#turns out when your family aren’t dicks talking politics at the dinner table can be a fun bonding experience

[sushupimpondering]

The funny thing about my family is that friendly debate is just how some of us get along, and my dad (a proactive man who wants to make sure the internet doesn’t spread misinformation into my heart) will often ask for my source when it comes to the anecdotal evidence I share. But half that stuff I learned in school or just straight up personally experienced so it’s just like

Me: our modern views of (insert topic) as a society are inherently flawed

My well meaning father: source?

Me: fucking existence? Idk

[mochegato]

Even the Losers

Chapter 9

Chapter 1     Chapter 8

Marinette stopped a few feet from the corner of the restaurant at which M. Wayne had made their reservation in order to collect herself. She checked her reflection in the restaurant’s darkened windows to make sure nothing had changed in the past few minutes. It wasn’t that she wanted to impress M. Wayne, but she didn’t want to make him think less of her either.  She wanted to be perfect for him and yeah, maybe, she wanted to impress him, make him want to stay… this time.

She brushed her bangs out of her face a little rougher than she intended to, trying to force those thoughts out of her head and punish herself for thinking them in the first place.  This wasn’t about making him like her.  She lived this long without him.  She didn’t need him.  She’d be just fine without him.  She had been so far.  It didn’t matter if he didn’t love her.  It didn’t matter if he didn’t like her.  It didn’t mean she was unloveable.  

She watched as her reflection deflated.  It just meant that one of the two people who were biologically programmed to love her no matter what, didn’t.  That he fought through biology to brush her off. She shook her head and stood straight up again.  But! But, that didn’t make her unloveable.  Jagged did the same to Luka and Juleka and they were two of the most amazing people she knew.  They weren’t unloveable, and neither was she. They repaired their relationship and so could she.

This was about adding to her family, not filling a hole in her life.  There was no Bruce Wayne shaped hole in her life.  His opinion of her didn’t matter.  His opinion of her didn’t change who she was.  She was going to be who she was around him and if he didn’t like it, she lost nothing.  She would still have an amazing family.  She would still have amazing friends.  She would still be loved.

This was about him fitting into her life.  Not the other way around.  This was about her deciding if there was a place for him.  If she wanted him there, to give him a chance or not.  This was about getting answers so she could make those decisions.  She took a breath.  This was about giving him a chance to speak and for her to listen to what he said.

She nodded to her reflection resolutely and pushed through the doors to the restaurant’s waiting area.  Her eyes widened incrementally seeing the lobby. It screamed luxury and exclusivity. Only certain people were allowed here and Marinette was confident if she hadn’t been meeting Bruce Wayne, she wouldn’t be considered one of those people.  The maître d’ eyed her with a sneer that looked so at home on his face it must have been his normal expression.

She gave him a nervous smile.  “I’m here for a reservation under the name Wayne.”  The maître d’ looked her up and down and gave a curt nod.  He walked toward the doors to the dining room without saying anything to her.

Marinette smoothed down her hair one last time as the maître d’ led her through the doors to the dining area.  She clutched her purse so tightly her knuckles were turning white.  She really hoped Tikki had found a different spot to hide in, because otherwise it had to be incredibly uncomfortable for her. Marinette was focusing all of her tension into her hand and forcing the rest of her body to relax so she wouldn’t appear as terrified as she actually was.  Now if she could just get her heart to start beating in a regular rhythm, she’d be all set.

She gave a nervous smile to Bruce as he stood to greet her and struggled to remember any part of the pep talk she had just given herself a few minutes ago. Because as soon as she saw his relieved and excited face, she started forgetting.  It was not about wanting to see that expression on his face and knowing she was the cause.  This was about her.  She should not be filled with anxiety about making him lose that expression and wanting to walk away.  He was proving himself, she wasn’t proving herself.

“Marinette!”  He gave her a warm smile and held his hand out to shake hers while she went in for a cheek kiss greeting at the same time.  He chuckled awkwardly and quickly shifted his hand to her arm as he kissed her cheek as well.  He nodded to the maître d’ and pulled her chair out for her.  As soon as they were alone, he sat down anxiously.  “Thank you again for agreeing to meet me.  You look nice.”

Marinette smiled and nodded to him.  “So do you.  And thank you for agreeing at such short notice.”

He chuckled nervously.  His eyes darted between her, his glass of wine, the menu, really anything as he searched for his next words.  It shouldn’t be this hard.  He spoke to boardrooms of hostile and dangerous businesspeople.  Speaking to his daughter shouldn’t be harder.  She wasn’t going to destroy a city.  She wasn’t going to undermine entire groups of people just so she could make a few more dollars.  She wasn’t dangerous… well, not to anyone but him.  With him, she had the power to destroy his heart with just one word.

“I ordered a merlot if you would like some.  If not, I can call someone in…”

He started to get up to call someone over, but Marinette lunged at him to get him to sit down and not draw attention to them, knocking over his glass of merlot. Marinette’s eyes widened in horror. “Oh no, no, no, no,” she whimpered helplessly.  She grabbed a few napkins to clean it up.  Why?  Why did her clumsiness have to act up now?  In front of M. Wayne.  Why did she have to be such a klutz?  She could feel the tears stinging her eyes as they tried to escape.

“Marinette,” Bruce cooed gently.  He gently gripped her wrists and pulled them away from the table.  “Marinette, it’s okay.  It happens.  You should see a normal dinner at the manor.  If there isn’t at least one spill or something isn’t broken, we start thinking someone is sick.”  She finally looked up at him apprehensively and he could feel the breath leaving his chest. His eyes softened and he tried to give her an encouraging smile.  “It’s fine. We can just move to another table and I’ll leave a big tip.”

Her eyes widened even larger and she looked around.  “We can’t just…”  She stopped when she noticed the empty restaurant.  It was prime dinnertime, or at least it was in France.  Maybe a bit early, but not uncommon.  But this restaurant was completely empty.  Not even families with kids.  And there was no way M. Wayne would choose a restaurant that nobody liked.  “Do Gothamites eat dinner really early?  Or really late?” she whispered, not wanting to break the silence that engulfed them.

“Hmm?” Bruce hummed in confusion.

“There aren’t any… It just isn’t as crowded as I would expect,” she explained. “Not that that doesn’t work in my favor in this case.”

“Oh,” he nodded his head in realization and gave her a soft smile. “No, not as crowded as the place usually is.  I rented it out.”

“You rented out the entire restaurant?” she whispered incredulously. “At the last minute?”

Bruce’s smile widened at the astonished look on her face.  “I didn’t want people gawking at us all night or taking pictures and the manor is rather hectic.”  He grimaced slightly at the thought.  “Not to mention, we’d have just as many gawkers there.  And I wanted this first meeting to be just between us.  So I made sure we had some privacy.”

Marinette shook her head.  “Right. Forgot.  Rich.”

Bruce chuckled too.  “Yeah, I forget sometimes too.”  He sat at a table next to the one they had been sitting at.

Marinette scoffed lightly and joined him at the new table.  “I doubt that.”  She slapped her hand over her mouth, her eyes going wide as she stared at him. “Sorry.  I’m sorry.  That was… so rude,” she stuttered.  She dropped her eyes quickly.  She mentally berated herself for sabotaging this so efficiently.  She doubted she could do it more effectively if she were trying.

Bruce shook his head.  “No, not at all.  You’re not wrong.  And a lot more polite about it than Jason would have been.  Or Stephanie.”

Marinette looked back up at him through her bangs.  “Oh… um… okay.”

Bruce squeezed his eyes shut behind his menu.  He was screwing this up so badly.  Instead of making her feel more comfortable, he was making her increasingly nervous and doubtful.  He pursed his lips as he searched for anything to talk about to lighten the mood. “I hope you like it here.  The food is really good.”  He had to stop himself from physically slapping himself for that terrible non-sequitur.  His entire job was to say things in an engaging, elegant way.  It was a skill he’d started honing decades ago.  Where was that training now?

Marinette opened her menu as well with an anxious smile.  “Great.  I’m starving.”

“Hi Starving, I’m your father.”

Marinette blinked a few times at him, trying to catch his eye but he was staring blankly at his menu.  “Did you just…”

“I admit to nothing,” he answered flatly, still staring at his menu.  

Marinette continued to stare for a few seconds before breaking down into giggles, the tension that had been building since she entered the restaurant breaking with his joke.  “I… I can’t… believe you sai… said that,” she gasped out between laughs.

He watched her with an amused glint in his eyes and a relieved smile.  “Do not tell your siblings.  Dick will pout for a week that he wasn’t here to hear it.”

Marinette let her giggles die down and nodded.  She looked up at him with a much more relaxed smile.  “Not known for your sense of humor?”

“No, definitely not,” Bruce shook his head with a grin.  He set down his menu to focus on Marinette.  “Jason used to tease me mercilessly about it.”

Marinette quirked her head to the side, an amused smile pulling at the corners of her mouth.  “And was Jason a comedian or he just liked to tease you?”

“A little of both.  Dick is more of our comedian.  He’s usually the first to make a joke… to lighten the mood.  Stephanie will make a fool out of herself to get you to smile, or herself.  She likes being over the top.  But Jason, when he was a kid, was excited about everything.  Everything in life was new and exciting.  He was constantly smiling and bouncing from thing to thing. So optimistic.”  Bruce’s eyes unfocused as he remembered the first year after Jason came to the manor.

Marinette furrowed her brow in doubt.  Not a single one of those words were ones she would use to describe Jason from the time she’d spent with him.  Maybe her translation of the words was wrong?  “Jason?  Jason Todd. Your son Jason.”

Bruce chuckled wryly.  “Yes, that Jason. “  A pained expression flashed across his face morphing into a sad frown he didn’t even try to hide.  “A lot changed over the years.  Some… things happened about eight years ago.  It changed all of us.”

Marinette let out a dry laugh as images of Hawaiian shirts and rock giants flashed through her head.  She turned back to her menu to avoid his eyes.  “I can understand that.”

Bruce furrowed his brow, a guilty frown settling on his lips for a few seconds before he plastered on a smile.  “Now he’s more likely to make a sarcastic remark than a joke.  But, he’s fiercely protective of his family, maybe more than any of the rest of us.”

Marinette thought back over their interactions and slowly started nodding. “He seems like it.”  She paused when the waitress came in to take their orders. She smiled politely while the waitress was in the room, acting the part of a dutiful, happy daughter rather than a temperamental stranger who took her frustrations and insecurities out on him without letting him explain.  And that’s what this was about, letting him explain.  But before he could do that, she needed to make sure he knew she wasn’t mad. Well… that she wasn’t going to attack him anyway.

As soon as the waitress left, her shield was gone.  She could no longer hide behind the façade.  Now she had to face him.  She looked down and squeezed her eyes shut.  She took a beat before she looked back up at Bruce.  “I wanted to say sorry for how I behaved when you came to my hotel room.  I wasn’t being fair to you.  I only found out about you a few days ago and then the world found out and then you were at my door.  It was a lot all at once and I did not handle it well, so I’m sorry.”  

Even with half her face hidden from looking down as she spoke, Bruce could see the shame radiating from her expression.  When she finally looked up to make eye contact he had to force himself not to gasp at the guilt and pain in her eyes.  His heart clenched at the sight.  He hated seeing her look like that. He’d do anything to keep that look off her face.  That was his job.  That was the entire point of what he’d done.  But he failed.  He might have failed at it so far, but he was going to make up for it now… if she would let him.

His hand shot out almost too quickly to see and gently squeezed hers, hoping that at least that level of intimacy was allowed.  “No, I invaded your space.  I forced a confrontation before you were ready.  I knew I shouldn’t do that.  Sabine… your mother warned me not to do that and I did it anyway.  I’m sorry for that.  I didn’t… I didn’t want to lose my chance to…”  He looked down at the table and frowned trying to get his words in order.  

“I didn’t want you to leave before I could talk to you, to try to connect and explain.”  He looked at her almost desperately.  “You were here, right here.  So close. I couldn’t let you slip through my fingers again, not when I knew you knew.  Not when I didn’t have to keep it a secret anymore.”  He frowned and looked down at his glass, pulling his hand back into his lap.  He suddenly chuckled wryly.  “If there was ever a good reason to begin with.”

Marinette sucked in a breath not ready for this conversation yet.  She thought they’d ease into it.  Get comfortable, then get into it.  But apparently M. Wayne’s approach was to rip the Band-Aid off. Dealing with uncomfortable situations was definitely not an inherited trait because her method of avoiding any uncomfortable conversations in increasingly unlikely and embarrassing manors until the entire thing festered into a debilitating, unnecessarily explosive fiasco, was not a technique she picked up from her maman either.

Bruce looked back up at her with a determined look.  “Marinette, you had a right to react.  You had… have a right to be upset or hurt or both.  I deserved it.  Believe me, I understand that.  I’ve gotten worse from your siblings for less.  Don’t feel like you have to apologize to me.  However you react, I can take it and I’m not going to walk away again.  But I am hoping that you being here means you want to move forward, you want to try.”  He looked up at her questioningly, an edge of fear in his eyes.  “Do you?”

Marinette let out the breath she’d taken in.  She looked down and pushed a strand of hair that was still in place behind her ear, letting her fingers linger so she had something else to focus on for a moment.  When she looked back up, there was a more determined look in her eyes.  “Yes.  I… I want to listen.  I want to understand.”

Bruce nodded with a grateful smile.  “Thank you.  I know this is a lot and it hasn’t been fair to you and I’m sorry for… everything.”  

Marinette nodded.  “Thank you.” They both sat and looked in the vicinity of each other uneasily, both waiting for the other to say something first. Marinette tapped her fingers together while she waited for him to continue speaking, to give the explanation he’d promised.

Bruce was waiting for… he wasn’t sure.  Inspiration maybe.  He’d thought through what he wanted to say.  He’d gone over it all, but somehow seeing her in front of him, looking in her eyes and seeing her vulnerability laid bare, none of his excuses seemed like enough.  None of them seemed valid, but then again, they never were.

After a few minutes of silence, he finally spoke up.  “When you were born, I was younger than you are now and I didn’t think I’d be able to be a good father.”  He frowned at the table.  “And in my head it was better for you to not be with me at all.  I thought I’d bring you down.  But your mother…” he gave her a wan smile, “she was always strong and good. I knew she would be an amazing mother… without my interference.  I thought you had a better chance away from me and Gotham and in my idiot mind that meant cutting off all contact.”

“But you took in other kids,” she pointed out timidly.

Bruce nodded and flicked his eyes up to hers before looking back down in guilt. “I didn’t intend to.  I came across Dick about awhile after your mother took you to France.  He lost his parents.  They died, were killed in front of his eyes, like mine had been.  He was angry and violent.  He needed someone and I thought I could help.  I might not be a good parent, but I could help him… keep him from becoming… me.”

Marinette’s brow furrowed sympathetically.  “Would that be bad?”

Bruce cringed slightly, remembering how he was at the time.  “Yes, it would have.  Anger and desperation?  They can do bad things to a person.”  He looked at her pointedly.  “Makes you make terrible decisions.”

Marinette nodded in understanding.  She understood how far desperation could drive a person.  She understood how dark some people could go. She understood how bad things could get if they continued unchecked.  She’d fought those people.  She’d helped defeat one of them.  And no matter how bad the battle was, it was always harder handling them after they were defeated, when all they had was their grief.

“Jason… he came a few years later.  He was alone and on the streets.  He was tough and smart and so excited about life, but he was never going to get the opportunity to do anything on the streets.”

“And you wanted to help him too,” Marinette finished his unfinished thought.

“Yeah. He needed someone to let him be a kid, let him be passionate, to love him like a parent should.  And I couldn’t leave him there.  And Tim… he kind of snuck in and declared himself family.  He wasn’t wrong.  He is.  He came along after Jason… was gone.  He filled a void I didn’t even know I had until he stepped in.  And I hope I’ve done the same for him.  He didn’t have the best childhood either.  And now… I can’t imagine the family without him.”

Marinette gave him a small smile.  “Sounds like he adopted you.”

Bruce nodded absently, his eyes taking on a far-off focus as he remembered the past. “Sometimes children are smarter than their parent.  In the case of my kids,” he looked up at her meaningfully, “all of them, it’s true.

“They didn’t have a better choice… you did.  And in my idiotic self-destructive mind, I was helping you.  I was convinced for more than a decade that the best thing I’d done in my life, the most selfless, was walk away from you, not force you to have to suffer with dealing with me.  But I was just afraid and selfish.  I made a stupid choice.  By the time I realized how monumentally I’d screwed up, Jason was gone and by the time I got my head back on right, Damian was here and Damian needed all my attention.”

“You didn’t have Damian since he was a baby?”

Bruce shook his head.  “No.  I didn’t even know about him until he was ten. Then his mother just dropped him off with me.  His childhood…” Bruce let out a long breath.  “His grandfather taught him since birth that he needed to earn love, or as close as he’s capable to love.  Damian’s mother told him he was better than everyone else… so you can imagine the kinds of issues we had for quite a while.”

He gave a proud smile.  “He’s made such a big change since he came.  He’s grown so much.”

“You sound proud,” she observed poignantly.

Bruce’s smile turned bittersweet.  “I’m proud of all of my kids.  You’re all amazing people.  I don’t know how I ended up with so many amazing kids.”

She smiled and hoped it didn’t come off as awkward as it felt.  “So what about Duke?  And I think Jason mentioned sisters.”

Bruce nodded.  “Cass is the only one I adopted.  Stephanie is just around enough that she’s essentially a child.  Same with Barbara.  I ran into Cass while I was travelling.  Her parents were mentally and physically abusive to the point that she didn’t speak until she was a teenager.”  Marinette gasped.  “She’s a lot better.  She communicates with us a lot, mostly through sign language.  And Duke… Joker tortured his parents because they saved me once.”

Marinette gasped and grasped his hand, squeezing it.  When he met her eyes she gave him another encouraging squeeze and a warm smile.  “They’ve all come such a long way.  I’m sure a better parent could have done more but somehow we’ve all become a slightly dysfunctional family.  Watching them… It’s amazing to see how far they’ve all come.  They’ve all had to fight so hard, go against so many obstacles.”

“It sounds like you’ve done a lot of work with all of them.  And they’ve grown amazingly with you watching over them. They were incredibly lucky to have you,” Marinette said quietly a strained smile on her face, no longer making eye contact with Bruce.  She took back her hand to take a drink of her wine.

Those were valid reasons.  She could admit that and she didn’t begrudge them the better life being with M. Wayne afforded them, but still…  She fought frowning at her lap.  It all made sense.  Every step made sense.  They needed someone and he could provide, so he did.  From an objective perspective.  It made sense.  Did it make her a bad person if that didn’t make her feel better?  What did it say about her that she was still hurt?  That she still was angry, felt betrayed?  That it wasn’t enough?

Bruce’s face fell as he watched her change in demeanor.  His chest clenched.  “I never stopped thinking about you and how you were doing.  I never stopped loving you.”  He reached out for her hand but let his hand dropped when she didn’t offer it readily.  “I know you don’t feel that way about me, you just met me, but I’ve loved you from the moment you were born.  And I know it’s hard to see and I don’t show it well… at all… but I’ve always tried to make sure you were taken care of, that you never wanted for anything. I’ve kept up on your life to make sure.

“And I need you to know it was never because I didn’t want you.  It was never that I thought my other kids were better than you in any way.  It was never because I didn’t think you were good enough. I didn’t think I was.  I thought you deserved better than I could ever give you, better than you could get in Gotham.  But running away wasn’t the way to do that, and I realize that.”  He was unsure how to interpret the wide eyed look Marinette was giving him, but he plowed on, needing to say it anyway.

“I really did intend to try to connect.  That’s why I went to your final showing.  I showed pictures of your work to someone on the fabric project and said I happened to see you there.”  He chuckled lightly and shook his head.  “I thought I’d have to do a bunch of conniving behind the scenes to get Lucius to use you.  But as it turns out, he’s just as excited to get you on the project as I was.  He mentioned you to me after you spoke with him.”

Marinette smiled.  It was small and self-conscious, but significantly better for Bruce to see than the strained smile she’d had earlier.  “M. Fox is a very nice man.  I liked speaking with him a lot.”  

“And he is quite fond of you.”  Bruce smiled fondly at her but his smile quickly turned conspiratorial.  “I think he likes you better than he likes me, actually.”

Marinette straightened up in her seat.  “I plan on accepting his offer to consult on the project.”  She looked up to make eye contact with Bruce.  Her body tensed slightly in preparation for her next words.  “If… if that’s okay with you.”

Marinette gave a small, uncertain smile when she saw Bruce’s brilliant smile. “Yes!  That’s great to hear.”  His face turned serious.  “What does that mean for… do you want to…”

“I was hoping to take you up on the apartment offer as well… if that’s still an option.”  Marinette looked down again, her anxiety back.  “It will help Max while he settles in and I thought I could use it while I figure out how the project is going to work and what the requirements on my time will be.”  She tapped her fingers together, unable to control her fidgeting.  She looked up nervously.  “I thought it would also give us a chance to see each other more and your other kids.”

“Absolutely.  It is absolutely still available.  If you want your own apartment, I can get a penthouse for you.  Or you’re welcome to stay at the manor,” he rambled excitedly.

“M. Wayne,” Marinette interrupted.  Bruce immediately sobered at her serious expression.  “I don’t need special treatment.  I don’t need you to buy me things.  And I don’t know how long I’ll be in town.  Adrien and I are trying to figure out where we want to set up and I’ll need to start taking commissions again.”

Bruce nodded.  “I understand.  Sorry. I got excited and got carried away. Rich, you know… it’s how we show love.”

Marinette’s face immediately soured as she thought of Adrien’s and Chloe’s childhoods. “That’s not love you’re showing. I’m staying to get to know you and your family, not get things.”

Bruce blinked at her a few times.  “Right. I know that.  I never thought it was,” he assured her awkwardly.  He took a sip of his wine and glanced around the room. He suddenly perked up.  “Speaking of commissions, I was hoping we could finally commission you… if that’s okay!” he added quickly.  “I don’t want to put pressure on you.  I’ve just been waiting to get something made by you for years.”

Marinette blinked a few times and looked down.  Her brow furrowed.  She fought letting out a sigh.  “No, you’re right.  I should.”

“We’ll pay you, of course,” he insisted.

Marinette rolled her eyes.  “I’m not going to charge you to make something for you.”

Bruce shook his head.  “You run a business.  I’m commissioning the business.  I can cover our commission.”

Marinette huffed and narrowed her eyes at him.  “Compromise.  You pay for materials.  Nothing more.”

Bruce narrowed his eyes back at her.  “Materials and time.”

Marinette huffed out a laugh.  “Okay fine.”

Bruce grinned.  “I’m excited to work with you.  I wasn’t kidding.  I’ve wanted to commission you for years.  I’m a fan of your style and art.”

Marinette opened her mouth but closed it quickly when the waitress came back in with their food.  Bruce leaned back so she could set the plates down.  “Speaking of, how would you feel about going to the art museum tomorrow and then maybe get some lunch after?”

Marinette nodded.  “Oh yeah, there was an exhibit that looked interesting.”  She nodded to the waitress and thanked her.  The waitress lingered for just a moment before leaving the room.

“Would 9 work for you? Oh, no wait.” He scrunched his face in annoyance.  “I have a meeting at 10.  It should be done by noon though.”  He looked up and gave her an earnest look.  “I’ll make sure it is done by noon.  How about lunch then art museum?”

Marinette smiled and nodded.  “That sounds good.”

“Great.  I can bring the keys for the new apartment.  Now, I’ve done all the talking.  Tell me more about you.  Tell me about your friends.”  He took a bite giving Marinette his full attention while Marinette talked about her friends and how they had all met and some stories about their time together.  

She started out slowly, building up more confidence as she spoke.  The more she spoke the more comfortable she was with what she wanted to say.  The quicker she was able to filter out what information she didn’t want to share. She wasn’t ready to give him much yet, not enough to do anything with, not more than he could probably get from searching Instagram or Tik Tok, but it was a start.  A start to what exactly, she wasn’t sure.  But it was a start to something.

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[skylarmoon71]

Nick Jakoby x Reader Oneshot- (Bright)

“Oink, oink over here piggy!” 

The group of men standing in the doorway made you grimace. Damn they pissed you off. Nick walked pass them with his head lowered, trying his best to ignore the rude remarks. You’d just clocked in, and this had become a regular. Their tauntings. You really wanted to body slam all four of them. But you restrained yourself. “Don’t bother with them Nick, their dick heads. “ It was no secret that they hated the male Orc. Nick was by far the sweetest man on the force, and he wasn’t even a man. Which really said something for the unit. 

“I’m used to it, it’s fine.” you frowned. He shouldn’t have to get used to it. He was just as hardworking and diligent as any other cop. You nudged his shoulder with a smile as you walked with him. “Cheer up, in a couple of hours we have that awful dinner to attend. You have worse things ahead." Nick shook his head with a shy smile. “Is that supposed to make me feel better.” 

“Not really.” with a small giggle, you met your partner. Nick headed over to Ward, and your eyes wandered, just admiring him. You had no idea why people gave him such a hard time. It’s true that Orcs sided with the enemy in the past, but that was thousands of years ago. The world had changed so much since then, apparently not in the ways you hoped. 

Nick was so misunderstood and underappreciated. He had so much to offer if he was just given a chance. Not to mention he was a total sweetheart. Pretty handsome too. The final thought erupts a blush to your cheek, one that doesn’t go unnoticed by your partner.

“What’s got you all red in the face?” Jacob, your partner raises an eyebrow, and your face gets darker. “Nothing let’s get going.” he doesn’t quite believe you, and you try to steal one last look at Nick before you have to get going, but Jacob catches the action, a smirk playing on his lips. 

“Shit I knew it!!” His yell catches the attention of everyone in a five mile radius and as the officers stare, you feel Nick’s stare follow. You cower, smacking Jacob who just waves everyone off. When their gazes have diverted, you glare at the man before you. He raises his hands defensively. “Sorry, sorry didn’t mean to cause a scene. Not everyday you discover your partner has a crush. Damn Victoria owes me twenty bucks!” 

“Y-You betted on my love life with your wife!!” 

“Umm, hell yeah I did. Why are you even surprised?” he was right, you shouldn’t have been. You just roll your eyes, and soon the both of you are headed to the squad car. Jacob is still wearing that smug grin as you jump into the vehicle. “So when are you gonna ask him out?” 

“I-I’m not!” 

“You’re kidding, you have to (Y/N)!” Jacob has always been majorly supportive, but you’re still a little anxious. Your head lowers. “Y-You don’t think it’s weird that I..I mean I don’t  care if anyone says anything but I just..I..” The way you're struggling with your words, it’s not hard for Jacob to understand. “Listen, I’d never judge you for something like that. We’re partners (Y/N), practically family now. And honestly Nick is awesome, dude brings me scones every Tuesday cause he passes at my favorite shop on his way to work. He’s a hero in my book.” He lets out a few fake sobs to get his point across and you just groan at his childishness.

“Seriously though, Nick’s a really good guy. Everyone treats him like shit, yet he comes back and tells them to be safe. If it were me, I don’t think I’d be able to handle it that well. He could easily quit, probably just become the monster everyone keeps accusing him of being. But he wakes up and he does the job, all because he loves it, he generally cares about protecting people who don’t give a shit about him. It’s inspiring to watch. There aren’t many people like left in this world (Y/N), if you find someone like that, you should do what you can to hold onto them.” His finger ran over his wedding band, a smile playing on his lips. “That’s what I did.” His smile makes your face brighten, and you nod. 

“I’ll do my best. “ 

So maybe your partner wasn’t a complete idiot. 

That afternoon when you get home, you’re on a mission. Jacob’s advice is ringing in your head. He’s right. So you’ve decided this annual police will be your best yet. You were gonna go all out. You rarely ever get dressed up, too accustomed to dark suit pants and uncomfortable belts. You wanted something to catch Nick’s attention, then maybe it would give you the confidence to finally own up to your feelings and ask the guy out. You jump into the shower. 

“Time to knock them dead. “ 

~Three hours later~

“Quit fidgeting, you look fine.” Ward smacks Nick’s hands away from the tie. He’s been messing with it for the last ten minutes, mostly out of nervousness. This is his first time he’s worn a tux. He feels a bit ridiculous, but with Ward’s assurance, he can only hope he’s pulling it off. They stand at a table making small talk, mostly Ward. 

Nick offers a word here and there. By the looks he keeps getting, he can tell that his opinion isn’t really wanted by the people there. So he busies himself with watching the other people mingling around him. Everyone looks relaxed, sipping wine, helpling themselves to food. He’s never been a fan of this. Every year they hold these little banquets to treat the new recruits and commend exemplary performances throughout the unit. It’s a fun event for the most part. But his fellow coworkers never rest with their harsh opinions. It isn’t even verbal, just by the looks he knows. 

The sound of a few whistles catches his attention. There’s a small commotion at the doorway. He vaguely makes out the edge of purple, and that’s when he notices the man that walks in. But that isn’t what captures his eyes, it’s the woman he’s escorting on his arm. 

Golden orbs widen, and his ears twitch a bit too quickly. He wants to control it, but it’s hard, because the smile that lands in his direction knocks the wind right out of him. “Wow, your girlfriend cleans up nice.” Ward whispers. 

“S-She’s not my girlfriend.” he grumbles back. Now that you’re clear in his view, he can fully admire your dress. It’s a velvet luxe maxi dress. The color is a beautiful lavender. Thin straps at the shoulder, low cut displaying just enough cleavage. And a slit that stops mid thigh, with matching heels to complete the whole look. Your hair is loose, and a very light amount of makeup, highlighting your features. Nick thought you were gorgeous before, but somehow you’ve outdone yourself. He can’t look away, and he really should before you take notice.You settle at a table not too far from him, pulling the focus of a few males present there. With polite smiles and little words, Nick feels a bit envious. 

“Now’s your chance hotshot. Ask her out before one of those hyenas beat you to it.” Nick wants to convince Ward that it’s useless, there’s no way you’d go for someone like him. You’re completely different in every sense of the word. He doesn’t have a chance. As he opens his mouth he’s about to lay out his case, but a sweet lavender scent fills his nostrils, and he wants to question the origin, just then he feels a light tap on his shoulder. He turns, and the heavenly aroma hits him tenfold. Somehow you’ve walked over without him realizing. He’s supposed to be more aware, he’s a cop after all. Your glossed lips turn into a smile as you bat your eyes. 

“Nick..do you wanna maybe dance?” 

The slow sound filling the room, doubled with the couples now filling up the floor catches his eyes. He’s tongue tied, because you can’t really be asking him. Out of all the guys there, why him? Yes, the both of you have been friends for months now, but he’s sort of assumed your kindness was due to pity more than anything else. 

