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sissytobitch10seconds · 10 months

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Celebration and Traditions

Fandom: The Umbrella Academy Summary: They didn't have anything like this when they were kids, so they've decided to make it a tradition as adults. After all, now that they're married, they have complete control over their own household. The holidays are for them and them alone. Warnings: Mentions of canon-typical child abuse Word Count: 3,592 Ship(s): Five Hargreeves/Viktor Hargreeves

Archive link!

A/N: We've made it all the way to the end! I'm honestly really surprised that I was able to make it all the way to the end. I wasn't sure that I was going to be able to do that because I was worried I was going to get sick of TUA. Even though most of my other mutuals that love it have moved on, I'm still mostly here lol. I was also tempted to write all twelve installments at the beginning of the year but decided that it would be a better idea to write them a month prior to their upload to show my progress. I think it turned out really well! Thank you all for following me on this journey and enjoying each installment. Stay sissy and bitchy everyone <3

The morning crept slowly into the afternoon, and Viktor knew that he had to get on with his tasks if he wanted to have time for joy. He had spent the early hours burrowed under his heavy winter quilts to try and stave off the storm that was threatening to cleave his joints in two. It wasn’t rare for him to have high pain days after concerts when they were in the winter months, but that didn’t make them suck any less.

Slowly, he removed the duvet and then forced himself to his feet. He didn’t know that getting up into his forties was going to result in him being in so much pain compared to when he had been heavily medicated and in his thirties, but life was coming to laugh at just how wrong he had been. One hand moved to cup the hip that was hurting him as he dragged the blankets and sheets back to where they belonged. Boomer, the rescue bloodhound that they had picked up from the pound only two years ago, was going to make a nest out of their bed if he didn’t put it back to some semblance of rights. He didn’t have the energy to tuck the sheets back in where they belonged, though.

He was glad that he had showered the night before instead of putting it off until the morning as he stagged over to his chest of drawers so he could put some clothes on. He settled for a comfortable, soft pair of cotton pants and then the blue sweater with little snowflakes on it that Klaus had given him the year before. It was soothing enough on his borderline overstimulated skin that he knew he was going to be able to actually wear it without an undershirt, which would prevent him from getting too hot.

He walked past the office, expecting Five to be where he always was. It had bothered him when they had first gotten married, the amount of time that Five spent working, but he had learned to understand it. In the same way that his brain was always cycling through songs and music and tasks, his husband’s was doing with math. He had to have a release for that so that the numbers didn’t eat each other in his mind. Today, though, Five wasn’t there.

Viktor paused for only a moment so that he could listen to the sounds of their house. The heater had kicked on again because the windows of their home leaked, but over that was the sound of crisp, clear piano cords. A smile crept over his face as he realized what that meant and he immediately headed towards his living room.

Neither of them had grown up watching much television so even with the technological advancements of the new universe, their living room was set up with a myriad of other things that they could do. They had the huge bookshelves containing all of the novels that they had wanted to but had never gotten the chance to read. They did have a TV in their entertainment center, as well as a couple of gaming consoles, despite their disuse of them both. The thing that Viktor loved the most was the vintage piano that he had personally helped refurbish.

Five was currently perched on the bench for it, his eyes boring holes into the page in front of him. They would flicker down to his hands and he would move them over slightly as he continued to play. He had only recently started to learn so that he could make accompany Viktor’s violin, but he was excelling greatly.

He was so wrapped up in his work that he didn’t even turn his head towards his husband like he normally would have. The time when Viktor thought that it was fun to startle his husband had long since passed, so he sat down on the bench and waited until he was noticed. Several minutes passed before Five turned towards the other man like he had assumed that Viktor was by his side the entire time and then asked, “What’s this note again?”

“You play it like this,” he replied instead of just telling the other. One of his arms wrapped around Five’s back to hold onto the arm that was further away and the other came to rest on the closer one. It meant that they were squished together, Viktor’s face pressed flush to Five’s shoulder but neither of them were going to say anything about it. They could only touch each other like this, could only derive love and care from their spouse. It was their tender, private moment and nothing was going to be able to break it.

Viktor carefully reoriented Five’s hands on the keys and then pressed down so that they next part of the song rang through their house. “Do you want to show me the entire song?” he asked. Instead of moving back so that he was sitting in his own spot, he settled his arms into his lap and kept his head resting on Five’s shoulder.

“Would you like to hear the rest of the song, beloved?” Five asked, a small smile creeping up on his handsome features.

“You know that I wouldn’t have offered if I didn’t want to. I’ve grown up at least a little bit since we were six,” he chuckled playfully. Viktor tilted his head up, running his hand through the salt-and-pepper locks that were now hanging down over Five’s forehead.

“I would certainly hope so,” Five replied. He leaned down and brought their lips together in a chaste yet sweet kiss, one that made Viktor feel like there was molten chocolate in the center of his chest.

When they broke apart from each other, Five turned back to his piano and began to play. Viktor let his eyes fall shut and cuddled into his side enough that he could feel close but not so much that he was going to be hindering the play. He hummed along with the familiar parts of the song and didn’t say anything when the notes were missed or a bar was in the wrong place.

“That was nice,” Viktor commented when the last couple of notes finished playing through the back of the piano. “What made you choose it out of all of the songs in this book?”

“I know that it’s one of your favorites, I thought that it would be nice to wake you up with it,” he replied softly. Now that he was no longer playing, he moved so that he was straddling the branch and could face his husband properly. Viktor responded to that by tucked his legs up underneath himself, despite how much it made his already creaky knees ache in the process.

That same warmth that was caused from hearing the song leaked through his veins again. Carol of the Bells was a song that he had to play almost every year with his orchestra. Some would argue that should have made the song his least favorite, but the haunting cords and slow crescendo made it feel like his bones were vibrating at the perfect tempo to heal everything bad that had ever happened to him. It was his favorite because he got to play it so much, because he got to bask in that feeling. The fact that his husband had picked up on that, even after all their years of marriage and the assumption others would make, was almost as good as getting to play the song with a professional orchestra.

“It was a very nice thing to wake up to,” he murmured. “I always play this song before I make Christmas cookies, like Mom used to.”

“I was thinking that we could make them together this year. I already did all of the chores that needed to get done today and I finished grading a week early. Is that okay?” Five asked.

Viktor was going to laugh before he saw that there was genuine worry in his husband’s eyes. There hadn’t been any kind of celebration for the holidays in their childhood home despite Grace decorating for all of them. The closest that they had gotten to a celebration was the pageants that the Umbrella Academy members got asked to go to during Christmas and New Years, as well as the day off that they were awarded on their birthday. Five had been lost in the apocalypse when he was an adult and hadn’t been able to celebrate anything or even properly conceive the passage of time, so there hadn’t been anything for him there. Viktor had only known the holidays as a time where everyone else started getting off work and he only had more because he was a concert violinist.

Now that they were adults and they owned their own home, away from their father, they were allowed to do whatever they wanted. Five got extra time off when he wasn’t working at the university and Viktor still worked a lot, but now it felt like a blessing and something to be excited about. They decorate their home in the way that they liked, with fake tinsel made in silver instead of the classic red and green. They got a fake tree that they put with a skirt that mostly hung off the collapsable table instead of hiding the legs. They decorated the fake tree with ornaments that they had made themselves, found in thrift stops, and received from their siblings. They also had their own little traditions that they liked to do, that had formed naturally over the years.

They did several things throughout the actual month of Decemberin preparation for Christmas, but this tradition was by far Viktor’s favorite. They baked cookies on Christmas Eve every year, even though they had never had a child living with them and thus never had to pretend that Santa was real. Usually Five was too busy to help with them, which Viktor was fine with since he liked cooking on his own. This year it seemed like his husband was making an effort to appreciate all of the things that made the holiday special for him.

He was also aware that Five was under the impression that the world was very rickety and he was terrified up upending the balance. The crease on Five’s nose and the worry in his brow spoke to his anxiety about whether or not what he had done was right. Viktor moved forward on the bench so that he was essentially sitting on his husband’s lap. He linked his fingers on the back of his husband’s neck and brought him in so that their foreheads were pressed together. “I would love it if you and I could bake cookies together this year. Thank you for being the best husband that I could ever ask for,” he whispered.

Five, with no hesitation, reached out so that his hands were grasping his husband’s hips. They were impossibly close together, not kissing or speaking to each other, just basking in the life that they each brought to the relationship and the fact that they got to experience the world together. “I love you, Viktor.”

“I love you more,” he replied mischeviously. He pressed a quick kiss to his husband’s nose and then got off of the bench so that he could go to the kitchen. He was walking slowly and keeping his weight off of his left leg because the winter storm blowing in was bothering him, but he was excited enough that he was ignoring the pain.

Back where he had been moments prior, Five just chuckled affectionately and then shouted after him, “Make yourself something to eat for lunch, first!”

Viktor let out a grumble but didn’t try to fight with his husband. It was around noon and his stomach was trying to eat through itself because of how hungry he was. He hadn’t woken up earlier due to the sensation because he had eaten something when he had gotten home from his show late the night before. He made his way to the fridge and then found one of what he and Five affectionately called ‘Adult Lunchables’. They were a good thing to stick into a bag with an ice block so that he could eat them during rehearsals without having to get something big out. Now that he was on break, he had to get them out of the fridge before they went bad.

By the time that he had finished his lunch, Five had packed up whatever he had been doing with the piano and was able to walk into the kitchen. They greeted each other with another sweet kiss and then got to work.

Viktor pulled the recipe from the stack that he had on top of the little Rolodex that he kept them in. He had gotten most of the recipes that they would need for that season out the week before so he wouldn't try and fail to find them like he had the year prior when he actually needed them. "You're going to get the ingredients out for me, right?" he asked with a cheeky smile.

"Whatever you need me to do, beloved," Five replied sweetly.

It was enough to make him melt back into being lovey instead of trying to tease. His husband always had that effect on him, which was part of the reason why Viktor had fallen so heavily in love with him even after all of the time that they had spent apart from each other.

He hopped up on the counter with some help from both of his hands. He wasn't as spry as he used to be, but the holidays made him feel like he could be young again. He held the card in his hand as he read out the ingredients that they required, slow enough that Five could find them in the maze of their cupboards.

Soon, everything that they could need to make chocolate chip cookies were spread out on the counter. "Do you want to do the wet or the dry ingredients?" Viktor asked as he lowered himself off of the counter.

"I have to be able to follow a recipe and you never actually wrote down the spice amount on the card," Five teased in his way of explaining. He grabbed the butter, sugars, and vanilla from the counter so that he would walk over to the stand mixer.

Viktor rolled his eyes affectionately at the teasing from his lover. Their recipes had made a lot of changes over the years. It was only in the last three that he had actually consolidated them all from where they had been stuffed in cookbooks, under appliances, and with ingredients all over their kitchen. Even then they had all been printed pages of recipes found online or written on varied pieces of lined (or unlined in the case of the Easter Ham recipe) paper. Now all of their recipes were hand-written and the same size with the same style, ingredients on the side without lines and recipes on the side with them. Viktor wasn't perfect and had left out some of the steps that were ingrained in his mind, though.

In a manner that he hoped was inconspicuous, the violinist grabbed the eggs from their pile of ingredients and then slid them next to the stand mixer for Five. His husband didn't notice and asked, "How was your concert last night?"

"It was good! The one before Christmas Eve is always packed, so that was a little stressful. I'm almost glad that I had the crazy idea of signing up to help with cleanup because it meant that it was easier for me to get out of the parking lot," he explained. He set the little note card down on the counter in front of him, propped up on the pot of a spider plant that Five had gotten Viktor for his birthday the first year they had been together.

"Did the soloist fuck up again?" Five asked. He turned around so that his chest was pressed against his husband's back. He was bending down far enough that his chin was on Viktor's shoulder while he noisily dug around for the measuring cup he needed.

“Surprising everyone, she actually managed to play through the entire piece without stumbling. I was every impressed,” Viktor chuckled. He had made first chair during the second audition for it after they had gotten to the new universe. He made sure to be kinder than Helen had been to him back in the day, but that didn’t stop him from being snarky and just a little bit mean concerning the woman who had the cello solo in one of their songs.

Five laughed and then kissed at his neck. Viktor squirmed away from the attention before he gasped and rushed to the other room. He returned with a Bluetooth speaker and his phone in his hands, much to Five’s obvious amusement. He spent the next several minutes getting the music set up so that the notes were gliding through the air as they got everything ready. He sang along to every song that he knew by heart and hummed to the one that he only knew the melody to. Five helped by singing the parts that he knew as well, but he was far less musically inclined than his husband.

They got the dry and wet ingredients prepared separately before they had to converge on the other side of the kitchen. Five held the mixer down with his hand and cupped at the sides were the powder was going to escape while Viktor dolled it out into the bowl with one of the measuring cups that they had used for the flour.

“Chocolate chips?” Five asked as he detached the bowl and placed it on the counter next to the stove. By that point, the dough was almost overflowing in the container and would have made it very hard for the mixer to actually evenly distribute their add-ins.

“I think that we should make a dozen with the orange ones,” Viktor said. He clambered on top of the dryer despite his husband’s protestations so that he could look for the aforementioned chips.

“Orange?” Five asked. He was hovering behind his husband like he was terrified that at any second, their sturdy metal dryer was going to cave in and Viktor was going to tumble down to the ground. He had been able to teleport his entire life and then tall when he lost his powers, so didn’t relate to the other man’s struggles with being able to reach the upper parts of their cupboards.

“Yeah, the ones that we put into those cookies that we made with the oats,” Viktor replied dismissively. He pulled them out and then handed them to the other man, his mouth once again stretching into a grin.

“Sweetheart, I think that word that you were looking for is caramel,” he laughed. He leaned down and kissed Viktor as he took the plastic baggy that they had placed the leftover candy into.

Viktor got all the way off of the dryer and then washed his hands off. Five was portioning out the dough very carefully and then pressing an even amount of chips into it so that they didn’t add the specific flavor to all of the cookies. Once he had finished, Viktor dumped an entire bag of chocolate chips into the dough and began to mix them in with his hands. They had filled up two whole sheets with tiny cookies-to-be before they put them into the oven.

The next two sheets had been prepared and were resting on the dryer so that they didn’t start to melt as they got the dishes into the dishwasher to clean up some of the mess.

When the first batch came out, they were immediately removed to the drying racks on the table. Viktor made sure to put the squirt bottle down in between them to deter Princess, their ancient alley cat who liked to steal any human food she thought she could get away with.

Once the next set of cookies were in the oven and the pans were cooling so they could get the next round started, Viktor slowly wrapped his arms around his husband’s waist. One of the slow songs was playing over the speaker, which made him feel soft and warm with the spirit of a holiday he had never celebrated before getting married. “Thank you for doing this with me,” he whispered.

“I would do anything for you, Viktor, you know that,” Five said it like a promise. The words traveled directly to the heavy ring on Viktor’s finger, reminding him of the other vows that they had exchanged.

“I love you. I’m so happy that you chose me to be your husband,” he grinned.

“There would be no one better,” Five murmured. They shared another kiss just as Viktor noticed that the storm had turned the whole outside of their house white, which was going to heavily impact their ability to go visit Diego’s family the next day. Viktor didn’t mind, he didn’t even say anything. He was happy to be wrapped up in the arms of the man that his soul belonged to with the sound of his favorite music and the scent of cookies filling up the home that he had fought tooth and nail to make.

#fanfiction #fanfic #writing #ao3 #archive of our own #year of fiktor series #year of otp #celebration and traditions fic #fiktor #five x viktor #viktor x five #viktor hargreeves #five hargreeves #tua #the umbrella academy

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araingirl · 2 years

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For the ship ask game, 13, 16, 17, 18 for KaiHil, please!

At first, I am really sorry for replying to this ask so late, dear. Couldn't find time for it and also took time to prepare the answers. Hehehe...anyways, let's move on!

13. Their opinions on PDA:

Public display of affection, right? Dear, actually *Scratches head* KaiHil was never a public couple. Yet, one of their signature displays is to wrap their pinky fingers around each other's.

(Cute, isn't it? :P )

Another one- Hilary keeps her head against Kai's shoulder, wrapping her fingers around one of his arms while walking and Kai secretly smells her hair. Actually these signs belong more to reliance on each other, respect to each other-than to affection, I guess. Hehehe...

16. Domestic bliss moment/domestic chores/shopping:

Both are pretty busy in their regular chores. Yet, their special moment is when they dress each other up for going outside. Kai combs and dresses Hilary's hair, Hilary also does the same and makes him wear the scarf around his neck.

They, of course, if in a live-in relationship, cook together. While cooking, Hilary is the one to cut the veggies, beat eggs, mix the spices and marinate (Although it is Kai who decides the quantities of the ingredients). Except that, Kai only boils, fries and steams them. (Yeah yeah, hot boy does hottie things ;P). For fish or meat, it's Kai who chops them.

For cleaning, together, they clean the furniture and mirrors. For floors, if Kai removes the dust with the vacuum cleaner, Hilary will mop them (And will get very very much angry with Kai if he steps on the wet floors with bare feet -_-). For cloths and dishes, they just divide the duties although they remain together for the dishwashing. Hilary just keeps talking and Kai keeps listening, as always.

Now, shopping. Shopping with Hilary: A nightmare to Kai Hiwatari! Buhahaha! (xD) Yes, really, our Mr. Sourpuss, the bravest, toughest blader in the world is scared of only a very few things in this world and shopping with the brunette is one of them. No, not because she is a woman who will empty the market. She will buy only a few things which are really necessary but she won't compromise with the quality of it. And in this case, she's better than her partner, including bargaining. When she keeps haggling with the storekeepers and remains roaming from this shop to that, Kai just becomes (-_-). I mean...she takes a lot of time.

But Kai surely admires one thing about her: Her shopping demands are very few in number, in comparison with other girls. Plus, she doesn't always rely on Kai's money for her wants. So, this trait of Hilary can be forgiven, right? ;D

17. A relaxing night for them:

An open, cloudless sky wearing the tiara of the moon and hairpins of pearly stars, checking for her reflection on the transparent surface of the plain river water. At the shore, they both are sitting, resting the heads of each other on the shoulders of each other, palms on each other's knees. Fireflies hovering around them; there is no person, no sound-except the jingling of the crickets.

Ah! *Blissfully sighs* What can be more relaxing for them?

