#waving with more than one limb is such a remus thing to do

[anticomedygarden]

thriller

-

Draco’s phone pinged with a new message from Harry. A video, specifically, and he pressed play without thinking about it. 

It was of Harry and Sirius, Harry trying his best to direct his godfather’s limbs in the direction of whatever TikTok dance he was teaching the man. 

Sirius gently but firmly pulled his arms out of Harry’s hands. “I have danced before, you know.”

“I’m sure,” Harry said, and Draco heard a snort from behind the camera that he assumed was Remus. “Do you want me to show you again?”

Sirius sighed but nodded, humor in his eyes. He looked at the camera (or more accurately, at Remus). “I taught this kid how to dance and suddenly he thinks I can’t anymore.” 

Draco didn’t get to see Remus’ reaction, but he did get to see Harry. The dance was one of the ones that seemed to be more arm waving than dancing, but Draco enjoyed it nonetheless, particularly the part where Harry raised his arms above his head and his shirt rode up. 

He almost didn’t notice Sirius completely ignoring his godson, instead staring at the cameraman with a look so disgustingly sappy Draco had to fight not to gag. 

“So it’s kinda like the ‘Thriller’ dance?” Sirius said innocently. 

Harry gaped. “It’s nothing like the-were you paying attention at all?” 

Sirius turned to the camera again and snickered, a hand in his hair to block his face from Harry, and Draco heard another snicker from Remus. “Alright, alright, turn the music on, let’s go.”

Harry turned fearful eyes to the camera, leaving Draco to wonder if he was looking at him or Remus. Both, probably. 

A quiet melody that Draco couldn’t quite hear started. Immediately, the two diverged in their dances, Harry doing the TikTok one, and Sirius, something entirely different. About halfway through, Harry glanced at his godfather and stopped moving. “What is that?”

“It’s ‘Thriller!’” Sirius answered cheerfully. “Do you remember the weekend we learned this, Moons?”

There was a chuckle. “How could I forget? I ended that weekend with a broken nose.” 

“What?” Harry exclaimed. “How do you get a broken nose dancing?”

Both Remus and Sirius broke down in laughter. “Your father,” Sirius said through his giggling, “was a horrible dancer! If you think a broken nose is bad, how do you think he gave himself two black eyes?”

“Wait, so he broke your nose, and he gave himself two black eyes?”

Sirius nodded. “Your mother, though, was almost as good as me. Had the whole thing down before James could even try.” 

“Please,” Remus scoffed. “She was far better than all of us.”

Draco smiled. He was glad that Harry’s godfathers were able to talk about James and Lily with joy instead of sadness. 

“What about you, Moony?”

Draco could hear the smile in his voice. “I never learned it. Once your father broke my nose, that was it for me.”

Sirius shook his head. “Okay, let’s get this over with.” 

That was when the screen turned black, and Draco had to slap a hand over his mouth to stop himself from making a noise that would wake his parents. 

He tapped on another notification from Harry. 

If that’s not us in 20 years, I quit.

-

word count: 542

@wolfstarmicrofic

[siriusblack-the-third]

Boredom, Flustration and Love Confessions part 1

Hdjdjd my very first non- Percy Jackson fic djsgdkd i hope you like this little drabble

Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

It starts like this:

Sirius is bored.

A bored Sirius, James knows, is never a good thing, because the boy will whine in James' ear and poke him in the ribs or bite his shoulder or tug on the fringe on the back of his head that's a bit longer than the rest of his hair (he had a munj ceremony when he was eight and he still keeps the evidence at sixteen) till James is sighing and giving in to Sirius' demands of chaos.

And honestly, James is way too fond of Sirius to be even remotely annoyed by his antics. Also doesn't hurt that he thrives off of chaos just as much as the other boy does.

However, there are times when Sirius doesn't bother to wheedle James into causing mischief, and simply goes off to do it on his own. On those days, he is dead set on giving James a heart attack.

Days like today.

It's a beautiful Saturday, really— the sky isn't too blue but it isn't cloudy either, and the breeze is just this side of cold. Perfect for Quidditch. James is sitting in his favourite seat in the Gryffindor common room, where he is far enough away from the fire that his skin isn't burning and he can stare at the Quidditch pitch through the open window. He and Remus are getting their homework over with between the exchange of sarcastic barbs, prank ideas and wicked smiles. Peter is off at detention and Sirius... come to think of it, where is Sirius?

The Fat Lady's portrait opens, but James doesn't look; he turns to Remus with the question of Sirius on the tip of his tongue, but is cut off by the werewolf lifting his head up and catching sight of someone.

"Oi, Pads," Remus hollers, "fuck've ya been?"

James whips his head up and grins widely at his best mate, who is sauntering up to them with a lazy smirk and an effortless elegance to his long limbs that James never figured out how to imitate. His grey eyes harbour that perpetual devilish gleam that is unique to Sirius, and James' gaze catches on the few stray waves of pitch black hair that are slipping out of his bun. Sirius walks close enough to get a ray of sunshine across his face, and silver glitters at his ears.

See, here's the thing: Sirius has piercings. A fuckton of piercings, ranging from the generic lobe piercings to the playful helix to the risque belly button to the roguish eyebrow to a downright sinful industrial. In total, he has nine piercings, compared to James' simple lobe piercings that his parents got done when he was a baby. Sirius also has a huge collection of earrings and ear cuffs, and he is never seen without at least four accessories in. Today, he's wearing all of them.

James resolutely keeps his eyes away from that attention-grabbing jewellery.

"Cheers, Padfoot," he chirps, and Sirius chuckles as he plops down next to him, lifting a hand to ruffle James' hair. The younger boy squawks and swats at his hand, making Sirius and Remus snicker.

"Alright Moons, Jamie?" he nods at the both of them, leaning back and spreading his legs so that his left one is thrown across James lap. The black ripped denim jeans stretch obscenely across his thick thighs, but James keeps his smile on his face.

"Just the Arithmancy essay," he answers, but keeps his quill down and drops his head onto Sirius' shoulders. "The one about the compression of space-time in Apparition. Where have you been?"

"Oh y'know," Sirius shrugs, and James shifts back to follow the line of his broad, leather-clad shoulders before he catches himself and looks away, heat crawling up his cheeks. "Getting a piercing."

Oh, no.

James notices Remus perk up out of the corner of his eye (the lad has his own impressive collection of piercings) but he is more invested in scanning Sirius' ears for the new addition. A second later, he frowns; all the piercings are old ones.

"Where is it?" he asks, curious. (The poor boy forgets– curiosity killed the cat.)