You're still watching him hopefully, and Ward gives an encouraging push. He stumbles, grabbing your shoulders lightly. When he’s steadied himself, he pulls back. “He’d love to.” Ward says. Nick doesn’t get a chance to put in a word for himself, because you smile, taking his hand and pulling him to the center of the dance floor. Nick is staggering behind, trying not to knock into anyone. When you get to your desired area, you turn back to him. Nick is stiff, the both of you are just standing there, a number of eyes on you. “I-I should probably just go, everyone is staring and I’d hate to make you uncomfortable.” 

“I’m not uncomfortable.” His eyes lift, and the way you look at him, it makes his heart hammer. What has he done to deserve your kindness, he has no idea. 

Deciding that you need to be the one to make a move, you take his hands and place them around your waist as you step closer. You can feel the slight tremble in his palms that are pressed to your body now. It’s so adorable. He’s still stiff as a board, but you know he’s trying. He’s probably so touch starved. It hurts to just think about it. Your hands are resting on his chest lightly, and you sigh, swaying with the music. Nick swallows, he’s a bit taller than you, and he’s trying his best not to look down directly at you. With you so close it’s hard for him not to pass out at how amazing you smell. Your hands slide up, going around his neck. His eyes finally meet yours, and the meaning in your eyes, it triggers something in him. “Nick..” you’re whispering, and it breaks his train of thought. “Yeah.” you lick your lips, and he wishes he could just kiss those plump lips. They are begging to be touched.  

“Do you possibly want to-” a hand pulling you from the Orc in your arms makes you jerk. Nick looks just as surprised. The officer standing between the both of you, suddenly it makes sense, and you're pissed. “Run along pig face, she’s tired of you.” Pollard rests a hand on your waist, pulling you into his side, and you shove him back. “You’re the one who’s interrupting, what the hell we were dancing!!” you're enraged. Not only has he messed up your plan to finally ask Nick out, but he’s also insulted him. Nick can see the displeasure on your face, and he’s about to suggest that maybe you leave. The last thing he wants is for you to get caught in the middle of this. He could take Pollard’s insults any day. But he doesn’t want any negative attention drawn to you. 

“Come on you don’t have to give anymore charity, we all know why you do this. You feel bad for little piggy here. Don’t waste your evening on him, how about you come with me. Have some real fun.” It’s almost laughable that he thinks you’ll drop everything and just run off with him. Nick now looks less sure of himself, a bit defeated. It’s then you realize that he must have assumed the same. You’re being nice out of some foolish obligation. You open your mouth to assure him, but stop. This time, words may not be enough. It’s time to take action. So with two swift strides you grab Nick by the lapels of his shirt and pull him in for a kiss. Pollard gapes, and Nick is tense and wide eyed. 

“I’m dreaming…” He has to be. You couldn’t be..kissing him. Your eyes are closed, and you still have a firm hold on his clothing. A few more seconds pass and you pull back slowly. Your eyes move from Nick’s soft lips, to his topaz eyes. The bewildered expression is highly anticipated. 

“If you’ll excuse us, we have business to attend to.” you take Nick’s hand, leaving a stunned Pollard, and a few surprised officers. You don’t even look back, you do however pass Jacob on your way out of the building. He’s grinning probably wider than you. When the door snaps shut behind you and you're free of the intrusive stares, you look at Nick. He’s still in a mid state of shock. “I’m sorry..” you mutter. 

Now that the events play back, you’re bashful. You didn’t even get to ask him out. Nick collects himself slowly, shaking his head. “N-No it’s fine.” An awkward silence follows. You want to say something to cut the tension, but Nick interrupts. “I should take you home.” He doesn't look at you when he says that, and now you're a bit scared that you’ve crossed a line and misread all the signs. Self conscious and mortified, you just nod. Nick’s car is parked close, as he opens the door, you jump inside. He does the same, pulling off. 

The ride is anything but pleasant. It’s so quiet you can hear a pin drop. Nick is staring ahead, and the look he wears is unreadable. 

“I ruined everything.” You should have never done that, especially since you weren’t even sure of any feelings. He must be completely disgusted with you. You're thankful that the ride isn’t long, because in a few minutes he pulls up. You don’t make any kind of eye contact, just whisper a thanks, opening the door and stepping out. 

You want to cry, how did the night turn so horrible that quickly. As you close the vehicle door, you all but sprint to your house, taking out your keys and opening your front door. You don’t even bid him goodbye, you just focus on getting inside. You do, stepping in and leaning back as you shut the door. “Idiot!” you scold yourself. “I’m an idiot..” you bite your lip. How would you ever face him again. 

The knock at your door makes you jump, and you turn, opening the door hesitantly. You peek outside, a bit surprised. “N-Nick..” He’s staring at you, maybe wanting answers for all that happened. You step back, letting him inside. He’s the one that closes the door this time. 

“Why did you kiss me?” Blunt, to the point. From the look, you know he’s just as conflicted by all of this as you. Now might be your last chance. You’ve already kissed him, what was the harm in telling him the truth. It might help you both.

“Because I..It’s what I’ve wanted to do for months now. “ you confess. His forehead creases in astonishment. “Nick I’ve..I’ve had it bad for you for so long and it makes my blood boil every time I hear the way they talk to you! You’re so caring and selfless and goddamn hot to me and I wish everyone could see how amazing you are if they’d just give you an opportunity.” you’re rambling, but you don’t care. “That jackass Pollard ruined everything I had this whole night planned out, I was gonna wow you with this dress and then finally ask you out but then he came with his false macho bullshit and it just pissed me off and that’s why I grabbed you like that to show him that this isn’t some charity I actually am crazy about you and I..” you heave, for a minute there you forgot you should breathe. “I’m so crazy about you Nick.” 

He’s still just standing there, and now you’ve given him a chance to speak. From his expression, he doesn’t know what to say. You were so out of his league. 

“I don’t understand why you would..why..” that self conscious  look, you’ve seen it many times. 

“Nick, I want you.” he stops, eyes opening a bit wider now. “I’m tired of you being so hard on yourself. You have nothing to be ashamed of.  “ you take a step forward, and he doesn’t move a muscle. “Truthfully, when I saw you earlier in this tux, I almost passed out. “ your hands reach out, going back to where they had been before Pollard stepped in. Resting right on his broad shoulders. Another thing about him that made you swoon was his build. He was nicely muscular. It just messed you up. He needs a moment to gather his breath. “Nick do you..want me?” 

“Of course!” his shout, as unexpected as it is, it makes you smile. He looks away at how desperate it sounded. “That’s good..” you don’t clarify, just lean in, and this time when your lips meet, he still doesn’t really prepare. It’s so tender, almost tentative. When he finally convinces his mind that it’s real, his hands wrap around your body, pulling you in. You sigh, and Nick responds, returning the kiss. Your head is in the clouds, You feel like you’re dreaming, if that’s the case you want to stay forever. You open your mouth, urging him to do the same, he does, taking control. 

You moan when he pushes you up against the door, now kissing you hungrily. One of his hands drift down to your bare thigh, and another needy sound releases. You can’t stop it and you don’t want to. His free hand presses to the door, and your hands grip at the clothes on his back. You’re trying to pull him forward, and he complies, pressing into you. It feels so great, his firm body trapping you there. There’s a low growl that comes from Nick, and somehow you’re even more turned on. Your hands have ventured back to the front of his tux, unbuttoning it quickly. It falls open and your fingers slip under the jacket, reveling in the taunt muscles. 

Gosh does he feel amazing. Nick feels you start to pull at the shirt, he forces himself to part. When you’ve separated, you’re both flushed and panting. Nick still believes maybe he’s at home sleeping somehow. The new scent that fills the air nearly makes his knees buckle. Your lust is so prominent, he can almost taste it. Your chest is still heaving, but you're slowly coming down from your high, so is Nick. It’s then you realize what was about to happen if not for Nick’s pause. You feel a bit embarrassed now. You hug yourself, blushing a deep red. 

“S-Sorry, guess I kind of got a bit crazy..” Nick smiles. “You don’t have to apologize.” He’d be stupid to make you feel bad about such a thing. He was just as equally responsible. Fact is, it took everything in him to stop himself. As much as he wants this to progress, he also wants more than just a heated night with you. He wants so much more. 

“(Y/N), I’d..really like to take you out sometime..” he mumbles it, still fairly insecure about it all. The way your eyes light up though, his fears are all gone. You don’t respond, and he doesn’t need one because you jump into his arms, pressing a kiss to his cheek, grinning like a child on Christmas.

“You don’t even have to ask, it’s a yes.” you  whisper in his ear. He holds you close, breathing in your scent. He wants to lock that away forever. He wants this to last forever. For now though, just being with you now, it’s enough.

[lala-ladybug]

Healing Hands: Chapter 2

I promise I’m not this fast at writing, I’ve just had the first few chapters laying around for a while lmao. Reblogs are appreciated!!

Jasonette Sword Art Online AU

Read here on AO3

Tag list: @iloontjeboontje 

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Chapter 2: u guys r moding my night :(

There was chaos in the Wayne Manor. This was nothing unusual, of course, and today it even seemed to be surprisingly tame. But it was chaos nonetheless.

Timothy Drake-Wayne careened down the spiral staircase, catching himself with a well-timed front flip handspring, and skidded to a halt in the kitchen. Alfred briefly paused to look up from where he was preparing dough for a batch of homemade pasta, then offered the boy a smile and a greeting.

“Good evening, Master Drake. Dinner won’t be ready for another half-hour, I’m afraid.” Tim had opened his mouth to reply when a growl echoed from the nearby ballroom.

Jason Todd-Wayne sprinted into the kitchen brandishing a nerf gun. “There you are, replacement. You won’t get away with beating me this time.” He pulled back the reloader of the play-gun, making a threatening click ring through the kitchen.

“I’m afraid you are both late to the party,” Alfred calmly announced as he mixed ingredients together. “Miss Cain has been here for the past five minutes.”

Cass Cain-Wayne indeed poked her head out from where she had been perched beneath the bar. She gave her brothers a shit-eating grin and wiggled her fingers as way of a cheeky greeting.

Tim gave a groan as he and Jason begrudgingly handed some money over to their sister. “She cheats.” Cass stuck her tongue out at that. “Besides, racing you here was just an excuse to get my mind off waiting for midnight.”

“And because Alfred is the only one polite enough to actually listen to you rave about that stupid game,” Jason scoffed, sitting down at the bar to watch Alfred work.

“--thought I heard voices in the kitchen, oh there you are, little wing!” Dick Grayson-Wayne’s cheery voice came from the foyer, increasing in pitch as he spotted Jason and swept him up into a tight hug.

Barbara Gordon wheeled herself in not too long after, chuckling at the squirming Jason and delighted older brother.

Meanwhile Tim, who had taken offense to Jason’s insinuation, was reassuring Alfred that if he wanted the boys to leave him be he only ever had to ask. “It’s just that I’m so excited for the launch tonight, and you know B is too busy to hear about it.”

Jason had finally muscled his way out of Dick’s embrace as the latter’s attention focused on his youngest brother. “What launch are you talking about?” Dick asked, giving Cass a side hug.

“Oh, tonight is the release of this new VRMMORPG game called Mindscape!” Tim practically bounced as Dick came over to give him his hug too.

Dick gave Barbara a confused glance. “I know some of those words,” he nodded slowly. “So what’s got you so excited? Video games come out all the time.”

Tim rolled his eyes as he sat down beside Jason on the barstools. “Well yeah, but this game has groundbreaking virtual reality tech. Supposedly, the textures took five years and a team of almost 1000 artists.”

Jason put Tim into a headlock and said casually, “I’m surprised you haven’t heard replacement talking about this yet. He kinda won’t shut up about it.”

Cass nodded her head in solemn agreement while Tim struggled to get out of Jason’s grasp.

“Such are the woes of moving out.” Dick shrugged. “Sounds crash though, got room for one more?”

Tim finally shoved Jason off. “I actually bought enough passes that we can all play if you want,” he gave each of his siblings the biggest puppy-dog eyes he could manage.

Barbara snorted even as Dick pumped his fist in the air beside her. She wheeled herself up to the bar to pinch Jason, who was poised to jab his fingers into Tim’s sides. Jason yelped and glared at her as she said, “Sorry Timmy, I’d rather let someone else be the guinea pig for this new kind of tech. Besides, Dad will worry if I let myself get sucked into pouring too many hours into this.”

“Papa Gordon is a force to be reckoned with,” Dick attested earnestly. “Jay?” he prompted.

“Absolutely not,” Jason answered immediately. Tim was quick to protest. “But why? We could spend more time together! It’ll be good team-building.” Jason’s face soured at that.

Dick leaned in and stage-whispered, “Do I have to tell B to force you into family bonding? You know he’ll make you do it.”

Cass covered her silently laughing mouth with one hand as Jason threw his hands up in the air. “Fine, don’t get Bruce involved. I’ll play your stupid game,” he finally relented. Tim grinned at his win, then cast a hopeful look at Cass.

She pulled a face and signed No thank you. Better things to do than watch VR pornos.

Tim’s face blushed profusely as he opened his mouth to protest, but was cut off by Jason’s cackling. Even Alfred cracked a smile while he rolled the dough onto the ravioli press.

Once Jason quieted down, Tim crossed his arms and said, “Suit yourself. Looks like it’ll be no-girls-allowed anyway.”

“Guess we’d better tell Cassie that, Timbo,” Dick wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, which Tim elected to ignore.

“Speaking of suits,” Alfred said while seamlessly spreading filling in the ravioli and placing another sheet on top of the press, “aren’t you boys going to miss the premiere if it is indeed at midnight?”

Tim looked imploringly at the two girls. “You wouldn’t be willing to trade shifts for your favorite brother, would you?”

* * *

Wally West strolled out of the zeta tube and into the Justice League’s satellite, known to himself and the other heroes as The Watchtower. He was dressed in a casual NASA t-shirt and jeans, slurping a smoothie, and playing a game on his phone.

The sound of someone clearing their throat made him look up. He was greeted with the sight of his old team, Aqualad, Superboy, Miss Martian, Rocket, Zatanna, and Artemis, waiting impatiently. They were dressed in full hero attire-- he didn’t even realize Artemis still had her costume-- and looked to him expectantly.

“Hey guys, what’s poppin’?” Wally grinned and gave his friends a lazy chin jerk.

“‘What’s poppin’?’ Babe, are you serious? You told us to meet here ASAP for an emergency. So you can tell us what exactly is ‘poppin’.” Ah yes, his Spitfire. Artemis Crock still wasn’t afraid to give him a piece of her mind. But this time it looked like everyone else was on her side too, as they nodded in agreement with her emphatic air quotes.

“Oh, uh yeah, Mindscape is coming out tonight!” He set his smoothie down on the table. “I got us all passes and I’m super stoked for the launch. It’s got this super cool new VR tech that’s basically being released for the first time ever. I got the equipment through my internship, so we’re all set! You guys are totally coming right?” He made finger guns at his increasingly exasperated friends.

Artemis facepalmed. Kaldur’ahm raised his eyebrows in that I’m disappointed in you but I’m not going to say it way of his and said, “Wally, with you and Artemis retired from the life, understand that we took this to be a literal emergency and rushed to your aid. Do not abuse our good intentions.”

“Seriously West, I have a lot on my plate right now!” Rochelle Ervin was also, apparently, a little upset with him. “You could’ve said it was about a dumb game.”

The speedster tried to do damage control with some lighthearted humor. “Hey guys, stay whelmed. I get it, I probably should have given a few more deets about this very-much-not-dumb game, but do you know how many candy bars I had to eat to win these passes?”

“This is why you’ve been spending so much on junk food?” Oh, he was in big trouble with Artemis now. “You probably didn’t have to eat all of them, babe.”

M’gann M’orzz, Connor Kent, and Zatanna Zatara looked similarly annoyed. Well, the girls did. Connor just looked like his usual brand of annoyed, which was honestly a small victory.

“So...” Wally felt a little sheepish now, “who wants in?”

The rest of the group exchanged a look. Artemis was the first to speak up. “Well, you’ve already invested too much of our money in this to turn back now.” She walked up to him and poked a finger at his chest. “But you owe me so many dinners for this.”

He grinned triumphantly. “Deal!”

Rochelle spoke up next. “Me and my plate don’t need any more helpings, thank you very much. I’ll see y’all at the next team reunion!” She flew out through the zeta tube.

Kaldur clapped him on the shoulder. “If you need any assistance, I will be there. But for now I am running Atlantis in Aquaman’s stead while he is off-world, and I must return to my duties.” He then bid the rest of the team farewell and stepped through the zeta tube.

“Haha, he said ‘duties.’” Wally said once he’d left, then winced as Artemis smacked his arm lightly. Lightly for her. Rubbing his arm, he looked imploringly at his other friends.

M’gann and Conner looked deep in a telepathic conversation, which was just awkwardly intense eye contact for onlookers. Zatanna crossed her arms and sighed, “Fine, why not. I didn’t have plans for the weekend anyway. Lead the way to your chocolate factory, Charlie.”

Connor, having caught the tail end of the conversation, looked confused at the reference. He shrugged and said, “I’m in, could be fun.”

M’gann gave her friends an apologetic smile. “Sorry guys, my uncle needs help back on Mars. There’s tensions between the white and green martians again, and he really needs me there to get it under control.”

She gave Connor a peck on the cheek and left to board the nearby Bioship.

“And then there were four,” Wally said with a smile. “Now let’s go make you guys some avatars!”

* * *

Bart Allen could hardly contain his excitement. Scratch that, he couldn’t contain his excitement! “Bouncing off the walls” may be an exaggeration for most people, but he was not most people. Being the grandson of The Flash certainly had its perks, and being able to literally bounce off the walls was one of them.

The cause of his excitement, his friends Timothy Drake-Wayne and Wally West, had just called to ask if Bart wanted extra passes to the premiere of the biggest video game of the decade. And uh, yeah duh he wanted them! He already had one he’d bought for himself, but bringing four extra friends? So totally crash.

He opened up his phone and pulled up the group chat titled Badass Babes.

CrashBandicoot: hey bitchez n babez (u kno who u r), u ready 4 the best videogame of the yr to drop?!

BlueMenace: ese, do you HAVE to type like that?

WonderBabe: yea it’s super annoying

CrashBandicoot: gtta go fast babez

CrashBandicoot: now answer the question

GreenMenace: oh i heard about that! mindscape, right? isn’t it some vr game

CrashBandicoot: yes! nd i got extra tix, so come ovr to cave

GirlBoss: No can do, got research tomorrow!

MaleWife: you always have research bae. sorry little speedster, gotta drive the lady to work

CrashBandicoot: u guys r moding my night :(

BlueMenace: totally not a word but I’ve got you cariño, be there in an hour

WonderBabe: ah what the heck, I’ve got nothing better to do

GreenMenace: always down to whoop ur ass in video games

CrashBandicoot: u wish

CrashBandicoot: roy?

Ginger1 is typing...

WonderBabe: it’ll be fun! more ~mingling~ with kids our age

Ginger2: Hold on, give him some time

Ginger1 is typing...

BlueMenace: Roy, I can pick you up on my way in if you want

Ginger1 has stopped typing.

Ginger2: Um, he says he’ll meet you guys there

Ginger2: He may have destroyed his phone with his “non-typing” hand

GreenMenace: pog

WonderBabe: see u guys soon!

Bart pumped his fist, then ran at top speed to his boyfriend Jaime’s house, where it looked like he was doing homework. Seriously, on a Friday night? Bart had absolutely no qualms about whisking him into his arms and making for the nearest zeta tube.

“Woah Bart, I said I needed an hour!” Jaime protested.

Bart rolled his eyes. “Yeah, but you definitely don’t have anything due tonight, and we have to make your character online before the launch!”

Jaime just looked resigned as they sped into the zeta tube. He knew what he had signed up for.

[alice-in-wonderart]

I really like your writing and i was hoping you could do what you did with lxc jgy and nhs and i was wondering if you could do that with the juniors thx

OHMYGOSH, so many people are requesting UWU. ❤️ When I said the Juniors get the most love around here, I wasn't joking! (which of course is great, our lovely boys deserve the love) A day after making a post about having 3 similar asks, appeared a wild 4th one, so here we are, killing 4 birds with one stone! From what I recall, the boys are 16 (legal in my country) but for the sake of being politically accurate and tastefully uncreepy, I'll still age them up ~ This was quite difficult to write, since I'd never even so much as considered writing anything remotely un-soft for the boys, but I hope you ike it anyways. Somehow the softest hcs turned out to be for XXC too 🤣

Enjoy the spice, my lovelies! ❤️

P.S. Thank you all for being so kind, you guys make writing a true pleasure ✌️

P.P.S I know it took me forever to write this! i want to apologise for that, since university started, writing has become a luxury and quite frankly, writing nsfw for the juniors was nearly impossible to do 😵 Await more content in the *hopefully* near future.

Jin Ling

My gosh, getting him to undress would be difficult. For real, even after a thousand years of being in a relationship with you, he'd still be embarrassed when it comes to physical touch of any sort. Not to say he wouldn't want it, he just has to go through a semi-tsundere mini meltdown first. But worry not, it would only take him a minute to get over it.

Jin Ling? More like Jin Long. (I'm sorry) He may not be the girthiest of them all, but let me tell you - he takes great pride in his length.

He may act tough and macho, but underneath all that hot-headedness is somebody, who absolutely loves being coddled. More often than not, he'd let you take over the reigns, but believe me he won't go down without a fight. He is the absolute dictionary definition of a bratty bottom. In fact he the brattiest bottom. You want him to undress? Undress him yourself if you're so eager. But in reality, he'd be ready to indulge you in absolutely everything you wish.

Jin Ling is a sucker for praise. Tell him how good he is, praise him and he'll become putty in your hands. There's nothing he loves more than hearing you moan his name out in utter bliss. Knowing he's the one who brings you so much pleasure really strokes his ego, so to say.With Jin Ling, gentle gestures and kind words can get you very far.

He gets surprisingly dominant and demanding when jealous. The one sure way to get him to pound you into the mattress is making him jealous. It really only takes a random unsuspecting boy to chat you up the wrong way and you'd be in for the dicking of a lifetime. (as an aftermath, following a metric ton of complaining and passive agressive anger) He would absolutely mark up your skin as well - a precaution.

Sometimes, he might MIGHT get jealous of the other Juniors. Maybe you'd spent more time with them, or payed them more attention. Sometimes he'd be at work and miss out. Then, you'd have to remind him, that no matter what, only he gets to see you sprawled on his bed, his name on your lips, and tje sweet smell of sex in the air.

Speaking of work, you would be his best stress relief. After a long day of boring sect business, returning home and getting to ravish you would be his ideal evening, although he would never admit it. During those moments, where exhaustion would get the best of both of you, yet sleep would not come, passionate night of lovemaking would be the remedy for all your problems. And with those burning emotions in his heart, such nights would be the most memorable.

Lan Sizhui

You'd think Lan Sizhui would be the purest, most innocent of the Juniors, and you wouldn't be wrong, but at the same time you wouldn't be right either. Overtime, he'd transform from this sweet, gentle lover, who always makes sure you finish first, to this super experimental, utterly intoxicating beaST, who still makes sure you finish first. The more he gets accustomed to your body, the more confident and daring he'd become.

He's been pretty touch-starved for most of his life, so getting intimate with you would take some readjustment from him. Every single touch would excite him, every gentle moan would make his heart melt. And this sensitivity of his would, in turn, seek intimacy even more. He'd want nothing more than to hold you close and make you shiver in delight, to hear his name escape your lips and have you all to himself.

He'd be absolutely willing to experiment. Anything you'd want to try, he'd love to try with you. Here is a good time to say, he's also a pretty versatile switch. Whether you'd want to set your own pace and ride him to oblivion, or let him tie you up and make you see stars all depends on your mood. He loves it all and is a natural in both.

In fact, having you tied up with his ribbon (seems it runs in the family) is one of his favourite sights. To him it is so beautiful and delicate, yet at the same time it's his way of being possessive, of showing the world that you are his lover, that you belong to each other.

This boy has STAMINA. We all know the Lans are a force to be reckoned with, that underneath that sophisticated demeanor, polite gestures and snow white robes there is pure strength, acquired over years of training. That strength allows Sizhui to last for ROUNDS. If you're lucky enough (and away from Gusu) he could go nearly all night long with little effort.

One thing you found out completely by accident was his love for bitemarks..on himself. As long as he could hide them with ease, the moment he feels teeth on his skin, it's game over. And he wouldn't verbally admit it, but the sounds he'd make and how he'd move to give you more access to his skin is a perfect enough sign.

He isn't too rough per se and would much prefer lovemaking over straight up fucking, so quickies aren't all that common. He wants to take his time with you and explore your body. He'd nearly always rather wait until the bed at home is an option.

In general, sex with a Lan is like sex with an elf - beautiful, breathtaking, memorable. Lan Sizhui is no exception, though he'd go to great lengths for you. After all, there's nothing better than seeing you fucked out, drowning in pleasure.

Lan Jingyi

This boy, my gosh, this boy. Out of all the Juniors, this boy is the most dominant one. And when I say dominant, I mean he is the only one, who comes with all the jazz - bondage, teasing, roleplay, you name it - he'll do it. He is lowkey the kinkiest, who'll do nearly anything just to get you off. And honestly, he takes great pride in that.

His sex drive is that of a goddamn rabbit. There is rarely a moment he wouldn't want to be buried between your legs. His motto is "the more the wetter better". For that reason, being away from you for long is his worst nightmare. Not being able to hold you? To kiss you? To make love to you? Blasphemous. So, the moment you two see each other, after some time of being away, he'd be all over you. Of course, sex is far from being the only thing on his mind, but it it's a giant plus, which he wouldn't want to miss.

Lan Jingyi is a sucker for legs, no matter what length, especially thighs. He loves feeling you wrap your legs around him, or squeeze his head between your thighs. He is a firm believer, that this is the best way to go. Nine times out of ten, whenever you two are making out, his hands would be all over your legs. He just can't help himself.

Out of all the juniors, since he is the most experimental, so with some coaxing he might agree to a threesome. Of course, that would be much later in your relationship, when your mutual trust is hard as a rock. (and not only that) Though, he'd want to pick the 3rd person involved! (most likely Sizhui)

He would absolutely introduce food in bed. Actually, that would happen completely accidentally. It would all start with a handful of loquats, which you'd bring to him while away on a trip together. You'd feed each other the lush fruits between heated kisses, enjoying each other's company and he'd realize, that he could combine 2 of his favourite things - you and food. From that moment on, he'd try out all kinds of food - from sweet to salty, deserts, fruits and everything in between.

He would absolutely want to get you off somewhere in Gusu. The very idea of doing something so dirty and profane at a place with so many strict rules would turn him on to no end. And the thrill of potentially getting caught would be like a catalyst to him. The library pavillion? The cold springs? Just let it be in Gusu. His own chambers just aren't satisfying enough, they aren't risky enough.

He would quickly get addicted to you and your body, and when that happens - there is just no going back. Though I doubt you'd want to.

Ouyang Zizhen

Ouyang Zizhen is quite the catch through and through. There is nobody quite as cheeky as this man right here. As the proud, versatile, daredevil-esque boy that he is, he would love to tease the everloving god out of you in every single way possible. But the moment you tease him back, he'd be in shambles. He would totally sneak inappropriate touches whenever in public, but run a hand up his leg under the table while having dinner, or perhaps a friendly get-together, and suddenly his cheeks would go beet red and he'd go through a mini existential crisis.

Your long, heated nights together would become his reckoning. He'd never truly admit it, but goddamn, he'd become so addicted, to the feeling, the excitement. Especially when it comes to having sex in public.

Speaking of, while he wouldn't openly talk about your adventures in bed, he'd absolutely drop little hints about it in piblic, whenever you're freshly fucked and easy to tease. Intentionally letting himself look more disheveled than usual, pointing out any "little marks" showing on your skin and of course - that knowing smirk of his. And believe me, he fully expects payback.

The other member who might, MIGHT agree to a threesome would be Ouyang Zizhen. He is a curious man, who would like to try anything you have to offer, though jealousy could be a side effect. He'd want to have a say in who'd be the 3rd person. And while having two women succumb to his every beg and call is a very well-hidden desire of his, at this point he is so invested and in love with you, that such thoughts are out of the question.

The one thing that gets him riled up in bed is wax play. What started as "lighting a candle to set the mood right" ended up being one of the most passionate, lust-ridden, nights of his life. He loves how wax drips down on your skin, peeling off of your every curve. He'd get different kinds of candles, with all kinds of fancy textures amd smells, just to watch the expensive wax drip all over you.

Teasing is his go-to. He is a master of teasing. And his specialty is edging. He could prolong your orgasm, get you to practically beg for release, all while he's hard as a rock and still keep edging you. And his mouth is his secret weapon.

He'd learn how to play your body like a violin, all to leave you begging for more. He could go on for hours. And he would. Because of that, the orgasms would be godly. And he takes great pride in that as well.

Xiao Xingchen

This man is the dictionary definition of soft. His kisses are sweet, his touches are caring and his sex is phenomenally passionate. Intimacy is important to him, since he hasn't had the chance and desire to reveal himself before many people. (except you, that is.) No, he isn't just a soft lover. He is THE soft lover.

He is the king of love-making. To him, your pleasure comes first and there is nothing he loves more, than to hold you close and feel your body on his.

He generally prefers to bottom and leave the reigns in your hands, so he could just hold you close and enjoy your body to its fullest, but occasionally he'd absolutely be down to switch it up and spend hours loving you deep into the night. (his words, not mine) Knowing you are there, on top of him, riding him into oblivion, he'd almost wish he could see you. But then, he'd run his hands down your body, hear your angelic voice and immediately lose his mind into pleasure once more.

Lovemaking is his absolute specialty and gentle passion is HIGHKEY his forté. Each sweet touch of his, every choked breath, every heated kiss is so full of love and desire, you could drown in it. He wears his heart on his sleeve and whenever you end up tangled in the sheets, he pours all of his emotions into bringing you ecstasy.

He is extremely touchy, since that is his way of seeing you. He loves to just glide his hands over your smooth skin, exploring every curve, enjoying the warmth of your body against his. His fingers are long and nimble, so he uses them to his advantage. And somehow, every time he touches you, he finds something new to love about you. Because of that, being tied up is a little specific with him. He would let you do it, but only occasionally, since that would leave him completely at your mercy WITHOUT being able to feel you.

He is absolutely a fan of boobs. Big, small, size has never mattered. He loves the warmth, the softness and the fact, that whenever he lays his head on your chest, he can hear your heartbeat.

Whisper in his ear amd he's a second away from breaking. Moan his name and he's a goner. His ears are pretty sensitive, so hearing your voice and feeling your breath would turn him rock hard in record time. Call it a voice kink, call it obsession, whatever it is, it's the surest way to make him nearly beg for your touch.