18. A dating night for them:

There are many. A long-walk in a winter evening (No long drive), having tea in a very ancient, vintage tea-shop where the kimono-worn traditional waitresses serve tea in wooden cups on bamboo-made trays, a rain dance in a monsoon night, lying down on the grass and facing the sky together in a summer/spring night, rowing boat in the river in a moonlit night with a traditional classic lantern (Reminding me of the song: Sirivennela. Totally KaiHil material! *_* *_*)

That's it. Thank you so much for the ask and also, again, sorry for being late :P

#KaiXHilary #KaiHIl #Asks #Ask me more

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surveysandthings · 2 years

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do you ever do these surveys with your SO? Nah, it’s usually just me!

have you ever totally lied or made up ridiculous answers for surveys? Nope. No one knows who I am and I don’t think anyone even follows this blog so I have no reason to lie.

do animal furs upset you? I think it’s gross in this day and age as we don’t need fur to keep warm but I don’t see a problem with purchasing vintage furs. It’s the best way to honor the animals now.

who picks the music when you’re riding in the car? Definitely my husband, he cares more about the music when we drive. I’m perfectly happy just turning on a playlist but he needs to pick every song.

do you have a waste basket in your car? Yup! One of those ones you hook on the headrest of your seat.

what’s the Spanish name for your favourite food? I’m in between hyper fixation foods rn so I don’t think I could tell you what my favorite food is, let alone what it is in Spanish.

do you know anyone who regularly uses a bike for transportation? We have a neighbor who I always see riding back and forth on his bike but I've never met him, so.

do you consider audio books not really reading? I wouldn’t consider it reading but you’re still absorbing the content of a book.

strangest thing you’ve ever put in the trunk of a car? ...I can’t say I've ever put anything strange in the trunk of a car? Just like...groceries and suitcases and sometimes furniture?

do you carry matches or a lighter? No, but my husband does!

do you keep socks with a hole in them if they are your favorites? I hate socks so I don’t wear any enough to develop holes in them.

last time you wore clothes that were too small on you. Um? I don’t know, to be honest!

have you ever frightened someone on purpose? I mean, I've hid behind something and jumped out to scare someone before as a joke but I’ve never done anything to actually make someone fearful past that initial jump scare.

have you ever had something taken away from you by airport security? A really rude TSA agent in Chicago took my water from me once and then felt me up. That was awk.

what’s the last wild animal you have seen? I saw a squirrel out the window yesterday!

something you were surprised to learn about your parent’s childhood? My mom recently told me that she once jumped the barricade at a Van Halen concert back in the day to get closer to the stage as a teenager and that was surprising. She’s such a fuddy duddy now, it’s weird to think she was ever young and carefree like that.

do you store any non food items in the fridge? I have a little tub of sheet masks in there rn because they feel nice on my skin when they’re chilly.

have you ever told a friend you thought their parent was hot? I’ve never found any of my friends’ parents attractive.

what was the last thing you bought from a gumball machine? how long ago was that? My husband bought a Pokemon card from one of those sticker machines if that counts. It was over the summer!

have you ever destroyed another person’s belongings out of anger? Nope.

plain band aids or fun ones? Always fun ones. I go out of my way to spend more on those fancy Welly ones from Target bc they have such cute prints.

which pain killer do you use? Naproxen sodium works best for me but I'll take an ibuprofen in a pinch.

have you ever used someone else’s Rx med? Nope.

have you ever borrowed underwear from a friend? None of my friends have ever been fat, haha.

would you like to be part of a wedding party? I could be into that for the right person!

last pair of shoes you threw out and why? I just replaced my winter boots because they were worn out and hurting my feet.

have you ever thrown anything up to hang on the power/phone lines? No.

have you ever really stayed up all night to do homework? Late, not all night.

have you ever had anything stolen from you? YES, my doormat!!! I’m still pissed about it.

if you could make up one rule for all your friends, what would it be? Be nice to me and don’t forget about me when you have kids.

do you pay attention to people’s posture? I can honestly say I've never dedicated a single brain cell to someone else’s posture before in my life.

do you have a creepy uncle, or have a friend who has one? My husband has a VERY creepy uncle.

alarm clock, or do you use your phone? I use my phone or the google home depending on the day.

have you ever backed into a cactus? No, but I did accidentally drop one into my hand when I was repotting it and was like ‘phew! no needles in my fingers’ and then I realized later that its fuzzies were actually teeny tiny little prickles. Took me forever to get them all out.

do any of your relatives not have home internet? I don’t think so...?

when you get the munchies, do you want sweet or salty? Definitely salty.

something you taught yourself how to do? Probably something sewing related.

#surveys

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shes-homeward-bound · 2 years

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Crash and Burn | Chapter 2

Summary: You’re the first female driver to compete in the Formula 1 World Championship in decades and it's your second year of navigating through a male-dominated sport. Your talent and drive to prove yourself made you vicious on the grid. Your seemingly unshakeable confidence was never questioned- until a certain Ferrari driver made you crash and burn.

Pairing: Carlos Sainz Jr. x Reader

Chapters: 2/?

Warnings: swearing

Word Count: 2.8k

Posted on: 4/4/2022

masterlist

A/N: This is a warning that what I write won’t be 100% accurate to the cars and drivers' current performance. I’m aware the Aston Martin cars aren’t doing too hot at the moment but this is just me manifesting good things for Sebastian Vettel. I’ll try to stay accurate to current events but remember I’m trying to *entertain* over here. Again, this is fiction not a representation of their actual character.

Chapter 2:

You paced around your hotel room in Bahrain looking for something to do to keep your mind busy. You unpacked your clothes, organized your extensive skincare, and made a latte but you couldn’t stop thinking about what happened in Mallorca.

After breakfast, Carlos was kind enough to offer you a ride to your beach house and you wanted to refuse but he was insistent. He must have felt bad and wanted to make up for it. It turns out the vintage Ferrari you were admiring happened to belong to Carlos’ family. The drive back to the beach house was filled with casual chatter and you were thankful. You couldn’t afford to overthink when Carlos and his ridiculously handsome features were in close proximity to you.

Your friend and performance coach, Anna was leaning against the entrance as she watched you pace around your hotel room.

“I already know what you’re thinking about. Has it occurred to you that the more you think about him, the more you’ll actually like him?” said Anna.

“I don’t like him! I just think he’s attractive. That’s all.”

“You think Daniel’s hot but I don’t see you freaking out over him. I thought you wanted to be friends with Carlos. Isn’t this a step in the right direction?”

You glared at her as you continued pacing around the room. Anna has been your coach since you were in F2 and even if she was a little older than you, she’s become one of your closest friends. She understood you and was determined to help you be the best athlete you could mentally and physically be. Which meant she knew all the ins and outs of your life.

“But how do you go from not talking to being friendly all of a sudden? He’s withholding information from me.”

“Okay there’s that but you’re only mad because you had no control of the situation. You wanted to call the shots but then Carlos did it ahead of you.” said Anna “Now stop getting so distracted, you need to focus for the practice session!”

You picked up a throw pillow and threw it in her direction but Anna easily swats it away. She walks over, taking a hold of your shoulders. She demanded that you look her in the eyes as she asked you a question. “Remind me why you compete in Formula 1.” You rolled your eyes wanting to walk away but she held you firmly.

“I’m a great driver and I know I can help pave the way for other women in motorsports.” She gestures for you to keep going and you cooperate. “I want the satisfaction of knowing I beat 19 of the world’s best race car drivers. I want to show the world what I’m capable of and I won’t stop until I’m World Champion.”

You would often get terribly insecure when you thought you didn’t perform well enough, you would start getting in your head and Anna knew exactly what to do to get you out of that toxic headspace. Anna let you go and smirked. You were glowing, that competitiveness inside you was burning. This was exactly what you needed, a reminder of why you loved to compete. Your problems with Carlos were no longer troublesome in the grand scheme of things. What you said was true, you wanted to make space for more women in the sport and the other part was pure narcissism. You grew to be extremely fond of the other drivers but that’s okay because you knew they were just as pompous as you, some were just better at hiding it. You don’t get to compete in F1 if you can’t be egotistical sometimes.

Your 3 goals for the season haven't changed you were more determined to achieve them.

The media hasn’t seen that side of you yet because you were so careful to not get too angry. You knew if you got too emotional, the press would perceive you as a young lady with a bad attitude. You were capable of being hot-headed and mouthing off a person who opposed you. You had to filter everything you said in interviews and through the radio whenever you spoke to the race engineers. It was decided that in this new season, it was time to show the world that even with a sweet smile, you could be cunning inside and outside of the track.

*******

“Okay, that’s a wrap for pre-season day 1. Lap time was 1:30.175 making you P5. Well done y/n.” said your race engineer Ben.

“Hell yeah! P5, I'll take it!” you said over the radio, “Thanks for all the hard work ladies and gents. Let’s push harder tomorrow.”

You were pleased with the amount of work you were able to do with the car and team today. You were feeling more comfortable with the heavier car but you were still running into some oversteer problems. At the start of practice, you were practically fighting the car not to do donuts at every turn. Sebastian was having a better time at handling the car and would often wave every time he passed by you.

While the crew rolls you and the car into the garage, you spot Lando in his car signaling for you to meet up after the team debriefs. As you give him a thumbs up, you see him lift his visor and send you a wink. You could tell by the way his head was bobbing up and down that he was laughing. You had no idea what the hell was so funny but you would know soon enough.

You were finally dressed in your regular clothes and before you had the chance to leave your hospitality room there was a knock on the door. You opened it and Lando burst in with his phone in hand.

“Is there something going on between you two?” demanded Lando. His tone was accusatory but he wasn’t mad.

“What are you talking about? Between who?”

Lando shoved his phone in your face and you took it to see someone had taken a photo of you and Carlos at the cafe back in Mallorca. This particular photo captured a moment where Carlos was showing you a picture of his rookie year on his phone, Carlos was laughing and you were gazing. You looked up at Lando to see him with a shit-eating grin on his face. He swiped to the next photo and it was a picture of the both of you getting into his car. You noticed the picture was posted in some fan account which meant that those pictures have made their rounds on the internet. You groaned.

“Nothing happened! We just coincidentally saw each other in Mallorca and he offered to drive me home.”

He squinted at you trying to decide if he believed you or not. You never told Lando about your annoyance towards Carlos. They were close friends and you didn’t want to drive a wedge between them over something trivial.

“So nothing is happening between you two? I’m not gonna lie, I was so hurt when I saw those pictures.” He clutched his chest dramatically, “Two of my best mates sneaking around without telling me.”

“Oh come on, Lando. When have you ever seen Carlos and I talk to each other? I didn’t even know he liked me, he was just being nice.” You ushered him out the door not wanting to miss your dinner reservation with the boys.

Lando hid a smile under his mask, he has known Carlos for a while and he knew why the Ferrari driver avoided you like the plague. Carlos Sainz Jr. was intimidated by the Aston Martin driver, your extroversion and the confident air that surrounded you made him feel nervous. Lando tried to get Carlos to talk to you but he refused and Lando thought it was hilarious. He reminded Carlos that hidden behind intimidation was great admiration. This was why he invited Carlos to dinner.

You and Lando arrived at the restaurant to find out the boys were already seated at a table. Your breath hitched when you spotted Carlos, your eyes flew to Lando but he was already making his way to greet the other drivers. Carlos was wearing a gray polo shirt that fit him perfectly and his hair was still a little messy from wearing a helmet. He noticed you looking and gave you a small wave.

Oh fuck, you thought. You had no idea he was coming but you should have expected it, half the grid was sitting on this table. The only empty seat was between Pierre and Carlos, as you made your way to your chair, you cautiously looked around. If any of the other drivers saw the pictures from Mallorca, they weren’t saying anything and you hoped it stayed that way. You didn’t know what you'd do with the teasing, especially with Carlos in the room. The boys fist-bumped you as you passed them and once you sat down, Pierre greets you with a side hug asking how your vacation went. Every time you posted on your Instagram story, Pierre would message you complaining about a last-minute photoshoot they made him and Yuki do.

Mentally hyping yourself, you turned to Carlos who was already looking at you. You nudged him with your elbow. “Nice seeing you again.”

It took everything in you not to physically grimace, you could already feel your cheeks turning red. He was already looking at you, why the hell did you have to poke him?

Thankfully your greeting was well-received as Carlos smiled. “I meant to come and congratulate you on making P5 in practice but I couldn’t find you in the paddock.”

You shrugged. “Thanks but I really could’ve done better, what matters is getting that result on quali day next week.”

“Don’t sell yourself short. You’ve had one of the strongest years as a rookie, don’t let go of that momentum” said Carlos.

You blinked at him thinking about what he said. Did he just compliment you? He was looking for you after practice?

Before you could respond, George yells from across the table. “I’m sorry, am I hearing you complain about P5? Y/n here was racing while we were all practicing. Every time I got a faster lap, my race engineer would tell me you’d beat me by hundredths of a second.”

The table laughed at his exasperation. George’s funny outburst reverberated and livened the atmosphere. Once everyone’s food came, the laughter continued as the entire table started arguing about who was the better at golf. The more technical their conversation about golf became, the more you and Max would shoot looks at each other. You both didn’t like golf, Max claimed he wasn’t good at it but you just couldn’t care less about how boring you thought the sport was. Once the golf talk got unbearable, you gave Max a knowing nod. At the same time, you dramatically slumped in your chair and made snoring noises while Max opted to lay his head down on the table.

“You guys don’t get it!” argued Lando. “Golf is an art. You’ve never tried so you’re not allowed to have an opinion,” he said as he pointed at you.

“Golf can't be that hard!” you countered back. “You hit the ball and follow it around in a little cart.”

“You have to aim the ball! You can’t just whack it!”

Amidst the chaos of the silly golf argument, Carlos stood up gesturing for everyone to calm down.

“Okay, okay, after this weekend we solve this by playing Topgolf. We split ourselves into two teams and the losing team has to post a picture with the highest scorers saying they are a better driver and golfer than them,” said Carlos.

Everyone agreed to the low-stake bet, eager to do something fun yet competitive outside of racing. Dinner came to an end and as the other drivers said goodnight and started heading to their hotels, Carlos stayed back as you dug around your purse for your company car’s keys.

“I meant what I said earlier, your short time in Formula 1 has already impressed the world, me included. Keep that focus and you might just be a world champion. The race strategists claimed you as one of the biggest opponents on the grid.”

You could feel yourself blush. You were never one to accept compliments well, you’d always joke around or reciprocate the flattery. You couldn’t handle all the nice things Carlos was saying about you so you decided to return the favor.

“Thank you, Carlos, that means a lot coming from you. But have you considered that you’re in the fight for a title this year? I know the season hasn’t officially started but your race history is pointing in that direction. Have you noticed your consistency, Carlos? You get better each year and out of everyone on the grid, you deserve a title. You finished 5th in last year's standings!”

Carlos stood there with his mouth open. You looked back at him with wide eyes startled at the pure admiration you spewed out. With red cheeks, you managed to mutter a “see you tomorrow” and ran to your car. You didn’t know but Carlos needed those words of encouragement. It was hard being teammates with Charles who had been consistently getting better results than him. He knew he was fast but sometimes that confidence faltered whenever he came second after his teammate.

Still standing there shocked, Carlos felt guilt creep upon him. He was ashamed of the way he treated you during your rookie year. When Aston Martin first announced your seat for the 2021 season, he was astonished. Female drivers were rare when it came to the higher levels like F2 and F1, and Carlos first thought you were a pay driver who only got her seat due to the fact your family had money and that you were beautiful which would draw sponsors. He couldn't have been more wrong.

It was hard to define your driving style but Carlos found that “aggressive finesse” was the best way to describe the way you drove. As the season progressed he learned that you traditionally earned your seat, climbing through the ranks and mainly depending on sponsors. He couldn’t look you in the eye for the rest of the season knowing how harsh he judged you. Carlos didn’t dare share his initial opinions of you because all the other drivers had adored her immediately. He would observe you fleeting around the paddock making friends wherever you went and you were always so nice but his shame didn’t allow him to be so gracious. Carlos knew his logic made no sense but he couldn’t deny your skill and beauty almost threatened him. Carlos was glad he ran into you in Mallorca, he’s been figuring out a way to start fresh with you, and the island managed to help him.

*******

You tossed and turned waiting for the sleep to come but the sheets were either too hot or you weren’t warm enough. Giving up, you picked up your phone hoping mindless scrolling through social media would put you to sleep. You perked up as a notification appeared at the top of your screen.

Carlossainz55 started following you.

Finally, you thought. You had already been following Carlos since you were in F2 and you were scared your little speech may have weirded him out but apparently not. You scrolled through his tagged photos curious to see what fans have been up to. You rarely looked through fan accounts partly because you’d see comments about you that made you roll your eyes to the back of your head. But, the majority of the fans were hilarious making fun edits of the drivers. You stopped scrolling when you saw the Mallorca pictures, the majority of the comments were from your fans claiming that they’d never seen you two together. You laughed, F1 fans were eagle-eyed and you were glad no one was trying to ship you with the Ferrari driver. During your rookie year, the fans would start shipping you with every driver you spoke to, even the ones with girlfriends. It stopped once fans got distracted by the intensifying fight between Lewis and Max.

You kept scrolling to see if someone had reposted the picture Charles took at dinner for his story. You didn’t notice it at the time but you had leaned into Carlos to pose for the picture and he had placed his arm on the back of your chair. You smiled, you both looked comfortable around each other and that’s what you wanted. No more sad attempts of you trying and him walking away as you entered the room. Your unexpected meet-up with Carlos changed your relationship with the man and you weren’t about to complain. It was like a dam broke, you were always cordial and he was finally reciprocating it. Maybe your goal to befriend the handsome Spanish man wouldn’t be difficult after all.

I hope you guys liked this chapter! Lmk what you liked or if you want to join the taglist

tags: @mysticalnightenthusiast, @laura-naruto-fan1998, @harley-sunday, @forzaferraris

#carlos sainz jr #carlos sainz jr x reader #carlos sainz x reader #carlos sainz fluff #carlossainz #formula 1 x reader #formula one x reader #lando norris #charles leclerc #formula 1 fanfic #f1 fanfic #carlos sainz

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aayatunnisa · 2 years

Text

Some lighthouse/seacore aesthetic activities that don’t get spoken about enough (Pt 1/?)

- learning crochet (to knit sweaters for yourself and your cats)

- playing cards

- writing letters, journals, stories, poems, songs. anything and everything

- wearing that vintage sea captain hat and never taking it off

- pretending you’re an old sea captain and journalling your voyages and adventures on ship

- playing board games

- pressing wildflowers in old biology textbooks

- bicycling to the city for new books

- having a sublime rock collection

- rocking on your rocking chair for hours just petting your cat

- having countless vintage collectible books on entomology and ornithology

- having a seashell collection

- play with your cats

- go paddling off the shore once in a while

- bicycling to the closest seaside city for fresh bunches of flowers

- taking naps on your rocking chair

- teach yourself to draw insects, birds, fish

- learning folklore and folk songs for sea monsters from multiple languages/cultures

- having ivy and creepers flourishing on the windowsill

- picnicking on the shore, on the rocks

- dressing up in your grandparents’ vintage formal clothes and having fancy dinners with yourself and your cat

- baking

- hot chocolate with marshmallows

- reading letters from old friends

- taking long walks on the beach

- always having a boiling kettle on the stove with fresh tea

- collecting different types of tea to try

- sewing kits

- writing letters to your friends and loved ones describing your life in minute detail

- teaching yourself embroidery

- owning a telescope and referring to guidebooks to spot constellations and planets at night

- writing long letters to your old professors/librarians/teachers

- owning paintings with sceneries of the sea and the sky

- owning too many woolen socks (but you just can’t get enough)

- books, obviously

- sliding across the floor with woolen socks because they’re cool

- clips and bows and ribbons in your hair

- wearing aprons on long skirts and nostalgic for your non-existent husband who died at sea (it’s a fantasy)

- owning too many horror and folktale books from all over the world

- learning to make sketches of the faces you’ve seen at night

- owning too many keys belonging to unknown locks

- owning books of asian ghost stories

- dissecting watches and clocks to learn the inner workings and fix them on your own

- painting with watercolours

- learning to play an instrument (preferably piano or violin)

- owning a record player and dancing to the old records in the living room

- learning to read water and weather

- learning to draw human anatomy and physiology

Feel free to add on!