Sirius' grey eyes flicker with mischief, and James is given barely a second to register the foreboding feeling that suddenly fills his guts before his best friend is sticking out his tongue, a sly tilt to his lips. A flash of silver hits James' eyes.

"Holy shit!" Remus crows, and Sirius laughs, but James' mouth has gone dry. He stares at that tongue, at the sneak peeks of the metal ball he gets when Sirius starts a rapid-fire conversation with Remus, gaze drawn to the full, pale pink lips as they curl around words that James cannot be bothered to listen to.

Oh, fuck.

A tongue piercing.

Sirius has a tongue piercing.

Fuck.

[agerestorybits]

Hi! Can I have agere Patton hurt/comfort? I'm kinda sad and kin Patton aggressively lmao

That is so valid.

Agere Patton, Cg Janus

warnings, arguing.

Patton wasn't fine. He was trying to be, He wanted to be! He was just worn out. He had been wearing himself out trying to make sure everyone was ok. Maybe part of that was selfish, running himself into the ground to make sure everyone else was happy and didn't hate him. At some points he wasn't doing this because he wanted his family happy, he just didn't want to deal with anymore conflict.

He felt like a frayed rope that was one bad thing away from snapping in half. As much as he did his best to keep everything calm he couldn't prevent life from sweeping his legs out from under him.

It was just a cup. Knocked out of the cupboard by Remus while he was reaching for his cup. The cup that was Virgil's favorite.

The cup that shattered across the floor. Purple shards of glass covering the tiles.

"Remus!" Virgil yelled as he saw the remains of his cup.

"Oops." Remus said with a smile liking not the least bit guilty. "Did I do that?" He asked with mock innocence.

It was just a cup. Patton thought frozen in his seat as Virgil and Remus quickly took up fighting and everyone else picked sides. Roman siding with Virgil, Saying Remus should have been more careful. Logan came to Remus' defense saying it was an accident.

Janus had excused himself from the room as the conversion heated up and Patton really wished he had left with him. He sat there trying to hold back the wave of awful that seemed to fill every part of him. Blocking his throat from speaking, weighing his limbs into staying still and unmoving.

"Patton!" He jumped and looked up towards Virgil who had said his name. "Tell him he's wrong!"

"Jeez tattling?" Remus teased.

"If Remus apologized will you both drop this?" Logan asked.

"NO!" Both of them yelled at the same time making Patton want to cover his ears but he still couldn't move right. Everything felt like it was getting far away and unfocused and he just wanted to get away from the awfulness of what was happening around him. Patton stood up almost knocking his chair over in his haste, He could feel everyone's eyes on him as he left the room as normally as he could.

"Where are you in a rush to-" Janus started before looking closer at Patton, His indifferent expressed faded to concern. "Are you alright?"

"No." Patton choked out before sobbing as the tears started. Janus opened his arms and Patton was quick to lean into the hug.

"It's alright. Let's go somewhere quieter." Janus said as the argument continued downstairs.

Janus closed the door to Patton's bedroom as soon as they got inside. It was quiet other than the soft crying that Patton did as he clung to Janus' side.

Janus gently led him over to the bed, not letting go and managed to get them both sitting on the edge. "It's alright."

"No! I don't like it!" Patton sobbed, "I don't wanna do this anymore! I can't do it!"

unfortunately Janus already knew exactly what Patton was talking about and he hugged him tighter, unable to honestly say it would be okay. Patton was wearing himself trying to keep the peace but sometimes keeping the peace led to more damage then fighting.

"You don't have to do it alone." Janus said softly.

Patton looked up at him, "Promise?"

"I promise." Janus said.

"For real?" Patton asked. Janus would have been offended if he didn't know how often the others made promises only to 'forget' them.

"Yes." Janus said. "You aren't alone."

Janus grabbed a tissue and started drying Patton's face. Frowning slightly at the dark circles under his eyes. This was a problem that would take a long time to solve. A good first step was helping Patton catch up on some sleep. Janus faked a yawn, pleased when Patton copied.

"I don't know about you, But I didn't sleep well lately. I could really use a nap." Janus said watching the way Patton looked at him hopefully. "Think you can be my cuddle bug and help me sleep?"

Patton nodded eagerly and let go of Janus so he could crawling under the blankets. Wiggling impatiently for Janus to join him. Janus laid down next to him, pulling Patton to his chest.

Patton wasn't fine, but Janus would be sure to do his best to help him get through this.

[spikybanana]

@wolfstarmicrofic - prompt: tumbling - cw: vision/ hallucination/ dissociation (?), grief, panic attack, war and things, slight gore …it’s the full moon night. [once upon a green haze]: masterpost

There comes a day to remember

living had always been stranger than stories

-

In the last few days leading up to the moon, Sirius had felt increasingly unsteady and unsettled, some four-legged pandemonium running at him rousing a ruckus. It embarrassed and confused him, because even Remus managed to be more composed than him as the moon rounded. It almost made him wonder if it’s possible for one’s animagus to be a werewolf.

As the sun went down, Sirius kissed Remus goodbye for the night, skittishly making a jibe about this being the last Mandrake-flavoured kiss. Remus had hesitated at the door, but decidedly walked away. Sirius watched him disappearing down the street, his long shadow gliding across dusk-reddened dirt. The pack came first, of course.

Then, Sirius had sat himself down, and tried to gather, sort through all the pieces he knew about himself, Remus, the both of them— Remus had always been there. They were already lovers once, Remus had implied, but Sirius could remember nothing more than the ache of reading his words. And then, there was London. A starless city, more lies and illusion than reality. A family too venomous, too proud. A real family, found and lost again. James and Lily, where were they now? He had a brother, Regulus. Where was he now? 

Where was he now?

Sirius paused in his pacing, stood in the middle of the room, and squeezed his eyes shut. And that’s when the vision struck. 

The present snapped away like a string. His senses closed, turned inwards. There was one fragment of the heaviest silence, then a memory once forgotten was roaring through the broken dam, a tidal wave, a landslide tumbling down onto him. 

He saw the smoky full-moon night. Smelt the blistered air and heard the screams and war cries. He felt himself running, in the middle of the battle on the scorched banks of the black river. He felt the kind of magic that had burned and bursted out of him, for the first and last time. He felt the fury that had blinded him, at a lie— Dumbledore lied, James and Lily were not— He felt a grief that screamed he thought he could have killed all of them then, killed them for killing his brother. His brother. Regulus, his mind cried out in a raspy, desperate whisper. The irony was not lost on him, of losing a life only to take more, but there was never reason in anger of the moment. And Bellatrix, with a viciousness matching his as they tore at each other, sharp, gruesome. Then the werewolves. A whole pack of them pouring out of the moon. A portal, then he was running again, then a loud rip in the mind, and nothingness. 

