#up wait for the apps to run properly and then sign back into everything i had in incognito and then go and see if my files saved so. i'll b

[keeps-ache]

love how my computer makes some apps stop working so i'm forced to do an update <3 that's really cool dude

[thephantomsdream]

So I just have this idea in mind about a meet-cute with our dearest John.

[Notes: I am writing this at work, and it is raining, and no, I have no costumers, and yes, it is self-indulgent because why not. We're just vibing and dumping cute stuff with some spell-checking, but I could've missed something so I do apologize for that. No use of Y/N or Reader in this one.]

Imagine it's raining where you are right now and you work dealing with customers somehow, yeah? Anyway, John is in the city for work, as always, and he coincidentally entered your workplace. He's smitten, not gonna lie. I see him as the type of man to know, you know? Hell, he'll look at you and you'll also feel the want too, the way he's seizing you up, almost as he is planning how to slowly kiss you. I swear you can feel his warm and rugged hands running over your body, but you have to act professional because he's hot and you're most likely looking too much into things.

But you're actually not, yeah? He smiles at you, a little small smile, blue eyes flicking between your eyes and lips. And god, he fucking looks into your soul. If you have time to talk to him, he'll definitely ask you about yourself while telling you some things about himself, vague but enough to satisfy curiosity. It's also raining, meaning you don't have many costumers, so the conversation goes and he runs it smoothly. It's effortless, the way he talks to you and makes you comfortable. Yes, definitely, you can tell he's flirting with you, but contrary to some younger men, he's calm, he's not pushy, although he is a little in your space. Just a little intense, and you can tell he's like that all the time. Close enough for you to smell his cologne, close enough to hear his voice rasp as he finishes his sentences as he's a little bit distracted by your lips. When you notice and smile, he does too, naturally, happy to get a good reaction out of you.

But everything stops when he gets a message. His lips purse and he grunts, shoving the phone in his pocket and smiling at you, disappointment in his eyes. He sees you get busy as a client walks in, a little sad he has to leave and can't even say goodbye properly, but he reaches for something in his pocket.

"I insist. You said you didn't grab one when you left home, yeah? Take it, love." He says, pushing his damp umbrella in your hand. It was velvety and sturdy, and his hand brushed yours in the right way. Not too much, but enough to get an idea of how warm he was.

"John, really, you don't have to do this. How will you go back?" You'd question.

"Nonsense, I have my coworkers waiting for me close-by and afterwards I won't need it anymore." He did say he'd have to leave the city, showing no sign of wanting to ask you about... anything, really. No number, no proper full name, no social media. Maybe it was just meant to be a very pleasant conversation with just a costumer. It didn't help that you couldn't bring yourself to ask either.

You accept bashfully, smiling at him when he seemed relieved and happy to have you take his small gift. You then wished him a good journey to wherever he's heading. And good luck with everything.

It did look like the man wanted to say more than a simple "Thank you, dove." but he stopped himself with a nod then headed out. Basically rushed, honestly. It did throw you off, how interested he was and just how fast it suddently finished.

Rain stopped not long after and you didn't need the umbrella that day, ending up at home, put away somewhere safe. At least you got a good quality umbrella out of this ordeal, yet you couldn't stop thinking about him.

That story now behind, spring came full force and the rain did not come back until almost three months later.

Weather app lied, it seems, as you glanced outside the store and saw zero rain, and you sighed, having carried your (new and fancy) umbrella around with you all this time. As your eyes studied the outside scenery, someone walked through the front door and you already plastered your "Welcome, dearest costumer" smile when it faltered a little in surprise as you recognized the man that entered rushing in the store. Of course you would, as if you stopped thinking about him. As of today, you were slowly starting to think less about the mysterious John, having to accept that he was just passing by and that you were a little encounter in his busy life. But he was here. In your store. Again. Looking for something. Or someone...

Rushing through the door, almost out of breath, he scanned his surroundings in a milisecond to spot you already watching him. The relief was prominent on his features, making you feel excited? He looked relieved to see you, then he immediately looked a little hesitant, unsure. As if his legs brought him there before he could think it through, although it didn't take long for him to smile at you.

"Been a while, yeah?" God, his voice was even better slightly breathless.

You eagerly get to talking again, his chest puffed and his back stood straighter when you easily told him that of course you remember him because how could you not, really? Conversation was just a tad awkward, him searching in your eyes for something while trying to play it cool.

He pointed out the entrance with a small nod of his head and smiled as you both watched a few shy droplets of water finally hit the dry floor, seconds later it starting a downfall. His eyes locked back onto your face and he asked a simple "I trust the umbrella's been handy?" and to that you smile, explaining how you never got to use it but coincidentally, it was now hanging out in the back with your purse, since finally it was supposed to rain again (Weather App redeemed). To that he just looks at you, expression morphing from shock, to relief to amusement.

He had this way of commanding a room, having people wait for him to react and this would be the first time you'd notice a quirk of his as you yourself held your breath, seeing he was about to say something. He'd take a sharp breath, tilt his head and take a small step forward when he was going to say something intense, something from the bottom of his heart and guts.

"Would I be a fool to ask you on a date, love?" He'd swoop the the rug under your feet with that and continue. "Because I was a fool once to try to act subtle and I almost missed my chance." He laughs at something, something that will turn into a light-hearted joke between you.

As you stutter a yes, you also ask him what he meant. You weren't an idiot, he was interested few months back, but he never made a move, not even a subtle one, just rushed out. Just like that. Poof.

Funny, huh? How he slipped his number on a small piece of paper in the umbrella, thinking it would be cute for it to fall out as you open it. Also, he didn't want to bother you anymore at work, specially since you already had some costumers and he already took so much of your time. (They could've waited, but whatever. Ugh, that mindful dumbass.)

The first time you made him stutter was exactly after he explained that to you, as you raised a brow at him and asked. "What if I used the umbrella in a rush, in pouring rain and I'd never see the piece of paper fall?" It was indeed a question he surely asked himself afterwards a couple of thousands of times in the dead of the night, berating himself for it, yet he still didn't have a good answer for that, hence the stutter and the absolutely fucking adorable shade of pink painting his cheeks for a couple of seconds there.

The way John sees it is that he spent two months waiting for a message, a call, anything. He sometimes couldn't attend his phone but made sure that the number he gave you was always available, even if he couldn't answer immediately. Hell, he even pulled through missions faster to come back to base and look at the device and be greeted with disappointment. It took him a few weeks to accept that you weren't going to contact him and acceptance started to hit, although John can't really let it go before thinking of all the what-ifs imaginable (after some more weeks of sulking silently), so of course he checked the weather in your area after he left you. And of course he saw that in fact it did not rain again, yet he couldn't be sure if it rained that same day, and if it did, how much. Records weren't that clear in your specific area.

He needed to know if you found the paper or not. It was all he had to know. John Price was left stumped and in need of answers. Answers he came to get because John Price knew the moment he saw you that it would be too good to let go.

You had to check yourself, it didn't matter that it was at work with him there. You went back, grabbed the umbrella and opened it, and surely enough, with his observant eyes studying every single one of your movements as he followed right behind, you watched in fascination as a small piece of paper fell swaying side to side in its descend, as if mocking you.

"00xx-xxxx-xxxxxxx"

"I'd love to hear from you again. Call me anytime. John."

As you'd tell this story to anyone who asked you two how you met, you'd roll your eyes at John any single time. He called it fate, said the wait was worth it to see you watch that paper fall out of the umbrella, meanwhile you ways end up calling him an idiot. Lovingly. For such a bright man, he was indeed an idiot. Your idiot thought. (In his defense, it was the only time he ever attempted subtleties with you, learing his lesson and all.) One thing for sure? The story never ceased to bring a smile on your face.

[db-gochifan]

Braten/Broten Week 2023 - Day 4: Sharing an Umbrella

Days: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]

Title: Suddenly Model Pairing: Goten/Bulla Characters: Son Goten, Bulla Briefs and Marron Summary: Bulla was only meant to deliver some flowers for a photoshoot, but things took a different turn Cross-posted on AO3

Bulla handed a beautiful bouquet of purple orchids to the last client of the day with a bright smile on her lips. It had been another busy day in her flower shop, but the day was far from being over. She had been offered a huge job opportunity and immediately took it. So the last task of her working day was to deliver the flowers at a photo studio and then go home. She’d be lying on her couch before she knew it.

 She checked the door twice, to make sure it was properly closed before picking up her car keys from her small purse and unlocking its alarm. She got inside the light pink van she was able to afford with the profit she made and saved from the flower shop. A wide smile came into her lips as she realized how far she had gone. She had made it.

****

Son Goten was sitting on a chair in the dressing room having his makeup done for a photoshoot. He was wearing a thick white robe and chatting with another love affair he met on a dating app. As much as he loved being a model, he didn’t really like having to sit on a chair for a couple of hours to get ready for a photoshoot. Luckily for him, it didn’t take much longer for him to be free to get changed.

 He was about to put on the clothes chosen for him, one of the assistants came in writing frantically in a chart and barely paying attention to him.

“We’ll have to wait a few more minutes.”

“What?!” He turned to her with his eyebrows raised. “Why?”

“The woman who’s bringing the flowers for decoration hasn’t arrived yet.”

“You must be kidding me!” He complained shamelessly. “Where does she live? East city?”

“The city is a chaos today. They said Mr. Satan is having a fan meeting and the whole city wants to participate.”

“People actually want to participate in a fan meeting with him?”

“You can be sure of it.”

“Damn.” Goten shook his head and sighed with frustration. “I have no option but to wait.”

****

“All West City decided to go out today?” Bulla complained angrily as she slammed the wheel. “What is wrong with these people? I can’t be late!”

She decided to turn on the radio and found out that all the insane traffic was because of Mr. Satan. Everything quickly made sense to her, but she was still nervous because she had a delivery to do and was running out of time. She glanced at the back of her van and took a deep breath. So much for lying down on her couch soon.

****

Goten was thrown on the couch in the dressing room, bored to death. Another half an hour had gone by and no sign of the flower woman. He absolutely hated having to wait so long to work, though he knew it was part of his job. Things could be unpredictable sometimes. He didn’t blame the woman in the slightest, though.

****

“Finally!” Bulla exclaimed with relief when she parked her car in front of the studio, one hour after she meant to deliver the flowers. She could hope they weren’t too mad at her. She quickly grabbed the flowers in the back of her van and rushed inside the studio.

****

Goten walked out of the dressing room when the noise outside grew louder. He wanted to see what was going on and was taken by surprise when he saw the flower woman was actually Bulla. Before he knew it, he was walking towards her.

“Well, well, if it isn’t the cat lady.” He said in a charming tone and picked a couple of flowers from the box.

The blue haired woman felt her heart racing when she heard his voice and saw his hand grabbing a flower inside the box.

“What are you doing here?” She raised her eyebrows at him with surprise.

“What do mean what I’m doing here?” The brunette was shocked with her question. “I’m a model, remember?”

“Oh that’s right! I remember it now. You were standing outside a studio in West City.”

“That’s right.”

“Is this the replacement model?” The assistant girl came in, still keep her focus on her chart.

“What?” Bulla lifted her head, very confused, and pointed to herself. “Me?”

“That’s right.”

“That must be a mis…”

“Yes, she is.” Goten blatantly cut her out. “She even looks like one.”

“Great, your clothes are in the dressing room.”

“What are you doing?” She asked him when the woman walked away. “I’m not a model.”

“You should be. Look at you.” He checked her out intensely. “Besides, you’ll get to pose with me.”

The woman felt her cheeks burning bright red and began to head to the dressing room. “Fine, but you owe me big time for this.”

“I’ll buy you a coffee.”

“No, you can buy me a burger.” She said over her shoulder before walking into the room.

****

Bulla picked a hanger up and stared at the flowery white top and skirt. It was very different from what she was used to wear, but things had gotten unexpected anyway, so she thought why not?

  Goten felt a shiver down his spine when he glanced up after she walked out of the room, wearing her outfit for the photoshoot. His cheeks burned bright pink and his throat got weirdly dry. He quickly shook his head and stood up.

“Looking good, cat lady.”

“Please stop calling me that.” She shot him a death glare and quickly looked at the assistant, who came to talk to her.

  Despite her initial discomfort with the bright lights pointing at her, it didn’t take long for Bulla to feel comfortable with being in the spotlight. She was actually enjoying being a model for a few hours. But little did she know what was awaiting for her. At a certain moment, Goten joined her and none seemed to mind. Her eyes went wide when he stopped behind her and slid a hand over her waist.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m working?” He looked at her like it was obvious enough.

“I didn’t know part of your job means to touch someone else’s body.”

“It’s just for the photoshoot. It doesn’t mean anything.”

“Oh.” Bulla looked down, visibly embarrassed for not realizing it sooner. “So I suppose it’s okay then.”

“Great. Then we shall continue.”

  Bulla had to admit she enjoyed being a model after all. It wasn’t as bad as she thought, and she even got to have a lot of proximity with Goten. It definitely wasn’t bad at all.

“You did a great job, cat lady.” He remarked with a cheeky grin.

“I told you to stop calling me that. My name is Bulla. Bulla Briefs.” She snapped and narrowed her eyes at him.

“Alright, Bulla. Bulla Briefs.” He teased and then put his hands in front of his chest with his palms turned to her, in a defensive way. “I’m just joking with you.”

“You better.”

“On a serious note, you really did a great job. You should really invest in being a model.”

“I’m more than happy being a florist, but thank you.” Bulla replied kindly. “But it was a good experience. I had a lot of fun.”

“I can tell.” The brunette glanced quickly at her and then back at the photos. “You have a natural talent for it.”

“Thank you.”

****

Bulla returned to her life before her fifteen minutes of fame in the following days. Playing a model for one day was nice and all, but it was time to wake up from her fairytale. Her day was so busy she only realized it was time to close her flower shop when she looked outside and noticed it was getting dark.

 As soon as she locked the front door, it start pouring. She lifted her palm to the chest level and it soon got filled with water drops. She mumbled with frustration and her eyes widened the next second. She looked through the glass and saw she was standing under an umbrella.

“What are you doing here?”

“I was passing by and saw you didn’t have an umbrella with you.” Goten looked around. “I don’t see your car nearby.”

“That’s because it isn’t. I couldn’t find a parking spot near, so it’s a couple of blocks away.”

“I’ll take you, come on.”

“You don’t have to, really.” Bulla assured him. “It’s not raining that much, I can run to my car.”

“Don’t be silly. Why would you want to get wet when you can have an umbrella?”

“Okay.” She gave in. “I’ll accept it.”

“Great. Let’s go.”

****

Bulla put her palm up again when they arrived at her car and noticed the rain wasn’t that strong anymore. She turned around to look at Goten and put a lock of her hair behind her ear.

“Thanks for bringing me over. I really appreciate it.”

“You’re welcome.” He checked to see if it was safe enough to close his umbrella, but it started pouring again as soon as he did. He tried to open it again, but it wasn’t working. “Damn it!”

“Do you live near here?”

“What?” He lifted his head and looked at her with wide eyes.

“I can give you a ride.”

The dark haired man barely seemed to register what she was saying. He could only pay attention to her soaked long blue hair glued to her face. Next thing he knew, his hand was resting on her cheek and he was leaning towards her. Bulla felt her heart start pounding and she knew she had to get away from there, but her body simply wasn’t answering to such commands. Instead, her hands wrapped around his neck and she parted her lips just seconds before he touched them with his own. The woman couldn’t help but remember how good they tasted and how good they felt on her. Without hesitation, she kissed him back and felt his arm tighten around her slim body. Only several minutes later they pull away from each other, both panting and gasping for air. Goten touched her forehead with his and stared into her big beautiful blue eyes.

“Wow…” He held her face in his hands. “Your lips taste so familiar. It’s almost like I’ve kissed you before. In fact, I feel like I’ve known you for a long time. Way longer than the cat incident not too long ago.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Bulla swallowed hard and looked away. There was a lump on her throat. “I should go.”

“I’m sorry.” Goten slid his hands to hers. “I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

“You didn’t.” She assured him, looking into his dark eyes. “I just really have to go.”

And yet her fingers intertwined with his. Once again, her brain was screaming for her not to do it, but her body decided to act on its own for the second time that day. It didn’t take long for their lips to touch again.

“So, are you free tonight?”

“What?!” She raised her eyebrows to him.

“I believe I owe you a burger.” He looked down at her and noticed she still looked confused. “You know, for being a model for some hours a few days ago.”

“Right.”

“So shall we go?”

“Okay. I’m in the mood for a burger right now.”

“Great.” Goten offered her his arm and she linked hers. Then they walked down the street.

****

“Wow, this burger is really delicious!” Goten’s eyes went wide as soon as he started chewing it. “I can say it’s probably the best one I’ve ever eaten.”

“I know! I feel the same way.”

“Thank you for bringing me here. Honestly, my choice wouldn’t be as good as yours.”

“Why do you say that? I’m sure you’d take me to a good place too.”

“I doubt it. I don’t know many places here. I don’t come to the city that often.”

“You don’t live here?”

“Nope. I actually live quite far from here.”

“Where do you live?”

“On Mount Paozu.”

“What?!” Bulla nearly screamed and quickly covered her mouth. “That’s very far from here.”

“I know. It really is.” He looked at his watch. “Speaking of that, I need to go now. I don’t want to get home late. Later than I already am, I mean.”

“Alright.” She stood up. “I’m sorry about that. I didn’t mean to hold you in.”

“You didn’t.” Goten assured her. “I’m just gonna pay the check.”

“Oh no, you can leave that to me. I totally don’t mind paying.”

“But I do. I invited you, so I’m paying.”

“Okay.” She said, thinking it would be better not to insist.”

“I’ll be right back.”

  “Thanks for bringing me here and keeping your promise.” Bulla looked at him after opening the door from the passenger seat and placing the bag with food she had bought to Marron.

“My pleasure.” Goten assured with a smile. “We should do it more often.”

“Y-Yeah.” She was caught by surprise, but smiled. “We definitely should.”

“Well, then I’ll see you around.” He gave her a sweet kiss on the cheek and began to walk away.

“Hey.” She said and their eyes met when he looked over his shoulder. “Aren’t you forgetting something?”

“Huh?” Goten was confused for a moment and then it hit him. “I don’t have to give you my phone number. I know exactly where to find you, flower lady. See you around.”

Bulla watched him leave slightly dumbfounded, but still couldn’t help but smile. He had a really good point.

“A kiss on the cheek, huh?” Marron revealed herself behind her and the blue haired woman turned around. “That’s certainly some progress.”

“You don’t know the slightest about it.”

“Ohhh gossip!” The blonde got closer to her. “I want to know all about it. So you better start spilling it right now.”

“There’s nothing to spill, Marron.” Bulla couldn’t hide her smile. “Except the fact we kissed.”

“No freaking way!” She lightly nudged the blue haired goddess in the forearm. “And you said there was nothing to spill!”

“Well…”

“Tell me, did he remember you?”

“He remembers the cat situation, so I guess he does.”

“Did you ask for his phone number?”

“Yes, but he didn’t give me.”

“What?!” Marron was shocked. “Why not?”

“He said he knew where to find me now.”

“Ohhh, I like that.” The blonde cheered. “So what are you gonna do now?”

“Nothing.” Bulla shrugged and looked at her. “I’m just gonna wait until we bump into each other again.”

“That can be a tiring game.”

“I know. But I want to see if it’s actually meant to be.”

“Didn’t you have enough proof of that already?”

“Maybe.” She confessed. “I just want to wait a little longer.”

“That’s okay. If you’re comfortable with it.”

“I am.” She nodded.

“So tell me.” Marron linked her arm with hers. “Is he a good kisser?”

“Okay, let’s just go home.” The blue haired woman laughed and then filled her in.

[lexosaurus]

Everything Was White: Part 12

[see all chapters]

Read on: [ffn] / [ao3]

---

The alarm was blaring.

Danny recognized the noise immediately. But his eyes were still slow to open, his arms were slow to turn off the offending sound, and his brain was slow to recognize that the white ceiling above him was just his bedroom ceiling.

His body was numb. Nothing felt real.

He grabbed his phone off his nightstand and unlocked it. The screen was too bright, but he didn’t care. He’d been through worse. What was a little eye strain to him, really?

There were text messages, but Danny ignored them. The government likely already read them first, so if they were important, Danny would probably have woken up back in his cell rather than his cozy bed.

Ghosts like Danny didn’t get to have comfort. He was unpredictable. Dangerous.

“You’re a feral beast.” Operative O’s deep voice rained down on him. “You need to be trained.”

Danny opened the Twitter app only to be faced with a crushing amount of notifications and his name on the top of the trending list.

He should have felt nervous. Anxiety should have gripped his stomach. But...it didn’t.

He felt nothing.

Numb.

He clicked on his name and scrolled through the tweets. As he suspected, that damn video of him at the PHP littered his screen.

Protests have begun to break out near the health clinic Phantom is attending. [image]

I don’t understand, why doesn’t he just fly into the building or something? Can he not fly?

Is phantom over?

It’s so gross how people feel the need to harass a teenager trying to recover from trauma.

imagine being a teen trying to get emergency mental help and then THAT walks into ur class 

What the fuck did the government do to him? 

He was numb.

Nobody knew what really happened in there, and Danny wanted so badly to keep it that way. And the worst part was, he thought that if he just forgot about it, tried to move past it, then it would all go away. And no one would ever know.

Except Vlad did find out. Somehow, Vlad had managed to get a hold of classified government files about Danny, and if what he had implied was true, then he had learned everything. 

And if Vlad knew, then…

No. He wasn’t going to think about it. 

Danny knew from the moment he’d stupidly revealed himself that his life was not his own anymore. He knew that he was going to be nothing but a government possession from that moment till the day he died.

He didn’t deserve to get upset over this.

He pulled up a blank tweet and started typing. His movements were robotic. Stilted. But one slip-up, just one reason for the public to get suspicious, and Danny knew that some seedy corner of the internet would pounce on the opportunity to dig deeper into Danny’s life than he was comfortable with.

Danny Phantom @dannyphantom Thank you everyone for the support. I’m back home with my family and am healing.

Before he could question what he was doing, his finger was already pressing send on the tweet. He watched as almost immediately, notifications popped up in his inbox. 

But he didn’t open his notifications, he didn’t look at the replies. Instead, he closed the app and shut his phone off.

He didn’t care anymore.

Maddie knocked on the door and asked him a question, and he responded with the right answer for her to leave. He got up and started his new morning routine of sitting in the shower for ten minutes, getting dressed, brushing his teeth, and heading downstairs for breakfast before leaving for six hours of mandatory therapy.

He stared out the window, watching the morning traffic pass by him. He couldn’t remember if he shampooed his hair or if he just sat under the scalding water. But it was fine. He was just a government-issued robot now. Whatever.

There were people lining the highway when Danny pulled into the PHP center. They were shouting different things, holding different signs, their cameras armed and ready as soon as the GAV came into view. The police were there, making sure no one escaped into the parking lot, and there were therapists waiting outside.

They didn’t know. They had no idea what Danny had gone through, why he was there.

And it didn’t matter. Not to them, not to Danny, not to the police or the news stations filming the scene or to the government or Vlad or anyone else. 

Danny wasn’t in charge of his life anymore. 

He was only here because the government had decided he could stay free. 

For now.

The therapists escorted him into the building. Danny felt hollow. Sick.

No, he was fine.

Maddie hugged him, told him to have a good day, that she’d be back to bring him to more therapy after, and Danny nodded. At least, he thought he remembered to nod. He might not have, though.

There was a window in the lobby. A white van was parked along the street.

The APC news van.

Jazz was right. Danny was just being paranoid about the white van outside of their house before. He was so stupid. 

Even if it wasn’t a news van, what would it matter? He didn’t control his life, what would he care if they finished him off in some back alley? What would it matter if they snuck him into their van and held him captive for the rest of his life in some damp containment cell?

Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Danny spaced out for the morning meeting. He couldn’t remember if he managed to read off his paper for the other teens. His voice wasn’t working today. His head hurt. His chest hurt. Everything was numb.

They had art therapy today, run by a tall, lanky man with sandy hair and a clean-shaven face. He told the group to paint what they were feeling today, to channel their emotions onto their blank sheets of paper.

But Danny felt nothing. He had nothing to give.

He must have stared at his paper for too long, because the therapist tried to talk to him, ask him if he was alright, if he was having trouble with the exercise.

Danny didn’t respond, instead choosing to pick up the green paint and squeeze some of it directly onto his paper, rules be damned. It was too dark, so he grabbed the white paint and smeared it into the green. The color still wasn’t right, but Danny didn’t know enough about art to make it right, so he just kept spreading green across his paper. A dash of yellow, then some white, more green.

Time was up. His paper was green. 

“Good job, Danny. What do you think?” the therapist asked.

Danny stared at the paper, studying the streaks of yellow within the brush strokes. “It’s not the right shade of ectoplasm.”

The day continued with more emotion-managing lessons and group activities but Danny didn’t care and nobody could understand that. He was done with this, he was tired, it didn’t matter.

It was lunchtime, and Danny had no appetite. It felt like he had just eaten breakfast. His stomach was still full, but he had a sandwich sitting in front of him that he needed to eat or else they would tell his parents.

Danny held the sandwich between his fingers. It looked like sandpaper.

He didn’t want to eat it.

The therapist was looking at him. She was probably talking to him too, asking him questions about his day. But Danny ignored her. After all, didn’t he need to eat this lunch? How could he possibly eat and talk at the same time?

The teens were talking around him, but Danny blocked them all out too.

They were noisy.

It was like they weren’t even there.

Danny wasn’t human. He didn’t care. 

But you do care. 

He didn’t.

He was numb. 

Eat up like a good little dog. 

I’m not a dog.

Something inside him snapped, and he yanked on his cold core, channeling all his energy to his fingertips. His fingers tingled out of the tangible field, and the sandwich fell to the table.

“Whoa!” The blonde girl jumped, her eyes trained on Danny’s transparent skin.

“Danny?” 

There was an audience. Danny had forgotten about them. His core faltered, and the power faded from his fingertips. 

He should have felt embarrassed by this emotional display. He should have felt horrified that he’d allowed himself to act so inhuman and disgusting in front of these innocent bystanders.

But he was still numb.

“Sorry,” he said. “I was bored.”

“That was sick!” the brunette boy chimed in. “You can do that on command?”

“Usually.” Danny’s gaze flickered over to the therapist, who was giving him a strange look. He turned his attention back to the fallen sandwich. 

Maybe he would get kicked out of the program for this. For being too dangerous. That would probably be for the better. Then he could go free into the world. No more schedule, no more therapy, no more dissecting his emotions or talking about his trauma. 

Who cared about his trauma, anyway? Certainly not him.

“So you still have your ghost powers, then?” the blonde girl asked. “People were saying online that you lost them. The government took them or whatever.”

Danny brought his hand up to his face, willing his fingers to fade to invisibility. “They’re locked. But...I...they’re there. I’ll get them back.”

He would get them back. He needed them. 

Especially now.

Which was how he found himself sitting quietly outside his mother’s door. Waiting. He should have knocked probably, but he didn’t. Couldn’t. He didn’t know why, he knew he should just go back to his room, go to sleep, stop bothering his parents about this, but he needed his core back.

His mom would understand. She was a ghost biology expert, right? She would get why he needed his core back now.

He raised his fist to knock, but he must have already knocked before because the door opened, revealing his mother dressed in teal pajamas on the other side. 

“Danny?” She frowned, her brows pulling cautiously above her eyes. “What are you doing up, sweetie? Everything alright?”

“I, uh—” His voice was scratchy. He broke eye contact, staring down at his lap. “My—my core.”

“Something wrong?”

He licked his lips, his mouth dry. “I need it back.”

“Sweetheart,” she said in a patient tone. “We talked about this.”

“No. you talked.”

She sighed. “Danny, it’s nearly eleven. Can’t this wait till morning?”

“No. No. I need it.”

“I told you, hun, your core and body need time to heal properly first before we make any drastic changes to your physiology. Just give it a few more weeks, alright?”

“Weeks?” Danny’s voice rose in alarm. 

“I promise it’ll be all worth it.”

Static rang in his ears, and a steel claw clutched at his stomach.

His mom didn’t understand. Why would she? She was human. Humans would never get it. She didn’t understand. 

“No, I can’t…”

“Danny, you need to trust me. Your body needs to rest.”

“You don’t understand.”

She regarded him for a moment before opening her door fully. “Why don’t you come in and we can talk, then. You can tell me why this is so important to you.”

