throat and stands straighter. “I think it’s time to explain.”

You nod, moving to shut the door and you stand there just a second more before flinging across the room where he stood, careful of his injuries when you pull him into a bone crushing hug. 

He groans in pain and you pull yourself back quickly but his unbroken hand is fisted in the back of your coat to keep you close as he catches his breath. 

“Sorry love,” He grunts, pressing his forehead to yours. “I got shot.”

“IthoughtIscaredyouawayand- I’m sorry…. You got shot?” A small smile spreads across his face as he watches you. 

“You think you scared me away by sayin’ I love ya?” He chuckles, his hand sliding up your side until it’s woven in your hair. “Cause I’m worried about what I’m about to tell ya will scare you off.”

Don't forget to request a character and a song from the album Sour by Olivia Rodrigo for the next event!

And check out the midnights masterlist at the top of this post for more taylor swift fun!

[marshmallomoon]

Sunshine (Mr. Plankton)

“Why do you still wear that”?

“Huh”

“Why do you still wear that thing on your finger mija”?

“Mamá can we not do this right now I still have to go to work” I asked letting out a tired sign she clicked her tongue in protest but didn’t make a move to saying anything more making do a little happy dance in my head.

“When’s papá getting home” “he should be here in a few minutes” “alright mamà tell him I said I love you” I said kissing her on her cheek before rushing out the door.

It’s 7:00 am now which means the bus should be coming in ten minutes I thought to myself as I rushed to the bus stop and just as predicted 7:10 on the dot the bus pulls up.

Once I’m finally situated on the bus I can finally relax for the next 30 minutes until I get to the hospital but as I sit on the bus I started wondering about what my mother said earlier about me wearing my ring. Truth be told I should’ve been taken it off and locked it somewhere never to be seen again but I feel like it’s the last thing I have of him it’s the one thing still tying us together despite the fact it’s been two long years since I’ve seen him.

7:40 we should be approaching the hospital right about now and just as I thought that I felt the bus jerk to a stop once I was off I speed walked my way in to the hospital doors knowing I have 20 minutes to get to the nurses stations so that night shift can be left off.

“Okay so Mr.kim still needs to monitored closely last night we tried giving him some water but he immediately threw that up” Jennie the night shift explained to me “okay I’ll give some ginger ale I’ll see how he does with that” I exclaimed while looking over the notes she took since last night.

(Sorry if that doesn’t make sense I was making it up as a wrote)

“I don’t know how you do it” Yuri another nurse aka my best friend said as she hurriedly made sure to get to her seat before the head nurse saw that she was late. “What don’t you get, the fact that I’m on time for work even though I live further than you do” I said with slight smirk o my face causing Yuri to hit my arm quite hard turning my smirk into a glare while I rubbed my arm.

“That and the fact that your so bright and sunny in the morning it honestly makes me want to punch you” Yuri told me with a pout on her face “wow” was all I could as I looked at her “I don’t have to start my rounds yet but would you feel better if I got you and iced americano” just as soon as those words left my mouth Yuri pout turned into a smile so big it could rival the sun making me narrow my eyes at her because not to long did she want to punch me for being happy in the morning “yes please” Yuri grinned at me as I rolled my eyes at her playfully before getting up and making my way down towards the cafe.

As I made my way to the computer to order two ice coffee’s I realized I left my wallet in my locker making me release a frustrated breath at the fact that I had to go all the way back upstairs.

“Oh back already” Yuri said popping out of nowhere scaring me but as she scanned my figure she frowned once she saw I didn’t have anything in my hands “hey-” “relax I’m going to get my wallet from the locker you brat” i spoke as I walked passed her leaving Yuri to grumble under her breath.

Finally retrieving my card I make my way back downstairs to head to the cafe again from the corner of my eye I catch a glimpse of a male that almost seemed to look li- no I shook my head at myself for even thinking of that idea I must be more tired than I thought I really didn’t get any sleep last night lately for some reason I’ve been feeling really anxious out of nowhere like somethings coming but I just didn’t know what

And oh how right I was.

(Alright I’m going to end it here and I just want to make a few things clear y/n will be half Korean and half Mexican you’ll learn a little bit more about her parents in the story and absolutely will there not be any spice lately me personally that’s all I see and it can get annoying so I decided for myself to make stories without them)

[lemonhemlock]

i keep seeing so many wildly different takes on the tomshiv fight so i'm gonna throw in my two cents. prefacing by saying that i do really think there is little point in trying to count how many blows one of them struck against the other bc ultimately this was a relationship that was dishonest and mismatched from the get-go. similarly, it's relatively pointless to argue over which character in this show is "more awful" than the other bc they're all arseholes, so i guess the best way for everyone to make a distinction is to just go by your personal benchmark of annoyance. people have different thresholds for what they consider annoying behaviour and rate social transgressions via an individual hierarchy. so, for some people, shiv's cheating might be a bigger infraction than tom's betrayal and so on. but these different reactions ultimately reflect the commentator's sensibilities; they are not meant to be reflective of a universal, immutable truth.

that being said, i personally am leaning more towards tom's side of the argument. he has just spent an entire evening witnessing his wife demean him repeatedly (not a solitary incident or a joke gone wrong) to his guests in his own house and hearing about how he's going to get fired (news to him). he's sleep-deprived and is going to have a very busy and long day tomorrow since it's election day. so he tries to extricate himself from the situation and simply go to bed. i generally see tom as a slimy corporate suck-up but this was really a very composed, civilized reaction. he repeatedly tries to pacify shiv and disengages but she keeps needling him bc she is suddenly regretting her own schemes. she complains that she's betraying her family for this as if it wasn't her idea in the first place - no one was forcing her to go through with it at any point. her plot was so half-baked that it turns out she threw her husband under the bus in front of their guests for nothing, as "a tactical joke". i mean?? i feel like tom is in the right to point out her hypocrisy and extreme privilege here.

so far i think that most people would agree with what i've said, but the thing that i think sets this apart a little is that this is classic shiv behaviour. she repeatedly disregards tom's feelings and situation and minimizes his problems in favour of her own. so tom being upset by her agreeing with the firing rumour is immediately brushed aside because the REAL problem here is that shiv's plot is gonna fail and she's gonna lose against ken and rome. which isn't actually a real problem anyway because she's going to be rich AF no matter what.

i will diverge now from the generally-accepted takes and say that tom pretty much clocks shiv's behaviour but, while she does spell out some truths about him, part of what she says are delusions and projections. tom does impart some hard-hitting truths like calling her broken, not a good person to have children or incapable of love. these things are not false and they are also not insults. i really don't get why so many are saying he is insulting shiv. these are observations based on her own (repeated) behaviour.

whereas she doesn't really respond in kind, i feel. shiv is the one who throws insults at him, calling him a hick and insulting his entire family by labeling them striving and parochial. these are also crouched in classism and made all the more ridiculous by the fact that tom's mother is a well-respected lawyer so "parochial" is truly a delusional word to use in this context, which goes to show how extreme shiv's billionaire privilege is. in return, tom doesn't insult her family and actually chooses the reasonable reply of "that's not a fair characterisation". the part about tom's mother loving shiv more is, again, complete fabrication. so is the part about TOM being the reason she didn't speak to her father for the last six months of his life. shiv is well within her rights to be upset tom revealed her plans to logan, but even if he hadn't, logan would have still been massively pissed at her and her brothers and they STILL would have been estranged.

again, maybe this is just me, but calling someone broken is not an insult, while calling some pathetic is? shiv goes on to tell him that she never loved him and doesn't even like him and he never even "deserved" her, which are hard to label as anything other than cruel. even during this fight tom still tells her that he loves her? idk, man, tom has so many flaws and he is a social climber and he did become prissy bc she kept postponing having children but it feels like shiv spends the majority of this fight accusing tom of things that are not true and calling him mean names

[diorkyeom]

‘✷’ : CHAPTER TWO “one joshua to rule them all”

<< prev chapter | ao3 fic | next chapter >>

chapter word count: 5.5k+

chapter warnings: swearing, alcohol

summary: "lately, seokmin had come to a realisation. joshua hong, seokmin thought, was a little bit of an enigma." - in which seokmin has known joshua for years, but he's always been a bit of a mystery to him. and as the days go by, he finds himself falling further and further for the enigmatic man, wanting to find out who the real Joshua Hong is behind his polite smiles and warm eyes and sweet words.

notes: if gods existed, i think they'd probably like to grant wishes purely to make humans suffer lmao

Seokmin ended up beginning to see a lot more of Joshua.

It was small things, really, but considering the fact that, up until then, Seokmin hadn’t even glimpsed a hint of Joshua’s shadow, it made him wonder if there were any gods up there, listening to his every word.

Because, well, he saw Joshua everywhere.

They bumped into each other while Seokmin was out grocery shopping, or while he was just getting off the bus and Joshua was getting on, or while Seokmin was popping into the gym to see if Soonyoung was escaping his dishwashing duties again (which was an utterly mortifying encounter that he really didn’t want to repeat), or simply while walking down the street as they accidentally made eye contact.

It was safe to say that he was seeing a lot of Joshua.

Soonyoung looked up from where he was spraying water on the cacti out in their hall, frowning when he saw Seokmin walk through the door, coming home after work.

“What’s up with you?” he asked, setting down the spray bottle. "Why do you look like you’ve seen a ghost? And why are you late?”

Seokmin blinked, a rabbit under headlights. Soonyoung tilted his head, the concern melting into something more mischievous in his eyes.

“You did something, didn’t you? Seokmin, why’re you coming back from work late?”

“Uh, no reason,” Seokmin lied lamely, wincing internally. Damn. That hadn't even convinced himself. He made a mental note to get better at lying. “Nothing happened.” And then he ran to his room.

Or, tried to. Soonyoung had fast reflexes, even though he really only chose to use them whenever it most benefited him. Seokmin was often the poor victim of such reflexes, he thought. He made another mental note to get better at dodging Soonyoung's grabby hands.

"I can see it all over your face," Soonyoung said suspiciously. "What did you do this time?"

Seokmin tried to laugh casually. It didn't work. "Would you believe me if I said that absolutely nothing happened at all?"

"Nope."

"Aw, damn. I need to improve my skills of lying to you. Could we make that a daily session?"

"Seokmin, stop avoiding the question," Soonyoung said, shaking his shoulders. His eyes gleamed with the potential of getting embarrassing information out of him. "What did you do?"

Seokmin squirmed, unable to get out of Soonyoung's death grip on his arms.

"One of my students is leaving school today," he said finally. "She gave me these flowers to say thank you. But—"

"Oh! Let me guess, they're the ones you're allergic to?"

Seokmin glared at the interruption. "No."

"You touched them and they immediately died?"

"What? No!"

"There was a roach in them and you screamed and threw it in her face?"

"Huh? Hyung, that's what you did the last time your niece tried to give you flowers," Seokmin said. Soonyoung huffed, and then motioned for him to carry on with his head. He still had that death grip on Seokmin's arms.

"Just get on with it."

"I would if you stopped interrupting me," Seokmin sulked. "You're not letting me finish."

"So keep going!"

It was an incredibly embarrassing encounter, in fact. Seokmin had cherished the flowers, since they'd been given by one of his favourite students, and had happily carried them in his arms on the way home.

Only to turn the corner and run right into Joshua.

"Hello!" Joshua had said in surprise, steadying him with an arm on his shoulder. Then his voice had gone soft, that gentle softness which made Seokmin blink rapidly. "Those are some lovely flowers. Where did you get them?"

Seokmin had stared at him for a long, long moment.

“Seokmin?” Joshua’s voice had turned a little worried, removing his hand from his shoulder to wave it in front of his face. “Are you okay?”

Seokmin blinked at him again. And then—

"They're for you!" he'd blurted, for some reason.

Joshua froze. "What?"

"—and then I pushed the flowers into his arms and ran away," Seokmin finished miserably and Soonyoung cackled.

“You gave Joshua hyung flowers? That weren’t even for him?” Soonyoung said, still laughing. “Oh, wow. What did he say?”

“I don’t know,” Seokmin said, still in that same miserable tone. “I told you. I ran away.”

Soonyoung burst into laughter again, and Seokmin sighed.

If there were gods out there, listening to his wishes and orchestrating these embarrassing encounters, then Seokmin wasn’t sure he liked them that much.

His daily life carried on just like that, with a weird mix of constant Joshua-sightings and his normal, everyday routine. If Seokmin was being honest, it was getting kind of terrifying at this point, just how many times he’d seen Joshua over the past few weeks, when before he’d barely see the man outside of their monthly Game Nights.

It was mildly awkward, in the way that it would be mildly awkward to constantly see your friend’s undeniably attractive and weirdly elusive housemate even though you’ve held probably ten conversations in total with them. While the encounters weren’t necessarily unpleasant, he didn’t know what to do with the fact that his ears constantly reddened and his heart seized up and suddenly he didn’t know how to string two sentences together whenever he caught sight of Joshua’s big eyes and soft smile and shy wave of ‘hello’.

Seokmin was half-worried that he was being stalked, if Joshua didn’t look utterly surprised by their sudden, frequent encounters, just like him.

Well, Seokmin supposed, if the gods were indeed listening in on the lives of mere mortals like them, then this wasn’t exactly the worst wish of his that they could have chosen to grant. At least everyone around him wasn’t talking about Joshua 24/7, because boy would that be weird.

───────────── ‘✷,

Every time their favourite dongsaeng came over to talk to Soonyoung and Seokmin, it always had something to do with work.

Seungkwan always had something to complain over, or something to gossip about, or something to relay to his hyungs that would eventually devolve into him telling them how brilliant he was due to how he’d handled the situation. He was a master storyteller, better even than Jeonghan, and while he did get (justifiably) annoyed when Soonyoung and Seokmin interrupted him with constant questions, the way he told a story was almost unsettlingly gripping.

They dedicated entire evenings to these talk sessions, equipped with coffee and hot chocolate and a vast variety of unhealthy snacks, talking and laughing until the wee hours of the morning even though, most of the time, they had work the next day. But while sipping piping hot drinks with pop music blasting through the house and shitting on colleagues and discussing the meaning of life, no one had time to worry about work.

“Seohwa keeps saying that I look like a hamster,” Soonyoung said, squishing his cheeks and frowning, "and everyone keeps agreeing with her. Be honest you guys. Do I really?”

“Yeah,” Seokmin replied instantly, Seungkwan nodding in agreement with him. “You’re, like, the most hamster-looking person ever.”

Soonyoung took his hands away from his cheeks. “I hate you both.”

Seungkwan cackled, crawling through the mess of pillows strewn across the floor to kneel in front of Soonyoung, pinching his cheeks and moving his head around. “But hyung! Come on, you have to agree that you’re literally as adorable as the adorablest hamster in the world. You look just like the pet hamster my cousin used to have. Hey! Don’t bite me, you animal!”

Soonyoung just grinned as Seungkwan ripped his hands away from the elder’s face, shrugging as if he hadn’t just clasped his teeth around Seungkwan’s thumb. “Don’t put your hands next to my face.”

“What happened to your cousin’s hamster?” Seokmin asked, turning Seungkwan’s glare away from Soonyoung. “I didn’t even know she had one.”

“Oh, it died,” Seungkwan said. “Overfeeding.”

Soonyoung, taking a sip of his now-cold hot chocolate, choked.

“It was really sad,” Seungkwan carried on thoughtfully, patting Soonyoung’s back as he coughed. “It was so cute. It used to hoard food in its mouth like this—" He puffed out his cheeks— "with literally the exact same expression that Soonyoung hyung has when he's stuffing his face with food."

Soonyoung glared. "You're literally the worst person in the world. I'm banning you from coming back here."

"You wouldn't," Seungkwan said cheerfully, while Soonyoung rolled his eyes and Seokmin laughed, because they all knew that Seungkwan was right. And besides, even if they did ban him, he'd probably pick their locks and stroll into their apartment anyway.

"Hyung, can you get me more hot chocolate? I ran out," Seokmin asked, waving his empty mug at Soonyoung.

"Oh, hyung, me too!" Seungkwan said, holding his out too. "Make me some more too."

"No hot chocolate for traitors," Soonyoung snipped, but he stood up anyway, taking their mugs. "I hate you both so much."

Seokmin grinned, blowing a dramatic kiss in Soonyoung's direction as he attempted to navigate through the fluffy pillows and blankets that they'd flung across the floor of the living room. Soonyoung gave him the finger in return, and Seungkwan laughed.

"Kwan. Are you still going church-hopping tomorrow?" Seokmin asked, once there was the sound of the microwave whirring as Soonyoung heated the milk.

Seungkwan brightened, leaping at the chance to talk about his work. "Yeah, we are! We're going out of the area tomorrow, and we'll probably go there again the day after because the writers said that they won't have finished finalising the script until at least the end of this week. Ayun noona thinks they're slacking off, which is why it's taking so long."

Seokmin laughed. "Ayun noona thinks terribly of everyone."

"She does, doesn't she? Such a bitch," Seungkwan said, with feeling, and it made Seokmin laugh again as the younger scrunched his nose. "Did I tell you that thing she did the other day? We were in one of the churches in this area, and everyone was in a good mood because, you know, it was a nice day! The sun was out, we were technically getting a day off because who the fuck even does research on research trips, and Hyuwon had paid for literally everyone's lunch. We're on our way to the next church, but this noona just…"

And so the evening carried on. Soonyoung came back with the hot chocolate while Seungkwan was in the middle of his rant and almost spilled the drink all over the television to avoid Seungkwan's flailing hands. There was a scuffle, and melodramatic yelling, but eventually they settled down and Seungkwan carried on telling his story like nothing had happened.

It was chaotic. It was confusing. But it was, above all, normal, and Seokmin's head was buzzing with just how wonderfully, messily ordinary it was. As he laughed at Soonyoung for being slapped on the shoulder for interrupting Seungkwan's story, all he could think of was how good it was to have this day, this evening of ordinary stuff with no Joshua-ness. After all, it was probably the first day since last month's Game Night that he hasn't been reminded of Joshua, either because of his own brain or because he'd been seeing the man across the street at every turn.

Not that he didn't want to see Joshua, of course. But he didn't exactly want to deal with the weird heart palpitations and strange tongue-tiedness every single day, you know?

This evening was simply a good distraction from how startlingly suddenly Joshua had invaded his life.

“—and that choir that Joshua hyung leads was there too! His children were really really good, and it was all stuffy church hymns that they were singing, but that’s expected, since we were researching church stuff, but it was really amazing. Joshua hyung is a great teacher to the kids.”

Seokmin blinked at Seungkwan, astounded.

Great.

He spoke too soon.

Seungkwan kept rambling about his church-hopping events that had happened with his music theatre crew, because apparently they were gathering ‘hands-on’ experience to help with their new upcoming project, or something. Seokmin wasn’t sure how that worked, but they were doing it anyway, and Seungkwan carried on talking about it, his ramblings mostly on Joshua for the moment. Soonyoung was nodding along, practically drowning in a pile of cushions he’d made but still engaging in the conversation all the same.

Seokmin wanted to bash his head against the coffee table and knock himself out. This was insane. Joshua was everywhere, damnit.

When Seokmin said he wanted to see more of Joshua, he didn’t mean he wanted to see him and hear of him 24/7.

“—and I just think it’s so cool he does his day job and still leads the choir of the church, you know? Although, from what Jeonghan hyung said, he’s gonna quit his day job soon and do something else,” Seungkwan was saying. He was still talking about Joshua. How was he still talking about Joshua?