Xiao Xingxhen is a gentle, yet madly passionate lover, who is ready to give you the stars. And once you get undressed for the first time, he'd find himself so utterly in love with you, he'd get nearly obsessed. And while extremities are not his thing, it wouldn't be uncommon for him to gently lead you away to your shared bed, whenever out on a stroll, just to undress you and kiss your breath away.

Thank you for reading~

[spaceskam]

Title Tuesday + 16 + Malex

okay, so apologies in advance, I don’t know if you read this series, but this is apart of my On Earth series, but this can, for the most part, be read on it’s own

tags: light angst, panic attack, mentions of Jesse Manes, mentions of the shed scene

16. Bitter [ao3]

Alex felt like he was trapped in an alternate universe.

He’d had food with Michael before and definitely had eyed the Antarian section at the grocery store, but he’d never eaten it before. Not only was he eating it, though, he was sitting at the table with another Antarian family‒the Evans. They weren’t staring at him, he didn’t think, but it sure as hell felt like it.

“Hey,” Alex whispered, leaning into Michael as inconspicuously as possible. He hummed and leaned into him as well to show he was listening all while using what looked like a rectangle palette knife to shovel an amount of what looked like tiny rice covered in some weirdly thick, beige-colored sauce into his mouth. “What is this stuff?”

“It’s called cluivaxo,” Michael said, accent perfect. Alex had been living in the Guerin home for a week and a half so far and he’d already learned more about Antarians than he had just by dating one. He didn’t even realize what he didn’t know. Michael’s parents spoke in Antarian half the time, usually when they were speaking to themselves or only each other, and Michael apparently was fluent even though Alex had never heard him speak it before. “It’s kinda like a grain, think like a mix between quinoa and rice tasting but a little more bitter. The sauce is, um, kinda like a water base with mashed iocua and ziocua. I can’t think of an Earth counterpart, honestly. It’s good, try it.”

Alex nodded, racking his brain trying to pinpoint what the hell those even were. He had taken an agriculture class, but they didn’t really touch much on Antarian produce. And that was just assuming it was fucking produce at all.

Hesitantly, Alex took the palette knife-looking thing and got a bit of the cluivaxo onto it before raising it to his mouth. All of them were staring this time, waiting for his reaction. It was bitter, but the sauce was weirdly spicy and sweet at the same time which just juxtaposed all of it in a really weird way. It wasn’t bad, but he’d never had anything like it before and he couldn’t help but make a face.

“Oh, come on,” Michael laughed, “It’s not that bad.”

“It’s a traditional meal,” Louise said. She was Isobel and Max’s mother and she was extremely serious around him in a way that made Alex nervous. Michael’s dad was definitely a force to be reckoned with, but he had made it clear he didn’t hate Alex. She hadn’t quite done that yet and she didn’t even try to whenever she was checking the way Michael’s hand was healing. “The iocua and ziocua were homegrown by a woman a few blocks away. Her mother was on the crash and was the reason we had the means to continue planting them. She’s the reason we’re able to still have these meals.”

“It’s good,” Alex said quickly, “Just different.”

“Mom, chill,” Isobel said.

“I’m chill,” Louise insisted. Alex avoided eye contact and Michael reached beneath the table for his hand.

Alex had never had a problem holding his own before. Admittedly, he was still shaken up by what his father had done. He was waiting for him to show up outside the Guerin residence, waiting for him to do something worse than he’d already done.

He shouldn’t be having a family dinner right now.

Alex ate and let the subject change, let Nora take over talking about whatever with Louise. Ezra and Mr. Evans had a pretty in depth conversation about some political thing that would affect Antarians that Alex was sure he heard of but couldn’t remember specifics. Max and Michael and Isobel spoke. Alex sat quietly. 

And it was fine until Alex was addressed again.

“So, Alex,” Mr. Evans said, “Have you spoken to your father since the incident?”

Alex didn’t mean to drop his utensil, but he did. His heart thudded in his chest, gut-twisting and throat tightening. He didn’t want to talk about his father. He didn’t want to talk about the incident. Michael squeezed his hand tighter.

“Xorocua,” Ezra’s voice said, deep and threatening, “Not now.”

“It’s an honest question. Don’t you want to know? I mean, you’re housing a Manes, Ezra. Are you not waiting for the next shoe to drop?” Xorocua, apparently, asked. Alex’s throat seemed to tighten even more and it took a lot to take a breath. “And what if he is speaking to him? I doubt this would be the first time he had a little spy.”

“A spy?” Ezra shot back, “He’s a child.”

“He’s nearly 18, that’s hardly a child.”

“What are you missing about what happened that night?” Ezra said, “And you have no idea what happened before that. He may be named Manes, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t deserve compassion.”

“Compassion is one thing, but shelter? Moving him in? And what happens when Jesse Manes accuses you of kidnapping? What happens when he reports you? Do you really think you’re going to get out of this one?”

“Dad!” Max said and, well, at least he tried.

“This is not the time,” Nora said, her hand going to her husband’s shoulder. Louise did the same to Xorocua, though it seemed to be for a different reason.

Michael didn’t seem to care about any of it as he scooted his chair back and stood up, tugging Alex with him. Attention snapped to them and Michael, beautiful and brave and strong Michael, ignored them. He wrapped his good arm around Alex’s waist and let him lean against him as he brought him outside.

Alex tried to catch his breath and held onto his shirt. Once they sat on the front steps of the porch, he went to clinging to his body. Michael’s good hand went to the back of his head and he held him close. Tears slipped from Alex’s eyes without his consent.

“Shh, I’ve got you,” Michael whispered, gently scratching his scalp, “He’s just a dick.”

“I haven’t talked to him, I swear I haven’t talked to him,” Alex insisted, sniffling as he tried to calm down. When did it switch? When did Alex become the one who needed saving?

Well. He knew when. But fuck.

“I believe you,” Michael said.

“But he’s gonna try soon, I know he is. I swear I won’t let him down anything to you or your mom or dad. I-I’ll go home if I have to, but‒”

“No, you aren’t, Alex. You’re staying at my house, in my bed with the door open so my mom doesn’t think we’re doing anything scandalous,” Michael said, kissing the top of his head. Alex huffed a laugh, but it didn’t stay. None of the adults had come outside yet, but Alex couldn’t hear them either. The thought that they were talking about him made him a little nauseous.

He stayed against Michael’s shoulder until he could breathe easy again.

“I hate this,” he whispered. Michael paused his petting.

“Hate… what?”

“Hate that I can’t talk about my dad without freaking out. Hate that you’re hurt because of me, hate that I’m mooching off your parents. Hate that I’m constantly looking over my shoulder. Mr. Evans was right, we are just waiting for the other shoe to drop,” Alex said, sniffling. Michael sighed, again combing his fingers through his hair.

“It’ll be fine.”

Alex huffed a laugh, shaking his head. It wouldn’t be fine. It would never be fine.

“And you. You are just… totally fine,” Alex said, raising his head. Michael’s hand slowly slipped from his hair. “How are you so fine? I don’t fucking understand. Why aren’t you as freaked out as I am? You should be more freaked out, you’re the one who got hurt.”

Michael blinked slowly.

“You don’t think I’m freaking out?”

“You’ve been really fucking calm this entire time, yeah.”

“Alex, I can’t go five minutes without touching you or I start getting extremely paranoid. I look over my shoulder constantly. I triple check the locks on my windows. I’m not, like, fine,” Michael said. Alex’s face burned hot and his skin felt prickly all of the sudden, his eyes not meeting Michael’s. “You know me, I’m a wreck on a good day. But… you need me right now, so I can smile and cuddle you because that’s all I can do. And I can take you away when things get scary. You don’t have to be the strong one always.”

“But I should be in this situation,” Alex insisted. Michael shrugged.

“Not necessarily. But, if it’ll make you feel better, I’ll be a baby sometimes and make you feed me or defend me from assholes more often,” Michael offered. Alex huffed a laugh, shaking his head.

His gaze went out to the empty streets, to the bright headlights. It was quiet, almost too quiet. They hadn’t seen a car drive by since they came outside. It was silent enough that Alex could hear his heartbeat in his ears.

“You’re my favorite person, Alex,” Michael whispered, “So let me take care of you, okay?”

“Okay.”

Nora and Ezra came outside a few seconds later. Alex and Michael both went to stand, but Ezra sat beside Alex and Nora sat beside Michael. The four of them just stared out to the street on the Evans’ porch steps.

“Alex, no matter what your father decides to do, we will handle it,” Nora said softly, “And Louise and Xoro apologize for being too harsh on you. They don’t know you and they’re just protective of Michael.”

“I understand,” Alex said easily. And he did. If the tables were turned, he probably would feel the same way. “But… I don’t expect you to be put out if my father comes after you.”

“What your father did was extremely wrong and Michael being Antarian doesn’t make it less so. If we need to take it to the police, we will,” Ezra said simply. 

Alex swallowed, his eyes drifting down to Michael’s hand. It was still wrapped up to keep it together. Everyone at school thought it was run over. He still couldn’t feel his pinky and his ring finger. Mr. and Mrs. Evans said it was too early to tell if that was permanent or not.

It was wrong.

“But we didn’t report it then…”

“It doesn’t matter. Besides, you’re almost 18. If you start bringing up what he’s done to you over the years, it’ll be in his best interest to just let you stay with us,” Nora said. She reached over Michael to put her hand on his knee. Tears pricked his eyes all over again. Part of him hated himself for that. He was so weak. “We’ll keep you safe. That’s what adults are supposed to do.”

Alex clenched his jaw to keep his composure, blinking rapidly. Nora gave his knee a squeeze before she stood.

“Michael, come tell Isobel and Max goodbye and thank Mr. and Mrs. Evans for looking at your hand again,” she said. Michael gave a little whine.

“But they were being dicks.”

“Yes, well, adulthood also means knowing who your friends are even if you disagree on something,” Nora said, “Come.”

Michael groaned but stood up, going back inside. That left Alex with Ezra. He knew that just meant they were going to have a talk. Because Ezra was a big fan of talks. The more he did it, the less Alex minded. If he talked, it meant Alex understood every single thing he meant.

“I don’t want to say this in front of Michael or Nora, but I think we are both extremely aware of what your father is capable of,” he said, voice low. Alex took a shaky breath and nodded. “So the moment you notice anything, you tell me. I want to prevent anything from happening.”

Alex nodded easily.

“Yes, Sir.”

“Cua,” Ezra responded. Alex blinked and looked at him.

“Huh?”

“Cua. Instead of Sir, it’s Cua,” Ezra said, slowing it down a bit so Alex could internalize the accent and mouth shapes that went with it. He nodded.

“Yes, Cua.”

Ezra huffed a laugh and ruffled his hair.

By the time Alex and Michael ended up in the backseat on the way home, Alex was tired but more content than he’d been in awhile. They were looking out for him, they were welcoming him. 

That was nice.

[gyll-yee-haw]

Birthday special

Hi! I know it's late, but I had a huge block in the middle of this one! Anyways, happy birthday to the love of my life ❤

Prompt: (requested) teasing Jake in front of his family.

Warnings: teasing in public, daddy kink, praise kink.

Like 1.9k words

---

It was Jake's birthday. One of your favorite days of the year, because you loved to spoil him. Not only with presents, but it was the perfect excuse to let your inner slut out.

But this year, your plans were kinda crushed. All these last years, you two would celebrate it with his family on the weekend, but this year, he decided to have dinner at his mother's house on the actual day of his birthday.

There was nothing you could do. You just wanted to see him happy… And you loved his family. Even thought his epic birthday sex would have to be just a quickie now, if he didn't come back too tired from dinner and decided to sleep. You wouldn't let that happen.

You put on a red dress. Simple, but looked great on you. No underwear. You wouldn't have time for that. And finally… That one perfume. The one you would always use when you wanted to drive Jake crazy, even though you two had never actually talked about it, you simply knew him.

"Babe, are you ready?" Jake entered the room, making you hide the perfume in your purse. "Wow… You look so beautiful."

"Thank you." You turned to face him and smiled like nothing happened. "Yes, I'm ready now."

Everything was normal until you got in the car. He froze for a second, staring at nothing and thinking. You sat there in silence for a while.

"Are you okay?" You finally asked.

"What are you doing, Y/N?" He said, without looking at you.

"Waiting for you to drive." You chuckled.

"That's the perfume you use when you've got something filthy in mind." He finally started the car. "I hope you're not planning anything, we're going to see my family now."

"What?" You tried your best to play innocent. "I had never noticed this, Jake. I mean it. It's a fancy perfume, I only use it on special occasions."

"Right. Sorry." He was truly ashamed.

That reaction was better than you expected. Not only he was turned on, but he thought it was all in his head… That meant you could tease him a little more.

---

You played with his nieces until Maggie sent them to bed. Of course you wouldn't do anything

inappropriate while they were in the room. After you said goodnight to them, the games started.

When Maggie was in the kid's bedroom, putting them to bed and Peter was in the kitchen, helping Jake's mom with something, you were left alone with him in the living room. You knew you didn't have much time.

You were both sitting on the sofa quietly until the idea hit you. You threw your phone on the floor, carefully not to break it, but trying to make it look like an accident.

Before he could pick it up for you, you stood up and bended over in front of him, unnecessarily much, until you exposed your unclothed pussy. You kept that position until you were sure he took a good look, then picked your phone up and sat beside him innocently.

When you looked at his face, you had to bite your lip to hold back a smirk. His eyes were wide and his lips were partly open.

"I knew you were planning something." He whispered.

"What are you talking about?" You batted your eyes.

"Why aren't you wearing anything under your dress?" He pulled your dress up and squeezed the fabric between his fingers.

"We left the house in a hurry." You spreaded your legs a little. "Guess I forgot."

"Oh, you forgot?" He used his other hand to run two fingers through your folds, making you gasp and buck your hips. "Because I clearly remember telling you not to be a little slut earlier in the car."

You heard steps approaching and Jake quickly removed his hand and fixed your dress.

"Peter prepared some drinks for us." His mom announced. "Won't you join?"

"Of course." You smiled politely.

Jake looked at you surprised at how fast you could change your tone.

---

You decided to give Jake a break, so he could actually enjoy some family time. But while everyone was laughing and drinking, you were planning your next step. And now you wouldn't be alone, so you had to be careful.

You and Jake were sitting side by side, Maggie, Peter and Naomi were on the other side of the table.

Then you remembered that your perfume was in your purse. You touched Jake's leg to make him look under the table. When he did, you opened your purse and showed him the perfume. His eyes landed on yours and you knew that expression. It was a challenge.

So you stood up and excused yourself to go to the bathroom. The look on Jake's face made it clear you would regret that. But you knew you wouldn't. At least, not for now.

While you were gone, Jake kept checking his phone every second. He thought you were going to send him a nude or some naughty text. But no. You came back and sat by his side like nothing happened. He took a look at your entire body, but there was nothing different. Then he realised you took your purse to the bathroom with you. So he leaned towards your neck slowly, to see if you had put more perfume on. But the smell was still the same too.

You grabbed your phone and he could see you were typing something for him, but he couldn't see what it was.

It was driving him crazy, he knew you were doing something, but he couldn't figure it out.

Then his phone vibrated and he almost dropped his glass.

"Are you okay?" Maggie asked.

"Yeah, sorry." He placed the glass on the table and you couldn't help but laugh.

He eagerly unlocked his phone and saw it was a message from you.

'It's not on my neck. It's on my thighs.'

He looked down again and you spread your legs a little, making the perfume fill the air.

"You know what?" He said out loud, making the blood leave your skin for a second. "I guess I already drank too much. We should go home."

"I hope Y/N is driving, then." His mom said.

"Of course." You smiled, trying not to sound too happy.

---

You got in the car ready to be yelled at, but he didn't say anything in the first 10 minutes. He was planning his words very carefully.

"As I was saying..." He finally broke the silence. "I asked you to behave tonight."

"Didn't I?" You asked innocently.

"What do you think?" He chuckled. "You know what? If I could ask anything for my birthday, I'd ask you to be a good girl. At least for once."

"I am a good girl." You whispered, keeping your eyes on the road.

"Good girls don't go visit their mother-in-law with no panties." He lifted your skirt.

"Jake." You squeezed the wheel. "I'm driving."

"Okay." He fixed your dress again.

Silence again.

"It's still your birthday, though." You shrugged.

"Yeah?"

"I can be a good girl for you."

"I think it's a little too late now."

"Please."

"Please what?"

"Let me be a good girl for you."

"If you think you can make up for what you've done earlier." He sighed. "This is how it's gonna be..."

---

By the time you got home, Jake had finished explaining his plan. You were soaked just by hearing what he was going to do to you, and you wouldn't dare to disrespect him now.

The first thing you had to do was take off your dress and wait for you in the bedroom. On your knees. A few minutes on that position felt like hours, until he entered the bedroom with your purse in his hand.

"You see this?" He picked your perfume up. "From now, you'll only wear this when I tell you to, do you understand?"

"Yes, daddy." You nodded, watching him placing it inside his drawer.

"Okay." He approached, towering you. "Now I'll remember you of tonight's rule. You're only allowed you to come when I decide that you've been a good girl. So far, you've been the worst."

"Sorry, daddy."

"Don't waste your time apologizing." He lifted your chin with his fingers. "Make me change my mind."

He moved his fingers from your chin to your lips, and you opened your mouth allowing him to push them inside. You kept your eyes locked on his and sucked his fingers.

"Do you wanna sit on daddy's cock?" He asked casually, and you nodded eagerly, and he removed his fingers from your mouth so you could speak. "Why should I let you?"

"Wanna make you feel good." You begged. "Please, sir."

"Just because you used your manners." He started taking his clothes off and you were about to stand up. "Don't move until I tell you to."

You waited on your knees, trying your best not to rub your thighs together, he always punished you for that.

When he was finally naked, he sat on the bed and began to stroke himself.

"You're so so beautiful." You looked at him with love in your eyes. If there was something that made him lose his mind harder than your perfume, was hearing you praise him.

"Stand up, come here." He patted his lap.

You didn't waste any time and did as he said, but when you sat on his lap, he grabbed your thighs and forced them open, pulling you close. He placed the tip of his dick on your entrance and kissed you passionately. His hands went from your thighs to your hips and he pulled you down, finally entering you.

"You're so big." You moaned against his lips, still working on his praise kink.

"Fuck, y/n." He groaned, controlling your hips movement with his tight grip.

"You love it when I tell you that you got a big cock, don't you, daddy?" You took his lower lip between your teeth.

"Yeah. Cause it just shows what a fucking slut you are. A slut that likes to feel full, don't I make you feel full?" He kept going faster and deeper, moving his hips with yours now.

"Yes, daddy. You do. Fill me up so good." You almost screamed as you threw your head back.

"But you can take all of it." He said, absolutely pounding you. "Do you know what I think you are?"

He positioned your hips in a way that your clit constantly collided with his hips, making you scream his name.

"Please, say it." You tried to focus, but everything felt to good at that moment: the pressure on your clit, his cock deep inside you and his lips marking your neck. "Please, daddy, I can't hold it anymore."

"I think you're a very good girl." He said cockly and that was the sign that meant you were allowed to come.

Didn't take you much longer after those words finally left his lips. And soon, he was spilling himself inside you as well.

You collapsed into his chest and he held you lovingly.

"Happy birthday, daddy." You sighed.

"Thank you, babygirl." He chuckled. "I swear my presents just get better every year. But just wait until we're spending your birthday with your family…"

[fridayfirefly]

Lost and Found [Part Three]

Masterlist | Ao3

A/N: Sorry for the long wait, but I wanted to make sure this chapter was perfect, and now I’m super proud to show you all

The evening after Damian made his leap of faith and lost the pen was one of the rare nights where his entire 'family' managed to make it to the dinner table. Grayson and Barbara (Damian used her first name only because she threatened to ram him with her wheelchair if he kept calling her 'Gordon') drove in from their shared apartment in Blüdhaven. They were Soulmates, currently dating and soon to be engaged, if the ring box in Grayson's sock drawer (which Damian found when he broke into their apartment last month) meant anything. Todd came in that morning unannounced, claiming to be "in the mood for Alfred's cooking" (Damian suspected that Todd simply doesn't like eating alone, but said nothing). Drake was free for dinner because he didn't have any evening classes at Gotham University. Stephanie Brown arrived the day prior because Drake asked for her assistance on a case he was working on. Of all the heroes who fought crime in Gotham, Damian was least knowledgeable about Stephanie Brown. In all the time Damian had lived with Father, he had only spoken to Brown a few times and had only patrolled with Spoiler once. However, it seemed that Damian would be patrolling with Spoiler a lot more in the coming weeks. Earlier that day, Brown had offered to remain in Gotham and take Grayson's place on patrols. That way, Grayson could stay in Blüdhaven, instead of driving to Gotham on his nights off at the Blüdhaven police force to patrol.

Selena Kyle showed up for dinner as well, though she made no references to their conversation the night before. Father and Alfred were also at the dinner table, but Damian already knew that they would be there. Damian had lived with Father for almost three months, and he had seen the way that the Manor worked. People came and went; it seemed that the only people who stayed the same were Father and Alfred.

Once dinner started, conversations drifted around Damian. He struggled to find the right words to explain that he made contact with his Soulmate. He felt the need to say it, if only for the purpose of stopping Grayson's constant nagging.

“So when’s Connor coming to visit?" asked Barbara.

Damian turned his attention to Drake, interested in any news about Drake's Soulmate. Damian had yet to meet Connor Kent, but he was certainly interested in meeting one of his brother's Soulmates.

"He's coming over a week from Saturday and then staying for a week until the new semester at Metropolis University starts. Connor's bringing Clark, Lois, and Jon along with him. Jon's still on summer vacation, so Clark and Lois plan on leaving him here with Connor for the week so that he isn't home alone all day while they're at work."

"Jon is Damian's age, right?" Barbara asked.

"Yeah, Jon's turning thirteen next month," Drake answered.

Damian wondered what Jonathan Kent would be like. Hopefully not as immature and imbecilic as his classmates at Gotham Academy.

As the conversation hit a lull, Grayson piped up, "Damian, what's new with you? Are you still ignoring all your problems?" Grayson's tone was far too innocent for the taunt veiled underneath the niceties. Damian shot Grayson a glare, which was matched by Grayson's own stubborn look. Logically, Damian knew his teasing was fueled by well-intentioned concern, but Damian still found it annoying.

"Don't call her a problem," Damian growled. No one at the table looked concerned by their interaction, so Damian assumed that Babs and Stephanie had both been informed of what had happened two weeks ago. "The answer is no, anyways. I'm not ignoring her. I lost something for her last night."

All other conversations halted when Damian revealed his secret. "Good for you, Demon Spawn," Todd said, speech muffled by the mouthful of food he was trying to talk around.

"That's great news!" Grayson's face was lit up. "We should celebrate. I haven't had an opportunity to throw a party at the Manor in ages."

Damian sighed. Any attempts to halt Grayson's party planning would surely fail. There was no stopping Grayson’s unnerving desire to celebrate every little thing.

"Babs and I can set it up. We can do it next Saturday, while the Kents are here. After all, it's been months since the last time the Banquet Hall was used."

Father rolled his eyes at Grayson’s antics, the slight upturn of his lips proved that he was in support of Grayson's idea. It had been less than one minute since told his tell his family that he had lost the pen for his Soulmate to find, and he was already regretting it.

——————————————————————

It had taken Damian six hours and eighteen jewelry stores throughout Gotham to find the perfect gift to give to his Soulmate. It was a bracelet, made of silver and designed to look like feathers wrapping around the wrist. But it still wasn't perfect, which was why Damian was knocking on Drake's bedroom door.

Drake opened his door, looking much better rested than he had at dinner two days prior. The dark circles under his eyes had faded, and Damian could see only one coffee cup on his desk, instead of his usual three to seven. "Do you need anything?"

Damian nodded. "There is something I need assistance with. Given that it is within your area of expertise, I came to you for help."

Drake looked shocked at Damian's request, but also interested. "Come on in."

Damian walked into Drake's room and shut the door behind him. "I understand that you are knowledgeable about nanotechnology." Damian set the bracelet down on Drake's desk. "Would you be able to monitor heart rate and blood pressure through this, without the modifications being obvious to its wearer?"

Drake picked the bracelet up and examined its size and weight. "It'll take me a few days, but I think it can be done..." Drake trailed off, grabbing a spare piece of paper off his desk and jotting notes down. "It's for your Soulmate, right?"

"Yes."

"Cool," said Drake, "Is there anything else you want to be added to it?"

Damian paused for a moment, considering his words. "Could you add a tracker? One that activates only if the heart rate and blood pressure monitors detect that she's in potentially life-threatening conditions?"

Drake nodded. "I can definitely do that. If I connect everything to an app on your phone, then those kinds of settings can be done through the app rather than through the bracelet itself. But you know, I won't judge you if you want the tracker to be available to you now."

Damian shook his head. "I don't want to invade her boundaries. I just want to keep her safe and out of harm's way."

"That's genuinely really cool of you, Damian," Drake said. "I think Connor's going to like you."

"Tt. Everybody likes me."

Drake laughed. "Sure, Demon Spawn."

Damian turned away from his brother, leaving the room before Tim could catch the small smile on his face.

——————————————————————

"No more complaining, Dami. I didn't get to throw you a Welcome to the Manor party or a belated Birthday party, so you're going to suck it up and enjoy this one," Grayson instructed. He and Barbara had already bought refreshments, created a playlist titled "Can Damian Even Dance?", and decorated the Banquet Hall. Though in Damian's opinion, a blind cat would have been better at decorating than Grayson. Instead of buying normal party decorations, He and Barbara had gone to thrift stores, buying up used gender reveal party decorations. They then wrote the word Soulmate overtop of 'boy' or 'girl' so that each banner proclaimed "It's a Soulmate."

"I'm not complaining. I just think that your decorations look terrible."

"Don't call them terrible, they're made with love." Grayson could barely keep a straight face while saying it.

Damian rolled his eyes and walked out of the Banquet Hall, heading towards the foyer. He knew that Grayson was the type to go all-out when it came to showing his emotions (i.e. throwing a party to show that he's proud of Damian and supports him) but Damian wasn't really the type to enjoy a party, especially when he's the guest of honor.

"The Kents are here," Tim called out as he opened up the front door.

Damian watched as Tim greeted the Kent family. Damian had already met Clark Kent, though strictly through his superhero identity and was familiar with both Connor and Jon's time spent as Superboy. And Lois Lane-Kent, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author of an award-winning novel (which Damian has read), was just as well-known in America as Superman.

“Clark, I know you've already met Damian, but the rest of you should come and meet him. After all, Dick is throwing the party in his honor.”

Damian walked into the foyer to meet Tim’s Soulmate’s family. “Hello,” Damian dipped his head in greeting.

“It’s nice to meet you, Damian,” Lois politely greeted him.

"I've read your book," Damian blurted out. "I found your commentary on the negative ramifications of superheroes on our society to be enlightening."

Lois smiled brightly, "I'm glad you enjoyed it. I've always been interested in how Superheroes influence modern society, and I think it's important for people to understand that Superheroes aren't always a good thing to have. Because Superheroes exist, citizens allow themselves to become complacent, pushing the burden of stopping crime onto Superheroes, instead of trying to prevent people from becoming criminals in the first place. It's definitely a multifaceted phenomenon, and one that our society needs to be aware of."

"It's a very complex issue," Damian agreed. "I hope we can talk about this further at a later date."

Lois nodded. "Definitely." She glanced towards her husband. "Clark and I should go find Bruce and catch up with him." The pair left the foyer, walking in the direction of Father's office. Damian, Tim, Connor, and Jonathan walked in the opposite direction, towards the Banquet Hall.

"So you're Damian," said Connor. "Tim's told me a lot about you."

"Tt. Knowing Drake, it's likely all lies and slander. Drake's jealousy often gets the best of him."

"Jealous of what? The fact that you're so effortlessly annoying?"

"You're obviously envious of my innate ability to do everything better than you."

Connor, Tim's Soulmate, let out a laugh. "Tim didn't tell me that you're funny."

"He's not funny, Connor. He's annoying. Now come on, you have to see the decorations Dick and Babs put up. They're awful."

"How do you mess up party decorations?" Jonathan Kent asked.

Tim made a face. "Dick likes to challenge himself by putting up the worst possible decorations. Last year he and Babs convinced Alfred to have us all make the Christmas tree decorations ourselves. I still don't think I've gotten all the glitter out of my hair."

“At least these decorations are harmless,” Damian cut in. “Imagine what would have happened had Father not vetoed Grayson's Fourth of July cookout earlier this summer.”

Connor laughed. “That definitely wasn’t Dick’s best idea. I doubt that fireworks and the Wayne family mix well.”

When they got to the door to the Banquet Hall, Grayson's music already playing, Tim turned to Damian. "By the way, Damian, I finished the modifications that you asked for. It's in my room on my desk when you want to go get it."

"Sure. Tell Grayson I'll be a few minutes."

Tim and Connor walked into the room, but Jonathan stayed behind. "Is it for your Soulmate - what Tim was fixing for you?"

Damian's eyes narrowed. "Maybe."

Jonathan's face brightened. "Cool. Are you planning on losing it tonight?"

“I take it Tim told you and his Soulmate about my Soulmate," Damian commented, ignoring Jonathan's question.

"Tim didn't tell me, Tim told Connor. He wanted Connor's advice on how to apologize to you, for what he said about your Soulmate. I couldn't help but overhear; superhuman hearing doesn't exactly have an off switch. Besides, I was mostly just interested in the fact that your Soulmate is French. My Soulmate's French too."

Damian didn't know how to respond to that. Jonathan Kent was like a breath of fresh air.  He was entirely unconcerned about Damian's wealth and status. He understood the sort of responsibility that being a superhero entailed but didn't get weighed down by it. He had just met Damian but already trusted him enough to reveal information about his Soulmate. Jonathan Kent, who seemed so easy to read at first glance, was secretly a conundrum.

The modifications on the bracelet were almost completely imperceptible to Damian's trained eye. Besides a small change in weight, it appeared unchanged. "I like the feathers," said Jonathan, "Definitely more subtle than anything I could come up with. But what was Tim doing with it?”

“Modifying it,” Damian said curtly. “It now measures heart rate and blood pressure.”

Jonathan nodded, “That’s a smart idea. I might have to ask Tim to make me one."

As they left Tim's room, Jonathan continued to fill the silence. "I don't know how you managed to not lose something for so long. I lose stuff all the time. My Soulmate will probably end up figuring out I'm Superboy because I accidentally misplaced my uniform."

"Your Soulmate doesn't yet know that you're Superboy?"

Jonathan shook his head. "We haven't met in person yet, plus the language barrier makes communication through the Soulbond difficult if we aren't both using translators. My Soulmate only speaks a little bit of English, and I'm even worse at French. But I'm getting better. I take classes now."

"I'm fluent in French," Damian added. "If you ever need something translated, I'm sure I could take the time to help you out." Jonathan Kent was one of the few genuinely good people Damian had met. Damian wanted to get to know him better.

