#they gave eve what she wanted only to rip if from her immediately like... hmm...

[dangerliesbeforeyou]

so..... they ‘killed eve’ by killing the woman who made her happy... yeh i’m .... i’m not feeling great about this...

[inkedtae]

golden gills ⇾ jjk. [M]

𝓅𝒶𝒾𝓇𝒾𝓃𝑔 ⇾ goldfish!hybrid jungkook x bratty!reader (f.)

𝑔𝑒𝓃𝓇𝑒 ⇾ e2l, smut with a sprinkle of fluff and a waterfall of filth 

𝓈𝓊𝓂𝓂𝒶𝓇𝓎 ⇾ Reader taunts Jungkook for being the new Teacher’s Assistant for her history class. She simply can’t stand a teacher’s pet. Jungkook can’t help but make her one. 

𝓌𝑜𝓇𝒹 𝒸𝑜𝓊𝓃𝓉 ⇾ 7k

𝓌𝒶𝓇𝓃𝒾𝓃𝑔𝓈 ⇾ a shit ton of flith, hate-love sex, office sex, super bratty reader, thigh riding, hair pulling, spit play, pube play, panty sniffing, a tad bit of edging, oral (f. receiving), dom!jk, unprotected sex (wrap it before you tap it), lots of spanking, overstimulation, multiple orgasms, pet names, a dash of puns here and there, lowkey crack, probs gonna need some (un)holy water.

𝒶𝓊𝓉𝒽𝑜𝓇'𝓈 𝓃𝑜𝓉𝑒 ⇾ extremely unedited. please do not leave hate towards me or any other readers. please do not copy, repost, or translate any of my work without my permission. currently on a kookie kick so get ready for some filthy (and occasionally fluffy) kookie content. if you have any request, please send them my way (i might consider another member). enjoy!

><> le playlist 

He strut into class, a little notebook clutched in his large hands. You couldn’t help but notice how his veins popped out. Was he flexing or was that just simply always the state of his hands. His sharp nails, tips tinged orange, dug into the leather binding of the notebook while he spoke with your professor. You glared at him from your seat at the front. He must’ve felt the heat of your gaze as he rubbed the nape of his, looking over at you. 

There, right there was the reason why you hate that man so much. That shit-eating smirk tugged on his pink lips, brownish-yellow eyes flickering between you and the professor. An annoyed sigh escaped you. He was too cocky for his own good. He may have radiated golden rays wherever he went. The yellowish-orange tint of his hair layered with strands of pink was undeniably eye-catching. You figured that if he was full fish and not just a hybrid, then that might be the colour of his scales. But, when that golden image was paired with his arrogant personality, you reminded yourself as your eyes bounced up and down his frame, he was insufferable.

Despite the golden hues of his species, Jungkook felt most comfortable in black. It was a trend you noticed immediately on him. His flowy, golden fin would stick out his shirt, lined along his spine, and tiny golden gills would rest in the hollows of his cheeks but he would only wear black. You hated how you knew that he only liked to wear loose fitted clothing because it looked great on him. It was all he wore so how could you not notice it, you tried to reason. That fact didn’t soothe your rage one bit, however, since it meant that you indirectly admitted to yourself that he always looked good. 

That man is dangerous, you thought to yourself before turning back to your notes. You didn’t have much to write just yet, but you weren’t going to waste your last moments before class staring at Jeon Jungkook. You opted for doodling, gently scratching your orange pen within the margins.

“How come whenever I walk in I always catch you staring?” He asked, sitting a couple of seats to your right. 

“Glaring,” you correct, not bothering to look up. 

He chuckles to himself, the breathy sound confusing your heart and stunting your rage for a minute. “You’re giving me your attention either way, hun,” he replied. “And I barely had to do a thing.”

You stopped mid-stroke, looking up at him with that same glare before your eyes scanned across the classroom. You noticed empty seats peppered between others who were lucky enough to enjoy some peace before the lesson began.  “There are other seats,” you muttered, turning back to your notebook. 

Jungkook leaned back in his chair, tossing his notebook down on the table with a light thud. “I like this one,” he sighed as he pulled out a black pen from his pants. “I can see everything from here, and everyone can see me.”

You furrowed your brows at his words. What a cocky little shit; always needing to be the center of attention. “You’re an idiot,” you hissed, making the mistake of looking up at him again. 

He met your annoyed gaze with a playful glint in his eyes. He had his tongue poking at his cheek, and a single brow raised as if asking if you truly meant that, as if warning you to try again. “Am I?” he challenged. “Or are you too busy concerned with me to realize how wrong that statement was?”

Your face scrunched with confusion as you tried your best to decipher his words.Why did he have to be so cryptic? Why couldn’t he just tell you what the hell he meant? Giving up, you were about to tell him how stupid he sounded when the professor began his lecture. 

He welcomed the class, introduced himself and went over the course syllabus before turning to look at Jungkook. “And, if you have any other questions, please feel free to contact me or my TA this semester, Jungkook.” He then gestured for Jungkook to stand. 

Fuck no. 

Your face fell as he rose from his seat. Before he could even catch a glimpse of your pure shock and devastation, you schooled your features and looked back towards your professor. It all began to click now, why he spoke with the professor before class and why he sat at the front. He even tried to warn you, in his own stupid, idiotic, cryptic way. Did you really insult your TA? He was going to be grading your work for the next four months. You wanted to believe Jungkook wasn’t a total asshole but with the way he taunted you with that look in his eyes before the lecture started gave you pause. 

Your face must’ve been revealing bits and pieces of your panic, despite your efforts, because you soon heard little breathy chuckles to your right. “Relax, hun. I won’t let it affect your final grade,” he whispered as the professor dived into his lecture. “This time.”

That little shit. 

You had written your essay two weeks prior to the due date, which is a lot coming from you since you’re more of a pull an all-nighter the night before kind of girl. You had researched thoroughly about the topic provided, giving your own analysis on the wars and political practises of the West. You even quoted Karl Marx a few times, and this little shit only just passed you? You had an average to maintain and you knew your paper was not merely worth a passing grade. You even had your best friend, Namjoon, read it over and approve of the analysis, citations and writing style. 

So the moment his office hours were available you made your way over. They were running during another one of your classes but fuck him if he thought you were going to let this slide. You weren’t sure what he was thinking but if this was all some power play, you were about to show him who the fuck was in charge. 

“Jeon, you motherfucker,” you huffed in a way of greeting as you walked into his office. 

Jungkook peeked up at you from his bowl, noodles hanging out of mouth. His eyes were a bit wider, cheeks puffed all too cutely as they were filled with food. He finished slurping his noodles as you shut the door. Though still completely furious, you couldn’t bring yourself to stop staring at his mouth. Something about those pouty, spice stained lips lit up your core and caused arousal to pool into your panties. 

You let out a shaky breath, seating yourself across his desk as he pushed his meal away, directing his full attention on you. He sat back in his seat, that stupid smirk over taking his features. 

“Yes?” He practically purred his response causing you to shift uncomfortably in your seat. 

You tossed your graded paper on his desk, eyes unforgivingly boring into his. “What the fuck is this?” You asked in a calmer voice, but the anger was still ponet in your tone. 

“You’re crappy paper I had the misfortune of reading,” he answered casually, like you just asked him about his day. 

The original fire in your eyes, you somehow were able to maintain since entering this office, dimmed into disappointment. Was it really that bad? But, you worked on it relentlessly. You had at least hoped it would pique his interest. Even Namjoon told you the approach you took was unique and well-thought out. For Jungkook to say it was a misfortune to read wasn’t just a shot at your grade but a blow to your intelligence, your pride. 

He must’ve noticed your change in demeanor as he sat up and sighed. He picked it up to look over it once again, but you ripped it out of his hand, crumpling it with, what you hated to recognize as, shame. “Don’t do me any favours, Jeon,” you all but warned through gritted teeth. “The grade speaks for itself. I can’t believe I thought someone as stupid as you would be able to understand something as layered and complex as this paper. The only thing crappy about any of this is the fact that I have a useless TA.”

Jungkook watched you with an unwavering gaze. “Watch your tone,” he grumbled, voice carrying more edge than those words ever did. 

You’ll admit, it stunted you for a moment, but the pain still lingered. You released the creased assignment on his desk lazily, treating it like the afterthought he believed it was. “Or what?” You taunted, tilting your head slightly. “You’ll fail me?” Your voice dipped in and out of feigned sadness, sarcasm dripping with every word. “You’ll go tell your precious professor? Hmm, little pet?”

Jungkook shifted in his seat, inhaling sharply from his nose before standing up. Even from across the desk, he towered over you. “Behave, (Y/N),” he warned, poking at his cheek with his tongue. 

His words meant nothing. You ignored the inner voice that reminded you that your behaviour was only getting this bad because his words actually meant more than you even wanted to acknowledge. 

“You’re just a useless pet, a stupid little goldfish trying so desperately to look tough in those all black clothes,” you pressed on, gesturing to his shirt that sat atop his chest and biceps all too well. He circled around the desk as you continued, “you can’t even get me to treat you with respect. Better yet, I bet you can’t even get me off. You’re that fucking useless.” 

How or why that sexual sentence slipped in was beyond you. You didn’t really have much time to think about anything, your mouth running on its own and leaving your mind to catch up. All you could see is him, him and those orange hues that lit around his muscular frame like a halo. You noticed him avoiding your gaze and you couldn’t help the teasing giggle that left your lips. 

A brow quirked up as he looked at you through his lashes. You only just realized that they were tipped with bits of gold. “There’s nothing you can do,” you said, standing up for the sole purpose of leaning in and whispering, “little pet.”

Those two words triggered something dark inside him. He groaned out, in frustration or excitement - you weren’t sure, and crashed his lips into yours. You wished you could say you resisted at first, but you were melting into his touch immediately. All logic left you and the only thing you can recall from that moment was another rush of lust and desire soaking your panties. You knew you lost your better judgement when you shamelessly moaned into the kiss at the fact that his lips tasted like freshwater and whatever flavour of spicy noodles he was previously eating.  

A rough hand tangled in your hair, tugging on it to pull you off his lips. You whined at the lost contact, surprising even yourself. You only caught a glimpse of his hooded eyes before he latched his lips onto your neck, setting fire to every inch of skin his mouth graced. Those eyes of his held a degree of rage and lusty fury all while little flicks of orange and gold swam within them. Had they always been like that? You never really got time to think about it before Jungkook bit at your flesh, unforgivingly nibbling and tugging only to slobber sweet kisses to soothe the sting. 

Your hands clutched onto his shirt, desperate to recompose even an ounce of your dignity. As if he knew what you were up to, his chuckled, warm breath fanning your skin, prickling you all over with goosebumps. Your thighs pressed together tightly at the sensation, and you were thankful you opted for a skirt rather than jeans this morning, knowing very well that there would’ve been a wet stain near your crotch. 

Jungkook inhaled deeply, parting from your neck to lick the shell of your ear. “You always smell so fucking sexy when you’re horny for me,” he raved. 

“I’m never horny for you,” your pride answered all too quickly. You wanted to add that he was mediocre at best right now, no matter how big of a lie that was too, but couldn’t find the courage after he bit harshly on your collar bone then lapped his tongue over the sting. 

“Don’t lie, pet,” he warned, smugly throwing your word back at you. 

“I’m not your pe- shit!” You gasped when his lips landed on the shallow hollow of your collar bone. You tugged on his shirt once more, tilting your head back as he began to attack it. His kisses were absolutely sinful and you found yourself wanting them all over you as you rolled your hips into his.

Once he was satisfied with the dark mark he left, he slightly pulled back. He opted for moving you around by the grip he had on your hair. It earned him little blissful whines from you that he couldn’t help but laugh at. He yanked your body closer to his chest, your hands now resting on his shoulders as you somehow positioned your crotch over one of his thighs and quickly, shamelessly moved against it. Your actions surprised you as well; you didn’t realize you were this hot for him.

“What were you saying before, my precious pet?” He teased, hovering his pouty lips over yours. His free hand rested upon your ass, gripping and kneading the flesh like he was coaxing the answer out of you. 

You bit your lip in denial of making a single sound. The notion wasn’t lost on him and he used his grip on your ass to halt your movements on his thigh. While you struggled to defy his silent orders, he held your body flush against his, keeping your clothed pussy trapped over his thigh with a single hand. You could feel his semi-hard against your lower belly as he smirked down at you. Had you not been in his grasp or too stubborn, you would’ve smacked that smirk off… with your lips. 

Jungkook yanked at your hair so that you were looking up at him with lips slightly parted and eyes undoubtedly desperate. That was the thing with your eyes; you could never hide your true feelings from them. 

His hot breath fanned over your chin as he muttered, “What happened to those cute little sounds, pet?” It took the last ounce of self control left in you to not to moan at his words. He continued to stare at you for a moment, admiring how, though you’re trying so hard not to show it, needy you were. 

“Open your mouth, baby,” he cooed. 

His voice was gentle enough for you to immediately comply. You parted your lips, looking up at him innocently. Though you knew what was coming next, your pussy clenching around nothing out of mere excitement, you did not pull away. In fact, you stuck your tongue out as he hovered his lips over yours and spat a stringy dollop of saliva into your mouth. It didn’t taste fishy at all, but simply, what you recognized as, him. You gazed into his eyes with lust-charged hate as you swallowed it without a second though. 

He smiled, satisfied, and released your hair to let his hand slide down to your other asscheeks, moving both hands under your skirt now. A little hiss left him as he felt your wetness reach the back of your panties too. “You really are this horny for me, aren’t you, baby?” He questioned as he guided your clothed pusssy against his thigh once more. 

“N-none of this is for you,” you stuttered. You tried to sound annoyed but the little moan in your tone hinted otherwise. 

He nudged his nose on yours, mannerisms shockingly softer than his grips on your ass. “Want another?” He raised a brow. 

When you remained silent, not wanting to admit that you most definitely wanted another wad of his spit in your mouth, he laughed. The corner of his wondrous eyes crinkled and he threw his head back, laughing at your silence. When his gaze met yours again, he bit his lip to subside the rest of his laughter, taking note of your furrowed brows and pouty lips. 

Jungkook seemed to like the challenges you were offering. He slightly tilted his head, eyes suddenly seeming unreadable. It wasn’t like you were paying much attention to his logic anyway, yours long gone by now. No, you were focused on the pleasure, the built up arousal twisting in your lower belly just desperate to be released. You knew your pussy wasn’t usually that sensitive, sometimes finding that you needed to tug on your skin to really get yourself off. But, holy fuck- 

“Jungkook!” You whined all too loudly as he flexed his thigh beneath you. 

“Hmm,” he hummed, tone reaching dangerously cocky levels. You loved it. 

Meek moans and whines poured out of your lips, like his name was the damn that held them back. Your grip on his shirt was sure to leave creases now, as you looked up at him, holding his gaze while you got yourself. You were passed pride now, ready to admit to yourself that you wanted to stare into those golden-brown eyes because, fuck, the simple sight was enough to make you cum.

Jungkook knew it. He knew you were close and squeezed your ass to let you know that. “Does my pretty pet wanna cum?” He lazily asked. The indifference in his tone was strangely enough to make you a slut for him; as if you weren’t already. 

You couldn’t give him the satisfaction, however. You were far too stubborn for that. Breaking your gaze, you threw your head back and shut your eyes. The pleasure was all you wanted to focus on as you got so fucking clo-

“No!” The cry tore from your throat, breaking as it fell from your lips. He took advantage of the grip he had on your ass once more, trapping your pussy on his flexed, muscular thigh. 

“Open,” he ordered.

You glared at him, sticking your tongue out with a huff. He spat another wad in your mouth, smacking your ass as you swallowed. The force jolted your body closer against his, now completely flush against his chest. Fuck, that chest. So strong and firm. You ran your hands up and down his pecs as he spoke. 

“You close your eyes again, and I’ll have you on your knees,” he threatened. You moaned at his words, earned a quirk of his brow. “Fuck, baby, you’re such a slut for me.” 

“When are you going to tell off that shirt?” You asked, the helplessness in your voice surprising you.

“When you ask nicely,” he teased, bringing his hand back down on your ass.

You leaned back just enough to tug on the hem of the loose shirt. He looked at you expectedly, actually believing you’d ask. A smirk found its way on your lips as your hands snuck beneath the cotton to rub up and down his skin. His breath hitched a bit at the contact, making you silently giggle to yourself. It was nice to know you weren’t the only one coming undone to soft touches. 