“What’s he gonna do?” Soonyoung asked.

“Work at a school as a music teacher,” Seungkwan replied. “Jeonghan hyung said he was growing tired of his desk job, so he’s doing something he enjoys. Good on him,” he added, “because from the way he worked with the church kids, he really, really loves teaching music.”

That made Seokmin smile, just a little bit. The image of Joshua giving a bunch of little kids his lovely, lovely smiles and clapping good-humouredly as they finished singing made his heart warm.

“Speaking of Joshua hyung, though,” Soonyoung said, and there was a distinctly sly lilt to his voice as he grinned at Seokmin. "Wanna tell Seungkwan what you did?"

Seokmin groaned. "No, actually, I don't."

"What? What? Hyung, what did you do?" Instantly, Seungkwan turned to him, fully intent on dragging the whole story out of him, patting his arm excitedly. "Hyung, tell me, please! I wanna know!"

"It's nothing interesting?" Seokmin tried. "You're not gonna wanna know?"

Soonyoung snorted at the way Seokmin's words had ended with a questioning lilt. Seungkwan just shook his head, eyes wide.

"Of course I want to know!" he insisted. He'd have looked so innocent and sincere if Seokmin didn’t know that he was fully intending to laugh at him once he'd told the tale. "I wanna know everything that my lovely Seokmin hyung gets up to, you know?"

Seokmin cringed. "Okay, okay, I'll tell you. It's really not that interesting."

And so, he relayed the same embarrassing story that he'd told Soonyoung, finishing in the same flustered, miserable tone.

"—pushed the flowers in his direction and ran away," he said, miserably, and Seungkwan burst into laughter. Seokmin crossed his arms, bottom lip jutting out. He had the worst friends ever.

“That’s so—” Seungkwan couldn’t even finish his sentence before dissolving into laughter again, holding onto an uncontrollably giggling Soonyoung for support. “Oh, Seokmin hyung, what are we gonna do with you?”

Seokmin sniffed. “You know what, I agree with Soonyoung hyung’s decision. Seungkwan, you’re banned from coming back here. Ever.”

“You wouldn’t,” Seungkwan said again, through tears of laughter, and he was right, again, but Seokmin huffed and pretended to be mad at him all the same. “You love me too much.”

“Debatable,” Seokmin said, but before Seungkwan could squawk in indignation, he pushed the younger’s mug of hot chocolate back into his hands. “Shh. Drink. Let’s talk about something else, I’m bored.”

“Okay.” Soonyoung opened a bag of chips, chomping thoughtfully. “Wait, Seok, it sounds like a lot of your students are leaving lately.”

Seokmin brightened at the change in topic and then saddened with a sigh. “Yeah, they are. So are the teachers! Everyone’s leaving all of a sudden, and it makes me sad.”

“Teachers too?” Seungkwan asked, putting down his mug again, eyeing Soonyoung’s bag of chips. “Is it one specific department they’re all leaving from?”

Seokmin tapped his lips thoughtfully, thinking through the colleagues who’d told him he was leaving soon. “I dunno. These two guys from the music department are leaving together to create a company, though.”

Seungkwan was still side-eyeing Soonyoung’s the bag of chips, sitting back on his knees. “Huh. Hey, I wonder what kind of company they’re trying to create.” He leaned forward suddenly, managing to snag the entire bag out of Soonyoung’s hands.

Immediately, Soonyoung gave a cry of outrage and lunged towards Seungkwan, arms outstretched while the younger rolled around and adamantly yelled “No! No!” while trying to keep the chips out of Soonyoung’s reach.

“I think it was a company on mental health or something” Seokmin said, half to himself, half to his friends wrestling amongst the fluffy blankets. “I can’t remember what it was about. Oh, and there’s another guy who’s leaving ‘cuz he's retiring, I think.”

Amidst a spray of chip crumbs, Soonyoung emerged victorious, sticking his tongue out incredibly maturely at the static-haired Seungkwan.

“What department was he? Dance history?” he asked, while Seungkwan sat up and tried in vain to calm down his hair.

Seokmin shook his head. “Nope, he taught chemistry. No one teaches dance history at a normal school, hyung,” he pointed out.

“Hey, your school isn't normal. It's fancy as fuck,” Seungkwan said, giving up on his hair and glaring at Soonyoung. “It’s a fucking private school. You have stables. You might very well have dance history lessons too.”

“Well, we don’t,” Seokmin said. “Our music department is pretty big, though. Well, we’re down two now, but there’s still a lot of teachers there. We have an organ tutor and everything.”

Seungkwan threw his hands up in the air while Soonyoung shook his head, and Seokmin blinked.

“What?”

“An organ tutor,” Seungkwan emphasised.

Seokmin thought about it. Shrugged. “Okay yeah, it’s a bit weird.”

“A bit weird,” Soonyoung repeated, grinning. “Oh, dear Seokmin, I have no idea how you managed to get into that school at all.”

“Honestly,” Seokmin said, “Me neither.”

Instantly, Soonyoung cuffed him around the head with a pillow. “Hey, don’t say that about yourself! You are brilliant, Lee Seokmin! You deserve the highest salary ever and for none of your children to hand in half-assed essays for the entirety of your career!”

Seokmin blinked, confused, opening his mouth to protest and receiving a mouthful of cushion in return. “Wh—I was agreeing with you!”

“It was a trick question!” Seungkwan crowed, before his head swung back suddenly as Seokmin threw a cushion in his direction. He fixed his eyes on Seokmin, a dangerous glint appearing in his eyes. “Oh, you are so dead for that.”

Any attempts to carry on the conversation were lost beneath flying upholstery and shrieks of laughter and the sound of the three of them cheering while murdering one another with pillows.

───────────── ‘✷,

Someone had decided to bring a bluetooth speaker to their latest Game Night, and Seokmin didn’t know whether he should be congratulating the person or fantasising about wringing their neck.

“Soonyoung, fucking turn down that music before I smash that speaker to bits!” Jihoon yelled over the cacophony of noise, making Mingyu jump from where he was standing in the middle of the room, acting out whatever charade he was meant to try and get them to guess.

“Never!” Soonyoung yelled back, almost tripping over Junhui’s legs to run towards his precious speaker, hugging it as if protecting it from the various profanities that Jihoon was yelling at it.

Minghao rolled his eyes from where he was squished next to Seokmin on the sofa, stuck so close to his side that they were practically sitting in each other’s laps. “If Jihoon hyung doesn’t smash it, then I might,” he muttered, and Seokmin grinned.

“You and those spindly arms?” he said, poking Minghao in the side.

Minghao scowled. “Shut up.”

The music was lowered, eventually, and Mingyu went back to acting out what looked like a rabbit hanging from a branch and dying a painful death.

“I don’t get it,” Jeonghan said eventually, and several voices yelled out their agreement. “Should we play something else?”

“No, guys, this one is really easy,” Mingyu insisted. “Come on, I’m acting out one of you guys.” He did the action again, and the rabbit scrunched its nose and seemed to almost succeed at lifting itself up onto the branch before it fell back down again. “Do you really not get it?”

“Just tell us,” Seokmin yelled out. “No one gets it.”

Mingyu huffed. “It’s Seungcheol trying to do his first pull-ups back when we were in uni.”

Immediately, there was an explosion of noise as Seungcheol cried out at the injustice of the horribly inaccurate depiction while Chan screamed with laughter and various others yelled in recognition. Seokmin laughed, sipping from his mug, marvelling at how quickly Game Night was once again veering away from its main aim of, well, playing games.

Minghao was curled up at his side, drinking water out of a wine glass, and wasn’t it really weird that Seokmin was drinking alcohol in a mug and Minghao was drinking water in a glass?

He pointed this out to Minghao, but the man just shrugged. “Jeonghan never does anything that makes sense. It’s no wonder that the cups he’s assigned to us don’t make sense either.”

Seokmin laughed, draining his mug and stretching out on the sofa, which had rapidly emptied as everyone jumped up to yell at each other. “You’re so right.”

Overall, this month’s Game Night was going really well. They’d already almost murdered each other during five rounds of Uno, one weird round of Chinese Whispers and three of charades, and Seokmin’s brain was entering that floaty state where he felt all loose and happy and everything made him laugh.

And he was, most definitely, not avoiding Joshua.

He wasn't, okay, he really wasn’t. He didn’t even talk to Joshua normally, so it was totally ordinary for them not to interact once during Game Night. Even if he was Jeonghan’s housemate, it wasn’t like Seokmin was best friends with him too. And that wasn’t something that was going to start now, right? So it was totally normal.

It was also totally normal for Seokmin’s eyes to keep drifting to him, of course.

Soonyoung suddenly launched himself into the gap between Minghao and Seokmin, making Seokmin yelp and Minghao hiss. Except, he bounded up to them with too much force, so Soonyoung simply bounced into their laps before sliding off again.

“W—Soonyoung, get off!” Minghao looked down at the man on the floor, who was giggling on the floor and evidently drunk off his ass. “What’s wrong with you now?”

Seokmin tilted his head, poking Soonyoung in the cheek with his foot. The elder didn’t even react, only giggling harder, and Seokmin grinned. “Everything. Hyung’s wasted.”

Minghao wrinkled his nose, tsking. “Already? It’s not even midnight yet.” He stood up from the sofa, stepping over Soonyoung’s body. “I’m gonna go find Junhui,” he said to Seokmin, motioning to the mess that had spread out from the living room and into the hall. “Make sure he’s not puking all over himself again.”

Seokmin gave him a salute. “Good luck, soldier.”

No sooner had Minghao vacated the sofa than Jeonghan flopped down into the space next to Seokmin, leaning into his shoulder and waving down at Soonyoung on the floor at their feet.

“Hi, Soonyoung,” Jeonghan grinned. “How’s the floor?”

Soonyoung muttered something.

“Cool,” Jeonghan said, before whipping his attention round to Seokmin. “Have you seen Jihoon?”

“Uh,” Seokmin blinked, startled by the sudden question. “No?”

Jeonghan sighed, slumping into him again. “Shame. I’m looking for Joshua. I dunno where he’s gone. It’s like he’s disappeared into thin air.”

Seokmin tilted his head, thoroughly confused, because Joshua was standing in the other corner of the living room, looking like he was consoling a teary Seungkwan while trying to hold back his own laughter. He was nowhere near Jihoon. And he was right within their range of vision.

“Are you drunk?” he asked Jeonghan, and the elder threw his head back and laughed.

“Me? No way,” Jeonghan said, grinning, sitting up properly. “You, Minnie, aren’t nearly drunk enough, however. Here.”

And he pushed another mug of alcohol into Seokmin’s hands that he’d seemingly procured out of nowhere, watching him like a hawk until he took a sip. Jeonghan smiled, satisfied, drinking from his own mug as he leaned back into the couch, watching the chaos of the room.

“Joshua hyung’s right there,” Seokmin pointed out helpfully, just in case Jeonghan hadn’t seen him. He wasn’t sure how Jeonghan hadn’t, though, because Seungkwan was making loud wailing noises and Joshua was standing next to him, shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter.

“Right where?” Jeonghan asked, but it was a little absentminded, as if he’d stopped looking for Joshua. “You should make friends with him, you know.”

Seokmin blinked. “I—what?”

“Make friends,” Jeonghan said. “With Joshua.”

Seokmin squinted at him. “I think you are drunk, hyung.”

Jeonghan just laughed. “Maybe. But you should. Just talk to him, you know? I think you’d get on really well. You’ve probably already seen how he’s so much like you.”

“He is?” Seokmin furrowed his brow. At his feet, Soonyoung was wriggling around, trying to sit up. “How do you know that? I don’t know anything about him.”

“Sure you do,” Soonyoung murmured, headbutting Seokmin’s knee. “Like how hyung makes weird design choices.”

Seokmin blinked as Soonyoung dragged himself to his feet, frowning like he was in deep thought before sitting in Seokmin’s lap. “Ugh, get off, you’re heavy. How could you even hear us from down on the floor? Above all this noise?”

“You’re loud,” Soonyoung said, grinning and adjusting himself in Seokmin’s lap. “And comfy. Why are you so comfy?”

Seokmin yelped when Soonyoung kneed him in the crotch. “Ow! What the hell? Jeonghan hyung, help me!” He turned to his side only to find that Jeonghan disappeared. Probably fucked off once he knew that Seokmin would be calling for his help, Seokmin thought grumpily. “Hey, stop wriggling, will you? You’re gonna make me spill beer all over you.”

“Never,” Soonyoung declared, clinging to Seokmin’s shoulders. “I’m never leaving. It’s so comfy here.”

Seokmin looked around exasperatedly, trying to find an escape, before his eyes lit up. “Hey! Hyung, Minghao’s gonna attack your speakers with a baseball bat!”

“He’s gonna do what?” And instantly, Soonyoung leapt off of Seokmin, allowing him to breathe again.

There was the distant sound of yelling and Soonyoung wailing about his speaker, and Seokmin simply laughed as an empty-handed Minghao walked back in the living room only to be tackled to the ground by Soonyoung. Junhui walked into the room a few seconds after and promptly tripped over them, and Seokmin laughed even harder.

“Hello.”

The soft voice in Seokmin’s ear made him jump, and his eyes widened as he turned around to see Joshua sitting next to him on the sofa. The elder nodded his head to the living room doorway, where the impromptu rugby pile had turned into all of them somehow lying face-down on the floor.

“I love the chaos you’ve caused there.”

“You heard what I said to Soonyoung?” Seokmin asked, surprised. Joshua laughed, shaking his head.

“No. But I guessed.” Joshua paused, eyes flitting to Seokmin, eyes warm and yet also tinted with something unfamiliar. “He was all over your lap, after all. It was difficult not to notice.”

“Oh.” Seokmin blinked. Somewhere, someone let out a squawk.

Joshua didn’t say anything, giving a small smile, leaning back into the cushions. He was drinking water, Seokmin noticed. Out of a plastic cup with Winnie the Pooh’s face on it.

Did Joshua ever actually drink at these events?

Seokmin surveyed the room once again, and Junhui was meowing like a cat for some reason and Seungcheol was trying to bodily lift Jihoon off from where he’d been clung to Seungkwan for some reason or other. But he wasn’t really seeing any of it, more focused on Joshua by his side, all silent and thoughtful, the elder’s words ringing in his ears.

“We aren’t like that,” Seokmin suddenly blurted out. “Soonyoung hyung and I. He’s just. Clingy. With everyone.”

Joshua looked over at him, and when he smiled over the rim of his cup at him, there was a little twinkle in his irises, all bright and gentle and sweet. “It’s okay. I know.”

“You know?”

“Yeah.” Joshua’s eyes crinkled. “I know.”

That made Seokmin feel strangely glad.

After a few moments, he nodded to Joshua’s cup. “Not drinking again this time?” he asked.

“Hm? Oh, not tonight,” Joshua said, sipping his water again. “Alcohol always tastes too bitter in my mouth.”

“I get you,” Seokmin said, nodding in understanding. “Way too bitter.” Then he tipped his head back and drained his mug.

Joshua looked over at him and laughed.

Silence descended on them again, but it was a companionable silence. Like it was totally okay for them to inhabit the same space as each other without words having to be exchanged.

It was by no means quiet in the room, not with the inevitable shouting that came with monthly Game Night, but it was… nice. It was kind of nice to sit still with Joshua, Seokmin thought.

“I think you’d get on really well.”

Seokmin frowned thoughtfully, glancing over at Joshua again. The elder caught his eye, and simply raised his eyebrows at the eye contact, a silent question. It had Seokmin shaking his head with a smile before facing forward again.

Jeonghan had known Joshua for years. He’d known Seokmin for years, too. So of course he’d be someone who could tell whether two of his best friends would be able to get along.

“You’ve probably already seen how he’s so much like you.”

But, well. Seokmin hadn’t. And that was the weirdest thing about all of this.

Seokmin might not have known Joshua the longest, but he had known him for long enough. Long enough to probably know at least a few embarrassing or personal stories about him. But, no matter what Joshua said, no matter what Jeonghan said, no matter what anyone said, Seokmin had to say that he didn’t think he knew all that much about him.

But he should at least know some things about Joshua. Right?

Seokmin looked over at Joshua, who was sipping water from that plastic Winnie the Pooh cup, eyes sparkling as he watched Junhui waving his hands while telling the others something. He squinted his eyes, trying to properly scrutinise his hyung, trying to think about what he knew about him.

But Seokmin. Seokmin had to admit he was definitely more than a little drunk, and he had Hansol’s seagull-squawk laugh in his ears, and Jeonghan’s house was always so warm and comforting and it made his already creaky brain practically come to a full stop.

So as Seokmin looked at Joshua’s side profile, all he could think about was the delicate slope of Joshua’s nose, the way his cheeks were flushed due to the warmth of thirteen people squished in one room, the way his eyes crinkled so prettily, the way his laugh sounded like music, the way—

“I think I’m going to go to my room,” Joshua said, and suddenly he was all up in Seokmin’s personal space, lips close to his ear so he could hear him properly. He smelled soft, Seokmin thought faintly. Whatever that meant. “It’s too noisy.”

“R—ight,” Seokmin said, and suddenly he felt like he could feel his pulse pounding in his wrists. His brain was basically nonexistent now, and his tongue felt sticky, bitter alcohol all around his mouth. “Um, rest well, hyung.”

Joshua smiled at him, and it was his soft-cotton smile that made Seokmin’s dizzy head feel a little more grounded. He stood up from the sofa, making his way across the crowded living room and attempting to leave. Seokmin found himself watching him, watching as Joshua was accosted by a mildly tipsy Seungcheol, watching as Joshua smiled teasingly and warmly in a honey-golden kind of way which seemed to satisfy Seungcheol enough to let him go.

Hm.

Seokmin wouldn’t deny that he was just a little bit mesmerised, not just because Joshua’s smile was so pretty, but because he’d smiled… differently. Like he knew exactly how to deal with both Seokmin and Seungcheol, navigating those situations effortlessly.

But what was Joshua like? What was he truly like? Seokmin wasn’t sure he had a clue. Perhaps Joshua smiled softly to him and warmly to Seungcheol and gazed at Jeonghan fondly, but what was Joshua’s real self? How was he when he wasn’t laughing at Soonyoung’s stories or crying over Seungkwan’s skits or making awkwardly endearing mistakes that feel almost like he’d thought them through before he’d enacted them?

Surely there was one true Joshua there. One Joshua that was more Joshua than all the other ones, the Joshua who he was on the inside.

The real Joshua.

But Seokmin didn't think he'd ever seen the real Joshua before. He didn't know who Joshua really was. He’d never thought about it until then, but now he had, and he realised that he really didn’t know.

Joshua didn’t look back as he walked out of the living room and up the stairs, but Seokmin watched him all the same, mind buzzing with alcohol and fuzzy cotton and smiling warmth.