#lighthouse #lighthousecore #aayatunnisa #nakhodeh #academia #academia aesthetic #sea aesthetic #sea #ocean aesthetic #ocean #sea captain #dark academia #light academia #aesthetic #books #drawing #painting #activities

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wri0thesley · 3 years

Note

Hiiii I remember u mentioning that u hyper fixated on vintage lingerie and I wanted to say that I do too!! I have a weakness for pretty things lmao if only I could afford them all. I was wondering what clothing (incl lingerie but like not exclusively) you’d think jjk characters (have ur pick honestly on which ones) would be turned on by? I feel like it’s an interesting question—maybe they’re a vintage pink lace and silk charmeuse slip kinda guy, maybe they’re into black leather, or maybe the one thing that gets them going is when you wear a ratty old t shirt with nothing underneath ashfkfkdkdkd.

Gojo’s not a man of subtlety in any form. His very favourite things to see you in are frothy and lacy and ruffly; so much the better if they’re patterned with sweet things like strawberries or peaches. He’s also never going to say ‘no’ to seeing you in anything the blue shade of his eyes - he adores looking at you and knowing that you belong to him. He’s likely to buy you expensive lingerie and then immediately rip it off of you to get to what’s beneath it; he can afford it, so why wouldn’t he?

Nanami’s a man of classic tastes. He likes there to be a little mystery in the lingerie you wear; he thinks that the tease of the shape beneath the fabric is just as sexy as seeing you bared. As such, he’s got a fondness for satin slips trimmed with lace, stockings and garters, a sheer robe wrapped around your body. He’s also never going to say no to seeing you in a button-up and nothing else.

Geto’s also a man who prefers the classics. He simply wants to see you in a simple black set, all matching and lovely, with satin ribbons he can tug on. He likes, too, the idea of a collar around your pretty neck - especially one he can hook an elegant finger into and pull you closer to him with. Black satin and lace and leather are all of great appeal to him.

Mahito is excited by the whole gamut of outfits humans consider ‘sexy’ - he’ll be equally pleased by you wrapped in a trashy hot pink bikini as he would be if you were to wear a hucow costume. He does, however, really very much get into the idea of sexy costumes . . . it’s just so fascinating to him. And, of course, it helps that you look appealing and delicious in everything you wear.

Sukuna would rather have you in nothing at all. If he had to pick, he’d like you wrapped in ropes, totally helpless to do anything but let him use your body as he sees fit.

Toji has corruption kink up to his eyeballs; wear the virginal white wedding night lingerie. Let him rip it off of you and utterly ruin you - let him tear at chiffon and silk and froths of lace like an animal and pin you beneath him so he can show you exactly what he’s going to do to your ‘innocence’. It doesn’t matter if you’re not really like that - he likes the play of it all.

Choso’s the one who’s going to get excited by you wearing a shirt with nothing underneath it. Your nightwear; a tank top, yoga pants, tight leggings. Choso is just head over heels for you when you’re covered in domesticity; and knowing you feel comfortable around him, seeing these little glimpses of a life he gets to share with you . . . blood is rushing to his cheeks and he’s begging you for a kiss, and you’ll soon know that he wants even more than that.

#not sfw #jjk x reader #jjk posting #jjk headcanons #jjk smut

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slytherinspired · 4 years

Text

Firsts - A Sirius Black Imagine

Pairings : Young Sirius Black x Reader

Warnings : smut, obviously, unprotected sex, swearing, smoking, alcohol and mild drug use.

Hi love! I did it! Beware, it is quite long, I sort of took the liberty to provide some context, but I hope you'll like it! :)

Masterlist

Sirius is looking back at himself in the mirror, wincing at his reflection. He recognizes his traits sparingly; his dark curls falling to his shoulders, his mocking smirk, his overall nonchalant expression. He knows who he is, but the clothes on his back are completely robbing him of his own identity. He glances bitterly at his beloved leather coat sitting on the back of his desk chair and sighs. The ridiculous black suit he’s wearing barely fits him. He knows it probably used to belong to one of his distant cousins and that it has been quickly and grossly recut to fit him by the house-elf. His parents are downstairs in the drawing room, waiting for him to join them so they can leave for this stupid reception.

He doesn’t even know what it is about, except that he’s going to this apparent important new Ministry guy’s house who threw a sort of lame introduction party, since he just arrived in London with his family. And what he knows is that he’s going to spend the whole night with the type of people he doesn’t want to be assimilated with. From what he heard, the host of the reception just arrived at the Ministry of Magic to help with the passing of some bill for Muggleborn regulations, as awful as it sounds. He’d like to avoid to go, but Walburga has the upper hand on him, and nothing in the world would convince his dear mother to leave her eldest son behind, knowing full well that if she does so, Sirius is going to get the fuck out of there and join these Muggles mingling Potters fools.

‘You look dapper,’ says a soft voice behind him.

Standing in the doorway, Sirius’ youngest brother observes him, grinning.

‘Shut up,’ he replies, annoyed by the stupid smile on Regulus’ face.

His brother crosses his arms and steps into his bedroom. He looks around like he just stepped into some kind of freak show. His gaze rests a little longer on a certain poster. Sirius glances at the Muggle woman dressed in a revealing red swimsuit standing straight in the middle of the picture. He smirks, and caught-red handed, Regulus turns away quickly. She always was his brother's favourite, after all. Whether he wants to admit it or not.

‘Are you going to behave this time?’ he asks, stepping in front of his eldest brother.

Sirius shrugs, trying to adjust the bowtie strangling him. For Merlin’s sake, he thinks, it feels like he’s suffocating already.

‘I always behave, brother dear,’ he replies, trying to undo the knot around his neck. ‘I just don’t behave the way they’d like me to,' referring to their parents.

Regulus shakes his head and starts fiddling with his brother’s bowtie and adjust it perfectly in one fell swoop, as if it were child’s play. Once the knot is properly buckled, he taps Sirius’ chest in an encouraging gesture, and frowns when he feels something hard hidden in the inside pocket of his brother’s vest.

‘Really?’ he asks.

Sirius snorts.

‘Just a bit of courage,’ he admits.

‘And how much courage did you drink already?’

‘Not enough, apparently,’ Sirius replies, thinking about the full flask of warm whiskey tucked inside his suit.

He’d honestly rather be stuck in detention with Snivellus for the rest of his existence then go to this lame-ass party. That alone justifies the whiskey amply.

After a few detours in the city, he finds himself in front of an imposing white manor situated in one of London’s richest Square. Oh, this is going to be a long night, he thinks. Not only it seems like the host is wizard-rich, but he’s also everything rich, period. He rolls his eyes, there’s no issue. Walburga is pressing her long and emaciated fingers into his son’s arm as they step into the great hall of the house. The interior is as posh as the exterior, with its grand marble staircase curving up to the upper floor and its giant diamond-like chandelier hanging over their heads. For God’s sake, is it a live classical assemble he hears playing in the back? As his mother pushes him further inside, the sound of light chatter reaches his ears. He sees his father, dressed in his horrible robes, already on his way to speak with some old acquaintances, quickly followed by Regulus. He scans the principal room for a quiet corner, but it’s filled with this bunch of pricks, and he’s fighting with all his might the panic that is taking over his mind. He finally spots a free corner next to a big window and he walks straight ahead in that direction, hoping no one will recognize him on the way.

‘I heard his son has found some work as a doctor,’ he hears a shrill voice say.

‘A Muggle doctor? How peculiar!’ says another voice.

This is exactly the kind of chatter Sirius doesn’t want to hear. In no way he thinks he’s superior because he was graced with magic powers at birth. It is so suffocating, and he feels so incredibly small and inadequate, drowning in this sea of close-minded guests.

He studies them, recognizes some familiar faces from Hogwarts, but most of them are Slytherins and are not close at all to use them as an escape. A waiter walks in front of him, holding a tray where champagne flutes fill themselves up. He grabs one and drink it in one sip. He’s already quite tipsy, but he doesn’t care. He’d rather be intoxicated right now to bury this hatred deep within. God, he needs air.

He sees Walburga looking for him in the room, and she’s walking next to a tall and handsome man. For Godric’s sake, why is she walking straight in his direction? The man next to her doesn’t look as old as his mother, but the grey strands in his black hair betrays his age. He looks posh, and haughty.

‘This is my eldest son, Sirius,’ says his mother in a toneless voice. ‘Sirius, this his our host, Mr Santorini.’

‘Pleased to meet your, Mr Black,’ says the man while he extends his hand.

Sirius gets up on his feet, subtly struggling to find his balance, under the duo’s concerned stare. He rapidly and weakly shakes the man’s hand and nods. Ashamed, Walburga shoots darts at her son and quickly turns away from him.

‘My youngest, Regulus, is doing quite well at Hogwarts, see, he’s - ...’ her voice fades away.

Sirius closes his eyes; he needs to find some distraction. And what could be better than the little thing he has brought to the party that is currently hidden in his pocket behind the whiskey flask? He needs to feel something else than the dreadful thoughts he has right now. He struts to the giant marble staircase and finds his way on the upper level without attracting attention to him. That is one advantage when no one cares about you; not being seen. The voices downstairs are slowly fading away and he feels already so much better.

He runs a nervous hand in his dark locks, feeling quite hot, with this bowtie strangling him. There must be a door leading outside. He tries to open the first one on his right, but the handle doesn’t bulge; it’s locked. And Walburga has confiscated his wand at the beginning of the summer upon his return from Hogwarts, so there’s no use. He sighs and adventures further away in the hall.

He has more luck with the second door, and finds himself into a deserted bedroom. His eyes make out the giant bed over the central wall of the room, and spots some sealed boxes on the floor. The translucent curtains discreetly veil the large windows in front of him, and he opens one widely and lights himself a cigarette without a care, pacing into the room nervously. He sees some pictures resting on a vintage dresser on the opposite wall. There are rows of books in the built-in bookcases, and even some disperse vinyls taking up some of the space. He’s clearly trespassing someone’s intimacy, but whose? Sirius walks to the dresser and opens up the first drawer. A tickling feeling in his stomach at the sight of the several underwear – even in the darkness – makes him wonder how long has it been since he’s been intimate with someone. The last time was before school ended, with Mallory, and it was just snogging. He never went all the way... He chuckles discreetly at the thought and taps the ashes of his cigarette on the floor. Fuck this house, fuck this bedroom, and fuck this posh Pureblood family.

‘Mm, mm.’

Someone has cleared their throat behind him. He jumps, and tries to hide the cigarette away.

‘Please, don’t stop for me,’ says a girl in the doorway.

He can’t make up her traits in the darkness, but she sounds young. She steps right in front of him.

‘I don’t think you should be up here,’ she says.

He feels like a child, caught red-handed. He feels suddenly very trapped.

‘I heard the owner of this house is quite severe,’ she adds, taking the cigarette away from him, inhaling the smoke into her lungs, and exhaling. ‘If he found us in his daughter’s room, I think he’d torture us without any remorse.’

‘His daughter’s room?’ he replies nervously.

She nods, giving him back his cigarette.

‘A real pest.’

There is an awkward silence.

‘What were you doing here?’ she adds.

‘Looking for a way out,’ he replies in all honesty. ‘What about you?’

‘Just about the same.’ She glances at the cigarette. ‘You might want to put it out now.’

‘I really don’t,’ he replies, taking one last whiff, ‘but when do I get what I want anyway?’

He throws it on the hard-wood floor indifferently and follows the stranger in the hallway. She turns around to take a good look at him.

‘I’m Y/N, by the way – ‘

He feels like his legs are going to flinch. He doesn’t know if it’s the sudden nicotine rush, or the champagne mixed with the whiskey, or the lights in the hallway shinning over Y/N’s green doe eyes staring at him, or her long black hair waving on her back, or her delicious pink lips, or the gentle freckles on her nose, but he’s suddenly feeling quite light-headed.

‘You okay there?’ she laughs. ‘What’s your name?’

He shakes his head, trying to regain his thoughts.

‘I’m, er. I’m Si – ‘should he really tell her his real name? ‘I’m Sid.’

‘Sid,’ she repeats. ‘Well, Sid, you don’t look too good.’

‘I don’t feel too good,’ he admits.

Her expression changes. She’s not amused anymore. She’s pitying him.

‘Follow me,’ she says, grabbing his hand like she has known him forever, dragging him to the end of the wall where they cross a door and end up on a small balcony overlooking the deserted garden.

‘How to you know this place?’ he asks, resting his arms on the guardrail, humming the fresh crisp air.

‘Hung out with the pest earlier,’ she replies.

‘Not anymore?’

‘Told you, she’s a pest. I can’t leave, though. I’m sort of stuck here.’

‘So am I.’

She laughs lightly. The moonlight shines on her beautiful face, and her traits are so soft, and if he was much more like himself, he’d try to charm her the way he knows how.

‘So, Sid. What are we avoiding?’ she asks away.

‘My parents, I guess,’ he replies, taking out the flask of whiskey of his pocket.

He takes a big sip and hands it to her. She considers it for a moment and grabs it. The wind flies through her hair, and her perfume reaches his nostrils, a perfectly well-balanced mix of vanilla and gentle notes of citrus. The fragrance shoots up his nose and wafts around his brain. Fuck, she’s so beautiful.

‘What about them?’ she asks away, wincing when she swallows the liquor.

He snorts. He doesn’t want to talk about his parents right now. Not when the prettiest girl he’s ever seen is standing right in front of him. He has something else on his mind now.

‘Your accent,’ he says, switching subjects. ‘It’s not from here.’

Y/N nods.

‘I grew up all over the place, but mostly America.’

‘You don’t sound American.’

She smiles, revealing a straight row of perfectly pearly white teeth.

‘My family, we’re from Sicily.’

He nods.

‘It’s in Italy – ‘

‘I know where Sicily is, I’m not stupid,’ he replies harshly, a bit offended.

But Y/N chuckles lightly, and her soft laugh brings his attitude down. He can’t help but stare at her. She’s a bit overdressed to his taste, but hey, so is he. He wonders what is hiding underneath that navy dress of hers, and if her skin is as soft as he imagines it is. He needs to calm down.

‘First time in London, then?’

She nods.

‘What do you think?’ he asks, locking eyes with her.

She licks her lower lip without realizing it.

‘Well, I don’t hate the accent,’ she teases.

Praised be Godric.

‘Tell me, Sid, you seem to be about my age, yet you’re drunk like an old man with a drinking problem, and you probably smoke like a city boy. I keep wondering if I really should be alone with you right now.’

‘Are you afraid?’ he asks.

She shakes her head.

‘Rarely.’

‘To be honest, Y/N,’ he says, pronouncing every syllable of her name like he could actually taste it, ‘I was alone up there to find a quiet spot for this.’

He shows up the joint between his fingers. She squints for a short moment and smiles.

‘I see.’

Y/N’s eyes bored into him. He wonders if he has crossed a line. He barely knows her, after all.

‘Let’s go somewhere more private, then,’ she suggests, grabbing his hand. He doesn’t even have the time to appreciate the softness of her skin when he feels himself disapparating, his body swirling in every direction, and a sudden urge of panic takes hold off him. When he reapparates in a loud pop, he shouts:

‘What the hell are you doing? Are you bloody insane?’

‘What, did you never apparate before?’

‘Yes, I did but -,’ he is freaking out, Walburga must think he’s left and is probably fulminating. ‘My mother, she’s going to hex me! Bring us back!’

‘Why?’ Eliana asks, intrigued. ‘How would she know?’

Sirius shakes his head nervously.

‘She placed some sort of charm on me, I’m not allowed to leave her sight. If she knows I left the premises, she’ll find me and – ‘

He stops himself from saying too much. Perhaps it would be a bit intense to share with the girl what would Walburga do to him. At least, he wouldn’t have to explain the healing bruises on his ribcage.

‘Relax, Sid. We’re still on the premises.’

He looks around and spots the house in the distance through a small window. Are they in some sort of guest house? A garden shed? There is nothing around him, he’s just standing on a mat. Relieved, he sits down, running a hand in his hair. Y/N joins him and creates a small fire by flicking her wand, enough to dimly light the room they are in.

‘You’re actually scared of your parents. Why?’

Sirius chuckles. He’s not scared, he’s terrified of them. She points out the little stick he forgot he was holding between his fingers.

‘Shall we?’ she suggests.

‘Who says I want to share?’

She pouts adorably. He lights it up and he takes a good breath of the substance and exhales slowly, indulging the heavy smoke, his lungs burning, and a light sensation rushes to his head. Them Muggles can also do magic, he thinks to himself. Under her curious eyes, he passes the stick in her delicate hands, and observes her. Her delicious lips reach it, and she slowly breathes it in. She starts coughing, tears running to her eyes.

‘Wait,’ he laughs, ‘is this your first time?’

She presses her hand to her rounded chest, laughing uncontrollably. Sirius shakes his head, following her laugh, and explains to her how to actually get the smoke to her lungs.

‘There, yes – keep it still a second, let it -, yes, good,’ it’s like teaching children how to mount a broom, ‘and exhale. Brilliant.’

He waits a second before taking another whiff. Y/N’s mouth curves into a smile and she closes her eyes slowly.

‘Oh,’ she exhales, ‘this is – ‘

‘I know,’ replies Sirius, smiling. ‘I know.’

‘Oh,’ she repeats.

He stares at her, admiring her delicate features. Her eyes are still closed and he sees her falling on her back, completely relaxed. If his mother saw him right now, smoking pot with a random girl he met at this rich guy’s party, she’d have a good reason to use the Cruciatus curse on him for once. Or she’d cut his head before he could say he’s sorry. He decides to join Y/N and rests his back on the floor. He lays his head just beside hers and fixes the ceiling. He feels better now, and it’s not just the drugs.

‘I feel so heavy,’ she says, sliding her hands on her naked arms.

She turns her head and looks at him.

‘Do you feel heavy?’

‘Kind of,’ he laughs.

He doesn’t particularly feel heavy. In fact, he feels relieved, and mostly, he feels horny. Good god.

‘What is there to do in London at night?’ she asks.

‘Mm,’ he hesitates. ‘Pubs, clubs, walking around Southbank, I guess.’

‘Never went to a pub,’ she admits.

He wants to run his finger on her cheek. He wants to grab her face and press his lips on hers.

‘You’re kidding,’ he replies, still fixing that beautiful mouth of hers.

She shakes her head lightly, and a stroke of her long hair falls in her eyes. Her little red stained eyes. He smiles at the view, and slowly leans closer, replacing the stroke of black hair behind her ear.

‘I’ll bring you to a pub, one day,’ he mutters, daydreaming out loud.

‘Wouldn’t you mother kill you if you did?’ she jokes.

‘She would. It would be worth the risk, though.’

She turns on her stomach and rests her head on her hands. He keeps staring at her, detailing everything.

‘What are you looking at?’ she chuckles.

‘Just admiring the view,’ he replies frankly.