Danny peered inside the door, at the surprisingly average-looking bedroom before him. He could go in, tell his mother just how wrong he felt cut off from his core, how he was being blackmailed by Vlad, how there was a distinct record of every detail of what the Guys in White had done to him, how he had never felt so defenseless, so vulnerable in his life.

But he wouldn’t, and he knew he couldn’t. There was no way he could put it all into words. He was a ghost, she was a human. He couldn’t explain this to her.

Skulker and Vlad may have forced his revelation, but they gave him more secrets than he could ever have dreamt of handling.

Danny turned away. “It’s fine. Good night.”

“Hun…”

“Night, Mom.”

There was a tense silence before Maddie finally relented. “I love you, Danny.”

“You too,” he said reflexively. The words tasted sour on his tongue.

She didn’t understand. If she truly loved him, she would give him his core back right now, but she didn’t.

No, he was just being paranoid. This was just his Obsession talking. He didn’t need his core, he was just as much human as he was ghost. So what if he had to be a little more human for the next few weeks? Isn’t that what he’d always wanted?

To just be a regular human?

Maybe that was what his mother wanted. Maybe that was why she was postponing removing the chip. Maybe she was too afraid to see her son as a monster. A ghost. 

But that was crazy. She loved him.

She was telling the truth. 

His parents accepted him.

---

“You seem quiet today.”

Danny leaned back against the sofa, his arms crossed and his eyes looking anywhere but at the blonde figure sitting before him. The stress ball sat untouched on the table next to him.

He didn’t feel like doing therapy today. He didn’t want to talk. 

His mom was human, his therapist was human. No one was going to get it.

“What’s on your mind, Danny?”

“Nothing. I’m fine.”

“Yeah?”

“Yes.”

He was fine. There was nothing to talk about. Even if there were things to talk about—and there weren’t, this was all just his Obsession going haywire—it wouldn’t matter anyway because he was defenseless and the government was going to kidnap him again. It was only a matter of time.

“You finished your first week with the PHP group today, right? How has that been going?”

“Fine.”

“Can you tell me about some of the activities you’ve been doing?”

“I don’t know.”

She sat there for a moment, as if giving him time to elaborate. But Danny wasn’t going to elaborate. He didn’t feel like talking today. 

He looked out the window. The leaves had changed color, the ripe greens fading to yellows, oranges, and reds. In another few weeks, the ground would be littered with fallen leaves.

Summer had barely just begun when he was dragged from his house, drugged, and locked away. And yet, even though his entire world had come to a halt, time still moved on.

The clatter of the therapist’s clipboard falling on a side table jolted Danny out of his musing. He flinched, his eyes snapping over to see the therapist rising from her chair. 

She stretched her arms behind her back and walked over to the closet. “You know what? It’s been a long day. Wanna play a game?”

“Um...are we allowed to do that?”

“I don’t see why not.” She grabbed a box out of the closet and placed it down in the center of the room.

Danny peered at it in confusion. “Jenga? Of—of all the games out there, you’re really gonna make me...make me get on the floor for Jenga?” 

“Oh, come on, it’s fun.”

“You must throw some wild parties,” he remarked, rolling his eyes. Nonetheless, he slid off the couch and slowly scooched himself towards the middle of the room. As long as he didn’t have to explain why he was two seconds away from ripping his own core out of his chest, he would go along with whatever game she threw at him.

The therapist carefully tipped the box upside down, sliding the lid up to reveal a tower of multi-colored wooden tiles jigsawed together.

“So here’s our marvelous tower,” she said. “You can reach that alright?”

“Yeah.”

“So normal Jenga rules. We switch off trying to remove a piece without causing the tower to collapse. Except, for this game, after you remove a piece, you’re going to pick a card from this stack—” She pointed to a deck of large cards set up next to the Jenga tower. “—and then answer the question on the card that’s the same color. So if I take a purple tile out, I’ll answer the purple question on the card. Got it?”

Danny glanced between the cards and his therapist’s eager face. He was fairly certain Jenga never involved a set of cards before.

Maybe he’d forgotten the rules. It wouldn’t have been the first time his brain had betrayed him. “Am I being quizzed?”

“Don’t worry.” She pushed up the sleeves of her blue cardigan. “They’re just basic therapy questions. Nothing too bad.”

No. This was a trick, wasn’t it? To get him to talk?

He wasn’t going to fall for it. “I thought we weren’t—weren’t doing that...today.” 

“The questions aren’t too deep. Honestly, I mostly just use this game as an icebreaker for new clients. But Jenga’s pretty fun all the same.”

He must have still looked too suspicious, because she threw him an easy smile and went, “Here, I’ll go first.” She carefully nudged a green tile out of the stack and drew a card. “Okay, so the green question on here says, ‘Describe yourself in three words.’ Well, I’d say I’m kind, I think I’m rather nerdy, and I’m a bit of a cat lady.”

That...wasn’t so bad. Maybe this would be an easy game. 

He doubted any of the questions asked him about his core. Maybe he could loosen up a bit, go along with this icebreaker game, if only for an hour before sinking back into his internal panic. 

“Cat lady?” he tried.

She chuckled. “I’m surprised that’s never come up! I have two at home.”

Right, his therapist had a life outside of therapy. Outside of his problems.

But it wasn’t like he knew her name. At this point, it was just too embarrassing to ask. Maybe she had told him that she had cats, and he just couldn’t remember. Maybe he would forget it again tomorrow.

Whatever. It was fine. He couldn’t care about things he didn’t remember. “Uh…” Danny pushed a purple tile out of the tower. “So I just pick up a—um, a card?”

“Yup, and read the purple question.”

Danny looked down at his card and rolled his eyes. “Oh, figures. ‘If you had superpowers, what would they be?’ Well, I’m dead. Does being dead count?”

She laughed, her voice light and airy. “Of all the questions, huh? Okay, let’s modify this a bit. If you could only keep one of your powers, which would you take?”

“Probably intangibility,” Danny said, his lack of hesitation surprising him.

“Oh? Why?”

“Well…” He rubbed the back of his neck. Where the chip was. “It’s the most useful, isn’t it? I can just...you know...I have no physical stuff in my way. I can just phase through any—anything I need. Or—no. Almost anything.”

Not shields. Those could still trap him.

Thankfully, she didn’t try to pry further, just offering him a kind nod and a ��that makes sense” before pushing out another Jenga tile. “Blue! Alright, my question is, ‘What is your favorite feature about yourself?’ Hmm...that’s a bit tough, isn’t it? But I think my favorite thing about myself is my hair. When I was a teen, I used to straighten my hair, but then when I got to college, I stopped doing that and just let it be. Now I quite like my curly hair. Okay, your turn!”

“Okay.” Danny leaned over and pushed a red tile out of the tower. “Okay...my quest—question is…‘What is your biggest hope for your future?’ Oh...”

He did want to be an astronaut. But that was before, when he was still human. And then he was caught between thousands of volts of ecto-electricity and that future vanished right before his eyes.

What did he want to do with his life? What did he hope would happen?

He wanted his core back. He couldn’t let himself be so vulnerable for much longer. His chest felt like it was tearing itself apart, he needed to—

Breathe. And answer the question.

What did he hope for his future?

“I don’t know. My future’s kinda...ruined, isn’t it?”

“Try to think on a smaller scale.”

“I…” Danny ran a hand through his hair. He wanted his core back, he wanted to be Phantom, he wanted to protect Amity Park. But he couldn’t say that. It made him sound too ghostly. Too inhuman.

Humans didn’t have these kinds of otherworldly desires. She would think he was a freak if he told her. She wouldn’t know how to react.

“I want to finish PT.”

“That’s a good goal to have.”

“Your turn.”

Humming, she nudged a tile out of the Jenga tower and flipped over a card. “Okay, my question is, ‘What is something you were worried about when you were younger?’ Let me think…oh, here’s one. When I was young, my older sister moved out to live with her boyfriend. It was really scary because I had never lived without her, but we kept in touch and everything turned out okay.”

“I haven’t either. Lived away from Jazz I mean. Like—like for real. But she’s going to college next—next semester. I think she, uh...deferred a semester.”

“And you know, it’s common to feel worried about a sibling moving out. Periods of transition in life can be the most stressful for us, but it’s important to recognize that things will be okay.”

Danny looked down at the carpet. “I guess.”

Some days it felt like Jazz was the only one truly on his side. He was a lab rat, too well known and too hated to ever have a future, forever condemned to a vicious cycle of evading people like the Guys in White and Vlad for the rest of his life. Jazz was leaving him in a few months, his friends would follow in a few years, and in the end, Danny would be alone.

But he was fine with that. He’d accepted it. It was just his life now, there was nothing to say about it.

“It’s my turn, isn’t it?”

“Yup! Go right ahead.”

Danny removed another tile. “‘How do you think others view you and why?’” He paused, throwing the therapist a bitter look. “This is rigged.”

“Not rigged, that’s just a very lucky pick.”

“Lucky to who?” Danny groaned. 

What was with the universe finding new ways to torment him?

“Humor me,” the therapist said patiently.

Danny glared at his card, tapping his fingers against the edge. It wasn’t like the public opinion of him was exactly a secret, but it still hurt. Constantly. Like some scab he kept telling himself to ignore, but ignoring it was impossible because the public would never leave him alone.

“Not good,” Danny muttered. “People hate me.”

“Being in the public eye is very stressful for anyone, but to be unique in your way adds on an entirely different layer. People are afraid of the things they don’t understand, and that makes them forget that at the end of the day, you’re still a person.”

“Yeah.” Danny’s eyes were trained on the colorful tower before him, which was starting to blur as the prickling behind his eyes increased. He ducked his head and blinked, hoping to save face before it was too late. 

“That doesn’t mean everyone feels this way, though. But sometimes it can feel that way to you because the ones who are the most afraid, the most hateful, are the loudest voices in the crowd. But remember, Danny, you won that court case for a reason. You have more people on your side than you think.”

“I won it for now, you mean. I don’t...I don’t think…” His voice failed, and he pressed his fingernails into his palms. He took a few shaky breaths. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay, Danny. Why don’t we talk about the case for a minute?”

Tucker’s words echoed in his head, how it was televised. How millions of people all around the globe probably tuned in for it, or watched streams online, each person with their own opinion of him.

But he didn’t want to think about that right now. 

“No,” he said. “Can we—can we just continue the game?”

“If you’re not ready to talk about it, then that’s okay. Thank you for letting me know.”

“It’s your turn.”

“Alright.” She pushed a block out of the tower. “So...alright, my question is, ‘What memory do you treasure the most?’ To that, I think fishing with my dad as a child. He was a big support for me when I was growing up, and I really valued our times fishing together as important bonding moments for us.”

Danny nodded politely, trying his best to not appear like he was counting down the seconds until therapy was over.

He could feel his emotions building inside him, threatening to topple the carefully constructed dam guarding his secrets. This was such a simple game, these were such simple questions, so why did he feel like he was failing?

He pushed out a Jenga tile—a red tile—from the tower and grabbed a card, scanning the questions until he found the red one.

What are you afraid of?

The words echoed back to him, and he pushed the card away. He didn’t want to look at it, he didn’t want to read those words or hear her voice because saying the question would mean he would have to talk and he only agreed to this stupid game to get out of talking.

There was so much he was afraid of that he had no right to be afraid of. Because he deserved this. Getting revealed was his fault, he was being reckless. He deserved all of it.

The experiments with the Guys in White. The pain, the way his skin was torn apart. How they threw him in a vat of ectoplasm the next day to heal, and how the ectoplasm entering his lungs made him feel like he was drowning because even though ghosts didn’t need to breathe, he still used those organs reflexively as Phantom. But he was in too much pain and his brain was too hazy to fight back. He could only sink into the darkness.

The red bag. The way it tasted, smelled, how it haunted him every day and how he revisited those moments every night in his dreams. How he would wake up each day and the drawer on his nightstand would be shimmering in the morning sun, as if tempting him to open it up, grab the bottle inside, let it help just for one day. It can take the edge off, he can be functional. Who cares if he’s cheating? It’s just for a day...

The public. The people. Their judgments, their words. How he was, on a molecular level, so vastly different from them. How he could never be the same. He would never have a normal life, he could never have a normal job, a normal family, normal friendships, ever again. There would always be something there, something alien between them.

Even between him and his best friends. There was just something... different ever since the portal accident. It had brought them closer together, sure, but in other ways it had also driven an invisible wedge between them. Because Danny would always have his powers, he would always be a half ghost, and there would always be things now that Sam and Tucker would never understand. 

How much would change now? Now that he was in the public eye, now that he’d gone through government torture? Now that his brain didn’t work the same?

And his core. His humanity. Why were his parents so apprehensive about it?

What are you afraid of?

Why wouldn’t his parents let him down into the lab? What were they hiding? They said his core was damaged, but it had been months since he was ripped open. His surgical damage had healed, his broken bones were back to normal, and even though his nerve endings in his chest and spine were still fried, they had been slowly mending themselves too.

Ectoplasm healed faster than human physiology. His core should have been fine by now.

What was the truth?

“They accept me,” Danny said automatically.

“Who does?”

Who accepted him?

Sam and Tucker did. 

His family…

Did they?

“I don’t know.”

“You have people in your corner, Danny. Your parents, your sister, your close friends. They all care about you. We’re all here for you, even if those loud voices in the public tell you otherwise.”

But if they cared...

“Then why won’t they let me have my core back?”

“Your core?”

“My powers. My ghostliness. Ectoplasm.” Danny let his eyes flair to emphasize his point.

If his therapist was scared of his otherworldly display, she didn’t show it. Instead, she continued to look at him with her neutral expression, free of the judgment he’d come to expect from people since the accident.

And for some reason he couldn’t explain, that irritated him. 

“You mean the inhibitor chip?” she asked.

“Yes. They told me it was because my core...it was damaged but—but it doesn’t make sense! It doesn’t...”

“Have you talked to them about this?”

Of course he had. They kept repeating that his core was damaged. And they were probably right—for a time, at the very least. But that was months ago. 

Why hadn’t they scanned his core recently? Shouldn’t they be happy to learn it was healed? Shouldn’t that make them relieved?

What were they afraid of?

What are you afraid of?

“Do you think it would be helpful if I talked to your mother about this?” asked the therapist. “As a way to introduce the topic? She likely doesn’t know how much it’s bothering you.”

But that didn’t make sense either because Danny brought his core up every day. His parents knew how much it was bothering him. They had to have known, right?

So why were they doing this to him?

What were they hiding?

What are you afraid of?

---

Danny tried to remember a time where walking from his living room to his kitchen didn’t require a list of steps to be taken beforehand—a time where he could just get up and walk. But those memories were far too distant now.

And besides, this was his reality now. A reality where something as simple as walking made his head spin.

He shouldn’t dwell on the memories of how easy it used to be for him, he shouldn’t have snapped at Jazz for getting a cup of water for him because he knew the glasses were too high to reach from his wheelchair, he shouldn’t allow this irrational anger to overtake him every time the creeping anxiety of his future as Amity Park’s ghost hero came into question.

He just needed to focus on where he was now. Curled up on his couch avoiding his parents.

Everything felt wrong this morning when he woke up. For a moment, he had managed to convince himself that he was just being paranoid. That it was just his damaged nerve endings freaking out as normal. That once he took his medication, his problems would go away. 

But they didn’t. He still felt wrong. His chest still felt wrong.

It was manifesting in other ways too. He couldn’t walk as long today at PT. His physical therapist told him it was just a bad day and that his body was probably just tired from his busy week. But Danny knew that wasn’t right.

It had nothing to do with him being tired. He wasn’t sick. He wasn’t anxious.

His core was the problem. His parents were the problem.

He tried asking about his core again on the way home from PT, using conversation techniques he went over with his therapist at the end of their last appointment, but Maddie just brushed him off. Said they would talk about it later.

But then later came and...she didn’t.

Danny tried asking his father, but he brushed Danny off too. Said Danny needed to focus on healing first.

But how was he supposed to heal when he was missing half of himself?

He felt wrong. So wrong. His body was too bound by gravity, it was too empty, it wasn’t listening to him.

He pressed his palms into his forehead. His hands were clammy. Shaking. Speckles of cold touched them—or was that his tears? Was he crying? 

No.

He pressed the heel of his hands into his eyes. What was wrong with him? Why was he acting this way?

The government had him in a cage. They tormented him in ways he would rather die than live through again. But then it ended, and he was freed. He was allowed to go home, he could live his life as a legal person again. 

Except, he wasn’t free. Not at all. He was still trapped here in Amity, in his house, in his body. He had no control. Not over what he ate, when he slept, where he went, what he could say, what he could think. 

Half of him was still locked up tight with no hope of escape.

His water glass was empty. It would have been too embarrassing to ask someone to help him, but he was so thirsty and dehydrated and he just really needed this to work. He needed his body to respond to him. For one moment, please, just let his body respond.

Gripping the water cup in one hand and his walker in the other, he tried to stand, to walk over to the kitchen sink. But balancing everything was so difficult, his body was still fatigued from PT, and he knew he wasn’t going to be able to do it but he just needed to try.

But he couldn’t do it in the end. The cup slipped out of his hand and tumbled onto the carpet, thankfully saved from shattering on impact by some last shred of luck the universe decided to pity him with.

And now Danny too was on the floor because he couldn’t bend down to pick the cup back up like a normal person, and he didn’t want to call for help, and he couldn’t use any of his powers, and he felt so trapped. So helpless. So vulnerable.

He tried to swallow the lump in his throat, but it was too stubborn and he was too useless.

A tear splattered against his hand, and he gripped the floor, his body trembling.

“Stop crying. Stop it.” he hissed. 

He was weak. 

Plasmius, once nearly his equal, had so severely overpowered him the other night. It was embarrassing. On the hierarchy of ghosts, where was he now? At the bottom with the blob ghosts?

But those ghosts could still fly. They could still turn intangible. Things that Danny couldn’t even do.

Hell, he was so weak that even the Box Ghost could defeat him now.

“Stop crying.”

He crawled back to the couch, the thought of getting water abandoned on the floor along with the last semblance of his dignity. Another tear fell from his cheek, and he desperately tried to ignore it, ignore his dry throat, ignore the pain in his chest, ignore his core and the Y-scar on his body and his new place in the ghost hierarchy as lower than dirt, ignore everything. Just focus on getting back to the couch. Shut down, go numb.

He was fine, he was okay.

He just needed to push through this. Just toughen up, quit whining. Life wasn’t fair. So what if he was now just a regular human? Hadn’t he been human for the first fourteen years of his life? He needed to suck it up.

Dragging himself back onto the safety of the couch cushions, he pulled one of Jazz’s throw blankets around his body and pressed a pillow into his face.

Never in his life had he been so tempted to scream, to curse, to finally let the last brick fall and allow hell to break loose. But his parents were in the basement, Jazz was upstairs, and he was fine. 

He was fine.

---

Huge thank you to tumblr user and writer @imekitty for proofreading this chapter. She’s amazing and I owe her my life.

And as always, thanks for reading!

---

<previous chapter / next chapter>

[readyplayerhobi]

Flower | 34

; Hoseok x Reader

; Genre: Smut, fluff

; Warnings: Anal sex, vaginal sex, unprotected sex, protected sex

; Word Count: 4.1k

; Synopsis: You finally decide to take a dip into the world of online dating and find the Flower dating app. One of the top matches for you proves to be a guy who looks to be your complete opposite; tattooed, pierced, a metalhead and oh…incredibly handsome. What happens when you throw caution to the wind and reach out to him?

; A/N: The final smut chapter of Flower! It’s not too long, and probably not as hot as you’d anticipate but I hope you all enjoy it anyway lol please reblog if you do and let me know what you think :D I mean...I know it’s smut so it’s going to be hard to actually talk about it but still, I like to hear what you think about Flower. I haven’t proof read cos I only finished this about...fifteen minutes ago lol

; Flower Masterpost

-

“Ahh, Hoseok.” You whispered eyes tightly closed as a particularly hard thrust from him has your body jerking up the bed slightly more. Tightening around him without even realising it, he responds with a quiet moan of his own and you smile, running your hand along his back to play with the short hair on his neck.

It makes him shudder, his whole body quivering above you and goosebumps rise on his arms. He was surprisingly ticklish, so it came as no surprise that even in the middle of sex he ended up giggling from the sensation. Opening your eyes to watch him, you bit your lip in amusement at the sight of his beautiful smile.

His response to that was just a roll of his hips that had you gasping, pleasure shooting through your body. Almost two-and-a-half years together and sex still wasn’t boring or dull with him. You weren’t sure if it was because you were madly in love with him or if it was just because he was good at sex. All you did know was that you enjoyed it a lot.

“Do we have to do it? Can’t we just keep going with this?” The question makes Hoseok pause in his movements, shifting until he could look at you clearly without causing himself any strain. Brow furrowing, his lips twist in confusion and you have to bite back the urge to poke at them.

“I mean...we don’t have to do it. If you’re not comfortable with it then we won’t do it. Just finish off like this. I will point out that this is your fantasy though.” A sigh leaves you at that, causing you to nod before you rub at your face. Hoseok doesn’t move, just staying where he is and watching you.

“I know, I know. You’re right. And we’ve already prepped. I just...what if something goes wrong? Or it hurts? You’re not small and...you know.” Your voice has a whine to it, causing him to smile. Or try to hide his smile, but it doesn’t work. 

Tracing your fingers along his the tattoos on his chest, you waited for him to comfort you. You’d never really thought of yourself as a needy person before, but you found it nice to have Hoseok reassuring you. It wasn’t necessary, but you got the feeling that Hoseok liked to do it as well. Probably liked the feeling of being wanted.

His response is to push himself up with a grunt, the muscles of his torso working in a way that had you clenching around him. Until he slipped out of you, his cock glistening with your wetness and the lube he’d used earlier. Thanks to his vasectomy a few months ago, the two of you had decided to forego the use of condoms during sex now.

There was a pack in the drawers just in case it was needed, like the situation that was soon about to begin, but otherwise, you both thought it was just a waste of money. You’d gotten tested and Hoseok officially had no sperm showing in his semen, so he couldn’t get you pregnant.

It also helped that him orgasming in you had been one of your fantasies that you’d wanted to experience. You hadn’t been disappointed, even if it felt slightly gross from how wet and thick his cum was in comparison to...well anything else that had been there. Still, you’d enjoyed it. And the look in Hoseok’s eyes when he’d seen it the first time had been pleasing.

There weren’t many things that you’d been able to be the first of for Hoseok.

You still weren’t entirely used to seeing his cock bare though, and it was oddly arousing. Was that normal? Or was it just because you were mid-sex and you found everything about him ridiculously attractive right now? The way his skin contrasted against his colourful tattoos and how each heavy breath made the definition of his stomach more obvious.

It was only when Hoseok gently trailed his fingers along your inner thigh, tapping occasionally with a bemused grin on his face that you realise you’d become way too invested in checking him out. Not that he was opposed to it if the twitching of his cock had anything to say about it.

“Oh, hey, there she is. Back with me. You had that lusty look in your eyes,” Smirking, he rests a hand on your knee and rubs at it almost reassuringly. “Right, serious talk. I don’t want to do anything you’re not comfortable or happy with. So if you’re still too worried then we don’t do it. I’m perfectly fine no matter what.”

Body heating in embarrassment, you squirmed a little and looked away from his intense gaze. His lips were a little swollen and flushed in colour from the earlier kissing and gentle biting, made even more enticing when his tongue swipes across them.

“No, no, I want to try. You’re right, it’s my fantasy. I’m just...worried. You know me.”

“I do know you, which is why I know that you’re probably thinking about this too much. I know that you’ve researched extensively on how to do it safely, on how to try and do it cleanly as well. We’ve prepped as well as we can, you’re pretty comfortable with where we’ve got to. If you’re unhappy then just tell me, okay? Trust me, I’ll stop.” Staring into his dark eyes, you felt his care so strongly.

It helped to soothe the worry in your soul, to let you know that you were in capable hands. You did trust him. More than anyone else in the world right now. The very fact he was knelt there, with your naked body on full display for him and there were almost no worries about your appearance going through your head was proof enough.

There were other worries this time though.

“But what if there’s...you know. Like when you’re in there. What if you get...stuff on you?” Hoseok sighs softly, it’s almost not audible but you heard it. The knot in your stomach was still tight, but you don’t feel embarrassed.

“Meeps, I’m going to be in your asshole. I mean...it’s not made for a dick, it’s a poop chute. So if I happen to get some on my dick then I do, I can’t complain about it. It’s what I get for going in there. Please don’t stress over it.” He’s stroking along your thigh, each movement reinforcing that he cares for you and only has you in mind.

“You promise?” 

“I promise. Tell me if you’re uncomfortable at any point, please. Go straight to red if you’re hurting. I’d rather stop if it’s hurting a lot, especially as it’s your ass. Probably not a good sign.” Frowning slightly, you reach out for his hand and half link your fingers together.

“You won’t stop completely right? If I say red then we can just do normal sex?” The last, and only time, you’d ever called out red to him had been during your last experimentation with fantasies and kinks. You’d wanted to know whether you’d enjoy being tied and blindfolded during sex and Hoseok had obliged.

Only you’d discovered that having your hands tied to the bedframe so you couldn’t move properly combined with being unable to see had triggered a huge panic attack. All you’d been able to focus on was that you were exposed, with all the parts you didn’t like being visible and you couldn’t see a thing. Even though Hoseok had been right there, you hadn’t been able to push past your fear that he might just leave you in that compromising position and you’d been begging him to let you go, spitting out ‘red’ over and over until you were free.

Hoseok hadn’t re-engaged in sex after that time, instead just focusing on coddling you and making sure that you were okay. Your vehement reaction had convinced you both that while you were okay with being either tied or blindfolded, you couldn’t cope with them both. 

It made you feel too vulnerable, even with Hoseok.

But you didn’t want him to stop completely this time. If you were uncomfortable or hurting from the anal then you just wanted him to stop and have normal sex with you. There was no reason in your eyes for the fun to stop just because something had been a bust. Not this time.

“If you’re okay with continuing, then yeah. We’ll just do it normally. But only if you’re comfortable with it, alright? You have to be honest.” His index finger on his free hand is gesturing to you, his expression stern and you can’t help but smile as you nod. It was hard to take him entirely seriously when he was naked as the day he was born.

“I promise. We should do it. Now, while I’m feeling a little confident. Do we need to do anything else?” He’d already spent a good half an hour earlier getting your ass ready for him; using a small range of butt plugs that increased in size to try and make it as easy as possible for you. You figured with the size of the last one he’d used on you that you could probably take him. He wasn’t small but he also wasn’t a porn star either, thankfully.

“You sure? I think you’ll be good, just let me know.” Nodding to him, you watch as he grabs the foil packet from the bedside table and carefully rolls the condom on. Neither of you wanted this particular sex act to be bare and you’d forgotten how weirdly attractive it was to watch him put one on.

Next, the bottle of lube was used to squirt generous amounts onto his cock. One large hand, the fingers long and elegant, coats it evenly along his shaft in firm strokes. You knew that you were incredibly horny right now because just the sight of it had you shivering, a quiet moan leaving you without meaning to.

“It’s really hot when you jerk yourself off.” It’s only when Hoseok laughs that you realise you’ve just said that out loud. But it’s a testament to how much you’ve grown into your personality with Hoseok that you don’t feel embarrassed about it. Instead, you just give him a bold look with raised brows that has him grinning, looking away from you first.

“You’ve mentioned that a few times.” He’s muttering it though, his cheeks flushed with rose from shyness now and not from anything sexual. It pleases you though that he doesn’t stop his movement, instead gripping himself a little firmer and almost showing off with each slow stroke.

Biting your lip, you sighed to yourself as you watched him for a few seconds. Each move of his arm had the muscles in his bicep flexing, the weights he’d been lifting at the gym lately making themselves well known beneath the colourful tattoos. Your boyfriend was a masterpiece of nature who had only been improved with human talent and skill.

The knowledge that it was all yours was more than a little heady, and suddenly your worries dissipated a little as you whined at him.

“Hobi...come on, please.” 

Now it’s his turn to chew on his lip, considering you carefully before shuffling himself a little forward. His thigh muscles tighten from the movement and his position, looking thicker than normal and you whine softly. Would you ever get to a point where you didn’t consider this man to be the most attractive person in the world?

The tip of his cock rubs against your clit slowly, sending sparks of pleasure through you. Sighing, you lift your hips in an attempt to encourage him downwards. It surprises you how much you want him there, despite your earlier worries. But you hadn’t hated the prep earlier, hadn’t loved it either but this was something you;’d always wanted to try. 

And something you’d always been way too embarrassed to ask for. Hence why it had taken you almost two and a half years to finally experiment with this with Hoseok. You trusted him though. Trusted him to take his time and most importantly, to take care of you and love you.