For the rest of the night, Joshua was all that Seokmin could think about.

taglist (interact here/send ask to be added): @fairyhaos @atinytinaa @my-moarmy-heart @weird-life-of-a-closet-fangirl @lilsafsafbooyah @stqrrgirle @bittersweet-folder @weird-bookworm @ultrara-re @tianakings @bangantokchy @ahuihoeeee @tiinkerbell

[unlimitedhorsepower]

having some of the worst times of my life ever and im scared things could get worse... how? well you see. they might create more tnb some day even after all of this.

after massacring my boy ryan like that live on screen... smack cam... removing any of ryans narrative worth or meaning just to have him show up and be cringe which i did enjoy but for real guys. my friends. if they had just had everyone do something random and lackluster it wouldve been fine but ryan showed up to drive the plot and continue his character arc from the rising (and then he didnt, as a joke).

karinas lack of real character arc (AGAIN!) so that she can uhhhh talk about crushes... instead of, for example, have her be an equal hero on-screen to the guys who have already been king of heroes and she works arguably harder than anyone else (she is a hero, an idol, and a student). shes so interesting, theres so much to her! but most of her appearances just serve to further some guys character arc (like the whole blue golden episode is mostly about ryan!.. or kotetsu even! cmon)

the character arc that antonio got that wholly ignored that hes friends with nathan and which makes me actually lose my mind when i think that those two have frequently been shown together but they didnt have a single convo together so that nathan and keith can be confined to a cage where theyre only interacting with each other instead of having any real plot relevance despite them both being really interesting!..

and the fact that antonio/agnes made its way into the show bc the director likes him and you know... agnes was her stand-in, and another reason to not let nathan talk with antonio ever because yknow?.. it just tastes like ash in my mouth to feel like the director felt some type of way about nathans and antonios prior relationship...

the buddy hero system was utilized so poorly! it threw so many characters under the bus like ryan seriously got way too much time in blue golden and their prior relationships with each other were ignored so much like man... i just love them all interacting. i dont love whatever the hell was going on with, for example, nobody noticing that thomas is gone. my heroes wouldve noticed immediately btw. instead of subaru and thomas being in a cage where they only interacted with each other, the buddy hero pair curse of 2nd cour that almost everyone suffered from

lets not even get into that even if they say that yuri is actually fine haha! they cant remove that scene where kotetsu and barnaby stared at him and went like “hmm thats rough buddy... anyway”. what the hell... kotetsu is one of the characters i think of the least and it was just so grossly OOC and just plain disgusting... the entire abuse apologism arc with yuri and lara overall as well

what about that fucking scene with jungle where they implied shady shit was going on when subarus communicator didnt go off and he was recruited as a double for thomas anyways and uhhh (checks notes) literally nothing came out of those plot threads btw. jungle CEO was introduced for no reason

and they cant remove what they did to ouroboros (the way they made it all-powerful illuminati-esque organization instead of plain old corruption etc), and the whole NEXT disease ooohhh-thing, and the literal internment camps and the various deeply bigoted implications thereof plus lackluster new character designs (oops! almost all white, pale-haired and blue/green-eyed).

how could they bounce back from this and do i even want to see them try to ignore OR try to grapple with any of the above. oooh when i get my hands on the people who were in the writers room...............

cant they just please retcon that my favourite character fucking exploded to ten thousand small pieces. excited for scraps of my fav characters like usual but then?.. its also like spitting in my face after all the shit they pulled. put me out of my misery

[mishy-mashy]

The same fic as Hasta la Vista baby, but going a bit more back in time to focus on En's wacky marriage with his best friend (Hima. An OC) when he was actually alive

In which two ace people marry into a QP relationship, because one (Hima) wouldn't shut up about marriage

Featuring,

Tall woman + short man = PROFIT?

"Ah! Ow! I'm sorry OW!! Hey!!!"

En hmphed, leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed.

"Just so you know, I've grown another inch."

She rubbed her head, relieved of his pulling her hair for her slight. "Congratulations on hitting 5'2, then."

En deals with spontaneous proposals everyday until he agrees

[Day 1]

"Let's get married!" she seemed to decide, planting her fists on her hips.

"....."

"What's with that look?!"

En had stopped midstep and stared at her, eyes slightly wide in confusion, brows crinkled, not sure what to say or if she really meant it. Much like the face of one seeing a drug addict suddenly burst in front of them, butt naked, and running off. She was absolutely the equivalent to that right now.

".... We- We're 19," En tried to reason, not understanding why she decided that. "We just graduated, and we're too young-"

"Age is just a number," she deadpanned. "Jail is just a room. Marriage is just an agreement."

"How does jail tie into this conversation?!"

"Clearly, you deserve it, for breaking my heart," she sniffed. "Jail! Jail for a thousand years!"

***

Banjo squinted. Because did En just sprint by in a panic, with Hima-san on his heels with a rolled newspaper, shouting "JAIL!!!"?

"... Was that En?"

"He probably deserved whatever it was," Torino dismissed. He kept his gaze ahead, taiyaki between two fingers. "You don't argue with girls. They'll rain hell when you do."

Banjo didn't look convinced. His brow scrunched, turned in the direction the pair ran off.

"Would you'd like to get in Hima-san's warpath?" Torino quirked a brow. "Once she makes up her mind, she doesn't stop. I don't doubt her Quirk influences that."

"Welp! Good luck, En!" Banjo threw him under the bus, turning away immediately to continue a happy march down the ruined pavement.

[Day 2]

"Please please please please please!"

En stared blankly at her. Then his gaze went down to the distance between them. His paused yellow tape measure was pointedly stretched in front of him.

"Didn't I say five meters?"

She slumped in her dogeza. "Come on, En! I didn't mean to knock you out! I'm sorry! Marry me!"

"En, it was only for a few seconds," Nana said, exchanging paper bills with Torino in a silent bet over the pair. "And to be fair, you're the one that ran into the pole."

"I wouldn't have been running if she wasn't chasing me," En kept on, arms crossed.

[Day 3]

En didn't look away from the hamburger menu he was pointedly keeping his attention on, gaze up at the shining neon.

Very obviously so, to avoid looking at his friend, who currently bended down on one knee to his left, waiting for his attention to propose.

"Oh, honeybunch? Sugar plum?" No way was she starting to sing-song for his attention. "Pumpy-umpy-umpkin?"

"No."

"Hey, my sweetie pie-"

En speedruns the marriage process because his friend wants to (divorce included?)

"Sorahiko-senpai, give me the marriage certificate," En nearly hissed over their burgers.

Sorahiko chewed slowly. "Why?"

"I'm about to set the world record for fastest divorce—!!!"

Sorahiko is the worst person to go to for relationship advice.

[Case 1]

"Gran Torino, you should really keep your nose out of their business," Crimson Riot said, after watching Hima walk off after a quick conversation with Torino.

"I didn't say anything bad," Torino said.

"You just told Hima-san to fill Smoke Eater's shoes with pie filling and bake for 20 minutes?"

"If she can't find Smokey, he'll eventually come looking for her as the culprit," Torino defended.

Then his phone started blowing up with panicked texts from said Smokey.

"See? She found him."

"Actually," Crimson glanced at his own phone, receiving similar messages, "he's asking why you told her to do that. She just texted him the new plan you told her to do."

Couldn't she have just texted him for his location? Crimson thought.

Truly, she was not the sharpest person there was.

"Her phone was 1%, so it's probably dead now... he can't reach her cell either," Crimson read, taking in the new information pouring through his texts in even more of a frenzy. "Straight to voicemail. And he's two districts over, so he's not gonna make it home in time to stop her. Oh, wow."

He chewed. "Sounds like a skill issue."

"Torino—"

[Case 2]

"I'm just saying, naming a kid Butter Stick isn't a bad name," Torino defended over his mochi. That he stole from En's pantry, but no one really cared to stop him at the time. They already learned to stop buying taiyaki, because Torino was a rat who kept breaking into their apartment for it.

It still didn't stop them from waking up and finding him eating their cereal in the kitchen. He'd broken 3 windows – always the same one – before Hima finally explained how to open it.

En currently laid on the couch he was kicked to sleep on tonight, back facing them and angry steam wafting from his head.

Nana pulled the container of mochi away from him. After he egged on En's wife, leading to her original "intellectual debate" over what foods would work as human names becoming too heated, Torino didn't deserve his sweet cravings fulfilled. Especially when it was out of En's pocket.

[Case 3]

"Divorce her," Torino declared immediately, after bearing witness to Hima blue shelling En on the TV.

"It's just a video game," Nana said from her spot on the couch. "Stop telling him that every time something happens."

"She took the last taiyaki earlier, she deserves it," Torino decided.

"Right," Nana mumbled into her hot chocolate. "Tell me that again when she's strung you up on a flag pole with her Quirk."

[that-1-url]

my thoughts on the pjo tv show (spoilers for episode 8) pt 2

6. speaking of VFX, why. They took the time to animate Grover's legs (something mostly unnecessary due to the fact that he wears jeans, fake feet and a hat to hide his goat-ness) in favor of other small things such as Ares' eyes, or Zeus' "flashy" exit from the throne room, or the throne room in general, or the size of the gods (something that could be done with practical effects). 7. Percy's ADHD. It just simply wasn't there. I don't have the authority to speak on the dyslexia side of things, but it felt like they replaced Percy's ADHD with some sort of hallucination-like thing that everyone around him gaslit him into thinking he had. It felt very odd and jarring at times, and while similar events happen in the books, all of the adults around him seemed very determined to like, hospitalize him or something. (This is no hate towards anyone who has visual hallucinations, it just felt like a very weird and slightly ableist (?) approach to the matter that really didn't do either ADHD nor hallucinations any real justice in terms of how it was) [i can't word this correctly i'm sorry] 8. The timeline. They had Grover throw Percy under the bus (for literally no reason) and then immediately whisk him off to montauk in the middle of the school year. (in the books it feels more natural because its at the end of the school term. which apparently it's the summer in the show? but the whole thing is really confusing). It was even more confusing when they show Sally returning because first he goes to montauk in his dream and then she's suddenly there when he wakes up and it begins at the end of the summer i guess?? Not to mention the whole weird portal thing with Luke. He didn't even mention his quest or why he felt personally betrayed by the gods. Just that he hated them because he hated feeling weak? Also Hermes and Hephaestus' appearances didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. I feel like the way they escape the casino didn't need to be changed, and in changing it they took away some of Percy's insecurity because in the book he's like "wow I'm having fun with annabeth and grover to find-? who? my mom! how could i forget my mom? something's up". Another quick thing I'm taking on the end is Annabeth getting left behind in the Fields of Asphodel didn't make any sense to me. 9. Annabeth and Grover randomly giving Percy their stuff? It didn't make a lot of sense and was never explained. 10. Percy's main focus at CHB being less of "I want my mom back and I want my dad to pay child support" and more of "so if i do something cool my dad will notice? hmm" felt very odd and out of character. 11. This is less of a critique and more of just a whiny complaint but the series could've been set in 2005 and wasn't. 12. I understand that the show was never going to be a shot-by-shot retelling of the books and i never expected that, but the way they cut out/added scenes felt very erratic and was heavily dependent on the audience already being familiar with the material that I guess we were supposed to fill in the gaps ourselves? and a lot of people have been like "Rick's improving on the story!" and while there were some add-ins I enjoyed, I feel like they cut or changed too many important scenes to really keep the main idea of both the plot and characters. Time for stuff I liked! 1. Dionysus tricking Percy so he would get him a drink was fucking hilarious. 2. Luke's voiceover before Percy fighting Ares being a parallel with Percy's "Look, I didn't want to be a half-blood"? Poetic cinema. 3. Percy pushing Grover and Annabeth through the door at the Arch. Excessive personal loyalty anyone?

4. Grover and Annabeth dunking Percy in the fountain to heal his shoulder was really funny. Truely teenage dumbassery at its finest 5. I didn't like how there wasn't the lightning bolt that threw them off the road at the beginning, but I will give the scene points for looking scarily similar to how I pictured it in my head. 6. The raw quote from Poseidon in the throne room "Obedience does not come naturally to you, does it?" "No...sir." 7. AGE ACCURATE CASTING! This is something we all have been saying from the beginning, but I like acknowledging it again. :) 8. The layout of CHB. You can see just about everything from Half-Blood hill in the books and in the show it's all nice and spread out (as opposed to the Peter Johnson movies where you couldn't even see the next cabin over).

There's more things I have on both sides that I might think of and post about later, but for now that's all I've got. I really did try to approach the TV series with an open mind, but as a show altogether I didn't like it that much, and I really don't think it did The Lightning Thief justice. It's hard to adapt books to TV, but it is possible. I believe that if they had more than eight episodes it could've played out more smoothly, but there were just too many things that changed that didn't have to, and there was too many holes that were left because they cut out the wrong scenes. Kudos to everyone who worked hard on the show and I'm glad that other people enjoyed it. But please respect my opinion and if you have any point of discussion I'd be happy to talk about them with you in a polite, constructive way. Welcome new fans and hello again to old ones, go out and enjoy Percy Jackson and The Olympians, it's a great series (books and TV alike, even if i personally don't like the show)

[faofinn]

DAY 5: “that’s gonna scar”

@febuwhump

It had been a long while since the Daniels had been on holiday, and longer since they'd been abroad. With Finn reasonably under control, both behaviour and now seizures, they'd used the summer holidays to get away. Of course Fao was invited, simply part of the family.

They'd not gone too far away, just in case, but it was still exciting. Finn had been a nightmare on the plane, and the bus to the hotel, so everyone was quite glad when he finally crashed out that evening. 

Finn wasn't the first one awake, surprisingly, Fred up long before anyone else. He'd made some notes about the place, where they just had to go to, but he had more to add to it. When Finn finally woke Fao up (with a rather excited shove), they headed down for breakfast before a day of well deserved rest. Sheila had said it from the start, that there was to be nothing done on the first day but rest.

Fao grumbled as Finn woke him, protesting the rude awakening, but it was soon forgotten at the prospect of breakfast. He got dressed and headed down, making sure Finn was somewhat presentable as they made their way down to eat. There was nothing quite like a hotel breakfast, after all. They met Fred and Sheila outside their room, and as a family they got a table and started to eat. It was an excuse for Fao to eat far too much, but they were on holiday, why shouldn’t he enjoy himself? 

Once breakfast had been consumed, it was off to the beach. Sheila, of course, lathered everyone in suncream before anyone made it near the sun. Fred and Finn immediately charged for the sea, Sheila choosing to have a few minutes relax on the shore.

Fao let Fred and Finn charge about for a while, hanging back with Sheila. They’d found a spot on the sand to relax, Fao finally confident enough now to take his top off and enjoy the sun. It had taken a year or so, but now he was in the best shape he’d been in, and he felt confident. It was strange, but nice. Uni had really brought him out of his shell, and despite Finn’s accident, he felt much more in control. 

Stretched out on a sun lounger, he watched his brother and his adoptive Dad hare up and down, and glanced over at Sheila. 

“Taking bets on who falls over first.”

"If Finn doesn't hurt himself first, there's something wrong." She laughed. 

“I don’t know…” Fao said. “My money’s on Fred. I don’t think he’s run that fast for years.”

"That's true…though you've not seen him on opening day when they've got a new exhibit."

“Well, that’s true.”

"You not fancy going and joining them?"

“In a bit. I was going to chill out for a bit first, get some sun. I’m pretty full from breakfast.”

"Don't get burned, mind."

“Impossible, the amount of suncream you forced me to put on. I think I’ll be paler.”

"Good." She laughed. 

“I did want a bit of a tan.”

"Come here, I'll draw some shapes on you."

“Don’t you dare.” He shot backk. 

"Spoil sport."

“I know, I’m so terrible.”

She laughed. "The worst. Just wait, I'll get you when you're asleep."

“Good luck with that.”

"I'll get Finn to do it."

“He’d laugh too much, wake me up immediately.”

"That's true."

“Can imagine him just giggling to himself.”

"Of course."

With the pair distracted, Finn had seen his opportunity. While he had initially just reappeared for a drink, the temptation to cause mischief was too much. He gave a giggle as he threw the bucket of water over the pair, seaweed and all.

Fao squealed, the water cold on his skin. He leapt to his feet, shaking off. Seeing Finn stood there with the bucket, he grinned. 

“Oh, now you’re for it!”

Sheila had to laugh, drenched too. She caught sight of Fred paddling in the surf, and the pair shared a smile, watching the kids, their kids cause mischief. 

Fao charged after Finn, laughing as he caught up to his little brother easily. He had a considerable advantage, obviously, and once he was alongside him he grabbed his waist, tackling him to the ground. The sand was soft, and Fao was careful, not about to send his brother to the hospital again. He was breathing heavily and laughing, soaking wet with his hair in his face. 

Finn squealed in delight, even as he was tackled. He wriggled under Fao, struggling to catch his breath between giggles. He stretched out, grabbing a piece of seaweed and throwing it at Fao's hair.

“Urgh! Finn!” Fao grumbled. “Gross!”

He laughed harder, squeezing out of the gap he'd made. He scrambled off, sprinting away. 

Shaking out his hair and getting rid of the seaweed, Fao pelted after Finn again, laughing. 

Fred shook his head, watching the two cause the chaos they always did. He figured he might as well go sit with sheila while the two played, so began walking back up.  He'd managed to find some rocks to walk on, giving him a bit more of a steady footing. Small shoals of fish sped away from his feet as he walked, and he glanced down, watching them go. 

He glanced down a second too late, barely catching sight of it before the jellyfish stung his foot. He yelped instinctively, jumping away from it and slipping off the rocks he was stood on. His ankle rolled as he did so, his other leg getting caught between sharp pieces of coral and limpets. Swearing under his breath, he struggled to shore, grumbling on his way back to Sheila. 

Fao and Finn were still tearing across the beach, covered in sand and seaweed and god knows what else. Finn had thrown another bucket of water over Fao, and so it was all out war, naturally. 

Taking a moment to catch his breath, Fao saw Fred trudging up the beach, blood running down his leg. He rushed over, immediately worried. 

“Dad? You’re bleeding.”

"It's just a scratch."

“Looks like more than that.” Fao said.

"It feels it." He admitted. He just didn't fancy looking at it, the nausea already threatening. 

“Come and sit down.” Fao said protectively. “Let me have a look at you.”

"It's fine, Fao. Go enjoy yourself.'

“You’re bleeding all over the place.” Fao said, taking his arm. 

"I'm fine." 

“You don’t look it.” 

"Oh, Fred. What did you do?" Sheila shook her head, grabbing his other arm. "Come sit, let me sort it out."

"Okay."

“Have you got some supplies or something, Mum?” Fao asked. 

"With you three around? Of course I do."

He laughed. “Good. What the hell did you do, Dad?” 

"I slipped, I think." He winced. "It wasn’t my fault, a jellyfish stung me first."

“Christ.”

"Here we go, sit down, let me have a look." Sheila said softly. 

Whilst Sheila fussed over Fred, Fao dug around in the bags, looking for the first aid kit. When he found it, he set it down on the side, glancing over at his mum. 

"You two look so serious. What's wrong?" Fred barely dared to ask. 

“Just a bit of a cut.” Fao said, knowing full well his Dad was likely to panic. 

"It might be an idea to pop up to a hospital." Sheila murmured, rubbing Fred’s arm.

“Yeah, it could do with being looked at. I’ll dress it, make sure it’s all sorted first.”

"I'm sure it's fine."

“Who are we listening to? The history professor or the nurse and the med student?” Fao shot back.

Fred shook his head, and then dared to steal a glance at it. His stomach flipped as he paled, leaning back into the sand. "Oh, that's gonna scar."

“Yeah, maybe. But you know what they say - chicks dig scars. Maybe you’ll impress mum. Tell her it was a shark attack or something.”

Sheila moved so Fred could rest his head in her lap, running her fingers through his hair. "Mm, yeah. Definitely a shark attack."

“She’ll swoon at your feet.” Fao said, grabbing supplies to dress it. 