She would blush if she wasn’t all flustered already. There’s an odd adrenaline spluttering inside of him as he feels her close, and his pulse quickens and he’s feeling so hot right now, he’s melting into the rug. There’s a comfortable silence between them, and they both enjoy it for a couple of minutes. There is something about this girl, this nonchalant attitude, and her mesmerizing eyes, and her accent, and the way her body moves when she finally sits down again, pulling her dress over her thighs to sit comfortably, making him lose his fucking mind. If he weren’t so distracted by her presence, he’d be sweet talking to her, like he’s so used to do with other girls. But he’s simply incapable of doing so, like she’s robbed him of his means.

‘We should go back, they’re going to be looking for us,’ she whispers, showing him her hand to help him sit back.

But he doesn’t want to go back and mingle with the people he hates. He wants to be alone with her, if it is just to stay motionless on this rug in her company. He takes her hand and sits back up, and their eyes lock again, and they stare at each other, and he’s wondering if he’s hallucinating someone so perfect to help him cope with this emptiness he feels all the time. She absentmindedly licks her lips, taunting him, and he has to remind himself how to breathe, as his lips quirk hesitantly, sighing out loud to stop himself from pining her underneath him.

‘Yeah,’ he stutters, like a fucking coward, and then he clears his throat and steadies his pulse and sternly instructs himself to get it together, dude. James would be laughing at him if he saw him right now.

But they both stay there, motionless. He can feel the drugs running away from his bloodstream, he’s on another high now, another rush, and it has nothing to do with it. He can’t stop staring at her lips. Her expression washes over him in waves, and he pins a hesitant smile on his face, hoping it will distract her from the bulge growing down there.

‘Or we could just, you know, stay here for a while,’ she suggests.

For fuck’s sake.

He’s only able to gulp and nod, his cock painfully growing thick through the fabric. He tries to hide the bump by placing his arm over his legs, but instead it catches her attention down there, and her eyes quickly spots it, but she innocently acts like she’s unaware of the effect she has on him. If he could only smack his lips on hers.

Her emerald eyes are wide open, she leans in and presses her soft lips on his, and he’s never felt so relieved in his entire life, her mouth is warm and soft, and he can actually run his hands in her soft hair, and he can hear his heart hammering in his ears, and she actually lets out a discreet moan in his mouth, and fuck, there he is, gone, he knows there is no way back from there.

He feels her hands slowly unbuckling his belt and removing those atrocious trousers, and he follows through, pulling up her dress to reveal her skin. He removes his shirt, he has dreamt all night to rip it off his body from the second he put it on, and now she’s pushing him on his back on the hard rug and places kisses in the crook of his neck, sliding her tongue all the way down, and he knows where she’s heading, but he can’t let her do that, or he’s going to cum already. He grabs her head softly, and while he’s busy sticking his tongue into her mouth, he’s unclasps her top, tosses it on the floor, and starts licking her round breasts, circling her hard nipples with his tongue. He realizes it is actually the first time he’s allowed to touch naked breasts, and Merlin, this is so much better when there’s no fabric covering them.

He pins her small body under him, and he slowly moves down on her. He admires her ribcage moving up and down, and he can hears her heavy breathing, and he feels like he can’t hold it anymore. He runs his lips on her skin, down her stomach, to the birth of her underwear, pulling them down very gently. Sirius can’t believe he just met her a couple of hours ago; he feels like he has been desiring her for an eternity. There was a before her, and there’s now – and all the shit he’s been dealing with since school ended is now tucked away in the back of his mind. He caresses with his lips the soft bump between her legs, indulging the new sensation, and then just takes a mouthful of her sex. Her breathing stops, her ribcage is suspended for a second, and then she breathes out and grabs the back of his head while he tastes her. It’s sweet, and warm, and wet, and salty at the same time, and it’s so fucking good.

She’s squirming and writhing beneath him, her subtle moans amplifying. The gasps she makes sends sparks of unbearable pleasure through him, and he feels dizzy, like his heart is about to explode, ready to jump out of his chest at any moment. He slides one finger into her, and then another, and she spams around his fingers. He observes her perfect body tensing at his touch, cupping one breast with one hand while she orgasms into his mouth, her fluids mixing with his saliva. Her face is flushed and her pupils are dilated, and he could very well be on this high for the rest of his existence. But she places kisses on his lips, tasting herself on him, and his cock is so hard, he can’t help but groan when he feels her hand grabs his sex through the fabric of his underwear, slowly stroking him. It is pure torture.

He feels the small piece of clothing covering him sliding down his legs, and he kicks it on the floor. She stares at him in the eyes and licks her fingers, then moves her hand down there again, gently applying pressure on his hard-on. Sirius’ head tilt to the back, blood rushes through him. That is a different story when it’s someone’s else hand, isn’t?

She lays down in front of him, and he follows her as she guides is cock at the entrance of her sex, and it’s so wet, how is he going to pull through? He’s shaking with apprehension but pure pleasure. She suddenly frowns.

‘Wait,’ she hesitates, ‘is this your first time?’

He nods. There’s so point in lying.

‘Do you want to stop?’

Of course, he doesn’t want to stop. He shakes his head, and her face lits up.

They kiss and he presses the tip of his cock into her, slowly, to get every sensation right, and he closes his eyes and, oh this feels so fucking good, and he can’t help but exhales of relief when he feels the warmth, and he hears her gasping underneath him. He’s sinking into her, and she pushes his length even farther by raising her hips. Why does it feel so good? He starts to pace inside her, like he has known what to do forever, increasing the tempo, and she moans under him. He moves swiftly now, trying with all his might to not just release himself off the pressure. She throws her head back into the rug, he feels sweat pearling at the birth of his forehead, his locks fall into his eyes, and he accelerates his pace and presses her legs on her stomach, and oh my god, this is even better.

She presses her right hand on his chest, running her fingers over his hard stomach, avoiding the bruises, detailing each parcel of his body. She looks back up and pushes her lips on his, and their tongues meet, and he’s completely melting into her. She finally bucks her hips tightly and Sirius hisses, he can’t hold up anymore. Oh, he wants to hear her say his name – if only he had given his real one – but she lets a loud ‘fuck’ escape her mouth, and she’s damp with sweat, and he never seen something so beautiful, he slams into her harder and faster, he groans while his grip tightens around her delicate waist. He feels almost he’s in pain and something stronger than life itself is burning him; yes, he’s burning up down there, he can’t hold it anymore, his whole body is on fire, he glances at her one last time, and he lets out a guttural growl, while feeling his insides pushing his soul out, and for a short moment, he thinks he’s dying, spilling his warm seed into her, filling her up while’s he petrified, hanging between dream and reality, thinking his heart stopped beating.

It is only half an hour later that he comes back to the manor, flustered and feeling out of his body, followed by Y/N. She’s even prettier under the warm lights, blushed cheeks, and he relives in his mind what just happened over and over again. That wasn’t bad for a first time, he thinks.

‘Y/N! Papà has been looking for you forever, where were you?’, a young girl is staring at her.

She shares similar traits with Y/N, but she looks younger, about Regulus’ age. Her arms are crossed, and she observes Sirius oddly, in a manner that makes him believe she can easily guess what Y/N was doing all the time they’ve been away.

‘Where is he?’ asks Y/N.

The young girl points at the host, the man he shook hands with earlier, speaking with Sirius’ father and a couple of older men in the corner of the room.

‘Clara,’ mumbles Y/N with a threatening expression. ‘non dire niente a Papà.’

The young girl rolls her eyes and leaves them. Sirius frowns. Wait a minute, is this girl...

‘Didn’t you tell me the host’s daughter was -’ he mumbles, feeling his hands becoming moist.

‘A pest,’ she smiles. ‘My sister.’

545 notes · View notes

notchesandbullets · 3 years

Text

Vintage Books and Midnight Promises (Tattooed!Bakugou x Bookworm!Reader) Modern!AU

Warnings: none, just fluff. features Child!Eijirou, Child!Izuku and brief Dadzawa at the end

Synopsis: Your days are brightened by the appearance of Eijirou and Izuku but you don’t recognize the tattooed man who accompanied the two children into your bookshop one day. But he finds his way into your heart and before you can stop it, you’re already in too deep for the man with tattoos that rippled like the purest form of water and smelled like blueberries hand-picked on the warmest day.

Inspired by: @all1e23 ‘s series “Astrophile” (this is one of my favorite comfort fanfics, i highly recommend it)

Words: 9.8k

It was a beautiful, sunny day.

Steam coming from a hot cup of coffee curled in the air and you sighed as you set down the porcelain teacup that had been a gift from your grandmother on the front desk, sinking deeper into the velvety cushion of your seat as you basked in the tranquility of the empty store before the bell on the door would inevitably ring again.

The musty yet homey scent of secondhand books clung to the worn pages in all the stories of mystery, fantasy and nonfiction that filled the old and rickety oak shelving you had bought at an auction five years ago.

The cornershop sat at the end of a particularly quaint neighborhood in the small town you lived in and you couldn’t imagine anything else more relaxing other than grabbing a cup of coffee from the loft upstairs and curling up with a good book until store hours were over.

You got a steady stream of regulars and occasionally a few new faces here and there that ended up coming back quite frequently. You hoped that had something to do with the notion that they liked to read, since that’s all you could really hold a conversation about.

The latest thriller that was published or that underrated author that never seemed to get enough attention in your opinion, even though their work was such a delight for you to read, whatever it was, you could talk about books for hours.

Maybe that’s why it was so hard to act normal around those vastly more social than you.

Ever since you could remember, you had your nose buried in a book, bumping into street lamps and crashing into people as you failed to look up for even a second to see where you were going.

People never seemed to quite understand you, why you preferred the company of books over people, but you didn’t need them to understand. Books were all you had and you liked to keep it that way.

Books were consistent and there would always be more literature to read.

Luckily, it was a weekday so business was pretty slow and in just another hour, you would be free to finish up repainting the storefront.

But first, you needed to conclude this book. You were so close to the ending and the author had been stringing you along on a thread of hope that the protagonist was going to make it out and save the day, you were on the edge of your seat!!

Your eyes flitted across the pages at a speed too fast for human eyes to comprehend and you were so engrossed in the book that you didn’t notice the shadow that passed by outside.

You jumped as the door to your little bookshop flew open with a bang, losing your balance from where you had been perched on your favorite stool and crashed to the floor.

Sitting up with a groan of pain, you rubbed your now sore bottom and winced. “Ow…”

You hadn’t anticipated someone coming and wreaking havoc on your little shop. It was a good thing you had a good memory and had marked the page you left off of in your head or else that customer that had so rudely barged in would be getting more than just some curt words from you.

“Sorry.” A curt and gruff apology came from over the counter and your mouth pressed in a hard line as you got to your feet.

“Is everything alright?” You asked slowly, brushing the dust off of your clothes and making eye contact with the stranger for the first time.

In front of you was some punk who had incredibly intricate tattoos visible on his arms.

You eyed him up and down. He was pretty tall. Okay, correct that, he towered a good head over you, but what was the most intimidating was that scowl on his face that looked like it was permanently glued there for some reason.

His shoulders were broad and even under that sleeveless tank he was wearing, his muscles rippled and you rolled your eyes.

So he was one of those.

But you stopped a bit of ink twining up his neck and cocked an eyebrow at the prospect of him having more underneath his clothes.

You didn’t react despite where your mind just went, internally screaming at yourself to get a grip.

Guys like him didn’t randomly walk into a bookshop like yours. You had half a mind to call the police, thinking he was about to loot your store, but hesitated because he hadn’t done anything and it was wrong to judge someone you didn’t know under stereotypes that were groomed into you from a young age.

Not to mention, if he actually was going to rob you for whatever reason, he wouldn't have announced his presence like that.

Unless he was an idiot. Either one was equally possible at the moment while you waited for him to say something. Anything.

“Didn’t mean to scare you.” He said shortly after a pause, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly and your stance softened a bit when you noticed how uncomfortable he looked. You could understand that feeling.

Plastering a smile on your face, you leaned back and shrugged, accepting what you suspected to be his version of an apology. “It’s okay, it was an accident.”

“Miss Y/N!!! Miss Y/N!!! Down here!!!”

“We’re down here!!!”

The small, childish chorus had your eyes brightening up in an instant as you recognized the voices and you were racing out from behind the counter within a second.

“Eijirou, Izuku!!” You knelt down to hug both of the toddlers tightly. “I didn't know you two were coming today!!”

They normally came on the weekends with their dad, it was so rare to see them on a weekday, with a new face nonetheless.

Eijirou’s shiny red eyes blinked up at you and he beamed brightly while Izuku shuffled his feet self-consciously, sniffling as he clutched his All Might plushie tight to his chest.

You cooed, lifting his chin sweetly to wipe away the tears. “What's wrong, Izuku?”

He sniffled, hugging his comfort plushie tighter as he pointed up to the scowling man that had accompanied them. “He… He’s mean.”

The ash-blond’s forehead creased in annoyance as you sent him a questioning look. “Shut your mouth, you fucking brat!!”

You covered Eijirou and Izuku’s ears, glaring at him. He matched it in intensity and it wasn’t until you saw how he wasn’t going to back down that you sighed, breaking off eye contact and conceding as you caught the tears streaming down Izuku’s round cheeks.

“Yeah, he’s big and scary, let’s leave him here, okay?” You said to the little boy, pretending not to notice the punk’s glare following the two of you as you led the now cheered up Izuku over to the back of the store.

Every time they came, you made sure to have the children’s area brushed up for them. The floor to ceiling windows in that one corner in the back had deep purple curtains drawn open during the day, shining light directly on the soft leather sofa that belonged to your family.

The perfect place to read.

A tug on the man’s hand had him looking down.

“Bakugou!!” The red-haired toddler shouted excitedly, frantically pulling him to where you were at only to run out of breath from his efforts as the man didn’t budge. “I want to go too!!”

“You’re staying here where I can see you, Shitty Hair.” Bakugou grumbled, running an exasperated hand through his spiky hair as he waited for the other brat to come back so that they could leave.

“You can come with!!” Eijirou begged, still trying to convince the stubborn man who was their guardian for the time being while their dad was busy. He huffed and puffed but still he didn’t move an inch.

He snorted haughtily, his grip tightening on the brat’s when he switched tactics and tried to pry off the hand that was holding his. “Like hell I would.”

Eijirou’s lower lip wobbled dangerously as he stopped fighting. “But you promised!!”

Bakugou inwardly groaned and looked away from the toddler. Tears from the brats were his fucking weakness and he hated it. But he still wasn’t going to let him.

The only reason why he agreed to take them here in the first place was because they wouldn’t shut up, begging for him to take them to the bookstore that they visited every week with their dad over and over again, promising that they wouldn’t ask for anything else the whole rest of the day.

They just wanted to see you.

Bakugou only agreed because they crossed their hearts that they would be quiet if he took them and if they didn’t make good on their word, then he would blow them up.

But what he didn’t mention was that he was a little intrigued by the girl that they talked about excitedly all the way there.

Tch, shitty brats. Fucking annoying.

Eijirou never cared about his threats when he declared that he would blow them up, going so far as to smile brightly in his face, completely unaffected while that shitty nerd’s face went ashen and lost all its color as he cowered behind his brother to avoid the scary man that towered over them.

Izuku lacked the spine that Eijirou had.

Bakugou pushed off the counter that he was leaning against as you came back into view with a happy Izuku in tow.

Eijirou visibly deflated and tears welled up at the corners of his eyes. “You’re all done? B-But I wanted to pick some out too!!”

You hushed him softly as you saw how close he was to sobbing, crouching down to his level and ruffled his hair. “You can choose what you want too, Eiji.”

His whole face lit up. “Really?!”

“Of course!!” You reassured with a smile, the edges of your eyes crinkling as you stood up and offered him your other hand that wasn’t joined with Izuku’s. But after Izuku swung your hand, you took that as your cue to let go. “Come on!!”

This time, Bakugou wasn’t fast enough to intervene as Eijirou took your hand and zoomed off with you trailing behind him, practically dragging you behind him as he took on the personality of a race car. He gritted his teeth in annoyance, wanting nothing more than to leave this place that had absolutely no business with and he clenched his hands into fists, storming over to where the two of you ran off to with full intention of grabbing the shitty brat and exiting with nothing more than a word.

But he faltered at the sound of your laughter bouncing off the bookshelves and unconsciously retracted his hand as he turned the corner.

To be honest, he didn’t know what made him stop. But seeing you there, with Eijirou tuckered out in your lap as you read him a book, Izuku bounding past him just to cuddle up on your other side was making him soft.

Fuck emotions. He hated having a heart.

You were seated on a huge, tan leather sofa that looked worn with age and was packed with brightly-colored pillows that looked much softer than he wanted to admit as he found himself drifting towards the three of you.

Truth be told, he only took them here because they were begging for either this or the zoo and he could not fucking stand the zoo.

What the fuck was so interesting about animals locked in a pen?

“Get up brats, we’re leaving.” Bakugou barked, glaring pointedly at the fucking brats when they cracked their eyes open as you stopped reading.

A chorus of whines and protests followed by some very pouty begging made you crack a smile at his unchanging demeanor.

“You know~” You sang, holding back a giggle at the suspicious look the man shot you as you shut the children’s book you were reading in favor of glancing at the two kids out of the corner of your eye. “I do have a ton of pizza that needs to be finished today. I don't suppose there's anyone out there that can help me with such a big task.”

Izuku and Eijirou shrieked in delight, bouncing up and down on the sofa, alternating between screaming yes and pleading for him to let them stay.

Bakugou, on the other hand, was fucking irritated as hell.

You were trying to bribe him with pizza? How un-fucking-believable. You were worse than the two troublemakers shrieking so loud, it felt like his head was going to split. He didn’t believe what he just heard. But was it working?

Yup.

Because your sundress flared around your knees as you crossed your legs to accommodate both the boys. The tresses of your hair fell around your face so softly he vaguely wondered if it was even possible for someone to look so innocent while conducting a pizza scheme.

Izuku scratched his head cutely as he yawned widely, exhausted from all the hopping he just did as Eijirou began to jump up and down around you, his endless energy coming off of him in waves.

“We can help!!!” He cried, tugging Izuku upright and the little boy stumbled, landing on his rear on the couch with an ‘oof’.

But he didn't cry. Instead, he tilted his head curiously and blinked. “We can?”

“Yes!!” Eijirou insisted. He wanted pizza. He loved pizza. And Bakugou never treated them to it whenever he watched them, he said it would make them fat. “Please Bakugou!!!”

You raised an eyebrow as you heard the punk’s name for the first time. It sounded fitting for such a stoic and emotionless person that he was portraying at the moment as he crossed his arms over his chest and glared at the red-haired toddler.

Bakugou rolled his eyes. “What did I tell you about referring to your elders, Shitty Hair?”

“Ahh!!” You blurted out, sending him a sharp look that was meant to reprimand him. “Don't swear in front of them!!”

Bakugou glared at you uncaringly and you matched it, throwing in a pout for good measure.

You had no idea what was giving you all this confidence now. You had never been this comfortable interacting with a stranger. You blamed it on the children. They were far too familiar.

The moment of silence as you glared at each other was broken when both of the boys jumped down from the sofa at the same time.

Weird.