“If it hurts-”

“Yes, yes, if it hurts then I’ll let you know. Just...go slow, yeah?” Nodding at you, he finally moves down until he’s pressing against your asshole. There’s resistance to him as he pushes, an uncomfortable sensation that has you wincing slightly. The toys you both had didn’t quite go up to his size, so there was still a tiny bit more stretching to do, but you’d felt that you could cope with it pretty well.

Still, it’s not the most pleasant feeling and you let out a breath of air in a rush, eyes widening as you feel a burning sensation when he finally manages to start entering you. A deep groan escapes you as he keeps going, the blunt head of his cock the biggest part of him at the moment and you know that once that’s in, it should be a little better.

It’s just getting there.

Hoseok uses his free hand to rub your stomach gently, the movement something that would’ve horrified you years ago but that is reassuring now. Like you can feel comfort from the touch rather than revulsion and horror.

“Hey, hey, you okay?”

Nodding to him, you take a deep breath to try and regulate yourself. It’s more discomfort than pain right now, thankfully, but you just try to relax. You’d read plenty of sites that said relaxing would help to make it a smoother experience, and the last thing you wanted was to cause yourself unnecessary pain.

“Yeah, yeah. Just...go slow, ya know? It’s a little burning but I think you can push a bit more. Just...slow.” He acknowledges your words with a smile, moving to grasp your hand with his while he moves a little deeper. There’s an almost painful sensation that has you whimpering out loud but then the tip of him suddenly manages to make it past and an inch or so of him accidentally slips in too.

“Sorry, sorry. I’m sorry.” He blurts out, looking a little panicked as you squeeze his hand tight without even realising. Thankfully, he’s paused and you take a few deep breaths, trying to centre yourself as you let them back out slowly. After a solid minute or so, you finally feel yourself relax once more and smile at him.

“It’s okay, it’s okay. It’s good, you’re in. Just...give me another minute or so, I’ll let you know when you can move again. Slow, still slow.” 

“Yeah, yeah of course. Did I hurt you?” You know he’s not going to let go of this anytime soon, so you squeeze his hand softly.

“A little, but we both knew it wasn’t going to be sunshine, right? Like you said...it’s not meant to take a dick.” He snorts at that, the movement causing him to jerk ever so slightly inside you. There's another burn but it’s more manageable now, the sensation not painful anymore and you give him another smile of encouragement.

“Okay, try a bit more.” This continues for probably ten minutes, Hoseok going as slow as humanly possible. To the point that you’re worried his erection might be becoming painful from how long he’s had it. But the two of you work together, slowly moving until you finally feel comfortable enough to start having some form of sex.

Though not the kind you normally have, you doubt you could handle him going fast right now. But there was something strangely erotic about having him somewhere that was still considered a little taboo. And you liked the feeling of him there. It wasn’t pleasurable obviously, but you were enjoying it more than you’d thought that you would.

Reaching down between you both, your fingertips found your clit with relative ease and you let out a small gasp as pleasure burst inside you. The sensation made your hips jerk upwards, causing his cock to slide out a little and your gasp turned into a moan quickly.

Wow, okay. That wasn’t expected. Brows rising, you glance down before looking at Hoseok in surprise.

“That felt good. Like...better than I expected.” Now Hoseok looks intrigued, glancing down to where his cock was buried inside your ass to your fingers which are lazily rubbing at your clit. Pursing his lips, he looks at you with an intrigued expression with more than a hint of mischief before pushing his hips forward slowly.

Inch by inch, his cock slides back into you, the lube he’d added making his movement smooth. The intense way he stares into your eyes has you inhaling sharply, his movements achingly slow but just enough to make you shudder and keen. 

“Oh...oh, you like that,” Hoseok murmurs, lips quirked into a smirk as he watches you play with yourself in fascination. “Meeps...do you like getting it in the ass?”

He’s teasing you, the light tone to his voice telling you so, but you just nod your head. Closing your eyes, you keep up the same rhythm on the swollen bundle of nerves between your legs, occasionally pausing to add more of your sticky excitement to make it smoother. Hoseok is right, and it kind of surprises you.

You like getting anal. Even though you’d been the one to want to try it with him, with it being your fantasy, you hadn’t expected anything from it. Maybe just an okay experience that you’d do again occasionally with him if he wanted it, but you genuinely liked this.

The actual act itself didn’t feel as good as vaginal obviously, but there was something that was causing you to get a different kind of pleasure. Almost like the very knowledge that you were having it was making it feel so much better than you’d anticipated. 

Which is why you’re beyond surprised when the build-up of pleasure seems to be slow at first but then it bubbles over quickly, a pressure you hadn’t even realised was there bursting and ricocheting through your body violently. Moaning loudly, each sound almost guttural from how intense the orgasm was.

It’s bizarrely helped by the sensation of Hoseok moving in you, his strokes still slow and steady. Even though you know logically that you’re not getting any pleasure from there, if anything there’s still that uncomfortable sensation, it almost seems to intensify the sparks inside you.

To the point that your body almost rises off the bed, back bowing violently while your thighs tighten around Hoseok’s waist and your toes curl. You can’t ever remember an orgasm this intense, which is odd as you get the best ones when you have some vaginal penetration as well. But this seems to get you going.

By the time it finally finishes, it seems to go on far longer than normal, you’re left exhausted on the bed. Limbs twitching while your chest heaves for breath, you don’t see the dumbstruck way Hoseok stares at you.

“Did you just...after...I mean...I barely did anything!” He finally exclaims, causing you to open your eyes and watch him lazily. “You really just came after like...a few minutes of me in your ass and a bit of clit action! I can be in your pussy for half an hour and nothing happens!”

You can tell he’s not angry or annoyed, instead more amazed. It makes you giggle at him, the endorphins rushing through your body after a good orgasm making you feel even more loving towards him. Reaching forwards, you tug him down until he’s almost laid on top of you, his cock shifting inside you as he moves but not slipping out.

“Oh...oh, someone’s being loving too. Damn meeps, you like getting it in the ass, huh?” Humming, you ran your fingers through his hair repeatedly and pressed kisses to his shoulder. A graze of your teeth on the soft skin there has him shivering, hips jutting forward automatically and you sigh in contentment as he moans.

“Your turn,” Whispering into his ear, you trail your nose along his cheek before kissing the strong line of his jaw. “Probably not going to enjoy this as much but I want you to feel good.”

Hoseok nods slightly, a strangled gasp leaving him when you experimentally squeeze around him. It’s not comfortable to have him thrusting when you do that so you relax again, encouraging him to start a very slow and steady rhythm. Not nearly as fast as you both would normally enjoy, but it’s as much as you can handle without it getting painful or too uncomfortable.

So you try and help in other ways, dragging your nails down his back and playing with the small hairs on the back of his neck. Tiny nibbles of his jaw before pulling him into a deep kiss, shifting slightly to make the position a little better for you.

It works, mainly because you know all the little spots that do it for Hoseok. Which is why it’s only minutes after that he’s pressing into you, his face pushed into your neck hard as he lets a loud grunt while his body quakes above you. Smiling, you kiss his shoulder and contemplate for a moment how different it feels to have him orgasming there instead of in your pussy.

You can still feel his cock jerk inside you with each spasm, ejaculating into the condom. It’s not like normal though, like the sensations are almost dulled. But it’s still hot as hell and you feel a little pride, grinning as you kiss along his jaw and murmur softly to him.

It’s probably silly, but you always feel an intense amount of pride every time Hoseok cums in you. Almost like you’re proud of the fact he found you so attractive that you could satisfy him sexually. Although he probably didn’t need that much to get going, it was still a boost to your confidence.

Finally, he shifts until he can look at you properly. There’s exhaustion written all over his face but it’s bad, instead, it’s that exhaustion from a good time. He has that lazy look in his eyes, that one he always gets after a good orgasm.

“Good?”

“Good. You?”

“Good. I mean, I don’t wanna do this every day but...I want to do it again. Did it feel different?” He snorts, letting his weight rest on you for a moment. It’s heavy and a little stifling from the heat but you relish it, wrapping your arms around him. If it was weird to be so affectionate after anal sex then so be it, he’d given you a damn good orgasm so he deserved it.

“I mean...I liked it. Felt tighter but only really at your actual ass, after that, it’s kinda weird. I prefer your pussy, for definite. But I’m down for this more, especially after how hard you came. Damn, who’d have thought my shy, awkward girlfriend would be so into that?” He pokes your side gently, causing you to smile.

“Surprising to me too. Anyway, come on, let’s go clean up. I don’t even wanna know what it looks like so...I’m gonna close my eyes and you can go get rid of the condom. Then we’ll shower, get all nice and clean.” Hoseok hums, pressing a gentle kiss to your lips.

“Okay, sounds good. Love you.” Smiling as you close your eyes, you gently poke his shoulder in response. A soft chuff of laughter lets you know he understands before he’s pulling out carefully, a wince on your face until he’s out.

“Do you need anything? Need me to go anything?”

“No, it’s okay. Just...go, start the shower. I’ll be there soon. I enjoyed it.” He acknowledges you quietly before getting up off the bed. There’s the sound of him peeling off the condom carefully before he puts it back into the foil but you don’t bother to move. Instead, you lay there for a moment with that boneless contentment that comes from a good orgasm and some good sex. It constantly amazed you that you’d come this far in yourself, feeling confident enough to open up about the fantasies you wanted to do.

Sighing happily, you can’t help but snort as you hear Hoseok yelp from the bathroom.

“Kasumi! No! My dick is not a toy, ow!”

[whitewolfmoving]

Leather and Lace Part One

My Thoughts On You

Summary: Katt Barnes knows the one thing she never has to apologize for is her place in the world; her father taught her how to be strong, her brother taught her how to be stronger. When her boyfriend, John Walker attempts to decide who she gets to be, it becomes the last straw for their relationship. Not only does it break Katt's trust in him, but in her family and herself as well.

Prompt: "I hate you because I will have to wonder for the rest of my life why I wasn't good enough." || found on pinterest.

Warnings: swearing, arguing, breakup

Word Count: 2354

A/N: PART ONE IS HERE!!!!! Buckle up, shit's about to get real. After so much planning and time spent writing, it's finally here. I hope you like it. This series is a special one. Happy reading!

Spring in Brooklyn arrived quickly for Barnes' Garage; and with everyone preparing to travel during the summer, business picked up soon after that. The shop—owned and operated by the Barnes siblings, James and Katheryn, who took over after their father passed—ran just as smoothly now as it did then. A legacy left behind to his children, the White Wolves Motorcycle Club, George's one and only condition for keeping the family business was that the twins run them both together. So, with a 50/50 split of the shop and the Club between them, ask anyone between the Five Boroughs where the best mechanic was in the whole of New York City and they'd say, "Go see Bucky at Barnes' Garage in Brooklyn. You won't be disappointed." And no one ever was.

—

A light breeze rolled through the shop and ruffled Katt's hair. She stood up from where she'd been leaning over the rear end of a red Porsche 911 Turbo, stretched, and looked around for signs of the other mechanics. She pulled her phone from the back pocket of her shorts and checked the time—11:50 am—still a good ten minutes until they'd all break for lunch. The car had arrived some time around 8 o'clock, Bucky'd been meaning to get to it but he'd been swamped all morning and she figured helping him out was the least she could do. Katt had changed the timing chain, replaced the cover, and changed the oil in no time at all. All that she had left was the complimentary wash and detail before the client came to pick it up at 12:30. Katheryn Barnes was nothing if not quick and efficient.

"Yo, Katt! John's outside looking for ya," Steve called from the car next to her. He chuckled, noticing the ghost of a frown that pulled at the corner of her mouth.

Katt sighed, wishing she hadn't remembered to change the batteries in her hearing aids when she got to work that morning. Luckily, she'd stashed the dead ones in the pockets of her shorts. She quickly leaned back over the Porsche's engine, letting her hair fall down around her shoulders. With the dead battery cell in her fingers, Katt discreetly lifted her hand to the battery door on her left hearing aid and switched out the cells, then tucked the live one in her pocket. She repeated the action with her right hearing aid, and set to work rechecking that the timing cover was in place.

"Hey, Beautiful." A large hand settled gently on the small of Katt's back; she jumped, startled. Two hands then gripped her hips and pulled her from underneath the Porsche's trunk.

Katt turned a wild-eyed glare on the man behind her. She moved her hands quickly, with little regard for the fact that John would have no idea what she was saying to him. What the hell, JW? Are you trying to kill me?

John blinked, confused. He shook his head, unable to understand what Katt was saying. It was no secret around the shop that John Walker was dating James Barnes' twin sister, Katheryn. And it was no secret that Katheryn Barnes was Deaf. However, for some unknown reason, John Walker (more commonly known around the shop by his sign name JW, given by Katt) refused to learn sign.

The scowl on Katt's face grew the longer John stared at her like a deer caught in the headlights. She stomped her foot, frustrated. Why did you sneak up on me?

"I-I'm sorry. I don't…" he shook his head again, pulling his phone from his back pocket. He pulled up the speech-to-text app and quickly dictated a message, then flipped the screen around to show her. Didn't you hear me call out to you? Are you wearing your hearing aids today?

Katt let out an irritated squeal; she hated having this conversation with him. It was always the same damn thing. She glanced around the shop for her brother or Sawyer or Wanda, anyone who could help her get out of the current situation she was in. Luckily, Clint had been walking by and offered to help out.

Problem?

Can you interpret for him?

Sure.

Thank you.

Katt turned her attention back to John and took a deep breath. The expression on her face sobered as she thought of the best way to handle the situation given that they were standing in the middle of the shop; she didn't want to draw any more unnecessary attention to themselves than John already had, not that it would matter. As calmly as possible, Katt explained to her boyfriend what had caused her to startle at his presence.

"I don't want to have this discussion right now but since you're here, we will. Yes, I am wearing my hearing aids today. No, I didn't hear you call for me. That's why I was startled when you suddenly appeared behind me," Clint said, interpreting for John what Katt had signed to him. Already the blond could tell that he'd walked into a conversation he would have loved to hear about later on. No one at the shop approved of John's place in Katt's life; Bucky simply hated him for dating his sister, while Clint and Sawyer hated him for refusing to learn sign.

"If you're wearing them, why didn't you hear me?" John asked.

Katt continued her explanation, going so far as to remind John again that her hearing aids were a tool she chose, not a magical cure. She removed her left hearing aid, pointing out the blinking red light—the dead battery indicator.

Clint smirked. He could see the frustration bleeding through to Katt's signing, no matter how hard she tried to keep it at bay. "Just because I have them, doesn't mean I can hear. I'm still deaf. If you're approaching me from behind, you still have to let me know. You have to get my attention or tell someone around me who can let me know you're coming. My hearing aids are a tool, all they do is amplify what little ambient noise that I can still hear. And just because I want them, doesn't mean I need them. Today, my batteries are dead."

"I know. I know it's not perfect, okay? I'm sorry. Maybe keep spare batteries in your pocket or something. This is hard for me, too. I just want to be able to communicate with you."

Then learn to sign. If you truly want to be able to communicate with me, learn my language.

John frowned again. He could tell by the look on Katt's face that she was upset, but he didn't understand why. He looked at the other man helplessly when he didn't immediately jump to interpret what the young woman had said. "What'd she say?"

Don't ask him, ask me. And don't talk about me like I'm not here. I'm the one talking. He's the interpreter. He's here for you, not me. But Clint's deaf, too, or did you forget that? You don't give him near as much shit as you do me. Why is this such a problem for you?

Clint turned to Katt with a grin. Stirring up trouble was Clint Barton's forte, especially when it came to John Walker. Want me to interpret that?

Please, do.

"Don't ask him, ask me. And don't talk about me like I'm not here. I'm the one talking. He's the interpreter. He's here for you, not me. But Clint's deaf, too, or did you forget that? You don't give him near as much shit as you do me. Why is this such a problem for you?"

"Because I'm not sleeping with Clint, Katheryn!"

Thank you for interpreting. I can take it from here.

No problem. Later, Kitty.

As Clint walked away, Katt removed her right hearing aid and opened the battery door. She threw both of the dead cells on the shop floor, reached into her pocket for the new ones, and replaced them. She waited for the green light to appear on both hearing aids, then returned them to her ears.

Time always seemed to slow down in John's presence; he was always so blind to everything happening around them, but not Katt. No, she could see it all. She often wondered if maybe she were the problem, she tried to pretend she was for the sake of their relationship. Oftentimes, she was stuck pretending to be someone she wasn't to appease John for so long, that she forgot how it felt when they first met… when she thought he was it for her. God, how she hoped he wasn't.

"What did you just say?" Katt kept her gaze level with John's, her voice free of all emotion until she was absolutely certain she understood what he said correctly. She knew that sometimes their emotions got in the way, they didn't always read the situations properly; between the tension and the fighting, things became skewed. She didn't want to leave anything to chance because deep down, she needed him still.

"I'm not sleeping with Clint," he repeated. John stared back at Katt, swallowed down his own frustration and narrowed his gaze.

Katt didn't need to look around the shop to know that everyone had heard John's comment, she didn't need to look over her shoulder to know that her brother was standing behind her, she didn't need to look at the car next to her to know that Steve had focused his attention on John. She could feel everyone's eyes on them the moment he dared to raise his voice, she could feel Bucky's presence the moment the breath left her lungs. The world seemed a lot smaller when she was at the center of it.

She turned as she felt Bucky's hand settle on her back, protecting her the way he always did. She offered him a small smile, her warm brown eyes darkening with the swell of anger rising within her chest.

Want me to handle it?

Thanks but I got this.

Bucky nodded and stepped back, giving Katt room to breathe. He kept his dark blue eyes trained on John Walker's face, committing every detail to memory. Whatever Katt had to say was nothing compared to what he wanted to do to John after all was said and done.

"I'm going to stop you right there and offer a correction: were. You were sleeping with me. Because as of this moment, I'm not your girlfriend anymore. Who the hell do you think you are, John? What gives you the right to tell me how to live my life? It's my life. And you know what? I love being Deaf. I love my culture, my language, my friends. You couldn't even take two seconds to learn how to say please or thank you or yes or no! And I am done accepting that. "

"Now, hold on, Katt. You don't mean—"

"For once in your pathetic life, just shut up, John! Quit talking over me. Quit telling me how I feel or what I mean. You don't know what I mean because you never fucking listen! You don't get to tell me how to be Deaf; I decide that." Katt's anger bubbled. She took a step toward the man in front of her, only to be pulled back by Bucky's left hand on her upper arm. She shot him a glare at his unwelcome intervention; he only gestured forward for her to keep going.

Go on.

Katt returned her fiery scowl back on John's face. For a moment, she knew all she could think about was the bright blue of his eyes… how she'd fallen for them so easily, the realization hit her like a truck and she felt it deep inside her soul—she still needed him. "You know, I hate you. Because I will have to wonder for the rest of my life why I wasn't good enough. And that really fucking sucks. Go home, John. We're done."

—

The rest of the day flew by without incident.

After Katt left, Bucky and Steve escorted a humiliated John Walker from the premises with a promise to rearrange his face if he ever showed up looking for Katt again. Clint and Sawyer worked together to finish up the Porsche's complimentary wash and detailing in time to be picked up by its owner, and a hefty tip was left in the office for the mechanic who'd treated his prized possession with such tender love and care. They closed shop at 4 pm on the dot.

Sawyer sat in the office counting the cash drawer so she could make her last run to the bank when Bucky stopped in. The air around the usually calm, smooth-talking mechanic had been thick with tension ever since Katt's showdown with John Walker that morning.

How's your arm today?

Fine.

Sawyer knew Bucky's thoughts had been occupied with his sister from the moment the roar of her motorcycle could be felt throughout the garage; she'd sped off without looking back, without letting anyone know where she was headed. No one blamed Bucky for worrying.

She'll be fine, Buck. She always is.

I know, S. But you didn't see her face when she left. I sent Pietro out to look for her, he said he'll call when he finds her. It feels different this time. She… Bucky trailed off, dropping his hands to his lap. He took a seat in the office chair at his late father's desk. The faces in the photo behind the glass frame stared up at him; the last photo the three of them ever took together. The day Bucky and Katt patched into the MC. The smile on George's face said it all; nothing meant more to that man than family.

Sawyer lightly tapped Bucky's knee. She what, Bucky? What's wrong?

Bucky ran his thumb over the silhouette of his sister in the photo and looked up to meet Sawyer's eyes. She was completely broken. I don't think Katt knows who she is right now. I don't even know who she is right now and that's what scares me.

[segalia]

Living in Lockdown with You

What’s that saying about writing indulgent fluff if you don’t have the inspiration to write? Yeah...this domestic fluff three-parter has been nagging at me since I was in extreme lockdown a month ago and wondered how Percy and Annabeth would handle a similar situation. Featuring clingy and sleepy Percabeth and working from home. Enjoy. 

*** Annabeth stared at the screen blearily, trying desperately to focus on the videoconference in front of her. As a demigod, focusing was hard for her at the best of times, and this switch to everything online certainly wasn’t helping. She was all too aware of her face in the lower corner of her screen, wishing her boss hadn’t insisted they leave their cameras on for this presentation. Blinking and squaring her shoulders, she was just about to try again to tune into the discussion of a new architectural technique when a mug floated out of the corner of her vision. 

She looked up to see Percy offering her the steaming mug with a sympathetic smile. She took it gratefully, cupping it in between her hands and letting the warmth revitalize her. 

Thank you, she mouthed, then remembered her mic was off. “Thank you,” she repeated out loud, needing something real to ground her to this moment. 

“Of course,” he nodded, and turned to give her space to focus. 

“Wait,” she put the mug on the table and caught his hand, reveling in the familiar feel of his hand in hers. “Can you stay just a few minutes?” 

He smiled again, that troublemaker but supportive smile that had eased its way into her heart so long ago. 

“Of course,” he repeated, making himself comfortable on a nearby chair. 

She expected him to start playing on his phone as she went back to focusing on the presenter, so he caught her off guard a few minutes later when he posed an insightful question about what the presenter was saying. As she answered, pulling together facts from earlier in the presentation and one of her college classes, she realized that this weird combination of stimulation, from the hot liquid warming her up inside and his hand in hers, to the presenter’s voice and Percy’s questions, was helping her focus better than she had all day. She squeezed his hand briefly in his thanks, and he gave her a warm look before asking another question. 

Gods, he was so smart. 

With Percy peppering occasional questions throughout, she was able to not only breeze through the rest of the lecture, but also pose several intelligent questions when it came to the follow-up meeting. Finally, the meeting concluded, everyone said goodbye, and she signed off. 

She sagged back in her chair in relief. “Oh my gods, thank you. You were a lifesaver.” She hadn’t meant to steal him for the whole meeting, and she was sure he had other things he was probably supposed to be working on, but she was so grateful and he was so willing that she decided to feel appreciative rather than guilty. 

He shrugged nonchalantly. “It was actually pretty interesting. I’ve listened to you rant about architecture enough over the years that at least most of the words made sense.” 

Too tired to properly express her emotions of gratitude and how smart and amazing he was even if he didn’t always see himself that way, she raised his hand to her mouth and kissed it softly. “You’re amazing, thank you.” 

His smile was soft and a little bashful, but all he said was, “what are you thinking for supper? I’m not sure we have enough leftovers for a full meal.”

Her brain switched gears to food, and they started brainstorming. With stretching and groaning, they rose and headed to the kitchen, ready to tackle this new challenge as a team. 

***

A couple days later, she found herself going to bed at a decent hour for once (quarantine and distance work had been messing with her already messed up sleep schedule). When she crawled under the covers, however, Percy was still seated in bed, staring intently at his laptop (their apartment was really tiny--what can you do against New York apartment prices?-- and didn’t have much in the way of living space). 

“Are you--” she yawned, “almost done?”

“Huh? Oh, I mean, I think so? I can move elsewhere if you want.” 

She shook her head sleepily, aligning her body so she could curl around him. “It’s okay. Just dim your monitor please.” 

He nodded absent-mindedly, focus already returning to his work as he complied. 

She must have drifted off because she woke disoriented to find Percy still tapping away on his laptop. “Hey.” She breathed, adjusting her position to lean against him, stretching out a crick in her arm, “what time is it?” 

“Hm? Oh, I guess it’s 2:30.” He blinked and muttered, “when did that happen?”

“Percy,” she was having trouble keeping her eyes open, “you should head to bed.” 

“I know, I know, I’m just really close to finishing.” 

“You said that several hours ago.” If she wasn’t careful, she was going to fall asleep and drool on his shirt.

He kept typing, and she wasn’t sure if he’d heard her. 

“Perce? Are you actually close to a stopping point? Cause if you save it for tomorrow and get some sleep now, you’ll probably do better work.” 

The computer noises stopped, and she felt him chuckle under her cheek. “Now where have I heard those words before?” 

She grinned sleepily, “Not sure. I think some wise guy said it a couple times.” 

“Wise guy, huh?” 

She could picture the smile on his face, but merely hummed in agreement and snuggled further into his side. 

“Okay, okay.” There was a pause before he said, “for real this time, I found a good stopping point, just give me a few minutes.” 

“Okay,” she was drifting off again. 

True to his word, she felt him shift several minutes later, and suddenly the dim light vanished. A tension she hadn’t even realized she was holding released. She only grumbled slightly as he gently slipped out from under her grasp, and sooner than she expected, he was back under the covers, drawing her into his chest. 

“Love you,” she murmured. “Sleep tight.” 

She felt a laugh rumble through his chest as he bent to kiss her forehead. “You too, Annabeth. Love you.” 

***

Her laptop was lifted from her lap mid-sentence and a weight settled in its place. “What?” She looked down to find Percy sprawled across the bed between her legs, head pillowed in his arms on her lap.

“Sleepy,” he muttered, shifting to get comfortable. 

“I wonder why,” she responded affectionately, holding her laptop in one hand and carding her fingers through his hair with the other. 

“Had to-” he yawned, “finish the project.” 

“And you did, so I’d say you’ve earned your rest.” His recent tiredness put her in mind of the months after he’d taken the Achilles’ Curse when he’d fall asleep anywhere and everywhere, often in this very same position. 

Of course, then, she didn’t usually have a computer and a report to finish. 

“Hey,” she gently tapped the computer on his head. “What am I supposed to do with this?”

“I dunno,” he mumbled. “That works.” 

“This works?” She repeated, skeptically resting her laptop on his head. 

“Sure.” 

Deciding to play along, she tried to continue typing. “Hm, I’ve determined that your head is not a sufficiently flat surface.” 

She felt him shrug against her legs. “Not for lack of trying.” 

“I don’t think I’m advocating for more monsters to bash you in the head.” She moved her laptop to his back instead. “I’m fond of your skull as it is.” 

“Oh yeah?” 

“Yeah,” she smiled, running her hand through his hair again, tracing the shape of his head. “Now stop distracting me.” 

“Sure thing, babe.” 

Smiling and rolling her eyes, she turned back to her report in the dyslexia-supportive program one of her siblings had designed. Percy’s back was much more stable than his head, and she couldn’t say she didn’t appreciate the company. 

She finished a rough draft and saved it, deciding to look it over for errors and edits later. As she closed the report, her background came into view. It was her and Percy during their visit to Washington DC the year before. They’d planned a large group trip with Grover and the rest of the seven to support Piper’s recent appointment. A lot of them had road tripped down together, and spent hours at the Smithsonian Museums. It had been the last time all of them had been together, and now, with lockdown, the memories were even more precious. Her heart clenched, and she was immensely grateful for Percy, even if he was becoming hot and heavy. 

“We should have a group call with the others soon.” 

He stirred; she honestly hadn’t been sure he was still conscious. “We have one the day after tomorrow. Hazel put it in the group chat, and you already agreed.”

“Oh yeah.” With the stress of lockdown and working from home, details were a little hazy sometimes. “That’s good then. Are we calling your mom any time soon?”

“Maybe tonight? Paul’s busy with teaching online, and Mom’s been busy with her book and trying to homeschool Estelle. She said she’d let me know.” 

“Cool,” she idly traced patterns on his back. “Gotta say I’m so grateful for modern technology right now.” 

He snorted, “And that we can use it now.” 

“Gods, yeah.” A combined effort on the part of some Hephaestus kids, Athena kids, and a remarkably tech savvy Ares kid had led to a spell/app combo that meant monsters could no longer trace demigods through their technology. Annabeth had to admit that a smartphone had been a lifesaver a number of times, both in college and in monster fighting. 

“So, what do you want to do for this rest of the day? Especially now that you got that project out of the way?” 

“Sleep.” 

She tugged at his hair, “you can sleep later, c’mon.” 