"Oh, definitely." She laughed softly. "

Fao dressed it and wrapped it tightly, aiming to stop the worst of the bleeding. “Right, there. Think we should probably get to hospital now.”

"No, no. No. No hospital." Fred shook his head.

“We’re going to have to.”

"No. They’ll have needles and I'm not doing that."

“It needs doing, though.” Fao said. “We’ll distract you.”

[doctorstethoscope]

The Shirt || A. Hotchner x Fem Reader

Hi besties, here is some smut for your Tuesday evening! No real reason I just had a rough day at work and wanted to write something self-indulgent. 

18+ CONTENT AHEAD MINORS DNI 

contains: sir/daddy kink, thigh riding, dom aaron, spanking, degradation, oral (f receiving) penetrative sex

wordcount: 2.7k

Aaron was beginning to wonder if he needed to brush up and take a profiling course. You’d been sitting across from him in his office, stabbing and picking at your salad for the better part of the last twenty minutes, and he still couldn’t figure out what was wrong. 

You couldn’t be mad at him, he figured, or else you wouldn’t have joined him for lunch. You’d been joking around with everyone in the bullpen all morning, so no problems there. Maybe it was something with your parents? He knew your mother had called a couple weeks ago and gotten on your nerves, but you’d seemed to have moved past that. He was at a total loss. 

“Did you sleep okay?” He tried, knowing full well that you had. He practically had to pull you out of bed this morning. 

“Yeah, I did,” you looked up from your salad and smiled at him. 

So she’s definitely not mad at me, Aaron thought to himself. “You feeling okay?” He asked. 

“Yeah, baby. It’s nothing, don’t worry about it.”  You shook your head, looking back down at the lettuce you were meticulously poking. 

“Whatever it is, it’s clearly not nothing,” he chuckled. “You’ve hardly touched your lunch and you can barely look me in the eye.” 

“We can talk about it later, Aaron.” You told him. 

“Oh, so now there is something to talk about!” He said, victorious. “Spill.” 

“You really don’t want to know.” You warned, and he reached across the table to take your hand in his. 

“Of course I do.” He tells you, looking you in the eye and trading his previous mirth for a look of concern. 

You felt the heat rise to your cheeks before you even spoke. “You look really, really good today.” You confessed lowly. 

“Oh?” Aaron asked, confused. 

“And I can’t focus, because all I can think about is crawling under that desk and pulling down your fly and--”

“Naughty girl,” Aaron cooed, and you laughed. 

“I tried to warn you.” you said, looking down at your food again, embarrassed. 

“That you did.” He agreed with a smirk on his face. 

“You don’t have to look so pleased about it, you know.” You rolled your eyes at him, and he stepped out of his chair, moving to the other side of the desk to tilt your chin up and kiss you. 

“I’m smiling,” he whispered against your lips before kissing you again, “because I’m thinking of everything I’m going to do to you the minute we cross the threshold tonight.” He leaves your lips to plant a kiss on your jawline and you’re standing up and throwing your arms around him in an instant, grateful for his closed blinds. He indulges you for another moment, although you're certain it’s only to get you more hot and bothered, before separating his mouth from you and giving your ass a quick slap. 

“Now, go back to your desk and try to behave, and we’ll see what kind of fun you’ve earned when we get home.” He whispered in your ear and you shuttered. 

“Yes sir,” you whispered back, not daring to look him in the eye for fear that your knees would buckle. 

The anticipation for the rest of the day was torture, for both you and Aaron. But he could at least have the good grace not to hide it so well. You tried not to look like you were rushing out of the office, but in truth you didn’t know how much longer you could be patient for. You silently thanked whatever God was out there that Jack had taken the bus home with a friend for a sleepover this afternoon as you slipped into the passenger’s seat of Aaron’s SUV for the ride home, anticipation building even further in your stomach. Aaron wrapped an arm behind your seat to pull out of the parking lot, and you watched him out of the corner of your eye. He caught you, and smirked, moving his hand to land on your thigh, pulling you towards him and lighting your skin on fire, even through the material of your dress pants. 

“Aaron,” you mumbled, but he cut you off. 

“Ah, ah. You’ve been such a good girl all afternoon. Don’t spoil it now.” 

You let out an almost imperceptible whimper at his words, but willed yourself to be quiet, worrying your bottom lip against your teeth as Aaron traced patterns into your thigh with his long fingers. Goddamn tease.

He’s silent for the whole drive, letting the consistent motion of his index finger against your thigh do all the talking. You’re breathing so heavily you’re sure he can hear you, but you don’t dare make a sound. By the time Aaron parks the car at home you’re practically buzzing with excitement. He unbuckles his seatbelt, and leans across you to undo yours. 

“We are going to have so much fun this evening,” He whispered before kissing you breathless. You brought your hands to either side of his face, letting him trace his tongue over your teeth before he pulled away. You saw your lipstick smudged on the corner of his mouth and smiled. 

 “For the sake of public decency, we should probably take this inside.” Aaron says, and you open your car door, leaving your purse and his briefcase in the car. He follows you, snaking an arm around you to open the front door for you and let you in first. The door is shut by the weight of your body slamming against it once you are both inside, Aaron not even bothering to flick a light switch before he attached his lips to your neck, nipping and sucking in a way that made your toes curl. 

“I’ve been thinking about taking you all afternoon,” Aaron confessed into your collarbone, moving his hand to unbutton your trousers. “Thinking about how pretty you are going to sound screaming my name when I make you cum.” 

You threw your head back against the door. “Aaron,” you moaned out, working with him to shove your pants down your legs as you kicked your heels off and across the room. 

“Exactly. It’ll be just like that, but louder.” He teased you, pressing a quick peck to your cheek. He slotted his knee in between your legs once your pants were discarded, already able to feel how wet you were against him. 

“Oh, fuck,” you moaned out, pushing his suit off his shoulders and digging your nails into his back through his shirt. 

“Darling, you’re practically ready for me and I’ve barely even touched you. What did it for you? What was it that made you so needy that you were ready to crawl underneath my desk and take my cock into your mouth, feet away from all of our coworkers?” 

You bucked against his thigh as he talked, and he smirked, bringing a hand to rest against your cheek. He knew exactly what he was doing, and you loved and hated him for it in equal measure. “Y-your shirt.” you gasped out.

“My shirt?” He asked, genuinely confused. It was a regular button up shirt, the same type he always wore under his suits. 

“It’s tight.” You stammered out. “And you’re not wearing an undershirt.” 

“Neither are you,” he countered, pulling your own shirt over your head and leaving you in your bra and panties. 

Despite the fact that you were already panting, practically naked, and all but riding his thigh in the doorway of your apartment, you felt a twinge of embarrassment admitting the next part. “I could see your pecs through your shirt. I was thinking about kissing my way down your chest and then sucking you off.” You admitted.

“Such a dirty little whore,” He smirked, and you let the ghost of a smile pass through your face. He reaches behind you to unclasp your bra, and then begins to kiss down your chest, along your ribcage, and in between your breast. You’re sure he’s going to give you mind blowing orgasms that make you forget about all this teasing, but you will yourself to remember if only so you can pay him back. He’s kissed all the way down to your belly button before he picks you up by the thighs and carries you to the bedroom. You wrap your arms around him and take the opportunity to kiss up the column of his neck, pulling his earlobe between your teeth gently before he lays you against the mattress.

He undresses quickly and takes a moment to look at you, cheeks flushed and hair spread over the pillows, chest heaving up and down with the weight of your arousal, and you’re tempted to whine, but you look into his eyes and know that he’s not doing it to tease you-- he’s adoring you. He’s committing every goosebump and every dimple and every beauty mark to memory, because he loves you. You smile. 

“I’m going to make you feel so good,” he whispers against the skin of your breast, “That you can’t walk. You can’t talk. You’ll just be stuck here, blissed out and recovering all weekend. Does that sound good?”

“Yes sir,” you breathe out, and he gets to work. 

He sucks your nipple in between his teeth and immediately your hips buck up off of the mattress. Without abandoning his task, he moves a hand to pin your hips down, but that doesn’t stop you from blindly searching for friction. You were getting desperate, at this point. The hours between lunch and leaving the office had been foreplay all their own, and everything that had happened since you left the office had only intensified your need. He laved your other nipple against his teeth and moved his hand toward your slit, just barely tracing his way up to your clit. 

“You’re so needy. All for me.” He whispered. 

“All for you,” you confirmed breathlessly. 

“What am I going to have to do to keep you satisfied at work all day?” he asked, rubbing against your clit slowly, enjoying the pinch of your brow as you attempted to grind down on his hand. “Should I buy a special vibrator I can leave inside you while we work?” He asked, plunging a finger into you and you cry out. “Should I give you an orgasm right there at your desk, in front of the whole team, while I watch you from my office? Would that keep my little slut satisfied?” He asked, but true to his word you can barely speak. “Should we get you a little plug, angel?” He inquires as he sticks another finger in you. “Keep you good and stretched all day so you’re ready for me when we get home?” He teased you further, pumping his fingers in and out of you. “No, I’m not going to do that. You know why?” He asked, and you knew that this question wasn’t rhetorical. 

“Why?” You gasped out.

“Because,” he starts, inching his way down the mattress to plant a kiss on your hip bone, “I’m possessive, and I like that I’m the only person who can make you feel this good. No one knows your body like I do. No one can bring you to the edge like I do. Isn’t that right?” He asked, now face to face with your pussy and licking his lips in anticipation 

“Yes, sir.” 

“Good girl,” he whispers, and replaces his fingers with his tongue in an instant. 

“Fuck!” you scream in pleasure as he drinks from you like a man lost in the desert. You’re certain your eyes roll into the back of your head, and you’re reduced to one continuous drawn out moan as Aaron laps at you greedily for what could have been seconds or hours. Your thighs are shaking, and you feel so good you’re practically drooling. 

“Aar-- fuck, Aaron. If you keep this up I’m going to cum without you.” You warn him urgently. 

You feel his smirk against you before he responds. “I want you to cum, angel. Cum for daddy.” 

The new name does you in-- the rubber band snaps inside of you and you're bucking wildly against him as pleasure courses through you over and over and over again. “Fuck, thank you daddy. Thank you, thank you thank you,” you become a litany of gratitude, unable to form any other thought until you collapse against the mattress, chest heaving. Aaron sidles up against you, kissing you delicately and allowing you a moment to catch your breath.

“Did it live up to the fantasy?” Aaron asked once your breathing evened out. 

“Baby, in my fantasy, you were the one getting off.” You reminded him.

“Details,” he shrugged, kissing your shoulder. You smiled over at him. He was fully prepared to call it here, after giving you one of the best orgasms of your life and getting nothing in return, but you wouldn’t have it. You rolled over, straddling his thighs. “That particular detail is very important to me,” you countered, leaning down across his chest to suck at the base of his neck. He’d be able to cover the purple mark with the collar of his shirt, but you’d know, and that was enough. You start rolling your hips against him, and you feel the groan reverberate in his chest before you hear it. 

“Use me, sir. I’m ready. Use me,” you whisper in his ear, and he deftly maneuvers to enter you. You gasp, still sensitive from your first orgasm but overwhelmed with pleasure. He starts canting his hips up into you, and you get into a comfortable position, satisfied to meet him gently thrust for thrust. 

“You know, you’re lucky I didn’t tease you more after everything you put me through tonight,” you tell him, and he lets out a growl before flipping the two of you over. 

“Mouthy little brat,” he chastises you before lifting one of your thighs over his shoulder so he can drill even further into you. The change in angle is incredible and you’re crying out in moments. 

“I’m gonna cum again. Are you close?” You gasp out, and he turns his head to press a kiss against your leg. 

“Go ahead, doll. I’m right behind you,” he whispers tenderly, and you come undone, your second orgasm somehow even more powerful than the first. True to his word, Aaron comes just after you do, and you both collapse against the mattress and take a moment to catch your breath.

“You did so good, sweetheart. Was that good for you?’ Aaron asked, propping himself up on an elbow and brushing a piece of hair off of your forehead with his free hand. 

“Do you really have to ask?” 

“Of course I do,” he said, looking you in the eye so you knew you weren’t getting out of giving him an answer. 

“It was amazing, hon. You know I would tell you if you pushed too far.” You answer the question you knew he was really asking.

He smiled and leaned in to give you a quick kiss before rolling off of the mattress and padding into the bathroom, returning with a damp washcloth. 

“Alright, sweet girl. Time to clean you up.” He said, climbing back up on the mattress and in between your legs to clean you reverently. “Are you sore? Does anything hurt?” 

You gave him a tired smile. “No more than usual. A good night’s sleep and a fresh bagel from the place down the street in the morning will make everything all better, I think.” 

“For you, anything. Every bagel in Virginia.” He smirked, getting up to dispose of the washcloth. 

You followed him, going into the bathroom to brush your teeth and pee. After a few moments, you’re both back in bed with all the lights off, wrapped up in each other like nothing exists outside of the bed you both shared. True to his promise, Aaron went out and got you both bagels the next morning, and you relaxed the morning away, watching TV and snuggling in bed until it was time to pick up Jack. 

And if Aaron forgot his undershirt more frequently, he’d pretend it was an accident.

[kureis-writing-hell]

The Virus Made Me Do This

I had a little prompt idea with my lovely @tristansarchive where I do his current fav ship and he writes my own (still looking forward to it babe). I had a lot of fun! I love Jerome with all my heart and I think I could do him better actually, but idk how to now. Next time :3

It's an au where someone makes a soulmate tracker, deadly virus and uses it to kill all baddies in Gotham. I'm pretty sure everything is explained well in the fic!

TW: a little, a tiny bit incestous ig. The characters are twins. It can be read whatever considering soulmates doesn't have to be romantic, but it's written with all the shippy intentions.

*

The urge to open the door was so heavy Jeremiah couldn’t stop shaking. Or was it really that? He could be just afraid. Yeah. Definitely it was fear and anticipation. Fear of what, though? Meeting Jerome after all those years? Facing the brother he selfishly threw under the hypothetical bus and left alone to bleed out under the care of their mother? The fear of seeing Jerome dying?

Maybe all at once?

Jeremiah shook his head. No. All he was scared of was Jerome. His brother and whatever was hidden behind this door. Jerome was a sick maniac and if Jeremiah allowed himself to think anything else, he would crumble himself, probably lose his mind and end up sharing the room with his twin. And Arkham wasn’t really Jeremiah’s style.

It wasn't Jeremiah's fault that the new Gotham virus had a DNA sort of targeting, and he shared his DNA with Jerome. Jerome, who was one of the biggest threats to Gotham. Jerome, who murdered so much people. Of course his brother would have crazy enemies. And of course the vigilante who made killing all baddies in the city their lifetime goal would target Jerome as well.

Suddenly, Jeremiah felt a pang in the area where his heart was. A painful ache. He grasped his chest, curling a little. There was immediately a hand on his back, Ecco trying to comfort him.

"Are you okay?" she asked, rubbing comforting circles into his shoulder blade. The ache began lessening enough for Jeremiah to straighten slowly and look at her.

"It's just a little pain. I'll be fine."

The worried look the woman sent him didn't help Jeremiah's own worries. The virus was deadly. There was no cure and the GCPD was trying to sweep the case under the rug because the virus targeted only criminals. And Jeremiah. Jeremiah and his damned, cursed DNA.

"You sure you wanna do this?" Ecco looked at him in that soft way she always did when Jerome came out between them. She knew a lot about both of the twins, thanks to Jeremiah. He had no secrets to hide from her, after all. She knew everything.

"I'll be fine." Jeremiah fixed his glasses nervously. "I have no choice. You heard the doctor. I have to be with him."

The virus was bizarre, but honestly, everything in Gotham was. It targeted people based on their DNA, so obvious someone had to be behind it all. It killed within a few days since the first symptom showed up - a heartache like pain. But it was getting weirder from there.

The virus worked as some sort of magical matchmaking as well. Besides the obvious deadly purpose, for some reason, it also pushed people to go find their soulmates. There weren't a lot of cases just yet but everyone, Jeremiah included, felt an urge to be very close to some people. Then the symptoms lessened and the time the patient had stretched to a week or so. It was still deadly, it just took more time to finish the victim.

Jeremiah still refuses to believe that. There had to be some sort of more logical explanation as to why he wanted to spend every single second of the rest of his life with his bonkers twin. Jerome wasn't his soulmate. He was the worst curse Jeremiah could be graced with.

"I'll go with you," Ecco finally sighed and reached for the door handle. Jeremiah grabbed her hand.

"No. No need. Just stay here. He's tied to the bed, he won't hurt me."

After a moment of contemplating that Ecco finally nodded and stepped aside.

Jeremiah swallowed, fixed his glasses again, bit his lip and finally opened the door.

The gap was small enough for Jeremiah to squeeze through. He closed the door softly behind himself, gathering all his nerves, looked up from the floor and met a pair of green, wide eyes.

Saying that Jerome was tied to the bed was understatement. He was basically the one with the bed, there were so many belts around his body. That brought some relief to Jeremiah. But then Jerome smiled.

Jeremiah knew about the scars, but didn't think they would look this macabre. Jerome had a permanent smile on his face, that looked even creepier when he smiled himself. Showing all of his teeth to Jeremiah.

"That's a shocker." Jerome let go a giggle and licked his dry lips. "And I thought I would have to blow up half of the city to get you out of your hole!" He laughed the same, weird way Jeremiah could remember from their childhood. The sound used to make him smile too, but now he only shivered.

Jeremiah noticed he's clinging to the door with his back. He slowly straightened, fixing his clothes, still shaking like a leaf. Jerome was watching him closely.

"Who would think all it took for us to meet again was a little cold. And look! We can be one again! Bonnie and Clyde! Jules and Vincent! Kill and Bill!"

The laughter filled the room again. Jeremiah opened his mouth, not sure what he wanted to say. It wasn't just a cold. They were never "one". Jerome you're delusional.

But Jerome was faster. He shut his mouth, looked at Jeremiah again and his eyes widened. He gasped.

"No! You got it too! You can feel it too! Of course you got it, I heard the whispers, it's related to DNA!"

The pure, glowing glee on Jerome's face made Jeremiah want to punch him. He didn't move from under the door, though. That, of course, gave Jerome a free space to continue.

“Hey, hey, did ya know? Some birdies sing that this shitty virus is a destiny tracker! It makes people want to die in the arms of their loved ones, or some bullshit like that. Isn’t it hilarious?”

“And cruel.”

Jeremiah barely opened his lips, barely even whispered, yet the words seemed to jump around the room like an echo. Jerome quieted down, watching Jeremiah with high lifted eyebrows. There was a smile, dancing on his chapped lips, but a different one than from a moment ago. Not a crazy, manic grin. A soft, amused smile. And it was even worse than before.

“Cruelty can be fun too.” If Jerome wasn’t tied to the bed he would shrug, with that infuriating smile still visible on his face. “Don’t you agree? Don’t tell me you’re not even a little amused right now, being oh so cruel to me.”

“I-I’m not-” Jeremiah’s words jumped a little, he stuttered pathetically and so shut his mouth down. He wasn’t amused. And it wasn’t him that was cruel right now, for sure.

“Oh please. You vanish for years and then show up out of nowhere, without even giving me a little kiss? That’s not how brothers should greet each other!”

It totally is - Jeremiah thought bitterly, and then marveled at Jerome’s expression once again. Give it to his unstable twin to throw something like that right in Jeremiah’s face, with the softest, gentlest expression ever made by a human being.