"Thanks, Damian."

As Damian passed his bedroom doorway, he noticed something new sitting on his bed. A black book. He changed course, heading straight towards his new Soulmate object. It was a sketchbook. Damian quickly flipped through the crisp, new pages. His Soulmate must be a designer - the first three pages contained clothing designs. The first page was a dress, pink and white striped with a bow around the waist. The second page was a jacket, olive green with gold-colored buttons. The third page was a plain white t-shirt, simple at first glance, but the detailed notes beside the design indicated that she meant to cover the shoulders and shirt sleeves in a detailed embroidery.

"Wow," said Jonathan. "Did you know that your Soulmate was so talented?"

"No," Damian breathed out, taking in every little detail. He had never been so fascinated by fashion designing. Everything about the sketchbook showed talent, dedication, and skill. He could hardly tear his eyes away from the sketches - they were so detailed, with little notes in the margin indicating everything from what store to go to to buy the fabric, to the exact shade she wanted, to whether or not it needed hand stitched. All three pages were dated August 20th - she had planned out all three pieces of clothing that very day. Damian couldn't quite believe that his Soulmate was so perfect.

But pushing towards the front of his mind was the knowledge that he would have to return the book. It was obviously important to her, something she would never want to lose. Damian pulled his phone out and took three pictures, one of each of the sketches, to make sure he didn't forget a single detail. Then he grabbed a sticky note off of his desk and wrote, "I figured you might want this back - D.W."

Damian could feel Jonathan watching him. "I'm glad you're a good person, Damian."

"Thanks," Damian said dryly, but the compliment still stuck with him. He had never cared about being a good person until he lived with his Father. He didn't think he would be good at it, but maybe he was wrong.

Then, it was just a matter of losing the sketchbook so that she could get it back. Damian, not wanting the book to get damaged in any way, decided to just toss it into one of the open doorways on the way back to the Banquet Hall. It worked to lose the book only because the Banquet Hall was in one of the sections of the Manor that was rarely ever used, except during social gatherings. The twisting hallways and odd door placements were designed to keep snooping Gala guests from getting into the main part of the Manor without physically locking doors. According to Grayson, they also made for very intense games of Hide and Seek, which Damian had yet to play (Grayson had promised him a game, though, and had yet to break a promise).

"So what is your Soulmate like, Jonathan?" Damian asked him once they found their way back into the Banquet Hall.

"You know, you can call me Jon." Jon's facial expression switched to something that could only be described as dreamy. "My Soulmate... he's wonderful. He loves music, it's his biggest passion. He sends me music recommendations all the time, usually weekly playlists, unless he's bored or wants me to listen to something special. His favorite color is green and he has a pet turtle named Oliver. He has three best friends beside me, and he says he can't wait to meet me in person, but we're waiting until we're at least fifteen."

The night passed quickly in Jon's company. It was a new experience for Damian, having someone his own age to talk to. Conversation flowed easily from Soulmates to Superheroes to school. It was the first time Damian genuinely felt like he had made a friend.

Once midnight came around the party ended. Lois and Clark left to drive back to Metropolis, and Grayson and Barbara left for Blüdhaven.  Tim took Connor up to his room, and Brown and Todd both left for their own (rarely used) bedrooms. Damian knew that Jon was staying in the guest bedroom three doors down from his own, so he offered to take him there.

The sticky note on his floor was the first thing Damian noticed, once he was finally alone. Written in the same handwriting as the designs from before was the sentence, "Thanks, it's a birthday present from my parents - M.D.C."

Damian knew it was time to give his Soulmate the bracelet. Wrapping it alongside the box of replacement pens he had gotten her, Damian made sure to write in his best handwriting, "Happy Birthday M. From your Soulmate, D.W."

Taglist: @fanboy7794 @mikantsume @hetalia-lover-is-here @howtoshuckatlife @you-will-never-know-how-i-think @redscarlet95  @derpingrainbow @friedchickening @constancetruggle @melicmusicmagic  @beautym3 @kunstner1 @shizukiryuu @worlds-tiniest-spook-pastry @crazylittlemunchkin @black-streak @darkshadowguardian @mystery-5-5 @trubel43 @fandomfan315 @vincentvangoose

[suffering-and-happy-about-it]

...& Steel for Humans (Geralt x fem!Witchress, Part 2.)

Series description: The Butcher of Blaviken has a long and famous past, thanks to his friend Jaskier. Yet, neither of those dies easily and it still lurks behind Geralt like a shadow after all those years. History, neither unfriendly relationships, doesn't die easily.

Part summary: After a talk with your old friend, there is one thing - a contract which is supposed to keep you rich for at least other ten years. But there are things you are not going to like about is. 

A/N: Honestly, Dijsktra is one of my favourite in-game characters and I sincerely hope that he will make an appearence in the Netflix series. That mf is so fun honestly.

Tagging: (tell me and I will add you :)) @osgon-azure​ @davnwillcome

Word count: 2.1 K

Master list: H E R E

To your good luck, Dijkstra was very clear with the place of his staying - that fat rat was hiding at the Novigradian Bathhouse. You never held anything against Dijkstra - he was being a dick? You told him. That man knew famous non-humans like Geralt and even legends upon men, like Vernon Roche or the Redenian King Radovid. And he didn't hesitate to shove those connections into other people's faces. And you were one of them at that point.

So naturally, it didn't mean anything good when Dijkstra not only contacted you but knew where you were staying at the time. Novigrad was just three days of a slow ride on your horse and you didn't have anywhere to rush. Dijkstra only informed you, very kindly you must've said, that he would like to speak to you once you reach the city walls. It was for an important matter of saving lives or what.

Yeah, you weren't over your heels because of his demand. But you stopped in front of the famous bathhouse two days after the whole werewolf situation with a cape in your face. It wouldn't be exactly clever to walk around one of the biggest cities of the Northern Kingdoms just showing your face to everyone around you. Novigrad was looking just as you remembered it - it was dirty, it stank, beggars were on every corner and elf prostitutes only. That was the thing you didn't like on Novigrad. You had to be either a demon of a shapeshifter to cover that you're a non-human or you had to be a prostitute to be a non-human living in this city.

The cult of Eternal Flame was going nuts there. One of the priests even noticed that cats were hissing at you and that dogs ran away when your warhorse was driving through the streets and tried to verbally insult you and on top of that, he was calling you a heretic and a sinner. Instead of pinning him to a wall with your sword as a warning, you scoffed at his words and continued to Passiflora where you turned left. Not too long after that, you were standing in front of the bathhouse.

A bald man took your house, saying his name is Happen, and lead it to the nearby stable so the people there would take care of the poor animal. It needed some proper rest and some clear water, you couldn't deny that you weren't able to give your horse this kind of comfort on your travels.

To be honest, from the first moment you stepped in, you knew that the bathhouse stank. You hated those lingering, sweet smells that usually settled on the tip of your nose. Bathhouses usually used these scents because the humans found it more relaxing. Yet it was like a catalyzer for your damn nose - that was maybe for the first time in the last years when you sneezed. And it was damn uncomfortable.

Finding Sigismund wasn't exactly challenging - that man couldn't be ignored with the bright colors he tended to wear and with the size of his body. One of his legs also wasn't exactly in the best shape, so the limbing was quite easy to recognize when he was on the moe. At least to witchress's ears, it was unique.

Once you entered his office, you could see him sitting behind a table, going through some papers. You were quiet, so it took him a while to notice a caped person standing in the corner of the room. His face lit up with a smile that wasn't soothing nor comforting; he looked like a dick if you had to be honest.

"It is always a pleasure to see old friends. Have a seat with me, come on." - He said when you took the hood off and your face and white hair could be finally seen. You snorted when you sat down, taking a few grapes without even asking Dijkstra a word. He was quickly pouring you some of the sweet wine he had on the table but both of you knew that your lips won't even touch the drink.

"We aren't friends, Dijkstra. And also, it is never a good sign when you can find me without too much of trying." - A short answer to his greeting could be heard while your eyes scanned the books in his bookcases. Law things, political archives, some of the Novigrad's biggest family chronicles, nothing too extraordinary or interesting. Yet the Gwent packs caught your eye, so you took the Northern Kingdoms deck and started to go through it, looking at the cards with interest.

"Well, it didn't take too much of an effort to figure out that a witcher is in the Mire West currently. People talk and news spread quickly, don't forget about that. Especially quickly when you know who to ask for details." - The man slowly leaned into the chair behind his back while you turned your attention back to him, eating the grapes slowly.

"You torture people, you don't ask for details, Sigismund, don't you try to make me laugh because I am not in the mood for jests. You're just as much of a bitch as I am." - You smiled ironically, being tired of his little welcoming games. - "What is it that you need? Don't tell me that I came all the fucking way to Novigrad from Mire West just to see your fucking handsome face. And lemme tell you, you are fucking ugly."

At that, Sigismund laughed and shook his head. You two couldn't be exactly considered friends since everybody knew that you don't like Sigismund one bit. That wasn't too hard to understand - Sigismund was a spy who couldn't be trusted. But you two couldn't be even called enemies, since most of the time, you both stood at one side of a case - if you ever decided to take a stand in anything political.

"I have a friend in need and I told her that I will try to ask you for a helping hand." - He looked you in the eyes. Sigismund had a job... For a witchress? With that, you rose your eyebrows and furrowed. - "She offers you a ridiculous amount of coin - for searching and killing the source. And also invites you for a damn dance and pays for your stay Novigrad, no matter which inn you'd name." - He told very seriously so you could understand that Dijkstra isn't in a mood for games either.

"Damn. That must be a real matter of life and death if they're putting so much coin into it. What is going on?" - You asked and stole another grape from the small silver plate, putting the deck back on its place. You liked the grapes, they were sweet. Dijkstra surely had to offer them in Passiflora, the whorehouse just a while from Saint Gregory's bridge.

"No-one knows. We only know that whatever the fuck it is, it breaks trees and rocks like small wooden sticks and that it cooks humans for dinner. We dunno much more than what I've told ya." - Dijkstra told you and your face got even sourer than before. This wasn't just some ordinary Vampire, nor a Fiend. - "It lives in the mountains east from Novigrad and the Vegelbuds are rather concerned with it. No matter what in the horse's ass it is, it already massacred two villages."

Again, you pushed yourself more into the plushy chair Dijkstra had offered you. This wasn't a matter you could laugh at. Whether you liked it or not, it was more than fucking serious. Women and children were killed, men could be eaten or stomped to death.

"Bullshit. There ain't no monster who can destroy a whole damn village just because it wants to in Redenia. There ain't one like that on the whole Continent. Before you jump in with Fiends, they are too lazy for any that." - You started slowly and put a strand of your hair behind your ears.

"Dijkstra, honestly, I ain't a dumb bitch. You're the mediator between me and the Veganbrods or what the fuck is their name and I know that you'll have a lot of money from this. But no witcher, squirrel, or human will take this fucking job. This ain't a job. This is suicide." - You said, looking him in the eyes.

"Oh, Y/N, I just love how honest you can be with me. This ain't a one-man job, of course. We already have some... Takers who are gladly willing to accompany you." - Dijkstra said in a solid-sure tone.

"If it's Letho of the Viper school, tell him to fuck off right away. I hope it's not a sorceress either, I can't stand these bitches either. Lambert would be a nice company, tho and I wouldn't mind me an Eskel either." - You said honestly with a small smile. Yeah. You knew how did your witcher brothers work on their contracts, you knew you would get along with them and if there would be anything that would go bad, they would have your back.

You liked Lambert the most of all the witchers you knew - it didn't matter if they were from your school or the Griffin school or the Vipers, you just liked Lambert the most. There were rumors that you and he had some kind of a relationship - whether it had ended up or was going on. And any of that wasn't confirmed either denied by any of you. When people asked you, you both just smiled and changed the subject.

"It's not Lambert, unfortunately, but it is someone you know, which is some good fucking news. And it is someone you don't like, I have to say - one of them sings all the fucking time and the other one is a grumpy moron who had fucked up my leg. But don't think about that. Business is business, darling, it's not about liking someone. It's about money and surviving the fucking trip to the mountains." - Dijkstra looked you right in the eyes. You sat there in silence, watching the man with a dead serious face.

Of course. Of fucking course. Your partner for the trip, who you had to believe with all your will power, the partner who was supposed to be someone you should be able to trust with whole life, that man was supposed to be the white-haired moron. And his possibly gay friend. You looked at Dijkstra, having that daring look on your face.

"I can still say no, you ugly bastard." - You said honestly. At that, the idiot sitting opposite of you started laughing.

"No-one denies your right to deny - only your financial state and the reputation you have around Novigrad and other big cities now. Tell me, Y/N, you and the other witchers have some kind of a competition which should determine who is the worst person of you all?" - Dijkstra asked, having you speechless for a moment. - "Because according to my people, you have the leading position now. The incident with Stjepan got pretty known here over the last few days. And I know you like to keep your honor clean."

"I had never hurt a woman or a child. And that's it." - Was the sentence you said coldly as ice.

"People heard otherwise. Almost dragging the children out of the bed, abducting them so you can bring them to your witcher school as payment and all of that came with your promise of the next generation of witchresses... Oh Y/N, you know that one small rumor can completely ruin your business, huh?" - He leaned in, closer to you, watching your reactions. You hated Sigismund but there was one thing that needed to be said - he was a damn good businessman.

Why did that hiding rat want you to take the contract? You had no idea. But even though you didn't want it for some reason, he knew how to make you take it.

So it was said and done - you were supposed to travel to the mountain alongside Geralt of Rivia and his small musician puppy Julian. But not before a grand ball held at the Vegelbud family residence three hours away from Novigrad. Which, on the other side, you were excited about.

[itawonka-creates]

Seabourne Burnouts: Chapter 12 - Low Tide

A Maribat! On Deck AU  

I’m so sorry for the wait. I was terribly sick. Thank @battysorciere and @particularlygeeky for being awesome beta readers! 

Start [Here] [Part 11]  [Part 13] -OR- [AO3] 

“Why am I getting dressed up again?”

“Because Damian got some leads and those leads are all going to the VIP dinner tonight.” Jason pulled at his collar like a dog pulling at a leash. Tim rolled his eyes as he fixed her cuffs, “Just be lucky it’s not black-tie formal, as long as we show up in a nice shirt and dress pants then we’ll be fine.”

Dick checked himself out for the fourth time in the mirror, “I like having a reason to fix myself up. I look great in these kinds of outfits.” He took a quick photo of himself and texted it to Kory, a smile on his face as he anticipated her response.

Damian stepped out of the bathroom and straightened out his shirt. He shook his head, finally noticing Dick in front of the mirror. “Move.” He bumped Dick out of the way and examined himself. After a brief moment, he nodded and felt satisfied with his current look. “Alright, let’s go.”

“Wait, Damian! Your hair.” Dick walked up and grabbed some hair gel off the dresser, “Seriously, you can’t just-”

“Leave it.” Damian watched as all three of his brothers tensed and turned to him, “What?”

“Okay. I know you found love and crap, but first you told her you’re Robin, then about the Titans, and now you aren’t going to style your hair?” Jason hit the side of his head, a small ‘bonk’ could be heard, as if he was trying to make sure he was really there. “You never go outside without looking like a weird midget businessman.”

“Don’t say that. Alfred lectured us about that word. He’s going to find out.”

“Right! Right. Sorry.” Jason scratched his chin and shuddered, “Never mind. He knows.”

Tim watched his brother as his paranoia set in, “Oh yeah?”

“Shut up, that old man knows everything. He knows, I can feel it.” Jason shook his head and sighed, “A lecture is waiting for me back in Gotham. I just know it.”

Damian pinched the bridge of his nose and groaned, “You’re hopeless.”

Tim laughed and nudged Jason. He sighed and turned back to Damian, “Seriously though, what gives? We’ve been trying to get you to change your hair for forever.”

Damian smirked, “Hey Dick, text Marinette to mentally prepare herself to meet us at the dinner. She’ll know what I mean.”

“He finally gets a girlfriend and now thinks he’s hot sh-”

“Alfred.”

Jason shuddered and rushed to the door, “I didn’t say anything! Nope! Nothing!” Dick and Tim laughed at their brother currently pleading to nothing in particular to have mercy. They made their way to an upper deck and looked around the dining hall. It’s the same hall from the award dinner, but the tables were set up nicer with both speakers and some musicians for a variation of music. “Why the quartet?”

“Because George is here.” Dick motioned for the old man, easily in his 80s, in a wheelchair rolled around by one of his granddaughters. “He’s one of Bruce’s dad’s old acquaintances and stockholders. The dude is ancient and super old school. He’s only supposed to be here for tonight’s dinner to speak to Bruce for their quarterly check-in.”

“He’s still alive?”

“Jason!” Tim smacked the back of Jason’s head before walking up the old man. “Hello, George. Do you remember us? We’re Bruce’s sons.” The old man didn’t react and his granddaughter sent a sympathetic smile.

“Hey, grandpa? Look. It’s the Wayne boys.” The old man finally reacted and smiled at the girl before turning to the boys. He gave a polite wave before staring off into space again. She sighed, “I’m sorry. The older he gets, the more he does this. Don’t be fooled though, he loves seeing your dad.” She held out her hand, “How are you guys?”

Dick chuckled, “We’re fine Ciara. It’s good to see you again. How’s the fiancé?”

Ciara smiled brightly, “She’s great! She’s currently showing off her art in a Chicago art gallery.” She giggled, “Once we figure out the date, you’ll all get invitations.”

“We’ll hold you to that doll face.” Ciara pushed Jason playfully and Jason smirked, “Glad to see you’re doing well.”

Ciara nodded and turned to Damian, who continuously looked around the room throughout the conversation, “Damian? I didn’t even recognize you with your hair is like that! You look a little like Dick when he was younger.”

Damian sighed, “Why does everyone say that?” Damian smiled politely at the girl, “Still, good to see you. Glad things are going well for you.” Ciara nodded and Damian turned his attention back at the various entrances. His brothers noticed him visibly perk up and turned to the main entrance to see Marinette walk in with a gaggle of girls alongside Adrien and Nino.

Alya and Alix weren’t in dresses, choosing a nice blouse and dress pants. The other girls wore dresses and pushed a resistant Marinette forward. She was yelling something over her shoulder, her cheeks red and expression desperate, as they egged her on. Her dress was less formal, but the way she wore it was just as elegant. Simple pink dress, hair down, light make up that brought out her fair features, all tying together in a nice little bow similar to the one on the side of her waist.

Adrien laughed, turned her head to the four brothers, and pointed at Damian. The two made eye contact, staring at each other for a brief moment before Damian’s face held a light pink tint and Marinette’s red face became even more saturated in color. Marinette turned on her heel and tried to leave, but the group locked her in. She turned back, her body rigid as she made her way over to the boys.

Ciara nudged Damian, “Oh my god, you fancy her don’t you?”

Damian sent her a small glare before bracing himself. The others were wondering why he became so stiff until Marinette reached up for his hair and he held her arms away. Looking at the two, you could tell they were struggling against each other and Damian sighed, “Marinette, we have to stop this. We’re in a VIP dinner.”

“You-”

“I warned you didn’t I?”

She growled and yanked her arms back, “Fine!” She stared at him for a few moments before she shook her head, “Nope! Nope! No! I can’t get used to it!”

Jason smirked and nudged the youngest, “So that’s why you didn’t fix up your hair! You sly dog!” Damian glared at his snickering brothers. Jason waved him off and turned to Marinette, “You look adorable.”

Marinette blinked and started hitting his chest playfully, “You can’t start too! I’m already embarrassed as it is!” She held her fists to her sides and she huffed, color never fading from her face.

Dick laughed, “Oh my god! Is that supposed to be intimidating?”

“Watch it Grayson! I will throw you overboard!”

The boys all blinked and Tim glared at Damian, “You corrupted her.”

Damian smiled in pride and put his arm around Marinette, “I did no such thing.” He grinned at her and she just looked annoyed, “You do look cute, though. Did you make that dress too?” She gulped and looked away. She nodded and he praised her, “It’s very well made.”

Tim pulled Marinette out of Damian’s grip, “Okay. Okay. You’re going to kill the girl. I mean, if any more of her blood rushes to her head she’ll need to be placed in the infirmary.”

Adrien waved to most of the girls as they left, leaving him to lead Nino, Alya, and Chloe over to Marinette. He continued laughing at his poor friend. “You seem to be doing well.”

“I will not hesitate, Adrien.”

“Oh, we know.” Alya nudged Damian, “Marinette told me you looked good with your hair down, but dang dude! Nino, you’re in trouble!”

Nino waved her off and motioned to Adrien, “I have an actual model in my court. You ain’t got nothing on me.”

Chloe rolled her eyes and looked over the boys, “I forgot you could clean up well. Seriously, why don’t you dress like this more often?”

Jason groaned, “And feel as stiff as I look? No thank you, Chloe.”

Ciara giggled, “Friends of yours?”

Dick nodded and motioned to the group, “These are kids from the French class who got the spot on the trip. The one who caught Damian’s eye is Marinette, the winner.”

Ciara motioned to the group and spoke to her grandfather, “Look, grandpa, it’s the kids Bruce chose!” The old man looked up and smiled at the group. The girls all lurched forward and crouched in front of him, doting on the old man.

“He’s so cute!”

“You’re British or something? What’s your name, sir?”

“And how do you know Bruce?”

Ciara blinked in surprise and laughed, “He may not respond. He has a habit of spacing o-”

“George.” The group turned to the old man as he held out his shaking hand, “Nice to meet you.” Marinette gentle took it and smiled sweetly at him.

“My name’s Marinette, George. This is Alya and Chloe. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

The old man seemed to have a long-forgotten glimmer in his eyes as he smiled back at the girls. Ciara laughed in disbelief, “That’s the most he’s said to anyone outside the family who isn’t Bruce!” She walked over and hugged Marinette, “You’re a miracle, aren’t you?”

Marinette giggled, “No, I’m just Marinette. You are?”

“Ciara. My grandpa here has known Bruce for ages. We’re here to visit him.”

“And I’m here to see him too.” The group turned to Bruce as he walked up and crouched down to George’s level. “Nice to see you again.”

George’s smile grew, “Bruce! I met your daughter! She’s very sweet.”

“My daughter?” George motioned to Marinette and Bruce laughed, “She’s not my-”

Alya snorted, “I mean, in-laws count don’t they?”

Damian and Marinette tensed and scolded the girl, “Alya!”

Bruce rolled his eyes, “Let’s go talk, George.” Bruce and Ciara rolled George away, leaving the kids to their own devices.

Jason and Alya high-fived, “That was awesome!”

“I keep telling people, I’m hilarious!”

“You’re annoying!” Marinette let out an exasperated sighed and rubbed her temples, “And in front of Bruce too. You’re the worst.”

Alya laughed as her best friend whined, making the others in the group laugh with her. Nino took a second to listen to the song played and smiled, “Hey! It’s your song, dudes!” While the boys were confused, Adrien and Marinette paused and looked at each other.

“When was the last time we heard this song?”

“It’s been years!” The two laughed as they remembered the teddy bear themed Akuma of that night. Marinette turned to Damian, “The first time we danced together was to this song. It’s been one of my favorites ever since!”

“Wasn’t that at my party?”

“Yes. Yes, it was. It was the same party I pulled possibly the BEST wing-woman move in history!”

Nino snickered, “We both did that, Alya.”

Adrien held out his arm and winked at Marinette, “Wanna dance for nostalgia?”

Marinette was about to agree before pulling back and stepping next to Damian, “I’ll pass. You should ask someone else to dance. I’m sure no one is going to pass you up.”

Adrien blinked before realizing her reasoning, “Oh yeah! Sorry Damian, complete forgot for a second.” He rubbed the back of his neck nervously while Damian jaw tensed.

Damian felt a tinge of jealousy as soon as Nino brought up the fact that it was ‘their song’. However, seeing the way Marinette move towards him and knowing Adrien’s apology was genuine made him relax. He sighed and nudged Marinette, “Go ahead. I’ll take the next dance.”

“You dance? Since when?” Damian glared at Tim who just held his hands up in surrender.

Marinette and Adrien looked at each other for a second before turning to Damian, “Seriously, it’s fine. We don’t-”

“No. Go dance with Adrien, Marinette. It’ll be fun.” He gently pushes her forward and smiled politely at the two. Marinette and Adrien sent him an unsure look before the hesitantly walked onto the dance floor.

Alya nudged Damian, “That was nice of you, but you know you can say if you are uncomfortable with them dancing. You don’t have to be okay with everything she wants to do just because you’re dating.”

“I’m not in charge of her.”

“I’m not saying you are. If you try to control her, that’s different. That’s telling her she can’t dance with anyone other than you or people you approve of. You saying ‘I think I’d feel weird seeing my first girlfriend dance with an old crush’ is completely understandable.” Alya sighed and smiled at the boy in pity, “You usually have no filter. You have it bad for her, don’t you?”

Damian watched as the two danced around the room. A simplified ballroom waltz, nothing inappropriate and completely platonic. He could’ve relaxed except the looks on their faces as they talked were incredibly serious. Damian sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, “I don’t know how any of this works.”

Dick watched his brother in pity, “You have us to help you out, you know?”

Damian let his shoulders fall, “I don’t like feeling like this.”

Nino chuckled, “Love can be awesome and love can suck. I will say this, you won’t find someone better to love than Marinette.”

Chloe hummed in approval, “He’s right. That girl’s heart is too big for her own good and she’s so loyal. You never have to worry about that one.”

Jason smiled at his brother, “Sounds like you couldn’t have picked them better, baby bird.”

Tim snickered, “Only the best for Damian Wayne.”

Damian glared at his brother before turning back to Marinette and Adrien. Marinette happened to look over and noticed him, sending him a loving smile his way. Damian felt himself relax and smiled back. Dick sighed, “You’ve got it bad.”

“So bad.”

“It’s ridiculous.”

“It’s sickening.”

“It’s hilarious.”

“I swear if you all don’t-”

“She’s coming over here.” Damian turned his attention back to the two to see Marinette and Adrien walk back.

Adrien grinned, “That was fun. She’s all yours, Damian. Thanks for letting us dance to that song again.”

Before Damian could say anything, the speakers turned off and the quartet began playing some ballroom music. Marinette grabbed Damian’s hand and pulled him to the dance floor. Adrien turned to the three oldest of the group, “Does he even know how to dance?”

“Luckily, only to this type of music because of Bruce. He made us learn for galas and stuff like that.” Tim watched as his brother gently guided Marinette through a dance she was unfamiliar with. He smiled and took a picture, “This is so weird.”

“It’s sweet. I haven’t seen her this excited for anything in such a long time.” Alya’s smile fell and hugged herself, “I should’ve-”

“Alya, you have to forgive yourself some time. You didn’t know. She didn’t want you to know.” Chloe huffed and turned to Adrien, hand out. “Let’s just dance and enjoy the night before tomorrow. There’s sure to be a fight.” Adrien nodded and took her hand, leading her out onto the floor.

Alya sighed and turned to Dick, “Marinette said you’re good with feelings. Help.”

Dick blinked, “Why’d she say that?”

Alya shrugged, “She didn’t tell me how she knows that and I have a feeling you won’t either.”

Dick snorted, “Damn right I won’t.” He nudged her, “You’re a good friend Alya. You look out for her the same way I look out for these idiots.”

“Rude.”

“True.”

“As I was saying,” Dick placed a hand on her shoulder and gave it a comforting squeeze, “I don’t think she holds anything against you. I know you feel terrible. You feel like you betrayed her and you let her down and now you’re wondering if she should even be friends with you. If you’re having all those thoughts then I’d say you’re still being a great best friend. You’re looking out for her, you feel bad for hurting her. You’re trying to make up for it.”

Alya’s eye began to water and Jason jumped in, “Alya, you’re a good kid. Smart, too. Marinette is lucky to have you. Just like you’re lucky to have her. Still, that guilt will stay with you until you talk to her about it. Marinette and you need to take care of that unfinished business because, let’s face it, you did hurt her. But, she still loves you. That counts for a lot.”

Alya wiped her eyes and turned her attention back to her best friend. Marinette and Damian glided across the room and she looked like she was in a fairytale. It put a smile back on her face and she sniffed, “Now I know why Marinette came to trust you guys so quickly.” She laughed, “Not that I don’t trust you guys, but she trusted you all almost immediately. She was always a good judge of character.” Nino nudged her and Alya smiled gratefully, knowing he was letting her know he was there for support.

Tim smiled at the two before sighing, “Guys, remember, we’re here to do a job too. Michael Aaron is standing by the west entrance with his wife. Darius Azreth is sitting at table 8 with some colleagues.”

Alya nodded curtly, going back into a reporter persona. Nino was used to her split-second changes, but the other boys were taken aback for a second seeing the quick change. Alya looked over her options, “We’ll take Aaron. It’ll be easier to start talking to a guy and his wife than a board meeting.” Tim nodded in agreement and they all separated, the boys taking Azreth and the couple taking Aaron.

Meanwhile, Marinette and Damian continued to be in their own little world. “You know I’m still tempted to ask Dick to give me his hair gel right now.”

“Still not used to it?”

“No, not at all.” She hummed, “You know if you don’t want me to dan-”

“I don’t control you. If you want to have fun with your guy friends, then I can’t stop you.”

Marinette smiled softly and leaned towards him, “You know you’re important to me too, right? I want to know what you think and how you feel. It’s a two-way street, Damian.”

He smiled and spun her around. She laughed before they came back to face each other. Damian sighed, “I’m not good at this. I’m not used to any of this. I don’t know how this works or how it’s supposed to work. My mother was a terrible role model when it comes to healthy relationships. I don’t exactly watch my father closely for dating tips and Grayson has been in a relationship for a long time. I can’t exactly use him and Kory as a way to model my first, new relationship with someone.”

“Who said we needed a model?” She watched Damian for a reaction as she continued, “Damian, there’s not one way this is supposed to work. Otherwise, everyone would find love and divorce wouldn’t even exist. As long as we talk things through and make sure we keep each other’s best interests at heart along with our own, I think we should be okay.” She stopped and squeezed his hand, “If it helps, I’m scared too. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do or how this is supposed to work, I’m just playing this by ear.”

Damian’s lips pressed into a hard line, “I’m am too, but I’m worried.”

“About?” The music’s tune changed into something a bit darker, a melody that oozed gothic romanticism, and Damian began leading them into a new waltz. She felt like she was stepping into foreign waters, “This is new.”

He listened closely, recognizing the crescendo and surprised the musicians were so bold to attempt the piece. He noted how more people came to play this specific song, making their own small symphony, and he knew why. “This is called the ‘Waltz of the Damned’. An intense piece for sure. You think you can keep up?”

“As long as you take the lead and catch me if I fall.”