When he came to, he was on the floor of Remus’ room, panting uncontrollably. His limbs strained and his fingers clawed down at the floor as he strived to regain control of his breathing. 

What he remembered, it wasn’t everything— far from everything— but told him enough.

There was a war in London, and he’d run from it. 

And Remus had kept him here, away from it, for all of the precious two months.

As quickly as he was able, he was picking himself up from the floor, tearing out the front door. And he ran. He ran towards the forest, towards where he knew Remus was, waiting for the moon with his pack. The suffocating anger from the memory stuck with him, he crossed the bridge, the woods in a blur. His lungs were burning by the time he approached the clearing. 

In the dimming light, there were a dozen, maybe more, shapes of boys. Sirius couldn’t see clearly enough to count, and for a second every single one of them looked like Remus— where was Remus? But before the call for the name could force its way out of his throat, Remus was springing in front of him, a bodily shield between him and the rest of the pack. 

“What are you doing here?” Remus hissed, voice low and dangerous, the wolf full in his eyes, “The moon is rising, you need to be gone.”

“No— you can’t— why didn’t you— I remembered.” Sirius panted and gasped through the words, “Everything that happened just before I got here. The battle, the portal— Remus why was there a portal? I’d been fighting a war that counted by hours, days— and you kept me here for two months—”

It became impossible then to push words past his throat. And all he could think, then, was the anger and the pain and the pain the pain the pain of losing a brother he couldn’t save, more than losing a piece of himself, the pain he never got to weather through—

“Sirius,” Remus was shouting at him, and Sirius blinked to focus. “Sirius! Can you hear me! You need to breathe, can you—”

Remus was stepping in closer, and Sirius cowered for a moment before he realised, Remus wasn’t shielding him from the pack, but shielding the rest of the pack from him. He looked up, latched onto his eyes, fierce and protective and pushing back the moon with all his might. “You are not your memory.” Remus said, firmly. His eyes were the amber-green of this world. Not the dry burning anger, the muted grey of the city. Sirius nodded shakily, swallowed, held onto Remus’ arms as he tried to push air into his lungs. 

“I’m sorry—” Remus began speaking again, expression twisted in pain, “I’ve been selfish— I’ve been so selfish in not having explained— I will explain but not now, please—” Remus was on the brink of doubling over in pain, and Sirius could hear from behind Remus, a couple of the younger boys had begun crying. 

Then, Remus fell to the ground, clutching his sides, gasping. It made Sirius immediately drop to his side, but Remus was frantically gesturing him away. 

“No, no— Sirius. Stop. Go!”

Behind them, one of the young wolves screamed.

Remus clenched his teeth, poorly hiding the way his skin was already splitting open, fur sprouting along his back, his face morphed and his fingers lengthened as he pushed Sirius away. With the last of his human voice, he bit out, “Run.”

[ts-cursed-castle-au]

drew a trash gremlin today

[silverdelirium]

SORE THROAT | R.L

SUMMARY ➠ personal gym instructor!remus fucks you. thats it <3

WARNINGS ➠ oral (male receiving), daddy kink, riding, dirty talk, slapping, praising, light degrading, nicknames, bit of size kink, porn without a plot, not proofread

WORD COUNT ➠ 1.1k

A/N ➠ i’m so embarrassed this is so bad y’all, im sorry. also thanks for the title @selenesheart i fucking love u

———

the flesh on your bum ached slightly as remus kneaded it harshly, cajoling a whimper from you as he backed you up against the one-way window.

“do you know how many nights i’ve spent with my hand around my cock, wishing it was yours?” he sighed into your mouth, his hands sneaking inside your shirt and palming your bare tits; this caused the corners of his mouth to quirk up.

“naughty little thing, like you knew i was gonna fuck you”

his words set the endings of your nerves on fire, your dripping cunt aching at the neglect of remus’ fingers, since they were occupied with taking your clothes off— once you had stripped down to only your lacy knickers remus wasted no time to have your knees scraping against the wooden floor.

“you’re gonna be a good girl and suck daddy off?” he asked, even though it was more of a demand.

he got an eager nod in response, that didn’t please him.

the male’s palm came in contact with your cheek before you had time to even register it, the stinging sensation doing nothing but heightening the swell of your clit -- which pulsated madly in your drenched underwear. “use those big girl words” he seethed, lowering his sweatpants enough so his enlarged cock was released, his size made your eyes widen.

“yes daddy— wanna suck your cock” you whined, fisting your hands in your lap as your tongue lolled out to kitten-lick at his tip, causing him to release the hottest of groans you’ve ever head. “get to work then, don’t wanna hear your stupid blabbering anymore”

you complied, enveloping your lips around his head and letting your eyelids fall shut as you took more of him in. his hand was in your hair, gathering it until he had a makeshift ponytail in his fist.

“you want daddy to fuck your mouth, baby?” spoke remus, tone soft as if he wasn’t about to gag you around his cock until your voice became hoarse— you nodded anyway, shuffling your thighs shut in a weak attempt to soothe the neediness in between them.

remus smiled wickedly at you before crouching slightly to press a kiss on your forehead before straightening up and thrusting his hips against your mouth at a ruthless pace, groaning every time his balls slapped your chin; the sound of your gagging only bringing him closer to the brink.

“jesus— fuck, your mouth feels better than i thought it would, princess” he confessed, closing his eyes and gritting his teeth as you whined at the lack of oxygen. “don’t worry baby, i’m almost there”

tears were running down your face at this point, and your lungs ached at the need of air— lucky for you, it took a few more languid thrusts before remus pulled out of your mouth, leaving you a coughing and gasping mess as he rapidly stroked himself, still keeping a tight grip on your hair as he made you stay still.

“i’m gonna cum all over your face baby, ready?”

“yes daddy” you heaved, sticking your tongue out and shutting your eyes tightly as you heard him moan your name out before spurts of cum hit your face; you twitched lightly as the brunette painted your face with his load, releasing a sigh once he gave his final tight stroke.

you eagerly swallowed everything that went in your mouth, staring up at remus with beady eyes as you waited for his next instruction— striving to be his good girl— which he rapidly gave, mumbling a quick get up before he was hoisting you up, a squeal leaving your lips, yet your legs instinctively wrapped around his waist.

remus had you in an all-consuming lip-lock, tasting himself on your lips as he padded over to bench pressing machine, settling down on it as you continued to make out, your knees resting next to his hips.

he disconnected his lips from yours to take off his shirt, “you gonna ride me, pretty girl? make a mess all over my cock, huh?” he taunted, his tone so low and seductive it almost made you moan on the spot, but all you managed to choke out was a small yes.