Then, suddenly, the expression was broken. Jerome grimaced, even whined a little, curling as much as he could on the bed. Jeremiah recalled his own pains, mainly his heartache, and without thinking jumped towards his brother. He grabbed Jerome’s shoulder, trying to will the other’s pain away. And, right then, when Jeremiah was ready to take his pain and bear it on his own, Jerome grinned.

“Oh, so you do care.”

In a second Jeremiah blushed, all the way from his forehead to his barely visible collar bones.

He stepped back, angrily taking his hands away from his twin. Jerome followed his movement with sparkly eyes, with that sunny smile stretched across his face. Jeremiah had to remind himself that they were both under the influence of the virus. And that it was Jerome he was dealing with.

The things he wanted to do, Jerome had to feel twice as hard. He was always the more intense of the two of them. 

“Can’t you be serious for once?!” Jeremiah stomped his leg, tightening his fists in frustration. Jerome giggled at the showoff.

“Why would I?”

“We may die!”

“So?”

Jerome’s question was so out of nowhere Jeremiah had to pause and get confused for a moment. He didn’t understand why his brother wasn’t at least a little concerned. He was crazy - that’s for sure - but did he also want them to die in agony?

Suddenly, Jeremiah gasped and clutched his chest again. He curled a little, feeling the jolt of pain across his chest, his heart. At the same time Jerome swore and gasped. It made Jeremiah look up, search for his twin, suffering as well right now. Their eyes met. Identical, green eyes. It didn’t matter that Jerome was covered with scars now. Jeremiah didn’t even find his look scary or grotesque now.

“Maybe it would be nicer if we hugged?”

Jerome was rasping but still sounded unusually soft. He had to notice it, because he grimaced slightly and wiggled his eyebrows, to add to his words a little, nasty context. Jeremiah wasn’t fooled though. He still didn’t come closer again, keeping his hand over his chest.

“I’m… not really allowed to do that.”

“Oh now you’re following rules?”

Well, he was right. And it wasn’t like anyone was there to witness his embarrassment. He still frowned at Jerome.

“You won’t try to run?” Maybe Jerome was tied to the bed, but Jeremiah knew him. His twin knew how to escape every situation.

“Please, I can barely stand right now. You probably do too, huh?”

He was right. The virus came with a general weakness of the body. And pains. Mostly joint pains but also muscle pains that were a living hell if Jeremiah moved too much. Honestly, he would kill for a nap right now. And, could be the virus or not, Jerome’s chest looked like a nice bed. For the first time since entering the room Jeremiah allowed himself to look Jerome over. He had to exercise. A lot.

Trying to hide the comeback of his blush Jeremiah crouched and began untying his shoes. He didn’t see how Jerome’s amused eyes glimmered with excitement. He knew they did, though. Of course. Jerome didn’t change even a tiny bit since they were kids, maybe minus losing the final screw. 

“This is only for a moment,” stated Jeremiah, rather trying to convince himself than point it out to Jerome. “I have to go home soon,” he lied. After all, the doctor told him that to keep them both from dying too early he had to stay in close proximity to his brother.

“Sure, broski.”

Jeremiah straightened and glared at his twin. Jerome was smiling cutely at him, obviously knowing he was being annoying and doing it on purpose.

“It’s only because of the virus.” Jeremiah lifted his chin a little, feeling a tiny wave of confidence. “Once it’s over I will vanish again and we will never see each other ever again.”

A look slipped through Jerome’s scarred face. For a moment Jeremiah let himself enjoy the hurt expression - oh so rare - that his twin allowed to slip. But then he felt guilt that always showed up when Jerome was as much as mentioned. He immediately lowered his head, suddenly unable to look into Jerome’s eyes again.

Jerome, of course, noticed.

“Then I hope we’re gonna die,” he rasped, cheerfully, making Jeremiah shiver.

Oh, he meant that.

Without adding anything more, worrying that he will back off if he procrastinated even a moment longer, Jeremiah slipped his shoes off. He grabbed an itchy blanket from a nearby chair - Arkham’s rooms were unbelievably cold, especially in the medical wing - and began climbing onto Jerome. As if they were kids again. As if no time ever passed.

But he paused. Right after putting his hand by Jerome’s side. Jeremiah blushed again, fixing his eyes on his hand. If he looked at Jerome right now he was sure he would just run out of the room. He could feel Jerome’s eyes on him, expectant but amused. It was so easy to imagine the look on his face for Jeremiah. And even easier to imagine Jerome’s laughter if he got up and ran. And then the guilt that would for sure come next.

So, Jeremiah gritted his teeth and slowly slipped into the bed, onto the hard mattress and Jerome’s chest.

It required a little wiggling. Jerome was tied, so he couldn’t move. Jeremiah had to find a position comfortable enough for him and his twin. His hand painfully landed on Jerome’s stomach, which Jeremiah quickly, and silently, apologized for, then he got stuck on all four, trapping Jerome under his body, making him giggle uncontrollably. It was a disaster, and for a very hot, embarrassed moment Jeremiah thought about chickening out again.

When he was about to shake his head and move away, Jerome lifted himself a little. It was too late when Jeremiah noticed that the belt on his stomach was tied too loose. Jerome’s tight hit Jeremiah’s, Jeremiah yelped, slipped on the mattress and fell onto Jerome’s body, hitting his face right onto his twin’s chest.

Jerome, of course, erupted in a loud laughter. Jeremiah fixed his glasses, glaring at his twin angrily. Without a word, deciding that it couldn’t get worse, he covered both of them with the blanket and hid his face in Jerome’s Akrham uniform.

“Arent’cha glad I got some friends around this place? They left a few holes here and there a bit loose, y’know?” Jerome kept laughing. Then choked, coughed and giggled again. “Maybe friends is too big of a word. Pawns? Sidekicks? Toys? What do ya think?”

“I think you’re sick,” Jeremiah murmured into Jerome’s chest, not sure if the words were aimed at his brother or at himself. Then he inhaled Jerome’s scent and realized it didn’t matter, because he wasn’t going anywhere soon.

“Duh! You too. We got a virus, don't you remember? Did my cute lil bro get dumber with age?”

“Probably.” Jeremiah closed his eyes. That nap was so close now. Sounded so nice. But then Jerome decided to start wiggling, waking Jeremiah up again. “What are you doing?”

“My back is itching as all hell.”

Jeremiah rolled his eyes. Before relieving his twin, he took off his glasses and put them on a nearby table. He came back to his position, wrapped arms around Jerome and scratched his back a little.

“How’s that?”

“Perfect.”

He didn’t even try to point Jeremiah towards the itching spot. Only after a moment Jeremiah noticed what Jerome made him do. Hug him. The virus was affecting them both after all.

Jeremiah was drifting off again, snuggled to Jerome, when he heard his brother open his damned mouth again.

“Would be pre-tty awkward if I got a boner now huh.”

Deciding to ignore that Jeremiah let the sleep overtake him.

[hello-nichya-here]

Not So Different; Part One - If Azula Is “Crazy”, So Is Zuko

Whenever anyone talks about Azula possibly getting a redemption arc, or so much as shows sympathy for her, they immediately have to put up with bullshit that so called "Zuko fans" (that don't actually understand his character) love to spew out. They'll claim she's completely unreasonable and crazy, that she's too cruel, selfish and entitled, and just too far gone to be saved, but the "evidence" they use to back this up could easily be applied to Zuko.

Azula had the infamous "Do the tides command this ship?" moment in The Avatar State which could turn the crew against her since ignoring pretty what was pretty sound advice could damage the ship, and seriously injure or kill them and/or her. She could also be a real bitch towards Mai and Ty Lee, aka her only friends, which isn't a smart move and shows that she isn't that great of a person. In The Storm, Zuko not only wanted to chase Aang through the storm, but straight up said "The safety of the crew doesn't matter" right in front of said crew, and made sure to personally insult/threat one sailor who quite clearly had more experience than he did just because he didn't like being told what to do. He also spent 5/6 of the show horribly mistreating Iroh, who was often his only ally.

Azula has that whole speech to Long Fen about the divine right to rule, agrees with Ty Lee when she says that people should worship the ground they walk on (and even says she loves it), trashes Chan’s house after being rejected by him, and cannot understand why her friends “betrayed” her even though they had pretty good reasons to do so. In The Swamp, Zuko says that people should just give him and Iroh stuff, in Zuko Alone he says he is the heir to the throne since he is Ozai’s son despite the fact that Iroh is the rightful Fire Lord, trashes Chan’s house with his sister (he started being aggressive on the party way before she did), and in the beginning of book three he cannot understand why Iroh doesn’t want to help him out - it couldn’t possibly have anything to do with the knife still firmly on his back, could it?

Azula tried to capture the Avatar (aka the symbol of peace AND the last survivor of a genocide) and eventually killed him, she conquered Ba Sing Se and renamed Omashu in homage to Ozai, was willing to kill Zuko and Iroh if they sided with her enemies and threw Zuko under the bus when they were allies, and she also threatened Ty Lee to force her to join her and did almost fight Mai to the death after her "betrayal." Zuko tried to capture the Avatar and even sent an assassin after him, wanted to give Aang's glider (one of the lest relics of the air nomads) to Ozai, helped Azula conquer Ba Sing Se and burned down Suki's village, robbed a bunch of people on the Earth Kingdom, was willing to kill his sister when they were on opposing sides of the war, and betrayed Iroh, letting Azula take him as a prisoner to Ozai, who could have very easily decided to kill him to make sure he'd never "steal" the crown from him, because that was what would finally allow him to go home.

Azula was more than okay being the princess of a nation that would set the world ablaze to prove their superiority. Both her and Zuko also laughed at Iroh's joke about burning Ba Sing Se to the ground (who was the first person to call Azula crazy again?). While Zuko felt disgusted at himself for not speaking out against the plan to commit genocide against the Earth Kingdom, it took him 30 episodes - aka three years of banishment and a few months back at the Fire Nation - for him to acknowledge, even to himself, that things like the genocide against the air nomads, the destruction of the South Pole, and taking over Earth Kingdom territory were bad. In Zuko Alone, he proudly says that he is the prince of the Fire Nation and the son of Fire Lord Ozai.

At the end of book three, Azula is still loyal to her dad even though he is terrible (both as a father and as a person), and even when he stabs her in the back, after everything she did for him, she doesn't turn her back on him. At the end of book two, Zuko choses to fight for Ozai's approval yet again and goes back to the Fire Nation, even though the bastard disfigured and banished him and even ordered his sister to capture him (Funny how Zuko's loyalty to Ozai is recognized as proof that being fed propaganda your whole life can truly fuck you up, but Azula's loyalty to Ozai is used to deny she was ever abused and/or manipulated in any way)

Finally, after losing everyone she ever cared about, Azula completely loses touch with reality, to the point that she is paranoid that everyone around her is a traitor and banishes them (which is actually putting herself in danger) and she even starts hallucinating, and the "conversation" she has with "Ursa" shows that she is questioning her mentality of fear being the only reliable way. Zuko has TONS of episodes that show him being completely irrational (ranging from trying to capture Aang without a plan on the North Pole and fighting in a waterbender in the snow, during a full moon, to him being up in a mountain, in the middle of a storm, basically daring the universe to fuck around and find out), and in The Earth King he is so conflicted between what he was taught was right by Ozai and what he personally feels is right that he passes out, gets physically sick, and starts having weird fever dreams.

It’s funny how the episode that “proves” Azula is beyond help not only has her acting the way Zuko did throughout the entire fucking show, but also has him essentially acting like her during their Agni Kai - calm, collected, and using his opponent’s ego to make them to make a grave mistake that would assure his victory. It’s almost like neither of them is truly beyond help, regardless of any mental illness/intense reaction to trauma and stress, and that the only reason Azula gets labeled as such is because fans and even the narrative are often biased against her.

[phoenix-manga]

Preschool Trainer! AU and the Crimson Tyrant:

Posie meets Riddle who, despite his small stature and doll-like face, he was very intimidating and quite loud.

Crimson Tyrant

How this transpires is a bit different, Crewel will skin Crowley if he puts the child in a haunted dorm. So, Crowley had to pay to fix the dorm before Posie got to stay in it with supervision of course.

In the meantime, Posie got to room in the infirmary and she wanders around the campus with Mr. Sweets, just doing what toddlers do which was explore.

She comes across Ace who was sulking outside the Heartslabyul mirror while Deuce was by him trying to figure stuff out too. The first thing that Posie says when Deuce has to explain to her what happened was:

Posie: I thought that Ace-nii was smarter because he’s older but you did a bad thing and they’re mad at you? That’s terrible!

Ace: Urk! I get it, quite making me feel worse…

Mr. Sweets: *Unimpressed look*

Then Posie drags Ace by his pant leg to the Heartslabyul dorm to go apologize, though she did stop for a moment because the dorm looks like a funhouse. But Mr. Sweets nudges her to go forward.

Deuce finds it funny that Ace is being pulled along by a toddler but he thinks it’s cute too cause it looks like a little sister scolding big brother. Makes him wish he had a little sister.

When they got to Cater, he immediately goes straight for Posie and Mr. Sweets. Taking pictures and cooing how cut they are, he tries to pet Mr. Sweets but it just shot sticky thread at Cater and he backs off with cotton candy strings stuck to his uniform.

Anyway, Posie asks if Ace can see the dorm leader to apologize, Cater thinks that Posie has way better manners than his sisters and internally wishes she was his little sister instead. But he has to nicely explain the rule that Ace can’t go to the dorm unless he brings a replacement tart.

Grimm threw Ace under the bus by mentioning how there were three large tarts for an event and Posie unknowingly roasts him again.

Grimm: Then if there were three more tarts in the fridge, that must mean that they were saved for a special occasion then!

Posie: Ace, being a glutton isn’t nice…

Ace: Gah! *Looks more ashamed of himself* I already got told off by a cotton candy and a toddler, why’d the raccoon have to join in…

Grimm: Hmph! Grudges over food are the worst!

Mr. Sweets: *Nods in agreement*

Since, Posie doesn’t go to class she won’t be involved in class participation but Grimm in this AU is half a student but it’s more like the  two are supposed to attend class together to count the academic efforts Grimm makes. If that makes any sense.

First was Crewel’s class where Posie has to sit next to the teacher’s desk while Grimm is partnered up with another student for now. Mr. Sweets kept an eye on Grimm but he occasionally glanced at Crewel, it was eyeing his fur coat and wonders how soft it would be.

Crewel is eyeing Mr. Sweets in return, he was focused on the Pokémon’s fur and thought how if it was any bigger he might have gotten a good chunk of that fur to make a nice coat.

After alchemy class was Trein’s class, Grimm and Posie sit in the front where Trein can see them and Lucius is eyeing an anxious Swirlix that didn’t like the look that the cat was giving him.

Trein just has Posie color pages on some coloring books that Trein had for some strange reason. He actually bought some from Sam’s ever since he found out Crowley was housing a toddler for now. Grandpa is the sweetest only to the youngest.

Then came PE where Vargas had Grimm run but Posie gets to throw a normal disc while Mr. Sweets catches it. Grimm envies Posie and Mr. Sweets for having it easy while Deuce was internally squealing at the cute sight along with other students.

Then came lunch time, Grimm tries to skip out and Posie calls out to Grimm to stop. Ace was saying something about maybe lending a hand if Posie can use her cuteness to convince Cater to let him in the dorm again, but the person he was talking to was already running after Grimm.

Deuce drags Ace to the courtyard where Posie and Mr. Sweets were running after Grimm. Posie tried to run faster but she tripped and that got everyone to stop what they were doing, Grimm stopped as soon as he hear Posie yell out in pain.

Mr. Sweets got to pounce on him and wrap him in sticky candy threads before rushing to Posie’s side. Deuce helps her up and dusts her off, there was a scrape on her knee but Posie was trying to hold back any tears which just melted his heart.

Deuce: Posie are you alright?!

Ace: That fall was nasty…

Posie: *sniffle* I-I fell b-but big girls don’t cry! I’m o-okay!

Deuce & Ace: (Cute…)

Then Deuce takes out a spare band-aid he has in his pocket (theorizing that he keeps some after scuffles back in his delinquent days but he still carries some now) and places it on her scraped knee. Posie hugs Deuce for support while still holding back tears, Deuce probably then decides his goal is not to be a cop but a father.

Encounter at the Cafeteria

Posie is carried by Deuce to the cafeteria and Mr. Sweets decides this boy was a good egg and just floats above him from behind. Of course the following cafeteria confrontation happens differently, Posie sits on the table but Mr. Sweets tag along with Deuce in getting food, Grimm bumps into a senior who demands his chicken and the one who fights them off is Mr. Sweets.

Using Psychic to prevent any scuffle, seniors back down because no one wanted to fight the cotton candy monster that looked like it will turn them into candy then eat them. They got to return to their table with their food, I liked to assume that Posie’s food bill is covered by Crowley, the Pokémon also have their food covered.

Imagine Posie offering to eat Ace’s vegetables if he doesn’t want them. Posie doesn’t mind any vegetables as long as they don’t taste icky. Ace likes to see the cute stuffed cheeks that remind him of a squirrel so he feeds Posie when she asks for another vegetable off his plate.

Then Trey shows up and gets to meet Posie and Mr. Sweets isn’t hostile at all towards him which confused everyone at the table, Cater thinks that it’s because he has a natural friendliness to him, that or the fact he smells like sweets and that means he was good at baking which means there is a chance Mr. Sweets will get a pastry.

Posie trying to pronounce the dorm names but still can’t get a grasp of it cause she’s young is very cute and the guys all try to hide their chuckle when Posie accidentally bit her tongue trying to pronounce most of them.

Posie: Pomefwio- ack! Hatswabu-ack!

Then in comes Riddle when Ace was badmouthing him and Ace finds himself in more sh*t, you think he would have kept his mouth shut but NO!

He looks behind him to see Riddle with a face that says, “Oh, please do continue…if you dare”. There goes his chance of getting rid of the collar, then Riddle sees the Ramshackle group and says that Ace is being a bad example for the youth.

He introduces himself to Posie and says that she shouldn’t copy what Ace is doing. Posie returns his introduction to also show him Mr. Sweets who just kept on eating his food. Riddle has to admit that it did look oddly cute and it smelled like any pastry he could list off his head.

Cue the savage toddler moment:

Posie: Ace-nii, you shouldn’t call him a Tie-Runt… He’s wearing a bow!

Ace: … I… I can’t even…

Cater, Trey & Deuce: *Trying their best not to laugh at what she said* PFFT!

Riddle: *Dumbofunded*

Grimm: He meant “tyrant” it’s got nothing to do with his bow!

Children are so precious. Posie goes back to eating her snacks and Riddle goes to buy some sugar cubes to escape the awkwardness of it all. Though I’m pretty sure that he just wanted to follow the rules and not waste any time.

Making the Tart

Okay so I imagine when they finally got to go to pick some chestnuts for a tart where the encounter with Leona happens goes like this…

Grimm steps on Leona’s tail and when he towers over the group, Posie tries to shield Grimm while Mr. Sweets gets in front of Posie when she starts trembling after Leona growls how he dislikes kids.

At first, Leona thinks that Posie’s candy monster was weak and would get punted across the wall. Oh how wrong he was about that…

Leona: *Growls* I hate kids… they’re annoying and noisy…

Posie: I-I won’t let you beat up Grimm y-you bully!

Mr. Sweets: Swir! Swirlix! *Growls back*

Leona: What’s this now? A pink marshmallow or something?