Damian smirked and started leading her through more fluid turns and steps. Marinette struggled to keep up but he kept her attention. “Just keep looking at me. I’m not going to let you fall.” Marinette nodded and relaxed as he led the dance. “I’m worried about us. Our other lives.”

She bit her lip, “I’m worried about that too. While Hawkmoth is still on the loose, I have to stay in Paris.”

“The Titans need a Robin too.” Another turn and he caught a glimpse of his father watching them proudly. Damian sighed, he knew it was meant to be taken positively but it only served to be an ominous presence forever lingering over him. Lots of things lingered when it came to him. “I have a lot of baggage, Marinette.”

The ensemble started to play a darker tone and Marinette felt something in her gut. “I figured.”

“Lots of sins I need to atone for.”

“You already told me that before. Am I supposed to run?”

“Marinette-”

“Damian, whatever you did-”

“No, Marinette, you should know.” She stopped talking and he bit his lip, “Marinette, my mother and grandfather were part of a very elite group. That group hurt people. A lot of people.” While she didn’t outwardly react, her eyes were looking for any sign of lying. She didn’t find it. He leaned forward and he lowered his voice, “Marinette, my family killed people. I killed people.”

Her brows furrowed as she processed the meaning of the words, “But how-” The music suddenly got more intense and instinctually Damian guided her through this more aggressive part of the dance. Hours of lessons forced upon by Bruce hammered in dances like this until they became muscle memory. Marinette couldn’t register everything going on around her and she felt dizzy. The more they span the more overwhelmed she felt as the gravity of his situation really hit her. He didn’t say anything, fearing he was one word away from her turning heel and bolting away.

A few sudden moments of Forte in the song, a few sudden movements in the dance, a dip to top it off and Marinette really couldn’t tell what was real anymore. He brought her back up and the music went back to a slower, slightly more playful tune. His expression never changed, neither did hers as she continued to be shocked by his confession. She felt her mouth go dry, unwilling to respond as the music picked up again, gentler this time around as the piece was coming to a close but a crescendo nonetheless. New thoughts filling her head as she realized what this meant for her.

The eye contact never faded and neither did the tension. If it wasn’t for the fact that the music was already conveying the chaos inside her head she would’ve screamed. A few more steps, a few more turns, and one last pose. The waltz ended and while the room around them erupted in applause, they continued staring at each other unaware of the world around them. It wasn’t until Adrien came up and placed a hand on Marinette’s shoulder that she finally looked away.

“You guys, that was incredible! I’ve never seen anyone dance to that!”

Chloe nodded beside him, “Very impressive. I honestly would’ve thought you’d lose your footing and fall somewhere along the line.”

Marinette just licked her lips and forced a smile on her face, “Thanks Chloe.”

Adrien walked over to Damian and put an arm over his shoulder, “We’re going to go get something to drink. You want anything?”

Chloe grabbed Marinette’s arm, “No, no, you boys have fun.”

Adrien started to drag Damian away. Damian protested, “Wait, we-”

“Let’s go, Wayne.” Damian’s attention was immediately switched over to the blond on his arm and felt a menacing presence in the place of the otherwise happy model. He looked over his shoulder and saw that Chloe had already dragged Marinette away. He wondered if a part of him was trying to scare her off. As far as he could tell, it probably worked.

They got to a more secluded part of the room and Adrien spoke, “What did you say to her?”

Damian could feel himself get defensive, “None of your business, Agreste.”

“The only time I’ve ever seen Marinette make that face before was when I told her something that made her mad at me for days.” In reality, he saw that face plenty of times before as Aspik. Whenever he tried to confess his identity to her, she would make the same shocked face. Her eyebrows furrowed, her pupils constricted, and her face contorted. She was so expressive, everything that she could do to convey something was wrong she did. Every little muscle, every little wrinkle, everything screamed “NO”. He hoped he’d never have to see that face again, but when she realized his identity he saw it again. It infuriated him that he caused that reaction. It infuriated him more that she was having this reaction now. “Now, what did you do?”

Damian glared back at Adrien, “I told her something. Something about myself that I won’t tell anyone else.”

“Must’ve been a doozy of a secret to get her to make that face.”

“Watch it.”

“No, you watch it.” He ran his finger through his hair and looked over to Chloe. They made eye contact and he watched as her eyes relayed uncertainty and worry. “Look, Marinette is a really good person. The best. Out of anyone and everyone, she chose you. That means a lot. Whatever you told her, fix it.”

“How the hell am I supposed to do that?”

“I don’t know. Not my problem. Just know that she’s good friends with both Ladybug and Cat Noir and Cat Noir’s Cataclysm can destroy anything.”

He narrowed his eyes at Adrien, “Is that a threat?”

Adrien didn’t falter, “Depends on what you do next, Wayne.” Adrien looked over Damian’s shoulders and saw Jason coming up, “Careful, you’re going to get interrogated again.”

“What are you-” He suddenly felt his collar tighten as he was dragged away towards a nearby exit. Adrien sending daggers all the while until turning to get drinks for the girls. Damian huffed as he saw Dick and Tim also make their way over. Jason dragged him outside and to a private area outside the dining hall and slammed him against the wall. “Well, hello to you too.”

The three looked around, making sure they were alone, before turning back to their interrogation. Jason’s eyes narrowed at the teen, “Don’t get cute with me. What the hell did you say to her?”

Damian chose to stay silent and Dick frowned, “Please tell me you didn’t-”

“Shut up.”

“You can’t tell someone that right off the bat Damian! Jesus, no wonder she looks terrified!”

Tim groaned, “I know you’re clueless at this, but you aren’t stupid Damian. What were you thinking?”

“I was thinking she probably deserved to know.”

“Oh yeah, great first date topic. ‘Hi, I’m Damian. My family is head of the League of Assassins. Also, my favorite color is black. Tell me about yourself.’” Jason’s face deadpanned, “Seriously?”

Damian rolled his eyes, “Look, she was going to find out sooner or later-”

“Yeah, a few months into dating when you guys are ready to talk about these things. Not one day into dating! That’s like proposing on the first date!” Tim groaned, “Look, its good and all that you feel comfortable enough to share with her but oversharing is bad to do. Especially just starting out.”

“Yeah, Damian. You guys are at a point where you guys are testing the waters. You read into the relationship and slowly make your way into the deep end. Dumping that info on her is like throwing her into 9 feet of water without a life jacket, not knowing if she could even swim.” Dick pinched his nose and muttered something to himself.

Damian just growled, “I didn’t tell her that to share, I told her that to warn her.” He sighed, “You guys know as well as I do that I’ve done some bad things. I have a lot of things hanging over my head and lots of things that may or may not come back to bite me.” He frowned, “She should know what she’s signing up for.”

Jason groaned and let go of the teen’s collar, “I mean good point, but also you don’t tell her that now. There’s a time and a place and this isn’t it, man. If you were really worried about that then you tell her in private where you guys can talk about it. Not in a crowded party, in the middle of a dance floor, doing some crazy ass waltz. She was probably really overwhelmed.”

Damian grit his teeth, “Look, if I’m causing so many problems maybe I should just head back. The Titans probably need me anyways.” He tried walking away but Tim blocked his path, “Move.”

“No.” Tim rubbed his temples, “Best and worst part about being in the open waters? You can’t run from your problems.”

“Watch me.”

“Damian, you’re sabotaging yourself.”

“I am not!”

“Oh really?” Dick started to list off things, “You told her you were a hero. You told her about the league. You argue with her when you can. It sounds to me like you’re trying to scare her off. Why?”

Damian growled, “Because I’m not like her! I’m not like any of them! I’m not normal or happy or anything like them!” He panted and leaned against the wall, “She’s going to get seriously hurt around me. I just know it. There’s no way I can logically make this work without ruining her chance at something normal. Something safe.”

The boys stood there for a few moments in silence before Dick groaned and smacked Damian upside the head. “You idiot!”

Damian snapped, “I will rip your arm off!”

“Seriously Damian, if she cared about that kind of stuff she would’ve ran when she found out about you being Gotham’s little baby bird.” Tim grabbed Damian by the shoulders, “She is probably one of the best things to happen to you and you just chased her off.”

Damian shoved his brother off, but before he could do anything he was forcefully turned around. He caught a girl’s wrist before her palm could make contact. She glared at him and he heard himself gulp, “What on earth did you say to her? Seriously, I leave for five minutes and she’s catatonic! I thought we had a moment there about healthy relationships and you do this?” She smacked her forehead and groaned, “You are giving me migraines, Wayne.”

Damian blinked, “Alya?”

“Yes, Alya, me, Marinette’s best friend, and the one you need to beg for forgiveness so you can even look at her.” Alya tucked some hair behind her ear before sighing, “Now tell me what you did.”

Jason stepped forward, “He told her something about his past that was not appropriate whatsoever.”

Alya blinked and gulped, “Something about your past?” Damian opened his mouth to answer, but ended up holding his tongue. The lack of an answer gave her some possibilities she would rather not think about. She pushed the thoughts out of her head, “I mean, I’m sorry for whatever happened. That sucks, but he’s right. You can’t just drop that on someone. She isn’t your counselor. She’s your girlfriend!”

Alya paused for a second before she shook her head, “Backtrack. It’s okay to tell your partner secrets about you and to trust them, but trust takes time. You work up to it. Throwing that kind of baggage on someone right away isn’t a healthy sign, Damian.”

Damian’s eye twitched, “Oh and you’re a couple’s counselor now?”

Alya huffed, “If a reason a person was akumatized goes public, we talk about it and try to prevent it from happening again. An Akuma due to bullying, we learn about prevention and intervention. An Akuma due to a panic attack, we learn about anxiety and things to do in a crisis. An Akuma because of an abusive relationship, we learn about the signs of abuse and about co-dependency. Over-sharing right away is a sign of co-dependency.”

Damian rolled his eyes. He knew about the subject. He made himself learn after a particularly bothering case where he couldn’t figure out why the man kept going back to his crazy fiancé. He checked in on him every week to make sure he was okay until the guy finally built up the courage to leave the crazy woman. He thought for a moment and realized that, to anyone else not knowing the context, his over-sharing might be considered manipulative. He was reminded of the sob stories or the intimidation tactics that woman used to use on the guy to test his loyalty and keep him in her corner. Unintentionally comparing himself to her made him shudder. Damian sighed, “I was just telling her about some of the consequences of dating me might bring. Let’s just say I have some enemies.”

Alya’s expression showed him that she didn’t entirely believe him, but she didn’t press. “Damian, are you trying to scare her off?”

“That’s what I said!”

“Grayson!” Damian turned back to Alya, “Look, Alya-”

Alya wrapped her arms around the boy and Damian tensed in her hold. He didn’t reciprocate, something inside reminding him that she wasn’t the one he wanted to hold. Alya pulled away and rubbed her eyes, giving him a look of pity. “You know, you need to talk about what’s bothering you. I can tell you’re holding in a lot.” She snorted, “And while Marinette is a great person to talk to, your timing is a bit off. Besides, you’re rich enough to buy your own private counseling center if you wanted to.”

Damian narrowed his eyes at her and she remained unfazed much to his annoyance. Damian was unnerved that these kids could read things about him. He never met a group of kids who could call him out the way they did, not in such a short amount of time at least. No magic, no shared trauma, no long hours of living and training together, they just could tell. He’d never admit it made him both anxious and oddly reassured.

Alya grabbed his arm and gently led him away from his brothers. Damian looked over his shoulder to his brothers, unsure of what to do, but found all their expressions unreadable. Dick just called out, “We’re going to continue what we were doing. You fix this.” Jason looked between his two brothers and Damian and ran to catch up to the youngest.

“What are you-”

“Shut up. You’re going to need help.”

Damian ground his teeth, he’s never felt this lack of control in anything. He’s always lead the group and never let anyone push him around, not even his father. Yet, right now, he was being yanked around by this group of French students and his brothers. How many times has this happened within the last 20 minutes? Four? Damian could feel his frustration rise and resisted the urge to shove her off.

Alya led him to Marinette’s room, outside the door stood their other friends. Chloe glared at him, but before she could say anything Alya shook her head. This gesture forced Chloe to stand down and step aside. She knocked on the door and yelled through it, “Marinette, I have your boyfriend here! Open up! You need to talk to him!” The lack of a response hurt more than he would like to admit. “Marinette, I’m throwing him in!”

“Wait, what?” She pulled out a keycard and unlocked the door, throwing him and Jason in and shutting it behind them. “Alya!”

“Fix this, Damian! Otherwise, I will get Ladybug and Cat Noir to personally obliterate you!”

He slammed his fist on the door and sighed. “Idiots.” He turned back to the room and looked around.

“Empty. Marinette?” Jason walked around and noted that while the bathroom door was open, the den door was not. He knocked, “Marinette?”

No answer but they heard some rustling from inside. Damian frowned and sat down in front of the door. He groaned and leaned his head against the door frame, “Marinette, we need to talk about this.”

Jason frowned at the sight of his brother, in his own way this was groveling. He knocked again, “Marinette?” Again, the two were met with silence. Jason groaned and sat down next to Damian, “Damian, why’d you tell her that?”

“I keep telling you, she should know!” He ran his fingers through his hair and he huffed, “Look, I’m not a good person-”

“Shut up.” Damian snapped his head up and faced Jason. Jason held a steady glare aimed at Damian, “Shut the hell up. You aren’t a bad person.”

“How the hell are you going to tell me that?”

“Because in this family, I’m the bad person. Not you, Damian.”

“Jason-”

“No! Listen to me!” Jason examined Damian for a second before letting his shoulders fall. Frowning, he proceeded with caution, “Damian, you are not a bad person. You were just a kid put into a bad situation. I should know.”

Damian wiped his nose against his sleeve, “Stop trying to make me feel better, Todd.”

“I’m trying to get you to see that you’re wrong, dumbass.” Jason’s expression softened slightly, “I didn’t realize you thought of yourself like that.” He paused to ponder over his next words, “Damian, you were unlucky enough to be born to a psycho bitch and her murderous, power-hungry father. You didn’t go up to God and demand he make you Talia’s baby, you just happened to be hers.” He stopped and narrowed his eyes, “Although I can actually see you doing that.”

Damian put all of his energy into killing the laugh that was ready to pop out in response to his comment. Instead, he rolled his eyes, “Get to the point.”

“When I think about the league, I don’t think of you. I think of all the bad stuff you were put through, but never you as a person.” Jason ran his fingers through his hair, “My point is that you didn’t know any better. You did what you did because you were taught to get on your mother’s and grandfather’s good sides no matter what. You didn’t know anything else but the league, so you can’t keep holding that against yourself.”

Damian pursed his lips together, letting the words sink in for a second before shaking his head, “No, I-”

“Tell me something, have you killed anyone out of spite since getting out of the league?”

“No.”

“Did you, or did you not, actively try to be better and follow Batman’s no-killing policy?”

“I did.”

“Damian, you’re a good kid.” Jason placed a hand on Damian’s shoulder, “You’re a good person. The only way any of that would really matter to who you are is if you knew better.” Jason looked away and frowned, “That’s why I’m the bad one in the family. Everything I’ve done, I knew better. I was old enough, I’ve seen enough, I knew enough to know there was another way. A better way. Still, I chose to do all that bad stuff and I can’t ever take that back. Everything you did, you did before you were ten and while you were being groomed by Talia and Ra’s.”

Damian licked his lips before forcing himself to smirk and respond, “And when did you get so wise?”

“Dick’s not the only one good with this emotional stuff. I’ve been through enough crap to learn a thing or two.” Jason sent his brother a comforting smile, “You were the one good thing that came out of that place. You should be proud of that, Damian.”  

The silence was deafening and he could feel his heart squeeze in a way it never had before. He didn’t know what these feelings were, but they were overwhelming. He wanted to scream, he was afraid of opening his mouth in case he did just that. He suspected Jason could feel the hurricane developing inside him because Jason knocked on the door again, “Marinette? Please, open up.”

Damian couldn’t keep sitting there, he was going to explode. He reached for the doorknob and, to their surprise, it was unlocked. He jumped up and slowly opened the door. Inside, the room was in dismay and he saw her purse thrown onto the floor. “Marinette?” The two began looking around, confused and growing a sense of dread neither wanted to address. Damian knelt down and looked inside the purse, he saw Kaalki’s box, but Tikki wasn’t there at all.

“Did you find anything?”

Damian pressed his lips together in a fine line, “She took her miraculous.”

Jason sighed in relief, “Okay, so she probably just left or something.”

Damian let his brother bask in his ‘realization’, but Damian’s tension only grew. “Why is the room a mess then?”

“I mean, when I freak out I can get destructive.”

“And you really think she’s like that?”

“I’m guessing here, man. I don’t know.”

A crash interrupted any response Damian was about to give to Jason and the two froze. Both boys sprang into action, sprinting out the door and through the hallways. Sounds of a struggle louder and soon the two met up with some familiar faces. “Adrien? Nino?”

Adrien looked around, frantic and panting, “Marinette isn’t with you?”

Jason shook his head, “She wasn’t even in the room. We’re guessing she took her miraculous and left.”

Adrien and Nino looked at each other before shaking their heads. Nino adjusted his hat, “No way, dude. Marinette wouldn’t use the miraculous like that. She wouldn’t abandon the ship if she thought Hawkmoth was on the ship.” Another crash demanded the four boys’ attention and they continued their search for its origin. More running passengers and crewmembers caused the tension to rise and awful feelings stir in their guts.

Adrien yelled at the other three, “It has to be an Akuma!”

Jason jaw tensed, “Where the hell is Marinette?”

“Adrien!” The four skid to a stop and they saw a small group of girls running up to them, against the crowd. Lila came to the front and panted, “We think Marinette caused an Akuma. She was talking with that redhead crew member and next thing we knew, everyone was running.”

Before any of the boys could say anything, mainly things to try to dissect what they assumed was a lie, Alix nodded. She gulped, “We all saw it. Marinette bumped into her and made her drop her clipboard. To be fair, Lila thinks the lady was already upset but she wasn’t akumatized until Marinette knocked into her.”

Lila nodded and frowned, “Marinette was probably the straw that broke the camel’s back.”

Rose sent Lila a look that Nino and Adrien have never seen cross her face before, “Lila, Marinette would never cause an Akuma on purpose!”

Juleka nodded, “She probably just fell. She’s clumsy.”

“I never said she did it on purpose!”

Damian growled and grabbed Rose by the shoulders, “I don’t have time for this! Where is she now?”

Rose blinked and her brows furrowed. With a shaky hand, she pointed down a hallway that was now bare of people. Most of them already hiding in their room or running into a different part of the ship thankfully giving them less resistance. Damian let go and started running, leaving Nino to thank the girls before following.

Running towards an open area of the ship and they caught a glimpse of a girl, in a familiar dress, being held by the said Akuma. A chorus of boys yelling could be heard echoing in the adjacent hallways, “Marinette!”

The Akuma turned around, revealing to be a woman wearing neutral colors. Her hair’s saturation was dulled down as well and she just looked numb. However, her eyes were cold and calculating. She narrowed her eyes at the boys and frowned. Marinette looked between the boys and the Akuma and shook her head, terror clear in her face. Before any of the boys made it out of the hallway, the entrance to the main atrium was suddenly attacked. Years of fighting and dodging kicked in and the boys all did what they could to avoid the impact of whatever was throwing the punch. The floor cracked under the pressure and Jason was the first to get a good look at the attacker.

He yelled, exasperated, “Another one?”

The second Akuma was an almost perfect mirror to the first one. It was clearly the same person, no differences in their physical features, however, the aesthetics were opposites of each other. This one was vibrant in her colors, the clothes changing and swirling with different hues of red and orange reminiscent of the fire in her hair. Her rage seeped through every pore and her snarl was front and center.

Adrien shook his head, “No, the same one. Different version.” He pushed himself off the floor and looked behind the woman in front of him to get a better look at his partner, “Marinette!”

Marinette tried to shake her arm free from the Akuma, but her grip was too strong. Marinette called back, “Just go! Get Ladybug!”

Jason and Damian circled the more colorful of the two Akumas carefully. Jason growled, “We can’t you took the miraculous!”

She looked confused for a moment, but Damian maneuvered his way around the Akuma and kicked her in the back. The Akuma stumbled forward and Jason punched the woman, effectively knocking her down. The one holding Marinette frowned, her voice stayed monotone but threatening, “You’ll pay for that.” A flash of panic passed over Marinette’s face and she threw herself onto the Akuma, grabbing somewhere along the woman’s collar. The woman scowled and threw Marinette to the side, the extra strength the akumatization provided caused the girl to fly across the room and the crash of the impact caused almost everyone in the room to freeze.

“Marinette!” Damian made a b-line to the limp body on the other side of the atrium, but he was intercepted by the Akuma. Damian scowled at the woman’s speed and got into a defensive stance. He could hear some struggles behind him, meaning the other one must’ve picked herself back off the ground. “Marinette, answer us!” While the silence in the suite hurt, the silence here could’ve been enough to kill him. His eyes locked onto the woman’s before him and he threatened through clenched teeth, “Let me through.”

The Akuma didn’t flinch and her Irish accent bled through as she spoke, “What a poor crature. Your emotions are clouding your judgment.” When she intercepted his route to Marinette, he made the mistake of thinking that was her top speed. He didn’t even see her make the final few steps into his personal space. Instead, he blinked and she placed two fingers on his forehead. Things went white as she whispered into his ear, “Separate.”

“Damian!”

Nino was accustomed to his normalcy. His calm demeanor didn’t alert people to enemies for the most part and he used the distractions to make his way to Marinette. Adrien was relieved that one of them could make it over to his lady, but didn’t know who to help first. He wondered briefly if he should transform, but knowing Marinette was still here he had no alibi. Their identities were compromised enough, if only to each other, but they valued their secrets. He knew better than to jeopardize it on an impulse. Adrien watched as Nino turned Marinette onto her back, but it unnerved him to see her move like a rag doll.

Jason tried to watch the girl in front of him. Her colors mixed around like a lava lamp in her clothes, making her hard to look at. He noted the flash of light and looked past the Akuma’s shoulder and noticed two boys slumped on the floor. “Damian?”

The two boys stirred and looked back, one of them examined the room and the situation with an unreadable face and the other looked around confused before snarling back at the woman. “What the hell did you do to me?”

The unfazed one looked around before sighing, “I get it now. She divided us into two beings, the logical one and the emotional one.”

Nino put his hand in front of her nose, relief coming in waves when he could feel her soft breaths against the back of his hand. Nino looked over at Adrien and nodded, making the tension in his shoulders dissipate. Adrien called out to Damian, “Hey, she’s still not waking up!”

The two boys tensed and looked behind the uninterested Akuma who was now setting their sights on Jason. Both had their brows furrow and eyes widen at the sight, but the emotional Damian was the one to yell out her name and make another run for it. The Akuma allowed this and made her way over to a struggling Jason. Adrien ran to Jason’s side and got into a defensive stance, ready to fight alongside him.

Meanwhile, the two Damians skid to a stop and dropped to their knees in front of the body. A loud grunt and subsequent bang made the three look back. Nightwing, Red Robin, and Batman all stood between Jason, Adrien, and the Akumas. Nino sighed in relief, “Perfect. Let’s get her out of here.” The emotional Damian didn’t hesitate to try to pick Marinette up. Normally, he wouldn’t break a sweat. Now, he was winded before he even brought himself to his feet. The analytic Damian watched his counterpart struggle and yelled over at the vigilantes, “Don’t let them touch you! If she splits you, you’ll weaken in power! The neutral one is speed-oriented!”

The masked men all nodded as Adrien and Jason made their over to Marinette. Adrien picked her up with ease and they all started running away and down the hallway. “Why isn’t she waking up?”

“No clue, but let’s take her to one of the lounges to lay her down. We can watch over her and you guys can go find the girls.” A silent agreement passed over them as they adjusted their route to the nearest lounge. Adrien laid her down carefully on one of the sofas and frowned before Nino pulled his friend away and out the door.

Jason put a hand on the emotional Damian’s shoulder, “Hey, how are you-”

The analytical Damian cut in, “Go change into Red Hood and help. We’ll stay here.” Jason hesitated for a moment, but ultimately nodded and ran off.

Left alone, one half pet the girl’s head down while the other paced. The emotional one frowned, “Marinette, wake up. Come on, we need you.” He groaned and felt the exhaustion from the day hit him, “It’s not even 6.”

One completely ignored the other as they continued to ponder, “Where’s Tikki?”

“I don’t know.”

“Why was her room a mess?”

“I don’t-”

“Why isn’t she waking up?”

“It was a hard throw!”

“Not hard for her. She’s been through worse, we’ve seen worse.”

He flinched thinking about all the hits he’s seen her take in the recent Akuma attacks. “That was when she had magic.”

“Even so, she shouldn’t have been knocked out.” A few beats passed and he snapped his fingers, “Unless, she’s like us.”

“Like us?”

“Split.” Both boys looked at the door and a tired, stern-looking Marinette stood in the doorway. She looked at herself laying practically lifeless on the couch and didn’t react. Instead, she walked over and looked over the body. “Tikki?”

The red kwami flew out from under the girl’s skirt, “I’m sorry Marinette, it was the only place to hide after you threw the purse.”

“You’re fine. Just tell me if I can still become Ladybug.” The red kwami nodded and the girl nodded back with a newfound determination.

“You can’t fight!” Marinette turned to the boy doting over her counterpart and the emotional Damian continued, “We’re weaker in this state!”

“I know. I’m hoping the miraculous will counteract that.”

The other Damian turned to her and hummed, “You really think that’ll work?”

“Can’t afford not to try.”

The boy by the couch looked over the unconscious girl and Damian frowned, “Can you at least come up with a plan first? So you don’t end up like her.”

Marinette looked at the analytical Damian and narrowed her eyes, “Fine.” She pointed at the body and addressed the emotional half, “You look over the body.” She turned back to the analytical half, “You need to fill me in.” He nodded and motioned for them to walk back towards the Akuma as they discussed.

He filled her in on what he saw, which included her other half being thrown against the wall and the Akuma’s power. They walked at a brisk pace, knowing that they were needed but hesitant to throw themselves in. “What are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking I need to see what the situation is and get Cat Noir.”

“How are you going to do that? You left Kaalki in the den.”

She didn’t show any outward reaction, but her voice held a new sense of tension, “I’ll figure it out.”

“He’s on the ship then?”

She stopped and turned to face him, “Damian, I don’t think now is the time to play detective.”

“I’m just trying to help you work out your plan.”

She didn’t change in expression, “Between your brothers and Cat Noir, we can overwhelm her and use my lucky charm. She shouldn’t be too bad. She doesn’t seem to be trying to take revenge against someone, she seems to just be having a bad day.” She hummed, “She also isn’t talking to Hawkmoth.”

He watched her thoughts become overtaken with thoughts of the villain and snapped his fingers in front of her, “We have to figure out this Akuma first Marinette.”

She nodded, “Like I said, we’ll be fine.”

“Will we?”

She examined his expression, neutral in nature but his question was a double-edged sword. “I think I can beat Tess. I doubt she’ll be the one who finally beats me.”

Damian nodded and paused for a moment before asking, “Marinette, are we going to be okay?”

“I don’t know.” She looked up at the ceiling as she thought, “I never thought I’d hear that from you. From anyone. I was scared. To be honest, I’m a bit scared of you now.”

He nodded, “Understandable.”

“Logically, I should run. I know that.”

“So why aren’t you running?”

Her neutral expression hid uncertainty, “You know what it’s like when your mind is screaming one thing and your heart is pulling you somewhere else? It’s infuriating.”

“Where was your heart pulling you?”

“Back to you.” The silence was sweet for a moment, if only to her because she didn’t have to go into further detail, and she turned back to Tikki. “Are you ready?”

The kwami blinked, almost forgetting the urgency of the situation and jarred by how open the two were without their emotions. Tikki nodded, “Whenever you’re ready.”

“Spots on.” The transformation consumed her and she felt normal. She felt like she had the same amount of energy she usually had as Marinette, but not the same level of energy she normally had as Ladybug. She knew this was going to be tricky, but she sent Cat Noir a quick message and got ready to take off. She figured as soon as he saw her, Adrien would transform and see it.

“Wait.” She turned back to Damian, both still stone-faced, “You’re telling Marinette to run, the girl on the couch is telling Marinette to stay, what exactly is Marinette going to do when we’re back to normal?”

Ladybug’s eyes darted around the room as she pondered the question, “I think the reason this is so hard is that I can tell you aren’t a bad person. Knowing that you did that is hard for me.”

“That doesn’t answer my question.”

“Probably because I don’t have one for you yet.” She licked her lips, “I need to think about it more. You have to admit, that’s a lot to process.”

Damian gave her a curt nod and made some steps forward until he came face to face with the heroine. She examined his every move as she waited for his reaction. He simply leaned down and placed a kiss gently on her cheek. His monotone voice broke through the heavy air suddenly engulfing them, “I only told you that because I’m worried. I don’t want my bad karma to affect you too. I didn’t want anything to happen to you and I want to give you an out before you got too attached.” When he pulled away, neither showed any outward signs of affection or embarrassment, able to only examine the other.

Ladybug didn’t react, she couldn’t without her other half, but she knew as soon as she was whole she’d become even more conflicted. “You’re going to give me whiplash.”

“But you’re still here.”

Ladybug didn’t say anything in response. She just stepped back, the two having a few moments of eye contact as if to supplement the lack of communication, and Ladybug ran towards the direction of the main atrium. Damian just watched her run off, knowing he really couldn’t help her in this state and waited until she was out of sight to walk back to the lounge. He had a lot to think about.

*******************************************************************************************

ALSO: There is a new thing about tags for this ship and Maribat au in general! Please read this [post]! I have added the new tags suggested here and will continue to not use the names of the characters and the shows/franchises! Please REBLOG and Thank You!

To those who want more Seabourne Burnouts content, @itawonka-creates is specifically dedicated to my writing (which is just this story rn) so you can just follow the blog and set it up to be notified just in case the tags do not work!

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[mochegato]

Hope on Board

Chapter 10 – Welcome to the Mad House

Note: In the last chapter, a few people were wondering about Dick knowing Marinette was there and I realized I cut out the pre-fight strategizing session that explained it.  Signal was the first to respond because it was a daytime event and he was already on patrol.  He called Red Hood in as backup because he knew Jason was free.  Dick just showed up without warning because he knew Marinette had an appointment there earlier and was no longer responding to texts or phone calls and Dick got scared and came to check.

Chapter 1     Chapter 9

“And you’re sure I’m dressed appropriately?”  Marinette asked again.  He’d lost count of what number that was by now.

“Marinette I promise you.  You’re dressed perfectly.  You look amazing and not to make you pout, but nobody is going to care what you’re wearing and it’s too late to change now anyway,” Dick assured her again, this time on the steps walking up to the Wayne Manor front doors.