He kept your hips locked in place, but began to move his thigh under you. You gasped feeling the pleasure build itself back up in your lower belly. Digging your nails gently into his skin, you scratched at his nipples. It seemed you were both rewarding the other for a tease well done as he returned the blissful gesture by quickening the pace of his thigh. 

“J-Jungkook,” you whined, slowly bringing his shirt up higher and higher. His hands left your ass long enough for you to pull his shirt off and you took it as a sign to also be allowed to move again.

Giddy giggles left you as you got what you wanted and more, and you barely had to play nice at all. He was too consumed with getting you off to care, or so you thought. His hands came down on your ass with a force your pussy couldn’t ignore and you were sent into your first orgasm of the hour. 

Jungkook chuckled to himself, watching your jaw clench as high-pitched squeals escaped you and your pussy released all over his pants. The wet mess emitted filthy, slouchy sounds, further imprinting the fabric and filling the space between you two wonderfully. You held his gaze all the same, riding out your high as your nails dug into his pecs. He hissed at the sensation but did nothing to stop it. 

Your rapid rolls over his thigh stuttered against the friction, the pleasure starting to become too much for you. You halted your movement and quivered the last bits of our orgasm out. He peppered your face with little kisses all throughout, and you let him, whimpering for more. 

Jungkook pulled back at your sounds just to flash you a smug smile. He helped you off him, standing you up again. You bit your lip to keep from whining at the loss of contact. Though you did get your release, you were hoping for more. Your eyes, too obviously, flickered between his abs and the bulge in his pants. 

“If you want more, little pet, you’re going to have to strip for me,” he informed you. Jungkook held your fucked out gaze as he swiped a finger over the drenched spot of his pants to scoop up some of your release. You swallowed thickly at the action, watching as he sucked your cum off his finger. 

“You’re going to have to ask nicely,” you all but whine as his adam’s apple bobbed. 

His once playful teasing eyes seemed to be getting annoyed. The softness within them switched into something a bit darker. He was done with playing, and it only made you want to play with him even more. 

“I’m waitin- ah,” you gasped as he ripped the buttons off your thin, tight sweater off, exposing that yellow bra of yours that cupped your tits all too well. 

Jungkook towered his slender frame over you. “I don’t have to do anything,” he whispered, hovering his lips over yours. “Strip, little pet.”

You pulled your sweater off. A part of you wanted to reach up and just kiss him again. He was so close you could feel his breath against your parted lips. But, you knew better than to fully challenge that dangerous look in his eye. Your skirt was pushed down next, but you kept your panties on, slightly too embarrassed by the fact that they were sticking to your pussy. Reaching back behind you, you fumbled to unclasp your bra. Jungkook remained silent as he reached a single hand back there and undid it easily. 

You thought it must have regained his composure, the thought slightly pissing you off since you were becoming more and more of a mess by the second. But, the moment your bra fell, he attacked your breasts, burying his face between them. His lips latched onto one of your nipples, tonguing, biting, sucking away at it. One of his hands rested on your hip to keep you steady, while his other gripped at your other tit, massaging the fuck out of it. 

Your hands were lost somewhere in his orange-yellow hair, tugging at the long strands. You moaned his name repeatedly. Shameless and horny, you were loving his attention. “Oh, god, just fuck me,” you sighed. 

He hummed against your nipple. “In a minute, babe,” he muttered between alternating tits, now latching his lips onto your other nipple. 

From his slightly bent over position, you could see his fin lined along his spine. You wondered how it looked in the water, if it flowed within the waves like it did out of them. A hand reached over, gently grazing the ripped, but soft fin with the tips of your fingers. He shuddered against your touch, rolling his shoulders back but didn’t stop his tongue’s attack on your tits. 

You whimpered against him, lightly scratching his scalp with one hand and rubbed up his fin with the other. “Jungkook,” you breathed. You were desperate, needy and in total need of another orgasm. And that was what you kept telling yourself as you stuttered, “p-please, kookie.”

Jungkook froze, mid-suck and looked up at you slowly. “My, my,” he smirked, abandoning your tits and straightening up to his full height once again. Your hand on his fin slid up to his shoulder once more, an action that disappointed him too, his eyes flashing something too needy to be masked by his cocky demeanor. “Begging already, baby?”

You pressed your thighs together, granting yourself the smidgen of friction he was hell-bent on denying you. “That was barely a beg,” you scoffed. 

He shook his head at your words. “Shall we change that?” He lifted your hips before you could even respond and placed you on his desk. You were surprised he could lift you being that you were a grown ass woman and all. 

He spread your legs, groaning quietly to himself at the sight of your cum slick thighs and sticky panties clinging to your folds. Placing a hand to his forehead, he lowered his head and took a deep breath. 

You hated the sudden fear and panic of insecurity that shot through you. However, you couldn’t help but weakly ask, “s-something the matter?”

He nodded, meeting your gaze once more. “Yeah,” he sighed. You felt your heart drop, ready to close your legs when he continued, “those ruined panties haven’t come off yet.” A sigh of relief left you, your momentary panic bringing down all your walls with it as a blush tinted your cheeks. 

Jungkook must’ve liked that sight too because he was proudly smiling to himself. “Let me help you with that, little pet.” He dipped his head between your legs, lapping up the cum that stained your inner thighs too, not too bothered by the slight discolouration of them. 

Your legs were already trembling at the warmth of his mouth. He hooked his arms under both your legs, pulling your pussy closer to his face. Nudging his nose against your clothed clit, he inhaled your sinful scent. “God, this must be a fucking dream,” he muttered more to himself than to you in particular. “You smell even sexier when you fucking cum, babygirl.”

A whimper trickled out of your lips at his words as you gripped onto the edge of the desk. Little did you know that was merely the start of his filth. His mouth engulfed your clothed pussy in a single motion, licking and sucking the cum out of your panties. The hungry groans he made against your heat were boarderline pronographic. You were living for them, rolling your hips into his face relentlessly chasing after your next high. 

Jungkook tsked against your panties as if warning you to behave again, then sunk his teeth into them, catching a bit of your folds too. You cried out his name, your nails scratching at the dark wood beneath you. He watched you intently as he pulled those ruined panties off. You lifted your ass for him a bit and brought your legs together as he leaned back. 

He stood over you once they were off, the piece of clothing still locked in his jaw. Taking them out, he sniffed at them again. You pressed your thighs together once more, mesmerized by the sight before you. “Beautiful,” he rasped. Then he stuffed the wet, balled up panties in his pocket. “Mine now,” he explained, noticing the shock in your eyes. “Just like this pussy.” 

Grabbing your ankles, he pulled you closer to the edge of the desk and spread your legs apart once more. A little blush crept up his neck as the mess before him. He moaned to himself, getting on his knees. You never knew you needed to see a shirtless Jungkook on his knees before. He looked heavenly but his tongue was hellish, licking a clean strip up your folds. You threw your head back as he sucked on your clit. 

“Kookie,” you whimpered, having a lazy hand get lost in his hair again. You weren’t sure how or why you fell into that nickname, but you did and you weren’t planning on stopping. 

He hummed up at you, also accepting the nickname like you’ve been calling him that forever. His tongue swirled around your entrance, teasing - always fucking teasing you. He’d poke the tip of his tongue in only to watch you shudder and immediately clench your walls. His mouth traveled a bit higher halfway through another assault on your clit. 

“Can’t help it,” he muttered before licking at the short hairs a top your pussy. You blushed deeply at his actions. You had hoped he didn’t notice, but now seeing him practically lose himself over it, you felt a bit of pride swell in your chest. 

Jungkook bit at the flesh, tugging the hair with him as he pulled back. He spat on your pubes just to lick it up against the hair again. You gasped, looking down at his filthy actions with pure lust in your eyes. He repeated this action a couple of times, noting how excited it made you then returned to the wetness between your folds. 

“That really turned you on, huh baby?” He questioned watching as more of your wetness pooled out of your entrance. Diving right back in, he lapped up all the new arousal repeating the same flicks of his tongue over and over again. You couldn’t really grasp what the pattern was at first, but then it hit you all at once, forcing you to cry out in approval. He was licking his name against your entrance in Korean and English, poking his tongue into you with the dots of his js. 

“M-marking your territory?” you questioned, trying to sound as confident and composed as he did but your moans kept getting in the way. 

“I’d be drowning in it too if I wasn’t part fish,” he chuckled, fanning his warm breath against you. “Why don’t you prove me wrong, little pet?” His tone hinted that it was more of a suggestion rather than a challenge. “Cum for me.”

You were up for it either way, rolling your hips into his face. Nothing felt as sexy as when the little gills in the hollows of his cheeks brushed up against your inner thighs, slightly quivering at the contact. That unexpected sensation and the way Jungkook began to devour your pussy was enough to shock you into your second orgasm. 

“Oh, fuck yes,” you cried out, moans tumbling out of you endlessly. Your eyes rolled back, head falling back with them as you quivered against his face. “Yes, yes, yes, yes,” you squealed as you rode your release to the end. 

Jungkook flattened his tongue, letting you get yourself off on him. Once he was sure you finished spasming on his tongue, noting how your thighs started to squeeze his face as they came together, he flicked his tongue back into action. He lapped up your cum, swallowing every ounce of what you’d given him. 

Sensitive and gasping for air, you attempted to weakly push his face off of you. It was an impossible task. He was too strong and too consumed with the task at hand, slurping your juices, unfazed and unbothered. 

“Kookie… I… fuck,” you squealed, closing your legs around his face. He was practically suffocating against your pussy as he drank you up.

He suddenly, and very easily, pushed your legs apart as if you hadn’t just been using all your strength to close them. He got up, face glistening with a mixture of his saliva and your cum. He looked like a fucking goldfish god with his hair all tossel from your grip and face all smeared of your cunt. You wanted to clean it all up for him, but he wouldn’t give you a chance yet. 

His thumbs slid into his waistband about to push his pants down when he caught a glimpse of you. You were looking all fucked out, trembling from the remnants of your last orgasm, legs curled up into your chest. “You’re gonna make me lose my mind,” he whispered, all hints of playfulness and teasing threats gone from his tone. He almost sounded sincere, almost sounded like he actually meant all those things he said, like it wasn’t all just words thrown in the heat of the moment. 

You were panting quietly, not exactly sure what to say to that. You felt like you were saved by the exposure of his cock (on many levels) and pushed all thoughts away until you were back to your normal, rational state of mind. 

His cock was huge, veiny, and leaking precum, desperate for some contact. You shakily slid off the desk, fully prepared to get on your knees for him and give his heavenly cock the attention it deserved. But Jungkook tsked at you, nodding his head back to the desk. 

“Back on the desk, babygirl,” he grunted as he began to pump himself using the precum collected on his pink tip. 

You leaned against the edge of the desk for some stability, swallowing thickly at the sight of his veiny hand around his veiny cock. Licking your lips, you met his gaze shyly as if silently asking him to reconsider. 

Jungkook smirked, slightly buckling his hips into his hand. He gave himself a couple more pumps then set his hands on your hips to lift you back up on the desk again. “Be a good girl and I might consider letting you wrap that pretty mouth of yours around my cock next time,” he promised with a smile all too sweet for you to challenge. 

“Next time?” You meekly questioned. 

He positioned himself between your legs, that giddy smile still etched on his lips. He slapped his cock against your wet pussy a couple of times, making you whimper his name, before replying, “just behave, little pet, and you can have my cock down your throat anytime you want.” He then, without much further warning, sunk his cock into your entrance, hissing at the tightness. 

“J-Jungkook,” you sighed, only now just realizing how fucking badly you really needed him to fill you up. Tears pricked your eyes at the pure blissful sensation of his cock stretching you out so fucking good. 

Noticing your tears, he halted all movement. “Am I hurting you?” He asked, concern laced in his tone.

You shook your head immediately, all but begging, “keep going, please. Fuck, please kookie.” 

He let out a sigh of relief and continued to sink into you until he bottomed out. You gasped, holding his gaze while your nails dug into his shoulders. He flashed you a golden smile before pulling out and ramming back into you at a sinful pace. 

 “S-so b-ig,” you choked out between harsh thrusts. 

His face was contoured with pleasure, nose scrunched and brows furrowed in too cute of a way that you would’ve never even guessed he liked it this rough. “Ah-yah,” he gasped, overtaken by the clench of your cunt’s walls. “Tightest cunt I’ve had.”

You wrapped your legs around his waist, pulling him closer. He complied with little complaints and you leaned your forehead against his. Noses brushing, breath exchanging, Jungkook fucked you into the desk with such force, he jolted it back a bit with each thrust. You tilted your head enough to kiss his gills and whine against them. A smile graced his lips at the contact and he tightened his grip on your hips, his fingers digging into your soft flesh. You peppered each gill with kitten licks, then soft kisses despite how rough he was fucking you. 

Your arms moved around his back, practically hugging him. Shaky hands found his fin again and tightly gripped onto it. He buried his face in your hair, evading his senses with the floral scent of your hair, and groaned out little praises in your ear. You bit at his shoulder, subsiding your moans into his skin. You knew you weren’t exactly behaving, leaving little marks on his shoulder, but you also knew Jungkook was too engrossed with how your cunt gripped on his cock to care too much. 

All rough kisses and bites  on his shoulder came to a crashing halt, however, when he hit that spot deep within you. “Jungkook!” You shreeched, throwing your head back. He hit it again and again. Each time he hit it harder and rougher, coaxing you closer and closer to your release. 

You rested your forehead against his again, wanting to stare into his eyes when you came all over his cock this time. “There, there,” you encouraged, moving your hips up to meet his. The entire room returned the quick slaps of skin on skin in faint echoes, reminding you just how filthy this was. 

“Your close, aren’t you, little pet?” Jungkook asked as your cunt tightened around him. “Wanna cum, babygirl?”

You nodded your head eagerly, toes curling as that knot in your lower abdomen twisted in ways you weren’t completely familiar with. 

“Beg.”

“W-what?”

He chuckled and smacked your ass. You gasped, gawking at him in disbelief. “Beg.” he ordered. “I won’t repeat myself again.”

You squealed in frustration. “P-please Jungkook,” you started. “Your cock is so big… just wanna cum all over it. I- ah, I need to cum. Please, just please let me cum, kookie. Please!” 

“Cream on this cock, babygirl,” he growled in approval. 

You unraveled all you had to give him, cumming on his cock as he continued to ram into you in an unforgiving pace. You held his gaze all the while, shrieking moans and trembling whines escaping you. Your eyes slightly rolled back, mouth hung open as you tried your best to maintain eye contact. 

“Ah, fuck! You- you’re so fucking sexy when you cum, baby.” He gasped, thrusts getting sloppier. 

Though you were being overstimulated once again and felt the blissful burning of your after-high start to creep up on you, you still talked Jungkook into his orgasm. “Please fill me up, kookie,” you started, but never really got to finish as that was all it took for him to release ropes of white within you. 

You ground your hips into his as he buried himself deep in you. His brows knitted together, eyes just as needy as yours, cumming deep inside you. You knew he was cumming a lot just from how full you felt, but his cock was so huge, fitting your cunt just right, that it plugged all his cum in you, no remove for leaks. 

You circled your hips into his as he gasped for air, panting his hot breath over your face. “You’re so handsome when you cum,” you whispered, filter completely gone by now. 

Jungkook huffed a little smirk. He nudged his nose against yours before placing a gentle kiss against your lips. It was all over, the heat of the moment, the need for a release. Still, you kissed him back like it was a normal pastime. His tongue played with yours and you let him. It was like you two already had a routine of rough sex and intimate aftercare. And, shockingly enough, you didn’t find that off-putting at all. In fact, you realized you could actually get used to this, used to him like this. 

He pulled away, gasping once again. You joined him this time, slowly untangling yourself from him. You hadn’t even felt him soften inside you, practically just as big as when he was hard. You both gazed down at his cock, watching as he pulled it out to find it coated in a mixture of your cum, completely creamed. The cum plugged within your cunt came pouring out in thick glopes all over your graded paper. 

“Shit,” you whispered, watching your paper being ruined. “Now, that’s never going to the professor,” you huffed, looking up at him again. 

He bit his lip and scratched the back of his neck. “About that,” he began. “That’s actually not your real grade.”

A mixture of confusion and rage clouded your once sex-blown gaze. “What?”

“I may have given you another copy of your paper with a crappy grade just to get under your skin,” he confessed. He rested his hands on your thighs, rubbing them gently as if trying to calm you down. 

It worked. 

You raised a brow up at him. “Were you trying to get me naked?” 

Jungkook blushed, softly chuckling. “That was just as wonderful a surprise to me as it was to you.”

You held his gaze for a moment, finding comfort in the silence and his cute smile. “It was wonderful,” you muttered. 