Mr. Sweets shoots out a Thunderbolt that barely missed Leona’s foot on purpose and then the Pokémon proceeds to Play Rough with him, knocking him to the ground and then fleeing with Posie and Grimm.

Leona now got covered in a sweet scent of pastries that bothers his sensitive smell. He’s gotta wash it all off now, and if that wasn’t bad enough, Ruggie arrives and can smell the sweets on him. The hyena immediately asks him if he has been hiding donuts or something.

And tart making was interesting because Posie would quickly get the tools that Trey needed and it was so adorable. If he needed sugar, she has the bag, if he needed a whisk there she has it.

After baking was all done Posie asked if she can bring out her two other Pokémon because she feels guilty for feeding only Mr. Sweets. Trey couldn’t say no to that face.

Posie showing Mr. Doodles the Wooper and Rosie the Budew was going to be quite the encounter because Wooper looks so derpy and cute and immediately clamped down on Mr. Sweets who retaliated by smacking the Wooper away.

Let’s just say, Posie trying to feed her Pokémon was so adorable and the guys were clutching their chests at the sight. Cater has a folder dedicated to Posie now.

The Trouble

Cater would probably magic the guys a dorm outfit for the party but with Posie I think he just makes her look like a doll, she looked like a mini queen of hearts. It was so cute that the other students at the dorm were a bit distracted and almost didn’t hear Riddle being announced.

But then came the infamous scene of smacking the tart, Posie won’t like it when Riddle smacks the tart out of Ace’s hand. Trey and Ace worked hard on it and her mom told her to not waste any food.

Posie: Y-you shouldn’t waste food and be picky! Mommy always said that food wasted could have fed someone else! A-And Ace made it to say sorry, Y-You apologize Ace-nii and Trey-nii too, for wasting his hard work!

Riddle: *Dumbfounded but has the resting glare face* what did you say?

Posie: Hya! *Hides her face in Mr. Sweets’ fur*

Mr. Sweets: Grrrr!

Mr. Sweets won’t let it slide for seeing wasted sweets but he also won’t have Riddle try to drag them out with force either. Let’s just say that the students who got close to Posie got Play Roughed terribly. Cotton father said no touching the baby!

Ace was close to swearing but Deuce slaps his mouth to remind him that a child was present and he shouldn’t say such bad words no matter how much Riddle deserved to hear it.

Also imagine Che’nya just scaring Posie and Mr. Sweets ends up chasing him but it was frustrating because he kept disappearing like some weird Shadow Sneaking Marshadow.

Then comes the time they confront Trey about why Riddle was like this. Posie would feel bad for him, his mommy was not very nice which probably led him to being a big meanie, as Posie puts it.

Ace and Deuce want to face Riddle and challenge him to a duel, if Ace becomes dorm leader then he’ll make sure the rules aren’t going to be as strict and ridiculous. Though Posie being all innocent just had to break it to him about the reality and the aftermath.

Posie: But isn’t being dorm leader kind of hard? The grade school kids always complain about being class president and all the responsibilities they had to do, they didn’t get to play on the playground as often…

Ace: T-The class president and dorm head are two different things!

Deuce: But they both have responsibilities too…

Ace: Not helping! I’m going to make that tyrant say sorry and make him paint roses!

Posie: He was kind of mean… but he’s just being bullied by his mom, he might be nice if we treat him nicely!

Posie better take those words back for now because Riddle was being super mean after winning that match, calling Ace and Deuce’s education insufficient and even dragged their parents along with it. She musters up the courage to tell Riddle that it was mean.

Guess what happens, Riddle straight up tells her that kids don’t have a say in these situations because they are too young to even know anything yet. Posie took that comment as “You’re dumb” and she’s stunned silent. Riddle ends it with the words, “Don’t act like a brat and butt in conversations that don’t involve you”.

To Posie, being called a brat was… basically an insult to a kid like her. Teens like Ace might not bat an eye but to a kid who can be sensitive, that’s a no-no word to say.

Posie starts to sniffle and tear up, hiccupping words out to try and say she wasn’t a brat.

Posie: *sniffle* I-I’m not a brat! Y-You shouldn’t say mean things like that!

Everyone including Riddle: !!!

Mr. Sweets: *Deadly aura and wants to strangle Riddle with his cotton candy strings* SWIRLIX!!!

Ace punches Riddle right then and there, half of it was because he was frustrated that the tyrant insulted him while the other half is because he got a soft spot for the kid. Ace may be kind of a jerk but he doesn’t stoop so low to insult a kid.

When the situation escalates leading to Riddle’s overblot, of course, Ace and Deuce shield Posie but then out comes her other Pokémon who stand their ground, ready to face Riddle.

Posie gets the courage to stand up and actually try to battle, though not as good as a regular Trainer but she’s going to learn how to strategize, though she’ll be less of a fighter and more of a support.

Of course, Mr. Doodles the Wooper would use Protect to cover for Posie, if the overblot reaches for her, Riddle would get a good Mud Shot to the face. Rosie the Budew would use Uproar and Stun Spore on Riddle to hinder his movements. Mr. Sweets would defend using Cotton Guard and then use several Thunderbolts.

The aftermath has both Riddle crying and Posie as well, which shocks the others because why was Posie even crying, did they get hurt?

Posie: Whaaaaa!!!!

Ace: W-Why are you crying?!

Posie: Because I was super scared!!!

Cater: Eh?! Even after fighting Riddle head on?!

Of course, the Revenge Unbirthday Party is where Riddle tries to make amends with Posie, he thought about his previous actions and it was uncalled for. He feels super ashamed of yelling at a kid, he has an apology tart for Mr. Sweets and Posie too but like the strawberry tart, it had oyster sauce.

If you have seen babies’ faces after eating a lemon, it’s like that but with anyone who ate the apology tart. But all is well, Riddle even got to know Posie’s other Pokémon, Mr. Sweets lets his past actions slide and lets him be. Rosie though, is smitten with Riddle and is cuddling up to him.

Let’s say, Riddle learns to be more lenient and sometimes he would be such a big brother to Posie by helping her with worksheets for preschoolers (courtesy of Trein and Divus) they take breaks by having snacks and tea during a study session.

Cater gets the chance to be the older sibling to someone younger and he doesn’t feel uncomfortable at all unlike when he’s with his sisters. He takes a lot of pictures of Posie and her Pokémon. He likes to put a lot of stickers on her photos. He would never post it where his sisters would see though, he makes a private group where his sisters definitely won’t be notified, to post Posie’s pictures on. People thought it was his sister or even niece.

Trey spends more time with Mr. Sweets, since the 3rd year has younger siblings already, he got used to having Posie and her Pokémon drop by the kitchen to say hi or even ask for a sweet. When he has no time for baking, he carries some candy to give to her. Even jokes how she shouldn’t be influence by the brain cell trio too much.

Crowley though... Divus will be barging into his office to yell at him for leaving a child to deal with an overblot.

[miyanom]

AND YOU JUST CAN’T SAY GOODBYE...

MASTERLIST | JEAN KIRSTEIN X F!READER

synopsis: in which the raid of liberio takes the most important thing in jean’s life; you.

warnings: 4x08 spoilers!!! Angst, major character death (y/n), mentions of guns and blood

Y/N stared down at the ruins of Liberio as she flew overhead, holding tightly onto the gun of her anti-personnel gear — the thing keeping her attached to the aircraft as she reeled herself in.

But she couldn’t tear her eyes away from the mass of bodies laying beneath them, the bodies of the civilians who weren’t given the chance to make it out before the bombings.

She tried convincing herself this was all for a reason, that it was the only way. But she couldn’t. How could she when the bodies continued to pile up, when the blood staining their hands got thicker and thicker?

Freedom, they called it. They were fighting for freedom — but how many innocent lives would they have to exchange for it? How many more wars stood between them and the freedom they so desperately seeked?

Releasing a shaky breath, Y/N climbed into the aircraft, ignoring the voices speaking her way as she moved away from the entrance in utter silence.

She just wanted to go home, forget all about what happened here today... forget about the innocent lives lost to Eren’s plan. Eren, the reason they had come to Marley in the first place.

He had already made his way back into the ship, so had Captain Levi and the others. Even so, Y/N couldn’t shake the uncanny feeling gnawing at her gut. Their plan had so far been mostly successful, why did she feel like something was going to go wrong still?

“Oi, Jean!” Connie’s voice mentioning Jean’s name was enough to snap Y/N out of her thoughts. Pushing her way through the crowd of soldiers who had made their way back to the airship, Y/N dropped down at the entrance, holding out a hand to help Jean inside.

Looking up at his friends waiting for him, Jean reached up to grab ahold of Y/N’s hand, allowing the girl to pull him into the safety of the ship Commander Hange had secured for them.

As soon as Jean’s knee pressed against the wooden floor, Y/N was launching herself into his arms. A whiff of his scent being enough to wash away her fears even slightly.

Maybe things hadn’t gone exactly according to plan, but Jean had made it back alive, they both had. And that’s all that mattered to Y/N in that moment.

Pulling back slightly, Jean stared at Y/N’s face, taking in her appearance like she’d disappear from his hold at any moment. “Thanks for coming back alive,” she whispered with a small smile, one of her hands caressing his cheek gently.

“I always will,” Jean told her, quite suddenly moving in to press his lips against hers in a kiss.

Y/N didn’t want to move away, just wanting to live in that moment for the rest of eternity.

The idea of leaving the fight behind and living a safe life with Jean always remained in the back of her mind, the lingering thought being the only thing that helped her sleep at night when the toll of the war became too much.

There was only one thing stopping her, and she knew it stopped Jean, too.

Though he’d never admit just how much he cared about Sasha and Connie, Y/N knew him well enough to have a good idea. He’d never leave them to fight this tortuous fight alone.

The couple’s reunion was broken up by Connie and Sasha as their sibling-like bickering grew loud enough to break through Jean and Y/N’s little bubble.

Jean let out a sigh, standing up and helping Y/N back onto her feet before they walked over to the others. “You owe me a big fucking meal, Connie!” Sasha complained, pointing a finger at Connie who was shaking his head.

“Speaking of debts, I think you guys owe me a drink when we get back to the island,” Y/N grinned, throwing her arms over Connie and Jean’s shoulders as her eyes flickered between the two. “Seeing as I paid last time, it’s the least you two could do.”

It was over. The war was just beginning, but this fight was over, Y/N kept telling herself. Ignoring the fear still coursing through her veins.

“I think it’s Jean’s turn.” Connie immediately threw the other boy under the bus, earning a glare from Jean.

Y/N smiled up at him. “Come on, Jean~” she cooed. “Since you love me and all.”

Jean stared at her for a moment before sighing and averting his gaze, the telltale sign that he couldn’t say no to Y/N. “Fine.”

Y/N and Connie immediately turned to each other, high-fiving in victory. Though the moment was short lived as Jean turned around, and a gunshot was suddenly echoing through the air.

Y/N’s body quickly spun around, her eyes widening as she felt a sharp pain pierce through her torso. “Y/N?!” Sasha’s voice sounded so quiet over Y/N’s pounding heart as she stumbled backwards from the shock.

As the pain travelled through her body, Y/N felt her legs give out beneath her, and within seconds, she was hitting the cold wooden floor of the aircraft.

“Y/N! Hold on!” Sasha screamed, falling to her knees and pressing her hands against Y/N’s wound as the others all gathered around the attackers. “Stay with…”

Moments later, Sasha’s shouts were being cut off as Jean fell by Y/N’s side, shouting her name in fear that she wouldn’t make it. “J… Jean.” Her words came out in a gasp, her raspy breaths making Jean and Sasha share a look as he carefully pulled the girl into his arms.

“Come on, Y/N, just hold on,” he pleaded.

“Jean,” she coughed out again. And Jean finally noticed the blood gathering on the corner of her mouth, as hot tears began to stream down her face. “I want… I want to go home.”

“You’re going to make it back, I promise,” he whispered, cradling her face in one hand as he thumbed away her tears. “And I’ll buy you that drink.”

They both knew it was a lie. Y/N, from the way her pain had begun to subside as a foreign coldness began to settle in its place. And Jean, knowing it just from the amount of blood he could see pooling on the floor beneath her.

Though despite it all, Y/N smiled weakly, gasping out what could very likely be her last words. “I love you…”

As Y/N began to go silent, her eyes struggling to stay open, Jean finally began to pay attention to the blood seeping from her wound, creating a pool of crimson around her fallen frame.

Y/N could hear it — her comrades’ cries of desperation. They wanted her to hold on, but what was there to hold on to? Perhaps the happy memories of the people they once were, before the war had truly taken its toll…

She hoped to take it all with her as her time finally came. Though she guessed her time was now, in a foreign country, in the arms of someone so familiar she could see his face even with her eyes closed.

“Are you serious?” Y/N stared at Jean in shock. “The Survey Corps? I thought you had your heart set on the Military Police, what happened?”

“Not that suicidal bastard, if that’s what you’re thinking!” Jean crossed his arms, staring her down for a moment before he sighed and looked away, a frown tugging at his lips. “I just… I don’t want- I don’t want those charred bones to be disappointed in me.”

Y/N’s expression softened as she took his words in. The Battle of Trost had been hard on all of them, losing Marco had made it almost 100% worse. Especially for her and Jean.

Hearing about her friend’s death, without knowing how it happened, was something she never wanted to go through again. Unfortunately for them, Jean happened to be her best friend, and she wasn’t about to let him be another body with an unknown death. Another person she lost without trying to help them survive.

“Then I’m joining the Survey Corps, too!” Y/N said, her fists clenched tightly as Jean’s head snapped back in her direction.

“Y/N-”

“Don’t even try to change my mind, cause you can’t,” she told him. “I… I’m staying by your side, okay? If anything happens, I- I just want to be there.”

Without so much as a word, Jean was pulling Y/N into his embrace. “Y/N-”

He was crying? Why? Why was Jean crying?

Y/N’s eyes slowly flickered open once more, immediately being met with Jean’s teary eyes as he held her close. She remembered now… she was shot.

Maybe that’s why she couldn’t move her arm even the slightest bit to wipe away Jean’s tears and comfort him. That’s all she wanted to do. She hated seeing him cry, it was the worst feeling in the world.

Weakly, her eyes flickered to her other side. Sasha and Connie sat there, clinging to each other as they sobbed. A tear slipped from Y/N’s eye as she watched them, unable to move a single muscle in her body.

She hated seeing the people she cared for in pain, and all of this suffering was because of her? Why? Why did this have to happen?

“Stay with me, please, Y/N.” Jean begged.

She wanted to. That’s all she wanted. But she was so tired, and everything hurt, even breathing seemed too much at this point.

Jean raised his hand once more, accidentally smearing her own blood against her cheek as he held her face delicately in his large hand. “I love you.”

I don’t want to leave you… that’s what she wanted to tell him, but no words came out, only broken gasps that’d haunt Jean for the rest of his life as she bled out in his arms.

As Y/N’s eyes shut once again, she wasn’t greeted with the face of the man she loved, rather, she was blinded by a bright light. The voices of her friends screaming for her to wake up fading into white noise as she slipped out of consciousness.

This was her end…

“Y/N!” A soft voice seemed to echo through the air as Y/N’s eyes flickered open.

“Where… where am I?” Y/N whispered, pushing herself up as she looked around. She was still in the aircraft, but no one else was. Jean and the others weren’t.

Before Y/N even had the chance to question it further, the voice repeated itself. And she finally turned around.

Y/N didn’t know what was expecting to see, but as her eyes fell onto Marco — the boy she hadn’t seen in years, the boy who looked like he hadn’t changed a day since his final moments in Trost — she couldn’t help but take off into a run.

Marco easily caught her as she embraced him. “Marco!” She cried out happily, before her eyes widened and she pulled back. “How… how are you here? You died. I- I saw…”

He remained silent as Y/N seemed to catch on to what was happening, one of her hands immediately to shooting to where her wound once was. “You’re fight’s over now,” Marco told her. “You can rest.”

“Rest,” Y/N repeated in a whisper, the word sounding foreign on her tongue. When was the last time she had rested, she couldn’t remember. It had been battle after battle, betrayal after betrayal. There was no room for rest in the middle of a war, she had been telling herself.

But now…

Now she could finally rest, knowing Connie and Sasha would take care of Jean for her. Knowing they’d win the war together and live long, safe lives.

It was all Y/N ever wanted. Even if she was unable to see it with her own eyes.

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[thisismyhell]

With you, Safely

Pairing: Hotch x reader (criminal minds) FLUFF :)

Summary: You have a stalker, and it just so happens the BAU is in the right place at the right time. Can Hotch make you feel safe in your stressful state?

Words: 5k

TWs: blaming yourself, a gun is mentioned, making out!!!!!

Being honest about your personal life was never your strong suit. You always had the habit of leaving out sometimes small, and sometimes big, details about your situation. Whether it was because you found it way too personal, or just simply forgot about the idea of telling someone. You knew that theoretically if the people in your life were good, they would be there for you. But, you also knew that you had some people in your life who were not so good, and the lines often blurred in your mind. So when you started getting anonymous threats sent to your workplace, it took you a while to come to terms with the fact that you should tell someone. 

Taking your boss’s advice, you went to the police station. You have never had a reason to engage with a cop before, and if you were honest with yourself, you were not exactly thrilled at the concept. Especially under your circumstances. Not only did you hate the idea of talking about your personal life, but asking for actual help made you nauseous. It made you physically uncomfortable to put yourself out there like that, admitting to being vulnerable and not being able to take care of the situation quietly on your own. You understood that having threats sent to you like this was not a casual situation you could take care of, but you were still mentally trying to get out of this realization. Everything is fine if you just don’t talk about it, right?

“How can I help you today?” the receptionist asked, bringing you back into reality. “Um, sorry - I just..I think I may have a s-stalker? I don’t really know though, it might not even be that serious-”, “okay, what makes you think you have a stalker?” you were thankful she had taken the lead in this conversation. “Well, I-uh, I have been getting threats. Like, sent to my workplace? I don’t know, like, letters and packages from someone I don’t know. It might not be serious, my boss.. My boss just thought I should tell the police?” You were so uncomfortable, and the woman helping you could tell. “Alright well, how about you step into an office over here and we can take you information, and you can tell an officer everything you can. How does that sound?” Her kind eyes were easing your shoulders from their crunched up state. “That would be helpful, yes, t-thank you”. You followed her into an office where an officer wrote down everything you described to them. 

Taking the bus back to your apartment, you felt some tension leave your body. It had been maybe 2-3 months of keeping this to yourself, and you finally had the energy to tell someone. Someone who could maybe actually put you at ease. You probably didn’t have a stalker, let’s be real. That stuff never happens in real life, the concept was so far away from being real to you. Exiting the bus you kept telling yourself everything would be fine, and this would blow over in a week. You walked up the steps to your one bedroom, and found a stack of mail at your doorstep. Picking it up and entering your home, and flipped through. A bill, some junk mail, and some letter with no return address on it. Actually, it just had your info and nothing else, not even a stamp. You put the rest of your mail down and opened the mysterious letter. Your heart sank when you realized what it was. 

“Why did you have to tell them about us? Everything was going so well.”

That’s all it said inside the letter. You dropped it, and called the station asking for the officer you were just speaking to. They told you that you were lucky, because the FBI was in town that week and had just finished up another case. You were told they had some extra time on their hands, and you could come in tomorrow to speak with them. You sighed and agreed, hanging up in relief. This would blow over, everything would be just fine. 