“You can sleep with me,” he suggested, and she caught his mischievous look. 

“I’m not tired,” she stuck out her tongue. “Do you wanna watch something? We’re nearly caught up on, uh, that one show.” 

He named it. “That one?” 

Snapping her fingers, she nodded decisively as if she’d had the name all the time. He just gave her that teasing smile. “Yeah, that one. Wanna watch that?” 

With an overly dramatic sigh, he crawled off her. “Sure.” He kissed her cheek as he settled into her side. “Popcorn?” 

“Why not?” She smiled at him, “but you have to salt it.” 

“I think I can agree with that,” he grinned at her and pulled her laptop to him so he could pull up the show. 

She plodded to the kitchen (well, kitchenette), and returned a few minutes later with only slightly burnt popcorn and a salt shaker for Percy to wield. As she curled up beside him, and the familiar title song played, Annabeth felt the deep-seated contentment that no matter what crazy things were happening in the world right now, no matter how helpless and scared she felt, at least she had her something permanent with Percy. 

[giuliafc]

Stuck in a Cabin (with you) - chapter 2

Read at: Ao3 || FFN || Wattpad

Summoned to save his Lady's life, Adrien gets stuck with her in a cabin during a blizzard. Identities get revealed, feelings come out...but who's been plotting to kill Marinette? Will the culprit be punished? Read to find the answer :) (Adrienette)

Read previous chapter here on Tumblr

Marinette shivered. She stood in front of the small frozen lake and looked around, trying to find any warning sign that there could be any danger. The sky was covering the park with its white canopy and the trees all around the lake looked like they came from a polar tundra, so covered in snow that every part of their branches displayed a thick white contour.

The scenery felt nearly apocalyptic and Marinette looked around reverentially — it was all so beautiful. Not having found any warnings for danger, she sat down on a bench near the lake and started taking her walking boots off, to replace them immediately with her ice skates. She put her walking boots back into the bag she had used to store her skating boots and placed everything back into the small backpack she had brought with her. She gave a couple of shakes to her feet, ensuring that her boots had been put on safely.

“I don’t know, Marinette. This sounds fishy. Why aren’t your friends here yet? It took you much longer than we expected to arrive,” whispered Tikki in her ear.

“Alya and the girls must have had a delay somewhere. She told me to start enjoying myself, and there doesn’t seem to be any danger around. What can go wrong?” mused Marinette.

Tikki looked at the sky warily. “It feels wrong. The clouds are too dense in the sky, it’s going to start to blizzard soon. I don’t want you caught in it. There must be a reason why nobody’s here at all!”

“Nothing to worry about, Tikki,” said Marinette with a smile. She tapped on the screen of her phone and opened the weather forecast. “There’s no mention of any blizzard starting any time soon.”

Tikki kept staring at her with a worried gleam in her eyes and Marinette sighed and gave her a quick rub on the head. She checked again that her skates were put on properly and then she moved warily on the cold ground to reach the surface of the lake. After a couple of minutes of watching Marinette skate, Tikki started to calm down a little, because Marinette was an excellent skater and there really seemed to be no danger.

Marinette saw the gaze of her small friend relaxing and smiled softly at her. “See? There’s nothing to worry about. It’s a bit unlike you to be this worried, Tikki. Usually you’re so confident.”

Tikki sighed and moved her gaze from hers. “It’s complicated, Marinette. A long, complicated story.”

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, Tikki. Just enjoy the warmth of the purse, okay? I’m sure Alya will get here soon with the gir—” But Marinette’s reasoning was interrupted by a loud crack. She opened her eyes wide as the ice under her boots started breaking and one of the skates she was wearing got caught in the rupture. She panicked. She tried to pull her foot out. The ice broke even more, a skin curling loud bang resounding all around the silent lake. Marinette felt the ground underneath her feet dissolving, and the freezing temperature of the water hit her senses, like thousands of blades butchering her skin. She gasped for air so desperately that she felt herself hyperventilating. The whole place around her was a thin puzzle of shattered ice pieces. She waved her hands around, trying to find something to hold, but she couldn’t grab anything, the ice had broken too finely to leave her something to grasp.

She started drowning.

“MARINETTE!” shouted Tikki zipping out of her purse. “MARINETTE, PLEASE HOLD ON, TRY TO GET YOURSELF OUT! PLEASE, MARINETTE!”

“I can’t feel my legs!” said Marinette, emerging from the water to gasp for air. “I can’t move, Tikki, I think I have cramps! HELP ME!”

The little Goddess of Creation zipped around her chosen in a manic frenzy. She looked around but couldn’t see anybody by the lake that she could catch the attention of. And worse than anything, snow was starting to fall from the sky, making it very hard to distinguish anything.

Crap. It looked exactly like that time.

No. Tikki couldn’t allow it to happen. Not to her sweet Marinette.

Suddenly, Marinette managed to grab some larger piece of ice and started coughing loudly.

“Are you okay, Marinette? Almighty Creator, your lips are blue!”

“I-I’m n-not-t f-eeling v-very g-g-ood. I-I c-can’t m-move…”

Tikki’s eyes widened. “Transform! Please transform Marinette, the suit will help!”

“TIKKI!” called Marinette. “Sp— ” But as she said that, the block of ice she was holding on broke and she fell in the water again.

Tikki’s heart froze. No, it couldn’t be happening. It couldn’t possibly be happening. Not again. Not all over again. The pain, the heartache… she was a kwami, true, she wasn’t human, but she wouldn't stay there and do nothing while another of her Ladybugs froze to death. Not again. Screw the rule of not interfering with human life. Screw identity concerns! Marinette shouldn’t end her days drowning frozen and lonely, like it happened to Piào Chòng!

Tikki saw her chosen’s head emerging from the water and shouted, hoping that she would hear her, “I’ll look for help. Hold on, Marinette, please!” The red kwami’s gaze darted around the park, trying to see anything that could give her an indication that people were around. The place looked so empty and sounded so silent that the manic splashes of Marinette’s attempts at getting out of the water seemed to almost echo in the emptiness.

The snow was also starting to pick up. She knew that the clouds in the sky looked too dense to not cause a blizzard. She knew it, and that bad gut feeling she had had… she should've listened to it! She had again allowed one of her chosens to put her life in danger because of the snow. If Tikki didn’t find someone to help, she would never forgive herself. She looked around trying to find a landmark to remember where she was, and saw the bench where Marinette had sat to put on her skates, just next to a rubbish bin that had taken nearly the shape of a white mouse because of the snow that was covering it. She tried to imprint that picture in her memory. Marinette was struggling always more to keep her head out of the water. She had to be quick.

Feeling horribly guilty, she zoomed out and went off looking for help. ‘Please, Marinette, don’t give up! Hold on!’

oOoOoOoOoOo

Adrien sighed in the premade mobile cabin that had been set up as a changing room for his photoshoot. It was typical of his father to take advantage of the bad weather and decide to perform the photoshoot for Gabriel’s newest ski line in Paris, at the park near Lac Daumesnil, rather than having to go to the mountains and waste additional money for accommodation and travelling.

He had hoped to finish the shoot early, so he could have gone to Nino’s house to complete the shared history project that they had to do for school, but Jean Jacques (a new photographer) was too much of a perfectionist. Adrien understood that the man had only recently started working with the brand and was trying too hard to make an impression, but asking him to retake every picture 4 times using different lighting and then making him do them again once more because ‘the exposure wasn’t perfect��� sounded a bit excessive.

The weather had decided to get worse and he had been stuck inside the cabin, as his bodyguard had gotten stuck in the traffic of the city panicked by the strong new blizzard. Who knew when he would finally arrive! Adrien couldn’t wait to go home. The cabin was cold and one can only hear so many of Plagg’s complaints.

“This horrible weather is freezing my Camembert!” whined Plagg for the millionth time. “Can we go home already?”

Adrien sighed again. “I wish I could, buddy. But it would look strange if I got home without waiting for the Gorilla to pick me up.”

Adrien heard a notification coming from his phone and looked at it. It was breaking news about the weather. He opened up the News app and the concerned face of Nadja Chamack stared back at him.

“Don’t be bemused, it’s just the news. Good afternoon, I’m Nadja Chamack, and I’m talking to you from the Town Hall, where Mayor Bourgeois has just announced a Red Alert warning for the bad weather conditions.”

The screen showed a panorama of Paris wrapped under a thick canopy of snow, more fresh snow coming down from the heavy white sky. “If you’re out, please go home and do it slowly. The hospitals around town have reported a large number of calls and walk-ins due to driving accidents, or trips and falls, due to the bad weather conditions. Some hospitals report queues of over two hours to be registered and even longer to be seen. The code for today is like the one for an akuma alert: if it’s not necessary to go out, don’t. Stay in. Stay safe.”

The TV now showed M. Bourgeois standing in front of the Town Hall, wearing his sash and looking quite serious with his papers in hand. “Thank you, Madame Chamack. The situation is degenerating very quickly. There have been at least ten major accidents reported in the centre of the city alone. I repeat, this is NOT an akuma attack. Ladybug and Chat Noir cannot help the town. This is a real emergency, the coldest winter Paris has had since 1879. That’s why I’m declaring a Code Red alert. All public transport won't run until further notice. Schools will remain closed for the time being. If you’re not an essential worker, or you can work from home, don’t get out of the house to get to work. Stay in. Stay safe.”

Nadja moved the microphone back to her face. “Thank you, Mayor,” she said smiling warmly at M. Bourgeois. “As our Mayor has kindly stated, ladies and gentlemen, this isn’t an akuma attack. The Miraculous Cure won’t fix everything as it usually does. To make sure that this was the case, we went looking for the people who have been akumatised in the past with weather related powers.”

The picture in the video changed from the outside of Town Hall to the sitting room of a private home. There stood Aurore Beauréal, the girl who had been akumatised twice into Stormy Weather. “Hi, Nadja,” she said with a smile, her hand playing with a loose lock of blonde hair.

“Hi, Aurore. Nice to see you happy and smiling,” said Nadja’s voice in the background.

“Yes, thank you for checking on me, Nadja. I can assure everyone that it’s definitely not me causing this bad weather, to check if by any chance it was them.”

Nadja’s face reappeared on the screen. “That’s good news, thank you, Aurore.”

Then, the video moved to the inside of the Ice Rink in town. Philippe Candeloro, the middle aged figure skating trainer who ran the Rink, smiled at the camera and waved. “Good afternoon, Nadja.”

“Monsieur Candeloro, good afternoon. It’s nice to see you smiling and happy,” repeated Nadja, echoing the previous conversation.

“Thank you for caring. It’s definitely not me creating this bad weather.”

Nadja’s face reappeared on the screen. “That’s even more good news. Thank you, Monsieur Candeloro.” Nadja took a big breath. “From the Town Hall, that’s all for now. But keep an eye on your phone or on the TV, because we will keep you informed about any breaking news. As for now, stay in, stay safe.”

Adrien sighed and turned off the screen of his phone. His battery was starting to run low and he didn’t want to drain his phone completely, in case Gorilla or Nathalie would try to contact him. Code Red meant that everything would have been shut for a few days, which also meant that he was going to be trapped in his golden cage with no possibility to escape. Except through the roofs in black spandex, of course.

“The weather is horrible. It could take your bodyguard HOURS to arrive here. And what are we going to do in the meantime, freeze to death? My poor Gooeyness is all cold and hardened up!” Dramatically, he raised a paw at the height of his forehead and closed his eyes, faking distress.

“Oh stop it, Plagg, it’s not that bad. And someone may hear you!” shushed Adrien, but Plagg stuck his tongue out at him.

“Who's going to hear me? The photographer and the team have all gone, it’s only me and y—” but as he spoke, he saw a red dot zooming inside the cabin and his complaints came to a sudden halt.

“Oh thank you, Almighty Creator! It’s so good to see you, Adrien!” Both Adrien and Plagg stared in disbelief at a greatly distressed Tikki, taking heavy breaths to cool herself down.

“Tikki?” said Adrien, a loud gasp coming out of his throat. At the same time, Plagg shouted, “Sugarcube!” and zoomed towards her to hug her, but she put both paws in front of her tiny body to stop him.

“There’s no time to explain. A… girl. Skating at the lake. Danger. You need to help!” she said between heavy pants, her voice cracking as a big frown furrowed her eyebrows. “You need to follow me, NOW. It could already be late!”

Adrien blinked. “A… girl?”

His heart started racing in his chest as he stood without even thinking and put his coat on, opening the door of the cabin and looking around warily. Plagg was right, nobody was around, the place was completely deserted. He stepped out of the cabin and started running in the direction he knew the lake was, paying attention to where he was putting his feet to ensure he wouldn’t slip. Tikki and Plagg followed him.

His mind was filled with different thoughts as he started looking around. “What did this girl think she was doing, skating at the lake? There were loads of panels warning about thin ice yesterday. What was going through her mind?”

Tikki gasped. “Adrien, there were no signs earlier on. Not even one. Nothing that we could see at least.”

We. She’d said we. The thought struck his head and kicked away any other thought or doubt he would have had. “We? Where’s Ladybug? Why isn’t she helping? Were you here together?”

The terror in Tikki’s eyes grew so huge that Adrien felt he could actually touch it and taste it. She looked at Plagg, then back at him, then her gaze lowered to the ground.

“L-Ladyb-bug is unavailable,” she said.

Adrien stopped in his tracks, panting heavily, and looked at Tikki through the white shower of snow that was dimming his view. The snow falling from the sky was so thick that he found himself with snowflakes in his mouth. “You would never leave Ladybug’s side, Tikiki, I know you quite well. If you’re here, Ladybug is here too. WHERE THE HELL IS LADYBUG?”

Tikki’s eyes widened even more when he started to shout. The lower lip of the little kwami started quivering and Adrien was certain that the red colour of her little face grew paler.

“S-she w-was... ice skating on the lake and the ice cracked. You must hurry, please Adrien!” The tiny Goddess of Creation zipped to his neck and grabbed his collar with her tiny paws.

“It’s HER? Ladybug is in danger?” panicked Adrien. The first thing that came to his mind was that if Tikki was there, it meant that Ladybug wasn’t transformed.

Her identity!

Screw her identity. She’s in danger.

Oh God, Ladybug would never forgive him, but he had to protect her, he couldn’t leave her in danger! He’d never seen Tikki that panicky before—that didn’t sound good at all. He resumed his run through the park, trying to reach the shore of the lake as quickly as he could.

Tikki’s eyes filled with tears as she zipped behind him, and started sobbing loudly. “It’s happening all over again. I can’t lose another one. Not my *BURP*” she said, blowing bubbles, as the magic of the Miraculous prevented her from saying her holder’s name.

“Sugarcube! It won’t happen again, not if we can help it, don’t worry!” said Plagg, trying to rub her back to help her calm down, but Tikki was inconsolable.

“Why didn’t she transform?” Adrien stopped at a crossroad, not knowing where to go. The snow that was fluttering from the sky was making it very hard to make out the indications on the road. What yesterday and even earlier today would have been a two minute walk had become much longer now, because of the low visibility, and the slippery ground. Or at least it felt, much, much longer. Incredibly longer.

“She tried, but the ice she was holding onto cracked again and she was sucked down into the water. She couldn’t say the words!”

Adrien felt his soul leaving his body as realisation hit. “Is she drowning?” he asked. His heart was racing at thousands miles an hour. Tikki nodded and his heart stopped.

With the blizzard and the very low temperature, even if she had been out of the water she would be in danger. In the water, the danger had potentially grown by thousandfold. She wasn’t just in danger, she could die!

“Plagg, CLAWS OUT!” he shouted and dashed off, not even looking to make sure that nobody was around before transforming. He didn’t care. Screw Hawkmoth. His Lady was dying and nothing else mattered.

---------------------------------------------

Author’s Note:

Hi again! So… due to the huge demand, here is chapter 2. Yes, Lila’s plan is unfolding quite well. Will Marinette survive?

In the next instalment of “Stuck in a cabin (with you)”, “Prince Chat-ming”:

— “S-SHE’S N-NOT B-B-BREAT-T-HING!”

— “What are you waiting for, Chat Noir? Please help her!” begged Tikki. “I can’t do it.”

— “I-I’M A BOY!”

Ehrm… I know. Sorry. The teaser ain’t helping. Let me know what you thought about the chapter. If I need to choose to prioritise a story to write (and publish), I will always go for the one with the most feedback, because I feel that I’m letting more people down if I don’t continue soon. I can’t promise I will publish every week, but let me know what you think and I’ll publish as soon as I can. Please subscribe if you’re interested in knowing what is going to happen, so you will know when the next update is!

And please check out my other WIPs, “When Magic Fails”, “Caught in the Loop”, “Errata Corrige” and “La Caverne du Papillon d’Or”!

Last but not least, as usual, if you read this and you’re not part of our wonderful Discord server already, but you enjoy reading, writing and talking about Miraculous, please join our Discord server, Miraculous Fanworks (for people on FFN, discord dot gg slash mlfanworks). See you there soon. Not sure when I will update this story but it won't be too long! Promise!

[cilldaracailin]

Heaven For Everyone

Merry Christmas Eve!

Hope everyone is having a lovely day and getting ready for Santy to come! Make sure you are all tucked up in your bed or he won’t come down the chimney!

Here is a little early Christmas present for you all!

Suze xxx

5

"Over the years I have learned that what is important in a dress is the woman who is wearing it."

Taron silently fumed in the conference room in between skype calls. His mood quietly spiralled downhill once he sat in the car with Lyndsey on the way to the hotel where the panel was taking place later on in the morning, using a cornered off area in the conference room for the phone and skype interviews beforehand. She had quickly informed him about some social media scandal that had appeared overnight, calling Robyn out for being a bitch by the girls who had snuck into the pool, saying she was extremely vulgar and rude and the story had spread through the internet quickly. Taron was straight into an interview once he reached the hotel and hadn’t the time to talk to Lyndsey properly or even process what happened, only getting a quick text through to Robyn before he had to put his frustration to the side and concentrate on the questions being asked to him.

It was only twenty minutes later that he finally got to speak to Lyndsey and he was livid as she was able to go into more details about the tweets.

“Surely there is something that can be done about this. It’s a total breech of guest privacy.”

“Taron…”

“They got into the pool for fucks sake Lyndsey!” He roared, pulling his hat off and throwing it to the ground. “The receptionist gave out my private information to her niece who snuck into the hotel and as Robyn stands up for me and herself, those girls just fucking plant disgustingly shit rumours online because they didn’t like they were caught out! I can’t even stay in a fucking hotel now with the woman who saved my life because fucking idiots out there think they can pull shit like this and it is not fucking right Lyndsey!” His voice was loud and very angry, his hands moving with speed as he spoke and he immediately turned to face Lyndsey as he realised he was ranting at the wrong person, his publicist sitting patiently waiting for him to finish venting. “Shit sorry, I am sorry Lyndsey. Sorry.” He repeated. “Sorry.” He said again a bit more quietly.

“I know. I get it and I have already called the hotel to speak to the manager.”

“It’s all over the internet Lyndsey.” Taron sighed heavily sitting back down. “She doesn’t deserve any of this.” Raking his hands through his hair, he then dragged his hands down his face. “It’s such a load of fucking shit.”

Lyndsey reached over to place a hand on Taron’s shoulder. “I know Taron and believe me I didn’t go easy on the hotel. You and Robyn will be checking out of there once Stella is finished and I want you to go back to your flat tonight. I know you had your heart set on the hotel stay for an easy life but not now. You both need the security of your home.” She could feel how his body was completely deflated under her hand. “You and Robyn have nothing to prove to anyone Taron and those girls have spread ugly rumours about you both, and they will be immediately squashed, the actual story of what happened already in the works.”

“She doesn’t need this Lyndsey. Not this weekend. Not right now.”

Lyndsey took Taron in for a hug and hugged him tight. He went from angry to concerned in a matter of seconds and she immediately knew something else was on his mind. “What’s going on Taron?”

“She was already worried but is running on no sleep, she has hurt her hand and spent all Wednesday night in hospital and all she can still think about is me and those girls just snuck into a hotel to try and find me but found Robyn instead and because she was defending me, once again, these girls feel it is right to slate her good nature and just be cruel to someone who gives everything she can to me.”

Lyndsey rubbed Taron’s back in slow soothing circles. His life was always made harder by people who didn’t understand or even care about how their words could hurt and sting and once again he faced another media storm, caused by stupid little girls who knew no better.

“And with the fucking premier tonight, it is all the bloody press are going to ask about.”

“What does Robyn always say to you?” Lyndsey asked into his ear softly. “About the media.”

“To tell the truth.”

“Exactly. I have already been working on the press Taron. It is not your fault that these girls were given information from the hotels receptionist and snuck into the hotel and you know they twisted whatever Robyn said to them.”

“Jesus Lyndsey, they made it sound like she was horrible to them. She doesn’t have a horrible bone in her body.”

“I think her actions have shown the media that Taron.” She felt his weighty sigh against her and the cough that came from deep in his chest. “Please don’t get yourself in a state over this Taron. I am going to sort it all out for you. I already have started.”

Taron’s chest stung a little and it was the first time he had felt the tightness from his cough since Wednesday. He was utterly devastated when Lyndsey told him that the girls who had snuck into the hotel had taken to twitter to insult Robyn and himself too but more so Robyn and he was almost shaking with anger. He had to hold himself together as he had his first interview but his anger quickly subsided and he was hurt and prayed Robyn hadn’t touched her social media or got his message so she was forewarned.

“Take a breath for me.” Lyndsey instructed. “Would you like five minutes to call Robyn?”

After Taron had taken his breath, he shook his head. “Five minutes won’t be long enough. I will text her again to make sure she is ok and then see if she needs a phone call.” He took another long breathe. “I just want one weekend without drama Lyndsey. One weekend where we can just not have anything to worry about.”

Lyndsey’s heart broke a little for Taron. She knew the secret the other one was holding and if they just admitted how they felt to each other, a lot of hurt emotions and worrying could have been avoided.

“You sure Taron?”

“Even if Robyn was feeling a little unsettled by it all, she wouldn’t tell me until later on anyway. She just wouldn’t want to worry me when I am working.”

“She always looks out for you, doesn’t she?”

“Always.” Taron ended the hug with Lyndsey. “I am very happy to head back to mine later on.”

“Good. I could organise for you both to get ready somewhere else Taron.”

“Let’s just leave it Lyndsey. I won’t have the hotel think we are spooked by what happened, that they have driven us away. Robyn is probably sleeping anyway.”

“You said something about her hand?”

“She caught her hand in a metal gate in her work and hurt her hand badly and was in the hospital all Wednesday night. Been a serious struggle for her.”

Lyndsey shook her head. “I see what you mean about having a drama free weekend.”

“Just one Lyndsey. It’s all I ask for.”

“At least when you are in Belfast, you will be closer to each other. Get a few more visits in.”

Taron nodded sadly, his hands going to his face again. His morning had been perfect and with the click of a finger, everything had gone wrong and he was tired of his time with Robyn always being disturbed and interrupted.

“You ready to carry on with the interviews? I am going to prep some answers for you for the panel this afternoon ‘cos I have no doubt a question will be asked.”

“Yeah sure.”

“Text Robyn quickly and I will sign you in for the next one.”

Pulling his phone from his jeans, Taron sent Robyn another text, slightly worried that she hadn’t text him back but made sure she knew her call would be answered by him or Lyndsey if she needed to make one, giving his phone to Lyndsey when he was done, changing his face to as happier a one that he could muster up as the skype interview began.

It was her alarm that woke her up and Robyn was startled as her eyes opened, jumping up a little, groaning as she put weight on her right hand, still cringing as she tried to slide her screen to turn off her alarm. Once she had managed to turn off the cheery tune, she threw herself back into the pillows and sighed. She didn’t even remember falling asleep and she squinted as she looked to her phone, her eyes immediately seeing the four text messages and missed call from Taron. She pulled herself up and unlocked her screen, her eyes scanning the text messages before she called into her voicemail.

‘Hey Robyn. Lyndsey has already released a statement for us and the hotel has made their own statement too and that receptionist has been dealt with accordingly. I figure you are asleep but please don’t be worrying about what was said because we both know it’s a load of bollocks and you have been nothing but my best friend in every way possible. I will see you in a while. I love you.’

Without even thinking about it, Robyn quickly logged into her Twitter app and didn’t even need to search for Taron because her feed was full of tweets and threads from fans discussing what had happened in the hotel and it was a real mixed bag. While some were very much in agreement that she was using Taron, others replied with equally as firm opinions that she had been nothing but a wonderful friend to Taron and she had every right to stand her ground considering the girls had snuck into Taron’s hotel.

A link led her to the statement made by Taron’s management as well as the hotels and it honestly explained the truth of what happened, Taron’s own words being used at how he felt betrayed by the hotel, his privacy breached beyond belief and that Robyn had every right to defend the two of them.

Robyn locked her phone and lay back into the pillows again but opened her phone once more and quickly called Taron. She was met with his voice mail, knowing he had just begun his panel, she left him a message anyway as well as a text. He would get them when he was finished and hopefully her calming words would ease his busy mind. She could only imagine how angry he would have been, how his mood would be tense and completely wound up at the story and what had been a lovely morning of building excited nerves had quickly become edgy and overcome with a setback.

Her head turned as there was a knock at the door and glancing at her watch, it had just gone one. She had spent half an hour trolling through comments and words, her mind in a whirl and her body filled with a mix of emotions that the half an hour had sped by and she was sure it was Taron’s stylist at the door waiting to be let in.

Rolling off the bed, she ran her left hand through her hair, trying to tame it a little. Not being able to dry it straight properly left it with a slight wavey kink and frizz which she detested but it was something she was going to have to deal with until she could hold a hairdryer steadily in her right hand again.

There were four more sharp raps on the door, Robyn opening it on the fourth one and there outside the room, stood Stella dressed in a deep purple pants suit, her hair immaculately curled.

“Jesus Christ do both of you have an aversion to sleeping lately?” Stella asked as she brushed past Robyn and into the bedroom. “And you can leave that open. My team are on their way.”

“Your team?” Robyn questioned opening the door again after she went to close it.

Stella walked back to Robyn and lifted up some of her hair. “My darling, this is a movie premier. Whole different ball game to a party at Elton’s. What is this?”

“My hair?” Robyn asked confused to which Stella puffed.

“I knew I should have come over earlier but would Taron let me? Oh no. Didn’t want to overwhelm you. Didn’t want to scare you away from going. He just doesn’t understand, does he. Easier for a man to get ready.”

Robyn smiled as Stella spoke to herself, her eyes showing a little frustration with Taron’s request which Robyn was very thankful for.

“Did you even sleep? Has Taron slept? Please tell me he had gotten some rest and shaved off that beard.”

Robyn chuckled. “I like the beard. It suits him.”

“Of course you would.” Stella stood back to look at Robyn. “Still as beautiful as ever though. Well stand back dear, let’s not block the doorway.”

Robyn turned her head to look over her shoulder to be met with three more stylists, two women and man, waiting patiently at the door to get into the suite.

“Penelope, Millie and Miles.” Stella introduced the others are they walked past, each one pulling a small suitcase behind them, Miles also carrying two large garment bags very carefully too. “Well let’s get started then. Let me have a look at you.”

Stella walked around Robyn twice, Robyn raising an eye brow her way as she made a third circle. “Show me your hurt hand?” Robyn lifted her right hand and Stella took it carefully. “Taron called me to tell me what happened. Wanted to make sure I knew so I didn’t jostle it too much. He also told me you missed a hair appointment yesterday because you were stuck in the hospital.” Stella saw the surprise in her eyes. “Don’t you worry darling. I have it all under control.” Stella stood in front of Robyn again and ran her hand through the young woman’s long hair. “Highlights?”

“Yeah.” Robyn replied still wondering when Taron was speaking to his stylist.

“I say we lift them a bit. Coming into the summer, it is nice to have a brighter look. Let’s add some layers too.”

“Don’t cut it.” Robyn replied instantly. “Please don’t cut my hair short.”

Stella placed her hands on Robyn’s shoulders. “I won’t. Don’t worry. The length is beautiful. Just a trim to get rid of the ends and then a subtle cut. Nothing extreme at all. I don’t want to change you Robyn. I will only do what you are comfortable with. I understand tonight is so much more than anything you have faced with Taron so I want you to be you and thoroughly comfortable.”

“Thank you Stella.” Robyn felt the relief seep from her. It was exactly what she wanted for the evening.

“So, want to see the dress?” Stella asked, her lips in a full grin. “Taron told me he has been keeping tight lipped about it all. You know nothing.”

“I don’t even know if I believe him when he says it is still green.”