“Ahh, don’t go too far!!” You called out after them as you sprang up. “And don’t leave the store!!”

“M’kay!!!” Eijirou shouted back as he tugged Izuku, who was struggling to catch up, behind him. “Can I flip the sign, Miss Y/N?”

You giggled, hiding a grin from Bakugou as you nodded even though they couldn’t see. “Yes, just be careful and don’t go outside!!”

As he yelled that he knew back at you, you moved into a better light so that that one bookshelf wasn’t blocking your view of them so you could see them. Once you were in direct line of sight, your smile softened as you saw Eijirou lift Izuku up so that he could reach the sign and flip it around to show that you were closed for the day.

“They’re so sweet to each other.” You murmured to yourself.

The closeness of Bakugou’s scoff had you jumping back in surprise and you winced as your back crashed into the bookshelf behind you.

“Geez, I was going to say hell no.” Bakugou started as he chortled, smirking at you as you collected yourself. “But you’re even more of a klutz than that shitty nerd is.”

Brushing down your skirt, you coughed a couple times to cover up your blush of embarrassment. “I am not.”

“Uh, yeah you are.”

“Oh hush.” You snapped at him as the boys came bounding back, Izuku proudly holding up another book he wanted you to read for him that he found on the way back.

You giggled and ruffled his hair affectionately before asking if they’d like to continue reading here or up in the loft, to which they both sprinted to the stairs.

Well, that answered that question.

You sent a smile over your shoulder, inviting the grumpy man to follow you. “You coming or what?”

Bakugou hid a smirk as you turned back around and followed the hyperactive kids up the stairs.

You sure were interesting, he’d give you that.

And that night, the four of you fell asleep in the loft, with four boxes of cheese, pepperoni and half-eaten vegetarian pizzas surrounding you as Izuku curled up beside you and Eijirou snored on top of Bakugou’s head.

You were very happy to see that it wasn’t the last time you saw the forever annoyed man who had barged into your store.

It had been a month since that day. And since then, Bakugou had become a regular face and you dreaded how you subconsciously looked forward to when he would show up randomly.

One time, he had popped in your store just to grunt out a greeting and toss a bag at you, demanding that you eat it or else he would fucking kill you, before leaving.

Opening it up, you saw the freshly-baked blueberry muffin inside. And when you bit into it, it was delicious.

The only thing that confused you was that there was no good bakery around here, so you had absolutely no idea where he got it from.

Today, another weekday, they came again all bright smiles and sunshine and you bolted off your stool, abandoning your freshly-brewed coffee to greet them before they could even step into the bookstore.

There were still a few hours of daylight until closing time and you had some more things to finish up.

Bakugou leaned against the wall as you rearranged the display on the top shelf. The ever energetic Izuku and Eijirou had sped over to their corner the second they ran into the store, greeting you over their shoulder as the two boys tunneled past you.

You had pouted but let them go have their fun since tonight would be another night of pizza and soft drinks while you read them their favorite books.

Last time, Eijirou came to you with a stack of at least fifteen and you nearly had a laughing fit when one of them was a little too high for his age group.

He could read all those young adult novels with glorious battles featuring knights and dragons when his vocabulary increased a bit more.

A green-haired boy with freckles toddled up to you with his counterpart and buddy in crime nowhere to be seen.

Giggling, you approved the ones that Izuku held up to you with wide eyes blinking slowly.

“I’ll read it for you a little later, yeah?” You said, patting his head.

“Okay!!”

You flailed for a second as you lost your balance, the little boy disappearing from sight once again before he could realize you were off kilter due to the speed that he zipped at but a pair of strong hands settled on your waist to steady you.

Lips parting in surprise, you turned around to see Bakugou’s trademark sneer as he stared up at you.

“Dumbass.”

“Hey!!” You protested, all gratitude gone, and your lips pursed in a firm line as you disputed his claim.

But you were startled at the rough rumble that emitted from his chest and it took you a second to realize that he was laughing. At your expense, but still, it warmed your heart to hear.

“Well, look at that.” You teased. “He’s not so cold after all.”

“Tch.” Bakugou’s amusement faded as he glared at you for that but you just brushed it off.

You turned your attention back to the top shelf but misjudged the distance as you stretched out your hand. Yelping as one of the stool legs gave out, you careened to the side and squeezed your eyes shut, bracing yourself for the impact.

But your eyes shot open as you didn’t hit the ground like you expected. Instead, you landed on something softer than the hardwood floor.

When a pained groan sounded underneath you, you scrambled upright.

“Oh my gosh!! I’m so sorry!!!”

Bakugou had somehow cushioned your fall, making you land on him rather than crash to the ground.

Your cheeks flamed when you realized you were straddling his waist, hands splayed on his chest and you squeaked when he caught you staring.

“Oi, are you going to fucking stare at me all day?” Bakugou snarked and you huffed, clambering off of him clumsily.

It was a good thing you weren’t wearing a dress today. That would’ve been so embarrassing.

“I’m really sorry.” You apologized again, sheepishly tucking your hair behind your ear as you tried to appear less frazzled than you felt as he picked himself up from the floor.

Before he could say anything, though it was probably something not very nice, Izuku ran around the corner with Eijirou hot on his heels.

“Miss Y/N!!!” Izuku called out breathlessly, his chubby cheeks flushed pink from running so fast. “Miss Y/N!!! I have a secret to tell you!!”

“Izuku, I want to tell her!!!” Eijirou complained with a small pout.

“No, I want to!!!” He pushed back fiercely before he turned to you with bright forest green eyes and beamed. “Miss Y/N—”

“Bakugou has a crush on you!!!!” Eijirou interrupted, dancing in circles around you and out of Bakugou’s reach as the man swiped at him.

Bakugou snarled as the toddler screeched and dived in between his legs to escape him. “Get back here, you fucking brat!!!!”

Izuku tugged on your pant leg, tears brimming in his eyes as his lower lip trembled. “M-Miss Y/N…”

Your giggles died down as Bakugou continued to chase Eijirou and you smiled reassuringly, bending down to pick him up.

“Aww, it’s okay, Izuku.” You reassured with a chirpy smile. “If you want, we can just pretend you told me, yeah?”

He smiled and kicked his feet happily, giggling as he waved his All Might plushie back and forth.

“Do we get to stay tonight too?”

“Yup!!” You beamed, hoisting him higher as you collected the book that you needed to put away and balance it on your head so that you could hold the toddler with two hands. “I already checked it with your dad and he said it was okay!!”

Aizawa had sounded stressed when you called him but that was to be expected. His line of work was tough but he had quickly agreed to it. He had interacted with you enough to know that you looked out for them almost as much as he did.

Besides, in the small town, word got around fast. If there was dirt on you, he would’ve heard about it by now.

Izuku tugged on your braid innocently to catch your attention. “Can we leave him downstairs when you read to us?”

You giggled and booped his nose, watching it scrunch up cutely. You already knew he was talking about Bakugou. “Why do you want him to stay downstairs?”

Izuku pouted. “Because he snores too loud.”

“Hah?! Say it to my face, Deku!!!” Bakugou’s yell echoed from somewhere on the other side of the store and you slapped a hand over your mouth to stop yourself from bursting out laughing.

“C’mon,” You said softly, bouncing Izuku on your hip as you crept around the other side. “Let’s go see if we can help Eiji and then we’ll sneak upstairs before he finds us, yeah?”

“Yayyy!!!” Izuku cheered happily.

“FOUND YOU, SHITTY NERD!!!”

“Uh oh, Miss Y/N, run!!!!!”

An hour and a lot of duct tape later, Bakugou was sitting in the punishment chair for those that misbehaved while you read to the boys upstairs.

About ten minutes later, you flicked the lights off upstairs as you headed back down, being careful about which lamps to turn on since you didn’t want to wake the kids.

You fought back a grin as you saw the poorly wrapped duct tape tying his wrist to the chair. Apparently you could’ve been more clear to the boys that since the stuff was sticky, they didn’t have to necessarily tie it around his arm like string.

You were quite sure that Bakugou could've gotten up if he wanted to so you left him down there but when you finished the last book and he was nowhere to be seen, you came downstairs only to find him in the exact same position you left him in.

“What's wrong? Tied you up too tight?” You teased, knowing it had no merit.

“Ha ha, you’re so fucking funny.” Bakugou glowered at you, then his blank expression morphed into subtle curiosity. “The brats asleep?”

“Yeah,” You said, rubbing your arms as a breeze blew by and you frowned as you held out your hand and started to follow it all the way to its source and it only furrowed deeper when you deduced that it was coming from a crack in the front door. “Rats.”

“What the…” Bakugou trailed off as he came up behind you and at this point you didn’t even flinch.

For someone who was so tall and had such a fit physique, he sure moved like the wind. You were used to it by now.

You sighed, planting your hands on your hips after testing the lock to make sure it still worked properly. Thank goodness that was still fine. “It happens every winter. I think it has something to do with the wood and the weather when the temperature drops but I already fixed it this past season so I don’t know why…”

Burrowing your face in your hands, you groaned and tried to put it in back of your mind for now.

But Bakugou’s brow knitted at the safety concern and he jangled the knob to play around with it.

By the time you had stopped trying to think of ways to solve this problem temporarily until you had the means for a more permanent solution, Bakugou had fixed it.

Your jaw dropped as you saw he had stuffed some kind of weather strip you had laying in the corner with the rest of the maintenance tools collecting dust and bluntly claimed he’d fix it in the morning for you.

“You don’t have to do that!!” You cried out, feeling bad and not wanting to owe him anything.

Bakugou snorted. “That wasn’t a fucking question, dumbass.”

You opened your mouth to protest but the pitter-patter of tiny feet scaling down the stairs made you both raise your heads.

Your eyes filled with concern as you saw the little boy dragging a blankie behind him with his thumb stuck in his mouth.

“Izuku?” You rushed over and dropped down to the floor, not caring how you scraped your knees in the process. “What’s wrong?”

He sniffled and wiped his nose with the back of his hand.

“... had a nightmare…” He mumbled under his breath, close to tears and your gaze softened sympathetically.

Opening your arms to him, you caught yourself as he ran into you and you walked back to where Bakugou was observing.

Nightmare. You mouthed at him and his eyes grew dark for a second.

You didn’t understand why but you didn’t ask any questions as you focused on consoling the crying boy.

“Hey, Izuku,” You whispered softly when he had calmed down enough to be coherent and tell you a little what it was about. “You know what always makes me feel better?”

He blinked up at you. “Pizza?”

You giggled and tapped his nose gently. “Well yes, but I was thinking more along the lines of ice cream…”

You didn’t miss the way eyes lit up and he automatically turned to an indifferent Bakugou watching the both of you while leaning against the wall with a pleading expression, and immediately, the man was shaking his head violently.

“Hell no.” He refused flatly. Upon the fresh tears that welled up in Izuku’s eyes, he turned to you, as though he needed to prove to you that he had a good reason for saying no. “It’s late out.”

“There’s a 24/7 store that carries ice cream right down the street.” You supplied helpfully, smiling innocently when he glared at you.

Bakugou sighed heavily and ran his fingers through his hair, gripping it in frustration. “It’s dark, Y/N. It’s dangerous.”

“I can go.” You suggested, trying to pry off an Izuku who was clinging to you.

“The hell? Fuck no.” Bakugou hissed and you sighed, giving up on trying to make the green bundle that was pretending to be a leech unstick from you.

“I’ll be right back.” You negotiated. “It’s not even that far—”

“You’re not going.”

You balked at the unrelenting tone he took with you but shut your mouth when you saw the look in his eyes. The look that told you he had seen things that he probably would never tell you.

You saw it in the way his hands shook ever so slightly when he held either Eijirou or Izuku, like he was afraid they would disappear on him the second he let go. You knew that kind of fear and you didn’t argue against him.

But before you could smile sadly at Izuku for letting him down, Bakugou was stomping upstairs and waking up the other slumbering toddler.

There was a muffled shout and then a grunt from above.

“Wake up, Shitty Hair.”

“Eh?! Where are we going?!”

You winced as a crash sounded from the upper level. You didn’t want to know what he broke this time.

But you followed Bakugou’s thinking. Even if the door was sturdy for now, it wasn’t a good idea to leave a child alone for whatever reason, even if you weren’t going to be gone long. If Eijirou woke up all alone, there was a good possibility he would venture outside by himself and that wouldn’t be good.

Besides, Eijirou would be sad if he missed out on this adventure.

It had taken five minutes for Bakugou to wrangle Eijirou, who was way too energetic this late at night, and an additional ten just before the four of you left the store.

Bakugou locked it behind you as you carried Izuku out.

Initially, he had insisted that he could carry him to give you a break but you told him you didn’t mind.

And you really didn’t. The little boy was snoozing softly against your shoulder and you were happy that you could provide some small amount of comfort to him after such a scary bad dream.

The trip was pretty uneventful. Nothing happened, you guys got there safely, Bakugou paid for more ice cream than you guys could consume in one night, saying something about how it was so he didn’t have to do this whole thing again and you walked back.

There were some stragglers out and you got a couple of glances that normally would’ve made your skin crawl but for some reason, this time you felt reassured as Bakugou drifted to your side and kept you close as he made sure Eijirou didn’t let go of his hand.

Eijirou was good, for the most part.

He was unusually serious and didn’t goof off inside the grocery store like he did in your bookshop and you were grateful for that. You didn’t know if you had the energy to chase him down like Bakugou had done earlier if he decided he wanted to play hide-and-seek.

At one point, Bakugou’s free hand that wasn’t busy holding onto the tubs of ice cream or Eijirou, to make sure he didn’t wander off, crept around your shoulders and pulled you close when someone who was drunk out of their minds strayed too close to you.

“Back the fuck off.” He growled protectively as he tucked you and Izuku into his side, glaring at them until they got the message and went on their way.

You were thankful that there wasn’t enough light for him to see the blush present on your cheeks and as you stepped back inside the safety of your bookstore, the boys going after the comfort ice cream like puppies with ice, you didn’t know quite how to feel when his scorching touch left you.

And you wondered why your heart was beating so fast.

By the time the next weekend had rolled around, it was their twentieth time coming together and you were starting to get a bit alarmed at how familiar their appearance was. You actually had to stop in your tracks when you realized you not only were looking forward to seeing Izuku and Eijirou but also Bakugou.

Crap.

That punk had wormed his way into your heart even more but you’d be damned if you let him stay there.

Convincing yourself you’d get over this petty little crush before it became a problem, you picked out some gifts for the two boys the next time you would see them.

By the time you had walked down the street to your shop from the toy store, you actually realized that they beat you to it. You had to calm the two toddlers down as they ran up to greet you, Eijirou vastly quicker on his feet than Izuku, even though the little boy tried his hardest.

They squealed as you gave them presents, showing them off to Bakugou and sped off into their corner to go play. Just like clockwork.

“So…” You started, cringing at how awkward you sounded now that you were alone with Bakugou. “Where’s their dad today?”

Bakugou coughed, then cleared his throat. “You mean that scruffy old man?”

You cracked a smile. “That’s the one.”

He was always with them. He was the first one to bring the boys in on a slow day, which quickly livened up due to the endless amount of energy contained inside a little Eijirou and a tiny Izuku.

Midgets. You loved them so much.

Their cheeks were so squishy, too. Adorable.

It had been months since you had last seen Aizawa and you were a little bit worried about him. But you figured if anyone would know if he was okay would be the man entrusted to watch his sons.

Bakugou sighed, crossing his arms over his chest so that his muscles bulged out from that sleeveless tank he was wearing. The patches of ink rippled in the light and moved almost like it was real. “Aizawa-sensei’s not their dad but he acts like it too fucking much to pretend that it’s not true anymore.”

You giggled at his harsh words edged with a bit of something else you couldn’t quite put your finger on. Something that sounded like begrudging fondness.

Bakugou jerked his chin to where Izuku was chasing after Eijirou, begging him to help him get a book down from the shelf. Usually, you’d go help them but the adorable little toddler puffed out his chest and started clambering up the step ladder to get it.

Bakugou had bought that one himself to replace the rickety one you had accidentally broken and fallen off of so you knew it was sturdy. They would only fall off of it if they weren’t careful but you were within sight of them so you weren’t too worried.

“He’s enlisted in the military so he can’t always watch them even after they blacklisted him. His old unit just recently got reinstated.” Bakugou said with a scowl, not bothering to elaborate on that, but his eyes softened the tiniest bit as Izuku huffed and puffed to catch up with Eijirou, his little legs working overtime to compensate for his lack of height. “So he gave the brats to me to make sure they didn’t kill themselves or something.”

You grinned, clasping your hands behind your back and stuck your face close to his, skirt swirling around your ankles as you sent him a cheeky smile.

“You volunteered, didn’t you?”

“Shut the hell up, no I didn’t!!” He shouted but you bit back the smile threatening to overtake your entire face.

“You’re too easy to read~” You teased.

Bakugou grabbed for you but you dodged easily. Gritting his teeth in determination, he ran after you and you yelped at how quickly he was gaining on you.

Damn, it was a bad day to wear these shoes.

You ducked around the corner only for him to catch up to you in a split second. You squeaked as he slammed you into the bookshelf, caging you in between his arms as he smirked down at you.

“I won.” He declared triumphantly.

You rolled your eyes and stuck out your tongue. “Such a child.”

Bakugou scowled. You were one to talk, taunting him like you two were friends or something. “Oi, fucking take that back.”

Your eyes glinted mischievously. “Or you’ll do what? Try to punch me again? Maybe this time you’ll actually land one and not miss like a lose—”

You gasped as his chest bumped into yours, his red eyes glimmering dangerously. His breath was hot against your face and your heart stopped.

“I don’t fucking lose.” He growled.

You gulped. Perhaps you had crossed a line. Your gaze darted away from him for a second, not even bothering to push him away because you knew you couldn’t.

“Thank you.”

Bakugou raised an eyebrow in surprise but masked it quickly. “For what?”

“For the other day.” You clarified. “I think I would’ve been screwed if you hadn’t come with, so thank you.”

He snorted and looked away. “Don’t mention it, dumbass.”

You were going to leave it at that but at that moment, a soft giggle floated through the air along with some very loud and obvious shushing.

Bakugou immediately tore after the little brats without a second thought as both Eijirou and Izuku poked their heads around the corner to spy on you and you threw your head back and laughed.

They were so goofy but maybe that crush they had told you about that you had so easily dismissed at first wasn’t so ridiculous after all.

While you were busy helping other customers throughout the day, Bakugou occasionally came to check in on you and make sure you were taking your breaks and eating, all while reassuring you that the shitty brats were fucking fine and you didn’t need to be worried about shit.

He could handle it.

You smiled and waved a hand at him when he left, giggling when he flipped you the bird before turning to the next person who wanted to check out.

The sun set and night fell, all along with the comfortable routine you had grown accustomed to having with all three of the boys.

But you bolted upright as Eijirou nonchalantly revealed something you didn’t expect the instant you finished setting up the tent for movie night.

“IT’S YOUR BIRTHDAY?!?!” You screeched in Bakugou’s ear.

Bakugou clapped a hand over your mouth, sending you a death glare, undoubtedly for your insanely loud volume, but you wrangled him off of you.

“Bu— You— Why didn’t you say something?!”