The BAU team was getting ready to head back to their hotel room when Hotch was pulled aside by an officer at the precinct they were working at. “Sir, I’m sorry to ask about this on your way out. But a woman came in earlier about a stalker sending threats to her workplace. We took her story and information, but she just called me back. She got a letter in the mail saying she shouldn’t have told the police. The guy knows where she lives”. 

The team all gathered around the officer. Hotch reached out, “she came in today about this, and he escalated that quickly?”. “Wait, if she was here today, how did we miss her?” Reid probed. The officer shook his head, “the lady was so quiet, she seemed hesitant to even be here in the first place. As soon as she finished her side and said that was all she knew, she was gone. Quietest girl I’ve ever seen”. “She must not have thought it was serious,” commented Morgan. 

“Sure, but a stalker rarely sends threats to the object of his desire without preparing for some kind of meeting. Officer, tell her to come back to the station and we can make a profile”. The officer told him she was already on the way, and she’d be there in less than an hour. 

Feeling shook up, you entered the station for the second time that day. The receptionist recognized you, and walked with you to where the BAU team was working. You felt somewhat shameful that such a big deal was being made over you, but you had to keep reminding yourself that you were not safe in your own home at this time. So you swallowed your pride, and right when you were about to try and get their attention, a tall dark haired gentleman introduced himself. “Good evening, you must be y/n. You can call me Hotch, and this is my team-”, you listed as he told you everyone’s name, thankful for his close proximity to you. Sure it was cheesy, but having a man like Hotch around you made you feel safe. You looked up at him, “thank you all, really - you didn’t have to stay in town just for this”. Hotch cut you off, “Nonsense. We were already here, and having a stalker know where you live on top of where you work is not something to ignore. We will help create a profile for you, you might know who it is without realizing it. You nodded, realizing for the first time in the past 3 months just how tired you were of this. Hotch immediately picked up on your body language, leading you to where a couch was placed in the back of the room.

You sat down next to Reid, the young doctor. He smiled at you almost as awkwardly as you smiled at him. Feeling safe on the couch, you let yourself relax a bit more. The situation you had gotten yourself into was far from ideal, but at least now you weren’t alone in it. However selfish it made you feel, you were happier to be here with the overworked team instead of your lonely apartment. You looked around and it seemed like the entire BAU were trying to profile you. Maybe they were, it was their job of course. You made eye contact with Hotch, who nodded at you, giving you the opportunity to tell your side of things. 

“It started 2 or 3 months ago when I got some letter delivered to me at work. It was weird since like, why would I get mail at work? But I opened it and it was just a description of what I looked like, like in a poem. But I googled it and it’s an original. I couldn’t find it anywhere. So that threw me off but I didn’t take it seriously. I work in retail, I see a million people every shift, you know? I thought it was just some guy who was into me and was weird about it. But then I started getting them more and more often, but just at work. I got sent pictures of myself, presents, and they never had return addresses. And they all had the same handwriting so it was easy to assume it was the same guy. But today...I got a letter to my apartment. To where I live...alone. That’s never happened”. 

The team took in your words, looking like they had definitely seen this kind of thing before. Your gut had the mixed feeling of relief and worry. If they had seen this before they knew what to do, but that meant that they had to do something. Hotch looked at you, “luckily, we should be able to end this before he goes further. Can you tell us anyone in your life, no matter how small, that might want to hurt you, or even someone who holds some animosity towards you?”. You thought about it, and though you had a hunch, you were hoping it wasn’t true. “My..my ex boyfriend. I thought we ended things amicably, but I don’t think he ever got over it. I was hoping it wasn’t him”. The team all nodded, this was probably more common that you thought. 

You stood up, “I’m sorry, I just need some air”. You stepped into the hallway for some quiet, when you heard the office door open and close behind you. You recognized his cologne, Hotch came out and stood in front of you. “I know how uncomfortable this situation must be. Is there anything we can do to make you more comfortable in the meantime?”. The man had the kindest eyes, even under his stern brows. You wondered if he practiced this expression, the perfect balance between intimidating and soft. You hoped you were that good and being readable, that way you wouldn’t have to open your mouth. Weirdly, the only thing you wanted in that moment was a coffee. Something to keep you warm and give you some much needed energy. Having yourself on display like this all day had been exhausting. You were amazed when Hotch spoke, “there’s a coffee place across the street. The machine in here is broken, thankfully. I’ll take you”. He gently hovered his hand on the small of your back, as if asking permission to guide you out of the building. 

He walked you out, opening doors for you on the way. Walking into the shop with an FBI agent on your arm made you feel safe for the first time in a couple months. You weren’t one to rely on others in any capacity, but in that moment, you let yourself feel relaxed with the man’s presence. It was literally his job to keep you safe, and you’d be lying if that fact didn’t give you butterflies. You were a little too engulfed with taking him in that you didn’t notice he was speaking to you. “Sorry? I’m sorry, I must have zoned out, what were you saying?” you stammered, and he just looked down at you and smiled, repeating his question. “I was asking what you would like to drink? I assume coffee, but I wasn’t sure what your preference was”, he was smiling down at you, and you forgot about every type of coffee that has ever existed. “Oh! Um, a vanilla latte. But you don’t have to get it for me, I can take care of myself-” he cut you off with a single look. “Although I am more than sure you are capable of taking care of yourself, I would like to give you this one thing, if you’d let me”. You swallowed, “I guess- I guess I can let you do this one thing. For me. Thank you, sir”. He ordered your drinks and the two of you stood at the next counter waiting for them. Hotch quietly spoke to you, almost like it was just the two of you in the entire building, “as much as I appreciate the title, please call me Hotch”. You found yourself suppressing a giggle at the feeling of his voice so close to your neck, you were definitely not used to this level of attention. “Okay, Hotch it is”. 

You grabbed your drinks, and he held the door open for you on the way out. He moved his hand from your back where you had gotten so used to it, and he walked right into the road. You watched as he lifted his hand, stopping traffic to let you cross alongside him. What you didn’t see, was Morgan looking out the window at you two, and beckoning the team to come see how Hotch was treating you. “Damn, he must really like coffee today”. Reid joined him at the window, “actually, Hotch always has a next level of confidence after a case ends well. Y/n must be his outlet for a good mood”. Rossi sat at his desk working on a file, “yeah.. Pretty nice outlet if you ask me”. 

The two of you came back into the meeting room, and you couldn’t help the blush you felt when you noticed the team all glance at each other at the site of you two. This kind of attention was okay you thought, as long as he’s the source. Hotch pulled out a chair for you to sit next to him, and the team gathered at the meeting table. 

After some deliberation, and completely downing your coffee, you all came to the conclusion that based on your ex’s habits and personality, it was almost definitely him. So you created a plan to lure him out and catch him in the act. Unfortunately for you however, this meant having to literally face your problem. The team seemed confident enough, but Hotch could feel your body stiffen at the thoughts running through your head. Since meeting you just a couple hours prior, it turned out he could read you like a book. You couldn’t tell yet, but he could. He caught your jaw tighten, and he gently placed his hand on your shoulder, “y/n, you do not have to do this. We can find another way if you cannot bring yourself to go through with this plan”. He was being kind, but you all knew that this was for the best. You softly grinned at him, “thank you, Hotch, but I can do this. I want to face him”. And with that, you all left to get into your various positions. 

The plan was simple. In one of the letters you received, he stated that once you finally realized he was the one meant for you, you would get a table for two at the restaurant you had your first date, and you would prove to him you meant it by waiting for one whole hour, sitting there. Alone, while he supposedly watched you and your body language, and would then arrive. You would be wearing a wire, and once he started threatening you in person and possibly making a scene, the BAU would swoop in and save the day. You were confident in your role, not that you had to do much. You borrowed some date-type clothing from Emily, and you were now heading into the restaurant wearing your wire. You knew that this could all go horribly wrong, but hopefully whatever did happen, brought an end to your unhappiness. 

Taking the 100th deep breath of the day, you told the hostess your party name and they sat you down at your table. Thankfully your waiter was in on what was going on, so they wouldn’t be asking you about food until your ex came and sat down. You felt so exposed, of course your table was in the dead centre of the restaurant. You weren’t aware of the agents stationed around you, Reid pointed out that if you knew too much then the stalker would be able to read your body language too well. So you say there, sucking on the ice cubes from your water knowing what a long night this was going to be. 

“How are you feeling, y/n?” Hotch scared the daylights out of you, causing you to swallow your ice cube by accident. You gasped, but recovered smoothly. You kept your face as straight as you could without openly talking to yourself, “you scared me, I didn’t know you’d be on the other end of this thing”. You heard him softly chuckle, easing the tension. “Well, having you wired would be pretty useless if we couldn’t hear each other”. You smiled to yourself. Obviously he was right, but for some reason you just didn’t clue in that it could be him, out of everyone on the team, to be the one consoling you tonight. Maybe they were in on how he made you feel. Mentally thanking Hotch for his presence, “you’re right, how silly of me. Here I am feeling all alone in here without realizing who has my back”. There was a small pause on the other end before he replied, “you are far from alone in there, y/n”. You didn’t think it was possible given the circumstances, but you felt safe here in that moment too. You swore you could feel his physical presence even through the tiny earpiece. 

Some time passed, and with talking as minimally as you could, you realized an hour was about to pass. Now you had to prepare yourself for the confrontation. You were fine, but emotionally and mentally, you were not thrilled for the exhaustion you knew you’d be feeling in the next few moments. Looking out the windows of the patio, you saw him. Walking oddly through the crowd to the front doors. You knew this was going to be some sort of confrontation, but honestly you didn’t think that far ahead of what you would be saying or doing. Sensing some heating tension between your ex and the hostess, you found yourself frozen to your spot. He was just supposed to come in, say his name and be escorted over, what was going on? The hostess knew what to do, so why was tension rising? “Hotch..” you whispered, trying to get his attention. You heard a very quiet “don’t move”, before seeing your ex flash a gun hidden in his waistband. If you weren’t frozen before, you sure were by now. He hadn’t seen you yet, which was good. Maybe they’ll get to him before he gets to you. Slowly standing up from your seat with no intention to do anything but drop dead, you felt yourself taking a step towards him. You didn’t know why but something inside you told you that this whole thing was a mistake, and whatever was about to happen was your own fault, and you needed to stop it. You could talk to him and calm him down, that’s what your whole relationship was based on anyway. He just needed to be with you, and he would stop the hostility. 

As you were taking your third step in his direction, Hotch stepped in front of you, holding out the side of his jacket to stop your ex from seeing you. You felt his other arm ghost around your waist, his cologne seeping into the dress you borrowed. “Don’t let him see me..” you whispered. “I won’t let him do anything to you, y/n”. You let Hotch take the lead and guide you into the kitchen, out of harm's way. You didn’t realize you were quietly crying until you were standing against the cool tile wall, and Hotch brushed a tear away with his thumb. He went to leave, presumably to help arrest the man who was going to kill you. Before he could take another step, you grabbed his hand more forcefully than you thought you had the strength to. “Please, don’t leave me”. Hotch saw the pleading look in your eyes, and leaned into his phone, “take care of it, Morgan”. You let yourself quietly cry against the wall, facing Hotch. You were so incredibly embarrassed, this was all your fault. You should have realized who your stalker was immediately and squashed this whole problem by yourself. The fact that someone was being arrested right now because of you, made you sick. Sure, it was in order to keep you safe, but you still felt like a burden. The FBI shouldn’t be here. This shouldn’t have happened. 

Hotch couldn’t bring himself to just stand there and watch you fall apart, so he put his arms around you, gently squeezing you enough to make you feel present. You let yourself get your tears on his uniform, it was just something else to apologize for later. You almost collapsed, having all this mental weight pulling you down to the ground. Before you could fall, Hotch steadied you, pressing you against the wall in his hug to get you more grounded. The feeling of the cold tile against the back of your neck helped center you. Hotch let you go slowly, testing to see if you would stay standing without him. It tore him up inside seeing cases like these, and yours was no different. Now letting you stand on your own, the two of you held eye contact. “Y/n, you are safe. You never have to see him again. He cannot hurt you. He can’t hurt you anymore”. It was like he was saying it to the both of you as a mantra, getting you to feel okay and safe, and to bring him back to reality. He wanted to keep you safe, to open every door for you and stop traffic for you. Bring you coffee whenever you asked and even when you didn’t. He wanted you to understand how important you were, and how this was not your fault. He knew you blamed yourself, he could see it in your face and in your tears. 

You weren’t crying anymore, but you were exhausted. You wanted Hotch to just pick you up and take you home, take you anywhere but here. There was something in his demeanor that made you feel like a flower next to him. This big FBI agent, holding you up against the wall making sure you don’t fall over. You were almost killed tonight and all you could think about was just how strong Hotch was. Not to mention how good he smelled. He moved his grip from around your shoulders, down to around your waist. He pulled you into another deep embrace, this one feeling more personal. You had your arms around him but under his jacket, letting it fall around the two of you. You pulled away at the same time, and you muttered a small “thank you”. 

He towered over you, and he still had a concerned look in his eyes. You could tell he wanted to say something, so you nodded to try and get it out of him. “We both know you are safe now. That man is going back to the police station to be processed as the criminal he is..” he stopped, but you knew he wasn’t finished. You let him breath before continuing, “y/n, you live alone and today your life was threatened. You deserve to sleep somewhere tonight where you do not have to worry about a single thing”. He was right. You wanted to stay awake all night, knowing the moment you’d step back into your apartment you’d feel like you were in a cage. Your parents lived just outside the city, maybe you could have a police escort. But it was so late, and you hated the idea of waking up your parents just to baby you tonight. You knew exactly where you wanted to be, but how can you ask an FBI agent to extend his duties into watching over you through the night? All these thoughts raced through your mind in the second it took Hotch to open his mouth again, “I have an idea but the last thing I want is for you to feel pressured into saying yes, or scaring you off”. Now you were interested, the evening seemed to be playing out in your favour afterall. He continued, “y/n, the team and I are staying at the hotel downtown. I would be more than happy to pull some strings, and say we need an extra room for the night. We leave in the morning, but you’d be on a floor filled with FBI agents”. You accepted the offer maybe a little quickly, but thankfully he wasn’t put off with your enthusiasm. You leaned in again and held his suit collar, “thank you, Hotch. All I want is to feel safe tonight”. Looking up at him, a million thoughts crossed your mind all at once. You wanted to hire this man as your personal bodyguard. With the look you saw in his eye, he might even say yes. The next few moments were only seconds apart, but they felt like an eternity. Hotch placed his hands around your jaw, tilting your head up towards him. He looked at you with ocean’s in his eyes and whispered again like you were the only two in the entire building, “I can keep you safe, y/n”, before leaning in and giving you a kiss so grounding you swore he had you in the palm of his hand. 

“Guys, we’re good let’s head back - “ Morgan cut himself off when he saw Hotch removing his hands from you. Hotch cleared his throat, “y/n will be staying at the hotel with us tonight. I don’t think it would be wise for her to go back home alone”. You were hoping Morgan couldn’t see you holding on to Hotch’s forearm like your life depended on it. He got the idea, and the 3 of you left in the SUV back downtown. 

Once you entered the lobby, the team went up to their rooms as Hotch took you to the front desk. He enquired about getting an extra room just for you, and the manager handed you your key for the night. Slowly making your way up to the shared floor, you started to digest all the events that happened during your day. You almost got lost in your own brain, but Hotch pulled you back out when he placed his hand on the small of your back with confidence, leading you out into the hallway. You found your room, just a couple door’s down from where Hotch said he was. You were excited to be staying in a fancy hotel, even for just one night. As much as you wanted Hotch to come in with you, you knew he was technically still at work. But once again as if he could read your mind, Hotch was the one to open your door and see you inside safely. You took in your room. It was gorgeous with a king bed and a view for days. Putting your things down on the bed, you looked to Hotch, who seemed to be fidgeting slightly. He had been so confident in front of you all day, what was making him act like that?

“Is there anything else you need? I’d be happy to get anything-”, “thank you Hotch, really. But I have everything that I need right here in this room”. You gave him another soft smile, and you went to see him out. Your door was still closed, and Hotch was reaching to open it. He turned back around to you without realizing how close you were standing behind him. “If you change your mind, I’m just a couple doors down. I don’t sleep much, so it won’t be hard to get me”. You thought to yourself and spoke, “actually, I don’t sleep much either. I’ve had insomnia since I was a child”. 

“Really?” he asked you, returning a smirk. “Really”, you offered. You moved around him and leaned against the door, wanting to continue the conversation. Hotch took another guess at what you wanted, and he slowly pressed himself against your small frame, holding you in place. You let out a small sigh, showing him you didn’t mind at all. He took your waist in his hands for the second time that evening, and placed his lips against yours. He kissed you so softly and so gently, you thought you were going to float away. And his grip on you said he felt the same way. Digging his fingers harder into your waist asking permission to deepen the kiss, you granted him access. You opened your mouth to heat the moment, and Hotch was thrilled. He was pressing you into the door like he was afraid you’d otherwise fall through the floor. You were on your tiptoes kissing him and he wouldn’t let you feel any of your weight. You were completely pinned, and you loved it. You felt so secure between him and the door, knowing you were not going anywhere without him guiding you there first. He was protecting you with everything he could, never allowing you to go more than a split second without having his mouth on you. 

If the two of you couldn’t sleep, you wouldn’t mind being pinned all night long. Hotch was huge, towering over you from the moment you met. But he had the softest eyes you’d ever seen. He was kissing you like it was keeping you alive, and you wouldn’t be surprised if it was. You were gripping his shirt in your fists, seeing what he would allow you to do under his restrictions. He let you run your hands all over him, encouraging him to do the same to you. The two of you broke away at the same time for air. He looked down at you like you could break if he said the wrong thing. “If this is helping at all, I can stay longer if you need me-” you answered the lame question with a sloppy kiss on his neck, “Hotch, please stay with me”. With that, he gathered you in his arms and brought you to the bed.

_______________________

should i do a part 2?? 

[illogicalpunkwrites]

What Water Gave Me

Hello everyone! This one is...interesting. I dunno, have fun! Thank you for reading and please let me know if you would like to be tagged!

Pairings: Leonard McCoy x Kirk!Reader

Rating: M (18+)

Warning: Sex pollen, smut, ABO dynamics, cursing, angst

Words: 4.4K

Tags: @bloodangelballerina @theweepingvulcan91

None of you found out about it until it was too late. Visiting a new planet was always exciting, especially when it was far different from Earth. None of the biologists knew what would happen when the crew drank the water until the first person started showing symptoms. That first person was none other than

your brother and the captain, Jim Kirk. He started behaving erratically, nearly pushing over other people to make sure Carol wasn’t messed with. She started to sweat and you hurried over to pull them away from each other. While you and Jim used to rough house in your younger days, you weren’t used to him actually trying to fight you. He got a couple of hits in, some of them really hurting you before you were able to gather yourself.

“Jim!” You yelped as he swung at you again, ducking just in time. You swept your leg out from under him, sending him to the ground so some members of your security team could hurriedly incapacitate him.

“No! Let him go!” Carol sobbed.

“Get Jim to his quarters and lock him in using the override!” You barked. You made a hysterical Carol sit down in the Captain’s chair and wiped her forehead. She started squirming in the seat and you kept trying to ask her questions, but she only called for Jim. Calling him…alpha?