“No one has touched my fin or gills like that,” he suddenly said, a blush tinting the tips of his ears. 

“Like this?” You asked as you leaned in to stroke his fin and kiss his gills once more. 

His hands found their place on your bruised hips and he hummed, “mhm,” before peppering your neck with sloppy kisses again. “Now get that pretty ass of yours off my desk.” He lifted you up only for you to wrap your legs around his waist. He laughed at your childish antics, holding you up by a newfound grip on your ass. “Come on, (Y/N),” he chuckled. 

You pulled back only a bit with a pouty smile playing on your lips. “Make me,” you whined. 

Jungkook smirked. “As you wish, little pet.”

[fanfics4all]

The Northside Serpent: Part 7

Request: Yes / no

Don’t be shy, request things! <3 Have a nice day/night (Request are closed)

Sweet Pea x Keller!Reader

Word count: 3205

Warnings:  Nothing  

Y/N: Your Name

Y/N/N: Your Nickname

Summary: You’re Kevin Keller’s little sister when you’re mom left to go to war and your dad started cheating (I’m making it so he’s been cheating since season 1) You started rebelling; dying your hair, getting a nose piercing, tattoo, and hanging out on the southside.

A/N: It’s here! Finally, sorry it took so long! I just keep getting sick :(

If you want to be on the tag list for anything (My series fics, specific character fics, or just all of them) All you have to do is send me an ask and I will add you!

Masterlist

Christmas had past and the Black Hood had been caught and everything seemed to be great! My dad wasn’t working too late anymore so he was spending his free time with Kevin and I but also with Mrs. McCoy. I wasn’t saying anything to him, just silently judging him for being so stupid. Break was over and it was time to go back to school I texted Sweet Pea a good morning like I always did now and began getting dressed. I put on an off the shoulder skull sweater, ripped skinny jeans, converse, and a beanie. I straightened my hair and then put on some makeup; I did a black smokey eye with some lashes and a dark red lip just to give my outfit some color.

I walked downstairs and saw Kevin sitting at the table eating some eggs and toast and my dad was at the counter cooking. I sat down since it was still early and smiled at Kevin.

“Morning!” I said and my dad turned around.

“Morning, you seem to be in a good mood today.” He said turning back to cooking.

“Well, it was a great break.” I said with a shrug. Dad placed a plate in front of me and I dug in.

“Any reason in particular it was a good break?” He asked sitting down with his own plate.

“Just spending time with friends.” I said with a smile.

“Your Southside friends?” He said with a raise of his brow. I sighed and nodded.

“Can we please not do this?” I asked.

“Fine, we’ll talk about it later.” He said sipping his coffee. I got up and placed my plate in the sink and so did Kevin.

“Have a nice day at school!” Our dad called out as we left.

We were at school and Kev and I were talking to Betty when Archie and Veronica walked in making out pretty much. We smiled at them as they joined us.

“Students of Riverdale High, this is your principal speaking. E-mails have been sent to your parents, but effective immediately, Southside High School is shut down.” Principal Weatherbee said and everyone in the room gasped.

“And its students will be transferred to other schools in the district, including this one.” He said and everyone started talking.

“Okay, guys, let's not overreact.” Veronica said loudly and I looked at her suspiciously. Since when does Veronica care about the Southside? Weatherbee continued but I stopped listening. Some Southsiders are coming here! My friends could be coming here!

“Wait, what does that What does that mean?”

“It means Jughead’s coming back…” Betty said.

“Betty are you ready for that?” Kevin asked.

“Of course… We’re fine…” She said sounding slightly unsure. Kevin gave her a knowing look.

“But why is this happening now?” Archie asked.

“Who knows. It's probably some bizarre, Byzantine town ordinance we couldn't possibly understand. And in the meantime, let's receive these exiles as if they were our own flesh and blood. Who's in? Hmm?” Veronica said happily. I looked at her and everyone confused.

“Y/N’s friends with the Southside, maybe she could help.” Betty suggested with a smiled.  

“Yeah Y/N/N! You’d be a big help!” Veronica said with a smile.

“Uh, yeah, sure…” I said with as much of a smile as I could. Something wasn’t right…

After school, Kevin and I went home and our dad wasn’t home yet so we did our homework and got dinner ready. Just as we were finishing our dad walked in.

“Well, something smells good!” He said with a smile on his face.

“Y/N wanted to make dinner.”

“Ah, trying to butter me up so I won’t tell you to stay away from the Serpents that’ll be going to your school?” He asked as he sat down. I placed the plates of food down and simply smiled.

“Dad I’ll look out for her.”

“I know you will son.”

“I can take care of myself ya know.” I said rolling my eyes and sat down.

“Your judgment is clouded, so no you can’t.” Dad said.

“They’re not bad people!” I said annoyed.

“They’re school was closed down because of drugs and gang activity…” He pointed out.

“Whatever, I’m not getting into this.” I said and popped some mashed potatoes in my mouth. Kevin changed the subject and we had a relatively pleasant dinner. Kev and I placed the dishes in the skin and went up to bed.

The next day I woke up extra early to get dressed since I was going to be seeing my Southside friends today and show them around. I wanted to dress a bit sexier since Sweet Pea was gonna be there. I put on a lace bralette, a plaid skirt, a pair of black heels with spikes on the back and my leather jacket. For makeup, I did a gray and silver eyeshadow with winged liner and a sexy red lip. I cured my hair just a small bit so it was a little wavy and smiled at myself in the mirror.

I walked downstairs and Kevin was the only one down there (Thank God). He looked at me when he heard me enter the kitchen and his eyes popped out of his head.

“What are you wearing!?” He shrieked.

“Shut up! Keep your voice down, I don’t need dad waking up to see me like this!” I whisper-yelled at him. I walked to the counter and made my tea.

“You can not go to school like that!” I rolled my eyes and faced him.

“Kev, I’m not changing so either you can drive me to school or I can walk.” I said making my way to the door. He grabbed his bag and then me and dragged me to the car. We got in and the ride was silent until we got there. I got out and before I could walk into school my brother stopped me.

“Why are you dressed like this?” He asked.

“Because Kev, my boyfriend is coming here today and I want to make a good impression.” I answered with a smile.

“Your boyfriend!?” He asked, eye wide. I forgot I haven’t told him yet…

“Surprise?” I said with a shrug.

“You’re dating Sweet Pea now!? Since when?” He asked slightly freaking out.

“Since Christmas eve…” I answered looking at the ground.

“Are you crazy!? If dad finds out your dead!” He said and I rolled my eyes.

“Which is why he won’t find out and you won’t tell him.” I said looking him in the eyes.

“Please Kevin?” I begged, giving him my best puppy dog eyes.

“Fine…” He sighed giving in and I smiled.

“You’re the best big brother in the world you know that?” I said kissing his cheek. We walked into school and saw Veronica and Archie standing behind a table with papers on it.

“You owe me…” Kevin said just before we reached them.

“Hey guys, the new students should be here any minute so just relax.” V said with a smile. The two of us stood behind the table and we all talked until they arrived.

A couple moments later and a bunch of Serpents walked in lead by Jughead, Toni, Fangs, and Sweet Pea. I smiled at them and they smiled back but their faces quickly changed once Veronica started talking.

“Friends.” She said with a smile.

“On behalf of the students and faculty here at Riverdale High, welcome to your new school!” Toni gave me a look that seemed to ask if this girl was for real.

“To ease this transition, I've set up a registration desk where you can get your locker assignments, class schedules, and a list of sports and extracurriculars. We encourage each and every one of you to drink deeply from the cup that is fair Riverdale.” She said and I had to hold back a laugh.

“Stand down, Eva Peron!” Cheryl’s voice boomed through the halls.

“Here we go…” I said and rolled my eyes. Cheryl and Reggie were walking down the stairs towards us followed by some Vixens and Bulldogs.

“There's the school spirit I so fondly remember.” Jughead said sarcastically and crossed his arms.

“Cheryl. No one invited Fascist Barbie to the party.” Veronica said annoyed.

“Wrong, Veronica, no one invited Southside scum to our school.” Cheryl said standing in front of us with her arms crossed. I balled my fist annoyed that she still thinks that of them.

“Listen up, Ragamuffins. I will not allow Riverdale High's above average GPA to suffer because of classrooms that are overcrowded with underachievers. So please, do us all a favor, and find some other school to debase with your hardscrabble ways.” Josie whispered something to Kevin and I was about to say something when Toni Stepped up to Cheryl.

“Why don't you come over here and say that to my face?” Toni growled and Cheryl stepped close.

“Happily, Queen of the Buskers.” Cheryl growled back.

“Okay Guys, everyone, can we just put our Northside-Southside differences apart and start over? A new slate?” Archie asked stepping in the middle.

“You don't speak for the Bulldogs, Andrews. And need I remind you, these greaser-snakes showed up at your place trying to kick your ass.” Reggie said stopping Archie.

“Happy to finish what was started.” Sweet Pea said with a smirk and I stepped in between them.

“He’s not worth it Pea.” I said pushing him back slightly. Sweets looked down at me and smirked when he saw what I was wearing.

“Careful Y/N/N, those snakes might bite you.” Reggie said and I turned to face him.

“And what if I like that?” I asked with a smirk of my own.

“Well if you just want someone to bite you, I could happily help you with that.” Reggie smirked walking closer to me, Sweet Pea growled and Fangs and Jughead held him back. I was liking this side of Sweets.

“You couldn’t handle me.” I said smirking and gently touched Reggie's jawline. Sweets grabbed my waist and pulled me to him and glared at Reggie.

“Let her go Snake!” He growled but before anything could happen Principal Weatherbee walked out.

“That's enough pomp and circumstance. Everyone, let's get to class. Now.” He said with a bit of anger.

Jughead walked off with Sweets, Fangs, and Toni. I went to go with them but Reggie stopped me.

“Traitor. Better reconsider who you stand with.” He whispered to me and I just rolled my eyes and shoved him off me.

“If you really think I’ll pick you over them you’re as stupid as you look.” I said and walked off to the student lounge. When I walked in Fangs, Toni and Jug were sitting in chairs around the coffee table while Sweet Pea sat on the couch next to my brother. I sat in between them and Sweets put his arm around me.

“Looks like we’ll be seeing each other a lot more.” He said smirking and I smiled back.

“I guess we will.” Kevin elbowed me and I glared at him. Before I could say anything to him Josie and Veronica walked in.

“I don't think we've properly met, Veronica Lodge.” She said holding out her hand to Toni.

“Of the Park Avenue Lodges.” Jughead said holding his pinky out and I stifled a giggle.

“Toni. Topaz.” T said shaking her hand.

“Oh, like the purple-colored gemstone. Love it.” Veronica said with a smile.

“And I'm Josie McCoy. Formerly of the Pussycats, now just Josie. And this is Kevin.” Josie said pointing at my brother.

“And I guess you all know Y/N.” She added pointing to me.

“What's your name?” Kev asked.

“Fogarty. Or you can call me Fangs.” Fangs said smiling.

“Your last name's Keller, right?” Fangs asked.

“How did you know that?” Kevin asked and looked at me.

“Joaquin and I used to hang out. He talked about you all the time.” Fangs answered and Kevin got a bit uncomfortable.

“And you’re Quinny’s brother.” He added and they all looked at me.

“Quinny?” Kevin asked confused. Before anyone could answer an angry Weatherbee walked in.

“You guys! Yes, you, come with me.” He said and we all looked confused.

“Now!” He shouted and we got up to follow him. We walked into the hall where he stood next to Reggie and on the ground was a snake painted over the Riverdale High seal.

“Which of you defaced our school seal with this graffiti?”

“This is what they do, Principal Weatherbee. They tag their turf.” Reggie said sounding a little too happy.

“My God, Reggie, could you be any more transparent?” Veronica asked annoyed.

“Effective immediately, no gang behavior of any kind will be tolerated at my school. As of this moment, no more Serpent jackets.” Weatherbee said.

“What?” Jug said.

“Are you kidding me?” Sweet Pea asked annoyed.

“No more Serpent jackets! All tattoos are gonna be covered. Possession of any gang paraphernalia whatsoever will lead to immediate suspension. Are we clear? That's all.” We all walked away annoyed and Reggie had a smug smirk on his face.

Once school was over I went back to the Wyrm with them and sat on a stool next to Toni while Sweets place an arcade game.

“I can't believe you guys don't even see it.” Jughead said and Toni looked at him shocked.

“Weatherbee is profiling us. Tellin' us what to wear. What's next? Brain implants controlling what we think?” Toni and Sweet Pea scoffed and I laughed a bit.

“Jughead, you sound like a crazy conspiracy nut.” I said taking a sip of my drink.

“A school closed down.” Toni said.

“A crappy one.” Sweets added.

“Yeah, and now we're at a better one. The computer lab and textbooks-”

“And toilets that flush.” Sweets butted in again.

“Getting transferred to Riverdale High is the best thing that could have happened.”

“Maybe ever.”

“So, if I have to take off my jacket, 8:30 to 3:00, Monday through Friday Hey, I'm down with that.” Toni finished taking a sip of her drink and Jughead looked at them shocked.

“It is the best thing that could have happened, I mean I get to see you guys and my boyfriend more than just weekend and after school!” I said moving to sit next to Sweets.

“Yeah and If I have to take off my jacket to see my girl more than you bet your ass I’m doing it.” He said and kissed my head.

The next day at school the Serpents had no jackets and I had to cover Sweets tattoo with makeup. We were hanging out in the student lounge when Jughead walked in wearing his Serpent jacket. We looked at him shocked.

“Oh, hey, guys, what's up?” Jug said going to the vending machine.

“Take it off.” Reggie said annoyed and when Jughead ignored him he got up. The four of us got up as well.

“Take. Off. The. Jacket. Rat boy.” Reggie said more annoyed.

“Oh, Reggie. I don't think you know what this jacket means. Because you have no sense of honor. Or history, - or loyalty.” Jughead said.

“‘That’s it!” Reggie growled and tried to rip the jacket off him, Sweet Pea and Fangs sprang into action and Toni held me back from helping them. They started fighting one another and Toni and I shouted trying to stop it. Principal Weatherbee came in broke up the fight then called us all into his office.

“You all have a week's detention for fighting. But I made myself clear to you, Mr. Jones.” He said making a step closer to Jug.

“Take off that jacket, right now, or you're suspended.” He said.

“Please, Jughead, just -”

“Then I guess I'm suspended.” Jug said cutting Veronica off and walked out the office.

“All of you, to class.” Weatherbee said with a sigh.

“Miss. Keller, you don’t have detention. From what I saw you weren’t fighting.”

“Neither was Toni!” I said confused.

“Not from what I saw.”

“But she-”

“Y/N, just stop.” Toni said with a sigh.

“Yes, Mr. Weatherbee.” I said overly sweet. We all walked out of the office and I grit my teeth.

“Unbelievable…” I said annoyed.

“Babe relax, it’s what we’re use to…” Sweets said pulling me into him.

“It’s so stupid.” I said crossing my arms.

“Trust me, we know.” Toni said with a small smirk and rolling her eyes. The rest of the school day went fairly normal and so did the night. Our dad was working late so Kevin and I did our homework, ate, then went to bed.

The next day the Serpents were all dressed in Riverdale High uniforms and honestly, Sweets looked kind of hot in his. Sweet Pea, Toni and I were talking when Jughead walked in not wearing his Serpent jacket.

“What the hell? Guys?” He asked sounding so done with everything.

“Guys Weatherbee gave them to us. Said he understood that not every Southside student had the means to purchase Riverdale High acceptable clothes. He thinks this will help us fit in.” Toni explained with a sigh and an eye roll.

“Where's Fogarty?” Jug asked.

“He wouldn't wear the uniform, so they got rid of him, suspended him.” Sweets said also sounding defeated.

“So our choices are conform or be cast out.” Jughead said and the two Serpents nodded.

“I’m sure this will blow over in a few days, just let everything settle down.” I said trying to comfort Sweet Pea. He looked down at me and smiled a little.

“Besides, I think you look kinda hot.” I said winking at him and walking off.

The next few days were a little rocky but Jughead managed to get everything under control. He started a club for the Serpents to have their own place in school and I was allowed to be a part of it since they thought of me like family.

“Welcome to the inaugural meeting of the Swords and Serpents Club.” Jughead said while peeling an orange.

“Which is what, exactly?” Toni asked with a scoff.

“Like I told Fogarty to lure him back to dear ol' Riverdale, we are a gaming group. Sanctioned by Mr. Weatherbee, himself. Where like-minded students can meet and concoct world-building, role-playing scenarios, inhabiting fantastical heroes and dispatching mythological creatures.” Jughead said and I laughed.