“good girl” he rasped out, chuckling when he saw the way your figure flushed at the praise. 

his thumb toyed with your clothed bud, this caused you to shudder while he pumped his-- once again-- hard cock with his free hand, and with a shove of your panties to the side, remus’ cock was kissing at your entrance, drenching itself with your arousal.

“a warning” he paused “i’m not holding back, sweetheart, been waiting too fucking long for this” 

a giggle slipped past your lips as you slowly but surely sank down on him “i don’t c-- care-- fuck.” you tripped over your words as you fully sat down on him, your walls fluttering around him as you both moaned in unison, the feeling was beyond euphoric.

he started slow, helping you roll your hips back and forth. but once remus was certain you were accustomed to his size, he lived up to his warning, and in the catch of a breath, his arm was around your waist and his thrusts were absolutely merciless, yet so fucking addictive you could’ve cried if he even dared of stopping; not that he was planning to either way.

 “jesus-- fuck-- feels so good daddy” you gasped, releasing a whimper as the male took one of your bouncing breasts in his mouth, the soft cushion of his lips felt like heaven to your sensitive buds.

remus groaned against the swell of your tits, where he was peppering kisses at, as he felt your walls tightened around him, signaling you were close.

“who knew such a small cunt like yours could take my whole cock, baby” he teased, reaching with his other hand that wasn’t wrapped around you to thumb at your clit, coaxing moan after moan from you.

“you greedy little thing, taking me like a little slut that enjoys being use would” grunted remus, observing the way your eyes rolled back at the degradation. “you gonna cum, princess?” he cooed, making figure-eights around your button.

“god— yes, fuck!” you cried out, throwing your head back before murmuring a rushed “cumming daddy!” and releasing all over remus’ twitching cock, your limbs spasming as the wave of ecstasy washed over you, your vision a hot white as your chest heaved up and down with your ragged breathing.

remus never stopped thrusting up into you, instead he let your orgasm ride out as he felt his approaching. “sensitive daddy” you babbled, voice now hoarse from all the screaming— and fucking— from earlier.

“i know baby, just need to— fuck!” he grunted; fierce bliss exploded behind remus’ eyes, a thousand colors.

you felt his hot cum spraying your walls as he touched cloud nine, rapid thrusts becoming sloppy until his hips ached from the continuous movement.

“i’m not gonna lie” he chuckled “that wasn’t my first time cumming at the thought of you, pretty girl”

———

🏷 : @selenesheart @malfoy-girl @siriusblackwifeeey @alohastitch0626 @youreso-golden @remuslupinswhore @caosfanblr @memorycharm @abbott27 @elizabethrosedarling @samaraaaaa @malfoyspov @ildm4ev @justadreamyhufflepuff @cokencake @mollysolo @princess-jules47 @arisblackhole @yiamalfoy @brattypeony @myalupinblack @slut4tamaki @nic0lodean @rylynn-m @harmqnia @pottahishotasf @soraya825 @kieracass4lyfers @acciodignity @kayleigh @maeve-7 @ilovejamespotter @methblinds @adrianscumslut @wh0re4blaise @dracomalfoys-wh0re @dlmmdl @lolooo22 @darlingmalfoy @littlemissnoname13 @riddleswh0rekrux @lostaurorax @alexavolturisblog @marauderswh0re1 @black-rose-29 @emma67 @mypainistemporary @mauvea @teenwolfbitches28 @lissa-duh @paniicing

[delimeful]

to know that song (and all its words) (5)

warnings: ptsd, mentions of past trauma/bad living conditions/dehumanization

-

When Virgil emerged from his cockpit after piloting for as long as he could manage, there were two Humans waiting for him.

He paused immediately, tempted to just turn around and pretend he wasn’t going to pass out at the helm within the hour.

Unfortunately, they would probably still be there no matter how long he hid away. The Humans seemed to need longer rest periods than him, but they also slept in shifts, and there was always at least one awake, often two.

(They rose right into alertness, too, proven by the one time Heartfelt had dropped a pan and the other two had thundered into the kitchen to check on him within moments. The noise had been like a stampede; Virgil had practically shoved himself as far into the cockpit as possible.)

“Hello!” Heartfelt said, baring their teeth for a moment before quickly covering the motion with their hand.

Before they could apologize, Noisy was already saying something in that garbled Human language, and then extending an arm, as though planning to sweep Virgil off his feet.

He hissed, automatically smacking the arm away with as much force as he could muster.

Of course, because the Human was built like a seaside cliff, it barely moved his arm an inch. Even so, Noisy recoiled dramatically as though he’d been hit with a stunner, inhaling sharply and throwing his head back, elbow over his face.

Virgil immediately scuttled a few steps back, hearts racing. He was already working himself into a near-panic about whatever severe cultural blunder he’d committed this time when he heard the muffled noise from Heartfelt.

Stuttering little hiccups, almost like the sounds Ampen made when stress-crying but… they felt amused? Oh. They were laughing, eyes crinkling up in the most recognizable expression Virgil had seen in cycles.

“I know Square told you not to touch me. I’ve told you not to touch me,” he grumbled at Noisy, mostly sure that he wasn’t about to be attacked. For Deathworlders with the bloodthirstiest reputation of all time, they’d been remarkably unconcerned with his blatant insubordination.

Thank the cresting tides for that. Bitching and moaning was the only thing getting him through things at this point. They could pry that coping mechanisms from his cold, dead hands.

(They probably would.)

“Mean!” Noisy bemoaned, and then continued in Human, presumably since he knew more words to complain about Virgil in his native tongue. Virgil ignored him, hopping down to the floor.

“See home?” Heartfelt asked hopefully, crouching a little the way they usually did when they spoke directly to him. If Remus or Janus or even Noisy had done the same, he probably would have been annoyed, but it was so transparently obvious that Heartfelt was trying to make themself smaller, ducking their head and folding their limbs inwards to avoid looming. They’d noticed the way he got nervous when they moved too fast or too close, and while it made Virgil uneasy to be read so easily, his upper heart wasn’t hard enough to snap at them for it.

“See home?” he echoed instead, and Heartfelt gestured to the hall and doors around them, eyes wide and radiating earnest excitement. “Oh. You... want a tour? From your hostage? Really?”

The two Humans blinked at him, completely uncomprehending. He flicked an antenna back in  acceptance and gave in, mimicking the little wave that Square used to beckon the others as he turned down the hall.