He looked at you as though you were crazy. You two barely knew each other and if he knew it was going to spur on this reaction, he definitely would’ve stopped Shitty Hair from saying that shit.

Too late now.

Bakugou slumped back against the makeshift fort you had set up for the boys in the loft. Said troublesome toddlers were currently going to town on your DVD collection so that they could choose a movie for tonight.

You only had cartoons from your childhood so it was a perfect selection for them. They were currently hunting through the bookshelf in your room that was connected to upper floor, just down the hall.

“What the hell is there to tell?” He grunted in your direction, a deep seated scowl on his features from the starry blankets and pillows that surrounded him.

You frowned. Growing up, birthdays had always been days that you looked forward to. The parties, the presents, family and friends to celebrate it with, you always loved it. Maybe there was a reason he didn’t want to celebrate it.

Glancing at him out of the corner of your eye, you idly rocked back and forth as you thought about how best to approach the reproachful man.

Bakugou sighed and glared at your crossly. You weren’t going to let this go until he gave you an answer.

“There ain’t no deep reason for it, none of that bullshit.” He ground out eventually and you perked your head up, listening attentively. “I don’t see what’s so special about the day I was born, it’s the same as every other fucking day.”

He was caught off guard as you rapidly shook your head, crying out at his words.

“It’s not!!” You implored earnestly, the roots to your ideals running deep as you leaned forward. “The day you were born is so special!! It celebrates your life, Katsuki!!”

Bakugou swallowed hard. Your proximity was making it very hard to breathe. That light in your eyes, the one that was able to find happiness in even the smallest of things, he didn’t understand it.

It was the same kind of light that Deku had. How fucking annoying.

“Damn idiot.” He muttered as he turned your face away from you so that he wouldn’t be tempted to kiss your lips. They looked so soft…

Fuck, he was screwed over. Quick, he had to think of something else.

Luckily, the distraction came in the form of two very energetic boys barreling into the tent. You collapsed in a fit of giggles as Eijirou returned from his adventure and tunneled into you, Izuku tripping on the way in only to be caught by the back of his collar by a reluctant Bakugou.

Eijirou quickly fumbled with the DVD, holding the cartoons he and Izuku had selected together up proudly for you to see.

You cooed, pinching his cheeks and praised them for making such a good choice. This one was one of your favorites when you were younger and you hadn’t seen it in a while so this was as much a treat for them as it was for you.

The little tent was a bit more cramped than you had anticipated, especially with the two hyperactive boys added into the mix, but it was doable for now. Your leg was pressed up against Bakugou’s warm thigh but you tried not to think about it as you popped the DVD into the small TV you had set up on a table outside of the cozy fort.

Eijirou snuggled up in your lap while Izuku hesitated to climb onto a very comfy looking hothead, who was actually quite tame at the moment.

Unfolding his arms, Bakugou's lip curled back in a scowl. "Tch, hurry up, nerd."

You couldn't even bring yourself to say anything about his language because while Eijirou seemed largely unaffected by it, Izuku’s forest green eyes actually sparked as he recognized the indirect permission granted.

It was actually quite adorable how the boys could read the disgruntled older man like a book.

Bakugou attempted to hide it from you but he couldn't stop you from seeing how gently he rested his large hand on top of Izuku’s little green curls. The tent didn't provide that much privacy.

Not wanting him to stop showing the rare display of affection towards the affection-starved child, you averted your eyes so that he could carry on. You knew he would retract his hand so fast if he thought you were looking at them.

You didn't want to ruin the moment.

Snuggling back into the plushy pillow, you held onto Eijirou as he curled onto your stomach, straining to see the small screen that lit up with moving pictures.

“Izuku, it’s starting!!” He exclaimed excitedly.

There was a crash and then a loud swear and as you looked over to make sure that Izuku and Bakugou were both alright, you had to clap a hand over your mouth to keep yourself from laughing at the scene that you were presented with.

At Eijirou’s well intended announcement, Izuku had hurried upright, knocking back into Bakugou at the same time as he scrambled forward to be able to see.

But in doing so, he had tripped over the cord connecting the TV to the outlet that was behind you and fell forward. Right as the box came crashing down, aimed directly for his head.

Luckily, no one was hurt.

Bakugou had caught Izuku by the collar of his shirt and hauled him back, out of harm’s way before anything could happen to him.

Any other time, you would’ve voiced how impressed you were but now you were just worried about the little boy, who was openly crying, apologizing over and over again for breaking it.

“It’s alright, Izuku.” You reassured gently, patting his head comfortingly. His emerald eyes shimmered with unshed tears as he blinked up at your, his freckled cheeks flushed an embarrassed shade of pink and your eyes softened. “You’re safe, so no harm done!! Don’t worry, okay?”

He sniffled and shakily nodded.

Bakugou had yet to say anything but his fingers were still curled protectively around Izuku’s stomach, ensuring that he didn’t move around carelessly. Next time, he might not be as lucky. Not that he was going to admit that he was scared or anything.

How fucking ridiculous.

While you switched out Eijirou with Izuku to calm him down, Bakugou took charge in cleaning up the shattered shards of cheap plastic that had broken upon impact.

Your TV wasn’t completely destroyed but the plastic screen had cracked at the corner. For something so old, it sure was robust, he’d give it credit for that.

Eijirou tugged on his hand, losing his balance and Bakugou’s arm shot out to prevent him from face-planting in the shards that he had just swept up.

“Watch what you’re doing, Shitty Hair.” He growled, concern masked under his sharp reprimanding and he glared at the now sheepish toddler.

“C’mere, Eiji.” You coaxed, waving your hand to have him come closer to you so that he was out of the way until Bakugou got rid of the small, clear pieces hiding on the floor. “I don’t want you to get hurt, so let’s stay out of his way, yeah?”

Eijirou nodded vigorously, finding the logic in your words with relative ease and agreeing with them instinctively.

Sighing to yourself, you unplugged the TV so that an electrical surge wouldn’t cause a fire. That was the last thing you needed.

You were sad that the boys were disappointed with the short-lived movie night. But Bakugou insists that he can fix it just like he fixed your front door so the three of you waited for him to work his magic while you curled up with a good book to read to them.

You had already asked if he wanted help but he glowered at you for suggesting such an insane thing and you backed off with a shit-eating grin.

After almost an hour of reading books and playing games to pass the time, he got it up and running again, laying the cable on top of the fort you built so that it was out of the way, making it impossible for anyone else to trip on it again.

This time, everything ran smoothly and all of you gorged yourselves on popcorn and soda as the cheesy cartoons played out on the screen, thoroughly entertaining the two little boys while you and Bakugou stole glances at each other the entire time.

By the time it finished, Izuku was already fast asleep and Eijirou was struggling to keep his eyes open.

You put them both to bed, Bakugou’s soft half-smile going over your head as you tucked them into the spare futon you had set up for them specifically, almost three months ago, when this all started.

“You’re too fucking soft.” Bakugou decided as you two went downstairs to let the boys sleep.

It was familiar, it was routine. After every night when they fell asleep, you two would stay up talking for hours about anything and everything.

He eventually opened up to you about the life he had been involved in before he met Aizawa, who saved his life. After that, he reformed, he got clean, the whole nine yards.

And you were proud of him.

You told him about your life, though it probably was nothing at all that interesting compared to his problems that he dealt with. But surprisingly, you found him nodding along understandingly as you voiced your hardships with being anti-social and having a bunch of insecurities and anxieties that often made talking to people a nerve-wracking experience and you were astonished to find the weight that uplifted as soon as he put in his two cents and said that he really did understand.

You skipped ahead of him, spinning around to tell him how much you’ve grown to look forward to your conversations when the guarded look on his face made the confession die on your lips.

“You okay?” You asked concernedly, approaching him cautiously to give him enough time to push you away if he wanted to be left alone.

He grunted in your direction. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

But he didn’t sound fine. His voice was strained and a bead of sweat ran down his forehead.

Biting your lip, you tilted your head contemplatively. Ice cream and books generally made you feel better when you had a bad day but you realized you had no idea what comforted him.

Gingerly, you took his hand and frowned when you saw the faded scars. He had been hurt.

“What do you need?” You asked softly and he sighed in defeat.

“What’s your favorite book?” He grumbled out and your mouth parted in surprise at the odd request.

Wordlessly, you led him over to the counter to grab the same book you had been reading that day he had first barged in and so rudely knocked you off your stool.

You held it up to him and still holding your hand, he led you in the back where you normally sat with the boys to read to them.

“Katsuki?” You questioned.

He gritted his teeth, mumbling something under his breath.

“Um…” You trailed off nervously. “C-Can you say it again? I didn’t really hear you…”

Bakugou whirled around and you squeaked at how close his face was to yours.

“Read it to me.” He demanded without pause and you would’ve laughed, thinking he was playing a prank on you if it had not been for his steely gaze.

“Okay…” You drew out slowly, wondering where this was suddenly coming about as you sat down on the tan leather sofa and patted the spot beside you, turning on the table lamp beside you so that you could see him. “Do you want me to start from the beginning? I’m not sure if you’ll even like this book, I have no idea what you like to read—”

Bakugou shook his head to cut off your anxious rambling, recognizing that it was stemming from your nervousness at him possibly judging you for what you liked to read and he leaned back, resting his arms behind his head.

“Doesn’t fucking matter.” He mumbled. “Just start.”

Even though you had numerous questions running through your head, you obliged and began reading, the words flowing off your lips with practiced ease.

Bakugou never told you but he was jealous of how you always read to the brats. Granted, he was a full-grown adult who shouldn’t pout in the corner when they got more attention than he did but it was so fucking stupid how soothing your voice was and how much of an effect it had on him.

He could listen to you for hours and never get bored. Why do you think he always stuck around when you hopped up on the same tan leather sofa to read to those shitty kids?

It wasn’t just because he liked to look at your face, but it was because of the smile you had whenever you would read to them, that soft tilt of your head when the books evoked emotions from the children you were reading to and the giggle that bubbled past your lips when they laughed at something that the character did.

It never failed to do things to his heart.

Bakugou’s eyes eventually drifted closed after an hour of reading to him and you tensed when he careened into you by accident.

“Sorry.” He said shortly as he righted himself and you shyly reassured him that it was okay.

He didn’t say anything but you knew.

Ever since he got out of his old life, he had found a steady job but it was in construction and the risk was incredibly high. The hours were long and often the conditions were unforgiving. He had seen things happen on the daily and you were cautious to ever bring it up to him when he pressed closer to you than usual or who stayed longer by the front desk while you worked during operating hours.

You were about to stand up and leave so that he could sleep since he was obviously exhausted but his hand shot out and grabbed your wrist.

“Don’t go.”

It was quiet and it wavered but you didn’t hesitate.

Wrapping your arms around his shoulders, you eased him down and swallowed hard when his own encircled your waist, bringing you close to him.

“I’m not going anywhere.” You promised.

Head laying on his chest, your heartbeat eventually synced with the rise and fall of it and you drifted off, unaware that Bakugou sealed your promise with a soft kiss to the top of your head.

The fragments of his heart gently pieced itself back together as he held onto you as though you were his lifeline and he couldn’t help but whisper brokenly.

“Thank you.”

Bonus:

“Papa!!!”

“You’re back!!”

Aizawa held a finger up to his lips as his boys reached for him at the same time, chuckling softly as he caught them both as they launched into him. He didn’t change out of his military gear yet, he wanted to see them first.

“Shh… “ He hushed quietly, ruffling both of their heads at the same time. Damn, he missed them. “Y/N’s sleeping downstairs.”

Instantly, both the boys shut their mouths and shot out at the speed of light.

Aizawa followed them downstairs just in time to see the two of them screaming silently as they danced around in rings around their favorite couch that you and Bakugou were cozied up on.

Your face was tucked under Bakugou’s chin and you were sound asleep. Meanwhile, the man beside you had his arm draped over your waist, the other one supporting your head as a makeshift pillow. The blankets on top of you were rumpled, as though they had been kicked aside in favor of you both seeking out each other’s warmth.

It was cute. Aizawa admitted it was one of the most heartwarming things he’d ever seen.

“Don’t wake them up.” Aizawa instructed as Izuku reached out to touch Bakugou’s spiky hair since he wasn’t awake to tell him off. “Not yet.”

Eijirou was curious but a wide grin broke out on his face when his dad pulled out his phone and snapped a few pictures.

“Oooo, Papa, can I?! Please?!?!”

Gesturing for him to lower his voice, Aizawa nodded and handed it off, watching Izuku and Eijriou briefly squabble about who got to use it first when they sorted it out amongst themselves and Izuku took the first turn.

You awoke to the sound of a shutter clicking right by your ear and blinking slowly, your eyes shot open and you jerked as you realized where you were.

And who you were with.

“Katsuki, get up!!” You hissed as the boys laughed loudly. Hell, even Aizawa cracked a smile and you threw him an apologetic look, though you didn’t know what it was for. “Katsuki!!”

He groaned and turned his face the other way.

This time, Aizawa couldn’t help but tease him a little. “Katsuki, huh?”

Bakugou turned back around and glared at the offending person smirking at him. “Shut the hell up.”

Aizawa clicked his tongue. “Respect your elders.”

“Oh f—”

“OKAY!!!” You shouted, clapping your hands together before he could cuss him out. “Who wants breakfast?”

“Oh, oh, oh, me!!!” Izuku cried, jumping up and down excitedly.

“Yay, food!!!” Eijirou cheered.

Bakugou blearily rubbed his eyes and yawned. Thank goodness he didn’t have to go in today. “Oi, didn’t you just eat?”

“Yeah, but that was last night!!” The little boy protested. “My stomach is hungryyyyy.”

“Fucking Shitty Hair.”

A warning tone came from Aizawa. “Bakugou.”

“... Sorry.”

“Coffee?” You offered to Aizawa as you all traveled back upstairs, the little ones racing ahead of you.

He sighed gratefully, blinking his eyes tiredly. “That sounds perfect.”

He was exhausted and the trip back was even more brutal than the one that took him to his destination. But he didn’t want to get into all of that now.

Eijirou and Izuku shot to their designated seats at the kitchen island and you put on an apron before pulling open the fridge to see what you could make.

“I meant what I said.” Bakugou confessed quietly while you cracked the eggs and prepared the bacon.

You didn’t look at him, not wanting to give it away to the other three who were watching you both like some kind of TV show.

“I know.” You murmured, a soft smile playing on the corners of your lips. “I did, too.”

Your heart fluttered as he boldly pressed a kiss to your temple and you blushed violently when the boys whooped and hollered at the two of you, Eijirou making faces of disgust and pretending to gag when Bakugou made it look like he was going to kiss you on the lips in front of them.

Aizawa chuckled as he handled the coffee machine, able to easily figure it out as he brewed enough for the both of you. “Look at that? You have learned how to play well with others, Bakugou.”

And this time, Bakugou didn’t even spare him a glance as he gazed at you until you looked his way.

“What?” You asked nervously, wondering if you had something on your face.

Bakugou hid a smirk.

“How ‘bout blueberry muffins to go along with that coffee, sweetheart?”

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vapidlyfleeting · 2 years

Text

🌸Emergency period bag🌸

(Photo doesn't belong to me!)

🌸•Emergency period bag for people who menstruate :) great for school, outings, trips, and work.

🌱•Toiletries•🌱

🌺•Sanitary wipes

🌺•Mini water bottle or variation incase you need to clean up

🌺•Pads, tampons, period underwear, menstrual cup, or whatever menstrual hygiene product you use.(For those first getting their period, I would suggest starting with pads. Remember to change your pad every three to four hours if your flow is heavy, and every four to eight if not, your tampon every anywhere from 3-4 or 4-6 hours, no more than 8 hours but to stay safe is recommended to change more often than that. Just be sure to change regularly and change before you go to bed. Empty your menstrual cup whenever suits you, but leave in for no more than 10 hours. How quickly the cup fills and will need to be changed depends upon you and your cycle.

🌺•Mini deodorant (I personally like Native, as they're natural, good products with a variety of scents, something for everyone, and good coverage; however they are a bit pricey, so I also enjoy Old Spice.)

🌱•Pain relief•🌱

🌺•Pain medication (if you take it. I typically use tylenol and ibuprofen. Tylenol is generally safer but seems less affective.)

🌺•Hot water bottle (it is recommended that you have a cover for your hot water bottle! It keeps the bottle from becoming too hot and causing burns.)

🌺•Heating pad (if you can fit in your bag and if you have access to use it. Probably better for trips. I know some heating pads are chargeable while others will need to be plugged in. Be sure not to use it too hot, you dont want to burn yourself!)

🌺•I hear for certain individuals, those small massage tools can help for cramps- so, if you are one of those individuals, it could be beneficial as long as it's not too loud. Again, probably better for a trip.)

🌺•Those plush animals you can put in the freezer are nice as well! They're cute and fun! Just be sure to be careful, and not to heat for too long. Only heat for recommended time and be sure to check reviews of the product for proper heating times.

🌱•Other beneficial things•🌱

🌺•Water (gotta keep hydrated! Can be simple bottled water or use a cup. I like those cheap 99cent thermoses :) and those cups that you put ice in and they stay cold for hours are nice!)

🌺•I enjoy smoothies and juice on my period. A bottle of Juice or tea can be good! I like Combucha and pomegranate juice, the kind with seeds in it. I wouldn't recommend soda on your period as it can upset your stomach and make you feel bloated.

🌺•For cravings, I recommend taking a few small snacks. It's good to have foods like nuts, fruits, and a bit of chocolate. Whole foods are good for your period. Chocolates and cakes are also totally okay, yo! I like having cosmic brownies, M&Ms, and chocolate covered fruit.

🌺•A change clothes in case of stains (if you can fit it in your bag. If you cant, just take a change of undergarments.)

🌺•Any comfort items are good! Small plushes, keychains, religious items like necklaces etc, books, and generally anything that brings you comfort! Depending on the size of your bag and the event- you can even bring blankets and such. Personally, some of my comfort items are statues and figures of celebrities and characters I like, as well as rocks for religious reasons. So, anything that brings you comfort can be a comfort item. The sky and the size of your bag are the limit!

🌱•Bags•🌱

🌺•So, there's many different types of bags that can be used! My personal favorite if you want a lot of space are messenger bags. They're large, usually have plenty of pockets, and remain relatively light. They're also inspired by old-school mailman bags, so if you're looking for a more masc or gender neutrals bag, they're a great option. They come in many different styles as well! Personally, mine is pastel pink and covered in a vintage-y pink and green floral pattern. Anything can work depending on how much size you need, however. If you simply want to bring a menstrual product, medicine, and sanitary wipes, for example, a fanny pack or small satchel could suffice. A backpack could also be used. Anything that you like and makes you comfortable, with enough room for your things is the perfect fit! ♡

#Because I need this #Totally not self indulgent #Transman advice #Period #Period kit #Period tips #Emergency kit #Comfort #Bag #Back to school #School

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princediavolos · 3 years

Text

every clue in endless summer, explained

technically the title is kinda misleading because some clues simply have no explanation, they just are. still, there’s a lot of pieces to be put together over the three books, and there are clues found in the first book that aren’t explained till the last one. (if you’re confused about the clues, here’s the fandom wiki for book 1, book 2 & book 3.)

before i dive in, here’s some clarifications:

i’ve used mc’s default name, taylor, and neutral pronouns wherever i’ve referred to them. the endless is also referred to by neutral pronouns.

acts 1, 2 & 3 fall under book 1

acts 4, 5 & 6 fall under book 2

acts 7 & 8 fall under book 3

each act has one bonus scene, so if i’m referring to bonus scene 5, it implies to the scene shown after act 5.

ok so unnecessarily long exposition under the cut!