“No, but really?” Toni asked with a slight laugh.

“It’s a club, for you guys.” I said while standing in between Sweet’s legs.

“A safe haven where we can be Serpents, during school hours and under everyone's noses. We're not shedding our skins. We're lying low, in the tall grass.” Jughead explained further. Everyone looked at each other and smiled.

“Y/N will be helping us laying low.” Jug added.

“At your service!” I said taking a bow. Sweets chuckled and shook his head.

“Alright Quinny!” Fangs fist pumped. I laughed and Sweet Pea pulled me closer to him and nuzzled his head in my neck.

“I wouldn’t want my friends to leave me!” I said with a smiled.

“Yeah right, you just don’t want Pea to leave.” Fangs said wiggling his eyebrows. I smacked his shoulder and everyone laughed.

Tag list: @54fangirl @southsidehufflepuff @xrosesareredx @cvvlxx @skeletalwolfcat @demigodofthesun @depressed-octopods-art @nalayrene @yourfavouritefuckup @staygoldsquatchling02 @sataninsatin @im-socialy-awkward-no-joke @dark-night-sky-99 @aframeofbones @fly-slytherin-queen @jojokoko0717 @nixdunbarhale @wanderlust-and-poetry @theyouthfulmoon @seasiren96 @nixdunbarhale2

[joaquinwhorres]

For Every Christmas Eve (Steve Harrington x Reader)

Summary: It’s the annual family Christmas Eve Party, and your date is a little late. Again.  (Sort of a sequel to “Just for Christmas Eve”)

Pairing: Steve Harrington x Henderson!Reader

Word Count: 2,269

Author’s Note: I know there was no huge clamoring for a sequel to “Just for Christmas Eve”, but it's Christmas, and I wanted to write a little cute something to commemorate.

Warnings: None!

You looked up at the clock for what must have been the eighth time in the past fifteen minutes.

7:30.

He was late.

"Y/N, you need to relax. You're making me nervous," your cousin chided. "I'm sure he's on his way."

"You're right," you nodded—probably more than you should have. "I know you're right." There was a thump from outside, and your head shot to the door which still remained closed.

Your cousin let out a frustrated sigh and walked away from you. You felt a little guilty for wearing on your family's nerves, but it was snowing so hard out, and you had a sinking feeling that he wouldn't make it. The snow had already prevented him from getting in from college once. Apparently he had missed the last bus out of Terre Haute and had been stranded there for the past week. Today was the first ticket out he'd been able to snag, and even so, just because he made it into Hawkins didn't mean he'd make it across town to your family's party. Some members of your family (who didn't come in a few days early like your Aunt had suggested upon seeing the forecast) had even cancelled.

"Here," your aunt shoved a cup of egg nog in your hand before wrapping an arm around your shoulders and guiding you back to the living room. "Drink this. Come sit on the couch. Stop worrying so much."

"That's like asking Y/N to be less Y/N. Worrying is what she does," your other cousin teased from under the comfort of her husband's arm.

You sank down into the couch with your egg nog and scowled at her.

You tried to relax just to spite her. It didn't work. You got up again and tried pacing to wear off your energy. It didn't work. Finally, you reached into the closet and pulled out your coat.

"Y/N," your cousins groaned.

"I'm just taking a walk," you raised your hands briefly before returning to buttoning up your coat. "I just—want to see how bad it is out there."

"You are not going outside in this weather at this time at night," your mother said through pursed lips. "We don't need you ending up like Tews."

"I'll be fine," you sighed, pulling on your mittens. "I just want to see."

"I'm coming with you!" Your brother jumped up, scrambling over to the closet.

"Dusty!" your mom called out.

"I'll protect her," your brother gestured with his head to you. "Who knows what she'll do in this crazed state."

You shot a glare at him from underneath your hat and only broke it to face the door. You wrenched it open and came face to face with a shivering and snow covered Steve Harrington.

"Steve!" you cried out, throwing yourself at him and wrapping your arms around him.

"Thank the Lord!" your Aunt Veronica praised from behind you. If you had to guess it was more to do with you no longer going crazy out of your mind and less to do with Steve's safe arrival.

"Steve!" Your brother echoed you, hurling himself at the two of you and your small group staggered back as the three of you clutched at each other.

"Come in and shut the door!" Aunt Patricia called to you, and you released Steve, backing away and forcing Dustin off of him as well. The three of you tramped in doors, shaking the snow off of you from the brief stint outside and unwrapping yourself. Steve closed the door behind him, and his movements were stiff as he took off his duffle bag, boots, coat, scarf, gloves, and hat. You took each article of clothing, hanging them up in the closet and just beaming at him.

"Hi, everybody," Steve greeted with a rigid wave. A chorus of greetings rose up to greet him before the rest of your family returned to their conversations and being thankful that you were no longer being a distracting source of anxiety. You once more wrapped your arms around Steve's middle, tucking yourself under his arm.

"You're late," you chided lightly, looking up at him.

He reached down, brushing a strand of hair behind your ear. "Dustin said 7:30 this year."

Your head whipped around to glare at your brother, whose hands were up in defense immediately. Steve barked out a laugh.

"Dude, not cool. She's been driving us all crazy for the past half an hour," Dustin said.

"Sorry," Steve apologized. "The roads were really bad. We made it in late, and I thought it would be faster to walk here than hitch a ride to my house and then try and drive over."

"You walked?" you almost screeched.

This caught your family's attention. "Bring that boy over to the fire," Aunt Veronica commanded.

"I'm fine," Steve waved off. "Really." He looked down at you. "Just glad to finally be here. Sorry I'm late."

You shook your head. "I'm just glad you're here."

"Me too," Dustin said, coming in for the group hug again, and you and Steve let him in.

Once Steve had warmed up sufficiently and shoved about twelve thumbprint cookies into his mouth, you deemed it safe to let him out of your sight. Which Dustin was more than happy about, shouldering Steve's duffle bag and pulling Steve out of the room and claiming they had some "business to attend to," which was typical. While you and Steve spoke every night at college, you knew he and Dustin only got to talk once every week or two, not due to lack of desire on either side but the stupid idea that it'd be weird to call another guy more often than that.

As a result, you ended up having to share Steve more than you wanted on your breaks. But, since Dustin was kind of sort of the reason the two of you were together in the first place, you tried not to get too bitter about it.

"So," your cousin Sarah said, sitting down next to you on the couch. "Now that you're not being crazy, I can ask questions."

"When has anything ever stopped you from asking questions," you rolled your eyes.

"Ha. Ha," Sarah retorted, "How's college?"

"Good. I'm ready to be done," you sighed. It was true. For some reason you had thought the hardest part of college would be getting in and after that it would get harder in the same linear fashion as middle and high school.

It didn't. College got exponentially harder.

It was hard to get in with a full ride.

It was harder to say goodbye to your friends and family.

It was harder to pass your weed out classes with good enough grades to keep your scholarship.

It was harder to make friends.

It was harder to officially get into your major.

It was harder to take care of your drunk roommate.

It was harder to keep your GPA up.

But the hardest part was being away from Steve and not being able to share all of these things with him. Sure, you could talk about them, and he'd been up to visit you, and you'd been down to visit him, but it wasn't the same.

Soon, though, soon it would be over.

"Yeah? Do you know what you're doing once you're done?"

"Coming back to Hawkins and figuring things out. Maybe start applying to engineering jobs here."

Sarah nodded. "And what about you and Steve?"

"He's also coming back here. I think he wants to talk to Hopper about some opportunities to join the force."

"Hmm," Sarah hummed. "What's his major again?"

"Psychology," you supplied.

Sarah nodded again. "And the two of you?"

"So, what are we talking about?" Steve asked, dropping into the seat next to you and handing you a glass of egg nog. You thanked him with a peck to his cheek.

"Nothing," your cousin waved a hand. "Just catching up about college." She gave a fake smile, and you shot her a questioning look.

"I'm going to go check on Bill. This is the third time Uncle Roy's cornered him," Sarah rose from the couch, patting your knee.

"What was that about?" Steve murmured, and you turned back to look at him, shrugging.

"I have absolutely no idea," you shook your head. Steve smiled, holding your gaze. There was something about his look that was different.

"What?" you smiled back.

"You're just beautiful," he said with a small shake of his head. "And I missed you."

You flushed. Four years of dating and he could still fluster you. "I missed you too." You leaned forward and planted a chaste kiss on his lips.

"Save the kissing for the mistletoe!" your cousin called out, and you snorted.

"Want to go find some mistletoe?" Steve asked, and you nodded, getting up from the couch with your hand in his.

Your family formed a circle around the living room for the exchanging of the Christmas Eve presents. Every year with the addition of each new family member from John's wife Anne, to Rebecca's husband Nate, and Sarah's fiancee Bill, and now Andrew's girlfriend Emma, the exchange grew longer and longer to the point where they could no longer stand unwrapping one gift at a time, but instead Dustin facilitated the handing out of gifts and you all unwrapped and thanked all at once.

All in all, it was a pretty good system. There were no more awkward moments of the rest of the family witnessing an inside joke gift, and the faster the presents were done, the faster you were able to get to the Christmas movie which was your favorite part.

Steve loved your flask. Dustin was pumped over his new set of dice. Your Christmas Eve gift to your mother had been some new toys for Trixie–the new cat–and she was already putting them to use.

The rest of the family was likewise absorbed in tearing wrapping paper, throwing tissue paper, and ripping open packages. Nobody gave much thought to anybody else until Rebecca brought the party to a pause.

"Uhh, thank you, Steve?" Rebecca announced, and you turned to look at what he'd given her, your eyes landing on a beautiful diamond ring. The whole room paused as Dustin's eyes widened and he looked from Rebecca to Steve and then to you. Steve went white and looked from Rebecca to Dustin and back to Rebecca. The rest of your family's eyes were on Steve.

"That's uh…actually for…uh…"

She held it out to him, a smug grin growing as he took it from his fingers and turned to you, his eyes closed as he took a deep breath and got down on one knee.

He got down. On. One. Knee.

You felt as if all of the air had left your body and your heart had stopped. You couldn't move. Instead, you were focused on your boyfriend's anxious face as he kneeled before the couch.

"Y/N," he started, shaking the ring a little bit. "I…uh…I planned a bunch of things to say, and I practiced the entire time I was walking over here, but I can't remember any of it."

Your uncles chuckled a bit at this, and Bill wrapped an arm around Sarah, pulling her in to kiss the top of her hair.

"I don't really know what I was thinking doing this in front of your family." More of your family laughed at this. "Or asking Dustin to help me since obviously he doesn't listen about which gift is for which person." You cracked a smile at this one.

"But it made sense to do this here, because this is where we started," Steve said, gaining steam, and you nodded along with him. "I was freaking out as much as you were that night because not only did I have to pretend to your family that I was your boyfriend—

"I knew it!" Rachel muttered, and Rebecca reached over, smacking her arm.

"but I also had to pretend that I didn't want to be or at least that I didn't like you as much as I did. And that seemed impossible."

Your heart had restarted and was starting to beat fast.

"Because you're the most amazing person I've ever met in my entire life. You're beautiful and smart and kind and you care so much about literally everything," you laughed, hanging your head. It was a sweet way of saying that you freaked out too much, but you'd take it.

"You're the reason I went to college, and you're the reason I've gotten by the last four years. Because even when you're exhausted and have your own sh–stuff to do, you still will get on the phone with me and help me."

"That's adorable," your aunt Veronica whispered to your mother.

"You make me want to be better and you make me believe I can be better. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me, and I'd be the biggest idiot if I didn't ask…so, Y/N Henderson, will you be my date for every Christmas Eve for the rest of our lives?"

You were crying, and you were sure that there were some others in the room who were too because that was the best proposal anybody could have ever asked for.

"Yes," you whispered, nodding. "Yes, yes, yes," you leaned down and kissed him, and there was a cheer around the room, as somebody scrambled to their feet.

"I got the champagne!" Dustin shouted, as you released Steve, looking at his eyes which were also brimming with tears.

"Merry Christmas, Y/N."

"Merry Christmas, Steve."

Tags: @oomylifeiseternalsufferingoo @katethemandrake @coolyoungbouquetdestinylove @stay-wokke @morgandakotaq @panda0192 @spacedoutsher @disneykidafi @myteenwolf-world @eggshapeddank @lemonchapstick @pity-mee @bands-and-shietz @dontneedbiologytoadopt

[beemichelle7]

Christmas Wish (part 1)

Oliver could tell by the way Felicity’s body was relaxing and growing heavier against his that she was almost asleep. “Felicity,” he whispered.

“Hmm.” Her sleepy mumble made him chuckle.  He tightened his arm around her and felt further amusement at the feel of her onesie pajamas under his palm.

“I can’t believe you made us get matching Christmas pajamas. You don’t even really celebrate Christmas.”

“I do with you and William… It’s just, getting Christmas pajamas on Christmas Eve, it’s something I see families do and I wanted our first Christmas as a family to be special.”  Her voice was soft and she had restlessly started running her fingers along the back of his hand and up under the sleeve of his pajama shirt as she spoke.

“Hey…”

She turned her head and looked up at him, her fingers still stretched up into his sleeve so they were connected, skin to skin.

“I’m not used to you wearing a shirt to bed,” she blurted out when their eyes met. “I know you don’t like to and you know I don’t like you to, but thank you for doing it tonight.”

“Well, since it was you asking...”

She smiled and leaned towards him to brush her lips against his jaw.

When their eyes met again he continued, “Felicity, you have no reason to be nervous. William loves you. I love you. Our first Christmas as a family will be perfect.”

She turned in his arms completely and reached up to pull his face to hers. Her nails scratched lightly against the scruff on his cheek as their lips met. “I love you, too” she said against his mouth and his lips stretched into a smile under hers. Their smiles broke their lips apart and he bumped his nose affectionately against hers before turning his head to look at the clock.

“Felicity! It’s 11:59!”

“I can’t believe you kept me up for this.”

“Come on, it’s fun. Thea and I did this every year as kids. You have to make the wish at exactly midnight.”

“What’s your Christmas wish?”

“I can’t tell you or it won’t come true, Felicity. That’s the main rule of wishing. That and you can’t wish for more wishes.”

“Ok, I think I’m ready.”

“I’m not!  I can’t think of anything!”

“Oliver! This was your idea,” Felicity laughed.

His eyes bore into hers with an intensity that made her catch her breath. “What could I possibly wish for? I have everything I’ve ever wanted right here.”

Felicity wasn’t much of a crier, but her eyes unexpectedly filled with happy tears and one slipped out onto her cheek right as the clock struck midnight. A thought filled Oliver’s mind as he leaned forward to kiss the tear from her cheek, “Merry Christmas, Felicity.”

“Merry Christmas, Oliver.”

They fell asleep wrapped in each other’s arms.

 ______________

 Oliver woke up slowly. He turned towards the warm body curled up against his side and drew his wife back into his arms. Her back was pressed to his chest and he groggily wondered where their Christmas pajamas had gone. They’d probably both stripped them off in the night unused to so much fabric between them. He wasn’t complaining. He buried his nose in her hair and breathed deeply. His face scrunched at the unfamiliar scent and he blinked his eyes open, confused at the lack of vanilla filling his senses. His vision was slightly blurred as his eyes adjusted. The room was full of light, so they must have overslept. William was probably chomping at the bit to open presents. He was surprised the child hadn’t burst into their room, demanding they get up. The dark hair of the woman in his arms started to come into focus and…

Oliver’s body shot backwards so quickly he tumbled from the bed. The woman groaned and shifted in a way that felt familiar and wrong all at the same time. Oliver rubbed his eyes and as more came into focus, he realized he wasn’t in their bedroom. Where was he? First things first… he jumped up and pulled on the pair of sweats laying on the floor. Seeing his cell phone on the nightstand, he grabbed it and dialed Felicity’s number as he slipped into the bathroom and quietly shut the door. After a few rings, he breathed a deep sigh of relief at the sound of her sleepy, morning voice. “Hullo?” she mumbled.

“Felicity!” He whisper yelled.

“Umhmmm…” he heard rustling as though she was shifting in bed. “Where are you?”

“I don’t know! I woke up this morning and I have no idea what happened or where I am.” He registered that his voice had gone up a few decibels.

“What? Oliver…”

Suddenly the bathroom door swung open and a dark-haired Felicity with her body wrapped in a sheet and a phone to her ear was standing in the doorway. She pulled the phone from her ear and gave him a look he knew well.