Marinette looked scandalized.  “Of course they’re going to care!  What people wear affects how people think about them.  I mean, each person reacts differently to the same outfit, but it has an effect.  And, technically, I’m going to dinner with two of my bosses, which just adds extra pressure on top of meeting my boyfriend’s family.” She couldn’t stop herself from grinning as she said boyfriend despite the spiral she was going into, which was making her physically sick on top of mentally sick. “And Alfred!  What if he thinks I’m not dressed properly for what he planned? I don’t want to insult Alfred!”

Dick laughed hard enough to grab his stomach in pain.  Marinette pouted at him.  “Alfred will only care if you are intentionally trying to be offensive. That’s going to be true for almost all of them.”  She raised an eyebrow at him.  “But you’re dressed perfectly, I promise you.  It’s nice but not too nice.  The perfect meeting the family dress.  But they’re going to care more about the person than the dress and they are going to love the person.”  

He ran his hands up and down her arms at a soothing pace before pulling her against him and placing a chaste kiss on her lips.  She smiled warmly at him and nodded, her lips set in a determined line. “Let’s do this.  We got this.”

Dick chuckled and reached for the door.  Before he could reach the handle, the door opened up in front of him. “Master Dick and you must be Miss. Dupain-Cheng.  Please come in.”  Alfred gave them a warm smile.

“Thank you so much.  You must be M. Pennyworth.”

“Indeed I am.  Please call me Alfred.  Everyone else in the family does.”  He smiled kindly at her.  “It is a pleasure to meet you Miss Dupain-Cheng.”

“Thank you.  Please just Marinette, Alfred.  It is a pleasure to meet you.  Dick talks about you all the time.” She reached up to give him la bise.  She pulled away to offer him the box she had been carrying.  “I brought some macarons for you and the rest of the family.”

He took the box gratefully.  “That was very thoughtful of you.”

“The grey ones are Earl Grey flavored, if you wanted to get to it before the rest of the family.”  She handed over the box with a wink.

“Very thoughtful, indeed.” He nodded again with a secretive smile.

“The rest of the family in the living room?” Dick asked.

“They are, Master Dick.  Awaiting Miss Marinette quite anxiously, I believe.  I’m just finishing dinner.  It should just be a few minutes.”  

“Thank you, Alfred.” Dick and Marinette chimed at the same time. Alfred nodded again before disappearing toward the kitchen.  Dick smiled to her and guided her toward the living room.  “And now, into the mad house.”  He took a deep breath as he opened the door to the living room.  The room went silent for a few seconds before the noise level ramped up again with everyone welcoming them at the same time. “One at a time,” Bruce boomed loud enough to get everyone’s attention.

Dick nodded to him before going into introductions.  “You already know Tim,” he started indicating Tim, who was already at Marinette’s side.  Marinette nodded and gave Tim a hug.  “That is Damian,” he pointed to the surly looking teen sitting on his own in an armchair. He nodded curtly to her so she returned the gesture.  “And Jason.” He indicated a large man leaning against a console table.  They waved politely to each other.  “Duke,” he nodded toward the young man that just jumped up to shake her hand.  “Barbara,” he moved out of the way so Barbara could roll closer to Marinette to say Hi. “Cass,” Cass waved excitedly.  “And of course, you’ve met Bruce…”

“It’s good to see you again Mr. Wayne.”  She held out her hand to shake his.

“Bruce, please.  We’re not in the office.  Welcome Miss. Dupain-Cheng.”  He said warmly, reaching to give her a hug instead.

Marinette beamed at him.  “Marinette, please.  And thank you.  You have a beautiful home.”

“Thank you, Marinette.”

“Yeah, yeah.  Beautiful home, blah, blah, blah.  Alfred’s the one that does all the work anyway.  Hi, I’m Stephanie.”  She pushed Bruce over as she made her way over to Marinette.  Marinette assumed it was a common occurrence based on the way Bruce just sighed and accepted it, sitting down quietly to observe the results.

“And this is Stephanie.” Dick repeated with a laugh.

“Hi, Stephanie.  It’s nice to meet you.”  Marinette grinned at her.

“How are you feeling?  Do you need to sit down?  Or drink some water?  Or have a snack before dinner?”  Stephanie fired off quickly.

“Let her breathe, Steph,” Barbara chided her.

Marinette smiled politely.  “I’m fine right now, thank you.” Dick shook his head behind her so she couldn’t see. Unfortunately, she followed everyone’s line of sight and caught him.  She gasped and slapped his arm.  “I am!”

“You just threw up outside like seconds ago,” he pointed out.  “In a bag!  That we have since thrown away,” he added quickly before Alfred could hear from the kitchen and get upset they hadn’t mentioned it earlier.

“That was your driving,” she wrinkled her nose at him and turned back to the family. “And now that you’re not driving, I feel better.”  Dick laughed and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

“Oh God, I know exactly what you mean,” Barbara laughed in agreement.

Stephanie nodded in approval.  “I like her.” She grabbed Marinette’s hand to pull her away from him and onto the couch. Cass nodded in agreement and moved to join them.  “Come on, let’s complain about Dick some more.  I have all kinds of stories to tell.  You’re a fashion designer right?”  Marinette nodded trying to keep up with her, both physically and mentally. “Oh girl, have I got pictures for you!”

“No! No!  Let me wow her with my amazing fashion sense.” Dick trailed after them.

Stephanie leaned closer to Marinette as though confiding in her, but kept her voice at the same level so Dick could hear as well.  “He says ‘amazing’.  I think he’s confusing the word with appalling.”  Marinette giggled.  She wouldn’t agree out loud, but she’d seen some of his shirts and Stephanie wasn’t wrong.

“She met him wearing that red and black monstrosity and she still went home with him,” Jason pointed out.  “You’re not going to scare her away.”

“Wow! You withstood that shirt huh?” Barbara sent them a teasing glance. “You must have been wearing your tight pants that night, Dick.”

“Oh yeah.  How drunk were you?  I’m going to say you were very drunk.  Only possible excuse.” Stephanie waved it off.

“Dick has a lot of assets to offset…” she immediately stopped to rephrase grimacing.

“Hey!”

“Dick is amazing,” she corrected.  “And yes he was.  And he is smart, sweet, hot, thoughtful, devilishly charming, brave…”

“Says the woman that took down a guy triple her size the first time I met her and took out two henchmen in the hospital last week,” Dick cut in proudly. Marinette ducked her head embarrassed to talk about her more violent experiences in front of his family and her boss.  She really did not want them thinking she was dangerous and unhinged.  Dick squeezed her and kissed her temple.

“Yeah, we heard about the hospital.  Two questions…” he moved so she could see him better.

“Jason, stop being a pain in the ass,” Tim chided him.  “She doesn’t want to talk about that.”

Jason examined her for a second.  Yes, she was closing off but it didn’t seem to be out of residual fear.  It was more embarrassment.  He could fix that.  “Can’t. It’s in my nature.” He turned back to Marinette with a conspiratorial wink, “Pain in the ass is my middle name.”

Tim groaned.  “Welcome to the family.  You aren’t really in it until Jason harasses you mercilessly.”

“I thought it was when someone tried to kill you,” Stephanie scoffed.

Cass smacked her upside the head.  Stephanie looked back at her betrayed.  “What?” She caught Barbara’s pointed look and turned back to Marinette.  “…In video games of course,” she corrected.

“Ooh,” Marinette’s eyes widened in excitement.  “You guys play?  What do you play?”

“Yes!” Duke exclaimed.  “How are you at UMS?”

“Award winning,” Marinette smirked.  “Literally.  You have a copy?”

“As I was saying,” Jason interrupted loudly.  “Two questions: one, how are you feeling after the hospital?  And two, why did you throw a perfectly good gun?”

“I’m doing okay now.  Spent a few days surrounded by either Dick or Tim in meetings or Adrien, my roommate, so I’m feeling a lot better,” she assured him.

“She still has a pretty nasty bruise,” Dick interjected.

“Seen her with her shirt off to know, huh?” Stephanie wiggled her eyebrows.  

Marinette squeaked and spoke louder than she needed to.  “As for the gun, we don’t really have guns in Paris so I don’t have a lot of experience shooting, but a gun has more than one potential use. During all the akuma attacks we learned to use everyday items creatively.  I used it for the less common usage,” she shrugged as casually as she could.  “A baton would have been better but you work with what you got.”

“Oh, I suppose Chat Noir has a baton,” Dick playfully grumbled.

Marinette grinned cheekily at him.  “He does in fact, kind of like Red Robin but it can break into two if he wanted it to like Nightwing and Signal.”

Damian scoffed.  “Being able to break in half decreases the tensile strength of the weapon, making it less effective.”

“True except for one thing… magic.” She wiggled her fingers for effect. Dick huffed out a laugh and Damian scowled.

“Oh, are we comparing baton size between Parisian heroes and Gotham heroes?” Jason asked suggestively.

“I mean you can… but Chat’s could also extend to the length he needs for any task, so...” She shrugged confidently.

“Oooh. I think the Gotham heroes would be a lot more popular if their weapons could do that, too.” Stephanie grinned.

“Anyway…” Jason interrupted.  “Do you know how to shoot a gun or what?”

“Oh, no.  I don’t,” Marinette answered, returning to Jason’s original topic.  “That’s why I threw it.  I’m confident enough in my throwing skills to know I’d hit him, but not in my shooting skills and I didn’t want to hit someone else.”

“I’ll teach you sometime,” Jason said resolutely.  He wasn’t about to let his de facto sister-in-law not know how to defend herself.

“Oh that’s right.  You were the one responsible for the horde of weapons in Dick’s apartment that made me freak out and run in the first place.” She gave him a pointed look.

“You ran because you were afraid.”  He pointed out.

“I ran because I have good survival instincts,” she corrected him.

“Clearly not.  You ran from Dick,” Damian interjected.  Dick gave him a warning look that Damian determinedly ignored.

“Aberration,” she waved him off good naturedly.  “You find a stockpile of weapons in Gotham, you run.”

“True. So you in?” Jason asked again.

Marinette stared at him strangely for a few seconds.  “Huh.  You know, you’re the second person this month to offer to teach me.  Red Hood made the same offer.”  She missed the glares Damian and Dick sent toward Jason, for different reasons, and the exasperated looks Tim and Bruce sent him.

“He probably just wants to make sure you know how.  I’m sure he would be okay with a different teacher,” Jason assured her.

Marinette beamed at him.  “It sounds like fun.  I’d love to learn.”  Dick let out a defeated sigh next to her.

“If you would like to make your way to the dining room, dinner is served.”  Alfred announced.

They slowly made their way to the dining room.  Dick and Marinette trailed behind the rest so Dick could give her a discrete hug and supportive smile.  Jason quickly fell into step beside Marinette.  “Damn, you really are the size of a pixie.” He stuck out his elbow to set it on her head.  

Marinette gave him a playful glare, dodging before his elbow could land.  “You know, you look about the same size as that guy at the bar… didn’t turn out too well for him.”

“Though she be but little, she is fierce,” Jason laughed.  “I’m a better fighter than that guy was.  After the baby, we can spar and I can show you and maybe teach you a few more moves in case you need to defend yourself.” He let the ‘when you get kidnapped for being with a Wayne’ part of his sentence go unsaid. “You seem like you’ll be scrappy.”

“I’m better than scrappy,” she smirked at him.

“I can’t wait to see it,” Jason grinned as he passed her to get to his seat.

“No, you’re not allowed to encourage each other.”  Dick pulled out Marinette’s chair for her and gave Jason a warning look. Damian rolled his eyes at Dick as Alfred started serving the meal.

“Miss Marinette, I made yours less spicy than the rest of the family’s but if your medicine now allows you to eat bolder flavors, I have another back in the kitchen.”

“No, thank you Alfred.  This will be perfect.  The medicine helps but doesn’t make everything go away.  More like a low simmer rather than a full boil.”

“Oh yeah.  Dick said you started your morning sickness extra early.  That sucks.  I hope it means it’ll end extra early for you too.” Stephanie commented sympathetically.

Marinette smiled gratefully.  “Thank you. Here’s hoping.”  She raised her water in Stephanie’s direction and took a drink.

“Maybe it’s twins,” Jason offered taking a bite of his dinner.

Marinette choked on her water.  Dick patted her back.  “What?”

“That’s a sign of twins isn’t it?  Early morning sickness?” He asked around the bite of roll in his mouth.

“This dinner suddenly got a lot less fun,” Dick mumbled to Marinette.

Marinette glanced surreptitiously toward the direction of her purse in the foyer before snapping her eyes back to Jason.  “That’s not funny.  You take that back.”

“Sorry, Pixie.” He shrugged nonchalantly, a taunting smile tugging on his lips.  “I don’t make the rules.”

She narrowed her eyes at him.  “Jason Aloysius Hubert…”

“Not one of those was anywhere near…”

“…Sebastian Tobias…” she continued ignoring his interruption.

“What the hell kind of names…” Jason started chuckling incredulously.

“…Winthorp…”

“Winthorp?” His nose wrinkled in disgust.

“… Pain in the ass Todd!  You take that back right now.”  Marinette finished.  She glared at him but her faltering puckered lips, straining not to smile gave her away.

Jason broke out into raucous laughter.  It took him a few minutes to calm down enough to speak again, but when he did, he wasn’t ready to end the fun.  “I’m just saying having a little Marinette and little Dick running around here together would be cute,” he finished innocently.

She scoffed playfully.  “If you want two babies running around here together, you better go find a woman to knock up right quick.”

Jason choked on his water.  Everyone else’s eyes bugged out.  “No! No!  No!  Little Dick? Cute.  Little Marinette? Adorable.  Little Jason? Terrifying,” Tim interjected.

“Hey, fuck you, Timbers,” Jason glowered at him.  

“Language, Jason,” Bruce chided him.

“Well at least that wouldn’t result in a baby,” Stephanie observed, calmly eating her dinner.

“Might result in a death though,” Duke added, seeming not at all upset at the idea.

“I was an adorable kid,” Jason groused.  

“It’s true,” Dick agreed.  “You should have seen little Jason running around the manor doing extra credit and bragging about his report card.”

“That’s because my grades were amazing.  But not ready to have one of my own honor roll students, so it’s on you, Marinette.”

Marinette leveled a look at Jason.  “You know what?  If it’s twins, you’re coming over for at least two hours a week…”

“Four,” Dick whispered.

“Per child, so four hours total per week, to watch them for us.  Since they’ll be so cute and all.  You can teach them with your honor roll brain.” Marinette poked her fork in Jason’s direction still giggling.

Damian scowled at the interaction between Marinette and Dick and Jason. “Threats are unnecessary.  It is unlikely you will bear twins unless there is a history of it in your family.  Is there a history of it in your family?” he asked disdainfully.

“No,” she admitted.

“Then your panic is childish and unwarranted.  It is a statistical improbability,” Damian finished.

“Damian!” Bruce chastised him.

“Back off Demon Spawn.  We were just having fun.” Jason growled.

Marinette snorted.  “It was a statistical improbability that I would have gotten pregnant in the first place. And yet, here we are.  Statistics has taken a giant leave of absence with this pregnancy already.”  She stuffed her forkful of potatoes into her mouth with a smirk.

“Life finds a way,” Tim nodded sagely.

The table broke down into giggles.  “Dork,” Stephanie snorted, shoving his face away.

“Is it common in France to give multiple middle names?” Bruce asked, trying to keep the group on lighter topics.

“How many names are you planning on giving the baby?” Duke asked.

“Uh, common for rich people anyway.  I think they get an extra name for every couple million they’re born into. Adrien has four middle names.  My friend Chloe has six.”  She rolled her eyes and turned toward Duke.  “And we haven’t talked about it but I was only planning on a first, middle, and last name.”  She looked over to Dick for confirmation.

Dick nodded, slightly relieved.  “Good. That’s good.  I agree.”

“You haven’t talked about names yet?  That’s going to be a fun conversation.  Can I bring popcorn and watch?” Stephanie chuckled.

“Six?” Duke asked.

Marinette nodded.  “Unbelievably pretentious parents.” She stopped and looked around.  “I mean…”

“Nobody here has more than two middle names, you’re good,” Barbara waved off her concern.

“Oh, thank God.  I didn’t want to upset anyone,” she let out a relieved breath.

“No, just entrap Dick and use us for our money,” Damian bit out.

“Damian!” Bruce chastised.

“Damian…” Dick growled lowly.  Damian steadfastly avoided Cass’s disapproving frown and Dick’s angry glare.

“Marinette, I apologize for my son’s bluntness.  I’ve tried to instill better manners in my children,” Bruce leveled a warning look at Damian.

Marinette blinked a few times and nodded.  “Honesty is a virtue,” she started out slowly.  “It’s good to be suspicious.  I was of anyone who seemed to warm up too quickly to my friends who had assets others might want to take advantage of.  A little bit of skepticism is healthy.  And at least you’re being honest about it.  Most of my friends wouldn’t be if the roles were reversed.” She chuckled slightly before turning toward Bruce.  “There’s a respect in that.  I know where he stands.  He isn’t pretending.  There’s no duplicity, no illusions, no pretending for the sake of politeness.  You don’t know me and this,” she motioned to her belly, “is a lot all of a sudden to take in, and not just for you.”

“There’s no way she could have intentionally trapped me.  I was the one who provided everything, as I’ve said before,” Dick pointed out, his voice sharp and defensive of anyone questioning Marinette.

“Unless it isn’t yours,” Damian hedged coldly.

“Demon Spawn, I swear to…” Jason threw down his fork and started to get up.

“Damian, you will treat our guest with respect or you will go to your room,” Bruce thundered.

“Wow, you are really unafraid.  I bet you’re a fearsome sight in any kind of competition.” Marinette sent him an impressed smile.  “That’s a valid question.  I guess the only way to be absolutely sure is with a blood test and if Dick would like one, I’ll agree to it… after the baby is born.  I’m not going to subject the baby to unnecessary dangers just to prove a point.”

“I don’t,” Dick assured her.  “I don’t need it.  I have no doubts.”  Marinette’s eyes shined with appreciation and leaned into Dick as he pressed a kiss to her forehead.

“But your family might,” she pointed out quietly.  “It’s a reasonable request.  Believe me when I say if something like this happened to Adrien, Chloe would openly be on a warpath and Alya would be doing all kinds of duplicitous, questionably legal investigations into the woman.”

“Good friends,” Cass commented quietly.

“Yeah, I think I’d like them,” Stephanie agreed.

“And they would demand a blood test, so I understand and take no offense,” Marinette assured them.

“We don’t need it,” Tim spoke up.

“Speak for yourself,” Damian grumbled.

“That’s it Damian, go to your room,” Bruce barked.  Damian huffed and pushed away from the table, leaving without a backwards glance.  

“Perhaps it is time to retire to the living room with dessert,” Alfred offered, giving Damian a disappointed look as he passed him out of the room.  As soon as everyone except Damian was settled in the living room, Alfred brought out the macarons, setting them on the table in the room.  “Provided by Miss Marinette.”

“Oh, these look delicious.  What are the flavors?” Bruce asked eying the cookies.

“The purple ones are lavender and honey.  Dark brown is chocolate hazelnut.  Light brown is salted caramel.  Yellow is lemon.  And pink is raspberry.”

“Holy shit, Pixie!” Jason exclaimed swallowing his bite.  “These are good.”

“Jason, language, please,” Bruce repeated in a tired voice.

Cass gave her a thumbs up and grabbed another flavor.

“If you don’t marry her, I will.” Stephanie agreed, shoving her second macaron into her mouth.

Marinette giggled.  “Good to know I have backup options.”

Dick narrowed his eyes playfully and wrapped his arms around her protectively. “That’s it we’re going home. You’re not allowed around my family anymore.”

Marinette laughed harder and cuddled into him, resting her head on his shoulder and humming contentedly as he squeezed her tighter against his side.

Chapter 11

Tags:

@dickinette-february @demonicbusiness @ichigorose @iloontjeboontje @ladybug-182 @toodaloo-kangaroo @dast218 @golden-promises @trippingovermyfeet @emimar7 @laurcad123

[gobydana]

Never There Till It Mattered

Gotham streets have always posed as a background to a creepy movie. Empty sidewalks with shadows lurking around the corners. Any citizen born and raised there would tell someone to avoid those streets. Nothing good comes from them. But tonight, it was more lonely then scary. Almost wishing to a see a shadow so you know you won’t be alone. 

Instead you were stuck with the cold autumn rain smacking the sidewalk and running off into the gutters. the sound the only thing you heard as it echoed through empty alleyways. Not even the rogues and organized crime were out tonight. Only one was you suffering in loneness at another stuck up date. At least if there was crime about, you might understand why he didn’t come. 

Dick hadn’t been like this in the beginning. Always making a point to show up or at least text if he was going to be running late. Now you just got dinners by yourself. There was a reason you started insisting on less fancier places like you use to go. No one would stare at you in a diner by yourself versus the French restaurant you use to frequented. The stares of other judging you was nothing compared to the pity some gave you. It was no secret you were the significant other to the oldest Wayne child. Being stood up only made the public eye on you worse. 

Part of you thought of heading back to your apartment, but you couldn’t take the silence that would follow. Luckily you knew of another who often spent his nights alone in a house. So you called up Alfred, after all you didn’t want to walk there in the rain alone. He was happy to give you a lift. Once in the manor, a warm cup of tea sat waiting. Without any words he knew what was wrong. 

You feel asleep on the couch in a sitting room tucked away that night. It wasn’t until you heard talking nearby that you awoke. Whispers through the door. One talking in a stern voice much like a parent does to a child. 

“You better have a good reason this time. They didn’t look sad, but just defeated this time. Honestly Master Dick, if I were them I might have left you a long time ago.”

“I know Alfie, I just got busy with a Titan thing and didn’t see the time.” 

“A great many hearts have been broken due to this family night habit, I hope you know you are heading towards another one.” 

With that they could hear Alfred make his way towards his room. Dick’s steps started heading towards them. At this time of night, a discussion isn’t what they wanted, instead sleep. Something Dick would find as he opened the door. 

“Save it. No excuses because your actions speak louder then words.” Was all you said as you walked towards a real bed. 

Dick knew you well enough to know when not to press a matter. Both too tired that any talk would end in a fight. Something the two of you had been having a lot lately. It seemed more fighting then actually talking and he knew his ways were much to blame for that. So he let you pass and walk away. 

The next morning, you were long gone before he woke up. No text or note. Nothing like it use to be. Who could he blame but himself. Lately he had been so wrapped up in one problem or another always involving the mask community. It wasn’t fair to put you last, and truthfully he wouldn’t blame you for leaving this time. 

For a week neither texted. You decided you were done trying, if he didn't care enough to text well guess that was it. Maybe he just realized it was over between the two, picked his night life over you. Besides you were too busy with the gallery coming up of your work. You wanted to invite him, but you couldn’t deal with that heartbreak. If he didn’t show to that, it would be worse than any feeling before. Overshadowing the event you worked so hard to get. 

Damian and Alfred knew though. Damian had always been impressed by your watercolor work, so of course you invited him. He complained about not seeing Dick much either, so it wasn’t like he would tell him. You were just glad someone would be there to support you. You always joked he was the little brother you never had. 

Dick thought something was up when Damian was getting his suite out on his own accord. There was no gala tonight and he wasn’t on some under cover mission. If anything he looked happy? He decided to sneak into his little brothers room. That’s when he saw it, the invite on the side table to the art gallery featuring you. 

He knew that was your dream and in that moment it was as if every hurt feeling he left you feeling came back to him. But who could blame you, probably believing he would just forget and not show. Hadn’t that been what he was doing before? This time though, he was going to make up for it. 

It was half way through the night when you saw him, in a dark blue suite that made the blue eyes shine. He was standing next to Damian who was going on and on a piece of work. Earlier the young kid had been bragging how you managed to get the moon light reflecting off Wayne Tower just right. The tiniest of details making it perfect. 

You politely nodded to the person you were talking to and excused yourself. You headed towards the two of them, not knowing what you were to say. Thankfully Damian helped. 

“Don’t be stupid.”  he said while walking away towards Alfred. No doubt trying to convince him that one of the pictures belonged in the manor. 

His words making you laugh as Dick became more uncomfortable. He didn’t know what to say and Damian calling him out didn’t help. 

“Sorry.” was all he got out before you interrupted him with putting your hand up. 

“I’m done being stood up. If you want to stay together I expect it to stop. I know my standards and what I deserve, and being stood up every time is not that. As you can tell, I am not going to bother inviting you to something if I know you won’t show.” 

“I know.” He said. “I am going to get better. Honestly I am surprise you aren’t done. Walk away and find someone who will be there. Give me another chance and I will prove I can stand up and be there. Hell tonight is the biggest night of your career and you were right to not invite me. That’s why I showed though, to prove I could be there.” 

He did stay there all night, even when he got a text asking for a team up, one where another could step in and stay. He marveled at how great the work you had done was. So much done while he was gone. Something he was going to stop doing. 

That night was a success for your career and your relationship. Every piece of art was bought, turns out watercolor scenes of Gotham was popular. The one of the bat symbol being bought by the son of the bat himself. You kind of hope someone gives it to Bruce as a gift. If not you might just pain another one. 

Dick stuck to his word and became  a lot better on not missing stuff. He wasn’t perfect as night life kept him from that, but he did warn you before he missed stuff. Damain and Alfred no doubt would give him hell if he didn’t. He started being around enough to see your work being painted. Then the joy when it was bought. Himself happy that he didn’t end up ruining the best thing that ever happened to him. 

[angst-fairygodmother]

Modern Valdo x Reader Part 3 (Angst)

A/N: A sequel to this fic. Let’s be real, this is a series now. I’m going to keep going and cannot be stopped.  I’m going to need a series title or something to refer to this as besides “Modern Valdo.” Also specifically Modern Valdo fics are a requestable thing now. Just decided that. Or like if you want there to be a taglist, let me know? Self-prompted from this list because I wanted the sting.  Word Count: 2975 Content Warnings: language; mild substance abuse; blood/injury

You had been living with Valdo for three weeks now, though it often feels like the situation had been forever, dancing on a wire’s edge, neither willing to be the first bring up that night, too afraid of what might turn out to be nothing in the harsh light of day and logical thought. Still you fell asleep most nights (and woke up some mornings) in each other’s arms, in one sleeping place or the other.

Every apartment you looked at, he found flaws that meant it “wasn’t good enough.” Your things from the place you had shared with Karla took up residence with you or were safely tucked into a secure storage unit that he’d insisted on helping you pay for. You had keys to his place and a parking pass for the garage. He regularly dropped you off and picked you up from work, and you’d get dinner or go to a show. When he had a gig, you were the only person allowed in his dressing room besides him, a surprising expansion of your already extensive backstage access.

“You two are just the picture of domesticity aren’t you?” Lukus joked after a show one night when you had greeted Valdo with a grin and a hug as he stepped off the stage.

“Never thought I’d see Valdo Marx settle down,” Mara added, nudging him with an elbow after you’d gone back to the bar to get drinks for everyone, as had become habit. “It looks good on you.”

“It’s not like that. You know we’re just mates. And Y/N deserves a better man than I could ever hope to be,” he sighed.

“Ugh, you are so whipped man,” Mara clapped Valdo on the shoulder. “Save that sappy shit for the album.”

“What ‘sappy shit’?” you asked, returning with two beers and whiskey sours, just as always, curious to what his bandmates might be teasing Valdo over.

“It’s nothing, Y/N,” he said, smiling as he took one of the cocktails and resisting the urge to kiss your cheek in thanks.

“Hey, Y/N,” Lukus said suddenly, startling you with how close he was now standing. “Wanna grab dinner next Saturday?”

“Um, sure. I love hanging out with you guys,” you said, slightly confused.

“No sweet cheeks, not the group, just you and I. As a date.”

“O…oh…” you blushed, staring down at your shoes as if they were the most fascinating thing in the world, missing the smug grin he sent Valdo’s way or the answering icy, murderous stare. “Um…sure…that might be…nice.”

If you were being honest, you had never considered Lukus as your type (his blondish hair and blue eyes and very squared face were often called conventionally attractive but you just found them boring) or someone you knew very well, but maybe a date would change that. And you were starting to get sick of waiting for Valdo to make a move when the ball was in his court. So maybe you could get over it and just go back to being friends. That was probably for the best anyway.

“Great. I’ll pick you up at seven. Wear something sexy for me.” He waggled his eyebrows at you with a smirk and you rolled your eyes.

~

Just like that, the peace of the apartment was broken, and the week passed in tense moments and frosty silences. Both desperate to bridge the chasm that had formed between you and genuinely wanting his advice, you walked out to the living room to find him sulking and cuddling a pillow and pointedly ignoring you.

“V,” you sighed. “I don’t know what I’ve done to upset you this week, but I could really use your help. You’re the only one I trust for this.”

He sighed and rolled his upper body to face you, but said nothing.

“I’m going to take that as an agreement because it’s the most you’ve acknowledged me all day. I don’t know Lukus that well or what he might be planning for this date thing. What do you think I should wear?”

His eyes, still rimmed in yesterday’s royal blue eyeliner, narrowed. “Something light colored, that way you can find it on his floor in the morning,” he snarled before flopping back over to face the back of the couch.

“Excuse me?!” you stared at him in complete disbelief. You had not inherent problem with the idea of potentially sleeping with Lukus on the first date but the implication in his tone that it was expected or guaranteed both confused and offended you.

“You heard me,” his voice was muffled by the cushions but you still caught its sharp edge.

“What the fuck is your problem?”

You watched his shoulders rise and fall in a dramatic shrug. “You’re not the first person Lukus has ‘dated,’ Y/N. I just know how he does things. He’s not a long-term, take home to the family guy.”

“So what? You think just because you’ve only seen him have one-night stands in the past, that there’s no chance I won’t sleep with him?”

“You asked for my advice. I gave it. Now you should probably go get ready, you wouldn’t want to be late for Prince Charming’s arrival.”

“You’re being a dick.” You hated the tears that sprung, unbidden, to your eyes and the waver of your voice.

“Yeah well, you’re going on a date with someone else. So you’re not blameless in this pain sweetheart.”

“If you have something to say Valdo, say it to my face. But if this is supposed to be your way of telling me you have feelings for me, it’s pretty shit.”

Silence hung over you for a minute before ever so slowly he shifted to face you properly, sitting up and resting his elbows on his knees.

“I do have feelings for you, Y/N. And I thought…maybe there was a chance you felt the same but…”

“Why now? Three weeks ago, I asked you to kiss me. You rejected me that night, and you haven’t said a word since. What was I supposed to think?” You made a gesture of surrender. “So I gave up waiting for you, and now you’ve decided to say something?”

“If you really meant what happened that night, you’d have waited longer than three weeks.”

“That’s a selfish attitude V.”

He shrugged.

“I can’t deal with this right now.” Turning, you stormed off back to the little office space where you had been keeping most of your clothes since moving in, waiting until the last possible moment to apply your makeup for fear that more would be said and it would start to run.