“It’s still green. Come on.”

Stella led Robyn towards the wardrobe where one of her team had hung the garment bag. The zip was still closed and the three stylists stood at the bed, a look of excitement on their faces as they waited for the reveal of the dress.

“Why don’t you take the honour Robyn.” Stella insisted.

Taking a step closer to the bag Robyn used her left hand to hold the zip and drag it down, opening it completely. Her eyes picked up the green colour immediately and it wasn’t just a boring green but a stunning dark green with a shimmer. She slipped her hands in behind the garment bag and tried to get the material out but stopped as her right hand ached and she realised there was a lot of material in the skirt of the dress and with one hand she couldn’t quite pull it out.

“Let me.” Miles, the male stylist came over to help her and eased the dress from the bag, hanging the dress up, taking the garment bag with him.

Robyn stared at the dress, her mouth dropping a little and she turned to Stella. “So, you said you wanted me to be comfortable.” Stella nodded. “Ok, well where is the rest of the dress?” Robyn turned back to the incredibly beautiful dress in front of her. She felt her question was valid as the front sweetheart neckline of the dress dipped down in the back to leave a completely backless feature. She felt Stella come and stand beside her. “I think it is a valid question.”

“I knew you were going to question it. I told Taron you would question it but he insisted.”

“Taron?” Robyn looked to the stylist, her face in a slight frown.

“He wanted something different, something that would just blow everyone away. I told him it was a risk, the backless design, that you preferred more subtle in every way possible but he said to trust him.” Stella took the dress down and held it out closer to Robyn. “The colour is called peacock green. The top of the dress is the same sweetheart style of the burgundy one from January. Decorated with green and clear crystals, they are swirled around in lines and spirals, meeting in a dark green crystal belt around the waist.” Stella turned the dress around. “It is backless Robyn as the front runs around and down the side before meeting with the belt which sits neatly in the middle of the back. Under the belt, there is a beautiful flow of material that may seem like a lot but with the fitted part of the top of the dress, the extra material just adds to the luxury of the dress and when you walk in the dress, it just drifts and moves as you do.” Stella turned the dress around again. “It is lined inside with velvet on top so will be cosy and comfortable and the crystals won’t snag or pull your skin.”

“Stella how does it even stay on?” Robyn questioned as she reached forward to hold the top of the dress in her hands.

“Little silicone gel strips along the inside seam of the dress.”

Robyn looked inside and saw the clear strips, similar to that on the inside of a strapless bra. Fingering over the bodice of the dress, it sparkled in the lights of the room and as she picked up the dress skirt, she could feel her heart racing. She could never pull off such a dress and found herself shaking her head. “Please tell me you have a second option Stella.”

The stylist could see and feel the hesitation coming from Robyn. “Just this one.” She replied. “It is stunning Robyn and perfect for tonight.”

“I can’t wear this.” Robyn replied with clear sadness in her voice. “I could never wear this.”

“And why not?” Stella demanded.

Robyn looked to the dress, then to her own body and then to Stella. “I just can’t.”

Stella handed the dress to Miles and took the two steps closer to Robyn. “Now you listen to me. I don’t know what is going on in that head of yours but stop it. You have already stepped into a beautiful figure-hugging dress twice before and did you read anything bad about how you looked? How the dress fitted? In fact, if I do remember correctly, your dress from Elton’s was complimented many times by numerous fashion magazines.”

“It was?” Robyn asked quietly.

“It was. You are a woman Robyn, with curves in all the right places which men appreciate. Tell me Taron hasn’t taken advantage of it.” She saw Robyn’s face lift in a tiny smile. “Now tell me you hated it. Hated that he cuddled into you and you can’t because you know as much as he loved it, you did too. Trust him and maybe he wants you in this dress for a reason.” Stella wiggled her eyebrows which Robyn laughed at. “He knows how nervous you are, he knows what these events are like and while he is doing everything he can to keep you close and make sure you are comfortable, he also wants to almost show you off, to show the world that you are in his life and fuck anyone who thinks different. You put on this dress and you walk out on that carpet with him and watch the media stop for a second and maybe just a little bit of you just wants to try it on?”

Robyn bit her lip and lifted the dress again. “It is stunning but that backless feature. I can’t pull that off.”

“Honey, don’t forget I have your measurements. I know it will fit and fit you well and stay on.” Robyn looked doubtful. “And you won’t be going braless either. I have that sorted too.” Robyn felt like Stella could read her mind. “Please just try it on. If it is just the backless feature that you don’t like, we can fix it. If you hate the entire dress, I will figure something out but at least just try it on.”

Robyn ran her hands over the dress again. “He helped with the design?” She asked.

“He chose everything to do with the dress with some help. He picked the colour and asked about something that would stand out, something that would make you shine suggesting backless. Also, he said something about a connection with your back. No idea what he meant.”

“I do.” Robyn saw Stella waiting for an explanation. “In Florida, he cleaned the wound on my shoulder and I had to take my t-shirt off so he could do it.”

Stella smiled. “Try it on.” She said handing Robyn the dress.

The material felt soft and silky in her hands and not too heavy either. “I might need some help getting into this.”

Stella smiled widely. “That is what we are here for.”

After finding out that Miles was happily married and living with his husband of five years, Robyn was happy to strip down in the room and with a lot of help slipped into the dress. Stella had initially told her to stay in her black bra but it ruined the effect of the dress so Stella helped Robyn into the bathroom and into the backless bra and then the dress, Robyn at the mercy of the stylist as she ensured the dress fitted her body seamlessly.

“How does it feel?” Stella asked once she stepped away from Robyn. She ran her hands down the sides of the dress, making sure it was sitting comfortably and right with nothing on show that shouldn’t be.

“It’s actually ok.” Robyn admitted. “It won’t fall off Stella, will it?” She asked, her own hands running up and down the side of the dress, feeling the bare skin of her back too.

The stylist smiled softly. “No darling it won’t. Though I think I might need to bring this waist in a little bit.” Stella pinched the belt a little. “An inch, I think. Robyn Quinn, you are wasting away before my eyes.” Robyn smiled a little. “No more, you hear me?” She warned, letting the material go. “I can fix that easily.”

“Stella are you sure it won’t fall off or down?” Robyn placed her hands on the neckline.

“It’s not too low Robyn and it won’t fall or slip or go any lower. It is perfect.”

Robyn had yet to look in the mirror of the bathroom, her eyes avoiding her reflection as soon as Stella re-dressed her. Her stomach was in bits and her heart was thumbing rapidly. Taking a quick breather, she turned to the large mirror above the sink and her eyes opened wide. Taken back by the person staring back at her, she took a step closer to the mirror. Green had always been one of her favourite colours along with blue and the shade was perfect. Not too bright but still obviously green, the crystal details shimmered in the high lighting of the bathroom. The neckline was a little higher than the burgundy dress which she was glad off as there was no lace for extra coverage on her shoulders. She turned a little and tilted her head as she took in the backless design of the dress and immediately her heart began to race and she felt a little heat rise to her cheeks. It wasn’t too low and nestled nicely against the middle of her back and looked secure and well fitted. She could see the belt sitting perfectly in position highlighting her figure before the material fanned out right down to the ground.

“How does he do it?” Robyn turned to Stella. “Every time. It’s perfect. Stella it is so perfect.” Robyn found herself in a hug and she laughed a little. “I love it.” She let Stella go and ran her hands down the dress. “Can I get a sneaky look at his suit?”

Stella laughed. “No.” She answered still laughing. “That is a surprise. Now let’s go back out to the bedroom and I can pop some pins in and alter this dress so it is more than perfect.”

Stella had Robyn stand very still so she could pull and pinch and alter the dress in three different places, either side of the belt and at the back, the dress hugging Robyn effortlessly with the alterations.

“Ok let’s get you out of this dress and then Miles is going to start your hair.”

With the distraction of trying on the dress, Robyn hadn’t the time to think about the media or press but as she showered before she had to get her hair done, Robyn had all the time she needed for her mind to over think the story and the more she thought about it the more she could feel herself getting annoyed. From the moment she was greeted by the receptionist, she knew she didn’t like her and her initial feelings had been right and everything had swirled from there. Social media was such a dangerous platform for people to spread rumours and she was so thankful for Lyndsey’s quick work once again in squashing the story, explaining that it was Taron who was actually the one who had been left hurt over it all. It was definitely going to be an interesting evening on the red-carpet and Robyn could feel the butterflies in her stomach as the time ticked closer. After rubbing her favourite and most expensive body moisturiser in, and wrapping herself up in the one of the hotel’s dressing gowns, Robyn made her way back into the bedroom and sat in the chair ready for her, Miles carefully applying the colour to her hair while Millie painted her finger nails the same shade of green as her dress.

It was a little awkward to try and wash the colour out of her hair using the shower head but Robyn didn’t mind the unconventional hair wash technique and once was seated back in the bedroom, Miles combing her wet hair through, she heard the door in the other side of the suite open with a bang, Taron almost running into the bedroom.

Robyn could see the slight panic in his face, the worry in his eyes and she stood up from the chair, Miles’ comb falling from her hair and she walked to meet him and the two embraced in a hug.

“I am so sorry Robyn.” He breathed into her shoulder.

He was so thankful for the stress-free panel with Colin and Matthew and all of the questions were asked about the movie and the filming process rather than the newest media story and he found himself enjoying the jokes and laughs with the group he sat with and the rest of his skype interviews were a breeze too. It was only as he sat in the car on the way back to the hotel that his fingers twisted nervously and his legs bounced too as he thought through the hurtful and cruel words trailing on the internet about Robyn. He understood the speculations and gossip around him, it just was part of his job but when it was about Robyn, he was less sympathetic and more angry. He had the door of the car open before it pulled to a complete stop outside the hotel and power walked in through the glass doors, ignoring his name being called from reception, heading straight for the stairs, taking them two at time the whole way up the six flights to the third floor. He ran towards the end of the hall and in his rush to get his key from his pocket, dropped it on the floor. He cursed and struggled to pick it up, cursing again. Once he got the door open, he headed straight for the bedroom, and saw Robyn sitting in a chair, dressed in one of the hotels pristine white dressing gowns, one of Stella’s team brushing her hair.

It didn’t take her longer than two seconds to get out of the chair and hug him tight and he felt left hand on the nape of his neck, rubbing little deep circles on his skin.

“You have nothing to be sorry for.” She whispered to him. She caught Stella’s eye who was sitting at the table by the window, altering the dress.

“I think it is time for a coffee break.” Stella stood up and motioned to her team. “We’ll be back in a few.”

Once the stylists had left the room, Robyn hugged Taron tighter to her. “Thank you for your texts and calls.”

“I was so worried you would have gotten the notifications from your social media and seen them before I got to talk to you. Robyn I am so sorry for the shit storm.”

“Not your fault Taron and I have already seen the statement Lyndsey sent out.”

“They said such appalling things about you Robyn.”

“And we both know they are shit Taron. Most of the fans are on your side over this whole thing. They are really disgusted at what the girls did, what they did to you.”

Taron took a long deep breath. “Just not what we needed this weekend.”

“Are you really gonna let this shit get in your head Taron? After everything we have been through? After every story that has been wrote about us? This actually turned to our favour when you think about it.” Robyn took her hands away from his back and neck and moved away from his body, placing her hands on his face. “Lyndsey has already sorted it. This is not going to spoil your evening. It is not going to take away from your excitement, my excitement of seeing this movie, of sharing the amazing work you have done and I am not letting stupid immature girls ruin your night or mine or that beautiful dress I cannot wait to wear.”

Taron’s lips pulled into a small smile. “Saw the dress then?”

“Still waiting for a glimpse of your suit.”

“Do you like it?” He asked a little shyly, his eyes deepening in their colour.

“Your suit? I don’t know. Stella won’t show me.”

Although he didn’t want to, Taron laughed and threw her arms around her to hug her against him again. “We will have one drama free weekend. I promise.”

“I don’t know what we would do with ourselves if we had a drama free weekend.” She murmured into his warm shoulder. “How were your interviews?”

“They were good. The panel was actually a good laugh and the questions were about the franchise and the filming process.” He ended the hug with a light squeeze. “You haven’t run away from Stella yet.”

She smiled and shook her head. “Almost.”

“The dress?”

“That dress…” Robyn stalled. “Is beautiful Taron.”

“You sure?”

“Yes, I am sure.”

“Everything else ok?”

She nodded. “Thank you for asking Stella to fix my hair.” She blushed a little.

“It’s the little things, right?”

The door of the suite opened and Stella walked back in carrying a tray of coffees. “I need you in that other room in the next ten minutes.” She said pointing the coffee’s Taron’s way. “You seen a bed at all or a razor?” Both Taron and Robyn laughed a little. “Am I ok to have her sit back in that chair?”

With a nod, Taron leaned in to kiss her cheek. “We are going back to mine tonight.” He explained to her.

“Fine by me.” She agreed.

“Can you pack up your case before you are back in the very capable hands of Stella please? We will bring them with us when we leave to go to the premier and Clive will keep them in his car until we are back at mine later.”

“Sure of course I will. It won’t take me too long.”

“Me neither and if Stella will let me, I am going to do it right now.”

It took Taron less than two minutes to gather his belongings and close his case over, wheeling it to the door between the bedroom and living room. He then went to help Robyn who had taken just as quick to collect most of her things and they left her case next to his.

“All ready to go.” She assured him, taking his hand and giving it a light squeeze. “Means you can have along lie in tomorrow. We don’t have to check out of your flat, do we?”

He was always to thankful for her way with words, for reading his mind and easing his worries in a split second. “No we don’t.”

“Coffee.” Stella walked toward them and handed Taron a cup. “You couldn’t have even tried to get some more sleep?” She placed her hands on his cheeks.

“I spent four days sleeping Stella.” He smiled under her hands.

“This is going too mister.” She ran her fingers along his jaw, making him smile more. “Adds too many years to your face.”

“You sound like my mother.” He chuckled as Stella took her hands from him.

“Robyn you can sit back in that chair, Miles, is going to finish your hair. Taron you can make your way into the other room and take a seat. We have two hours to get you both ready and that is just not enough time for me.”

Giving Robyn a little grin, Taron turned on his heels and walked into the living room of the suite and dropped his body onto the couch, sipping the coffee in his hands. He would never come to understand the inner strength Robyn had, how she always managed to talk him down, use her words to comfort him. Closing his eyes his lay back against the cushions of the couch. He could feel his stomach churning a little with nerves but perhaps his apprehensions about the evening were not as troublesome as they had been.

Stella closed the door between the bedroom and living room and saw the frown on Robyn’s face.

“You think I am going to let him see you or vice versa? Not a chance in hell. You can ring him if you want him.”

“Ring him? He is about ten meters away from me.”

“Ring him.” Stella confirmed. “Now Miles, get that toner in her hair. We are cutting it tight on our time and there is still a lot to do.”

Once the toner was washed out of Robyn’s hair, Miles moved across into the living room to defuzz Taron, Millie now taking over Robyn’s hair. Stella had already discussed with the hairdresser what way she wanted Robyn’s hair styled and once it was dry, Millie got to work on curling sections of Robyn’s newly highlighted hair, pinning each curl up with a clip.

Stella pulled another chair over to sit beside Robyn. “So, make up. I don’t want to go too bold with your look. I am sticking with a very natural look. Something to make your eyes pop even more, adding a tiny bit of shade of green to take in the dress.” Robyn nodded. “You don’t need much anyway, maybe some highlight too.”

“You know more than I do Stella.”

While Robyn’s hair set, Penelope started to prime her skin, getting it ready for Stella’s preferred look. A little foundation just to even her skin out, she set to work on creating a subtle green smokey eye with a dash of black for some depth. A thin line of black winged eyeliner along with two coats of mascara, Penelope added a dash of contouring with some bronzer and a touch of lightness with a highlighter on her cheek bones. Once she had blotted the nude lipstick from Robyn’s lips, she handed her a mirror, smiling at the surprise on her face.

“Perfect.” Penelope said.

Robyn moved her face from side to side, taking in the simple yet effective make up on her face. Everything was so subtle but worked together to enhance her blue eyes and Penelope had even managed to cover the tiredness in her face flawlessly. As she put the mirror down, she saw Stella standing in front of her holding the dress.

“We have an hour left to get you ready and it is just not enough time.” She ushered Robyn into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. “Bet you Taron is laying on the couch asleep right now.”

Robyn chuckled as she opened the tie on the robe. “Possibly.”

As Taron was side-lined to the living room, he had been laying on the couch with his eyes closed, taking a little snooze. The door of the bedroom opened and he turned his head to see the hair stylist walk in with his belt of hair accessories and a little case.

“Come on Taron. You know Stella likes to keep to a schedule.” Miles said to him as he pulled out one of the chairs from the table to the left of the couch.

Taron stood up and walked over and sat in a chair as directed by Miles.

“Do you think she would be pissed if I told you not to do this?” Taron asked Miles after a few minutes as he gently rubbed an exfoliation scrub into his jaw and neck.

Miles laughed. “You want a telling off from Stella?”

“Not at all.” Taron reflected.

Miles didn’t answer but continued to massage the scrub into Taron’s skin, washing it away with a warm wet cloth once done. He felt the tickly bristles from the brush as his face was coated with a generous amount of shaving cream. Taron would happily have shaved himself, but he knew Stella would never let him so sat back and closed his eyes, letting someone else worry about giving him a clean shave.

Once finished, Taron took his time in the shower, in no rush to get ready. He knew there wasn’t as much to his preparation as Robyn’s and he hoped she was ok in the other side of the suite and not overwhelmed by all the attention she was getting. Throwing on a hotel bathrobe, he sat back in the chair for Miles who smoothed some moisturiser onto his jaw and neck before the hairdresser started to style his hair, dragging some gel through the strands, giving it some body and height. With a light fritz of hairspray, Miles smiled at Taron.

“All good to go. Don’t touch the hair or Stella will have something to say.”

With a grin Taron nodded and watched Miles make his way back through the door to the bedroom, being very careful to keep the gap small so Taron couldn’t see in. It was half an hour before he knew they had to leave and Taron opened the bag with his suit on the coffee table and smiled. The velvet jacket matched the colour of Robyn’s dress exactly and the velvet waistcoat added a little extra to his suit. Black slacks and shoes alone with a crisp white shirt and dark green tie, he knew it was easier for him to get dressed for the evening and he hoped Robyn wasn’t feeling any major jitters. Walking over to the couch he picked up his phone and called her.

“This is a terrible time to call me.” Robyn answered his call as she walked out of the bathroom and back into chair to sit.

He chuckled. “I just wanted to make sure you hadn’t tried to escape through a window.”

Robyn looked down to the dress she was finally fitted into as Millie took out her curls. “You think Stella would have let me do that?”

“No but still, are you ok? Do you need a hug?”

“Oh dear God desperately but if you even think to open that door, I will be attending your premier by myself.” Taron laughed. “How are you doing rocketman?”

“Just about to get changed and clean shaven.”

“Stella will be pleased.”

He ran his left hand across his smooth jaw. “My face is cold.”

Robyn chuckled but it was Stella who spoke to him next. “Taron you know I love you but I have twenty minutes before you both need to leave and Penelope is on her way over to you now to try and hide those dark circles.”

Taron looked to his phone as his call was ended and the door opened, Penelope walking through it, closing it behind her.

“Do you want me to tell Stella that you are not dressed yet?”

With a grin, Taron lifted his suit and headed into the bathroom to change quickly. The suit fit him like a glove and he walked back into the room holding his tie, taking a seat back in the chair, Penelope placing a make-up cover around his shoulders to keep his suit clean. It took her five minutes to tone down the dark skin under his eyes, adding a little powder for a shine free face.

“All done.”

“Is Stella finished with Robyn?” He asked as he stood up, throwing his tie around his neck.

“Should be but I wouldn’t go through just yet in case she hasn’t.”

Taron didn’t heed Penelope’s words and walked to the connecting door and opened it, walking right into the bedroom, to be met with Robyn’s back. He could feel the stares coming from Stella as he stood behind Robyn, his eyes wandering down her bare back to where the green crystal studded belt sat on her waist, the flow of material from the skirt of the dress all around her. A light dusting of freckles still decorated her shoulders, even after being home from Florida for so long and her skin was flawless apart from the small scar on her left shoulder. Her hair in fell in a sheet of perfect waves over her right shoulder and the newly blonde colour shone in the lights of the room.

“Taron!” Stella’s voice was stern but the Welshman didn’t hear it as Robyn looked over her shoulder to him.

Stella had insisted on completing the finishing touches on Robyn herself and was just adding a final lipstick coat to her lips, when Taron interrupted them, looking as handsome as always in his perfectly tailored suit but as she looked to his eyes, she could see the honest love and compassion in them and admitted defeat, nodding at Robyn.

Her heart was beating wildly in her chest and when she had looked over her shoulder, she had caught a glimpse of a very dashing looking Taron but lifting the skirt of her dress with her hands, Robyn could turn around and fully take him in. His tie hung around his neck, yet to be made, but his jacket was perfectly matched to her dress, his waistcoat too. Her lips lifted in a half smile and she walked over to him, taking her time in her green heels until she stood in front of him. The green colour of his suit jacket made his eyes stand out and Taron wore the designer three-piece suit with ease and faultlessness. Looking to his face, she supposed Stella and his mam were right when they said a clean face took years off him but Robyn was partial to his scruffier look and she smiled as he watched her look him over.

“Can I?” She asked touching his tie.

“Please.”

She pulled it slowly from around his neck and took a step closer to him so she could lift the collar of his shirt. Placing the tie around his neck. Robyn took her time as she worked a double Windsor knot into his tie knowing that Taron’s dark eyes were watching every move she made.

Taron hoped she couldn’t see his heart beating hard in his chest because he felt that at any moment it was going to burst through his skin. He just wanted to grab her and pull her close, kiss her cheek, her head and her lips, let his hands run up and down the warm skin of her back and it took everything he had not to just do that. She matched his height and she was stunning. He was so nervous about the style of dress, the daring backless design and was so worried Stella would have to change the dress at the last minute but Robyn had stepped into the dress and he found himself biting his lower lip as he looked her up and down. It was everything and more and the fitted top outlined her curves and he could only imagine how the skirt would move as she walked.

Robyn could see his eyes go for a little walk as she tied his tie and if he was allowed to look then she was certainly going to take advantage too and as she pushed the knot of his tie to the top button of his shirt, she pulled lightly on his waistcoat with her right hand, using her left to smooth his tie behind the velvet material, running her hands over his chest once more before fixing his collar.

“All done.” She said taking her hands from him. “You look very much a perfect Kingsman.” She joked.

“Robyn you are a vision of beauty.” His words left his mouth before he could stop himself and while he knew his cheeks blushed, hers matched his too. He cleared his throat and took a little step back. “I mean… I just…. I…” Taron stuttered and was so relieved as Robyn stepped closer to him and gave him a hug.

“Thank you Taron. You look as handsome as ever.” While she ran her hands soothingly up and down his back, Robyn felt him just rest his very tentatively on the bare skin of her back. “Hey you wanted this dress; you need to be prepared to give proper hugs while I am wearing it!” She scolded him.

With a slight nervous chuckle, Taron moved his hands slowly around her back and to her waist, pulling her against him a little tighter. “The dress is perfect. Robyn you look so beautiful. Not that you need a dress to look beautiful but I mean the dress just makes you look even more beautiful than you already are and I know you don’t care about this stuff or need any of this stuff to be…”

As Taron rambled on Robyn’s smiled turned into a grin and she moved away from him a little, taking her hands from his back and placing them on his cheeks, titling his head down to place a soft kiss on his forehead, followed by one on each cheek and then his nose. “Thank you Taron and breathe a little ok?” She rubbed her thumbs over his smooth jaw. “So soft.” She whispered to him. “I miss the beard.”

With a nod under her hands, Taron finally smiled and then laughed a little. “Me too if I am honest. You look lovely.” He whispered to her. “And I like your hair.” He raised his hand to touch her hair but stopped as Stella called out in a shout.

She had been watching the sweet interaction between the two, her lips in a smile as she saw nothing but pure love between the them but as Taron went to touch Robyn’s perfectly styled waves, she wouldn’t have it. She stepped over to them. “Don’t even think about.” She scolded him. “And if you are going to kiss him then you need to bring this with you.” She held up the lipstick tube to Robyn. “No kissing while on the red carpet.” She instructed.

Robyn smiled and took the lipstick. “Sure Stella.” She walked away from Taron and to the bed where a bag which matched her dress had been laid out for her and she popped the lipstick in. She took her phone from it and made her way back towards his stylist. “Would you take a picture for us please?”

“Of course.”

Stella made them pose in various different ways and when she had Robyn turn to face Taron with her back to the camera, her head looking over her shoulder, the two ended the sudden photoshoot.

“We really need to go Stella. The car will be waiting outside for us.”

“Yes yes of course. A movie to promote and all that.”

As Taron made his way back into the living area to get his phone and wallet, Robyn tuned to Stella. “Thank you so much Stella. I can’t say enough about how I have actually enjoyed the makeover. Thank you for listening to me and making sure I was completely comfortable.”

“You are going to make heads turn on that carpet.” Stella gave her a hug. “You two are delightful together. He hasn’t taken his eyes off you.” She winked. “He might be keeping his distance now but believe me, he will be glued to your side in a while.”

Robyn rolled her eyes as Stella let her go. “Thank you Stella.”

“Robyn you have everything you need? Your case ready to go to?” Taron came to stand beside her. “Clive is waiting outside for us.”

“Yep.”

“Stella a pleasure as always.” Taron walked over to his stylist and gave her a firm hug. “Thank you for looking after her.” He kissed her cheek.

“I look forward to our next meeting Robyn. I think we might work with a pants suit the next time.”

Robyn’s face lit up. “Now that I can definitely agree to.”

“I have the most perfect one in mind.”

With another thank you from both of them, Robyn and Taron grabbed their cases and made their way out of the hotel room, leaving Stella and the others to tidy up their gear before they left too.

“I am sorry we have to drag our cases with us.” Taron apologised as they stood waiting for the lift. “It definitely wasn’t in my plan. Lyndsey thought it was the best course of action going back to mine, away from here after the premier.”

“I don’t mind Taron. I think it is actually a good idea to go back to your flat. It means there is no rush on us now tomorrow to get up and go.”

Stepping into the lift, Taron pressed the button for the ground floor. “You ready to be stared at as we walk through reception.” He asked her.

“Might as well start in the way we intend to continue our evening.”

As the lift dinged with their arrival on the ground floor, Robyn went to take her case but Taron already had his hand on it. “I got it.”

She didn’t argue with him and allowed him to take both cases. As the lift doors separated and opened, they were met three people waiting to use the lift, who stepped back to let them pass, Robyn sticking very close to Taron as they walked. They definitely caught the attention of many of the hotel guests as they walked through the tiled lobby and Robyn definitely heard whispers of their names echo through the grand foyer. Before they reached the glass doors of the exit, Taron’s name was called and they stopped and turned to see the manager of the hotel walking their way.

“Mr Egerton, Miss Quinn, could I have a moment of your time please?”

Robyn instantly felt Taron freeze and tense up beside her and she hooked her arm through his. She turned her head toward the manager. “I am so sorry, but we actually don’t have time to stop. We are on an extremely tight time schedule.”

“I understand that but I would just like a minute to apologise to you both. I am appalled by the behaviour of one of our employees and can only apologise again for the trouble her actions have caused you both. If you ever would like to stay here again, please know we will put you up in our finest suite and will cover all the expense.”

Taron was ready to tell the manager exactly what she could do with her offer but Robyn got there before him. “Thank you for your apology.” She began. “But Taron and I will not be returning to your hotel. His own private information was given by one of your trusted employees to their niece who in turn snuck into the hotel in search of Taron to take photographs of him while he used your hotels facilities. Your employee’s niece then took to social media to slander my name as well as Taron’s and put us both through an agonising few hours of worry and stress. I think you can understand our reluctance to stay here again. We will stick to the Premier Inn from now. At least we can go to and fro from there without watching our backs constantly.” With a pull on his arm, Robyn started to walk out of the lobby of the hotel, Taron following her, pulling their cases as he walked.

[mimssides]

Life on Crow Avenue: Part 7

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___

Warning: Explicit suicide attempt by Remus! There is no blood and no severe injury or gun or drug abuse.

Suicide Hotlines

He hadn’t said “Till later”.

He had watched his words very carefully. He wanted them to be okay. Okay last words for Roman to remember.

He hadn’t said “Till later” because he did not want Roman to join him anytime soon. He wanted Roman to live. To be happy.

But even more so he wanted to die.