ACT 1

i. tranquilizer dart: found by taylor and diego upon landing on the airstrip. presumably used on the sabretooth, t'kal, to keep it docile. likely done by rourke or his henchmen, but it is also highly possible the endless tranquilized t'kal in order to keep it from killing everyone.

ii. strange creature: a colourful flying seahorse, found by quinn and taylor along the beach in a premium scene. as shown in bonus scene 1, rourke knows of the creature, as he examines it with interest through his binoculars.

iii. weird lights: lights resembling the auroras displayed at the control tower, found by taylor and jake. it is later explained in book 2 chapter 10 by grace, that the lights are caused by the doppler effect, due to the dilation and contraction of time around la huerta. the vaanti call it the lights of vaanu, said to bring them good luck.

iv. vintage wine: if taylor goes to the ballroom with zahra, quinn notes that every bottle in the room predates 1924. as revealed in book 3 chapter 7, the wedding in the ballroom was that of flora and arthur, and group arrived there due to the time anomalies of the island.

v. sharp tooth: found by grace by the pool, near the fence. according to her, the bars were all twisted. presumably belongs to t'kal the sabretooth.

vi. old note: a note found by taylor and diego in one of the upgraded honeymoon/rainforest suites. it was written by flora sullivan to eugene rosencraft, before her wedding to arthur barnaby. it also references neptune cove, where the second half of the island's heart is found in book 3.

vii. pirate coin/wolf symbol: can be obtained either by going to the waterfall with quinn, or by hiking the cliff with jake. the doubloon is probably a remnant of malatesta and yvonne's loot, while the wolf symbol could have been left behind by the endless. the symbol also matches the stamp on jake's dossier.

viii. shoe prints: a set of muddy shoeprints were found by the celestial's shelter. no solid explanation or implication towards who these belong to.

ix. gas mask: found by taylor underwater in the cavern. it looks very old, and as noted by diego, probably from the world war times. it would have probably belonged to kele, a world war ii soldier who paddled his way into la huerta while escaping from the germans.

x. padlock: the unbroken padlock to the burning hangar, which implies that the hangar was unlocked and jake's plane sabotaged. in one of the memories taylor receives from the endless, lila is shown to deliberately sabotage the plane in order to keep everyone on the island, implying she may have done it in this timeline, too.

ACT 2

i. cufflink: lila is discovered pocketing the cufflink in rourke's office, which she probably did to discover his whereabouts later on. in bonus scene 2, rourke is shown to remove all his clothing, including his cufflinks, before he steps into the containment pod. the cufflink can also be used in book 1 chapter 10, where rourke's dna on it reveals a footage video of him complaining about strange occurrences on the island.

ii. dossiers: files containing data on sean, grace, raj and estela are found in the paper shredder, intact. each of them is stamped with symbols of the constellations aquila, cygnus, centaurus and draco respectively. the symbols are left behind by the endless.

iii. whiskey notes: a note discarded by rourke in the vip lounge, referencing the satellite uplink at the la huerta observatory. this is also shown in bonus scene 2.

iv. frying pan: a frying pan embossed with the centaurus symbol on it, which raj says he feels very drawn to. this was also left behind by the endless. he also uses this pan to deflect a sedative dart aimed at taylor in book 1 chapter 16.

v. arrowhead: an amber arrowhead is found lodged inside the king crab's shell, as found by taylor and estela. as the vaanti have been shown to use amber weaponry (as well as in other ways, such as the catalyst idols), it is implied that one of them may have attacked the guardian with an arrow.

vi. dossiers: files containing data on jake, zahra and diego found in the room inside the observatory. they are stamped with the symbols of the constellations lupus, corvus and canis. symbols left behind by the endless.

vii. strange gun: a futuristic gun found by either estela or jake. in book 1 chapter 16, it is revealed to be a tachyon accelerator, used to move objects forward in time. in bonus scene 5, lila refers to the gun as a temporal perforator.

viii. star map: a holographic display of constellations, as seen by taylor and sean as they go up the pod. sean points out that the stars in the sky over la huerta don't have the usual constellations, and that the stars have not looked like this for a million years. this is confirmed in the book 1 epilogue, when aleister notes that atropo's eruption has caused la huerta to go back to the hadean eon.

ACT 3

i. dossiers: files containing data on quinn, michelle and craig found by taylor and diego by the marina. they are stamped with the symbols of the constellations delphinus, pavo and ursa. symbols left behind by the endless.

ii. rourke's ship: if taylor and lila venture into a familiar-looking boat, they will discover it is rourke's ship, the daedalus. he was seen on the ship in bonus scene 1, and he presumably destroyed it along with the other boats on the marina immediately afterwards.

iii. plastic explosive: the semtex explosive is found by taylor in the back of the boat. it's what was used to blow up the other ships in the marina, but this one malfunctioned.

iv. strange shell: a blue-purple coloured shell that repeats the speaker's words over and over. in one of the memories taylor receives from the endless, varyyn is seen tearfully listening to the shell echoing diego's voice, saying 'i'll always love you, varyyn' over and over again as it gradually fades away.

v. telepathic vision: varyyn telepathically communicates with taylor, showing them what would happen if the catalysts didn't go with the vaanti. it is later revealed to be a depiction of atropo erupting, setting the whole world on fire and destroying it.

vi. numbers: in the wine cellar, 1908 refers to a lever to the underground tunnel, disguised as a vintage wine bottle, as well as the cheat code to rourke's arcade game, most wanted 2. rourke also uses an override program on iris called the directive 1908, explained in book 3 chapter 9, which makes iris prioritise the goal she was created for -- to utilise imogen rourke's knowledge on cloning to provide an heir to rourke. another program, directive 8091, forces estela into the omega mech cockpit in book 3 chapter 10, as she is rourke's 'true' heir.

vii. dossiers: files on taylor and aleister are found inside the security centre, both stamped by the endless with symbols of constellations andromeda and serpens. aleister's dossier is newer, printed recently by iris upon discovering that he was aboard the plane to la huerta.

viii. healing plant: leaves of the plant, when wrapped around aleister's bleeding palm, heal it with unnatural speed without a trace. grace and aleister theorize this may be due to some cellular reconstructive properties the leaves may contain.

ix. necklace: worn by varyyn in book 1, the necklace is seen to have time travelling properties, as it brings back jake/estela/sean/quinn/diego back from the dead. it is unknown if the endless facilitated its use or it is associated with rourke.

x. pirate cutlass: the cutlass was forged by malatesta and was stolen from him by admiral higgenbotham, who was presumably killed alongside malatesta's crew in the flashback taylor experiences, by the vaanti. yvonne then stole the cutlass from higgenbotham's corpse, naming it chouchou. it is unclear as to how the cutlass ended up on a display case at the celestial.

ACT 4

i. hydra caduceus: a staff found in rourke's library, which when placed in the statue's hand in the atrium, turns it into a sundial. iris says that the caduceus is the only item in the library she cannot find the origin of.

ii. crimson glove: a futuristic, yet battered metal glove put on display in rourke's underground museum; taylor realises that the person's arm was probably cut off. the glove belongs to the endless, who tells taylor that they learnt very soon that 'the laws of time can be very unforgiving' with reference to their loss of limb.

iii. shotgun shell: michelle and taylor find the 12-gauge armor-piercing shell casing, as identified by jake, during the time loop. he notes that whoever shot this meant business. the shell probably came from one of the arachnids who were on the island searching for jake.

iv. snowy hills: taylor, with either jake or estela, finds snow on the hills and by the lake on a hot and sunny day, indicating time is in disarray throughout different parts of the island, much like the northern and southern parts of the island.

v. wedding ring: a wedding ring is found on the hand of a statue of a masked bride, in the valley of tombs by jake and taylor. the statue is of flora sullivan, and the ring was given to her by eugene rosencraft which she had turned down. it was after this she wrote him the note found in act 1.

vi. tattoo: uqzhaal has a back tattoo of the legend of the threshold. it is the place where yvonne finds the endless in bonus scene 5, and where yvonne, taylor and uqzhaal meet the endless after collecting all the catalyst idols and solving the puzzle.

vii. words on the wind: the voices at the singing cliffs tell taylor that something is coming across the sea, destroying everything in its path. this could either be an immediate reference to yvonne's arrival the next morning, or a vague prediction about the omega mech used by rourke in book 3.

viii. musket ball: yvonne concedes the gold musket ball at sharktooth isle in exchange for their services to find her 'treasure.'

ix. antique compass: yvonne's said treasure turns out to be an antique compass which she tries to conceal; malatesta made her walk the plank for stealing this compass, which she did in order to find the fountain of youth. the compass also leads her to the threshold in bonus scene 5.

x: oath blade: seraxa's gift to taylor for saving taari, saying that debts must be repaid in accordance with vaanti culture. she is shown to threaten the catalysts with this blade in book 2 chapter 4.

ACT 5

i. silver sap: the sap that drips from elyy'stel's tree aids the catalysts to walk in between dimensions. it is the consumption of this sap by eugene and flora that gradually turned them feral and eventually into the vaanti.

ii. deep fissure: if taylor keeps rewinding until they can't go any further, right up to the ancient sea, the catalysts witness the forming of a fissure in the ocean bed. this fissure was caused by vaanu crash-landing on the earth, and it eventually becomes mount atropo, and forms the bubble surrounding la huerta.

iii. the island's heart: one half of the island's heart, which was formed right in the crux of the volcano, found by the catalysts in the base of elyy'stel's tree.

iv. the mask maker: the masks worn by the vaanti bear the name of their maker, rosencraft & sons, 1921. this explains the masks worn by guests at flora and arthur's wedding, which also took place in the rosencraft manor. the rosencrafts were said to be bankrupt, and that the estate belonged to the banks.

v. burning shard: a burning crystal shard that glows green and reacts the same way that quinn did while possessed by the island's heart. it is one of many crystal shards scattered across the island, originating from the crux of the volcano.

vi. mansingh crater: a crater found near the chasm bears the name of mansingh transglobal tech, the company run by grace's mother, blaire hall. it is suspicious to both taylor and grace, as it implies blaire hall was somehow involved with rourke. no further explanation has been made about the crater.

vii. newspaper clipping: a scrap of an article is found by taylor in the elysian lodge, detailing the deaths of arjun and subhanu sethi due to a car accident, also killing their son and putting their daughter in a critical condition. this daughter is lila, and this article implies that rourke (or someone else) was doing a background research on lila.

viii. rourke's note: an old note written by rourke to look into the new junior researcher, as they look familiar. this is most likely a reference to olivia montoya, although it is not known where he recognises her from.

ACT 6

i. rourke's plan: out of agitation, lila blurts out rourke's plan to save the world through a machine at the masada facility. this machine turns out to be the omega mech, and rourke's plan happens to be controlling the world and its people's existence on his whims.

ii. tracking device: a tracking device is found by taylor, attached to the yeti's fur. this was placed there by the arachnid. this tracking device relays location details back to them, as seen in the military humvee by michelle, jake and taylor, where the code name for the yeti is arktos.

iii. garbled message: a distorted voice reveals the date and coordinates of jake's location, received by the arachnid through an anonymous transmission, which is how they came upon la huerta in the first place. this voice belongs to jake himself, who did so using a 'time-phone' in order to merge realities and help them escape through a helicopter from the masada facility.

iv. crashed satellite: varyyn, while talking about shooting stars, says a satellite once crashed to the ground from the skies. it is probably a stray satellite that got caught in the la huerta time bubble, or it belonged to rourke.

v. omega mech: olivia montoya demonstrates rourke's plans for the omega specimen, aka the endless, through a vr headset. she urges the viewer to understand the destruction the specimen, and rourke, are capable of.

vi. missing guests: rourke claimed that the guests at the celestial were evacuated in time at the beginning of the book, but it is shown that he had them put in containment pods. as seen in bonus scene 4, lundgren and the other arachnids were a part of these guests, but were released by rourke upon striking a deal with him to capture jake.

vii. charred skeletons: skeletons of people are found in the flames and ashes at hartfeld, proving that people did not escape the eruption.

viii. havana cigar: lundgren's cigar at the masada facility implies that he was snooping around where he shouldn't, and that he didn't trust rourke. this distrust is confirmed in bonus scene 6.

ACT 7

i. temple/ancient map: if taylor, yvonne and uqzhaal find the endless, they will give the whereabouts of no'ox naj temple to yvonne, where the fountain of youth exists. if they don't find the endless, taylor and yvonne find a carving of the la huerta map on the walls at the threshold, also hinting towards the temple. the whole group meets the endless for the first time in this temple in book 3 chapter 4.

ii. scout: a mechanical spider with a spy camera is found by taylor while they go windsurfing to win malatesta's bet. like the tracker on the yeti, this was also placed by the arachnid to track down their locations.

iii. padlock: a weathered padlock bearing the inscription, 'no land, no sea, no one will keep us apart. flora & eugene, 1920,' found by taylor in a coral reef. after turning down eugene's proposal (the ring clue, book 2), she tried to make it up to him with this padlock and by asking him to show up at neptune cove (the note clue, book 1). when he failed to show up, flora gave up on him and somehow ended up in a forced marriage to arthur barnaby a year later.

iv. pen: a tarnished silver pen bearing grace's name is found in the shrine at no'ox naj temple. it is implausible that she was at the temple, as she was under rourke's custody the whole time. it is also the same pen seen in grace's catalyst idol, returned to her by aleister and ultimately found near professor diaz's car which she had smashed up.

v. silver sap: one of the drinks served at the anachronists' party at quarr'tel is the silver sap from elyys'tel's tree. the creation of the vaanti myth, which is said to have started at a masquerade theme wedding, is that of flora and arthur's, where the former gets shot after confessing her love for eugene at the wedding. in an attempt to save her, eugene gives her some of this sap. this consumption eventually turns them into the feral vaanti.

vi. spirit's identity: the anachronist, clockmaker, refers to the faceless spirit as vaanu. in reality, vaanu is simply an alien being from another planet (the prism dimension) who crash landed on earth when its planet was destroyed. upon communing with vaanu, taylor discovers they are vaanu's creation, made for the purpose of returning la huerta to its normal state, allowing vaanu's departure.

vii. aleister's note: aleister writes a note to grace, apologising to her, and how he feels genuine remorse over his betrayal. he mentions that he hopes to redeem himself in her eyes.

ACT 8:

i. painting: at the rosencraft manor, there's a painting titled 'depiction of the divine' portraying rourke writing the ten commandments dressed in roman attire. the attire probably matches the statue of himself in the atrium, which opens up the sundial to his museum.

ii. communicator: the anachronists provide sean, raj and michelle with antique communicators which lets them coordinate the attack on cetus.

iii. path to the core: vaanu shows quinn the way to the core of the volcano, where the island's heart belongs. this core is the place where vaanu landed on earth.

iv. molten crystals: a crystal orb with claw markings in it, made by the oryctoraptor that dwells inside the volcano. referred to by varyyn as the deep guardian, it is the most reclusive of the four. it is also responsible for the orb found in the cavern in book 1 chapter 5, and possibly the orb that causes the time loop in book 2 chapter 2.

v. the endless' musings: zahra finds a diary belonging to the endless at the base of the volcano, in which they speak of how the sentience of the crystals probably drew the four guardians (cetus, king crab, yeti, oryctoraptor) to establish order on the island, but they were driven mad. the endless also believes it is possible the crystal created the creatures. this is possible, as it would explain the existence of the colourful seahorse, t'kal and furball (although they have not been affected like the guardians have.)

vi. closing words: the closing words spoken by seraxa during the handfasting ceremony, which is customary as 'it was for the first bride and her beloved.' they are the same words that were engraved in the padlock that flora made for eugene.

#if any of you have ANY doubts or you think i'm wrong anywhere please hmu!!#anw i know a lot of this is paywalled content but there are worse paywalls ://#at least we having fun here paying diamonds and watching our friends die 😁#endless summer #playchoices #*

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talesofsonicasura · 3 years

Text

Stone Novas

Prologue: Tail of Three (Revised)

A lone traveller accidentally find themselves in the wrong destination, wrong place and wrong time. Consequences for this unfortunate mistake? Some unwanted attention of a more magical kind. Ch1

Life is a journey. You don't know where you will go, the path to follow or even if there's a destination. What happens next is the decision of the traveller. Some find fortune, others run into tragedy and there are those who get lost.

Sometimes a leap of faith is needed to get back on the marked path and sometimes one needs help from another. Where every individual being will end up one day or there last step is unknown.

This is the tale of one soul whose path interwoven with a group of individuals and changed everything.

Flower Fruit Mountain

Flower Fruit Mountain, this vast mountainous region is home to various types of flora and fauna. You can find all sorts of flowers and fruit trees on the mountain with rarity ranging from common to nearly extinct. A large monkey population lives on the mountain side, a unique one ruled by a king. It said that the mountain housed the temple of a legendary warrior known as Sun Wukong, the Monkey King.

A strange being born from a stone egg who would face harsh trials, the greatest being the chronicle known as the 'Journey to the West'. This arduous challenge led the immortal guardian to be revered as a hero to the innocent but also a dangerous enemy to the wicked. Nowadays the Monkey King is considered a myth to people knowledgeable of him with few believing he still exists.

Even now, the mountain remained peaceful and a location that many would find impossible to travel. Sometimes visitors who do seek out and make it to Flower Fruit Mountain have all been through a fortunate accident. No one had ever ended up there unintentionally.

"Where am I?" A feminine voice spoke through the quiet ambiance of nature. It was smooth like silk, light in pitch and held a spicy zest to the tone similar to hot peppers. The voice belonged to a young woman in her mid-twenties around 5'3 in height who seemed a bit lost.

Bright cherry red hair that curled up at the ends, soft caramel skin to a modestly curved lithe figure, an large X shaped scar across her face that went over bright apple green eyes unharmed, and a patch of freckles decorated her cheeks.

Her clothing consisted of a plain white tee shirt, a pair of black aviator goggles that sat on her head, long red jacket bearing white flairs around the collar and sleeves to mimic fur and the silhouette of a monkey that had a fire crown was located on the back. Deep black jeans with gold Xs across the knee caps, a dark violet wrist brace on her right arm that held a bright red crystal bearing a black fire pattern inserted inside, dark blue sneakers and a large mahogany carrying bag on her back.

The ginger could only scratch her head at the unfamiliar scenery. Shrugging her shoulders, the youth took out a small notebook and pen from the bag and began to write in it. "Ok. I must've been at least off by 19° degrees in latitude and 5° degrees in longitude from my travel route to end up here instead of my intended destination: the Ultra Desert."

The redhead softly hummed as she wrote it down in the notebook. Her muttering had a few monkeys poked their heads out from the leafy brush of the trees in curiosity. "Might as well have a look around since I'm already here." The mystery woman swapped her notebook out for an old vintage camera.