“Felicity?” his shocked look didn’t seem to sit well with her.

“You didn’t know it was me out there, did you?” her voice wavered slightly… a tell-tale sign she was hurt but trying not to show it.

“Of course I didn’t! What-“

Felicity eyes flashed, then fluttered downward before she turned and stalked from the bathroom. He followed her out as she angrily picked up her clothes.

“Felicity… how would I know it was you? How did we even get here?”

“Stop. Ok. I just, I thought… Look, it’s fine. You were calling me this morning because you needed your assistant’s help after you got so drunk at the Christmas party you forgot-“

“It was a holiday party.” He interrupted on auto-pilot.

Her jerky movements stilled for a moment. “Yeah,” she whispered before resuming her mission of collecting her things. Her things. He realized once she collected her meager belongings there would be no sign of her in this space. No pictures of them on the nightstand, no heels kicked off by the closet, no earrings on the dresser. His chest tightened with panic. “Don’t leave me.”

She gave him a weird look. “Leaving you would imply I was ever with you… which I wasn’t. I’m not leaving you… I’ll see you at work in a few days.”

“What? No, Felicity… none of this is right. Look. Please listen. Last night everything was different.”

“Yeah, it was.” Her voice was soft. And sad. “At least, I thought it was.”

She finished pulling on her clothes and giving him one last glance, left the room.

“Wait!” he hurried after her. “You can’t leave, I don’t know what happened last night!”

“It’s probably for the best, Oliver,” she said grabbing her purse off the floor in the foyer. He reached out and snagged her arm, but at the look she shot him over her shoulder immediately thought better of it and dropped his hand.

She turned around to face him and sighed. “Look, Oliver. Last night was… great. It was everything I’ve ever wanted, but-“

“Everything I’ve ever wanted…” he mumbled thoughtfully. “Felicity! The wish! That’s what I said to you last night right before I made the wish!”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I’m fairly convinced you were a lot more drunk than I thought you were. Maybe you still are.” She shook her head and turned away. Her hand on the doorknob made his chest tight again.

“Don’t do this.” The words came out strained and pained. He put his hand on the door and she sighed. Turning back towards him, she leaned against the door and took a deep breath. “Oliver...” Her eyes drifted down his still shirtless body and she bit her lip.

“Umm… I-“  her fingers reached out to skim the muscles of his stomach and he took a step back. Her eyes snapped up to his and then immediately dropped, but he didn’t miss the hurt that flashed in them.

“Felicity…”

“It’s fine, Oliver. I’ll see you at work.”

The way she kept her eyes on the floor as she adjusted her purse strap and reached for the door handle again ripped his insides apart.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I know you’re confused. I am too. Just- please, I need your help.”

She looked back at him wearily, her eyes glassy with unshed tears. “Can’t this wait, Oliver? I’m not on the clock today.”

He scrubbed his hands over his face and let out a short breath. “No. It’s not- look… when I went to bed last night, it was Christmas Eve. Our first as husband and wife. At midnight we made Christmas wishes and then I woke up here.”

The silence stretched out between them.

“You don’t believe me.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“Your head tilt told me so.”

“I believe you believe it. I also believe you had too much to drink last night. Get some sleep, Oliver and we—”

“I don’t need sleep!”

“Well I do! We can talk about this more later.”

“You’re the only one I trust to help me get home,” he said in a much softer voice.

“Wife, huh? Are you here from the future?”

“I don’t think so. I never knew you with dark hair.” She touched her hair self-consciously.

“Hmm.”

“Will you help me figure out what’s going on?”

She looked at him long and hard and then sighed. “If after you take a nap-”

“Felicity.”

“-you still think you’re in the wrong.... time? I will do what I can to help you.”

“About last night...”

“Don’t.”

“...he... I... he cares about you, you know.”

One tear broke free of the glassy sheen and carved a path down her cheek.

“I’ll call you later.”

The heavy door banged shut behind her and the silence that followed threatened to suffocate him. Now what? Maybe she was right. Maybe if he went back to sleep he would wake up back home in bed... with his wife. It was worth a try.

[bananxjin]

Crush // Mark Tuan x Reader

|| List ||

Word Count: 5,385 (holy shit I’m so sorry)

Also I couldn’t think of a better title RIP, this story is kind of all over the place, but I hope y’all like it anyway!

Synopsis: Mark has been acting strange ever since the “Closet Incident”.

|| Fluff/Angst/Fluff ||

☆

Going into college, (y/n) never knew what to expect. However, she never suspected that in a million years, her and the honor roll Junior student, Mark Tuan would become as close as they did.

The elevator door opened and she was greeted by Tuan’s lovely, smiling face, the same goofy smile he gave her every morning. She would’ve smiled back hadn’t it been barely half past seven AM.

“How are you always so full of energy this early in the morning?” She muttered, pulling her coat impossibly closer against her body. Mark chuckled and put his arm around her shoulders as they made their way towards the front door and would soon brace the cool January air.

“Perhaps it’s because I know I’ll get to see your grumpy face each morning?” He stated with a questioning tone.

Mark always had a way of making (y/n)’s heart do jumping jacks and her tummy feel warm and tingly.

It intimidated her.

She enjoyed the affectionate relationship they had, but it also made her want to run back to her dorm and hide under her comforters. Then again, Mark would find a way to get in so he could talk to her and prod her about her feelings.

Sure they had a funky little relationship in the beginning. (y/n) had attended the dance team tryouts in the beginning of the semester. There was a small crowd of people in the bleachers, and Mark just happened to be one of those people. Unfortunately in the midst of doing her routine, she had to jump and as she came down, her foot slipped out from under her and she landed square on her bum.

Some people gasped, others giggled. Specifically one of the judges that would determine whether or not she could get on couldn’t hardly hold back her laughter. (y/n) immediately got to her feet and bowed to the judges before she took off out of the gymnasium.

She was absolutely horrified by what happened, but then a small light came to console her, and that light’s name was Mark Tuan.

After that, Mark somehow wiggled his way into her everyday life. He was in two of her classes, they shared the same favorite restaurant, they had several mutual friends so no matter what, they somehow saw each other everyday. Eventually, he just started showing up at the front door of her dormitory and he’d walk her to class every morning. At first it annoyed (y/n). “How can one being have so much energy this early in the morning?” She’d always wondered while remaining in her usual grumpy state. But Mark never overstepped his boundaries. He’d just talk to her about all sorts of different things in the mornings. His life back home, his hobbies, his major, how his was week was going. Anything to keep her attention on him. There were even days he’d show up with coffee for the two of them.

“I thought you might need a little pick-me-up since mornings don’t seem to be your thing.” He said somewhat shyly the first time he’d offered the hot beverage. Despite it only being the beginning of October and the weather still being too warm for equally warm coffee, (y/n) really appreciated the gift. She smiled at him and gave him a small “Thank you.” as she took it from his hands.

She didn’t think much of it. Little did she know, it meant everything to Mark.

So she never actually intended to be close friends with him, it just kind of... Happened. Now she was used to this massive dork just following her around like a lost puppy, rearing his head when she least expected it, and ultimately always always always having her back.

And that was perfectly fine at first.

That was when she falsely believed she could have a platonic relationship with Mark.

Days passed, seasons changed, and Mark always remained at her side no matter what. And things felt relatively normal until her emotions hit her - Slamming into her like an oncoming train.

☆

It was the last day of last semester. (y/n) had been asked to clean up the chemistry labs before she left for her break. Her and Mark were carpooling back to the city together since they’d learned their families only lived about a half hour or so away from one another.

“Any big plans for winter break?” Mark asked, leaning on his elbows against the teachers desk. Mark relished in the moments he got alone with (y/n), and that moment was no exception. Just the two of them in this lab together, he thought. He’d had the biggest crush on (y/n) since the day she fell during dance tryouts. Seeing her every morning and walking her to class was a blessing even on the days she was cranky -- Especially on the days she was cranky.

He’d sit there and tease her and give her a hard time, and she’d pull that cute little pouty face she does.

She’d became the literal light of his life.

“I’m hoping I can sleep for the first three days.” She sighed, dropping a discarded binder on the professors desk. “Finals weeks are the worst; I hate them.” She mumbled, rubbing circles into her temples. Mark gave her a sympathetic smile and gently pat her back.

“It’s okay, (y/n),” Mark said in a wispy soft voice. “The war is over. We can finally go home.”

(Y/n) Couldn’t help but chuckle. “Thank you, Colonel Tuan.” She joked back before standing up straight and tall so she could bow to him. Mark laughed.

For the last few weeks, he’d been thinking about how he’d finally ask (y/n) out, and he’d decided he would do it over winter break. He considered doing it on Christmas Eve assuming she wouldn’t be busy. The forecast called for snow this year. Mark could only imagine how sickeningly romantic it’d be for them to be standing in the snow, drinking hot cocoa together maybe at the park somewhere, and he could confess his feelings under the dead cherry blossom trees.

Not quite as romantic as it could be if it were spring or summer, he thought.

Suddenly, laughter from down the hall could be heard coming closer and closer to them. (y/n) seemed to freeze up on the spot. “Did you hear that?” She asked softly. Mark nodded.

“The weather’s not supposed to get bad until tomorrow night, man. I just need to grab my binder and then we can go.”

“Shit.” (y/n) swore under her breath, frantically looking around the room. Mark gave her a questioning look. “What’s wrong? You act like-”

“Shut up!” (y/n) hissed as she opened the chemistry closet and pushed some lab coats aside.

Before Mark could question her behavior, (y/n) grabbed his hand and without a word, shoved him inside the closet before cramming herself in there with him. The metal door made a clanging sound as she hurried to keep them both hidden. She swore again as the door smacked her in the elbow.

“Do you mind explaining to me what you’re-”

“Shh.” (y/n) said softly as she clamped a hand to his mouth.

Marks eyes widened as the two boys they’d heard talking in the hall came walking into the classroom.

“Hmm...”

“What’s wrong? You got your binder, now let’s go.”

“It’s just that I was kinda hoping someone would be here.”

“Who? (y/n)?”

Silence.

“Dude, she’s probably left already!”

“Well I knew she was cleaning the labs for our professor today, so I thought, ya know...”

Silence again.

“Did you leave your binder in here on purpose? What, so you could just happen to run into her??”

The boys continued to bicker and debate. (y/n) slowly removed her hand from Marks face as she let out a sigh.

Poor Mark, his shoulders started getting uncomfortable so he tried to maneuver a little bit. He couldn’t stand up straight lest he wanted to use the tension rod for a pillow. His solution - Put his hands against the wall behind (y/n) and keep his head ducked.

(y/n)’s back remained against the wall as she found herself trapped by Mark. For the first time since they’d shuffled in there, Mark had looked at her, making eye contact with her, and she thought her heart might’ve stopped. He smiled sheepishly, “I’m really sorry if you’re uncomfortable.” He whispered, “We could always just... Get out of here?”

(y/n) quickly shook her head. “Not until they leave.” Mark smiled and shifted his weight to the other foot. His thigh brushed briefly against hers.

“You don’t want to see your admirer?” He joked. She sighed again, “I don’t. I mean... It’s Shownu.”

“The guy from your history class?”

She nodded. “He’s just been up my ass lately, pushing me to go out on a date with him, but he just... Won’t take no for an answer. It’s annoying.”

Mark wasn’t surprised that other guys liked her, she was so sweet and adorable, easy to talk to, not to mention she was one of the smartest students in her class. Who wouldn’t like her?

It did bother him that Shownu wouldn’t back off - In fact, it pissed him off. She felt the need to hide from him if it meant he couldn’t pester her.

“Why didn’t you tell me sooner? I can help you. I could’ve said something-”

“Because I didn’t want to get you involved. It wouldn’t have been fair to you.”

“You’re my best friend!”

(y/n) pushed her hand against his mouth again, worried they were getting too loud.

“Be. Quiet.” Her lips read. Mark narrowed his eyes, his gaze never leaving her lips. He wanted nothing more than to kiss her right then and there.

“Did you hear something?”

“Just the sound of that blizzard getting closer to us.” The friend sighed.

“I’m sorry, dude. Look, just.... Five more minutes. And if she doesn’t show up, then we can go.” Shownu bargained.

“You’re wasting your time, man. I’m pretty sure she’s dating that Mark guy anyway.”

Their eyes met again and (y/n) quickly yanked her hand away from Marks face as if the very feeling of his skin were burning her.

“Mark Tuan?”

“Yeah. Have you seen the way she looks at him? She might as well be in love with the guy.”

(y/n) couldn’t bare the thought of looking at Mark Now. She knew he had the most smug look on his face in that moment. His shit eating grin just staring her in the face, daring her to look him in the eye.

“I hope not... Mark’s not even that good looking.”

Get fucked, Shownu, Mark thought, his smile never fading.

Mark and (y/n) listened in silence for awhile longer before Shownu’s friend had to practically dragged him out of the classroom, Shownu complaining the entire time.

The door slammed shut. (y/n) sighed and finally gathered up the nerve to look at Mark again.

She instantly regretted it.

“So, you’re in love with me, huh?”

“Shut up.” She rolled her eyes, “He just told that to Shownu so that he could leave.” She concluded, reaching out to open the door, but Mark stopped her.

He pinned her wrist against the wall. Not hard, (y/n) could easily pull away from him if she wanted to. It was his reaction that stopped them both dead in their tracks. Mark surprised himself even. Why did he do that?

(y/n) stared into his eyes searching for something. Anything. Was she... Did she actually have feelings for Mark? She’d always thought he was good looking, but could she ever see them together? As a couple?

Mark quickly released her arm from his grasp and tried to stand up. Unfortunately he forgot about that tension rod so he smacked his head into it, making him swear under his breath. (y/n) blushed. Why did she blush? Why did she even put them in this situation?

“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to, uh...” Mark stuttered, rubbing his hand over the spot where the tension rod attacked him.

“I-it’s okay.”

“It’s just that uhm...” Mark couldn’t seem to find the right words to say. He knew she didn’t like Shownu back, she made that much clear. So what was his excuse for stopping her other than that he wanted to continue to be this close to her?

“You... You should tell me if Shownu bothers you again. Please?” Mark asked, “I promise it won’t be any bother to me.”

(y/n) couldn’t look away from Marks flushed face. Did he himself know was blushing? Was it because he liked her or just because of the predicament that she’d put them in?

(y/n) nodded in response to his plea.

“Yeah, I’l... I’ll tell you next time.”

☆ (y/n) ☆

It felt like we’d been out in the freezing cold for hours, but we eventually made it to the building. We had awhile before our classes started, so we decided to grab a coffee and some breakfast together while we waited.

Mark didn’t say much on the way over here. We really didn’t talk much over Christmas break either. I half expected us to hang out or something, but it never happened.

I glanced up at Mark from across the table. He’d taken his gloves off and grasped the warm coffee cup in his large hands. I leaned in on my elbows and rested my chin on my hands. My eyes trailed from Mark’s fingers, up his biceps and his shoulders to his face. His big, brown eyes seemingly bore into his coffee cup as if he were looking for something.

“You look like you might be more tired than I am.” I joked. Mark looked up at me, seeming surprised that I said something.

“Are you okay, Mark? You’ve been kinda out of it all morning.” I commented. Mark shook his head “Yes”... And then briefly shook it “No”.

“I’m just tired, and... I’ve had a lot on my mind lately.” He replied solemnly. I frowned and reached across the table to grab his hands, “Do you want to talk about it?” I asked softly. His hands were limp in my own. He wouldn’t meet my gaze.

“No, it’s nothing serious.” He replied before pulling his hands out of mine. I knitted my brows together and leaned in closer to him, “Are you sure? This isn’t like you, Mark.”

“I’m fine, (y/n).” He said promptly, finally raising his head and looking me in the eye. His lips tugged up into a small smile. “I promise.”

I fell back into my seat, feeling defeated He was lying to me, I could tell.

What if it was that stupid closet catastrophe I got us into last year? I thought to myself.

The whole scene played over in my mind. I couldn’t stop thinking about it over Christmas break either. Especially on days when I’d text Mark or try to call him and he wouldn’t so much as give me the time of day. The whole thing gave me anxiety. It made me wonder if this is what would ruin our friendship.

Ruin my chance to have something more with him.

The thought alone could easily bring me to tears, but I tried not to think too much about it. Especially since I was sitting right there in front of Mark.

There was an uncomfortable silence between us before he finally looked down at his phone, “You should probably be heading to class soon.” he said as he gathered his discarded breakfast.

I looked up at him, “What do you mean? Aren’t we going to class together?”