He sighed and looked down at his hand on the counter in the kitchen. Next to it was the folded piece of paper. Roman probably wanted words afterwards. He did not know what to say but he could give him a few words. All the words he knew.

He pulled out his hearing aids and set them onto the paper. A last time he looked around. They hadn’t quite settled in yet. Between the getting the store ready and the move into the flat, there had not been so much time to decorate or make everything perfectly presentable.

Remus didn’t have the energy to decorate quite honestly. Maybe Roman did neither, but maybe he just thought he’d do it later.

Remus hoped it was the latter.

It wasn’t important anymore.

Remus felt numb and walked towards the stairs. He climbed them not looking at the empty floor, neither of them had bothered to properly clean up. Roman had mentioned when they got the place that they could make a hobby room out of it.

Hopefully, he’d do that.

Remus took the next flight of stairs. Up to the rooftop.

The air was clear and the sky was starting to turn a little yellow. No clouds. What a lovely day to die.

Remus didn’t waver when he walked towards the edge of the roof. Nor did he hesitate when he stepped onto the little parapet. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment.

When he had been a child, he had always thought being deaf meant complete and utter silence. That that was the worst thing that could possibly happen to you. Being in complete and utter silence.

But he wasn’t deaf. He was profoundly hard of hearing. And that was not silent at all. Not that it was loud, no, but there were sounds. Sometimes tinnitus, sometimes things that resembled speech, when he didn’t have his hearing aids in.

And somehow, of all the things that had happened and that hurt him, this he didn’t really mind. The smothered world he lived in without the hearing aids was fine with him.

Remus opened his eyes again and looked down. The street was almost empty. Only Patton, who was putting a sign away in front of Logan’s store.

When he’d be gone Remus could finally jump.

___

Patton was busing himself with putting away the sign, Logan had asked him to bring inside his store. Just a little favour for an old friend.

And as he did so, he turned towards the street and stretched, straightening his back until it cracked. He sighed contently and looked to the house on the other side. Nothing special, just the sunlight reflecting on the walls.

Almost Patton just turned around as his eyes caught something strange. The shadow from the rooftop was not flat. It looked like the silhouette of a person standing on-

Patton turned and looked up. Nothing on the roof of his building. His eyes flickered and he looked to the left and-

There stood Remus. On top of the roof.

First, he wanted to shout for him. No word came out and he was glad for it. He could not risk to startle him.

So instead, Patton walked a little backwards and lifted his hand to wave at Remus. He didn’t react and Patton waved more.

And he turned his head. He looked at him.

Patton needed to do something. He needed to act. He had to get to him. Because Remus would not wait until somebody else came. Until firefighters would have brought a net to catch him or Roman would have turned up to talk sense into him.

With utter and complete certainty Patton felt that Remus would do it, if he would give him more time. Too much time.

And Patton gulped. He looked up and tried to make out Remus’s face. It was so small and blank. He could not let him die. He could not let him commit suicide.

And so, Patton chose to act in blind trust and yelled up to Remus: “Wait there, buddy! Just a minute! I’ll be up there with you!”

And Patton ran to the door by the side of Flores Encantadas and tried to open it. It was closed. He stepped back. Rammed against it. Repeated it. The lock broke. Not looking right or left. Just looking for stairs. Climbing them. Taking several steps at once. Almost losing one of his pink slippers. The third flight of stairs. The last one. And Patton reached the door to get on the rooftop. He swung it open and saw –

Saw Remus’s back. Remus still standing on the parapet.

Patton exhaled. He needed to be calm. He could not make a mistake. Not miss this chance.

“Buddy?”

He didn’t dare to raise his voice. To risk Remus getting startled.

But as Remus didn’t react, he couldn’t help but repeat himself a little louder. Time was running out and he made a few shy steps towards Remus, asking for his attention in speaking voice.

And then Remus looked over his shoulder. Looked at him. And Patton felt as if all his breath had been taken away from him. This colourful, loud man he had got to know in the past month – he was grey and listless.

He must have been each time when they had talked. He must have felt horrible and Patton had not seen it. And now they stood here and Patton had to act.

And act he did.

“Hey buddy, let’s – let’s go down these stairs together.”

Remus didn’t move and Patten forced himself to remain calm and stand still.

“Please, Remus, I cannot fathom what you are going through and what you feel right now but please don’t jump. Roman loves you. You are a good man. A kind man. Please, don’t give yourself up. Not today.”

And Patton stretched his hand slightly in Remus’s direction.

Only his heartbeat in his ears. Only the face of Remus in his vision. And Remus turned further towards him, pressing his lips together.

And Patton was brave and took a step towards him. And another. And another. Slowly, but surely, he walked towards Remus, who looked at him, no word spoken, nothing changing in his stance.

And then Patton was in Remus’s reach. He held out his hand and looked Remus dead in the eye. The sun light bathed half of Remus’s face and yet it could not compare with the bright demeanour Remus usually displayed.

Time stopped.

Remus’s hand twitched. He moved it towards Patton. And Patton closed the distance and took Remus by the hand. Breathless he waited for Remus to step down.

And Remus stepped down from the parapet. Patton held his hand. His hand was a little cold but sweaty. His hand was weakly holding his. But it held.

Remus lived. Remus’s was still breathing and alive and Patton held his hand.

And Patton would not let go. Not soon. Not yet.

“We go down the stairs now? Is that okay?” Patton asked.

Remus looked at him for a moment, seemingly not really understanding the question.

“You want to get off the roof? Into our flat?”

A cold shiver ran down Patton’s spine at the sound of Remus’s voice. It was dry and a little more monotone than he was used to, but most importantly it was so uncommonly quiet.

Patton nodded and Remus returned the nod listlessly. Carful, Patton pulled Remus along towards the door and down from this wicked rooftop. Slowly, so very slowly, they got to the stairs and Patton walked Remus down.

He held his hand and walked into the twins’ apartment.

Only now Patton realized how unorganized the place looked. There were still a few empty boxes and, more importantly, a lot of empty spaces. No knickknacks which made the place homelier and showed who lived inside. Worried he walked Remus towards the small table standing in what he believed to be the living room. He watched Remus, looking for any signs of him wanting to do say or do anything.

Remus looked at him and then to the chair in front of him.

“Let’s sit down,” he proposed and Patton pulled out the chair for Remus and then sat down next to him, never letting go of his hand.

For a few more moments they sat there in silence. Then Patton gulped and looked back to Remus and asked: “Have you taken anything? Do we need to see a physician?”

Again, Remus needed a moment to respond. A little shaky he asked: “Could you say that again?”

Patton nodded and repeated his question and Remus nodded along as he spoke.

“No, I haven’t taken any pills. I’m sober. Completely in my right mind and all.”

Patton didn’t know if that made it worse or better but he nodded at Remus’s response and watched him closely.

The grip of Remus’s hand got a little stronger and Patton squeezed it a little. A ghost of a grin washed over Remus’s lips and Patton had to restrain all inside of himself to not pull him against his chest and hold him and tell him that all would be fine.

And at once Remus’s face fell even more. How that was possible, Patton did not know, but he saw it clearly and panicked inwardly of what was happening now. Remus looked at him, eyes darting to his and Patton’s clasped hand for a second then back up to Patton. He then looked around and saw his own phone sitting on the table and pulled it towards himself.

Remus gulped and bit his lip. He unlocked the phone and then looked back to Patton.

“I need to tell Ro. But I can’t type,” Remus said quietly holding up his left hand which was trembling.

For a moment Patton just stared at him.

“I’m sorry to burden you, but could you type something for me?” Remus asked further when Patton remained quiet.

Sadly, Patton noted and opened the app on Remus’s phone. He was not sure if that was a good idea. He was not sure if he should just listen to Remus when he was obviously in such a bad state. And yet, there he was waiting for Remus to dictate a message for his brother.

“Okay, so uhm,” Remus fumbled with his words and took a tiny airy breath and drove over his face with his free hand, “let’s do this: I tried it again ‘period’ I am alive ‘period’ I am unharmed ‘period’”

Remus’s voice stopped abruptly and Patton watched him scratch his nose again.

Again.

I tried it again.

Patton had had to type that. He had had to hear Remus dictate those words to him, to so casually acknowledge that he had tried to kill himself before. And in the same breath also imply that Roman knew of it. That Roman knew about his brother’s attempts and that he might have walked into him trying, just like he had walked into him today.

But Patton could not formulate any of that and instead asked: “Should I call him for you? I can explain it to him.”

Remus blinked several times before he shook his head and answered: “He’ll be angry. Not at me or you, but he’ll be angry and I don’t want you to get shouted at. But you could add to the text: Patton is with me ‘period’ – I think that’ll calm him enough until they are back home.”

Patton wanted to argue but eventually settled on adding the phrase ‘Patton is with me and he will not leave until you are home.’ He then looked over the text once more, looking if he made a typo and then pushed the phone softly in front of Remus.

He read it. His eyes twitched when he came to the last phrase. He nodded and pressed send.

A moment went by and the message was already read. Remus pulled his hand away from Patton, sat his elbows on the table and buried his face in his hands. His shoulders shook a little and Patton had to push some tears out of his own eyes.

Very careful Patton laid his hand on Remus’s back and started to draw circles on it. He inched closer towards Remus, so close that the latter certainly felt the body warmth radiating from him.

Gently, softly, tenderly, all of the comfort and care he could find in himself, Patton began to repeat over and over again, as long as they would be wating for Roman to return: “Nothing’s okay. It’s not okay, I know. But that’s alright for now. It’s alright buddy. It’s alright. We’ll figure out how to make it better. We will. I know we will.”

Notes:

Okay, hello. First of all, I want to link you to this side with Suicide Hotlines for most countries.

Here in this story Patton got lucky and saw Remus's shadow. I was not lucky enough to catch the bus one hour earlier, which would have prevented my brother from commiting suicide. This is a serious topic and if you are struggeling and have the strenght to reach out, please do so. And to those who know such people; be supportive. Be kind and help them how they ask you to help them if you can. They are incredible people for having kept themselves alive for so long. Do not forget that.

Thank you for your attention and sorry for making this so somber despite this being a simple fanfiction. Now please know; I am proud of you all for being here. You're voices are important and cannot be recreated ever again. There are many people out there that love you and/or will love you. So please take care and have a wonderful day❤️

___

@varthandi

@sickeningly-deceitful

@sammy-is-obsessed / @exhaustedfander

@unoriginalgayboyalex

@alexisrealgay

@softie-sushi

@wolfs-feder

@just-a-neoclassical-painting

For this fic:

@frawkeye

@arodynamic-enby

@espepspes

@ladysuperheros

@bullet-tothefeels

@fukindork

@shadeofadye

@magic-but-its-green

@liv-is-a-fander

@croftersjam15

[doggy-48]

So I have a request. Ok so you have to have seen the cliche but great izu and kaachan turned into babies and reader takes care of them. But what if when they turn back to an adult, reader feels a hole in her heart because now she wants a baby. She tries to hide it but, eventually breaks down missing holding a little one. Smut or fluff doesn't matter. I need this 😏😏😏 please and thank you. ❤❤❤❤❤ love your work as always!!

I hope this fic is to your liking! Sorry if it’s not ;_;

A/N

: Sorry if there spelling mistakes or misplaced words or misused words (i’m dumb)! I really need to stop writing fics when i’m running on 3 hours of sleep..AND ALSO thank you boo

(Izuku x Fem!reader, Bakugou x Fem!reader) aged up (cuz like, i couldn’t think of a good story if they were still in u.a)

Izuku

Crying, crying is what woke you out of your peaceful slumber.

“Izuku..what’s wrong..?” You sat up and turned to your boyfriends side of the bed. Izuku is a lil’ crybaby still so you wouldn’t be surprised if he was having one of his moments. But, what you didn’t expect was a baby, a baby? 

You would’ve thought a random baby somehow made it’s way into your home, but the wild hair and emerald eyes poking out of the over sized clothes let you know it was Izuku.

You have no clue how this happened, it was probably another one of those villains with weird quirks like this.

You’re not gonna lie..Izuku is adorable as a baby, but you have no clue how to take care of a baby, do you need to buy baby food? do you need to buy diapers? Your head started to hurt, it was way too early for you to start thinking.

You got up from the bed and went into a stretch, for however long this last it’s gonna take a lot of patience. You didn’t hate babies, you just weren’t good with them, every time you held them they would just cry and cry.

And you’ve seen children be little rebels all the time, you think you would go crazy if you had a child, but you always thought what you and Izuku’s baby would look like. You sighed and walked over to Izuku’s side of the bed and pulled off the over sized clothes he was wiggling in.

“Awhh.” He did look adorable, but he was loud and crying. “What am i gonna do with you?” You leaned down and wiped the tears away from his eyes, as soon as his eyes turned to you his crying died down. “Oh geez thank god, no offense but you’re crying was a little annoying babe.” You gave his nose a little boop and stood up fully and went to go fetch your phone, the U.A group chat needed to know about this. 

Maybe even Jirou will lend you a hand since she has a child with Denki. Or maybe her hands are full? Well, you will never know until she sees.

You got your phone from the charger on the nightstand and turned on your heel, walking back over to Izuku, who seemed to finally to stop crying. You turned on your phone and opened the camera app, you squatted down and turned the camera to Izuku and snapped a picture and sent it to the group chat after.

You: You guys know any age weirdo villains? cuz like, look at Izuku ;_;

Bakugou >:C: Yeah, that stupid nerd fought one not to long ago.

Well, you got the reason why this happened.

Denki: Do you even know how to take care of a child?

You: Nope! but i was gonna ask Jirou for advice

Denki: I’m here!

You: I’ll pass

Denki: >:c

--

A couple of hours went by, Jirou heard about the news and came by giving you diapers, baby clothes that her baby grew out of, baby food, and some other things. You thanked her for her tips and kindness.

Over time you figured out how diapers work and how to put the baby clothes on Izuku.

It’s only been a couple hours and your ears already hurt from Izuku crying every time you left the room to go do something. You ended up having to fall asleep in the room with Izuku so he wouldn’t start screaming.

You thought this was a nightmare and couldn’t wait for him to turn back. Having to stay by his side every day so he wouldn’t curse your sleep, even tho he would still cry when he wasn’t getting attention or food. You thought you wanted it all to end.

--

By the time Izuku turned back to normal you fell asleep for hours, you thought the nightmare was finally over. 

But, as time went on you kinda missed singing little songs to help ease Izuku to sleep, or fake crying to mock his loud level of crying, or doing the silly airplane food trick to get him to eat. All the things you thought were annoying you suddenly started missing, Yeah, Izuku was already a baby, since he always craved your affection, and he was pretty whiny.

But, everyday when you passed by the baby clothes Jirou gave you, you couldn’t help but frown and miss the little whiny baby Izuku.

You thought you were finally over it until you and Izuku thought it’d be a good time to go on a shopping run since you were running pretty low on food and snacks, You two walked hand in hand down the aisles picking all the food you needed, it was all going well until you heard a little baby crying.

You turned your head in the way of the crying, and you saw the baby and it’s mother, the mother trying to desperately calm down her baby that was wiggling about in the cart, you let out a low chuckle. It reminded of when you rocked Izuku back in fourth in your arms and sung him little songs trying to get to stop crying. Why did you miss it all the sudden? It was a nightmare, or at least that’s what you tried to convince yourself.

“Y/n? You okay?” You turned your head over to Izuku who was giving you little worried eyes. You smiled. “Yeah! I’m fine, let’s continue getting all the stuff we need.” You turned away and led him down the aisles, glancing back at the baby as you both walked down the aisle.

The more children you passed in the large shopping mart the more you missed having to wake up to the devils screams (Izuku’s loud crying). You even started to miss the annoying things, like changing his diaper for the 3rd time that day, or when you were about to fall asleep he’d cry to be fed. The little things.

The more the day went on the worse your mood got, and Izuku picked up on it pretty quickly.

As soon as you guys got back to your shared home and set everything down he was fast to question you. “Are you sure you’re okay Y/n?” Izuku looked really worried at this point, worrying if you something at the store bothered you.

“N-no..” Your voice cracked, why were you so sad over seeing a couple babies at the store, you didn’t miss having baby Izuku that much, did you?

“What’s wrong? Did you not want to go to the store? Did i-” “It’s just- you..i miss you as a baby...” You looked down at the floor, tears threatening to spill.

“That’s nothing to cry about..and i thought you said you hated me being a whiny baby..” “I thought i did, but- i guess not..But! i- i know we can’t have one, you are busy and i don’t want to mess up your hero c-” Izuku cut you off with a kiss. “I’ll always make room for you Y/n, But, are you sure you want a baby?” Your eyes widened, was he serious? Don’t people need like a long talk about this?!

You nodded anyway, your head moving without you even noticing. Suddenly you were being swept off your feet, being carried bridal style to you and Izuku’s shared bedroom.  “Your wish is my command” Izuku smiled.

You were sent down on the bed, Izuku crawling on top of you and placing soft kisses on your jawline and along your neck. 

“I wouldn’t mind starting a family with you, Y/n..”

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bakugou

You woke up to something patting your face, hands?

When you opened you eyes you saw a baby, a baby who looked a awful like your boyfriend. Wait, why is there a baby in your bed?!

You shot up, causing the baby to fall over, but it didn’t start cry.

You inspected the baby further and after you saw no sign of Bakugou and a baby who looked a lot like him in front of you, you assumed that this was Bakugou.

You weren’t that surprised, Bakugou has got hit with a lot of weird quirks over the past years you’ve known him. And having to deal with them until they eventually wore off. 

You grunted and sat up, picking up Bakugou from his back, and sitting him up properly. “Y’know, i’m kinda glad that you turned into a baby and not like a 5 year old child because i don’t think i’d have the patience to deal with the devil’s child.”

Babies in your book were okay, wouldn’t mind having them but you always thought you wouldn’t be a good mother, and being with Bakugou, having a baby with him just means you have to pray that the baby doesn’t take his grumpy, loud, and rebellious traits. Because you have patience to deal with one Bakugou, but if he has a double of himself you’d probably go crazy.

“See, does this mean i have to buy baby stuff?” ‘That’s too much work’ you thought to yourself, today was supposed to be your lazy day with Bakugou, but instead you were greeted with..this.

You sighed and started to get up, Bakugou’s little face turning into a pout as you got up, grabbing your phone. “Stay, don’t crawl off the bed or something.”

--

You ended asking Mina for help since she had a child, and she was more than happy to come over and give you stuff, and take numerous pictures of Bakugou to tease him about when he turned back to normal.

She helped give tips and stayed to help for an hour before she had to leave to tend to own baby. ‘Duty calls.’ is what she said before she ran out the door.

-- 

Taking care of Bakugou wasn’t so much of a drag, since he didn’t cry that often, but he also almost never cried when you stayed near him, the biggest struggle was changing diapers and feeding him, he would always wiggle when you tried to change him and he would turn his head away any time you would hold a spoon up his mouth. You even tried the plane and train trick, didn’t work.

You didn’t even try to figure out how Bakugou turned into a baby, you quite enjoyed him being a baby, Since you probably already had an idea a villain did it. You had to much fun listening to his little giggles he made when you tickled his feet to care, it wasn’t that much tiring as you thought it would be.

-- 

You didn’t want to admit it, but when Bakugou turned back you immediately missed him being a baby, even though you didn’t do that much with him him you still enjoyed him being a baby, you tried to ignore it because you knew Bakugou didn’t have time to talk about a baby when he needed to be #1 Hero. But he obviously caught on without you realizing.

He caught on when he caught you staring at all the baby stuff Mina lent you, at first he didn’t think much of it but it started happening almost every time he saw you.

“Don’t tell you want a baby now.” Bakugou was leaning against your shared bedroom’s door frame. You jumped at his words, gripping the baby clothes in your hand tighter. “What! No..I was just- uh- going...to- thinking about when i was g-gonna give these back...yeah!” Bakugou wasn’t buying it, especially since you didn’t look sure yourself.

“Y/n don’t lie to me.” “I’m nooot. I’m being serious.” You whined. “Plus, even if i did want one, which i totally do not. You don’t have time since you have to be #1 hero remember!” Bakugou lips were in a fine line as he crossed his arms. “Who said i can’t be #1 hero and a #1 father?” “See i t-...wait what?” “You heard me.” See, now if he was joking this wasn’t funny.

“I may want to be #1 hero, but, i will always make time for your wishes, even that means it being a baby.”

[readyplayerhobi]

Flower | 27

; Hoseok x Reader

; Genre: Angst, slight fluff

; Word Count: 4k

; Warnings: Not really an argument but close to it, depictions of anxiety and stress

; Synopsis: You finally decide to take a dip into the world of online dating and find the Flower dating app. One of the top matches for you proves to be a guy who looks to be your complete opposite; tattooed, pierced, a metalhead and oh…incredibly handsome. What happens when you throw caution to the wind and reach out to him?

; A/N: This is one of the more angsty ones, not as bad as before, I swear! I hope you don’t think too harshly of the MC, she’s trying :( the next one is super fluffy...as it’s their anniversary! :D so fear not. As usual, please reblog if you enjoyed it so others can read it and leave me comments, feedback and asks! Thank you!

; Flower Masterpost

-

Straightening up from the bent-over position you’d been in for the last five minutes, you wince at the pain in your back and rub at it with a slight pout to your lips. You don’t remember if moving into your apartment had been this stressful or tiring, but then your place had been much smaller and you’d had less stuff. 

Even with the help of Jimin and Jungkook, it had taken Hoseok and you three days to get everything out of both your old apartments and into your new place. The two of you had started looking for somewhere soon after agreeing to the idea and it had been pure luck to find your new home.

The two-bedroom house that you were both renting was only half an hour away from your parents. It was bigger than you’d originally anticipated but small enough to make it perfect for a couple. There was a backyard that was currently a little overgrown but offered a surprising amount of space while the driveway had space for both your cars. 

The interiors needed a little rework initially but the landlord had promised to have everything repainted and fixed for you both, which they had thankfully. You also had permission to put up decorations on the walls and treat this place like your own home, as long as it all went back to looking neutral at the end.

There had been no reason for either of you to turn it down, especially as the rent was low and the utilities more than affordable. Okay, so you both would need to drive a little further to get to work every day. But both of you were making up for it with the reduction in what you would be paying now compared to before, so you’d eagerly signed the lease agreement as soon as possible.

Which was how you were now here, kneeling on the floor of your new living room as you let out a deep sigh of resignation. Even though you’d been the one to ask Hoseok to move in together, which had surprised pretty much everyone you both knew, it had unsurprisingly been you who’d ended up having issues about the whole thing.

The issues were nothing to do with him or even the idea of living with him. Instead, they were everything to do with the fact that you hated, and struggled to cope with, change of any kind. There probably wasn’t a bigger change out there than uprooting your entire life to a new house and then sharing that house with someone else, a person whom you were romantically involved with. 

Suddenly, any decisions you made regarding your home would need to include Hoseok in them. You wouldn’t be able to change things on the fly like you were used to, nor would you be able to be by yourself at home when you were feeling overwhelmed. It sounded silly when you thought about it logically, or said it out loud, but you’d found yourself struggling over it all.

You’d thought you were ready for it all. After all, you’d been the one to ask him the big question. Only you’d had more than a few meltdowns in the process of packing up your apartment. It made you cringe to think back on them, embarrassment and shame flooding you as you recall the way you’d handled it all.

If there was one thing you’d learnt over the years, it was that you didn’t handle things well in all honesty. Which was why you bottled it all up until it got too much. The results of those explosions got you even more upset, producing a never-ending cycle. Which was why you would often get set off by the smallest, most unimportant thing.

Only last week you’d slipped into, what could only politely be termed, a temper tantrum. A big, fat, adult tantrum. You’d been in the process of breaking down one of the bookcases in your old living room, unscrewing everything carefully after you’d packed away the contents.

The combination of tiredness from all the packing, the stress of moving and changing over debits, the strain of all the lifting, the fact you were doing all this after a full day of work and how your body ached from all the lifting and dismantling had accumulated after you’d accidentally dropped one of the wood sections onto your foot. Almost immediately you’d yelped out in pain before cursing loudly, frustrated tears seeping as you’d visibly trembled in rage at the stupid bookcase.

It had taken half an hour locked inside your bedroom until you’d finally calmed down enough to go back out and carry on. Thankfully, Hoseok hadn’t been there to witness that moment.

Your boyfriend was far more than you deserved as he hadn’t complained about your slowly souring mood. If you were being honest with yourself, he’d probably seen it coming. He had been the one to make completely sure that you were okay with the idea and had tried to make things go as slowly as possible so you didn’t freak out too much. But you were still struggling with it all.

Your antidepressants were working fine and you were thankful that you hadn’t fallen into a slump, but you just felt like you couldn’t think properly. Nothing was in its right place and everything was just...wrong at the moment. Then there was the fact that you were going to have Hoseok’s stuff here too and you’d both bickered about whether or not to set up the second bedroom as a spare bedroom or an office.

He was truly a saint, you were positive, because despite how grumpy you had slowly become he had taken it all on the chin with a patient smile. You, however, just wanted to go to sleep and for everything to be ready to use in the morning. 

It frustrated you to look around the house and see everything that still needed to be built and put away. If you stared too long then you often ended up feeling the heat build in your eyes, tears threatening as exhaustion buffeted you. But that wasn’t how it went, and so you had been unpacking box after box only to find it was more stuff that needed to go in the storage unit that Hoseok was going to build.

Or rather, should have built. He’d promised a few hours ago that he’d get it all set up for you so that you could at least get these boxes out of the way. This unit was going to store all the books, board games and Hoseok’s vinyl records. Instead, they were all still in the boxes and you were glaring at the box that held the storage unit. Still not made.

“Hoseok!” You yell, the tone of your voice a little harsher than you’d intended it. He wasn’t used to hearing you get angry or annoyed but he’d certainly gotten used to it in the last two weeks. Being the good person he was though, he hadn’t snapped back at you. Yet.

“Yeah?” Comes his muffled response and you hear the quiet, low voices of the other two men from the main bedroom. They’d been putting together the bedroom furniture all day while you’d unpacked the kitchen, carefully storing the fragile dishes and glasses before finding homes for the food that you’d run to the store for.

“I thought you said you were going to build this unit?” Even as the words come out of your mouth, you can tell that you’re being unreasonable. He’d spent all day sweating and swearing as he’d set up bedside cabinets, drawers and even the bed. The two of you had decided to invest in all new furniture given you both had rather dated furniture that didn’t match at all.

Unnecessary? Yes, but you’d just wanted to have a nice home that looked right. Yet again, more unreasonable demands from you and more expense. But he hadn’t complained about any of it, instead just going shopping with you and getting it all. Maybe he thought there was no point in complaining or something, but you had the furniture you’d wanted in the end.

And you weren’t being a mean person. You had offered to help them build it all but they’d waved it off with the eagerness of men wanting to be manly and build things. Plus, you were pretty convinced that Hoseok knew how frustrated you’d become just dismantling furniture and didn’t want to risk you getting even angrier if something went wrong while building. 

After repeated offers to help them being rebuffed, you’d finally just shrugged and settled yourself for putting away everything that you could. You liked doing that much better really as it gave you a sense of peace and satisfaction to see things in the places you wanted them and looking tidy.

Maybe that was why Hoseok had suggested you do that. He’d been amused the first time he’d seen your food pantry all in neat lines for ease of storage and access but had slowly learnt that you liked everything to have a place and always be in it. 

As it was, the kitchen was pretty much completed and so was the ensuite bathroom and the guest bathroom. The living room had Hoseok’s couch and your coffee table while there were a dining table and chairs towards the back. Perfect for both eating and gaming, of course.

But there was no storage in here because...well because Hoseok hadn’t built it!

“Sorry, I’ve been busy here. We’ve just got to finish up with these drawers-” Huffing, you scowl at the unopened box before looking over all the other boxes that haven’t even been touched as his excuses wash over you. The rational part of you knows that they’re valid excuses and you even want to tell him it’s fine, the living room can wait until tomorrow.

The dark cloud of annoyance, stress, anxiety and tiredness has settled fully over your mind though and you grit your teeth as tears form in your eyes. Why did you always have to cry when you were angry? It was pathetic.

“It’s fine. Whatever.” There’s a terse silence that follows your short words and you can practically hear Jimin and Jungkook cringing at the tension that’s suddenly ratcheted up. Pursing your lips, you wipe at your eyes furiously before closing the box back up and pushing at it harshly.

“I’ll build it now for you.” Hoseok’s voice is much closer and you look up, noting his carefully neutral expression on his tired face. Almost immediately you feel remorse for being short with him but the words get stuck in your throat. His hands are a little dirty from the dust of the furniture he’s been building and you note they’re also a little red, probably sore from using the screwdrivers and stuff. 