He’d have much preferred to be the one following the Humans, but they were nearly as twitchy as him about leaving their backs exposed. It wasn’t like he could actually do anything to them, unarmed and nowhere near the size he’d need to be to reach their spines, but if there was one thing he understood, it was unreasonable anxieties.

Plus, he couldn’t exactly give a tour without leading.

The closest room was the one with one of the electrical mainframes, which he typically wouldn’t show to possible-hostiles, but it wasn’t like they were going to sabotage the only ship they currently had available to them. The door slid open, and he walked in, gesturing to the complex electronic systems on one wall and the backup datapads stacked carefully in a container hooked to the wall. The other side of the rather small room was full of miscellaneous junk that Remus occasionally tinkered with.

“Mainframe room,” he said. Neither of the Humans seemed to really grasp his meaning, so he climbed up to the upper half of the wall where the lighting array sat, flicking one of the switches and cutting power to the room. Their backup generator was sourced in this room (primarily so anyone coming to reset the lights wouldn’t have to work in the dark), and the dull emergency lights flickered on after only a moment’s delay.

Two pairs of eerie round eyes stared at him from the corner of the room, where Noisy was pressed against the wall and Heartfelt was standing in front of them like a shield. Along with moving so quickly it was as though they’d teleported, Heartfelt had also picked up a long piece of broken metal framing that had been sitting on top of one of the boxes. They were holding it defensively, but Virgil felt a thrill of fear anyhow.

“Sorry,” he told them, hurriedly flicking the main lights back on. “Just trying to show you. Everything okay?” Please don’t make them write ‘death by scrap metal’ on my eulreport.

Heartfelt lowered their impromptu weapon with an expression Virgil hadn’t learned yet. Relief, maybe? They weren’t close enough for him to check their aether, so he hoped he was right.

“No dark please,” Noisy said, in surprisingly coherent and well-articulated Common. “No dark please, yes?”

He was clutching Heartfelt’s free hand tightly. Virgil didn’t understand what that meant, exactly, but he had an idea.

“No more dark,” he confirmed. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to– Just showing. Won’t do it again, alright?”

For emphasis, he pointedly moved his hand away from the switches, using his lightweight antennae to gesture to them instead.

“These are for lights. The rest,” a gesture to the other switchboards, “are dangerous. Don’t touch them.” He tried to twist his head in a similar manner to the nonverbal cue for ‘negative’ he’d seen them use, and seemed to mimic it well enough for them to grasp.

The Humans nodded at him, which he was choosing to believe meant that they understood and accepted his suggestion, rather than that they were going to touch them at the earliest possible opportunity.

Once out of that room, they seemed to regain a little of their previous energy, bouncing back from whatever messed up trauma Virgil had inadvertently tripped over. They trailed him down the rounded hallway in a line like fledglings playing bughop. If someone had told him he’d ever play follow-the-queen with a couple of humans before this trip, he’d have laughed himself sick, and yet here he stood.

Really, sizewize, it was more like a bunch of grown adult Ampen playing bughop with a fledgling in the front as the hive queen. Virgil hated being short, and the Humans being roughly the largest aliens he’d ever shared a ship with wasn’t helping.

Before he could get too far (or too caught up in his thoughts), there was a call from Noisy, an odd Human word that he seemed to use frequently to catch Virgil’s attention. Maybe the Human word for ‘Ampen’ or just a more general ‘alien’? He wasn’t gonna ask.

He turned to see what the issue was, and they’d fallen behind slightly, standing next to the door to a storage closet he’d passed. They were looking between it and him with blatant expectation, and Virgil let out a low trill of exasperation as he turned back to go show them an oh-so-interesting room full of labeled storage containers.

This was going to be a long tour.

-

The next few hours primarily consisted of the Humans taking him to a door, him opening it, and them eagerly awaiting some sort of explanation and/or charade on the room’s purpose. They seemed to have already explored a fair amount of the ship in the past few days– out of boredom or for strategic advantage, he didn’t know– so after a few rooms they’d quickly taken over leading the way to the doors they were the most interested in.

Turned out he could give a tour from the back of the group after all.

The most notable parts of the experience so far had been the plant-filled bio room, the mere sight of which had seemed to make both Humans visibly perk up despite the multitude of poisonous species that were cultivating inside, and the composite room, where Virgil had demonstrated their material printer by making a large blanket that was surely going to be whisked off to their strange little bedding-nest by the end of the day.

He’d been a bit leery about showing them the lab, but while neither Human had touched anything or even ventured very far into the room, they’d immediately devolved into a little chattered conversation that seemed more excited than upset.

His ship didn’t hide a whole lot of secrets. The only doors he’d refused to open were side-by-side, the respective living quarters that Janus and Remus stayed in when they were all traveling together. The Humans hadn’t been happy about his refusal, Noisy practically smothering him with the amount of suspicion he radiated, but they hadn’t tried to hurt him or otherwise force him. And when he opened the immediate next door to reveal his living quarters (just long enough for them to peek inside), they glanced back at the other two doors and the custom nameplates that matched his one more time before dropping the subject entirely.

By the time they reached the washroom, he was admittedly beginning to droop. His pilot shifts were already long enough to make most Ampens keel over unconscious on the job, only sustainable for him because of his hormonal disorder-induced insomnia. He didn’t have the energy for all this tomfoolery.

“Washroom,” he announced with a wide flourish. It was a bigger one, with spigots and water pressure along one wall, because when one lived with Remus, efficient showers were a must. Even if he only deigned to use them when he was covered in something that would have otherwise gotten on the furniture (and thus incurred Janus’s wrath).

The Humans were eyeing the wall of showers with strange expressions, so Virgil trekked over to crank one of the lower handles, skipping out of reach of the resulting spray with a short chirp of displeasure.

The wave of (excitement-happiness-joy) energy from the Humans was so intense that it nearly made Virgil trip, and when he looked up, they had bounded into the room after him, sticking hands under the spout with clear delight. They grabbed onto each other's shoulders and practically jumped in place together, their teeth bared in wide grins that would have been terrifying if Virgil couldn’t feel the pure elation they were projecting.

Heartfelt announced something in Human, and then promptly bolted out of the room, trailing wet footprints behind them. Noisy pressed wet hands to his face and then tilted his head back and made a loud, full-throated noise that resembled Heartfelt’s earlier amusement: more laughter.

Virgil made a low, questioning whistle, an Ampen indicator of curiosity. He’d really like to know why a fairly normal washroom had apparently driven his Humans to hysterics.

Noisy’s laughter slowly died down, but his chest kept hitching oddly for a moment more before he turned to Virgil, wiping his face a few more times. The edges of his aether felt like they were collapsing in on themselves, the intense emotion being folded away.