“Nah, I think I’m gonna skip today.” He replied with a big smile. I was in complete shock. What’s gotten into him?

“Th-then I could skip with you! We can have a lazy day together!” I suggested, “We haven’t done that in awhile! How about it?”

He shook his head, “Nah, it’s fine. See ya!”

He gave me a single finger gun and made a mad dash out of the cafe before I could get another word in. I sat there completely dumbfounded, staring blankly at the seat he’d been sitting in just a moment ago.

The next couple of days were killer. Mark quit walking me to class, he quit showing up to the classes we shared, he didn’t text me, didn’t call me, he didn’t even show up in mundane places I was used to seeing him in casually.

I went to his dorm to confront him one day and his roommate, Jackson answered and told me that he was in class which I knew was a bold face lie, he didn’t have a class at that time.

Jackson gave me a sad smile and leaned against his door frame. “I’m really sorry, (y/n).”

“He hasn’t spoken to me for almost two weeks, Jackson! I don’t understand what I did!” I whined, letting my head fall into my hands. I was on the brink of tears.

“You didn’t do anything, actually.”

My head snapped up at him, “What do you mean?”

He sighed, “I mean... I really shouldn’t say anything, it’s really not my place-”

“Please, Jackson.” I begged, putting my hands on his shoulders, “I need this, I need to know why Mark’s been avoiding me lately. I...”

Jackson was staring down at me with wide eyes. I sighed and let my arms fall limp at my sides. “I like Mark. I’ve liked Mark for awhile now, but I’m just... So scared to admit it or the idea of anything becoming of it." I rambled in a soft tone, worried about anyone hearing my confession.

Jackson’s hands made a light smack sound as they connected with his cheeks, his lips turned upright into a bubbly smile.

“That’s so sweet!” He exclaimed, his voice gradually getting higher. I lightly smacked him on the arm, “Shush! I don’t want to draw anyone’s attention to us.” I hissed. He smiled, “He said he was heading to that bubble tea cafe on Ninth, I think you should go talk to him about it. There’s nothing to be scared of, you and Mark have always been close.” He told me.

My smile grew so wide I thought it might crack my cheeks. I let out a small squeal and wrapped my arms around Jackson's neck, “Thank you so much!”

Jackson chuckled at my giddy mood. He waved me off as I jogged back down the hall.

Of course he’d be at the bubble tea cafe, he loves that place, I thought to myself. It wasn’t a long walk from campus so I just pulled my coat tighter against me and made my treacherous ten minute adventure down the road.

I kept going over what I should say and how I should say it in my thoughts, but nothing really seemed right.

“So Jackson told me I’d find you here?”

“It doesn’t matter how I knew, all that matters is I have something important to tell you.”

“But why have you been avoiding me? Do you feel the same way? What’s going on?”

I huffed as I made my way up the small hill. Perhaps he’d say something first? Jackson seemed to think that everything would be fine, but then I could’ve just been overlooking the whole situation. Maybe he’s just trying to help a friend in need. He’s just a wholesome friend like that.

I’ll be okay though. I’ll be okay if Mark turns me down? I mean yeah, it’ll hurt, but Mark’s friendship means everything to me. Isn’t that what I’ve been trying to avoid? ruining our friendship?

I could see the cafe up ahead. My legs seemed to feel heavier and heavier the closer I got. I felt the bashfulness creeping up my neck, and I suddenly wondered if this was actually a good idea.

I opened the glass door and timidly walked inside. It was pretty busy for a Thursday afternoon. I looked around the large room about as casually as one could without seeming weird. One of the ladies at the counter even asked me if I needed any help. I respectfully declined and told her I was just looking for someone.

This is a bad idea. This is a really bad idea.

I dismissed my negative thoughts when I finally found Mark sitting at small table towards the back, still looking at one of the little fold up, paper menus. I smiled and took a deep breath. I walked right up to the chair in front of him feeling stiff as a board.

He looked up at me, smiling at first but it was quickly replaced with a look of surprise, “(y/n)!”

“Hey, stranger.” I replied, gripping the chair as if it were my lifeline, “Mind if I sit here?”

“Yeah! Go for it!” He exclaimed, his voice laced with happiness. It’s almost as if nothing were out of the ordinary. Like he hadn’t just avoided me for two weeks.

“How’ve you been?” He asked, crossing his arms on the table and leaning in closer. I gave him a tight lined smile, “About the same as usual.” I replied. He sighed and seemed to drop the facade, “I’m really sorry, (y/n). I’m sorry for disappearing and being a total dick basically.”

I wanted to agree with him. I wanted to get angry and lash out at him, but I couldn’t. “I just want to know why it happened, Mark.” I sighed, “I thought we could talk about anything, and then we just... We stopped talking. Altogether. It really hurt, I mean...” I felt the tears welling up in my eyes, “You’re my best friend, and...”

I love you

“Hey, shh,” Mark took my hand from across the table, “It’s okay, everything’s okay." He cooed, “I really... It’s hard for me to talk about it, and I know that’s no excuse, but I was just scared, and-”

“Hey, Markie!”

The girl I recognized as one of the judges from my failed dance audition sat in the chair beside Mark and wrapped her arms around hi neck, “Who’s this?” She asked, looking at me.

I was taken aback as I suddenly pulled my hand back and tucked both of them into my lap. “I feel like I should recognize you from somewhere?” She said, seeming to study my face. I gave her a small smile before looking down at my lap, “I get that a lot.. I think I just have one of those faces.” I said awkwardly, looking back at Mark.

”(y/n)...”

“Anyway, I think I should go. I was just uh, I had to return Mark’s notes to him. I missed my class the other day, so...”

“You don’t have to! We were just on a small date, but you’re welcome to join us! I’m always happy to meet Mark’s friends!”

Date...

What a bitter word to hear when you were just about to tell him everything. “It’s okay, really! I have some other things I had to do today.” I responded, my voice sounding slightly venomous. “Enjoy your date!”

“(y/n)!”

I ignore Mark as I hurry out of the little restaurant, walking as fast as I can on the snowy sidewalks as I make my way back to campus.

A date, huh?

Is that why you’ve been avoiding me this whole time, Mark?

I can’t even cry about it. Mark is his own person, he’s allowed to date who he wants. Besides, how was he supposed to know that I’ve been harboring feelings for him?

The memory of Mark and I being stuck in that closet together crept back into my mind again like the little rat it is. The intimacy of the situation was enough to make me swoon. I was so close to Marks face, I should’ve just kissed him. God knows I wanted to.

And then Mark wouldn’t drop it when that guy said he thought I was in love with Mark, I was hoping he would’ve just caught on and maybe we could’ve started something.

Tears finally brim my eyes as I continue torturing myself with the thought of what could’ve been. I bury my face into my scarf and keep my head low as the tears go streaming down my cheeks.

Of all the people in the world, it had to be my best friend. It had to be!

I accidentally bump into someone as I near my dormitory. They reach out to steady me by my biceps. “Ah, I’m so sorry, I...”

He trails off as he studies my face. I look up at him, ready to apologize for bumping into him, but then I see who it is, and I nearly panic.

“Shownu..”

He smirks at me. “(y/n)! Wow it feels like it’s been forever since I’ve seen you!” He gushed. I smile back halfheartedly, “Hey, Shownu... How’s it going?” I asked, kinda dragging out his name.

Because he’s exactly who I wanted to speak to, I thought with a slight roll of my eyes.

“I’m fine, hey there’s something I wanted to ask you...” He says taking my hand in his gloved one. My eyes widen and my heart speeds up, mind racing as I try to think of any possible way to get out of this.

“Shownu, I-”

“(y/n) I’ve liked you for awhile now, and I wanted to know if you’d go out on a date with me.” He confesses, “I know I’m not Mark, but-”

“You’re right: You’re not me.” Mark chimes in as he slides in next to me, wrapping his arm around my waist. I look at him in pure shock, but he doesn’t seem to notice. He keeps his gaze focused on Shownu, wearing that same shit eating grin I’ve grown to love.

“Mark! I thought-”

“I know, but I thought we should spend the day together instead.” He said, kissing my cheek. I swallowed. I couldn’t help the heat that rose to my face no matter how much I may have wanted it to go away.

You’re giving me mixed signals, Mark.

“I'm sure you have a good reason for holding my girlfriend’s hand.” Mark said smugly to Shownu.

Girlfriend?!

Shownu’s once determined face twisted into one of anger and disappointment as he dropped my hand. He seemed to think his words over carefully before he replied to Mark. He looked like he wanted to fight him, but he’d decided against it.

“No, Mark. I didn’t have a good reason.” He replies through gritted teeth and a thin smile. He looks between the both of us for a second before letting out a sigh, “See you later, (y/n).” He says before walking off.

I almost feel bad for him as I give him a sad smile and wave goodbye. Once I know he’s out of ear shot, I shake off Mark’s hold on me and smack him repeatedly in the chest. “What the hell was that for?! How’d you even get here?! Did you follow me all the way back from the cafe?!” I demanded.

Mark giggled and grabbed hold of my wrists, “So what if I did?” He asks, bringing his face close enough that his nose touched mine. I swallowed thickly and pulled my face away from his as well as my arms. “Go back to your date, that’s so rude to just... Leave.��� I sigh, turning away from him as I walk into my dormitory.

He followed me in.

“Shouldn’t you be taking your own advice then?” He asks as we both head towards the elevator. I roll my eyes and ignore him. “(y/n), I left because I needed to talk to you.” He told me. I swore I felt steam come out of my ears. My neck cracked as I looked over at him, my eyes full of anger. “You ignored Me, Mark. For two weeks you ignore me.” I reminded him. 

We boarded the elevator, “We could’ve been talking these last two weeks, but you just disappeared. You wouldn’t text me, answer my calls - You missed class to avoid me!” I exclaim as we exit on my floor.

“I know, I owe you an apology and you deserve an explanation-”

“I don’t want to hear it.”

I get all the way to my door before he grabs me by the shoulder and quickly pins me against the wall. I suck in a sharp breath as his other hand blocks me in. I gaze up at him, and I immediately feel the tension melting away. His sad, puppy dog eyes gazing into mine. "I'm sorry, (y/n)." He said softly. His free hand came up to caress my cheek, wiping away a stray tear I didn't even know had fallen.

“I just want to know why.” I asked him. His eyes showed sorrow as he opened his mouth to reply, but I cut him off before he could answer me, “You know, I was perfectly fine before I met you! But then you just... Wiggled your way into my life like some sort of worm! You made an impact on me, became my best friend and all and then you just decide you’re gonna leave?!” I release all of my thoughts as I raise my hand to smack his chest again, but he captures it before I can make contact.

He closes his eyes as he entwines our fingers. “(Y/n) I...”

“You what, Mark?”

He takes a deep breath and peers down at me only for a second before he leans down and gently presses his lips against mine. My body tensed up as I pressed my arms against his chest, ready to push him away, but I couldn't. Everything that I'd felt before didn't seem to matter. All that matter's to me now is that I know how Mark feels. He wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me closer to him. The movements of his lips soft and slow as if urging me to fight him; urging me to be the one to take initiative. I cup his cheeks in my hands and deepen the kiss, pressing my body impossibly closer to his and he presses me into the wall. His lips feel so soft against mine and his kisses tastes like white chocolate mocha which I assume is what he was probably drinking earlier.

He parts his lips and drags the tip of his tongue across my bottom lip, prompting me to part my lips for him. My head feels so hazy and my faces feels so hot. I can’t tell if it’s from the kissing or from my feelings - Probably both. It didn’t help when I noticed that his hold on me got just a little more snug as he took my bottom lip between his teeth and nibbled it gently.

Our eyes met once again as my lip slipped from his teeth. His eyes were glossy and pupils large. I imagine my eyes looked similar.

“”I’ve liked you for awhile, (y/n). Jesus, I... I wanted to confess to you over the holidays, and I was so confident about it, but then...” He sighed, taking a deep breath again, “But then when all the stuff happened in the closet, I was worried you really didn't have feelings for me, and I-"

"Mark, I've liked you for the longest time, I... I love you." I confess somewhat shyly. I look away from him as I feel my face turning deep red, but his fingertips immediately guide me back to look at his smiling face again, "I love you too, (y/n)." He whispers, pressing his lips to mine again. "I'm so sorry I left you, I just needed time to think and I wanted to try to get over you," He mumbles in between kisses. His large hand gently caresses my hair, sliding down to cup my cheek, "but I promise I'll never do something so stupid again." He whispers, leaning his forehead against mine.

"I'm so in love with you."

"I'm in love with you too, Mark."

[vampykitty-kun]

Like A Puzzle Piece

Rating: T

Characters/Pairing: Trowa Barton/Lady Une. Mariemaia Khushrenada, Sally Po, Catherine Bloom, Quatre Raberba Winner

Word Count: 1984

Notes: Canon compliant. No Frozen Tear Drop. Abduction, Canon-Typical Violence, Friends to Lovers, Parenthood -x-x-x-x-x-x-

"I don't know what I would do if I lost her- if I lost you too. These past couple years you've been a real knight in shining armor Barton. Don't fuck this up by recklessly getting yourself killed because you didn't want to chance an extraction team...” 

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

“This is, by far, the stupidest thing you have ever done...” her voice crackled over the coms, pointedly unamused, a hint of worry laced in her words. “that includes both times you infiltrated enemy organizations, as well as the time you tried to blow yourself up. You are evidently going for a personal record in stupidity.” Une muttered.

“I'm glad to hear that you and Cathy are attempting to get along... talking about me.” He whispered, tucking the worn pocket mirror around a corridor turn.

Clear.

Very well...

The woman snorted over the line. He crinkled his brow.

“Hardly. Possessive woman. It was part of a cautionary tale. One of which assured me I am not at all interested in knife play.”

Trowa paused mid hallway, blinking.

“... should I even ask?”

“I was threatened great bodily harm if you were to ever die on my watch, or because my psychosis upset you to the degree in which you made another attempt on your own life. She was very thorough, it was graphic. If it hadn't been aimed at me I'd have been sad that she wasn't a part of our interrogation crew. She'd be a real treat, you know?” She chuckled.

Trowa only twitched and carried down the path.

“Perhaps we should cease unnecessary conversation? Things will get ugly fast if someone catches sight of me...”

Une let out a shaky sigh.

“Right... it's just that- well, I'm going crazy. If I don't talk I'll begin thinking again and get wrapped up in my own head. If she's-”

“She will be fine. I promise.”

He sucked in a breath as a hysterical laugh broke free from her chest.

“You can't know that. No one can... and I don't know what I would do if I lost her- if I lost you too. These past couple years you've been a real knight in shining armor Barton. Don't fuck this up by recklessly getting yourself killed because you didn't want to chance an extraction team...”

He sighed and leaned back against the cool brick wall as he ducked behind a beam. He shut his eyes.

There wasn't always safety in numbers...

“Then keep talking... you've always had a way of talking enough for the two of us. I'll just listen...”

“Like the good ol' days? Very well...”

Trowa broke free from his resting spot and dashed down yet another steel corridor, careful of his footsteps, eyes watching for the slightest hint of movement.

It was hard to believe it, but bases on Earth were far more difficult to navigate. Some could go for miles underground. There was only so much room to be had on colonies in space. Sometimes he truly missed the simplicity of it all. But he had been happy on the planet, no doubt about that.

“I was thrilled when you decided to stay with the Preventers after the Eve battles, Trowa. You could have gone anywhere, disappeared into the wind, but you stayed.” She started, as if reading his mind.  “Not just that, but you stayed Earth-bound like Relena and I. I don't think I've ever truly told you just how grateful I was for that. It can be so hard to trust people after all of the betrayal, it was a relief to have another top operative that had already proven himself, even more so it was comforting to have another friend. It was amazing how great you were with children despite your quiet nature. I'm not sure I would have made it through that first year without you...”

He sucked in a sharp breath, startling her, as he flattened himself within a doorway while a handful of armed men slipped down a neighboring hallway twenty feet in front of him. He waited until he could no longer hear their footsteps before letting go a shaky exhale.

“It's fine...” he reassured her quickly, darting past the cross-way.

“I never did apologize for how I reacted when I realized you practically lived with us. I just wasn't prepared. One day I woke up and realized there was more of your gear, your personal items, in my guest bedroom than your dorm at HQ. I was a bitch and almost chased you away. Marie about had my head. Told me not to ruin a good thing. From the mouths of babes, hmm? We weren't even a 'thing' at that point. You just sort of fit in like a puzzle piece and made everything better. Fulfilled the need for a male role-model in her life that wasn't a sociopath. You could have left after I screamed at you and told you to go. But instead all you did was leave your things, go back to your dorm for the weekend, and you came back Monday morning like nothing ever happened.”