You go to look for some of your hand cream to rub into them for him before realising that you have no idea where it is and the negativity comes rushing back. The box that he’s carrying clinks quietly and you know it’s got all the tools he needs in it to build the unit.

“I said it’s fine. We can do it tomorrow.” Looking away from him, you rub at your forehead from the headache you’ve got while rolling your shoulders, trying to stretch the aches and pains away. There’s a deep sigh from Hoseok that sounds incredibly controlled and you wince slightly, realising that he’s holding his temper back.

“It’s okay, it’s a quick build. It’ll take half an hour or something and then it’ll be done. Better to get it done now and then we get some of these boxes gone, right?” Closing your eyes, you bite your lip hard as you try to settle yourself. When you’re in one of these moods, you normally just take yourself off somewhere to be alone so you can’t be rude or mean. 

But there is nowhere to take yourself to here. Nowhere that’s ready, anyway.

Pressing your hands to your eyes, you feel the hysterical urge to just cry and scream. The knowledge that all your safe spaces have vanished for the moment and you have nowhere to go to be calm tipping you further. Even Kasumi is stuck just sleeping on the floor as her stuff is also packed away, waiting to be rebuilt.

You just want it all done so that you can settle back down and allow yourself time to get used to the new environment you live in. Let it all become familiar and warm once more, a home that you can retreat to and feel comfortable in. Right now, it resembles more of an IKEA and you hate it.

“Baby-” Hoseok starts and you shake your head furiously, wiping hard at your eyes before pushing the box of books as hard as you can in front of you. It’s a futile way to get out some of your anger and stress, but it feels good. Better than saying something that might hurt the one person who’s understood you more than anyone in years.

“Leave me alone. Please. Go build the bed or whatever. It’s fine. Tomorrow. I just, I need you to-” You’re not even sure what you’re saying anymore and you feel the anxiety of it all building up. Leaving your old apartment was so much harder than you’d expected and you’d struggled with the idea of knowing you no longer had anywhere to truly be alone. If you got mad at Hoseok in the future, he’d still be in the house somewhere.

You’d spent so many years making your place somewhere that was comfortable and familiar to you, a home that you enjoyed being in and now it was all gone. Now you have to relearn how to make this space comfortable and learn entirely new ways of how to cope with your moods and behaviour with another person.

The quiet sound of the door shutting clues you into the fact that Jimin and Jungkook have left. Unsurprising really, because you sure wouldn’t want to hang around to hear a domestic argument. Particularly given one of those involved is perhaps the quietest person they’ve ever known.

Standing, you pick up one of the boxes that are filled with your board games and move it to the other side of the living room, providing plenty of space to build furniture tomorrow. Going back, you don’t look at Hoseok and you’re not entirely sure why. Maybe you’ll explode on him or maybe you’ll burst into tears. Who knows?

You don’t, which is why you clench your jaw. 

There’s an awkward silence between you both as Hoseok doesn’t move, simply watches as you rearrange the boxes in the living room. It makes absolutely no difference now that they’re on the other side of the room but you feel a small sense of relief and peace when they’re all lined up neatly in one area, stacked on top of each other carefully.

The floor is visible once more and you frown at the sight of all the dust covering it. You should vacuum that, only you don’t think you have a vacuum anymore. That may have been one of the things Hoseok said to throw out as yours was ancient and he didn’t even have one. 

Scowling at it, you go to the kitchen to grab some cleaning spray and a cloth to at least get the coffee table looking nice. There was no reason for it as it was just going to get dirty again immediately from all the furniture dust but you just needed to make it look clean for now.

“I’m not gonna fight you, Y/N. Please tell me what’s wrong?” Hoseok says quietly, his voice carefully neutral and you pause at the kitchen cabinet, fingers on the door handle. “Please. I don’t want to argue with you when I know you’re not mad at me.”

He sounds so reasonable and calm that you don’t snap at him immediately, instead frowning down at the countertop and rubbing at a mark on it. For a few minutes, you don’t respond and he doesn’t push either. You’re not entirely sure what nation you saved in a previous life to get him, but it must have been a big one.

There’s plenty of other men who would have had a full-scale argument with you by now. The kind of argument that would have let you in tears while you struggled to breath from the anxiety of it all. But t Hoseok knew you. After almost a year together, he knew what upset you and made you angry. Most of all, he knew that you didn’t respond well to conflict. Which was he was just waiting for you to talk to him instead of shouting at you.

Maybe the knowledge that he wasn’t going to snipe at you or be mean was the final straw. All you know though, is that his soft and reassuring words seem to cause something inside of you to crack and all the stress that’s been building up inside your mind finally bursts free. 

Lips quivering, you frown hard as you wonder how you’re meant to get across what you’re feeling and thinking. You don’t even really know yourself, so trying to describe it to the one person who you want to understand the most is even harder. Made more so by the fear he might find your excuses pitiful.

“I don’t...it’s just,” Your throat closes tightly as thick tears slowly start to fall. “It’s a lot. Everything’s a lot right now and I just...I can’t handle it. I don’t know how to. I mean...I don’t feel comfortable here yet and it’s making me so anxious and unhappy. And then everything is in these fucking boxes and nothings built properly, we don’t even have the television set up and it’s just...I’m just struggling. I’m trying Hobi, I’m trying.”

You whisper the last words, wiping at your eyes and nose as you try your hardest not to completely break down. If there’s one thing you hate the most in the world, it’s probably crying. It makes you feel pathetic, and when you’re struggling with something as simple as moving places it makes you even more so.

“I just...nothing’s where I like it and I don’t know where everything is. It all feels foreign to me and even Kasumi doesn’t have her stuff! I don’t even know what I’m saying, it’s not even that bad but...but...I just want it all finished so I can start getting used to it! Start thinking of it all as a home and getting used to a routine here! And I’ve had to change all my routines around now because it takes longer to get to work so I have to get up earlier which means I have to go to bed earlier and find out the traffic and-” You’re interrupted by Hoseok wrapping his arms around your waist and hugging you tightly.

For a few seconds, you do nothing until the warmth of his embrace causes you to turn around and link your arms around his waist too. Inhaling deeply, you take in his scent and start to cry once more as everything all comes to a head in your mind, all the ramblings thoughts and stressors and worries you’ve had flooding out as you ramble on to him.

Finally, though, you run out of things to tell him about why you’re so upset about seemingly nothing and instead just hold onto him silently. Your tears are soaking his shirt and you feel a little embarrassed at your minor meltdown but most of all, you just feel safe in his arms. Like no matter what you say or how silly it sounds, he won’t judge you.

In the chaos of your mind and surroundings right now, he was stable and familiar. Comforting.

“Why didn’t you argue with me? I could practically hear you restraining yourself. I was being so stupid and mean for no reason.” You whisper after a while, lips brushing against his shirt with every word. His chest shakes as he chuckles, a hand stroking along your back reassuringly.

“Oh, I almost did. Today was the closest I’ve ever come to snapping back at you. There’s every chance I might’ve done if you’d been someone else. But I know you. And even though you haven’t confided it to me...I know you’ve been putting a brave face on with this whole moving thing. We’ve been together for almost a year, sweetheart. I know what makes you upset and I’ve learnt that change is one of them. And this? Is a big change. I’m stressed over it all so I can’t even imagine how you’re feeling.” The tears return to sting at your eyes, pricking at them hotly and you sniff almost pathetically at his sweet, soothing words.

“I’m sorry. I just…” He cuts you off once more with a gentle kiss to your forehead.

“It’s okay, honestly. I’m just happy you’ve finally told me. I’d pretty much figured all of this out and I knew you weren’t coping too well. But you weren’t talking to me and I didn’t want to push it if you didn’t feel comfortable. But baby, please, in the future just talk to me. I don’t want us to get into another situation like today where we’re on the verge of an unnecessary argument over something as stupid as a storage unit.” He’s rubbing his hands along your arms in a warming gesture, giving you a soft smile that has the tears banking once more.

“I’m sorry. I just...I always feel so stupid. It’s not even anything that bad and I’m here acting like a baby over it all.” Your words are a little thick from how tight your throat is and Hoseok sighs once more, only this time a little more affectionately. The small smile he gives you cuts through your wallowing self-pity.

“You’re not being a baby. If you’re upset over it, then you’re upset over it. I don’t want you getting stressed or anxious over anything but I’ll take having your routine changed and the places where you feel safe and comfortable changing over you getting pissed at me just because I hadn’t built something on time. Those are real reasons to get upset, emotions that are a part of you and I’ll try my hardest to never be angry at you for feeling them. I can’t guarantee it’ll always work because Lord knows I’d almost reached my point today but I will try. Because I know you don’t mean it. You’re the least angry and mean person I’ve ever met, to be honest.” A kiss to your forehead once more seals his words and you sniff, wiping at your face again.

“I didn’t mean to hurt you. Or upset you. I’m sorry. This is just, really big. And I’m scared too. Because if something goes wrong between us then this,” You gesture round to the house in general. “Makes it harder for us to go our separate ways. That frightens me.”

“Hey, it frightens me too. But you know what’s good about that? I have zero plans of leaving you anytime and I’m pretty sure you have zero plans too. Right?” A head tilt from him adds to his questioning tone and you can’t help the soft smile as you nod. Enveloping you in a tight hug once more, Hoseok does his best to reassure you before pulling away slowly.

“Okay, we finished all the bedroom off so...how about we just get the bedding sorted, order takeout and then just watch something on my laptop? No more negativity and no more work today, okay? Let’s just cuddle up and relax.” Looking out over the living room that you can see over the island in the kitchen, you twist your lips at the sight of everything still packed away before taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly.

“Yeah. That sounds good.”

[currentfandomkick]

Miraculous Team and the Batboys- Mundane Monday and Plot is Connecting Maybe

HEY so thank you all for waiting, puppy plus work being mobbed is hell, so this took forever to get brain power to write... oh well.

--

Marinette was on guard when she came into class. Her meeting of the “End Gabriel Agreste” Club with its core four members—herself, Chloe, Nino and Sabrina—went well. They were now 15% away from their goal.

Apparently Felix snatched up 3% on his own and gave it to MDC while she was away. Apparently it was his way of a peace offering… or a bribe not to kill him on sight. She wasn’t sure which… yet.

Properly awake and with her favorite drink (blend of dark roast, cream and a tiny bit of Energy Mayhem Special) she was good for the day. Everyone had their usual orders in their seats.

She raised an eyebrow when she noticed a text from Red Robin on her phone, currently a rose and bird emoji label.

RR: So, scale of one to ten, how bad is it if I accidently figured out your partner?

Marinette took a deep breath at that, checked the classroom (Nino was off with Kitty Section debating how to fix the ‘off’ bit of the rift in Rose’s latest song—something about it not ‘punching right’ and Luka being busy with his other band, Chloe and Sabrina were currently fighting Bustier in her office, Alya was conspiring with the Girl Squad on Lila’s end since she wasn’t in, Max and Kim were obviously eavesdropping on that conversation while Nathaniel was off in his own world). Damian still hadn’t come in, and Adrien wasn’t in yet… she wondered if her Chaton was going to sleep in for once.

LB: Please tell me you haven’t told your team

She kept her breathing steady, not letting panic overtake. That would alert people she didn’t want knowing, to looking, which leads to suspecting and rumors and theories and she’d like to avoid that entirely—especially since she still can’t really lie.

RR: I have a feeling you would kick us all out if I did, so I haven’t.

Marinette sighed, tension leaving her shoulders.

LB: Good. Keep it that way as long as you can, okay?

RR: They’re detectives, once they have the pieces they’ll put it together… also, why is your team so easy to figure out?

Marinette winced at that.

LB: Dumb Magic Rules.

Like the one that training a wielder young will prevent corrupting them to use it for personal gain. Like the one where a Guardian cannot be a True Guardian until they connect to the entire Box or Set of kwami. Like the one where Fu can’t give up being Guardian until she’s fully fledged… and that means until she can reclaim the Nooroo and Dusuu and heal Dusuu’s miraculous. That when she does—when she does Fu is gone.

She kept her breathing steady. nothing that they wouldn’t see as Typical Marinette Fretting Over Orders… not that they knew she had those cleared for the month.

“Good morning Dupain Cheng.”

She put her phone away easily, quick to keep up Typical Marinette (no plotting or superheroing here, just Typical Marinette, Baker’s Daughter and Keeper of Secret Drink Menu).

“Hi Damian, how was your weekend?”

“Annoying.” She winced at that. He didn’t exactly have friends here, and time differences are a horrible strain on them… Maybe Ladybug should keep an eye on him… just in case. “I hope yours was adequate.”

She was really wondering who taught him French today… he was being less him and more… stuffy than usual.

“I just needed some time away...” Honestly, she needed a lifetime away from Bustier and Hawkmoth… Lila was manageable (now).

“I am glad you were able to then.”

She was wondering where her deskmate went and why he wasn’t looking at her… Maybe she overdid it last week? She—no. She is stopping her analysis brain from going off and---

“Hello Marinette,” grinned obviously Not-Adrien. Seriously—how did they all fall for it back then? Body language, facial tics, accent—its all wrong.

She narrowed her eyes, not aware that Damian was doing the same beside her.

“Aw, didn’t you miss me?”

Nino came over then, scrunching up his nose as they both could tell Fake Adrien Agreste from the real one with ease now.

“What are you doing here,” Nino was definitely tired… He was not applying his sleep schedule quiz results at all. She was so lecturing him… lunch. She could pencil it in for lunch after wrecking Felix for taking Adrien’s place for the day.

“Oh, good to see I-Love-You Girl isn’t the only one that grew a brain since I last saw you all.” Felix raised an eyebrow at Damian, lingering. Plotting. “You’re new.”

“American Transfer, leave him out of whatever’s going on in that thing you call a brain.” Marinette was not going to deal with an akuma over this. Nope. She was not dealing with that again—or a series of Akuma… God she was going to kill Felix personally if he did. Chloe was untouchable as the Mayor’s daughter, but him? She could take him down again.

“And where’s my bro?”

“Your precious Ladybug,” He sneered, “didn’t cast whatever she did last time, and he’s home sick since his allergies are acting up. I figured it’d be as good a time as any to pull our old switcheroo to keep his Father-Farthest away.”

Marinette twitched at that. She knew she was forgetting something… She sent a quick text to Red Robin.

LB: Why didn’t you tell me it was Mr. Pigeon irl, not video!

RR: …you thought I figured it out from a video?

Marinette rolled her eyes openly at her phone, ignoring Nino as he threatened Felix with his own brand of Bro Shovel Speech.

LB: detectives, most of our battles are caught a decent amount on video, and most of Paris knows that Mr. Pigeon makes him sneeze. Really not a hard recon.

RR: I think you are overestimating my willingness to watch amateur video at length when I can outsource.

Marinette huffed at that.

LB: So you trusted them to not miss major clues when you were all working on different things and would miss key connections?

RR: we’re on the same page as a team. Plus, I get better info filtered with my apps

LB: Magic Fucks Things Up

RR: I’ve noticed.

She looked up to see Damian staring ahead, and wondered if she did something, or didn’t or—NO! Bad Marinette—no going down Rumination Ruin until its time to sleep. She needs daytime for Plotting, Nighttime for Anxiety and Regrets to run wild.

She kept her attention forward when class began, pointedly Not Talking To The Gremlin but not busting him either—she wasn’t going to get Adrien in trouble. Bustier may not notice the abuse signs, but a few other teachers had, and were given the ‘heads up’ by Nino and Chloe and Sabrina.

Lila was the only one unaware of the switch when she left during lunch to drop off a few deliveries her parents asked her to handle when the rush hit. Mostly to one elderly home, and one to her favorite Rescues Only center.

(if she was seen cooing at Lord Murder—yes she knows that’s a Bad Name but the giant kitty amputee was named that years ago before she was found and stubbornly refuses all other names. So, Lord Murder (Never Lady, she hisses at that) it was.)

She blinked when she saw Damian walk in on her checking the Lord Murder’s prosthetic.

“Hey Damian.”

“Dupain Cheng.”

Marinette nodded in acknowledgement and hoped he didn’t catch her calling Lord Murder “the lord and master of murder, the most deadly kitty in existence, and yes, clearly the most cunning of kitties to manage to scratch Mean ol’ Jean with the new paw when it doesn’t even have claws, because you are The Lord Murder, kitty of cuteness and wrath to all unwanted bath times.”

He was watching her then. “Lord likes you.”

Marinette raised an eyebrow, as yes, her favorite rescue (sorry Chat) likes her. She’s the one who argued them into letting them try out prosthetics and handled the funding (officially as MDC) and may have gone overboard on checking everything from the fits and materials and… yeah, okay, she could admit that the giant fluffy Norwegian Forest home in a millisecond if it wasn’t for the health code violation (soon… Gina mentioned she might stop renting out her old house soon as the current group was only a quick temp and she didn’t want someone else living there that wasn’t like family… and something about her Lost Son using it for the moment. Maybe she could convince Maman and Papa to let her do house sitting is she breaks out the Kitten Eyes.)

“Yes. Yes she does.”

Then Lord slow blinked at Damian. She wasn’t sure if she sould be offended or worry her favorite might be adopted by someone else, or glad that it was a serial pet adopter that actually took care of their pets and would be just as nuts as her about making sure Lord Murder was happy and healthy.

“I see she likes you too.”

She could feel Tikki dying in her bag… yes, she was being… awkward. She got it…

“Anyways, I should get going, still have a delivery to do and all so…”

She didn’t, she just really had no idea how to broach the Awkward that was Damian Greyson at the moment.

“See you tomorrow.”

That got him to pause. “Tomorrow?”

“Uh, gymnastics for the rest of the day, making up for what I missed so…”

“If you see the Other Grayson, tell him he is not to hug you.”

Marinette raised an eyebrow. “I…” Brother, father, maybe cousin or legal guardian or friend of his father’s. Too many possibilities, too much to spiral on that she can’t right now. SO.

“O. okay then.”

“Good.”

Marinette waited for him to leave the room, looking at a Too Amused Lord Murder.

“Don’t you start with me, I know I’m a mess on a good day. And no, I’m not overthinking this time Lord, I’m planning, there’s a difference… And no, its not an Alya Plot.”

Those went sideways too fast.

She left with ease and froze at the text from Red Robin.

RR: Can we meet up tonight? No traces that way.

She sent a time and place and –If no akumas happen.

--

THANK YOU ALL FOR WAITING. it has been a hellish time at work and extra shifts and war-zone lately on top of Precious Puppy Bonding and Care. As always, edits when I can get there and any comments or things you'd like to see expanded on more, leave a comment and I'll try to work it in if it flows.

As you can see, Plot Lines are converging soon.

Big Question though--what kind of Lila Exposed By Class do we want/are angling for? I can go legal or social backlash, blacklisting from Agreste brand, or some combo, or keep it a background element as I don't like how cannon Lila is written and the characters altered to make her bad lies work, so...

Other inquiry--do we want Dick to see Marinette take down someone (probably trying to rob her) on her way out of her gymnastics place on her way home using a few Obviously MIxed Gymnastics and Specific Brand of Martial Arts that feels oddly familiar to Nightwing who tells Red Robin and for him to groan as 'Coffee Angel, Why!' and then the next day its 'oh. Coffee Angel is also That Woman's Granddaughter. It all makes Sense now.' (as i hc Gina as probably busting a few drug, weapons, and human trafficking rings on occasion as how she met Jason back in the day) OR for him to only see the end as Nightwing and stare as she took them down and used her earbuds as 'makeshift handcuffs' while she's calling Sabrina as "I'm fine, no dodged their hits and yes i didn't get gassed this time... yes I'll let the medics look me over and no i'm not going to vanish before they get here unless Akuma, Yes if that happens i'll go to the hospital after--Look, i think i saw a shadow just move. I'm going on Akuma-mode now so... Thanks!" before running to meet up with Red Robin and have it take meeting Gina and looking between Gina and Marinette and how she responds to Jason trying to spar with her and then it clicks? I can go either way, but... Tim figures them out quick and straight up says at one point "I mean, Queen Bee after Style Queen, inverse colors... I've seen the multiverse, I had her pegged after seeing her in the bakery last week." All while Not Telling The Bats as Marinette's team doesn't even know and he has a feeling (correctly) she'll react Badly if she isn't the one to tell him before he comes clean, and ears her bolting as 'no support, team leader, and often absentee and likely disabled mentor, civilian life was a wreck for two years and her civilian safety net is only JUST reforming... hm. That's Famil--Oh.... well... wait until trust is there and let her move on that front, try not to set her off and offer help in what she'll allow--or risk pissing off the demi-goddess of creation and his Coffee Angel. Which he'd like to avoid, please and thank you.

Yeah, Tim is definitely going to Project on Marinette in this.

Also, I see Jason or Dick as Getting Marinette is InvolvedTM next... and Damian being the one to confirm the suspicions.

Prefer Jason Big Brothering or Dick "New Sister Mode Engaged" to suspect she's a temp hero? (Jason via Have You Seen Her in a Spar--and it's Gina's Granddaughter vs Dick 'Her Moves are Too Familiar, Maybe Ladybug uses her as a Body Double and trains her?' as the first Suspicion Arisen among the Bats.

[prince-claremont-diaz]

A Shout into Silence

Summary: Arthur hits a breaking point over his hearing and decides to escape to the place he went with his friends a few weeks ago... Only he isn't alone.

Word Count: 2.9k

Warnings: angst i guess? 

Ao3 version

A Shout into Silence

It had been over three weeks now since his hearing was almost fully gone. Every day he woke up, Arthur hoped for some sign that his hearing was back: the distant sound of dishes clanging, footsteps outside his door, his parents talking in the kitchen… But every day, now, Arthur woke up to the very same silence he woke up to lying on the cold damp ground of the alleyway a few weeks back. Every day he was forced to confront the fact that he still couldn't hear the rest of the noisy world he lived in.

He remembers vividly the day he lost the hearing in his left ear over 2 years ago, the way it felt like someone had flipped a switch in his brain and no sound was entering on that side. One moment, he could hear everything clearly and then in the next terrifying moment, half of it was stripped away.

As the days trailed on silently, resolutely, dismally, he felt himself moving farther and farther away. He could feel himself inching away from the rest of the world, drifting to a separate planet, another universe away from everything else he used to know. Sure, his friends were still around and still tried their hardest to include him in everything, but it wasn't the same. He still felt like he was standing on the other side of a glass wall, looking in at the rest of the world, unable to know what they were saying properly.

Arthur felt himself snap one evening as he stared at the endless crosses on his calendar, marking out exactly how long it had been since he could hear. With tears burning his eyes and a sob working its way in the back of his throat, Arthur tore the calendar off the wall, throwing it angrily across the room. He watched it hit the wall and slide down, landing haphazardly with the crossed out pages lying supine and mockingly up at him.

Moving closer to the precipice, Arthur slipped out of the house without his parents noticing, without another word.

He pulled his olive green jacket closer around himself, pulling the hood up to hide his face as he hurried along the pavement. The bright lights blinded him slightly and the winter breeze tickled his skin. He was only partly aware of where his feet were carrying him, letting them guide him towards an unknown end.

As time rolled on and the sky grew darker and darker, Arthur began to recognise the buildings around him even more. He knew exactly where he was heading and picked up his pace, looking over his shoulder every few seconds as he was forced to go through a side alley in order to get there. The pavement under his feet was harsh against his heavy footsteps, wobbly on loose stones.

Finally, Arthur reached a small clearing of trees overhanging a beaten down gravel trail. Pushing aside a low hanging branch, Arthur stepped into the clearing and made his way along the narrow path until he reached a large abandoned storage unit of sorts. It was completely empty apart from a couple of stray bottles of alcohol and small bits of rubble, the only sign of life being the graffiti adorning the walls. Arthur crossed the small building and back out into an open courtyard of sorts, crossing towards yet another abandoned building.

However, by the time he got there, Arthur realised it wasn't as abandoned as he thought.

Just as he was about to step through the clearing, he saw the unmistakable flash of a camera near the far side of the wall. Arthur paused, holding his breath to wait for any other movement. Another flash, this time slightly closer. Whoever was taking pictures was getting closer and closer to the entrance, closer and closer to Arthur.

Arthur was just about to turn around and leave, make his way back home, when he caught sight of the person taking the photos.

Squatting with a black camera and a familiar large black hoodie was none other than Arthur's good friend Eliott Demaury.

Arthur moved across the threshold finally and Eliott, engrossed in his camera as he was, startled slightly, falling backwards in fright and landing on his butt on the concrete floor. "Shit!" he exclaimed, holding onto his camera for dear life and looking up at Arthur. His face moved from shocked to relieved to concerned in less than a second. "Arthur!" Eliott shouted, quickly scrambling to his feet with his cheeks flushed a vibrant pink shade.

"Sorry! I wasn't expecting to run into you here," Arthur said, holding his hands up and smiling apologetically. "I-I can just go if you like—" he began, pointing his thumb over his shoulder and turning his body towards the exit. He never should have come here in the first place, or at least should have left when he saw that Eliott was there. He was clearly busy and Arthur was just getting in the way.

Eliott shook his head quickly and said something Arthur couldn't quite catch. As if reading his mind, Eliott's eyes widened almost comically and he slapped his forehead. He held one of his fingers up and mouthed—or more likely said, Arthur realised too late— "One second." Eliott pulled his camera off and shoved it inside his backpack which was sitting in the centre of the room, fumbling around the depths of the bag for a moment. Finally, Eliott's hands reappeared from inside the bag, his left hand clutching his mobile phone.

Arthur watched as Eliott typed something quickly into the notes app of his phone, eyebrows furrowed in concentration. Without another word, Eliott passed the phone to Arthur, fixing him with a worried-looking frown. Arthur cleared his throat and read what was written on the screen:

are you okay? you look… off.

Arthur passed the phone back. "I'm fine. I just wanted to come back here since it was fun last time I came here," Arthur replied dismissively, hoping Eliott would simply believe him. Although, a small part of himself almost hoped Eliott could read him and would just know. But he wasn't sure he was ready for that kind of vulnerability.

Eliott typed something once again and passed the phone back.

are you sure? i know what "fine" looks like and it doesn't usually look like this

"Gee thanks."

Eliott's eyes widened again, somewhat frantic as he pulled the phone back. "That's not what I meant!" he said, thumbs moving furiously over the keyboard.

i just mean that if you need to talk about it, you can. i can tell that something is bothering you and believe me, i know what it's like to want to talk about something that i held in for ages

Arthur's vision began to blur with tears as he read over Eliott's message once, twice, three times. Of course Eliott would understand. Arthur looked up at Eliott, tears stinging his eyes and clinging to his eyelashes. Arthur flailed slightly, trying to come up with the right words to convey what he wanted to say without sounding stupid or confusing. As he began to speak, he was interrupted by a small sob and suddenly found himself buried in Eliott's embrace.

Arthur broke down completely, clutching onto the back of Eliott's sweatshirt while he felt Eliott's hand rubbing up and down his back in a soothing fashion. Arthur tucked his face into his shoulder, soaking the dark fabric as his whole body shook with the tears he had been holding in for weeks–months even. Like a pot set to boiling point, the lid bursting off with the pressure of it all as everything became entirely unbearable. With one small hug from his friend, Arthur finally allowed himself a release, finally let himself let go as he cried into Eliott's shirt.

After a couple of minutes standing in the middle of the emptiness of the big storage space, Eliott pulled back, tapping Arthur on the shoulder to get his attention. He gestured towards a small ledge at the side of the room and led him over to it, sitting down next to him. Arthur took a gulping breath of the freezing cold air around them and leaned back against the graffitied wall of the building. He distantly noted the familiar orange message he himself had sprayed a few weeks ago, just next to where they sat together now.

Eliott tapped his elbow, holding out his phone which Arthur hadn't even noticed Eliott was typing on again.

do you want to talk about it? or we can just sit here, if you like.

Arthur sighed heavily as he handed the mobile back. Eliott didn't say anything, simply sliding his phone into the pocket of his hoodie and watching Arthur thoughtfully. Arthur could feel him reading his every look, watching his facial expressions like he could read his thoughts from every change, every twitch, every blink. But somehow, Arthur didn't feel as uncomfortable about it as he might usually.

"I'm just sick and tired of this. Of everything," Arthur started, gesturing vaguely around himself, "Nothing feels the same anymore. I just feel so alone even when you are all around me. And even though you guys try to include me as much as you can, it's not the same anymore and I just feel like such an outsider. I keep waking up hoping my hearing will be back to normal but every day it still isn't and… and I just hate it. I'm so tired of feeling like some sort of alien because of this fucking thing with my ears!