“Okay,” he reassured Virgil, “it is okay, it is good!” He followed this up with a string of Human words that Virgil didn’t grasp at all, but his tone and body remained loose and relaxed.

A few moments later, Heartfelt was back, towing Square by the arm in a display that squashed most of Virgil’s theories on leadership rules for Humans. Square appeared vaguely harried, but once they were dragged into the room, their attention caught on the shower just as solidly as the others’ had.

Heartfelt released them and hurried over to the still-running shower with exuberant gestures and the most words Virgil had ever heard them speak, even if he couldn’t understand any. Noisy was right there with them, jumping in every other sentence with his own excited jabbering. Square mostly just nodded along, the edges of their mouth curling up into an expression Virgil hadn’t seen as his aether turned distinctly fond.

“Hey,” Virgil interjected, and felt a bizarre little spark of guilt at the way Square jerked slightly, their walls coming back up the moment they spotted Virgil in the room. “Can you tell me what in the stars is going on here?”

Their shoulders stiffened up and their chin lifted slightly, a defensive tinge leaking into their aether. “Our previous ship was not… built for life, and even before that… It has been a much… a long time since we have access to,” he gestured to the washroom as a whole, “this.”

“Oh,” Virgil said, feeling like a complete prick. “... There’s recycling filters set below the drain so you guys don’t have to worry about running out of water. Use it as long as you like.”

He resisted the urge to clench his fists in a reflexive cringe at his own gall. As though they needed permission from him. He was their hostage, not their host!

But Square only watched him for a moment longer, as though waiting for some other response, before dipping their head shallowly and allowing themself to be pulled over to where Noisy was fiddling with the temperature and pressure settings.

Virgil might have been imagining it, but the next time they glanced over to check on him, he thought they seemed a little more relaxed. A little less wary.

A little more hopeful.

[saintlike78]

Hey! I love your work!!

I was wondering if I could request a poly!maurauders oneshot (or whatever!) where reader manages to hurt herself somehow while having sex (something bent or popped the wrong way etc.) with the boys and she cries out and uses her safe word but it takes her a second to be able to explain what happened and the boys all fret over her? Thanks!!

‘Pop’ [Poly Marauders]

A/N: I loved this request because I 100% could see this happening to me, my joints are just creaky. I hope you enjoy <3

Pairings: Poly! Marauders x Fem!Reader

Words: 1.2k

Warnings: NSFW 16+, tail end of smut, vaginal sex, mention of handjob, reader being slightly injured, knee injury, crying, polyamorous relationship. As always lmk if I missed anything.

Smut just below the cut!

Your legs were bent with Remus’ arms under the bend of your knees as he held you in his strong grip, his pace quick as he fucked up into you. It wasn’t uncomfortable, rather the contrary, and therefore nothing had given away the slight lock your knees made. Noises of pleasure echoed from your mouth and around the room, your balmy skin connected with Remus’, your hands behind his head grasping at the brown locks as you tried to ground yourself.

James and Sirius laid on the bed, working on each other’s cocks, lips connected in a heated lip lock; their focus was often broken away from one another as their line of vision would fall back on you, taking in your sweaty figure, your tired body grasping for more pleasure, even after having been going at it for longer than you normally would, but you couldn’t get enough.

“Moony, it’s my turn,” Sirius whined, rising from his position to be on his knees sticking his arms out to grab you, but not before earning a whine of disappointment from James.

Remus rolled his eyes but slowly pulled out of you to hand you over to the raven-haired boy on the bed, his face sporting a mischievous smile of satisfaction of having gotten his way. You whined at the empty feeling but reached forward to grasp and hug Sirius close to you, as he hooked his arms under the bend of your knees, just as Remus had done, therefore never straightening your legs out to unlock your knees.

With you in his grasp, Sirius moved on his knees to find a place on the bed to place you down upon and have his own way with you.

Your back hit the plush mattress, Sirius, right on top of you, your fingers in his hair, and your legs bent by his sides as he slowly sank into you, his face finding a place in the crook of your neck, sucking marks into the smooth flesh.

You breathed out a moan as he started moving, your walls fluttering around him as he hit the spot inside you that made you see stars and have your entire body shivering and twitching out in pleasure.

The pleasure caused your toes to curl, and your legs went to straighten out – but that was a mistake. As your legs stretched you felt an unfamiliar, but extremely painful, ‘pop’; your eyes were wide as you let out a pained wail, “RED! FUU-ckkk.”

Sirius was quick to pull out, panic clear in his eyes as he searched your distressed face, trying to decipher where it went wrong – rather what he did wrong.

Remus was quick by your side, helping you into a seated position as he looked between Sirius and James, trying to think of what to do to help you as tears of pain leaked down your face as you sobbed loudly, your body shaking, mostly from the fright you received from the sudden pain you had felt.

“Bunny, what happened?” Remus tried, his body holding you up as James scurried around the room to find you and them something suitable to wear.

You were stuttering on sobs as you tried to explain to them that they did nothing wrong, but the words were caught in your throat only small cries leaving your mouth, causing the boys to internally panic, fearing the absolute worst.

Sirius leaned down to be closer to you, gently grabbing your face, wiping the tears with the pads of his thumbs.

“Please, pup, we want to help you,” he was gentle, afraid that he had done this to you and that you would hate him for it.

You kept trying, but the only thing to escape through the sobs were broken words, all blubbering together in a mashup of cries and tears.

The pain had somewhat subsided, the only thing left was the dull ache letting you know that something had happened, but the distress was still present, yet you tried to control your breathing trying to get the tears to stop.

Instead of trying to voice your troubles, you tried gesturing to your knee, pointing to it.

“What’s happened, does it hurt?” James quickly asked as he came to your side on the bed, holding a pile of clothes in his grasp, but those were quickly tossed on the bed as he crawled to your side.

You didn’t get to nod or try explaining anything before the panic had set into all three boys, their voices bouncing back and forth between each other as they tried to think of something.

“Do you know where that muggle kit thing is? The one you brought, Moony,” James asked, referring to the first aid kit Remus had brought with him this school term just in case anything were to happen.

“I think It’s in the bathroom… or I don’t know… maybe it’s in my trunk, I don’t remember,” Remus was wrecking his brain trying to think of where he had placed the strange red box, though with no luck.

“We should take her to the hospital wing, it might be broken!” Sirius’ overdramatic guess pulled a laugh from you, the tears wet on your cheeks, but a smile lighting up your face.

All three boys’ heads snapped to look at you, shock and panic evident on their faces.

Your breathing had calmed enough for you to finally speak, “It’s not brok-en,” your voice was hoarse, and small dry sobs interrupted your speech pattern.