He let the corner of his mouth quirk at that.

“I knew you didn't mean it. You just needed space.”

“I did.” She agreed, but he could hear her throat grow tight. “And then I didn't. I lasted three months after that. Realized what I had almost lost, then ended up curled in your arms on the couch, and you stopped using the guest room. You gave up your dorm. I-I know I don't say it often, but I-”

“I know.”

“Of course you do...” she huffed.

He paused, turning the com down to barely a buzz so he could listen, and frowned.

“I think I've got something...” he murmured, checking his weapons. “I'm going to have to go dark, I'll leave the line open on my end, but I won't be able to hear you.”

“...Understood.”

He flicked the switch and took another deep breath, releasing it slowly. He crept along the walk at a snail's pace, inching closer to the opened door-frame at the end of the left side of the corridor. The element of surprise was all he had working in his favor at this point. The ceilings were low, no beams to slink across, and if he was going off of previous rooms he had skirted past, this one wouldn't be much better off space wise. It was quite possible that there would be many bodies in close quarters, that he would have to be very precise with his movements.

When he was finally just out of reach of the doorway he had his worries confirmed. There were at least eight men just behind the wall in an office of a room. With any luck Marie as well. It would be difficult. He would have to take the guns out of the equation immediately. But hopefully the crowd would mean that everyone within running distance was already present.

He pulled a knife from its sheath, silently counted to three, and spun around the corner, tucking and rolling to take out the tendons of the two men nearest to the doorway. He only had a brief moment to confirm that yes, the girl was in fact within the room, before he lunged forward toward the remaining six men.

The problem with having to take firearms out of the equation due to Marie's presence was having to focus on disarming rather than dodging- and Heero was always so much better at taking a bullet than the rest of them. Making sure he was far away from her and the focus of their attention was hardly a difficult matter. The Preventer issued kevlar took the brunt of most of the shots aimed his way- but each hit still burned fiercely, and in such an enclosed area it only took so much damage before weakened areas tore free. He would have massive blooming bruises by the next day, but the graze on his thigh wouldn't slow him down much, and the bullet lodged in his upper arm would only become a hindrance when the numbness died down, having missed the bone. But he would surely be benched for weeks after this mission. Truth be told he wasn't sure Lady would be letting either of them out of her sight any time soon.

Once disarmed the remaining six men had hardly stood a chance and the only remorse he felt was in that Mariemaia had been forced to witness such brutality at his hand.

He approached her slowly, hands raised to assure her that he was calm, knife loosely clutched in one as he reached toward her with the other. Tear sparkled in her eyes, and he winced as he ripped the tape from her mouth, startling a gasp from her. The dam broke at that and she burst into deep ragged sobs as he cut the rope from her wrists behind the chair, and from her ankles. He sheathed his knife and wiped his bloodied hands on his pants before gently running one through her mussed unwashed hair.

“Hey there Princess... let's get you back home to Mom, hmm?” He smiled softly, and picked her up, her arms wrapping tightly about his shoulders while he wound her still weak legs around his waist.

As he turned his ear piece back on all he could hear for a long moment were Une's matching sobs. Then when she finally could contain herself she announced that the troops were storming the base now that she was located and in good hands, and that all he needed to do was continue to keep both of them safe and out of the way while they were retrieved.

He didn't have it in his heart to be pissed that she had modified his plan last second.

She was safe and that was all that mattered...

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Une met them at the head quarter's hospital wing three hours later, having been unable to help on the front line herself.

Mariemaia was overall fine, some scrapes and bruises, and dehydration on top of being filthy from the initial abduction, but there would be no lasting physical damage. He supposed the ordeal would add to her mental scars however, but Trowa was confident that they would be able to work through them together like before.

With the news that her daughter would make a full recovery Une took to fussing over his injuries. Sally had threatened to strap him to the bed if he tried to leave, and thus he was draped across across it with ice packs across his chest and abdomen in addition to the bandages covering his thigh and shoulder. As he had anticipated, he was benched until both Sally and Une agreed to reinstate him. He supposed he could use the vacation.

When Sally offered to sit in Marie's room with her, to give them some alone time finally, he managed a sheepish soft smile.

“I'm sorry I couldn't get us both back here unscathed. It was a difficult situation. I would rather me be banged up a bit than her have gotten hurt from my carelessness.”

Lady snorted and wrapped an arm around his good shoulder, pulling him in for a hug.

“Oh I forgive you. But that doesn't change the fact that you're out of the field for at least the next six weeks.” She sighed, pulling back far enough to press her lips against his.

When she pulled away he sighed.

“I figured as much... but I also thought for sure that a lecture would come with this as well...”

At this Une smirked and cocked a hip.

“Oh no Trowa dear, I get to play good cop this time.” He rose a brow at her. “But you're going to have to face the wrath of two very distressed individuals that are flying in as we speak.

To her utmost glee he gaped at her horrified, the expression foreign on his face.

“You...you didn't!”

Lady cackled.

“Oh yes, I did. Cathy and Quatre are positively livid...” she purred, stroking her thumb over his cheek bone.

Trowa could only groan and prepare himself for the worst.

[obsidianarchives]

To All The Wizards: The Dinner

The horror of the morning’s conversation had lasted until the evening, when a fresh horror presented itself. Hermione was gathering her laundry for the wash when she heard the phone ring. Her bedroom telephone sat on her desk across the room. Her hands were full of laundry, so she left her parents pick it up. It had been years since any of the old neighborhood kids had tried to call.

“Hermione! Dean is on the phone for you!”

She froze. In the hysteria from the morning, she had forgotten that she had given Dean her number. This really wasn’t going to help her “We’re just friends” angle. She dropped the clothes in the middle of the floor and lunged for the phone.

“Hello?”

“Your mum sounds nice.”

“Uh, she is.” His voice surprised her. It sounded somehow deeper over the phone, more mature. It was almost unbelievable. Here she was, talking to a boy on the phone like a proper Muggle teenager. She began pacing around her room, the cord dragging behind her. “So, why did you need my number?”

“My mum wants to invite you to dinner sometime next week.”

Hermione balked. “What? Why?”

“Well I couldn’t hide that I had a girlfriend from her, could I? And I definitely couldn’t hide it from my sisters.”

“You don’t have a girlfriend!”

Panic crawled up Hermione’s throat. She couldn’t lie to her parents, and admit she had suddenly got a boyfriend overnight, not after the scene she had made this morning. But she couldn’t sneak out of her house for dinner either.

She could hear his eye roll through the phone.

“I don’t even know where you live. I can’t Apparate yet and my parent’s fireplace isn’t connected to the Floo Network,” she said.

“Neither is mine.” Right. He’s Muggle-born, like you.

It turned out he lived in London. That was only a 30 minute train journey from Reading Station. She could tell her parents she was spending the day at Diagon Alley and then meeting some friends for dinner. That wouldn’t be a total lie.

“To be honest with you Granger, I don’t think my mother means to be refused.”

She gulped. They weren’t really dating, she tried to remind herself. If his mum didn’t like her it wouldn’t really matter in the grand scheme of things. Yet, she still felt the same drive she always did to have adults approve of her.

They set the date as Friday, the 27th. She really would have much preferred keeping their families out of it altogether but she couldn’t stress over it, so she did her best to put it out of her mind.

The next few days passed innocuously. The Daily Prophet had been fairly quiet for the first time in months. Hermione suspected they might be suppressing news in order to maintain the morale in the country for Christmas. Based on the hints in Harry’s letter, beyond what he intimated about his new musings on Malfoy after the Slughorn Party mishap, the news on the ground was unchanged from what they had been hearing for months.

On Christmas Eve, Hermione and her mother were decorating Christmas cookies when the evening news reported on a missing dignitary who had disappeared Monday evening. Hermione knew the signs. She felt certain it wasn’t an accident and the perpetrators weren’t Muggle. Of course, she considered opening a dialogue about it with her parents, but she didn’t want to dampen the Christmas spirit that filled the Granger household.

Christmas came shining through her window early Wednesday. She stretched and yawned, looking out the window. There were a couple of children already outside in their coats, enjoying their new gifts, riding around on bikes and swinging play swords at each other.

Oddly perceptive to human activity as usual, Crookshanks sauntered over to her, rubbing himself against her legs, meowing as he walked.

“Happy Christmas to you, too Crookshanks.” She walked over to her rather full bookcase and stood on her tiptoes to grab a small loosely wrapped parcel of his favorite treats from the Magical Menagerie, setting it on the floor for him to unwrap.

Before pouncing on the package, he nuzzled his head against her. She laughed as she petted him, appreciating the exceptional show of affection.

When she headed downstairs, she found her parents were already up. “Happy Christmas, Hermione!” her father called from the kitchen.

As she walked past the kitchen, she looked in to see him decked out in his striped pajamas and a Santa cap, rummaging through the cupboards.

She grinned to herself, heading to the sitting room where she found her mother nursing a cup of tea. The house already smelled of the Christmas Day waffles that her family always ate. She gave her mum a hug and began sorting out the presents for her parents.

It was late morning by the time they finished unwrapping gifts. Empty, syrup laden plates sat discarded next to them. It was a treat to be able to eat in the sitting room, which was something her mother was quite particular about any other day of the year.

Hermione thought this might have been one of the best Christmas’ all around. Her dad had received a new set of golf clubs as a joint gift between “his two favorite ladies.” She bought her mum new perfume that both her parents immediately declared as “smelling divine.” Harry had bought her a new set of eagle feather quills. They were lovely and came in a leather case. To her surprise, Ron had also gotten her a gift. It was a tin full of her favorite wizard sweets, mainly Treacle Fudge. A classic Weasley emerald jumper with an orange cat knitted into the front came from Mrs. Weasley, with a container of nut brittle. She had bought the boys a gift each — a new Potion-making kit complete with a new set of vials for Harry, and simply some chocolate for Ron, though she still wasn’t convinced he deserved that much.

“Hermione, there’s one more parcel for you. It came this morning.”

Her mother passed her a delicately wrapped brown parcel and an envelope that had been set among the branches of the tree. Taking mental inventory of all the gifts she received, the only person she hadn’t gotten anything from was Viktor. They hadn’t discussed exchanging gifts, though. Hermione set aside the card and carefully opened the parcel. Inside the wrapping was a black velvet jewelry box. A flutter filled her stomach.

“Someone is trying to make a last minute bid for ‘Best Gift,’ aren’t they?” Mr. Granger said chuckling to himself.

She didn’t respond. Her mother’s eyes bored into her, her eyebrows raised knowingly. Slowly, she opened the box, avoiding her mother’s gaze. Laying in the satin lined box was a thin gold bolo bracelet with a small heart for the clasp. Her jaw dropped a little as she lifted it from the box. The bracelet glinted in the sunlight streaming through the sitting room window.

Astonished, Hermione’s eyes met Mrs. Granger’s shrewd ones. “I-I wasn’t expecting a gift like this.” It was the truth.

Her mind was racing. Who would have sent this to her? Surely not Viktor. He knew they were just friends, and to be frank, he had bought her a bracelet once last year that was nowhere near as tasteful.

Her thoughts drifted hopefully to Ron even though he couldn’t possibly have afforded such a gift. Logic reminded her that he had a girlfriend and that he was too proud to ever ask to borrow money from Harry or the twins. Her heart wasn’t listening to her head. Excitement fluttered in her stomach in spite of herself.

She ripped open the envelope that came with the gift.

“I know this could never possibly equal one of my amazing sketches, but I hope the gift will suffice for today.

Happy Christmas.

Dean x”

The excitement drained out of her and embarrassment took its place. Of course Ron hadn’t and wouldn’t have bought her a gift like this, she knew that. It hadn’t even occurred to her that she and Dean would exchange gifts. Why did he insist on actively keeping up the charade when they didn’t have to? Besides, it wasn’t really a gift if she was going to return it once the contract was fulfilled.

Silently, she placed the bracelet back in the velvet box and snapped it shut. She finally looked at her parents, who seemed somewhat amused, but they didn’t dare bring up any of their suspicions.

Suppressing an eyeroll she said, “Who’s ready to watch It’s a Wonderful Life?”

—

Friday came much quicker than Hermione imagined it could have. That morning Hermione tried to casually inform her parents of the day’s plans as she cleared the table from breakfast.

“I’m headed into town today. I have a few things to pick up at Diagon Alley before break is over,” she said as she flicked her wand, guiding the dirty dishes to the sink where they began to wash themselves.

Her parents were still not quite used to her doing magic freely around the house. They looked equal parts mystified and concerned.

“Just as well. Your mother and I have plans this afternoon and will be out. Shall we expect you for dinner?” Mr. Granger had heroically managed to converse without breaking eye contact as a washcloth flew by him and began to wipe down the table.

“Actually, no. I’ll be meeting friends for dinner. I’ll be back before late.”

While they hadn’t questioned Hermione any further since Sunday, her father in particular having mostly moved on, her mother was constantly giving Hermione looks. Even now she raised her eyebrows and made a “hmm” sound. Hermione was grateful there was no further prying as she managed to make it to the station with a container of brownies left over from their Christmas bake-a-thon, and with the bolo bracelet glinting from her wrist.

—

Diagon Alley was surprisingly empty, but she should have expected this. Signs and flyers were plastered throughout with sayings and notices like “A wise wizard is a wary wizard” and “By decree of the Ministry of Magic, Diagon Alley curfew is henceforth set at 9:00 p.m. No wizard shall be seen out of doors, after which a fine of 10 galleons shall be assessed.” A few menacing wanted posters of those wizards recently escaped from Azkaban dotted the shop windows as well.

Everything was rather quiet. The groups who did wander the street spoke in quiet whispers, huddled as they walked. Hermione pulled her coat closer to her.

She stopped at Gringotts to exchange the Muggle money her parents had given her for the rest of the school year. When she went to the apothecary to stock up on some potions ingredients, she had a thought to buy Harry some dried nettles, knowing he was running low, but thought better of it. The Prince surely had a section in his book about ingredient stock management, or maybe even ingredient substitution.

After finishing her shopping at Scribbulus Writing Instruments, she looked around the street deciding where to go next. Down the street, she could see Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes’ colorful storefront. That she could tell, it was busier than the rest of Diagon Alley. She wondered if she should visit. It might be nice to see Fred and George again. But it might be strange for her to go without Ron and Harry. Thinking of Ron reminded her of Lavender and she resolutely turned the other way.

Instead, she decided to finish her afternoon in Flourish and Blotts. The atmosphere of the store was much warmer and welcoming than outside on the street. She loved coming when she could in the off season. The shop was calmer, with more space to browse the shelves and linger if a book caught your eye. Losing herself in the shelves, she looked around for a couple of hours until she found a couple of new releases she hadn’t yet seen in the school library.

After she finalized her purchases, she left Diagon Alley. She hailed a cab, giving the cabbie the address she had written down on a scrap of paper.

“Not too far off. Be about 10 minutes, love.”

She thanked him and sat back, watching the grey of London pass them by.

They eventually pulled to a stop in front of a red brick attached house. It had a beautiful yard, much more so than the Grangers’ simple neat yard. There were colorful pots of plants that when in bloom, she assumed were just as full of color. It was clearly a home full of life.

Hermione paid the driver and got out with her bags. Once the driver pulled away she looked around for any passers-by. Seeing no one, she pulled out her wand and shrunk her shopping bag of purchases to fit nicely in her tote. She tucked her wand away in a pocket on the inside of her coat and walked through the gate and up the walkway.

The white door, as bright and inviting as it was intended to be, loomed ominously before her. She stood there nervously, shuffling from side to side on Dean’s front porch. Her hands were shaking as she tried to smooth her hair, which she was sure had turned frizzy in the cold rain. Why did they have to do this? Every time she thought she was getting used to their arrangement, they upped the ante.

“You can do this, Hermione. Adults like you.”

And besides, that was the whole thing – even if Dean’s mother didn’t like her, they weren’t really dating. Slightly steadier, she rang the bell. She could hear a lot of commotion on the other side. To her relief, it was Dean who opened the door.

He was wearing a maroon turtleneck, a grin on his face. The grin quickly vanished when he caught her nervous expression. He stepped out onto the porch and shut the door behind him.

“What’s wrong? You look like you think you’re about to fail your N.E.W.T.s.” His brows were furrowed in concern as he looked at her.

“I’m just a little nervous. I’ve, erm, never done anything like this before.”

“You’ll be fine, my family is going to love you. Just be yourself.” He paused and then added, “Well, except the part where we aren’t really dating. Don’t be yourself in that.”