~

You felt terrible. The date with Lukus was on its second hour, and while it was just dinner at a little Italian restaurant (you appreciated that he had found a mom-and-pop place instead of a chain but suspected it was more for the hipster cred than any real devotion to helping small business), it should still have been your focus. Or he should have. Even if he was unfortunately dull and you had nothing of substance in common.

Instead, you kept playing Valdo’s words over and over in your head. The two of you had been friends for years, meeting by chance when you were put in the same orientation group your first day of college. You quickly became thick as thieves and knew every detail, the good the bad and the ugly, of each other. Or at least, you thought you did. But even knowing that he had a temper and an ego which hardly ever combined into something good, you hadn’t expected him to be so cruel.

“So, Y/N,” Lukus said, voice cutting through your thoughts as the waitress came to collect your check.  “Do you want to get out of here? I’ve got…beers and stuff back at my place…”

You smiled apologetically and shook your head. “I’m not much of a beer girl,” you said ruefully. “And I’m afraid I won’t be very good company. It’s been a weird week and I’m not really…feeling it. I’m sorry.”

He shrugged, tucking his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “That’s fine. Shit happens. I’ll give you a ride home.”

“Thanks. And I did enjoy tonight,” you lied, feeling an odd lack of guilt.

~

When Lukus idled his old blue sports car in front of Valdo’s building, a strange sort of tension seemed to hang inside the vehicle. Your hand rested on the handle of the passenger door as you tried to think of the polite way to end the disaster of a date.

“Can I, I dunno, kiss you or something?” Lukus suddenly asked, and you shrugged.

“I suppose I don’t see why not.”

He grinned, the dopey, excited expression reminding you of an overly eager retriever offered a bone. The lips that pressed against yours were chapped and damp from being licked nervously during the drive. The whole thing was awkward and uncomfortable and you broke away as soon as it no longer seemed excessively rude.

“Right…well…goodnight?” you said, moving to exit.

“Yeah. Goodnight. I’ll call you or something.”

You nodded, although you frankly couldn’t care less if he did or not. You only hoped that it wouldn’t make things problematic at the next show. The entire thing had been a mistake. Still, you offered a little wave back over your shoulder at him when you reached the front door. There was no reason to be rude about it.

~

Every nerve was on edge as you took the elevator up to Valdo’s (and your? You still weren’t sure where that really stood) seventh floor apartment and you couldn’t pinpoint the reason. Sure, you were still upset over the fight the two of you had, but it shouldn’t have caused such a pit of foreboding in your stomach, should it?

The door wasn’t locked when you pushed it open, which meant that he hadn’t gone out for the night. You couldn’t decide if that was a good thing or not.

“Hey, V,” you called out as you entered. “I’m back. Can we…I dunno talk or something?”

There was no answer from the darkened apartment. You reached over to flick on the switch by the door and gasped.

The room was a disaster. Several bottles, and worse candy wrappers, littered the floor and coffee table. At least one dripped dark liquor and dissolving sugar onto the braided rug. Valdo’s shoes, socks, three coats/jackets, and several pairs of pants (none of which were the ones he’d been wearing earlier) were festooned like crepe paper streamers. A straightening iron smoked and singed against the spine of the cheap romance novel, left open on its face with pages rumpled beneath it, that it sat on.

You paused in your inspection to unplug the fire hazard with a soft curse.

The couch looked like someone had flipped it and ransacked it for loose change, though the lean-to of other pillows and assorted blankets suggested more likely that it had been the foundation of an attempted pillow fort. The sight of that made your heart flip. You had seen Valdo build such a structure on two previous occasions: once when his grandfather, one of the few members of his family that truly encouraged his artistic pursuits for enjoyment rather than potential profit, had died, and the other when the band’s first EP received a rather public review from a respected music site that called it “trite, lethargic, and miserable.”

“V?” you called again, softer and hesitant now as you approached the plush hidey-hole. Something crunched under your heel and you stepped back to reveal the now semi-powdered remains of a Thin Mint, which you knew for a fact there weren’t any of in the house (or hadn’t been earlier in the afternoon).

A groan was your only answer.

“You’re worrying me now. So please tell me a) that you’re alright, and b) where you found a Girl Scout with cookies on hand on a random Saturday night? And maybe c) that you did not mug said Girl Scout?”

When you did not get a response, you sighed, dropping onto your knees to crawl under the silky silver-grey sheet that seemed to form the ‘door’ of the textile fortress.

“I swear to god V…” you growled, feeling just a tiny bit ridiculous. Until your eyes fell on his prone form.

His shirt rumpled up, exposing his back. He was wearing no shoes and had somewhere lost a sock (by the look of the remaining one, black with thin purple stripes, it was also not obvious among the ones strewn about the room outside the pillow fort’s protective wall). And his hair, his poor gorgeous hair. About half of it had been forced stick straight; if you breathed deeply you thought you could still detect the singed smell in the air. Several sections were noticeably shorter than they should have been.

Gently you nudged him and he sat up groggily before flopping like a puppet with cut strings and falling onto your shoulder.

“Hello Y/N. Lovely Y/N,” he slurred, emerald eyes staring blearily up at you. He slung his arms around your waist. “You came back.”

“Of course I came back,” you teased, keeping your voice light even as you noticed the dishtowel wrapped around his hand and the distressingly large patch of red on it.

“I thought you’d go home with…him. I didn’t want you to.”

You swallowed and sighed, not wanting to rehash the argument from earlier, especially while he was so drunk.

“Nah,” you tried to seem flippant. “He was a bit boring to be honest. And I shudder to think what you would have done without me.”

“Died.” His face was quite serious as he said it and your heart clenched momentarily.

“Don’t be ridiculous, you’ve survived this long without me.”

“But I didn’t live. I needed you for that. I love you.” He rolled his head to press sloppy kisses to the shoulder he rested against and you pushed him away from you, trying hard not to panic.

“Valdo, you can’t just say shit like that. I know you’re drunk but Gods… is that really how you feel?”

You left him sitting there as you climbed back out of the pile and began carefully disassembling it around him, one eye watching to make sure his drunkenness didn’t cause an injury.

He nodded floppily. “I don’t like it, but it’s true. I realized it tonight. Or not tonight. I can’t remember.” He seemed intent on braiding his fingers together as he spoke.

The motion calls your attention back to the towel. “What happened there?”

“Oh! That I remember. I dropped a wine glass and it shattered. I cleaned it up and the glass cut me. It’ll be fine.” He waved dismissively and you rolled your eyes, quickly going to the medicine cabinet in the bathroom for first aid supplies.

You sat cross-legged in front of him. “Give me your hand.”

“In marriage if you want.” He thrust it at you and you tried not blush at the soft look on his face.

Carefully, you unwound the towel and he winced with a hiss but did his best to remain unmoving. You inspected his palm with a frown; it looked like he had basically shredded it on the glass, but luckily there didn’t seem to be any shards remaining. You cleaned the cuts as gently as possible and the pair of you sat in silence. Several of them looked like they might be deep enough to need stitches, but you were uncertain. You layered gauze over them, pressing gently despite the pathetic, pained noises he made while you wrapped it. It would need to be checked again in the morning, when he was hopefully sober enough to decide for himself to seek treatment.

“What happened tonight Valdo?” you asked when you finished, still holding his hand between both of yours. “This isn’t you. Not normally.”

“I lost it,” he shrugged. “You left and I started drinking and then…I dunno.”

“It wasn’t like I was never coming back. Are you trying to say that I’m that much of your impulse control these days?”

He growled and yanked his hand away, standing wobbily and starting to pace stumblingly.

“Don’t you get it, Y/N? I’m in love with you and it scares the hell out of me. And then you left with him and it broke my fucking heart. So I tried to numb it.”

“V…I…” you shook your head. “We should talk about this tomorrow. When you’re sober.”

“Are we going to? Or is this going to be another thing of us just pretending it never happened. Because I can’t,” he slumped into a sob on the edge of the couch frame. “I can’t do this. I don’t want to lose you. But I also don’t want to keep pretending this isn’t how I feel.”

You stood and wrapped your arms around his shoulders, letting him press his face to your middle as he continued to cry.

“I promise, on my life. We will talk about this in the morning. For real, talk. Or afternoon more likely because you are going to be hungover as fuck.”

One hand came up to brush gently through his abused hair as you held him until the sobs slowed to gentle sniffling.

“Now, let’s get you to bed, and then I can clean up from Hurricane Marx,” you smiled softly at him and pulled him to his feet, leading him to the bedroom.

He flopped onto the mattress and gently you coaxed him onto his side, sitting next to him and rubbing small circles on his back until you were confident by his gentle snoring that he would be okay. Then you shook your head ruefully and stood once more.

“What a mess,” you muttered.

[taexual]

Rear View / WinWin x Reader

You aren’t able to juggle your studies, work, and a boyfriend at the same time, so Sicheng tries to put you both out of the misery of a neglected relationship.

pairing: Sicheng x Reader

warnings: ANGST! + strong language

words: 3.2k

disclaimer: please let me know if the gif belongs to you so i can give proper credit

ANON REQUEST: Hi my dear, could I request a NCT Winwin angst, the scenario can be anything you want!

Sicheng has never been in a similar situation before. He’s seen you late plenty of times in the two years that the two of you had dated, but it’s been over forty minutes now and you showed no signs of arriving at the restaurant that he was waiting for you in. You weren’t even answering your phone and he didn’t know whether something had happened to you or if you just forgot.

“Would you like to order, sir?” the waiter asked for the fifth time that night, trying not to show his impatience. Sicheng didn’t blame him, there were people waiting for a table and he was occupying one without bringing any profit.

“One minute,” he told the waiter, trying to give him an apologetic smile as he got his phone out to send you another text message. “I’m very sorry.”

“It’s alright,” the waiter replied, no longer sounding as polite as he did the first few times he’d tried to take his order.

After receiving no response from you yet again, – Sicheng didn’t know why he was still expecting you to reply, to be quite honest, – he sighed heavily before he finally gathered his things, left a lot more money than the glass of water he’d ordered cost, and walked out of the restaurant before the waiter could return.

He debated heading straight home but then he realized that he couldn’t live with himself if something had happened to you and he didn’t check, so he decided to go to your place first. It was likely that you were just busy working but he wasn’t willing to take the chance of the reason for your disappearance being something else.

Unsure if he was about to be disappointed or terrified, he rang your doorbell. He rang it again twenty seconds later just to be sure but the door wouldn’t open. It was clear that you weren’t home and yet Sicheng was still too concerned to leave so he dialed the phone number of your closest friend and co-worker. If she’d tell him you weren’t at work, he’d head straight to the police station.

“Sicheng?” your friend picked up on the first ring and, for the first time in his life, he was almost relieved to hear another girl’s voice.

“Yes, hi,” he said. “Listen, uh, have you seen my girlfriend today?”

“I—of course, she’s across the room from me,” she said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “We’ve been working overtime the past few nights because our boss is a huge dick – but you know that – and I think her phone might have died. Is everything okay? Do you want to talk to her?”

“No,” he said with no hesitation. His mind decided to fill his entire being with unavoidable disappointment and he wasn’t sure if he could bear hearing your voice right now. He felt almost pathetic, really, so he chose not to reveal how long he’d waited for you at that restaurant, “can you tell her I’ve canceled the reservation? I tried to call her to tell her before but—”

“The reservation?” your friend interrupted and judging from the silence that followed, Sicheng concluded that she was looking at the calendar. “Oh my God, it’s your anniversary tonight!”

“Yeah, uh—”

“What?” Sicheng heard your voice in the background of the call. “What day is it today?”

“I have to go,” he said, his voice rushed. “Tell her that I have some stuff I need to do, so I, uh… I might be unavailable today, okay? Thank you.”

“Maybe I should—”

He hung up before your friend could say anything else – or worse, pass the phone to you – and headed towards the elevator and then out of your building.

He wasn’t sure if he wanted to go home because he knew he’d spend the remaining night thinking of you and what was left of your relationship. He’d beat himself up and probably end up calling you in the middle of the night. Not to mention, he knew you might show up, guilt-ridden and teary-eyed, and he’d forget you everything as soon as he saw your tears.

So, needing to get himself together, he gave Yuta a call and then agreed to meet him at the bar of the nearest hotel. Perhaps Sicheng could stay there if he still didn’t feel like going home after a few drinks.

“And she didn’t mention that she was staying late, working?” Yuta asked as the two boys settled down in a booth at the very end of the too fancy of a bar in a hotel downtown.

“No,” Sicheng sighed. He seemed to sigh a lot since his friend got here and the first round of drinks came. They were only on their third now and yet both of their minds seemed to be buzzing. “I know she’s busy. She’s studying, she’s working, she has her family, her friends… but I asked her specifically if she wanted to go for dinner on our anniversary and she said yes.”

“When was this?”

“Two nights ago,” he said. “I made the reservations in advance, of course. I would have canceled if one of us wasn’t able to go. I wouldn’t have been pissed if she said she couldn’t make it or anything, it’s just—it’s shit now because she said she’d be there.”

Sicheng didn’t mean to make it sound as if he was annoyed he spent so much money and time on getting that restaurant reservation but Yuta understood. He knew you both well enough to understand that the two of you rarely ever worried about superficial things like money when it came to each other.

“Did you talk to her today?” Yuta asked.

“She texted me before she left for work,” Sicheng replied. “It was just a usual good morning text, though. I’m sure she doesn’t even feel herself texting me anymore, it’s become a habit. I replied, wanting to make sure she was really able to come tonight and she never answered. I called a few times, but I heard nothing back. Obviously, I didn’t want to stand her up, so I went to the restaurant anyway, thinking that maybe she’d show up after all, but…”

Yuta sighed, finishing his glass. “I’m sorry, man. This sucks.”

“Yeah,” Sicheng agreed, responding to his sigh with one of his own, but not finishing his drink just yet. With every glass he emptied, he could feel his stomach fill with an undesirable sense of sorrow that no amount of alcohol could drown. “I don’t know what to do. She’s probably worried now that she’s realized what’d happened.”

“Well, are you mad at her?” his friend tried to ask, hoping to help him understand his feelings better but, really, Sicheng had no clue what he was feeling.

“I don’t know,” he answered. “If I say I am, it’ll seem unfair: as if I don’t understand how busy she is while she's been putting up with my schedule just fine.”

“I don’t think you’ve ever left her hanging like this, though.”

“No, but—” Sicheng sighed again. “Does it matter? I’m not mad at her for not showing up. I’m… I’m mad because it doesn’t feel like we have a relationship anymore.”

“Have you felt like this for a long time?” Yuta asked.

“I think so,” he answered, uncertainty evident in every word he said. “I think I just pushed the thoughts that something was wrong away, you know? I didn’t want to admit it to myself but now it’s loud and clear. The last time we’ve gone out together–just the two of us–was two months ago. We talked on the phone a month ago. We just… text. Sometimes.”

“How have you gone so long without talking to her about this?” Yuta continued. He might have suspected that there were problems in your and Sicheng’s relationship but he wasn’t aware of how bad it really was.

“I don’t want to talk about this,” Sicheng said. “I want things to go back to what they used to be. We’ve been together for a long time. We’ve gotten to know each other really well. She’s one of my closest friends but… it feels like I don’t know her at all anymore.”

Raising his hand to order another round of drinks, – tonight was going to be a long night, – Yuta patted Sicheng’s thigh, no longer wanting to ask him anything else because he could tell that Sicheng didn’t need any more questions. He was looking for answers.

“You’re going to have to talk to her eventually,” Yuta told him.

“I know that,” Sicheng agreed, his mind already conjuring up the image of you crying as he tried to confront you. He wasn’t sure if he could put either of you through this. “I-I just don’t know what to say.”

“I don’t want to be the third person here, so I can’t help you with that,” Yuta replied. “But honesty is usually the best policy. Especially in relationships.”

“Yeah,” Sicheng located his phone and absentmindedly tried to check the time before he realized that he’d turned his phone off, wanting to avoid all that was inevitable for just one night.

It hurt him to know that you were probably worrying about missing the date but he couldn’t dismiss all that happened and say that it’s fine, and he didn’t feel like arguing tonight, either. He needed some time.

“I’ll talk to her tomorrow,” Sicheng decided and felt his chest contract painfully as he continued, “I feel like I’ll break both of our hearts and I don’t think either one of us is ready for that.”

Even though he’d lost count of how many times the waiter stopped by their booth last night, Sicheng didn’t blame the hangover for his headache. He knew it wasn’t the night out that was causing him pain that no amount of aspirin could get rid of.

The clock barely showed nine on a Sunday morning and, even though Sicheng couldn’t remember falling asleep, he didn’t feel tired in the slightest. He was anticipating what was to come and chose to stop delaying the confrontation with you by turning his phone back on. Missed calls and text messages from you immediately poured in. He was surprised that his phone hadn’t died yet, despite being turned off.

However, before he got a chance to open a single text, he heard a knock on his door. He didn’t have to ask who it was to know. He’s been with you for so long, he could basically feel your presence already.

“Sicheng, please,” your voice behind the door rang through his room. “I know you’re home. I called Taeil, he told me you’d be here.”

Sicheng groaned. He should have warned Taeil not to say anything to you beforehand.

Not having prepared what he was going to say to you once he saw you, Sicheng opened the door and inhaled deeply in a last-ditch attempt to prepare himself for everything that was about to happen.

You looked beautiful. Your eyes were red, you had no make-up on, your hair was everywhere, – clearly, your night was as rough as his, – and he still couldn’t help but feel his heart swell.

He loved you. So much more than he probably should have.

“I’m so sorry,” you said as soon as your eyes met. “God, you have no idea how sorry I am.”

Walking away from the door, he opened it wider. “I think you should come in.”

You were in the middle of another hasty apology but you closed your mouth at the sound of his stern voice and chose to walk into the room instead of saying anything else.

Perhaps your apologies had to wait, Sicheng looked like he had a lot to say to you. However, he did not speak for the first few minutes after he closed the door, the two of you – and the thick, painful silence – being the only ones in the room.

“Have you eaten?” were the first words he finally allowed himself to say.

“No,” you replied. “I’m not hungry.”

He nodded thoughtfully, not quite liking the answer but not having an appropriate response to it ready. It was difficult to switch the topic to something that was very literally life-altering, and Sicheng spent a good minute considering if he should just forget all that happened last night – and all the months leading up to it – and just move on. That’d surely spare you both the pain of having to discuss your relationship.

“We should probably talk,” you ended up saying after he stayed quiet. “I-I’m very sorry about last night.”

“I know,” he said, exhaling slowly as he tried to get his thoughts to stop running through his mind. “I’m sorry, too. I should have called you. I guess I just needed some space.”

“No, I understand,” you said although you didn’t really understand. You nearly ran out of tears last night after you realized what you’d done. You just needed to explain yourself to him and he wasn’t willing to listen. “It’s my fault. I’m very sorry. Work has been overwhelming lately and I have finals coming up, you know what it’s like.”

“Yeah, of course,” Sicheng nodded, sounding understanding but looking distant. “I’m sorry if I’ve put pressure on you by forcing you to make time for me, I—”

“You’ve never forced me to do anything,” you disagreed and, although he stopped talking, you could tell that he wasn’t hearing you. “I want to spend every minute of every day with you, you know that. I just—I can’t right now.”

“I get it,” he said. “Maybe you need a break. From me. From… us.”

It was easy to say it, after all. The difficult part was looking at you after the words left his lips.

He felt like he wasn’t being fair by staring at the floor, though, so he dared to look up at you and immediately started to wish he hadn’t done that. You looked almost feverish. Your red eyes glistened under the flourescent lights of his room and your entire body was starting to shake.

“Are you saying we should break up?” you asked slowly, every word twisting the knife Sicheng had inserted into both of your hearts deeper.

“I don’t know,” he admitted, choosing to follow Yuta’s advice and be as open and honest with you as it was possible. Perhaps you two could find a solution together because, clearly, dating wasn’t really working for you. “I don’t know what the right thing to do here is. I’ve never been in a similar situation before.”

“Well, I haven’t either,” you replied, not noticing how high-pitched your voice was getting. “But I’m sure that breaking up is rarely ever the right choice.”

“What is, then?” Sicheng asked. “We don’t see each other anymore. And you know I’m not exaggerating. Last time I saw you was when I brought you lunch two weeks ago. And I only got to hang out with you for ten minutes. I can barely even remember our last  proper date because it was so long ago.”

You found this rather unfair.

“I wait for you,” you said, unsure what would come first – the anger or the tears. “Every time you’re busy, I wait for you. We’ve gone months without seeing each other when you’re promoting. What’s different now?”

“Everything!” he countered. “It was never like this. We talked on the phone every night when I was away. We stayed awake long enough to Facetime with each other even if we were in different timezones. None of that is happening right now.”

“I-I don’t have the ti—”

“I know!” Sicheng said and then lowered his voice when he noticed the first tears fall from his eyes. It took him everything to restrain himself from crossing the room and wrapping his arms around you. “I don’t blame you. I don’t think you’re doing this on purpose. I know you’re busy. And that’s exactly why I feel like we need a break.”

You shook your head, wiping the tears away from your cheeks. “There’s no such thing as ‘a break.’ It’s just a prequel to a break-up.”

“Okay,” he nodded, biting his lip as he looked away from you, his heart tearing itself apart inside of his chest. “So be it.”

You sniffled, trying to keep the tears in. A part of you saw this coming – every night you spent alone, counting the hours and then the days since you’ve last seen your boyfriend, you had a feeling your relationship was headed towards its end – but his words still seemed to take you by surprise. Evidently, you couldn’t really prepare yourself for an end to one of the most important chapters of your life.

“So, this is it?” you asked quietly, not finding enough strength in yourself to put up a fight because, deep inside, you knew you’d have been fighting for a lost cause. “We’re giving all of this up?”

“I love you,” Sicheng said closing his eyes as the next words burned his throat, “but I don’t think there’s anything left to give up anymore.”

You couldn’t look away from him – your eyes were glued to him as if you were afraid that this would become real as soon as you looked away – but tears were slowly starting to cloud your vision, bringing you back to the cruel reality: your relationship had fallen apart and there were no words—no apologies—that could have saved it. If relationships had an expiration date, yours was already way past it.

Admitting that you were essentially powerless against time and could not go back to the old days when everything was still fine—when both of you still managed to find time for each other—was the most difficult thing you’ve ever had to do. You’d never wish for anyone to give up when all they wanted to do was fight because your entire being hurt from the utter helplessness.

“I’m sorry,” you said for the last time, “I should have tried harder.”

“I’m sorry, too,” Sicheng agreed, his eyes losing its shade and slowly turning empty. “Maybe the timing wasn’t right for us.”

“Is it ever?” you asked, trying to smile and failing miserably. You had a feeling you weren’t going to genuinely smile in a long time after you left. “Time isn’t very generous with perfect opportunities.”

“That’s true,” he said. “But I still hope for an opportunity to see you again.”

The hidden meaning of his words was that he was hoping for another chance with you. Perhaps neither of you would grow out of this love. Perhaps your love could endure the test of time and allow you to try this again.

Or perhaps both of your hearts were so desperate for any kind of comfort that they were willing to believe anything.

“Yeah,” you said. “Maybe we’ll get lucky for once.”

Silence – so cold and unfamiliar – seemed to engulf you both when there was nothing left to be said. The only noise in the room was the sound of your heart tearing itself in two and leaving one half of it on the floor of Sicheng’s room. You’d never ask for it back.

“I love you,” he reminded you as you headed for the door. His voice broke as he spoke, the change in octave stomping on your already exhausted heart. “Despite everything. I really do.”

“I know,” you whispered, not turning around to face him anymore. “I love you, too.”

You knew that we all got only one shot at first love and you were afraid that this was the only bullet life had given you. You’ve made your shot already. It took two years for the bullet to travel – and it never reached the target.

You didn’t know if you’d ever get a chance at another shot again because you’d wasted this one. You didn’t know how long it’d take for you to fix the damage you’ve done. How long it’d take for you to mend your broken heart. To stop loving him.

It was ironically sunny on the worst Sunday of your life and your eyes were the ones that provided the rain, attempting to wash away the truth: the once promising future with your first love had ended before it even began.

[hello-justawriterofthings]

A Rocky Thanksgiving - Billy Hargrove

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Hi Everyone, I'm back ( Even though I haven't been gone very long ). I hope you all have been well, I had a spark of inspiration with the Holidays coming up and since I love some Angst, I wanted to make it an angsty Holiday season. Christmas is coming next, with Steve, so be ready. I hope everyone enjoys and I hope you all have an amazing Day! [ Warnings : Angst, Language and I'm sorry if there are any die hard Nancy fans that read this. { Y/N = Your Name }

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[ Past ] 

Billy and I went to Hawkins high together and damn, was it hard to deal with sometimes. His attitude was annoying, he thought he was a hot piece of shit, because every girl in school wanted him between their legs. I was to busy to pay him any attention, I was basically taking care of my younger brother because my parents worked their butts off to support our family. When they weren't working, I was. Working at the local pizza place, waiting tables. Only taking home tips and saving up, so I could make something of my life. The first interaction I had with Billy, was when I was at work. He came in with his friends and some girl from school, I didn't know the name of, nor did I care. I didn't want to wait on them, but since we were understaffed, I had no choice. They ordered a few slices, sodas and that was that. Or at least, that's what I thought. While they ate, I cleaned up a table near by. Secretly listening to their conversation, Tommy offered Billy $20 to get the waitresses ( Me ) number. I chuckled to myself, knowing how things were going to turn out. So, when I returned to their table. Billy  started off with the charm, sending me a flirty smile and a wink, which I returned, adding to the game. Once he put out the whole " Can I get your number, so we can hangout later " line, it was game over. " I don't think so, I'm worth much more than $20 " I stated with a smirk, collecting the bill ad then walking away. Hearing Tommy laugh loudly and Billy scoff. I knew he wasn't going to let this go, I was the first girl who turned down, he was gong to be on a mission now.

School started to get harder and having Billy constantly on my ass now, was even worse. He was always around my locker, following me to my classes, trying to find a way into my life. He offered me rides home after school, which I turned down. He spent more time in the library, hanging around me. I started to open up to him more, but still kept my distance. He still hung out with Tommy and Carol, but ignored every girl that shook their ass his way. He and I became close, so close that he started inviting me to parties and never left my side. I don't even know how it happened honestly. He'd hangout with my brother and I after school, drove me to school and work. On one Wednesday afternoon, I was exchanging books from my locker, when an ex friend of mine approached me. " Are you really dating Billy? " Nancy asked with a brow raised, I only shrugged because I didn't want to talk to her. She scoffed " Well, good luck with that... He's going nowhere in life and I thought of all people, you would be smart enough not to get involved with him. I guess you're just desperate ", I closed my locker " At least I'm not a dick hopper... Only started dating Steve because he was popular, then quickly moved onto Jonathan... ". " You don't know what happened! " she stated, " And I don't care, just leave me alone and keep your damn opinions to yourself Wheeler! " I spat while walking away. Billy quickly walked up behind me, draping his arm over my shoulder " What was that about? ". I shrugged " Nothing important, are you still coming over tonight? ", he nodded " Are you still going to make me watch Back to the Future? ". I chuckled " Absolutely ", And I'm sure you can see where it went from there. 

A couple of months went by before there was a first kiss between Billy and I exchanged. We were out one day, just driving around. We were closer now then we were back then and my feelings were growing stronger for him by the day and not in a ' Friends ' way either. We parked by a small beach, watching the sunset. That's when he suddenly placed his lips on mine, it took me off guard at first, but didn't take long for me to realize what was going on. The little make out session lasted for a while, but that's all that happened that night. When he dropped me off afterwards, he really didn't speak of it, we said our goodbyes and that was how the day ended for me. The rest of the week went on as normal, other than the kisses in secret between Billy and I. Things ended up going further about a month later, when he and I were in my house, alone. I was ready for it and I definitely enjoyed, it eased the sexual tension between us. And it continued... We never really spoke about being in a relationship, nor did we we need to. I figured he may have feelings for me and I felt the same, as long as we were together, we didn't need to define things titles. That's where we are now, this is when the real story starts...

[ Now ]

Closer came the Holidays. First Halloween, where Billy and I attended a costume party. A week after, my mom instructed me to invite Billy to our Family's Yearly get together. And even though I didn't want to put him through the torture of listening to my Aunt Sam talk about her 12 cats, even though she brought most of them along. My Uncle Pete always got drunk and started a fight with someone, his Wife Shirley was always trying to take care of their three pudgy children, who were spoiled brats. The only family members I ever looked forward to seeing, was my grandparents. Who loved to slip me 5 dollars and let know know I was their favorite Grandchild. They weren't rude, nor judgmental. On a Saturday night, I had invited him and he agree'd, that is until Sunday came around. 

Billy and I were on our way to yet another party, I was quiet, just wondering about things. My parents had already alerted the family that ' Y/N's boyfriend was coming '. Hell, my parents and brother loved Billy, no doubt about that. What I did doubt was the whole ' Boyfriend ' thing, he wasn't my boyfriend, was he?." What's up babe? " he questioned out of the blue, " Just thinking " I stated because I didn't really want to bring this up now. " Thinking about what? " he then asked, I groaned deeply while shaking my head. Billy placed his hand on mine " C'mon Y/N, tell me ", I sighed deeply " I was just thinking about us ". " What about it? " he asked while retracting his hand and started drumming on the steering wheel again, I didn't know how to say it, so I paused for a few seconds. " What are we Billy? " I just spat out, probably extra loud. He thought for a few seconds, just as we pulled up to the party spot. " We're friends Y/N " he stated seriously, I sighed deeply.  Let down, would be the emotion I was feeling. " I don't date Y/N... I thought you knew that, I was actually meeting someone tonight. Don't ruin it for me " he stated rudely as he got out of the car, slamming the door after. Reminded me of the old Billy. I followed, but kept my distance from him. I didn't want to be at this party, I didn't want to be around these people. I felt used and embarrassed, I was stupid to think that he and I could ever be anything other than fuck buddies. I stood outside, trying to stop myself from shedding one single tear. Moments later, I heard someone approach me and I was a little nervous as to who it was. " Y/N, you okay? " I heard Steve ask, I shrugged not knowing what to say. " Want me to drive you home? " he asked as if he just knew, which caused me to nod. So, I followed Steve to his car and climbed in.  I guess this was the end of anything Billy and I had, which according to him was nothing.