“Oh, thank gods,” Sirius breathed out in relief, his lips quickly pecking yours before he leaned back to give you space to explain.

“I think my knee lo-cked into place and it was rea-lly painful when I stretched it.”

All three of them listened intently, Sirius felt a huge wave of relief wash over him, knowing he didn’t hurt you.

“Can you stand, bunny?” Remus asked, helping you lift your body, while James took over to help you off the bed, not letting you put any weight on your legs, his arms carrying you above the ground.

“You can put me down now, Jamie,” you giggled.

James smiled, his usual goofy smile, before he set you down on the floor, still holding you up with his strong arms, making sure you wouldn’t fall and making sure that if you were still in pain, he could alleviate it as quickly as possible.

You limped slightly as you tried to move your legs, a mix between the ‘pop’ and the fact that you hadn’t stood or walked in a while.

“Hmm, I think we should go to the hospital wing, just to be sure it’s nothing,” Remus’ logical voice cut through as he stood from the bed, quickly getting dressed before helping you get dressed.

Sirius and James followed promptly, throwing on the clothes James had fetched for them.

You were about to start walking towards the door of the dorm room, but Sirius was quick to pick you up, a small yelp of surprise tearing through your throat as you wrapped your limbs around him. He cradled you close to him as he walked down the many steps and corridors to reach the hospital wing, your face buried in his shoulder enjoying the closeness of it.

Tags: @dracosafety, @justadreamyhufflepuff, @teenwolfbitches28, @emma67, @trouble-in-space, @sciapod, @kermiemoon, @autumnandwinteraesthetics, @roonilwazlibswhore, @White_castles, @lexi_shoto, @sprucewoodlover, @blackandlupinsslut, @emmaev, @cedricisnotdead, @Sirius-sugarmomma, @i-love-scott-mccall, @pretty-pop-princess-hs, @pottahishotasf, @mjoubertt-1,

If crossed out it means I couldn’t tag you!

[i-am-bitterly-jittery]

Five Times Someone Mistook Roman And Remus (And One Time They Finally Met)

5. Janus and Patton

[1] [2] [3] [4] • [+1]

Word Count: 1361

Rating: Teen

Pairings: Dukexiety, pining Roceit, developing Logicality

Warnings: drunkenness, a fair amount of implied sexual context (the only character who actually has sex is sober), jealousy, did I mention drunkenness

~~~START~~~

“C’mon, Re, it’ll be fun!” Patton tried, poking the moping blanket burrito currently curled up on his couch.  

“Nooooo!” The burrito whined.  

“Virgil will be home tomorrow; it’s your birthday, let’s celebrate!”  

The burrito didn’t react. Time for plan B.  

“I need a wingman.” 

“…fine.” 

~~~ 

“Pleeeease, Logan?” Roman begged, pulling out the puppy dog eyes.  

“Roman, I do not enjoy loud music or drunk people,” Logan waved him off, focusing instead on his tax forms or something — Roman wasn’t paying attention.  

“You didn’t invite me to my own birthday party!” 

“We sent Remy to find you, the fact that the man he brought back was not you is not my fault.” 

“Gurl that’s why we’re going to the club!” Remy pointed out from where he was making himself a latte. “To make up for the party.” 

“Besides,” Janus added, smirking. “Do you really trust us,” he motioned to himself, Remy, and Roman, “to go out unsupervised? Who knows what kind of trouble we might get into.” 

“…you have a point. Fine, but you are all going with me to the opening of the planetarium next week.” 

“Deal!” 

“As long as they have coffee.” 

“I suppose that’s fair.” 

“Excellent, then we shall go to the club tonight.” 

~~~ 

In the end, Patton hadn’t needed Remus’s help to find a cute guy, but the last time he’d seen his friend, he’d looked like he was having fun.  

Patton was having fun too; he was a few drinks in — just enough to be a little tipsy — and talking to the most specs-tacular man he’d ever seen. Said man was certainly more than a few drinks in, but the way he was drunkenly babbling about space was the most endearing thing Patton had ever seen.  

“–and the photos from the James Webb Space Telescope! Have you seen them?” 

“I don’t think so,” Patton smiled, flagging down the bartender for another drink.  

“Wait, I have them on my phone,” the man — Logan — fumbled around in his pocket. “Here.” 

Patton looked as Logan thumbed through the photos for him.  

“They’re really pretty!” 

“They’re more than pretty,” Logan stressed. “They’re stunning! They’re gorgeous! They’re– they’re… words’re hard.” 

Logan picked up his glass, then glared at it as he found it to be empty.  

“Here.” Patton placed the water he’d ordered in front of the other man. “I think you’ve had enough alcohol.” 

Logan stared at the glass, then at Patton, his face completely unreadable.  

“You’re gorgeous,” he said eventually. “As humans, one possible objective is to copulate, therefore would you like to procreate– copulate? Proculate… copreate?” 

“Oh, sweetie,” Patton giggled. “You’re drunk. Did you come here with anyone? Do you need me to call you a cab?” 

“I’m not drunk,” Logan insisted. “You’re drunk. I’m sober perfectly.” 

“Okay,” Patton smiled, grabbing a pen that had been discarded on the bar. “Here’s my number, you can call me tomorrow if you still want to copreate. Do you have someone to take you home, or should I call you a cab?” 

“Janus can cab,” Logan answered unhelpfully, though he was pointing at someone across the room.  

“Is that Janus?” Patton asked, trying to figure out who Logan was pointing to. 

“Yes.” 

“Okay, upsy daisy, let’s go find Janus.”  

Patton had to support most of his weight as Drunk Logan proved to have little control over his long limbs. They made it halfway through the crowd before a man materialized in front of them.  

“How much have you had to drink?” The man demanded of Logan, ignoring Patton for the time being.  

“Only a little bit. Me and Patton were talking about stars,” Logan answered. This did not seem to satisfy the man — presumably Janus.  

“Logan, you drove us here!” 

“I shouldn’t drive,” Logan answered. “We should taxi. We should taxi to Patton’s!” 

“No, sweetie,” Patton cut in. “You should go home; you can call me tomorrow if you want.” 

Logan pouted. Janus and Patton exchanged a commiserative glance, and then Patton was transferring Logan’s weight on to Janus.  

“Thank you,” Janus said.  

Patton just nodded before turning around and pushing through the crowd once more. It was about time for him and Remus to get going too… he just needed to find Remus.  

He’d just turned to look in a different direction when someone bumped into him, sending him stumbling and causing his glasses to fall off. He got down on the ground to look for them, but just before he could reach them, a stray foot accidentally stepped on them.  

“Oh shit! I’m sorry dude!” The man who’d stepped on his glasses apologized.  

“No worries,” Patton waved him off tiredly as he collected the broken pieces — the lenses seemed to be intact, but the frames were bent. He sighed and stuffed the pieces into his pocket, he still had to find Remus.  