“Uhura, call Bones and tell him what’s going on. Tell the same thing to Science Division.” You didn’t hear a response and looked over the top of the chair. “Nyota?” She was fanning herself, looking at Spock whose knuckles were blanched white as he gripped the console. “Sulu, can you leave your station for a minute and get Spock to his quarters? He might try to fight you but he seems okay right now.” He was the right person to ask. With what information you gathered, anyone who had any sort of partner was susceptible to what was going on. Luckily, his was back on Earth.

“What do you think’s going on?”

“I’m not sure, I’ll get those two back to their quarters and call medbay-”

“Sciences to Bridge.” The console beeped in and you sighed.

“This is Commander Kirk, report.” You demanded, already overwhelmed with what little you had dealt with in such a short amount of time.

“We’ve tested some samples from the planet and found something interesting. The water contains some sort of hormone that-“

“Drives people insane?”

“It establishes A/B/O dynamics within the population.”

“What the hell does that mean?” You asked incredulously.

“Alpha, Beta, and Omega dynamics, Commander.” Spock explained, his voice strained as Sulu led him to the elevator.

“No don’t take him!” Nyota got up to head towards the elevator but you jumped over to grab the back of her dress. “No! Alpha!” The doors closed and you let her go to nearly paw at them. Her dress was soaked through with sweat and a puddle of…something was forming underneath her.

“Medbay to bridge!” Leonard’s voice came through, sounding frustrated and tired.

“Bones, it’s (Y/N)! What’s going on?”

“I’ve got people trying to kill me down here on one side of the room and people crying on the other.”

“Are they all couples?”

“Most of them, their partners came and found them. I don’t think they liked me being near ‘em”

“We need to get everyone affected in their quarters, apparently the water establishes A/B/O dynamics.”

“My god.” He groaned. Normally, you would’ve laughed but you were highly stressed.

“I’ll send a security team down there to help out. Kirk out.” You explained before switching over to the ship wide intercom. “This is Security Commander Kirk, I need all personnel that drank water from Ni-bu to go to their private quarters immediately. If you do not follow orders you will be forcibly moved by security. I repeat, leave your stations and return to your quarters immediately.” You ended the call and grabbed Nyota and Carol. You got into the elevator and pulled out your communicator. “Kirk to Sciences division, please tell me there’s a cure for this thing.”

“We’ll have to go to K-7 for that, good thing is we’re not the only ones that have dealt with this. There was another planet like the one we were at that The Pegasus had to deal with.”

“Alright, I’ll tell Chek-“ You stopped and shook your head, knowing how flirtatious the Russian was. “I’ll get back up there and set the coordinates.” Pulling your friends along was like pulling two feisty Chihuahuas: they kept pulling away from you, kept yelping for their alphas, and at one point Carol actually bit you. Once that chore was done, you sprinted back up to the bridge to put in the coordinates and called for Sulu.

“Hikaru, you alright?”

“A little scraped up but I’m fine. Security’s doing a good job down here, some of your workers are affected by it though.”

“You think you can stay down there and help them out? I’m working on getting Bridge settled down.”

“You got it, but you owe me big time.”

“Next round’s on me when we get to K-7.” You chuckled before calling out. “Alright Chekov, let’s-“

“ENGINEERING TO BRIGE!” Jaylah screeched and your blood left your body. You had nearly forgotten about engineering. A large section of them went to Ni-bu to help fix some of the infrastructure and technology.

“Jaylah, are you alright?”

“Everyone down here is going crazy! Security is here but there is not nearly enough of them! I need help!”

“Where’s Scotty?”

“He went to go find Lieutenant Mira!” You groaned and grabbed Chekov by the back of his shirt while some other people from security grabbed most of the bridge.

“I’ll be down there as soon as I can, keep doing what you’re doing!”

XXXXXX

Hours later, the whole situation was defused with everyone who was affected locked in their rooms. Those who didn’t seem affected, the Betas, roamed around the halls like dead men walking. Sanitation swept and mopped the halls where puddles of “slick” had been left. You dragged your feet and nearly your entire body ached by the amount of times you had either been rammed into, hit, or bit by your crew mates. You saw Sulu and you gave each other a congratulatory hug.

“You owe me so much more than a round of drinks. This is not in my job description.” He mumbled, making you laugh.

“Thank you so much.” While most of your team had been okay, it had dwindled down severely by the time engineering was wrangled off. Scotty surprised you with how wily he was, giving you a run for your money. Thankfully, Jaylah helped you out and you threw him into his office.

Sulu pulled away and looked up and down at you, you had some cuts here and there and were bruised up. While it wasn’t the worst your body had faced, you’d still seen better days.

“Go to Medbay, Kirk. Your job is done for now and I’m sure McCoy could see a friendly face.” You smiled weakly and made your way down. When you came to the door it didn’t slide open so you knocked instead.

“Who is it?”

“It’s me! Lemme in!” After a few beeps on the PADD, the door slid open and you hurried in before it locked back behind you. You saw Leonard at his desk with a bottle of whiskey. His shirt was torn in some places and you could see the beginnings of a black eye. “Well, Doc, you look like you had an eventful day.” He snorted in response and poured you a glass.

“Please tell me we’ll get to K-7 soon.”

“We should be there by tomorrow morning. Sulu’s gonna get some rest before so he can get us in. I think the plan is for medbay to come to us to give us the hypospray.” You explained and took a large gulp, feeling the burn go down your throat. Leonard looked at the bruise on your jaw and you shrugged.

“It was Jim, nothing I can’t handle.”

“And the bites?”

“Carol, Scotty, and some others I can’t even remember.”

“Scotty bit you?”

“I had him in a choke hold.” You couldn’t help but laugh. “The female Alphas gave me a run for my money.”

“I think I can add this to the list of reasons why I hate space.” He finished up his drink and went to go grab a med kit to sterilize the wounds. You’d have to wait a couple of days to get the scars removed.

“Because it makes people unbelievably horny?” He laughed at that one, making you smile. “I’m glad that it wasn’t a free for all though, people were focused on either their partners or the people they’ve had a crush on.”

“My god I don’t even want to imagine what it would’ve been like if it’d been a free for all.”

“But I’m surprised, Len. You struck me as an Alpha.” You joked.

“I thought you’d be an Alpha.” He retorted. “You’re the one the one that fights everything.”

“I do not! I only fight when it’s needed!”

“Which is why you’re in here so often.” You finished off the whiskey and held out your left arm where one of the bites was. “You need to be more careful.”

“Hey, I didn’t know Carol would bite me!” You replied with a smile.

“I wonder why though? No one tried to bite me.”

“I’m the hotter one of the Kirk siblings?”

“Okay, I’m with you there.”

“I have to say, I like you a little roughed up. You look like an action hero.” He chuckled and knelt on the ground in front of you, antiseptic in hand.

You felt something when he touched you, something stirring within you. You tried to shake it off but you couldn’t as it grew. As he cleaned your wounds you could feel your body temperature rising and you became incredibly uncomfortable. As you looked at him you could see him tense up with his brows furrowing even more than they usually did and his grip on you tightening. You started squirming in your seat, your inner thighs becoming coated with something as you looked at Leonard. Oh god, was that slick? Once he was done with all of the open wounds he put his kit to the side shakily. You realized, even in your foggy state, he was trying to maintain composure. Your slick dripped down to the floor, making it hard for both of you to ignore. Now you realized what you both were and why neither of you had experienced symptoms all day. He was an Alpha, and you were his Omega.

“Leonard.” You whispered, nearly whined. He looked back at you and then to the bruise on your jaw. He brought his fingers to it and pressed on it gently, making you wince.

“You’re burning up.” He stated softly, his breathing picking up and voice gravelly. “You need to leave.”

When he said that, everything in your system freaked out. You leapt on him from the chair, wrapping your arms around his neck and straddling him. He caught you with his fingers against your ribs.

“Leonard, please.” You started kissing his neck, making his fingertips dig into you. He smelled so good, like something homey and warm with a splash of whiskey,  and you couldn’t help but grind yourself against his hard cock. He let out a stuttered moan, his composure melting away as he felt your unbelievably wet pussy against him. “Alpha!” You cried softly.

That’s when it snapped away, Leonard picked you up and you wrapped your legs around him. He hurried over to his private office and you two fell onto his little cot, his lips smashing into yours. You moaned and arched your body into his, wanting as much contact as possible. His tongue slid into your mouth as you kicked your boots off and worked on his shirt.

“Off.” You whimpered. He sat back away from you and pulled down the zipper on your dress before sliding it off of you. You pulled his shirt off and pulled him back to you as he worked on the clasp of your bra.

“Such a pretty little ‘mega.” He slurred before laving his tongue down your bruised jaw, pain not even resonating with you at this point. He dropped your bra to the side, kissing and nipping down your neck and collarbone. His tongue circled around your nipple before sucking it into his mouth, kneading the other one with his hand. He was rougher than you thought he would be, teething at your pebbled nipple. You wondered if he was like this all the time. You rocked your hips up against him, wanting more than just that.

“Alpha, please!” You whined, making him chuckle. His hands drifted down the sides of your body to grip the elastic of your panties and pull them down your legs. He started pressing wet kisses down your stomach as his hands spread your legs to slot himself between them. You felt his breath against your pussy and you squirmed towards him, thighs enclosing around his head.

“God, you look-“ He didn’t even finish his sentence before burying his head in between your legs, his tongue circling your clit and tasting your slick. You arched your back and wove your fingers into his hair as an unruly moan escaped you. You felt your pussy growing even wetter and he groaned against you, the vibrations sending ripples through you. He sucked your clit into his mouth, flicking his tongue against it.

“Fuck! Alpha!” He looked up at you as you pulled his hair. “Please, need your cock, need your cock!”

You’d never begged like this before and you were sure you wouldn’t have if you weren’t in this state. He crawled back up your body and you pulled his head down to yours to kiss him, tasting yourself. Your hands shot down to his work pants and you palmed his straining cock, making him gasp into your mouth. You shakily undid the button and zipper before pulling them down and seeing his erection bob against his stomach. Your breathing got even heavier as he helped pull his pants off the rest of the way, his shoes thudding as they hit the ground. You leaned up to kiss and nip at his neck as you stroked his cock, trying to lead him to your pussy.

“Shit darlin’, Omega-“ He cut himself off with a grown and pulled your hand away, taking his cock in his hand and rubbing it against your pussy to coat it in slick. You needed more. You locked your legs around his waist and pulled him as close to you as you possibly could. “You ready, my Omega?”

“Please, Alpha.” You whispered as he kissed your forehead. Then you felt his cock enter you slowly, stretching you perfectly and making you keen against him. He breathed out loudly and slowly as he seated himself fully inside of you, your fingernails digging into his back. The both of you stayed just like that for a moment or two, foreheads against each other and breathing heavily. He leaned down to kiss you and you swore you had never felt so loved and protected. You started rocking your hips against his and he took the hint, rolling his hips back so that he was almost completely out of you before rutting back in. “Yes!”

“Feel so good, ‘mega” He slurred against you, starting a slow rhythm. But still you needed more. Your head lolled to the side, exposing your neck to him and he leaned down to suck your pulse point into his mouth. He started thrusting faster into you, hitting that spot inside of you that made you let out high pitched noises into his ear. His pubic bone rubbed against your clit deliciously and you knew you wouldn’t last much longer. You felt like you couldn’t even speak anymore as your pussy started tightening even more around him, making him quiver a little. He looked down at you and you brought your hands to his face and neck to caress him more as your body bounced with his thrusts.

“Close, Alpha.” You warned and he leaned down to kiss you. The coil in your lower belly tightened even more and one more perfectly angled thrust did you in, a puddle of slick soaking into the sheets as you felt tingling flood your body. You cried out into Leonard’s mouth as your entire body stiffened with the intensity of your orgasm. Leonard’s thrusts started becoming sloppy and his grip on your body tightened. As you rode your high, something in the back of your mind still wanted more.

“Cum inside me” His eyes widened before gripping your thighs to put your legs over his shoulder, leaning towards you so you were folded. You shrieked out and threw your head back at him suddenly being so unbelievably deep. His arms wrapped around you as you bit his tanned shoulder, making him gasp into your ear and his hips stuttered against yours. With one final deep thrust, you felt his hot cum coat your walls. You whimpered at your oversensitivity but finally felt satiated, almost complete in a way. His body went limp against yours but you didn’t loosen your grip, neither did he. Your fever went away and the slick seemed to have stopped, but you wanting him didn’t.

“Stay.”

XXXXXX

You knew it was early when you woke up, but you weren’t sure how much longer you had before you docked at K-7. You felt sore all over, sticky, and still beyond tired. However, your head was fairly clear and you weren’t feeling feverish. You looked behind you and saw Leonard still asleep with his arm around you. You felt your heart drop as you realized that the night before really did happen, it wasn’t some hormone ridden dream.

You’d always been attracted to Leonard, even if he was a bit neurotic (something you still adored about him). However, you wanted to respect Leonard as a friend, coworker, and best friend of Jim’s. You couldn’t imagine how Jim would feel if you and Leonard started dating. There was also always the dreaded what ifs. What if you two broke up? How would your friends and Jim deal with that? You were also in a high stakes job. What if you seriously got injured, or worse? What if he never even felt the same way?

Also, being completely overrun by foreign hormones was not how you want you two to get together anyway.

So, as you Kirks do, you decided to get out before more awkwardness could come or having to face the difficult consequences of your actions. Luckily, Leonard seemed to be a heavy sleeper but you could feel a fever beginning to creep on you again as his arm tried to tighten on you. You felt your heart ache as even the non-Omega part of you wanted to stay. But if you did, what happened wouldn’t be just between the two of you. Someone would walk in and know what had happened. You didn’t even bother putting on your underwear or shoes, just your red dress before unlocking the doors with his PADD and sneaking back to your quarters to lock yourself in. You were breathing harshly, the fever hitting you pretty hard, and you slid down your door to the ground.

“Computer, air conditioning at full capacity.” The fans whirred around you as you tried not to think of Leonard.

XXXXXX

Leonard woke up with a groan and stretched against his cot. He felt around his bed for you, but shot up when he didn’t find you. He looked around the room and saw that your underwear and boots were still in his room. He kind of wanted to laugh, thinking about how you probably bolted out of there. He thought you were probably embarrassed about the whole thing. A nagging part of his brain said it was probably because you regretted it entirely. He had always liked you, but for the sake of Jim he kept it more friendly and professional. Perhaps it was best to just forget about it. Better that than a repeat of another failed relationship.

“Dr. McCoy? This is Nurse Chapel from the K-7 research lab. We’re here to give you the hypospray.” He hurriedly put on his clothes and kicked your things under the cot before letting the nurse in.

XXXXXX

A couple of days later, you hurried to the bridge to return some reports of the events to Jim. You had avoided medbay like the plague and unbeknownst to you, a couple of friends took notice. As you handed the PADD to Jim, he looked at your healing jaw and cringed once again.

“I’m sorry.”

“I know, asshole, you say it every time you see me.” You chided playfully. He looked at the rest of the scars left on your body from the others and raised an eyebrow at you.

“You can probably get those taken care of, y’know?”

“I know, I just haven’t found the time with writing this shit up.” You replied and he chuckled, waving you away. You smoothed out your skirt and went to the elevator, but Sulu slid in before the doors closed.

“Oh hey! What’s up?”

“What’s up with you? You always get your scars fixed up and Uhura knows for a fact that you’ve had enough time.”

“Are you two gossiping behind my back?” You replied and he crossed his arms at his chest. “Maybe I want to keep the scars.”

“You want to keep scars in the shape of bite marks?” He replied flatly and you shrugged. The doors opened again and He grabbed your arm. “That’s it, I’m taking you to medbay.”

“No!” You panicked and pulled away from him.

“What in the world’s going on?” He asked incredulously, and you looked around. “Did something happen the day we went to Ni-bu?” You opened your mouth but quickly shut it.

“I’ll tell you what happened, just not here.”

“C’mon!” He pulled you into a nearby closet and locked the door behind him. You paced what little you could in the space and he sighed. “Would you just tell me?”

“I thought I was okay. I didn’t have any of the symptoms so I thought I was a Beta. After everything settled down I went to medbay like you told me to get my cuts cleaned up.” Sulu quickly put two and two together, especially after days of suspicion.

“You weren’t a Beta and neither was he.” You shook your head. “And, lemme guess, you left in the morning?”

“I didn’t know what else to do.” You nearly whispered. “I fucked up.”

“Yeah, you did. Kirk, you gotta fix this. You have to talk to him. You can’t avoid medbay forever.”

“I can try.”

“Kirk.”

“I know you’re right! I just don’t know what to do.” He wrapped an arm around you and you leaned into him.

“Just go in there.”

XXXXXX

Leonard was reading from his PADD in his quarters when he heard a knock on the door. He put it down on his bedside table before letting it open and saw you. His black eye was healing nicely, but he winced when he widened them in surprise.

“Uh, hey.” You started, already wanting to punch yourself.

“Hey.”

Fuck, this was awkward.

“Can I come in?” He stood to the side and you stepped in, the door closing behind you.

“If you’re here for your clothes and boots there under my cot in my office.”

Ouch.

“Thanks but that’s not why I’m here.” You stood there, trying to keep from fidgeting. “I wanted to talk about what happened, and before you say anything I know I shoulda stayed. I wanted to stay but-“ You broke off and sat down in his arm chair. You felt like if you kept standing then you’d pass out.

“But what? I’ve been wonderin’ why you didn’t stay, myself.” He said and you nodded.

“And I shouldn’t have done that to you.” You looked down at your clasped hands and tried to swallow the nervousness radiating in your body. “Leonard, I’ve always liked you. I’ve always been attracted to you.” You didn’t see the surprised look that crossed his face. “But I was always afraid of what would happen. I mean, you know me and Jim: we’re both terrified of relationships and I know that you’re wary of them after how things went in your marriage. I’ve always wanted to respect that.” You didn’t realize you had started to ramble. “And Jim is another thing! That ass is always so protective over me and you’re his best friend! That’s a conundrum just for him! Does he kick your ass or lock me in my cabin or both?! Not to mention we’re in space and it’s probably one of the most dangerous places ever!” You finally looked at him and saw him chuckling, hiding his face behind his hand. “Why the hell are you laughing? I’m pouring my heart out here!”

“Because you sound like me, dammit!” He smiled and you stared at him incredulously. “Go on, finish up. I gotta talk some time.” You shook your head at him and stood up.

“Fine, you want me to finish? I didn’t want to wake up and hear you talk about how it was a mistake because just thinking about that fucking kills me. I wanted it to happen, maybe not like that but I wanted…something like that to happen. There, I’m done.” You stood there and waited for him to say something, but he didn’t. “Well you said you had to talk.” You looked back up at him expectantly and his eyes had softened, he wasn’t smiling anymore.

“I didn’t know you felt that way and...as much as I didn’t think that this is the way things would happen, I don’t regret that it did. I’ve wanted to be with you for so long but everything’s complicated. But I wanna give it a shot because I can’t imagine not being with you.” Tears welled in your eyes at his confession and you threw yourself at him, taking in his warmth.

“I want to be with you, Len.” 

“As long as you promise you won’t run away again, darlin’.” You smiled up at him and kissed him softly.

“I promise…Alpha.” He stiffened against you and you laughed. He smiled and captured your lips in his, holding you tightly against him. “You think you could get rid of my scars first?” You squealed as he picked you up and you wrapped your legs around him.

You two would just have to deal with everything else later.