She quickly turned her head upon the sound of ruffling leaves. Whatever it was had vanished as the area became silent with nothing but the sounds of nature. Shrugging her shoulders, the young woman descended into the mountain's deep forest.

During her exploration, the mountain seemed to be home to more than just the vast forest. A large waterfall basin that led to an impressive river, steep cliffs bearing different kinds of vines or moss against the rocks and the oddest being a vast field of different flags or weapons that looked old, even worn. Signs of a former battlefield weren't uncommon depending on the area's history.

Nonetheless, each had a picture taken by redhead's antique camera with a set of notes written down. Although the large number of monkeys she found on the mountain so far was kinda insane. "There must be a lot of these little fellows living in this region! Barely walk 14 steps without seeing one!"

She currently stood in a little clearing filled with a decent variety of fruit trees. The monkeys here were either eating some of the fruit within the foliage or watched the strange human in their territory. Rest of them had their eyes on something that stood silently behind the woman.

A large man around 6'2 in height that was more monkey than human. Peach skin paired alongside brown wild fur, the hair on his head and the rough sideburns were wild like fire, a lithe yet sturdy body from the powerful lean muscle glimpsed through the clothing. Short yet sharp black claws on fur covered humanoid hands, a monkey-like muzzle home to razor sharp teeth, large pointed end ears, thick dark brown eyebrows, and pastel peach markings around hot amber gold eyes and a long well groomed tail.

Two red ribbons were tied to a small gold cap on the back of his head, a red scarf long enough to be mistaken for two was wrapped above a large hanfu robe held firm by an old brass armor chestplate, red hanfu trousers, black boots and a large red sash around a gold hanfu embroidery that ended in blue and red rims. He stood behind the redhead, amusedly looking over her shoulder while she wrote.

Mischief shone in the monkey man's eyes. He kept his presence unknown to the young woman yet stood close enough to easily touch her. "If my brother was here, he would flip out! He will have a lot of inspiration for his new clothing brand. Leona would also be interested in any possible history found here."

She was about to turn the page when her pen slipped out of her hand. Before the redhead could grab it, a long bushy tail caught it instead. Those apple green eyes turned around to see the large monkey-man. "You dropped-" The male's suave, playful, and rich baritone voice turned into a squeak when a foot met his crotch.

She quickly jumped away from the giant ape while he clutched his wounded pride in pure pain. An incident that had monkeys split between laughing or cringe painfully at the sight. "Who or what the hell are you?! A rip-off Infernape?!" Exclaimed the woman at her apparent stalker.

Trying to ignore the pain, the monkey-man stared at the young woman in disbelief and confusion. "Infern-what? You don't know who I am?!" The ginger just stared. She was either going insane or this monkey had a problem. "Sun Wukong? The Great Sage Equal To Heaven? THE MONKEY KING?!"

All he got was a confused look in return, something that shook the Monkey King hard. It was practically impossible for someone not to know of him! How can someone not see the various merchandise, movies, games or memorabilia based on his legends?!!

"Okay… You clearly have a huge ego. Don't see me shouting: I'm Astra Valorous, Frontier Brain of the Battle Observatory!; up to the sky when someone doesn't know me." The woman now known as Astra crossed her arms with a raised eyebrow.

Sun Wukong stood completely lambasted. A problem he'll rectify for the Monkey King skulks up to the redhead with a suave smile. "Then let's get better acquainted with each other, lovely cherry. We can share some peach chips over a movie at my place." He wiggled his eyebrows before bending down to kiss Astra's hand.

She immediately ripped her hand from the monkey's grasp then promptly poked his eyes. A glint of unnatural fear etched in her eyes. The Monkey King howled whilst tightly clutching his head. Wukong blinked through the stinging pain to see Astra was gone. No doubt the young woman used that short moment of blindness to run.

A shadow moving fast out of the forest had the Monkey King look up in mild surprise. The missing redhead sat on the back of the weirdest bird he had ever seen in his life. It looked like a giant crow around 9 ft in size and mostly covered in thick dark ebony armor.

Armor plating covering the wings, bulky steel armor across the body, jagged helm around the beak and piercing red eyes to even metal claws equipped to the talons. Or the fact that the bird was freaking fast despite all the weight on it's body plus the passenger it carried.

"Don't know where the hell she got the bird but I ain't so easy to get rid of! No normal person can reach this mountain after all!" With a somersault, a large gold tinted cumulus cloud manifested underneath the Monkey King's feet and flew after the peculiar woman.

Astra let out a sigh of annoyance much to the concern of her large bird companion. "I'm fine, Siegfried. Never thought there would be a day where an Infernape-ripoff calling himself the Monkey King flirts with me." She patted the bird on the head then looked at what laid ahead of them.

A large volcanic area complete with smoke billowing mountains, scorched earth lined by streams of lava or cracks that glowed from the magma underneath, a literal inferno in the form of an island. "Corviknight!" Siegfried bellowed worriedly at the sight of the molten landscape. Concern for his rider no doubt.

"Don't worry your silly Corviknight head about it. We aren't going anywhere near that place unless needed." That train of thought was derailed from a familiar yell that had hit the redhead's ears. "Oh little miss cherry!" Astra was thrown for a loop upon the sight of Wukong flying behind them on top of a giant cloud.

"Change of plans bud! We need to lose him!" Astra held on tightly to the large bird's back and slid on her goggles before the Corviknight swiftly dove towards the volcanic area. The Monkey King was surprised for a moment until a playful grin spread across his face. "Game of air tag it is! Best to give them a fair chance and a better place to land instead of lava."

With excitement, the sage flew after the odd duo. The landscape proved itself to be dangerous as some of the volcanoes began to spew out geysers of molten rock and large burning smoke at the incoming fliers. Siegfried flew past the geysers, angling his wings to avoid the lava pillars and barrel roll through some of the smoke plumes.

The Monkey King followed close behind on his cloud easily dodging the spires of molten rock and bust through the ash veil unaffected. Astra let out an impressed whistle despite their apparent stalker now reaching the large raven's tail. "Let's kick it up a notch! Agility Siegfried!"

A thin blue aura washed over the Corviknight as it rushed forward much faster than before. Taken aback by the sudden boost, Sun Wukong decided to pick up the pace. Both fliers weave across the jagged cliffs, slip through a landslide of burning boulders and a sharp dive into the hole near the bottom of a rock wall.

Emerging from the other side, the Monkey King was now flying beside Astra and her Corviknight. His tail wagged enthusiastically from the excitement. "You don't give up, do you? Why the hell are ya following us anyway?" The redhead questioned, her apple green burning into the male's sun amber.

Wukong let out a hearty chuckle before speaking up. "I was wondering how you managed to get to my home! Flower Fruit Mountain isn't a place people can get to much less anywhere near my temple! Plus, I wasn't the one who got poked in the eyes and kicked in the nuts!" He gestured to the volcanic area then sarcastically himself.

The redhead stood silent for a minute before letting out a groan of annoyance. "Well, sorry pal, that's a trade secret! I rather not have an Infernape-ripoff following me back to my gym! Let's lose him, Siegfried! Swift!" With a powerful cry, the armored raven spun skyward spawning large yellow stars from its steel wings.

The Monkey King did a quick turn to avoid being swept up by the giant spiral of spinning stars. All of the starry pillar then split apart into golden dust with neither Astra or her avian ally anymore in sight. Wukong could only stare before grabbing one of the small star shaped objects that hadn't collapsed yet.

"Astra Valorous, you're one crafty human. Now I really want to get to know you better!" A soft yellow glow came from the Monkey King's paw. The energy seeped into the star as it crystallized and shrunk to the size of a quarter. Wukong looked at the newly made item curiously before pocketing it and went back to his mountain home.

Megapolis, Downtown

Megapolis, an advanced super city only found in China. Home to various people such as humans and yaoguai, different cultures, widespread technological advances, and many other peculiarities. Downtown of this giant city was quieter albeit more dangerous than it's livelier counterpart.

More shops with a wider yet suspicious line of goods, ongoing construction for apartments or new stores, eerie alleyways and an old theatre run by a mysterious man whose shadow is said to mimic a six eared yaoguai. Currently walking down one of these streets was Astra.

Her Corviknight Siegfried nowhere in sight so the ginger was all by her lonesome in the middle of the night. Bright apple green eyes taking in the various people, buildings and different stores with mild curiosity. In her left hand is a small brochure that read 'Introduction to Megapolis City' and a book in her right that read 'Yaoguai and Mythology for Beginners'.

"So that odd guy I ran into, Sun Wukong, is a monkey yaoguai. The book says that his species are as rare as they're crafty and can be born from objects like stones, bamboo and peaches than just the normal way. Strange but interesting." Astra mumbled to herself, thoughts still on that encounter back at the mountain.

She stopped when something had caught her eye. It was an old shrine with a torn red tapestry hung over the front. Judging from the gate's curved wooden pillars, the style of the green roof, and architecture, Astra assumed it to be a citang type of shrine found in China.

The really interesting thing was the small stand that sat at the front. It read: 'Shadow Fang Theatre presents The Hero and the Warrior'. An advertisement for a shadow play that would start within a few minutes.

"Might as well check it out since I'm already here. Hope I can get a decent seat or even a ticket." Astra then wandered into the theatre. The darkness halls were lit with soft light of various candles, and the redhead could see how old the place was from the fading painted walls, chipping ceiling to the thin dust on various knickknacks.

Sitting on a small chair by the curtain door to the showing room is a man cloaked in a black cloak bearing red flames across it. His face was obscured by the hood but the redhead could make a thin beard on a slightly angular chin. Walking over to the booth caused the man to look up.

Apple green met with dark reddish amber that glinted intrigue. "Hello. May I get a ticket for 'The Hero and The Warrior' please? Or am I a bit too late?" The man took out a pocket watch hearing Astra's question before softly smiling albeit it felt a bit...impish.

"Actually you have good timing. I was actually about to close for tonight if I hadn't got a customer. One of those rare slow days that every shop tends to have." His voice sounded a bit rugged and rough but oddly fit the quiet yet charismatic tone.

"Alright… Crap! Did I forget to exchange some items for the local currency?" Astra grumbled looking into her bag only to accidentally knock something out. It would've hit the floor if the theatre's owner hadn't caught it. His eyes widened upon the object itself, a small red crystal shaped like a four point star.

It wasn't like anything he had ever seen before. "If you give me this, then it'll suffice as payment for not only this showing but a few others if you wish to come back in the future." She juggled the offer for a moment before nodding in agreement.

Astra had been led to the viewing room by the man before he left to begin his show. The young woman decided to take one of the front row seats and sat her bag on her lap. Her bright apple green eyes focused on the white screen of the window box once light soon burned behind it.

The shadow of the puppets then emerged both ironically shaped like a monkey or monkey yaoguai to be accurate. It showed the two monkeys growing up separately, one in the light alongside others with a sun in the background and the opposite raised in the shadows with the moon. It transitioned to the two meeting each other.

A friendship formed between the two as they grew older and stronger. Astra noticed that the monkey who grew up alone or the 'warrior' began to be left behind by his opposite, the 'hero'. The hero grew stronger with new companions, unfortunately leaving his old friend in the darkness.

It soon ends with the two clashing and the hero leaving the warrior in the shadows. Astra remained silent despite the theatre's owner now sitting next to her. "So how was it?" The man questioned inquisitively. She looked at him for a moment and gave a bittersweet smile.

"Beautiful yet tragic. I honestly feel bad for the warrior." Astra, unaware of the man's eyes widening continued. "Growing up all alone no doubt hurts but being betrayed by someone close to you must've broken them. To be forgotten or betrayed can break someone to the point they'll never be the same again. Lost in dark twisted thoughts all alone."

The way she spoke, it almost sounded like a personal experience. Whatever the case, it felt a bit too close to the man as he placed a hand on her shoulder. Astra's eyes grew wide in seconds, instinctive fear burning in those apple greens. She shot from her seat and suddenly slapped the owner.

The blow had knocked him back rather than just losing his grip. Before she could apologize, dark violet smoke burst from the man forcing the young woman to step back. Astra could only groan in pure annoyance once the smoke fades to reveal that the man wasn't human.

He was actually a monkey yaoguai who looked almost exactly like Wukong but bearing large differences. His fur pitch black instead of brown, the markings on his face were larger and red, teeth were sharper, skin slightly darker and he had an aura that radiated vengeful malevolence.

His clothing consisted of a half black and half yellow shanku paired with brown trousers, a blood red slightly worn cape, a black sash around the waist and black training boots. And oh boy did he look mad. "Goddamnit. From a monkey yaoguai that looked like an Infernape-ripoff to one that looks like a bootleg Zarude." Astra groaned to herself, but the obsidian monkey caught it.

"The name is Macaque, Six Eared Macaque. I don't know what the hell a "Zarude" is but I do know that you aren't some normal first time traveler." Shadow energy burst forth between Macaque's hands in the form of a violet outlined shadow staff with spike ends which he pointed at the ginger.

Astra quickly jumped to the side grabbing her bag before that large staff smashed the floor and seats instead of her. She took something from the bag then tossed it into the air. Macaque saw it was a pure red ball around the size of a baseball with a button at the center. Not an ordinary one as Astra cried out. "Bao Chang, lend me your strength with Shadow Claw!"

A bolt of crimson lightning shot from the sphere the very moment it opened. And the monkey yaoguai barely had a second to block a large claw of pure shadow with staff. His eyes widened at the sight of another monkey before him. One he knew wasn't any yaoguai.

The beast stood about 2'11 in size with bright orange fur, a blue mask around amber eyes with a red stripe in-between them and light brown short blunt muzzle that held sharp teeth in a grimace, a small collar of white fur on the neck, gold band markings on the arms that end with 5 fingers yet no normal hand, a long tail with a large flame burning from the tip, three toed feet, and a small spiral marking above its chest.

Their left arm is currently engulfed in a coat of dark violet shadowy claws. Bao Chang quickly jumped back before Macaque could shove the monkey off his staff, the shadow appendage dispersing in seconds afterwards as he landed in front of his master.

"Monfero mon?" Bao chirped, pointing worriedly at the monkey yaoguai. Astra merely shook her head making sure to keep her eyes on their current opponent. "I'm fine, Bao. We have bigger things to worry about!" Macaque let out an amused chuckle as his tail wagged wildly in excitement.

"Good to know my assumption was spot on. Bao Chang, huh? Clearly he isn't a yaoguai, maybe a demon beast? I'll get my answers either way." Suddenly some of the shadows rose from the ground, each taking a violet form of the monkey yaoguai. All of them viciously smiling at the two partners. Despite the increase in the threat, it didn't seem to deter the odd duo one bit.

"He's a Monferno who's going to steamroll ya! Light em up with your Flame Wheel, partner!" Bao leapt into the air with fire burning from their throat and the flame on their tail expanded. The monkey spun his body morphing the fire to form a wheel shaped coat. All the shadow clones manifested staffs of their own and charged towards the burning beast.

One shadow had reached Bao but to Macaque's surprise the copy was eaten away by the scorching light. Almost if the monkey's flames were too intense for it. That fiery wheel mercilessly ripped through a clone before circling around to mown down each doppelganger.

Macaque watched Bao grow faster with every shadow clone the beast destroyed, quickly readying his staff when the flame wheel went straight for him. With a mighty swing, the monkey yaoguai slammed his spiked bo straight into the spiraling wheel of fire.

He didn't expect Bao to quickly uncurl himself so the monkey could grab his weapon by the last second. "Thunder Punch!" Fire became replaced with fierce crackling lightning that coated the right arm. The smaller monkey using the shadow staff to slingshot himself straight at Macaque.

An electric covered fist met the monkey yaoguai's gut which sent the larger of the two simians skidding across the ground. Macaque could feel every single volt from the punch hitting all of the nerves in his body but managed to hold his stance. Small jolts of electricity spark from his body seemingly at random, a sight that made Astra let out a small sigh.

"Just a little more Bao! We have to make sure Macaque doesn't have a chance of following us. Focus Blast!" Cupping their hands together, a large ball of blue energy manifested between the Monferno's palms. Quickly pulling up his staff, the monkey yaoguai swat away the incoming energy fast ball.

Bao kept creating and tossed more of the large energy spheres at Macaque in rapid succession. Each blast that yaoguai struck either broke on contact, was batted away into another energy sphere, struck some of the clones who managed to spawn in the now minimum shadows or were countered by Bao.

With each swing that odd tingling sensation spread across Macaque's body. It soon reached its boiling point as the monkey demon crumpled to his knees. The numbing made his staff disperse and allowed for a Focus Blast to strike him face first.

His back harsly met the theatre walls from where the blast flung him. All of his clones dispersed from the lost magical connection whilst he slumped to the floor. Dark amber orbs manage to spot the large sparks of odd electricity crackling all around his body.

Whatever the case, it had gotten Bao to stop attacking. "Looks like the paralysis finally kicked in. Thunder Punch has a good chance of paralyzing a target upon contact. Sorry about the slap but I have an issue when it comes to particular touches. The paralysis will wear off in a bit but not before we're long gone. Let's go Bao!"

Astra and her partner fled out of the theatre leaving a paralyzed Macaque behind on the floor. It took at least 20 minutes for the paralysis to wear off but it had been enough time for the monkey yaoguai to think. While he began to repair some of the damage to his theatre, Macaque spotted something on the hardwood floor.

Picking it up, he discovered it was a holographic foil card bearing the image of the woman and her 'Monferno' from earlier. "'Astra Valorous, Frontier Brain of the Battle Observatory. Main Pokemon is Bao Chang the Monferno, Fire/Fighting Type.' It seems the Frontier Brain left me a little clue. Let's see what else this card might reveal."

With a soft chuckle, Macaque pocketed the card and continued with his repairs. He had a feeling he would see the redhead again but for now it could wait. There were bigger fish to fry and that fish's name…

...was Sun Wukong, the Monkey King.

And that's it! Sorry if either Wukong or Macaque might be a bit OOC, this is the first time writing either of them. For those who don't know much on Pokemon, I can fill in some of the gaps for ya.

What happened to Macaque during the fight with Bao was a status effect called Paralysis. Basically, it not only halves the speed of the afflicted target but has high chance of making them unable to move or attack.

Frontier Brain are trainers whose skill can rival the Elite Four to even Champions but have their own facility and badge like a Gym Leader. These people are taticians and their Pokemon are very powerful.

I often use Frontier Brain title than the stereotypical Champion for an OC since they are the least utilitized.

Astra only fought Macaque because unlike her situation with Wukong, they weren't in a large open space and the former meant harm. Wukong would've grounded her and Siegfried if he'd caught the two.

The items Macaque got ahold of were a Star Piece and Astra's Trainer Card. Trainer Cards are the equivalent of baseball cards and were introduced in Gen 8.

This takes before episode one of the series but after the special debut. Basically after MK defeats DBK and the city is rebuilt. Macaque's story displayed here is my interpretation instead of the canon one seen in Shadow Play! Also, I took liberty of giving Macaque's theatre a name since I couldn't find the actual name for it.

Until next time folks, we'll see where Astra and Bao ended up!

Btw: This is the pictures for the Pokemon Corviknight and Monferno!

Update: Corrected some grammar, corrected certain details and such.

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