Monday arrived earlier than I had hoped, I spent all Sunday in my room, only leaving to get food and let my parents know I was still around. I walked to school, even though the weather had changed and was now very chilly, the leaves had changed colors and had fallen off the tree's. It wasn't anything I couldn't handle though. I walked slowly to my locker, noticing a note fall out, as soon as it was opened. The first trash can I saw, I threw it away. I avoided any conversations with anyone, Billy was also ignoring my presence as well. Like an eye for an eye, if you're going to ignore me, then I'm ignoring you back. The week went on like that, until it was the day before the break. That's when the silence got to him, apparently he could take it any longer. He approached me in the hall, trying to act like everything was normal, but clearly everything was nowhere near normal anymore. I still kept my mouth shut, because I was great at ignoring people, but it just annoyed him more. " Stop ignoring me Y/N, Why can't we just go back to normal? " he asked with a slight scoff, I slammed my locker " Because things aren't normal anymore for me, I have feelings for you. Which you obviously don't return, so I need to move on. Leave me alone and go back to fucking random girls and I'll go back to pretending you don't exist ". I then made my way down the hall, feeling good about my words. I'd get through this, in the end. After school, I went straight to work. Not my usually spunky self, I was actually polite for a change. Mainly, I just wanted to go home. I think my boss realized that too, because he let me leave two hours early. I ended up walking home, which wasn't to far away, I ignored my parents as soon as I entered the house. Mom was cleaning up dinner dishes, dad was in the family room, TV on and newspaper in hand. I ran up to my bedroom, throwing my things down and changing my clothes. Then i made my way downstairs grabbing some food that had been prepared for dinner. " Billy's called, a few times in fact " my mom stated as she stood at the sink. " Don't care " I sighed stuffing my face, so I could get away from this conversation. " Oh sweetie, tell me you didn't break up.  The relatives were so excited to meet him " she stated with a sigh, I shrugged slightly, not ready to tell her the truth yet. " Not a big deal mom, just had a fight " I stated honestly, she nodded but didn't say anything further, she must've sensed that I didn't want to talk about this any longer. And once I finished Dinner, I went upstairs ans started on my homework. If I got it done now, I wouldn't have to worry about it later in the school break. 

The morning of Thanksgiving, I slept in. It was very overdue. I woke up at noon that day, after being bothered by my younger brother and cousin, charging into the room, pretending to storm the castle. Two little knights, waking a sleeping dragon. I pushed them out of the room, before slamming and locking my bedroom door. I could already hear Aunt Shirley trying to tell my mom how to cook the turkey right and Uncle Pete, who was already shouting at the TV. Today was going to be a long day. I jumped into the shower, then put on some makeup, before doing my hair. I didn't know why I was putting so much effort into my look, I was just spending time with family. Then I got dressed and made my way downstairs, into the kitchen. " Y/N! There's my beautiful girl " My grandmother yelled as she pulled me into a hug, " About time she got her lazy ass up " my oldest ( and most disliked ) cousin Juliana scoffed as she shoved chocolate into her mouth. " Hey Jul's, still obsessed with food I see " I stated with a smile, a scowl growing on her face, before she stomped into the living room. I sighed deeply, hugging my grandma once more. Then I hugged my Aunt Shirley, it wasn't her fault her kids were horrid. " I'm excited to meet your boyfriend tonight, what's his name again? " Aunt Shirley asked, I sighed deeply while sitting down on a bar stool. " His name's Billy and I don't think he's going to make it " I stated honestly, " Aw, honey why not? " my mom gasped. I shrugged " Family things ", my mom nodded, but I know my grandma knew better. She grabbed me by the arm and pulled me outside, away from everyone, towards the patio swing. Once we got settled, she smiled sweetly at me " Now, tell me what's really going on with this boy ". I sighed deeply " I can't, I'm embarrassed ", she laughed slightly " Sweetheart, you know yo can tell me anything ". I nodded, but still kept my mouth closed. " Okay, well if you're not going to talk, I will. Did I ever tell you that your dad almost wasn't your dad " she asked, knowing what it was going to cause. Her storied were always over an hour long and all of her grand kids were impatient ( Including me ), so now she uses that to her advantage. " No, I'll tell you " I sighed deeply, " He's not my boyfriend, never was... It's stupid, I haven't even known him that long, but I already fell for him. I spent a lot of time with him, he was over a lot and mom just assumed we were dating ". She nodded " So then, what's the problem? ", " He doesn't feel the same, he's a playboy. Only uses girls for one thing and I just got caught up in it, thought I was different. Thought I could change him, but I should've known better... He doesn't do relationships and I need to accept that, need to move on now " I stated honestly. " Y/N " she sighed pulling me into a hug, " No, it's alright. I'll get over it and I'll know better if this ever happens again " I smiled. " You are a strong girl, but I'm sure that boy will regret his decision soon enough. You're a gem Y/N " she stated, I rolled my eyes " You're only saying that because I'm your grand kid " . She scoffed slightly " You're my favorite Grand kid, but I'm telling the truth. And one day, I'll tell you about a similar situation I went through when I was your age ", I groaned deeply while standing up and helping her up as well. " Don't tell mom about this, you know how she is " I stated, " Over dramatic, yeah she was like that as a kid too. Took after her father. Don't worry, your secret's safe with me " she smiled pressing a kiss to the side of my head as we entered the house once more.

Around 5pm, the whole family was sat down at the table, ready to stuff our faces. We said our Thanks and then quickly dug in, but not before there was a knock on the front door. My dad sighed deeply while standing up and walking to it, everyone continued eating, drinking and talking obnoxiously loud. Dad returned seconds later, " Y/N, it's for you " he taking his seat once more. I looked at him confused " Who is it? ", I only got a shrug in response. So, it was now my time to sigh deeply and stand up. Making my way slowly towards the door and saw the blonde standing there, with that damn smile on his face, I wanted to slam the door in his face ( But, I didn't ). " What the hell are you doing here? " I questioned as I stepped out onto the porch, I also took Billy's appearance in. He had his normal jeans and jean jacket combo on. A white button up shirt, that he never knew how to button all the way up. Also had a tie hanging loosely around his neck, he looked all dolled up. " Well, I was invited " he stated with a sigh, I ran my hand through my hair " I figured you were smart enough to realize that with us not talking, the invitation was revoked ". " You're the one not speaking to me " he smirked, causing me to roll my eyes " Because I'm pissed  off at you ". He sighed deeply " You're only mad at me because of something I'm not ready to give ", " I don't even know why I'm talking to you, go home Billy and don't come back " I stated sternly. I then started stepping towards the door, to make my way back inside. He stopped me though " Y/N, why can't we just go back to the way things were? Why complicate things by attaching titles on us? ", " Because I don't want to be fuck buddies! I don't  want to be doing things with yo and then you go fuck other girls... That's how diseases are spread and I won't stand for that, not with the feelings I have for you. I'm trying to move on, if you don't feel the same, let me move on " I stated honestly.  " I wasn't seeing anyone behind your back Y/N, you were the only one I have been fucking lately " he smirked again, " Then why did you say you were  meeting someone at the party we went to " I asked. " I was angry at the time, but I didn't meet anyone. I actually left 20 minutes after you did, I was going to come by, but because you left with Steve, I was even more angry "  he sighed, " All he did was drive me home, so I could cry over your dumb ass " I the muttered. Things went quiet for a minute, even though it wasn't totally quiet, because I could hear my Uncle Pete shouting at one of his kids inside. I could also tell that Billy was thinking, trying to think of what to say next. " I don't want you to move on with out me, I miss you " he then stated quietly, " What? " I asked shocked. " Don't make me say it again " he stated, I cracked a small smile. " I'm not saying that I'm willing to be in a relationship yet, but I can promise that it'll just be you and I. No other girls, no more bullshit. No titles, yet. You and I " he stated with a hopeful look, " And your sure you weren't screwing around with anyone else " I asked again. He smirked" Trust me, once I got a piece of you. No one could ever compare ", I rolled my eyes while grabbing his hand. " Come on, let's go feed you to the wolves " I stated while pulling him int my house, him sighing deeply behind me. 

I pulled him into the dining room, hoping we could pass my family without any drama,  but I should've known better. Eyes were on us as soon as we entered, my grandmother was wearing a large smile. " Who the fuck is he supposed to be? " Uncle Pete spat through a drunken haze, pointing his finger at Billy. " I'm her boyfriend, who are you supposed to be? " Billy asked with an eyebrow raised, I furrowed my brows at that boyfriend word. " He has an attitude and I like him! " Uncle Pete then stated with a chuckle, " Y/N, take him into the kitchen. Billy get yourself some food, relax, I'm glad you could make it " my mother stated with a smile. Billy nodded while returning the smile, I pulled him into the kitchen with me. 

He and I stood in the kitchen, he was scooping different foods onto an over sized plate. " What's with the boyfriend word, you literally just said you didn't want titles " I asked with a smirk on my face, he sighed deeply " Yeah, so? " . " So, What changed within a few minutes? " I then asked, he shrugged his shoulders " Just thought, it wouldn't be that horrible if I were to be in a relationship. I like you a lot and I guess I'm willing to try for someone like you ". I smiled " You need to make up your mind boy! I don't want to force you into anything ", he laughed softly " I know and you're not forcing me into doing anything, so do you wanna be my girlfriend? ". " I don’t know, you put me through some shit and Steve's been looking good lately " I chuckled, causing him to roll his eyes " Y/N ". " I'd love to be your girl " I stated, he put his plate down and pulled me into a tight hug. " My girl, it has a nice ring to it " he sighed, making me smile as I watched him pick his plate back up. " Y/N, bring that extremely handsome boy back in here! " My Aunt Sam shouted, " Oh god " I mumbled. My Aunt Sam was single and ready to talk about her 12 cats with an attractive young man. He chuckled walking into the dining room, I sighed as I followed. 

The rest of the night went along okay, considering the fact that my family members were crazy at times. We ate a lot of food, talked about the most random things. Uncle Pete, Aunt Shirley and my Father all got in a fight. Which resulted in them to walk out, taking their three kids with them. As long as I didn't need to deal with Juliana anymore, because I could only deal with her attitude for so long. Things were okay between Billy and I, that's all I knew for now. I didn't know what was going to happen in the future, but what I did know, was that Thanksgiving was coming ti a close and Christmas was approaching Fast... Oh Dear... 

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Thank you all so much for Reading, I hope everyone Enjoyed. This is my first Holiday piece and when I first started it, I planned for it to be a completely different story, but I'm so happy with how it turned out! You're all so Amazing and Thank You again for Reading <3<3

[chasholidays]

My local minor league baseball team has a community outreach deal with an area nursing home in which every season two of their rookie players will actually live in the nursing home. So, professional baseball player Bellamy living in the nursing home where Clarke works/volunteers.

When Clarke hears about the baseball-player-in-residence program at Eden Meadows, she’s not really sure what to make of it.

On the one hand, human interaction is human interaction, and seniors especially need it. The residents are always happy have visitors, and plenty of their families can’t or won’t make it in very often. As someone who didn’t make that much time for her own grandparents, Clarke can relate, and she doesn’t really hold it against anyone. So bringing in dedicated people to hang out makes some sense.

It’s just that she doesn’t quite see live-in baseball players as the ideal solution.

“Aren’t there people who actually need a place to stay?” she grumbles. “Couldn’t this be some kind of beneficial outreach program? I bet there are college kids who would love to get free room and board. I’d love to get free room and board.”

Lincoln shrugs. “I think the idea is that baseball players will be more exciting. They won’t know them by name, of course, but baseball is America’s pastime. It’s like having celebrities living with them.”

“But celebrities we can actually afford.”

“We’re not paying them,” he points out, but he’s smiling. “Trust me, I was a little skeptical myself when we started doing it, but the residents love it. And it makes them want to watch games, because they feel connected to the resident players. They donated tickets to a home game last year and everyone loved going.”

Clarke smiles too. “Okay, yeah, that sounds pretty great. How much do we generally see them? They don’t get in the way, do they?”

“It’s usually not a lot. They have breakfast with the residents when they can and at least one dinner a month. Obviously they have to travel for games, so they’re only here about half the time. I don’t think they’ll be getting in your way, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“Just kind of curious, I guess. This is my first time dealing with this. And I don’t really know what to expect from a professional baseball players hanging out here.”

“I don’t think it’s likely to have a huge impact on your life. They probably won’t be around much when you are. Some evenings, but that’s about it. But if you’re hoping for an autograph, I’m sure that can be arranged.”

“I’m not much of a sports person,” she admits. “I prefer non-competitive, solo exercise.”

“You? Non-competitive?” Lincoln grins. “I don’t believe that.”

“If I’d been good at sports, I would have been competitive, but since I wasn’t, I do stuff where no on wins or loses. And baseball’s never really clicked for me anyway.”

“So, you weren’t fishing for details because you’re secretly very excited about this.”

“Just want to figure out how disrupted my life is going to be.”

“Barely at all,” says Lincoln. “I’m sure you’ll hardly notice them.”

He’s always such an optimist. “I’m sure.”

*

When Clarke’s adviser told her she should think about volunteering at a nursing home, she hadn’t really been particularly enthusiastic. She’s never been comfortable with older people–since, again, she didn’t see much of her own grandparents, or anyone else over the age of eighty–but she wants to go to med school, and volunteer positions look good on applications. Plus, she could just go for a few hours a week after class and get some good experience with a demographic she didn’t know well.

And, to her surprise, she’d actually liked it. After a few months, she added more hours, and she’s actually got a paid position lined up for the summer. She can see this being a career for her, elder care, and while her mother thinks that’s not ambitious enough, Clarke can live with being less ambitious than her mother wants her to be, if she likes her work.

But she’ll admit that she’s also used to being, well, the volunteer. She’s not the only one, but like Lincoln said, she’s competitive. She’s the bestvolunteer, everyone agrees, and she doesn’t really want some random jocks to show up and get to be cooler than she is just because they happen to be a little bit famous.

They’re not even in the major leagues yet, seriously. They can’t be that exciting. But it’s all the residents want to talk about.

“They moved in last night,” Mrs. Alexander tells her, while she’s giving out afternoon snacks. “Such nice boys.”

“One of them stayed up to watch Jeopardy! with us,” adds Mr. Thompson. “He was good at it!”

Clarke smiles, even though she watches Jeopardy! with them, and she’s good. “Better than me?” she can’t help asking.

He smirks; she does like Mr. Thompson. “I don’t know. I guess you’ll have to find out.”

“Do the players usually spend a lot of time with you?”

“Not very much. They’re so busy, you know? And they can’t just bring their homework to do while they sit with us like you can.”

“It’s easier to concentrate here,” she says with a smile. “Even better than the library.”

Usually, that’s true, but today she’s antsy, waiting for the baseball players to show up, not knowing if or when they will. It’s not a big deal, but she doesn’t like feeling unprepared, and until she meets the guys, she won’t feel like she can be prepared. And she has no idea when that meeting might happen; if it’s not tonight, she won’t be back until next week.

She’s prepared to feel annoyed about this for a while, but there’s an unfamiliar young man at one of the tables when she wheels Mrs. Hernandez into the dining room for dinner, and that has to be one of the baseball guys.

Clarke watches him out of the corner of her eye as she gets Mrs. Hernandez set up, studying him as best she can. He’s cute, if she’s honest, curly black hair and tan skin, wearing a pair of glasses with thick black frames and talking to Mr. Peters and Ms. Norris, telling them some story he’s illustrating with gestures from his large hands.

“Is that one of the new baseball players?” she asks Mrs. Hernandez.

“Oh, yes! I met him last night. I don’t remember his name, but he was very polite.”

“You like having them around?”

“They’re nice boys,” she says. “They’re good to spend time with us.”

“It’s not a burden to spend time with you,” Clarke reminds her. “But it is nice of them. I’m sure they’re busy with–training.” She did some cursory googling of what baseball schedules are like, but it was mostly about when games were, not what players do when games aren’t happening.

Other than living in a nursing home, obviously.

By the time she finishes getting everyone set up, all the chairs at the baseball player’s table are taken, and everyone is clamoring to ask him questions. Clarke doesn’t want to be bothered by his surge of popularity–it always happens, with new blood, everyone excited to get their story–but he’s just a baseball player. He’s not even in the major leagues yet.

She’s not going to be bitter.

Her shift is five hours, from three to eight, covering afternoon snacks and then dinner, with a couple hours after of just spending time with the residents. She usually sets up in one of the common spaces with some textbooks, reading and chatting with whoever wants to chat. From seven to eight, she joins in the nightly tradition of watching Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! and then she heads back to campus. It’s a nice routine, and she sees no reason to alter it for the new baseball player resident. If he wants to talk to her, he can.

And, apparently, he does. She’s been in her chair with her book for all of five minutes when he sits down next to her. Up close, she can see his skin is dotted with freckles and there’s a small scar over his lip.

And he’s very handsome.

“Hey,” he says, giving her half a smile. “I saw you helping out in the dining room, so I assume you’re not someone’s relative.”

“Volunteer, yeah.” She offers her hand. “Clarke Griffin.”

“Bellamy Blake. Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too. How do you get signed up for something like this?”

He looks a little amused at the question, although Clarke doesn’t know why. It’s a pretty normal thing to ask. And she’s curious. “They wanted volunteers, it sounded like a pretty good deal to me. I don’t pay for an apartment, and I get a free social life.”

It’s Clarke’s turn to smile. “Free social life?”

“What?”

“I guess I figured being in the minor leagues would give you a social life already. And this isn’t exactly–” She pauses, trying to figure out the best way to phrase it. “I like hanging out here, but it’s not for everyone.”

“So why is it for you?”

She shrugs. “I don’t know. It’s quiet and everyone’s easy to talk to. I just like it. But I didn’t think I would. I started coming here because my adviser said it would look good on med school applications, actually liking it was a total surprise.”

“I had a job at a nursing home when I was in high school, I worked in the dining room. I liked getting to know the residents, so when coach told us about this, I was the first volunteer.”

“That makes more sense.”

“Good enough reason for me to want to come here?” he asks, with a smirk that she wishes was a little less charming. “You like it, someone else should be able to too.”

“I just wasn’t expecting it, I guess. My friends can’t believe I hang out here as much as I do.”

“Well, you’re not the only one.” He pauses, but apparently his conscience takes over. “Murphy’s probably not going to be around as much.”

“Murphy?”

“The other rookie. He’s kind of a dick.” He looks around, adorably spooked, like he just realized he maybe should have said the word dick in a nursing home.

“The good news,” Clarke says, low and teasing, “is that a lot of the residents don’t hear very well, so they don’t know that you’re swearing.”

His laughs, a sheepish little chuckle. “Lucky me.”

“You get used to it. Not that some of the residents don’t swear up a storm,” she adds. “But they always act like we shouldn’t know those words.”

“I have some news for them about professional athletes and swearing.”

Clarke smiles, and he smiles back. He can’t be that much older than she is, probably recently out of college, assuming he actually graduated, and that makes her feel better. Somehow, she’d been imagining the resident baseball player as someone like Tom Hanks in A League of Their Own, an older, grumpy guy who wouldn’t really want to be here or talk to her. Which makes no sense with how old rookies actually are, but whatever. That’s her point of reference.

She wasn’t expecting someone like Bellamy.

The Wheel of Fortune music starts, and he perks up. “Sorry, I’m just–”

“Don’t apologize, I usually watch too.”

“Cool.” He gestures for her to go past him. “After you.”

*

Despite Lincoln’s assurances, Bellamy does have an impact on Clarke’s life. Admittedly, the other resident, Murphy, doesn’t show up much, almost never when Clarke is around, but Bellamy really does seem to see Eden Meadows as his home base, the place where he returns to as a default.

Not that he can always be around. With the season in full swing, Bellamy’s got games almost every day, which means he can’t spend all his time hanging out at a nursing home. He’s on the road a lot, or at games later in the day, or training. But according to the residents, Bellamy comes from breakfast as much as he can, and Clarke knows he comes for dinner as much as he can. The games aren’t broadcast on regular TV, but Lincoln has a cord to connect his laptop, so they watch the online stream, and Clarke joins them whenever she’s around.

After a couple weeks, she starts streaming in her dorm too, leaving the game on in the background while she does other things, listening for the announcer calling out that number six is up so she can watch him.

Clarke is not an expert on baseball. She understands the most basic of the basics, that one team tries to hit the ball and run around the bases while the other team tries to keep them from getting around the bases, that three strikes are an out and four balls are a walk, and that catching the ball is good. She knows that Bellamy is a catcher, which is the same thing Geena Davis was in A League of Their Own, and she definitely knows that most of her reference points for baseball are A League of Their Own. It’s weird only because Bellamy doesn’t talk about the game very much, or his career. He talks about college–which he did finish last year–and how much he likes history, about his little sister, who’s starting at NYU in the fall, because he can afford to send her to a better school than he went to. He talks about his teammates and his friends, but not much about the sport itself.

Not that Clarke has admitted to caring about the sport itself yet. She hasn’t told Bellamy that she watches the games at the nursing home, let alone on her own, and whenever anyone comes to her room while the games are on, she slams the laptop shut before anyone can see.

Or, rather, ideally she does. One morning, the weekend before finals, Clarke has the game on her laptop while she reviews flashcards in bed, away from the distractions of the internet, and Raven comes in without knocking, stops dead.

“Are you watching sports?”

“It’s just baseball.”

Raven frowns at the screen. “What the fuck team is that?”

A flush creeps up her neck. “Minor leagues.”

“You’re watching minor league baseball?”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“Nothing against–” She frowns. “Does that say Rumble Ponies?”

The conversation will undoubtedly get worse before it gets better. And that’s assuming it ever gets better, which is a big assumption. She’s been caught and now she has to explain herself.

“Yeah, that’s our local team.”

“The Rumble Ponies.” Raven flops down in her chair. “Seriously, why are you watching this? I didn’t think you liked baseball.”

“It’s a long story,” she says, and immediately changes her mind. “Actually, it’s really short, I just don’t want to tell it.”

“Tough shit. What’s up?”

“The nursing home has this program set up with the–” She stumbles over the name. “The team. A couple of their rookies come and live in the home and hang out with the residents for a year. All the residents love it,” she adds. “They think it’s so cool that they’ve got real ball players living with them. And they watch all the games, so I watch all the games when I’m there. And then I started watching them here.”

“So, the rookies are hot?” Raven asks.

“I didn’t say that.”

“Yeah, but if they weren’t, you wouldn’t be embarrassed about telling me. It’s not actually a big deal.”

Clarke sighs, flops back on the bed. “Just one of them. One of them isn’t around much, but the other one–I think he really likes hanging out with the residents. As long as he’s in town and doesn’t have a game, it feels like he’s always around, doing puzzles or watching TV or just talking to people.”

“Wow. So you’ve got it really bad.”

Clarke shrugs. “He’s hot, he’s smart, he likes to yell at the TV during Jeopardy! I was hoping professional baseball player was something that didn’t do it for me, but it’s not a deal-breaker, apparently.”

Raven leans in close, squinting at the screen. The live stream is always a little pixelated, never great quality, but good enough to mostly tell what’s going on. “Which one is he? Your guy.”

“Number six on the Ponies,” says Clarke. “Bellamy Blake. They’re in the field, he’s the catcher.”

“Huh. He’s got a nice back.”

She smiles. “His face is pretty great too.”

“It must be, if you’re watching baseball.”

“I’m not really paying attention, if it makes you feel better.”

“I’ll feel better when I actually see the guy.”

It takes until he’s up at bat; it’s not a great closeup, and all Clarke can see is the pieces that are missing from this distance, on this scale. His freckles are missing, his hair is under a cap, he’s wearing his contacts instead of his glasses.

Still, it’s enough for Raven. “Yeah, I’d probably watch baseball for him.”

Clarke smiles. “Yeah. It’s so worth it.”

*

“None of the residents are going to remember all the details, so I’m just letting you know that I’m going home for a couple of weeks so you don’t have to figure out what happened from someone else,” she tells Bellamy, once finals are over and she’s about to be kicked out of the dorms.

He raises his eyebrows. “Just for a couple of weeks?”

“Yeah. I’ve actually got a job here for the rest of the summer, but my mom wanted to see me first.”

“How dare she,” he teases.

“I know, I know. I’m not complaining, it’s just kind of a pain. I wish they didn’t kick me out of the dorms, I’d just live there all summer if they let me and everything would be so much easier.”

“Where are you living when you get back? Here?”

“Nope, they just let famous athletes do that. I’m subletting from my professor who’s out of town for the summer. As long as I feed her cat, I’m good. And she’s letting me leave my stuff there so I don’t have to drag it back to DC.”

“So you’re still going to be on the east coast?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“You should give me your number so I can text you about Jeopardy!”

It’s not like it’s a huge deal, really. Asking for someone’s number is a really minimal commitment, now. She doesn’t even know if Bellamy is single, or into women, and he really might just want to text her about game shows.

Which, okay, sounds like total BS as soon as she thinks it, but it could be true.

Then again, Bellamy’s not an idiot. He’s a twenty-three-year-old guy who probably flirts and has been flirted with a lot, and he has to know how he’s coming across.

The overthinking is getting her nowhere; she gives Bellamy her number, they watch their nightly game shows, and when she leaves, she tells him she’ll see him in a few weeks. Like a normal person.

The texts start the next morning, when Bellamy’s on the bus to an away game. He asks her when her flight is, which she tells him, and then he has Murphy’s bus singing to complain about, and Clarke gets patted down at airline security because her shirt is bunching and it looks like a bomb or something. Obviously she doesn’t text him while she’s on the plane, but she does let him know that she landed safely, and he lets her know that he’s got his game in about an hour.

“Who are you texting?” Abby asks.

“A friend.”

“A boyfriend?” she asks. “Or a girlfriend?”

“Or a friend,” says Clarke, smiling. “Another volunteer at the nursing home.”

“Oh, that’s nice. What’s their name?”

“Bellamy.”

Abby pauses. “And what are their preferred pronouns?”

She’s trying so hard with all the queer stuff; Clarke has to smile. “He’s a cis-guy, he uses regular masculine pronouns. He’s just got a weird, androgynous name. Not that I can relate to that or anything.”

“Clarke is a lovely name and you should be grateful that your father and I were already fighting against gender norms.”

“So grateful,” she agrees.

“So, is Bellamy a potential boyfriend?”

“Everyone’s a potential boyfriend, I guess,” she says, and tries to ignore her mother’s smile as she returns to her phone.

She watches Jeopardy! on her parents’ TV and Bellamy’s game on her iPad, texts him updates on how both are going. The Jeopardy! updates are more coherent, but she figures he’ll enjoy her completely uninformed baseball commentary too.

Sure enough, when he gets back, he texts, Yeah, this is exactly what I was hoping for when I got your number, and Clarke grins.

Maybe regular flirting is overrated. This is working great for her.

*

The two of them keep in touch regularly through Clarke’s visit at home. She almost feels bad for not knowing more about baseball, considering all the cool insider pictures and stories she’s getting, but Bellamy doesn’t seem to mind that she’s completely ignorant of his chosen profession. If anything, he seems to find it kind of refreshing. She’s the opposite of a groupie; maybe that’s nice for him.

When she gets back, he’s just left for another week of away games, and she spends the next few days in a state of itchy anticipation, wondering how things are going to be when she gets back, if things will be different or if all of the flirting was just in her head, if he’s just been killing time.

The residents, at least, are happy to see her. “It’s been so quiet without you,” Mrs. Hernandez tells her. “Especially when the boys are away at games. And I know Bellamy missed having you around, too.”

Her smile is sly, and Clarke has to smile. Trust the residents to be worried about their love lives.

But she doesn’t want to talk about that. “Have you been keeping up the with the games? It seems like they’re having a pretty good season.”

The job itself is pretty good, especially when people aren’t trying to set her up with Bellamy. She’s working a full forty hours a week as four ten-hour days, which is going to be tiring, but the three-day weekend is nice. And she doesn’t find it as difficult to be a real staff member as she expected to, even when there are gross issues. It really does feel like it could be a career, something she could keep doing. That’s gratifying too.

And every day she works, Bellamy is one day closer to being back, which is pretty great. She’s going to see him soon.

Except that he’s getting back on her day off, because of course he is. That’s the only way it could work out. It’s not even that bad, objectively speaking; it’s the end of her weekend, and she’ll see him the day after he gets back. It’s not like she has to wait that long.

But she’ll be at work, and he’ll be living at her workplace, which is pretty generally awkward vibe for romance. Not that she necessarily thinks she’s going to get laid immediately, but she thinks there are good odds of her getting laid at some point, and if it could happen immediately, she’d be down.

Mostly, though, she just wants to see him. As soon as possible. But it doesn’t feel like she can say that, like she can just ask. It feels like too big a step for her to take just yet.

Flirting sucks.

Luckily, Bellamy takes the issue out of her hands; about an hour out of town, he texts, I just realized I can never ask you to come over to my place.

Me: I’m at your place all the time

Bellamy: You’re in building where I currently liveWorking and caring for the elderlyYou can’t really just come chill with me

Me: Yeah that’s trueThe residents are already gossiping about usIn case you hadn’t heard

Bellamy: Yeah, I got thatThe whole time you were gone, they were asking me how much I missed you

Me: What did you say?

Bellamy: You know I missed you

Me: You could always come over here insteadNo audience except my prof’s cat

Bellamy: Which isn’t awkward at all

Me: Depends on why you want to come see meIf all the cat’s going to do is watch us watch Jeopardy…

Bellamy: I figured we could watch Jeopardy and go from there

Clarke flops onto her back, grinning up at the ceiling. It’s not really like hooking up with a celebrity, not even close. Even if Bellamy does end up in the majors, she doesn’t really care about him as a status symbol. But it is finding out that the boy she likes likes her too, and wants to come see her as soon as possible.That’s always going to be exciting.

Me: I’ll order pizza or somethingSee you soon :)

*

“This must be very exciting for you,” Mrs. Alexander tells Clarke. “Seeing your beau in action.”

It’s August and the complimentary tickets to the Rumble Ponies game finally came, and Clarke really is excited, although she’s trying to keep it in check. She’s not here as Bellamy’s girlfriend, she’s here as a chaperone for the residents of Eden Meadows, which is actually a real responsibility. It feels weird, doing attendance for actual adults, but the residents can’t walk for that long and can’t really be left to their own devices. Her job is to make sure they have a good time.

“I don’t think anyone’s ever called him my beau before,” she tells Mrs. Alexander. “That one’s kind of old-fashioned.”

“I think it’s a nice word,” she says. “It sounds so much more romantic than boyfriend. And a little more serious. The two of you do seem serious.”

“You know this is none of your business, right?” Clarke asks, but she can’t keep the amusement out of her voice. “Whether or not Bellamy is my beau is no one’s business but ours.”

“Of course it’s not,” she says. “But he is.”

“But he is,” Clarke admits. It’s definitely a little awkward, but she cleared it with Lincoln–which was even more awkward–and it’s going well. She’ll mostly be happy when he moves out of the nursing home and into his own place, but she’s also glad he’ll probably still come visit. He wasn’t just being nice to the residents to get on her good side; he really likes them. He’s a really good guy.

“And it’s very exciting, isn’t it?”

She lets herself smile as they find their seats. “Yeah, it really is.”

let the record show the binghampton rumble ponies are a real minor league baseball team and I love them based only on their name