"And I can never talk about it with anyone because my dad chooses not to believe me even though he's a fucking surgeon. He wants me to be just like him, all perfect and smart and, fuck, everything I'm not," Arthur rambled, using his hands instinctively, gesturing madly. Eliott was watching him closely, nodding to show he was listening. "He wants me to be a surgeon too and I thought I did too, but now I'm not so sure. And I feel like I've disappointed both of my parents for being like this and I'll be even more of a fuck up if I don't become a doctor like they've always wanted me to be. I'm not their perfect little boy anymore and I don't think I have been for a long long time…"

Eliott frowned, pulling his phone out to write something in reply once again.

i'm sure they're not disappointed in you. and certainly not for having a disability.

Arthur shook his head. "That's the thing! My dad makes it very clear that I disappoint him daily. And before I lost my hearing, he was always so uptight about every little test mark and always making sure I never slipped up for anything," he replied, "I can't do anything right, especially now. I can't hear what anyone is saying to me and the only way anyone can actually talk to me is through the fucking Notes app or texting and I just feel like such a burden." Eliott gave him a look and started to type again but Arthur pushed his hand away. "I know, I know, you don't care that you have to do this, but I do. I feel bad that everyone has to put extra effort in just to include me in a simple conversation. I hate when someone says something aloud and everyone else laughs and I don't understand it because I didn't hear it. I hate that I'm constantly just stuck in this silence when everything else in the world is so loud, but I can't even hear most of it.

"You guys are all so willing to help me out and it makes me feel like such a burden on everyone else. Everything is just so fucked up it makes me want to just scream," Arthur explained, voice nearly hoarse from talking so much. He hardly talked anymore, hating the fact he had to put extra effort just to hear himself speak.

Eliott passed the phone back again.

so why don't you?

When Arthur turned back to Eliott, eyebrows knitted together in confusion, he was wearing a devilish, almost challenging smile. He took his phone away from Arthur and slid it back inside his jacket as he got to his feet. He gestured for Arthur to follow and they walked back out into the open space between the different storage units. Still smiling, he gestured around them.

"I'm sorry… I don't get it."

Eliott pointed his finger and seemed to clear his throat. And then, closing his eyes, Eliott opened his mouth and shouted out into the night. Arthur stumbled back in surprise as Eliott seemed to shout from the very bottom of his toes, voice carrying all the way around them in an echo of himself. When he opened his eyes once again, he gestured to Arthur, urging him to do the same.

Without a second thought, Arthur grinned just as wide as Eliott was doing and screamed as loud as he could. Eliott joined in again and suddenly the two boys were standing out in the middle of an abandoned industrial estate, shouting out into the darkness like absurd birds shrieking into the sky.

"SHOUT SOMETHING!" Eliott shouted, turning to him, still beaming.

"LIKE WHAT?"

"ANYTHING!" Eliott replied. He turned his face up to the night's sky and shouted, "I'M AFRAID OF FAILING!"

"I'M AFRAID OF DISAPPOINTING MY FAMILY!"

Eliott glanced at him, tilting his head. "I'M AFRAID OF HURTING LUCAS EVERY DAY!"

Back and forth, Arthur and Eliott screamed their innermost thoughts and fears for the all the stars above to hear. They shouted anything and everything, holding back nothing as they shouted about anything from fears to stupid jokes to random swears. Arthur's voice was beginning to crack and fray at the edges from screaming so much, burning slightly as it grew more and more hoarse with every scream into the void.

But Arthur didn't even care.

Arthur didn't care that he was losing his voice. He didn't care about anything besides the stars twinkling above them, watching over the two boys as they listened to the words they said. They were just two boys who were both slightly broken, just a little cracked at the edges, shouting their fears for the universe to hear. As the moon shined down on them, the man in the moon seemed to smile at their antics, as if it could truly hear them. Logically, Arthur knew it was absurd to think. How could the moon, which was just a big rock spinning around the earth, actually hear their shouts, no matter how loud? How could the void, so big and encompassing, possibly care about mortal fears such as dying or the dark?

As Arthur and Eliott finally stopped shouting, both of their throats aching and both panting from shouting nonstop for 15 minutes, they fell onto the cool stone ground and looked up at the night's sky. As they laughed at whatever just came over them, Arthur grinned up at the lights in the sky which seemed to wink just for them. Arthur felt his own sort of star building up inside his chest, a great fiery light waiting to burst in the form of a grin as he turned back to Eliott.

Eliott handed the phone to him, sighing breathlessly.

you know, i think that was the best idea ever, if i do say so myself.

Arthur laughed, nodding and passing back the mobile. "Fuck yeah it was. I've never felt better!" Arthur replied with enthusiasm.

The conversation fell once again and they continued to lie like that, silently, thoughtfully, both of them staring up at the wide open sky as the stars twinkled and the moon glowed down on the rest of the world. In the midst of a city full of noise, they had somehow found a pocket of silence where everything else was quiet as well.

Arthur felt an elbow in his side just as he was closing his eyes, still smiling with relief. He turned towards Eliott who was holding up his phone again. He fumbled slightly as he reached for it, almost dropping it onto his face as he tried to read it.

You know, you're not alone. It might feel like that sometimes, but you aren't. And if you ever feel like screaming mindlessly into the sky again or just talking about it, I'm here. And so is everybody else. I mean that.

"For fuck's sake, Demaury. Stop making me cry tonight," Arthur teased, sitting up and handing the phone back, wiping a loose tear from his eyelash with the back of his hand. Eliott laughed and sat up as well, smiling softly and resting his head on Arthur's shoulder. "But seriously. Thank you, man. Not just for that message but for everything else, too. It means a lot to me," Arthur said seriously, tilting his head slightly so he could rest his cheek on top of Eliott's head where it was still against his shoulder. He watched the words appearing on Eliott's scream as he typed, could feel the movement all the way up his arm and into his cheek.

it's no problem. I know you would do the same for me. :) <3 

Arthur sighed again, tilting his head to look back up at the sky.

Looking up at the familiar starry night, throat dry and the ground cold, Arthur was certain of one thing. In that one moment of clarity and serenity, far below the heavens and sitting in the middle of a dingy old industrial estate with another guy, Arthur knew that out of everything else he had to worry about in his life, finding people that cared and were there for him completely unconditionally was not one of them.

[chris-evans-indian-fanfic]

Across Seven Seas

Chapter 4

Description: This fanfiction series is set in the year 2022, after the horrid COVID-19 has finally come to an end. In this fanfiction, Chris Evans holidays with his family in India and meets Meera Shankar. The story explores their rollercoaster journey and raises a question, whether two people, from two contrasting backgrounds and cultures, can build their future together?

WE FINALLY FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENED WITH CHRIS IN THIS CHAPTER!

This series is Chris Evans x OFC with Chris Evans' family and friends having recurring appearances. Please find below a lot of Original Characters-

Meera Shankar - The female lead

Meera's Mother

Poppy - Meera's maternal grandmother

Rohan - Meera's elder brother who is 6 years older than her.

Ankur - Concierge of the Hotel Maple-Fawn in Mussoorie

Chapter 1 • Chapter 2 • Chapter 3

Chapter 5

FIND MORE CHAPTERS BY CLICKING ON MY BIO

P.S- India follows only one timezone.

P.P.S- All the photographs used in the chapters are of the real locations mentioned. I clicked these photographs on my vacation.

This is a work of fiction. The names of the hotels and companies have been changed to avoid copyright issues. Meera Shankar and her family is based on the author and her kin. No offense is intended.

I don’t consent to have any of my work published or featured on any third party app, website or translated. If you are seeing this fanfiction anywhere but tumblr, it has been reposted without my permission. In that case, please do share the link and let me know.

...

Chapter 4

7th September, 1:50 pm - Dehradun-Mussoorie Road

Seated comfortably in 2 large SUVs, the Evans family was on its way to Maple-Fawn, where they were to spend the rest of their vacation in peace. While almost everyone was fast asleep, Chris was wide-awake, awestruck with the view as their cars drove on winding slopes of the mountain. His body was tired, but his eyes refused to shut, taking in every detail of the natural beauty.

When they finally reached the hotel, the cold air was cruelly nipping at them. Since Delhi had been extremely hot, they had decided to ditch the winter wear until after they reached Mussoorie. Basking in the warmth of their rooms, Chris couldn't help but marvel at the view from his room. The entire valley was sprawled beneath him, the hill-side dotted with lush green leaves.

There were mountains as far as his eyes could see, dark green set against the bright blue sky. This would be a good place to sketch, he thought, sitting on the chair in his bedroom balcony.

The rest of the day was uneventful for the family, with all of them tuckered out.

Same day, 5:30pm - Hotel Maple-Fawn

Bundled up in 2 sweaters, a jacket, skull cap and finally, a shawl to cover it all up, Meera finished her walk across the property. She now knew where the gym, yoga centre, gaming zone, library, swimming pool, dance club, spa and garden were located. She knew every exit, every corridor and passage. She was satisfied with the amount of fire extinguishers present and their ease of access. The hotel had various maps screwed into the walls, with clearly demarcated ways to the nearest exit and fire extinguishers.

Heading back to her room, she felt her phone vibrate. "Hey Ma, what happened?" she answered the call. "Where are you?" "Just taking a walk, coming back now." "YOU LEFT THE HOTEL?! ALONE?!" shouted her mother. "Ma, calm down, I did not leave the hotel. I was just taking a walk inside the hotel premises. I wanted to see their gym, swimming pool, gaming zone, spa..." "Oh okay okay, but you should have told me you are going na." "Have you checked your phone? I sent you a Whatsapp message when I left. You even received it," replied Meera. "Yes but that was a long time ago!" "It was only 20 minutes ago Ma!" said an indignant Meera, "It is not my fault that you panicked!" "I am your mother. I have every right to panic when I can't find my children." Reaching the lift to her portion of the hotel, Meera disconnected the call.

Conducting a thorough check of any premises had become somewhat of a habit for Meera. There had been too many instances where innocent people had been the victims of fires just because the building had not been upto code, or even if they were, then the people did not know where the exits were or how to use a fire extinguisher. She was not going to take any chances when it came to protecting her family.

Entering the shared bedroom, Meera's mother ran to hug her, "Where were you? Do you know how worried I was?" "Mom I had been gone for just 20 minutes. Can you please not be so clingy?" retorted Meera, dodging her mother. "I am a mother. Mothers are not clingy." "First of all," replied Meera, "A mother is a relation and being clingy is a personality trait, so yes, you can be both. And secondly, I told you where I am na, what is the need to be so hyper all the time?" "I worry Bala," her Mother said with concern, "Times are bad." "If the times are bad then..." "How is the rest of the hotel?" interrupted Poppy, ending their conversation. "It is great. They even have a small library here. Some of your favourite authors are available as well. There's Danielle Steel, Maeve Binchy and Babara Taylor Bradford." "Oo that's nice. Any books which we haven't read?" "I don't know which books you haven't read, but I will take you there whenever you want. I got this interesting book which talks about the history of Mussoorie and..." "Why is my phone hanging?" Poppy interrupted again, "Meera check and see what is wrong with my phone." Meera quietly sighed. Her grandmother had an annoying habit of interrupting people when they were talking about something she wasn't interested in. Clearing some of the junk from the phone, she handed it back to Poppy. "Aah now it's working properly," smiled Poppy.

Next day, 10am - Hotel Maple-Fawn

The restaurant where all the meals were served housed floor-to-ceiling windows which offered a beautiful view of the trees and overlooked the valley below.

The Evans family was already at the table next to the window, savoring the delicious breakfast. Scott suddenly stopped eating his omelette, his eyes squinting at something across the room. "Did you guys see that woman? She took a bowl of cornflakes and is eating them without milk! Why would she do that?" Carly and Lisa turned around while Shanna tried to crane her neck to look at the person. "Who are you talking about?" asked Shanna. "That woman in the skull cap! She's sitting at the table of 4, with 3 other people! The one who's wearing the bulky sweater and shawl!" "That's not a woman, that's a man," stated Carly, "I saw him walking around our wing yesterday. He was looking at all the fire extinguishers and the maps for some reason. I thought he worked with the hotel. What a weirdo." "I think that's a woman," contributed Lisa, "What do you think Chris?" "Not interested," came the reply.

Over the course of the next few days, members of the Evans family kept spotting the 'mystery person', either at the gaming zone, the library, restaurant or around the premises. Shanna swore she once heard the person and their voice sounded "Deep and gruff, just like a man's!" "Bullshit!" retorted Scott, "I saw her crouching on the gravel pathway yesterday. It's a she!" "Wait why was she crouching on the pathway for no reason? That is so weird!" commented Stella, Chris' 13-year-old niece. "Oh she was picking up some wrapper or plastic, I don't know I wasn't very close." "Then how are you sure it was she and not he?" argued Shanna.

The doorbell of their suite rang, putting a pause to the argument. The concierge, Ankur, was at the door. He informed them that the hotel was organising a horse-riding workshop for the next day and wanted to check if anyone would be interested to participate. "Sounds like fun," Scott wondered, "No! I cannot hear you complain about chafed thighs for the rest of the vacation," said Chris. After they politely refused, Ankur reminded Chris about the mediation program. "You have only visited one session sir, when we had you signed up for the entire duration of your stay. Did you not like the session?" "Oh no it was great. I... I just wanted to spend sometime with my family, you know?" "I understand sir. You can rejoin the program anytime you want. I will take your leave. Do let us know if there's anything we can do to serve you," and with that, Ankur left.

"I am sorry," apologized Carly, "I thought you might like the mediation program. Rishikesh is just a few hours away you know. We can go and spend the rest of our vacation there." "Please don't say that," replied Chris, "They have a nice teacher here. It's just that I have already heard and read everything that the guru was preaching. Plus it's so beautiful here. I want us to stay," Chris tried his best to sound convincing.

It wasn't that this vacation was a bad idea, the change of location and the absence of the hounding media had relieved some of the stress Chris had been facing. It was just that Chris felt like he didn't belong anywhere. Uptil now, for the better part of the vacation, he had stayed holed up in his room, either watching PicFlix or sitting in his balcony, with a blank notepad and pencil. There were days when his mind was flooded with thoughts and then there were times when he felt... numb. He sat in the cold, without a sweater or a jacket, just to feel the nip of the wind, which never really came. He felt like he was either running at top speed, or he had come to a full stop. When therapy had not worked for him, he had tried to speak to his family, but they were always supportive and just this once, just this once, he did not want them to be. He had fucked up, and he wanted a way to fix it. But how could he when he himself needed fixing?

Settling back in his room, with a glass of whisky, neat, he closed his eyes, to rewind everything that had happened, once again.

Post the COVID-19 nightmare, when the country had finally reopened and life had started to return to normalcy, Chris and his partners, Mark Kassen and Joe Kiani, had finally launched their civic engagement project A Starting Point (ASP). The launch had been successful, with Chris' devoted fans flocking to the website in the first few days. The concept had been quite simple, to get senators on one-minute videos to answer questions on topics related to education, trade policies, immigration and more. They had managed to get inputs and secure participation from politicians belonging to both the parties. It all worked fine for the first 2 months.

The third month came with its own set of issues. Many politicians started promoting their own agendas, instead of just explaining the existing policies. This led to a shortage of interview clips as Chris and his team refused to air such videos.

As time went on, politicians belonging to the same parties started giving different, contradicting information on the same topics. While some senators painted a pretty picture about a particular policy, others spoke against it. What added fuel to the fire was that the some of the news media had started reporting that Chris was causing friction in both the political parties through ASP, especially the Republican party. It also didn't help that Chris had been outspoken against the previous Republican President. Moreover, politicians who answered questions by ASP started changing their responses when they were asked the same questions by the media. They blamed Chris for somehow manipulating and changing their responses.

This had already started taking a toll on Chris' career. Award functions were reluctant to invite him to the ceremony, let alone nominate him for his roles. His box office collections had started seeing a decline. Even the media was increasingly writing negative stories about him, wondering whether America's blue-eyed hero is finally becoming the villian.

As months passed, an increased number of citizens were disgruntled by the lack of new videos and hence, lack of information on the site.

The final nail in ASP's coffin was Senator Yellowstone. One of the youngest senators to ever be elected, Senator Yellowstone was charming, intelligent and sharp. He understood the need for reforms in the governement and knew that change was inevitable in order for the country to progress. It was uncanny how Chris and Yellowstone agreed on multiple political issues. Both of them saw eye-to-eye when it came to the electoral college, voting and other issues. As a result, Yellowstone became one of the top contributors of ASP, always open to share a small video on the topics that mattered the most.

Chris would never forget the day when Yellowstone's rape scandal broke the news. He had been accused of rape and molestation by 43 teenagers. Apparently, as a part of his community outreach, Yellowstone ran a program wherein he would tutor and guide young females who would be interested to take part in politics in the near future. Chris had been impressed by the initiative and had supported Yellowstone. But, he did not know that Yellowstone was using the initiative as a front for his horrific crimes. That scandal destroyed Chris, professionally and personally. ASP finally shut down and all the studios cancelled their contracts with him. He was fired from his ongoing projects. While the court had acquitted Chris of all charges, the media still put him on trial everytime. He couldn't come to face the truth. He blamed himself for what happened to those poor girls. He could have been, should have been more careful in trusting people. But, Yellowstone's charm was such that he could charm the snake into shedding it's skin, and then sell it back to him.

Chris had publically apologized to all the victims and had discreetly offered to pay for their education. While some graciously accepted the offer, understanding that Chris had nothing to do with the scandal, a few others saw it as Chris' attempt to hide his 'alleged' involvement. They approached the media with this story and as expected, the next day his kind gesture was butchered, tainted as a 'cover-up fiasco' by the news outlets.

It had been a year since then. There were no new projects on Chris' desk. Most of the film industry was practising their distance, with only a few loyal friends sticking by his side. His social media accounts lay dormant. There were still a portion of his fans who stood by him, defending him on the internet, but there was a large number of people who even today thought he had to do something with the scandal and was to blame.

Everyday, his remorse ate him alive. Everyday, he felt himself slipping into the abyss and everyday, his motivation to try and reach out for help lessened. Everyday.

Chris' phone pulled him out of his reverie. He saw Scott's name on the screen, asking him to join the family for dinner. Chris looked at the untouched glass of whisky, deciding he was not hungry.

Not tonight.

[rogerina-yee-haw]

dating ben hardy (and being younger than him) would include...

request: “I read your Joe one so can you do a dating Ben Hardy and your younger? Like 19?“ “can you please do a Ben dating a younger girl like you did for Joe? I loved it 💓💓”

tagging @chicagoblackhawkslover96 as promised <3

get on with it, babes xx

warnings: some implied smut (cause I’m always horny yikes) (18+ only pls), fluff, virgin!reader cause I feel like it; also the reader is 19; some language, typos (as always lmao), slight (???) angst

a/n: Ben Hardy’s amazing personality stealing my uwus?? it’s most likely to be happening right now, I love this man with my whole ass heart

this is Ben, and this is the reader

it’s bad I’m sorry!!!!

I’ve read somewhere that Ben is on dating apps

let it be tinder here lmao

so you two met through it

you didn’t believe it was really him before you met

and you were really self-conscious because you had no idea why Ben Hardy would swipe you right and invite you to go somewhere

because you were just a basic university student

but your best friend/roommate practically pushed you out of your dorm room and said, “go get this dick, you dumb bitch!”

she agreed to go with you in case it was a catfish

but it wasn’t

it was Ben Hardy in the flesh

your friend gave you a “thumbs up” and a grin when you approached him

Ben was nice since the very first second you met

you’ve talked the entire time

his soft and soothing voice was like a beautiful song that took you to another dimension

you could sit and listen to him for hours

and you did

throughout the night he couldn’t stop complimenting you at literally anything

“that’s a great choice of biscuits, y/n”, “yeah, it’s amazing that we both hate fish”, “I really like your coat” (the last one is a direct reference to BoRhap, yes)

you could tell you were falling in love with him

and it wasn’t just a simple celebrity crush anymore, you were falling hard for this incredible man

he was admiring you every chance he got, because, besides being crazily beautiful, you were really smart, funny and just amazing

so when it was time to say goodbye, ben gave you the tightest hug you had ever had in your life

your hands went around his neck, pressing your body to his and feeling his warmth

when you pulled away, he whispered, “I really want to see you again, y/n”

and you had to restrain yourself from screaming

so when he texted you, “Are you free tomorrow night?” twenty minutes later, nothing stopped you from hollering and getting multiple complaints from the neighbors in your dorm

that’s how your relationship started

you decided to keep it on the low because neither of you craved the attention from the media

you only craved each other

your first kiss happened a week after your first date

you were hanging out at Ben’s place, binge-watching some Netflix show after a hard day at uni

your legs were across his lap and he was absentmindedly drawing circles on your ankles with his fingers

at one moment, Frankie decided it was a good idea to jump right on your stomach and start licking your face

you laughed and started petting her as she continued her shenanigans

Ben watched the two of you in awe and with the biggest smile on his face

he loved his two favorite girls interacting

so when Frankie chased the stuffed animal you threw away just for her

Ben stroked you cheek gently before kissing you

and it was perfect

before you knew it, the kiss turned into a heated make-out session

Ben was hovering over you, one of his hands under your shirt, cupping your breasts through your bra, and the other one on your face, caressing your cheek

you could feel yourself grow wetter when he started leaving open-mouthed kisses alongside you neck

and when he sucked on that sweet spot right under your earlobe, you let out the most tremendous moan Ben had ever heard

it suddenly became tighter in his pants than before

he took off his shirt and helped you remove yours

“God, you’re beautiful”

you could feel his bulge through your jeans, and you rocked your hips against him to create some friction

he whined into the kiss

“You keep doing this and I won’t last long, baby”

his words worked as a stop sign for you

not that you didn’t want to have sex with him, you just didn’t feel like you were ready to do it just after a week of knowing each other

Ben understood you completely

“I’ll wait as long as you want. I won’t pressure you into anything”

if you didn’t know you loved this man before, now you certainly did

so at this moment, you’ve been in a relationship for four months

and it was amazing

you spent Christmas together, watching movies and cuddling on the couch with Frankie

your dates are always filled with blissful and delightful moments

you may go to the park and just walk while talking and laughing at each other’s jokes

or you can spend the day at his place, watching TV and cuddling and making-out

you keep forgetting that he is eight years older than you

because it seems like he’s actually eighty-five

as he always grumbles about the silliest things

like

“stupid kids and their stupid ball”

“it barely touched you, Ben”

“well, it could hit me on the head!”

or

“this dog came straight up to Frankie and started barking! So I had a little backchat with her”

“what did you say to that dog?”

“I told her to back off and not to bother my daughter ever again”

“so you were basically screaming at the barking dog in the middle of the park at six in the morning”

“she was being rude to Frankie, y/n!”

such incidents happen all the time

but you don’t mind

you’re already too in love with each other

so once your birthday comes, you decide it’s the time to get rid of your virginity

you don’t really know what’s been holding you back since you two were sinning on a regular basis

like you’ve been practicing your blowjob skills

after you went down on Ben for the first time, he just lied in bed for a while and then said, “That was so fucking good, baby”

and you suddenly became really shy and flattered

and when he went down on you

oOF

you were a whining and trembling mess and he had to hold your hips firmly because you were squirming under him

you couldn’t walk properly after it for a couple of days

so now you are ready for another big step

and you know it should happen on your birthday

so you get prepared: you buy really pretty lingerie and put on the perfume that drives Ben crazy

as you have lectures at university and it’s just a regular weekday, you delay your twentieth birthday party to Friday

but it doesn’t mean you and Ben can’t have fun

so you drop at his place after uni

you also ran some errands before it, hung out with your family and came to him at about seven pm

when he opens the door, he pulls you into the most heated kiss you’ve ever experienced

“happy birthday, baby”

the dim lights and the candles all over his flat make your heart skip a beat

turns out he’s made you dinner, cooked your favorite meal and bought your fav cake

“it’s not everything you’re getting tonight”

and you know your panties are soaked through thanks to only the sound of his voice

you eat the dinner, talking about your day, and just smiling at each other

once you’re finished you decide it’s time

so you get up and come across the table, where Ben sits

and you sit down on his lap, your hands around his neck

he’s completely taken aback

“what are you doing, love?”, he asks in between kisses

he’s already a mess while you kiss his neck and run your hand through his hair

“I want you”

and you’re both breathing heavily as you look into each other’s eyes

“are you sure? We don’t have to do it now, you should-“

but you cut him off with a kiss“

I want it, Ben. I want you. I want to have sex with you”, you state firmly

he gulps and draws his lower lip between his teeth

his green eyes are now dark with lust and love

“you want it?” he whispers, kissing alongside your jaw. “Want me to make you feel good?”

and you just sigh and nod, cause you can’t speak already

so Ben picks you up bridal style and carries you to his bedroom

and – oh God – he makes you feel good indeed

you go in for two rounds before you fall asleep

you’re really happy Ben is your first

because he’s been really gentle and loving with you, asking if you were okay all the time, looking at you so tenderly that you almost started crying about how much you love him

so when you two lie in bed next to each other, panting and sweating

Ben takes a small gift bag out of his drawer

“here’s the actual gift for you”

he got you exactly what you wanted and also a necklace with the letter “F” on it

“stands for Frankie”, he explains, “thought giving the necklace with yours or my initials was boring. And now you’ll always carry our daughter with you”

you melt at “our daughter” and kiss him fondly

“thank you, Ben. I love it. I love you”

and it’s the first time you confess your feelings

his whole face brightens and he beams before kissing you

“I love you too, y/n. So much”

after that, you two start fucking like rabbits

you do it at every place, on every surface, in every position that’s possible

you also decide it’s a good time to take your relationship to a new level

which leads for both of you meeting each other’s families

Ben’s family is everything you could ever ask for

his mum is this amazing woman, who greets you with the most heartwarming smile 

you talk with his siblings about everything

and by the end of the night, you’re already in love with all of them as they’re with you

your family is on the opposite side of it, as your parents don’t approve of you dating an actor who’s eight years older than you

“y/n, he’s going to play with you and then ditch you for some pretty model!” you father says while you’re helping your mum to prepare dinner several hours before Ben’s about to come

“so you think I’m not pretty enough to date him?” you furrow your brows. “As if I already didn’t have issues with self-esteem, dad”

“darling, that’s not what your father means”, your mum chimes into the conversation. “He just thinks that Ben isn’t good enough for you because he’s an actor. He’ll always be away filming, and God knows how many women would be around him-“

“so you think just cause he’ll be away surrounded by other girls he’d want to cheat on me? That’s quite an opinion of someone whom you haven’t met”

“what we mean is that he has different things in mind”, your father continues. “He’ll be thirty in two years, he probably wants to settle down already. And you’re so young for it! You’ve got your whole life before you! Why would you want to waste it on someone who’s likely to break up with you when he realizes he doesn’t want to be with someone like you?”

your father’s last words are really hurtful

because you feel like he’s right, as you've got these thoughts floating in your mind the second Ben’s lips fell on yours several months ago

as your parents are clearly unhappy to see Ben you leave their house in the worst mood

they’re not actually against canceling the meeting with Ben because they don’t like him already

so you go to his place

and it breaks your heart when he opens the door, almost dressed up and excited to meet your parents

“hey, y/n! I’ve been actually thinking to call you. What tie should I-“

you push him away and come into his flat

“baby, is everything alright?” he comes up to you and cups your cheeks in his hands

as you lose the ability to fight the urge to cry, you shake your head and tears start running down your cheeks

“just hold me. Please”

later that night when you cuddle on the couch, you’re wearing one of his shirts and he’s caressing your sides gently

and Frankie’s sleeping in the armchair near you

Ben can’t stop whispering sweet, reassuring things into your ear

“I love you. I love you so much. No matter what happens, I’ll always love you. You’re my soulmate, my love, my everything. I love you. I won’t ever leave you. You’re everything I’ve ever wanted”

you don’t bring up the topic of meeting Ben to your parents after this

they can’t actually stop you from dating Ben

and they cannot do anything when he asks you to move in with him

and you happily agree

you become even more inseparable since you start living together

you also go official on social media

Ben posts a pic of you playing with Frankie with a heart-emoji in the caption

and everyone goes wild

especially your groupmates from uni, who bombard you with questions on a daily basis

your best friend brushes them all off and you’re incredibly thankful to her

some people on social media are rude to you, but you ignore them because the rest of Ben’s fans are really nice and sweet

they somehow found your tumblr and tagged you in one smutty fic about you and Ben someone has written

Ben and you recreate it later

everything goes just perfect

you’re both crazily in love with each other

and you can’t wait to spend the rest of your lives together