She laughed nervously and moved her hand to smooth her hair again.

“Stop that,” he said as he placed his fingers in her hair, lightly tousling it.

Startled, she moved to stop him. If it hadn’t frizzed up to twice it’s normal size yet, it had now.

“Stop flattening your hair. It looks nice when it’s curly and full. More you. I like it,” he said with an earnest smile.

Her stomach did a flip. He was complimenting her hair, not as Dean her pretend boyfriend, but as just Dean. Most people didn’t understand why she kept it so curly and “wild.” People often lamented that she didn’t slick it down with Sleakeazy’s every night, because it was “so pretty straightened.” Sheepishly, she tucked a curl behind her ear.

Catching sight of her wrist, he exclaimed, “You wore it!” He sounded genuinely pleased as he reached out to examine the bracelet dangling from her wrist.

“Actually yes, I wanted to speak with you about that,” she said as she pulled her arm out of his grasp, tugging her sleeve down. “You really didn’t have to get something this nice. We’ve only been fake dating for a few weeks.”

He shrugged shoving his hands in his pockets. “It suits you.” She had figured he would brush her off, which is why she had come prepared.

“Well, on that note, before we go inside, I got you something, too,” she said as she pulled out the wrapped package from her bag.

She was satisfied to see that he looked surprised; he hadn’t expected her to reciprocate the gesture. He took the package, carefully unwrapping it. His eyes lit up as he held the gift up in the porch light. It was a soft leather-bound sketchbook. It had a slightly weathered look to it and was tied with a leather strap. With it, she had bought a magical set of sketch pencils.

“The pencils are charmed. What you draw should move on the page, sort of like a Muggle flip book.” Her voice trailed off. The confidence she had in the gift when she had purchased it was dissipating. Maybe it was a weird gift from a fake-girlfriend. Quickly, she added, “I figured you had used so much of your sketch paper giving me sketches each day, it was only fair.”

He didn’t say anything, instead pulling her into his arms, wrapping her in a tight hug.

“It’s great, Hermione.”

Relieved, she laughed a little into his chest and hugged him back. They stayed that way for a moment, until a car rolled by, reminding them they were still outside on the porch. They pulled away.

“Come on, let’s get inside before they come looking for us.”

The entryway to Dean’s house was an explosion of color and activity. Photos of a younger Dean and all of his sisters lined the wall, interspersed with large paintings with vivid depictions of African people. Some paintings depicted children playing, others were of dozens of people, dancing in celebration. They were beautiful.

“Are those—“ she began to ask, breathlessly.

“Mine? No, I’m not that experimental with paint as a medium. Those are my mum’s.”

As he said this, she noticed the initials “DW” in the lower right corners of the canvases. She knew his mother had a different last name than him, but hadn’t known she was an artist, too. In fact, Hermione had never considered what had inspired him to pursue art when there was no real outlet for that kind of creativity at Hogwarts.

He led her through the hall slowly, giving her time to look from painting to photo. He seemed to be in no rush to join everyone else, their muffled voices coming from behind the closed doors ahead. It felt almost nostalgic, passing by the photos. Dean and his sisters smiled, frozen in time with various missing teeth, unlike wizarding photos that would have moved within their frame. There was a particular photo of a woman with a large, tangerine colored head wrap and a stout light-skinned man in a Royal Navy uniform.

“That’s my step-dad,” Dean explained without prompting. “I don’t see him much. He’s stationed overseas, and doesn’t come home much. Last time he came home, I was at Hogwarts.”

She tore her eyes from the photos to look at his face. There was a slight frown in his face but nothing to betray any great upset.

Before she could give any sort of response, a door to the right swung open. The smell of garlic and sizzling meats wafted into the hallway. A woman followed by a younger girl emerged from the doorway. The woman was tall and darker complected than Dean, but had his same dimples. Her hair was tightly coiled and long, growing out in all directions. She wore a yellow and orange kaftan that appeared to make her glow. Dean’s mother looked much different than Hermione’s, who preferred a muted palette of trousers and jumpers.

“Hermione, this is my mum, Dana Williams. Mum, this is my girlfriend Hermione.”

Despite knowing it was coming, Hermione’s cheeks colored at being called his “girlfriend.” She had never heard him or any boy introduce her as such.

“Hello, Ms. Williams. It’s a pleasure to meet you,” she said, shaking her hand.

“And this is my youngest sister, Emilia.”

Emilia’s face lit up with a smile full of wires. She had rainbow colored bands on her braces, giving the smile even more character. Hermione smiled back.

“It’s nice to meet you Emilia,” she said shaking her small hand. “You know, I used to have braces, too. But I always picked boring plain bands. Your rainbow pattern is much cooler!”

Emilia giggled and said a quiet thank you.

“I brought brownies,” Hermione said, suddenly remembering, shuffling the container out from her bag. As she handed them to Ms. Williams, she noted and felt proud that the heating charm had held.

“What a dear! It’s a pleasure to meet you, Hermione. We’ve heard so much about you.” At this, she gave her son a knowing glance. “I’ll set these in the kitchen. Dinner should be ready in about 15 minutes.”

There was no time to celebrate her passing her first test. Dean took her hand and led her around the house, to introduce her to the rest of his sisters – Cecily, 10, Sofia and Julia, 12, and Alice, 14.

They approached the first open doorway on the staircase landing, to find two girls deeply engrossed in their respective books, reclined in a couple of blue and purple bean bag chairs. Sofia and Julia were twins who were very unlike Fred and George. In fact, they reminded Hermione of herself at their age. Their hair was tight and coily, like their mother’s, but not nearly as long, with differing headbands to keep their hair out of their face. When Dean introduced her, they merely nodded to them in greeting before turning their wire rimmed glasses back to their books.

The second room was much different. It was bright pink, with various pictures of horses hung throughout. They found Alice helping Cecily paint her toenails. Cecily excitedly introduced herself, exclaiming that she was happy that her brother had found a new friend, but Alice merely looked at her. Hermione thought it was a good sign, when Alice’s eyes glanced down at her bracelet, looking satisfied.

Soon after introductions were made, they were called to dinner. The dining room, was just as vibrant as the rest of the house. The walls were lemon yellow, and more artwork hung on them. She thought that Luna would very much enjoy visiting this house.

In the center of the table was a big blue dish of bowtie pasta with a white-wine sauce, capers, and Italian sausage. There was a basket of buttery warm rolls and a large bowl of salad. Everything tasted just as good as it looked. Even the Italian dressing for the salad tasted homemade.

They discussed their respective Christmases. They told her about the call they had from Dean’s step-dad, Jarold, on Christmas. It was a happy piece of conversation, Hermione was surprised to find. She couldn’t imagine being forced apart from her dad, at such a young age, for such an extended period of time.

The conversation eventually turned from Christmas to Hogwarts. There were a lot of questions about daily life there, which she figured was natural. She must have been only the second or third Hogwarts student they had met, if they had never met Seamus. Discussing school made her shift in her seat uncomfortably. They were skirting so close to the root of their lie.  No details regarding how they started dating came up, thankfully.

Instead, the questions took a turn, inquiring about wizarding culture at school specifically.  

“How do your parents handle sending you off to such a unique school year after year?” Dean gave his mother a reproachful look, as if he understood some secret meaning to this question that Hermione did not. “They are non-magical like us?”

“Erm, non-magical, yes,” she glanced around the table, unsure if they knew of the word ‘Muggle.’ “I imagine it was hard for them at first, I am an only child. But for the most part my parents are just happy that I’m happy and have managed to make friends, I suppose.”

She brought her glass to her lips, hiding the awkwardness the last point made her feel. Not many people knew, although they could have probably guessed, that Ron and Harry were the first proper friends she ever had. Her childhood had been quite lonely, with only her adult parents and books for friends.

“I’m proud to have a wizard for a son, but I do think it’s quite presumptuous that these people show up on our doorsteps and expect us to hand over our kids to a school we have never heard about!” She lowered her voice, as if she were now divulging a secret, “Mind you, I was still reeling from the revelation that he was a wizard.”

Looking around, she saw the younger of the siblings were picking at their food, uninterested in the conversation, but judging by Dean and Alice’s reaction, this was not a new conversation for their family. She wished she had more to offer. While she was sure her parents had had their concerns and doubts when Professor McGonagall had shown up at their doorstep, she felt they were mainly relieved.

“Professor McGonagall was who came to my house.” She looked at Dean who nodded, confirming the same was true for him. “When I was a kid, a lot of very strange, unexplainable things kept happening to me. I think my parents were just happy to finally have an explanation.”

Ms. Williams conceded, “That is true. While I was surprised to find out he was a wizard, it also made sense. He always had such a strong creative energy as a kid.” She smiled fondly at Dean, who seemed to be groaning internally. “But they left so much unanswered. What about the children born into wizarding families? I’ve done my best to prepare him for the prejudices of this world, but what do they look like in a culture I’ve never seen?”

Hermione didn’t respond immediately, worried about saying the wrong thing. Dean broke in instead.

“Mum, I’ve told you it’s different, you don’t have to worry. In wizarding culture, race doesn’t come up like that.”

His mother shook her head, waving her hand dismissively at Dean. “I just can’t see how that’s possible. And I can’t be the only one who questions it.”

“You’re not wrong, Ms. Williams,” Hermione said. Dean’s eyes snapped to her, surprised. “I don’t think anyone could argue the wizarding world is a utopia. Adversity exists everywhere for certain communities...it just might look different in different places.”

Becoming fixated with the remaining leaves of salad on her plate, Hermione averted her eyes. She didn’t dare say more. Harry had told her last year that Dean hadn’t told his family about Voldemort’s return. She imagined there was a lot he omitted for their mental well-being. She knew what that was like and didn’t want to bring discord where there needn’t be any.

Ms. William’s sigh drew Hermione’s attention. She was eyeing her appreciatively. “I suppose you’re right. You seem to have a good head on your shoulders.”

Suddenly, Sofia spoke. “Is it true that you’re the smartest witch of your age?”

“Yeah! Can you show us some cool magic, unlike Brother?” Julia added quickly.

Dean cried in protest and Hermione laughed, happy to have the heaviness of the previous conversation lifted.

Dinner continued on much more lighthearted subjects and stayed far away from the society of the wizarding world. They retired to the sitting room (with walls of deep plum) for dessert. The girls quizzed Hermione on the different types of spells and magic over brownies and ice-cream.

“Could you turn me into a pig?” Emilia asked, jumping up and down in circles with Cecily, face sticky with chocolate.

Hermione laughed. “Technically, yes.”

Julia and Sofia, who were rolling their eyes at their little sisters’ antics, snapped their attention to her, surprised by her affirmative response. “Really?” they said in unison.

“It would be illegal, since you all are non-magical. But as far as ability goes, sure.”

The younger two were cackling. “If we write to you over the summer when Brother is being mean, can we get you to turn him into a pig?” Cecily asked.

They were all now laughing. “I dunno,” Hermione said through laughter, looking at Dean who sat in a corner with Alice, “Don’t you think he’s too handsome to be turned into a pig?”

“Blech! No!” Sofia exclaimed.

“You can turn him into a pig, it’s fine.” Julia said very resolutely.

The girls began excitedly discussing the possibilities. “If not a pig, what about a cat like the brother from that Halloween Disney movie?” Hermione found herself watching Dean and Alice out of the corner of her eye. They glanced at her a few times. She hoped that Alice’s smile meant that she had gotten the final seal of approval.

The evening drew to an end quicker than Hermione had expected. Surprisingly, she found that she had honestly enjoyed herself. Sofia and Julia were excited to discuss literature with her. She had to admit that they were better readers than even she was at their age. Alice didn’t speak to her much for the rest of the evening after she and Dean had rejoined the group, but she did smile warmly when they made eye contact. The two youngest insisted she come back and play dolls with them. It was already 9 p.m. when Hermione lamented that she should probably call a cab.

“Oh nonsense, at this hour?” Ms. Williams said as she entered the sitting room. “Dean can drive you to the station.”

Hermione looked at Dean in surprise. Learning to drive took a lot of practice and dedication. Not to mention, the whole thing was incredibly nerve-wracking. Hermione had never found time to take the test, much less practice, since she spent so much of her summers away at the Weasleys’. She was impressed.

“I wouldn’t want to impose.”

“Don’t be silly. I won’t let my son get away with not making sure his date gets home safely.” Her smirk told Hermione she was just saying it to rile Dean up.

With that, Hermione found herself being let into the passenger side of a new Toyota Camry by Dean, with a Tupperware container of pasta to-go for good measure. Dean got in and rolled down the window, waving to his mother. Hermione shouted one last “Thank you!” across him as they pulled out and took off down the street.

At first they drove in mostly silence. A warm glow had descended over Hermione, and she didn’t think it was the after effects of dessert. That she could tell, Dean’s family had really truly liked her. And she had liked them. With a pang, she realized that she likely wouldn’t see them again after they fulfilled the contract.

“They really liked you,” Dean said, breaking the relaxed silence. He looked pleased. “Congrats, Granger.”

“Really? You think so?” She said in a rush, excited to have her feelings confirmed. Heaving a heavy sigh of relief, she felt the remaining stress leave her shoulders.

“Definitely. I’ve never properly brought a girlfriend over before. Alice would have been the hardest to crack. Wearing the bracelet we picked out for you really sealed the deal.”

“Your sister helped pick it out?”

“Yeah,” he said. “She kind of insisted. She was worried I’d blow it.”

They both laughed.

“Well she can rest assured, the bracelet is lovely,” she said, holding her wrist up so that the passing street lights illuminated it in shifts. “I’ll be sorry to give it back.”

Dean smiled at her. Seeing him smile was contagious, Hermione always found herself grinning back. The dimples in his cheeks and the light in his eyes ensured it was catching.

His expression shifted as a thought seemed to come to him, his smile faltering as he turned his attention back to the road.

“Sorry about my mum,” he said.

“What do you mean?”

He took a moment before speaking. His right hand was slung over the steering wheel, and the other rested on the gear shift. But for his clenched jaw, he looked relaxed, like driving was a force of habit. He seemed so mature in that moment, and here she was, the kid who couldn’t drive.

“About all the race and culture stuff,” he finally said. “My grandparents are American so they raised her to always think of things in those terms.”

Was he really embarrassed? He was defensive, posturing maybe, but she didn’t see any sincerity in it. It was true that these things weren’t really discussed in such stark terms at Hogwarts, or in the wizarding world at all for that matter. But she certainly didn’t disagree with his mother.

���The wizarding world isn’t free of those prejudices any more than the Muggle world. I think we just don’t notice the small instances that occur because we’re so focused on everything we face as Muggle-borns.”

Dean didn’t respond, lost in thought. Hermione turned her attention to the passing buildings. It was misty again. She shivered, wishing she had brought her gloves. Without a word, Dean turned up the heat.

The car came to a stop at a light. He reached over and gave her hand a quick squeeze. The red glow from the light reflected on their faces, which thankfully hid the blush that once again threatened to overtake hers. He gave her a small smile, shyer this time.

“Thanks for coming. Really. I know you weren’t looking forward to it. My family is just really close.” He brought his hand off the steering wheel and rubbed the back of his head. “It would have been too much to keep from them on top of everything else.”

The light turned green and he trailed off. She nodded in understanding because she did understand.

“Well, jokes on you,” she said, attempting to lighten the conversation. “They gave me express permission to turn you into a pig should you get out of line.”

He busted out in laughter and she joined him.

To Hermione’s surprise, once they reached the station, Dean got out with her.

“Give me a ring when you get home safely.” Before she could interrupt he added, “I don’t care how late it is. It’s the duty of a good boyfriend to make sure his lady gets home safe and sound.”

Hermione wrinkled her nose at being called his lady. This only made him laugh. He pulled her into another hug, rubbing her back in an attempt to warm her up. Even in the cold night air, his scent still enveloped her – warm like bergamot.

Once seated on the train, she leaned her head back on the seat, exhausted from the mental exertion. She thought of pulling out one of her new books, but they were still shrunken and may look too odd to the few Muggle passengers on the train. Her hands were still cold from the crisp night air. She shoved them into her coat pockets, pausing when she felt a folded piece of paper in one of them.

The train began moving as she pulled it out. It was one of Dean’s notes. She laughed incredulously to herself, drawing a few stares from the few late-night riders. The memory of their hug came back to her. He had snuck it into her pocket! A huge grin spread across her face as she unfolded it. It was an adorable sketch of Crookshanks, curled up in front of what she presumed was the common room fire. In the corner, there was a note, “Thanks for everything, Dean x.”

To Be Continued…