~~~ 

This night was not going how Janus had imagined it.  

First, Remy peeled off after the first round of drinks (which was to be expected), then Logan left to get another round and never returned (unexpected, but perfect for what Janus had planned), but then Roman spotted a hot guy across the room and left before Janus could get to the confession part!  

After that he might have had another drink, or two, or three.  

Maybe four.  

His friends had yet to resurface, but Janus was in his drinking phase where he hated and resented everyone, so he didn’t care much.  

Of course, then he’d spotted a drunk Logan being supported by a stranger and Bitter Janus turned into Mom-Friend Janus in an instant as he moved to intervene.  

The stranger, it seemed, was trying to send Logan home, so Janus accepted his friend from him and dragged him back to the table he’d been wallowing at. Logan was drunker than Janus had ever seen him — if the excessive use of contractions and incorrect grammar were anything to go off of — but he’d still need to find Roman and Remy before he could take him home.  

He pulled out his phone to text them, and found two missed texts from Remy from over an hour ago.  

Hey babes, went home 😏🍆🍑 

And then twenty minutes later: 

Home safe. Being safe 😎💦 

Well, that was one less person to worry about, now he just had to find– 

“Snakey!” 

Roman draped himself over Janus’s back, wrapping his arms securely around his waist. 

“Hello, Roman. I wasn’t just looking for you,” Janus replied, trying — unsuccessfully — to dislodge the other man from his person.  

“You’re funny,” Roman declared, obviously also extremely inebriated. “You’re like… like Dr. Trick-le and Mr. Lies!” 

Roman laughed at his own terrible nickname, and Janus rolled his eyes fondly.  

“How much have you had to drink?” 

“Soooo much,” Roman drawled, slowly transferring more and more weight onto Janus. “I gotta find him though.” 

“Remy went home, Ro, you don’t need to find anyone. Can you walk on your own? I need to support Samuel Adams over here.” 

“I gotta go home with–” 

“I’m not letting you go home with someone while this drunk,” Janus cut him off quickly, fighting off the return of Bitter Janus. “I’m ordering an Uber and we’ll all go back to my place.” 

Roman found this very funny for some reason, but Janus ignored his laughter and finally shook the man off. He grabbed Logan and began dragging him out of the club without looking back — though he knew Roman was following because he was still laughing.  

He shoved Logan into the middle seat of the Uber once it arrived, and vehemently ignored the sharp pang he felt when he noticed that Roman was wearing a different shirt than he’d come in.  

All he wanted to do was get home and sleep through the massive hangover he already knew he’d have, what Roman did and didn’t do with another man while they were at the club did not matter.  

~~~ 

Remus was pretty drunk by the time Patton finally found him — a much harder task when he didn’t have his glasses — and he didn’t put up any fight as Patton dragged him out of the club and into a cab. 

~~~END~~~

Virgil had to be removed from the situation, he’d see too much, he’d know

Janus: his shirt is different >:(

Also Janus: *doesn’t notice that all of his clothes are different and he has a mustache*

(They’ll kiss in the next part I swear)

Doppelgänger taglist:

@royalty-of-all-things-snuggly @pixelated-pineapple @knight-shives @misunderstood-shadowling @minamishipsit2

[iclaimedtobethebetterbard]

if you're going my way, i'll go with you - chapter 12

Fandom: Sanders Sides Characters: All the sides, character!Thomas, minor/background OCs Rating: Teen & up Relationships: Creativitwins Warnings: This chapter is just purely angst without any happy ending, because it is a flashback. There is: language, lots of references to child abuse, a minor burn injury, a death threat, getting kicked out, being forcibly separated from loved ones, a few instances of misgendering from the evil dad, and one (censored here, uncensored on ao3) use of the f slur. Word count: 2250

Read on AO3!

My writing masterpost

start - previous - here - next - masterpost

–

NOTE: This chapter is a flashback, taking place 5 years & 4 months before where we're at in the main story! Check the warnings. If you don't want to read this chapter, you will not miss out on any plot.

note 2: the correct pronouns are used for roman in the narration of the chapter, even though neither he nor remus knew about that yet, bc it feels better that way. there is still a bit of misgendering from the evil dad.

-

Chapter 12

Remus waited, lying in the dark with his eyes open, listening intently until he was absolutely certain both his parents were asleep for the night and they weren’t waking up. Silently, he rose from his bed, arranging his pillow beneath the covers so that, at least at a glance, it would look like he was still there beneath the covers. Ever so slowly, he eased open the window, its glide smooth and silent thanks to all the times he’d smuggled in supplies to grease it. The climb from his window to that of the room next to his was easy; he’d done it thousands of times, always careful not to make a sound, replacing the screens of each window behind himself. It was a slow process, taking care to maintain absolute silence, but he’d streamlined it over the years and now it took closer to five minutes than fifteen. He had to use the windows, because Ro’s door creaked, and their parents knew that it creaked and kept it that way on purpose, so there was no secret greasing to fix that.

Ro was pretending to sleep, and was remarkably adept at it for a six-year-old. But as soon as Remus pried open the screen to his room, he bolted upright in bed, waving with both hands and grinning wide, eyes big and bright in the moonlight. Remus gave an answering grin, but didn’t speak as he climbed through the window, dropped silently from the sill to the floor, and replaced the screen. He padded to the bed, avoiding the floorboards that would creak, and climbed into it. “Hi, squirt,” he breathed.

“Hi,” Ro whispered back, beaming from ear to ear and climbing into Remus’s lap. “I wanna hear a story!”

Remus put his arms around the tiny child, cradling him close against his chest. “Yeah?” he murmured, trying very hard not to cry as Ro nodded eagerly. Ro was warm and soft and solid and real, and as close to safe as was possible here in his arms, and tomorrow—

Tomorrow, that would probably not be the case.

Remus smiled down at Ro and kissed the top of his head, reaching over to grab the hairbrush off his sidetable. “Sounds good,” he said lightly. “What kind of story?”

Ro wiggled happily. “A happy one. With lots of heroes.”

“You got it, kid,” Remus whispered, and took only a few seconds to think before launching into a story that was soft and comforting and full of good things for the princess at its center. Even after he’d brushed all the knots out of Ro’s hair and put the brush back, he didn’t stop talking, simply inventing more and more nice things for the princess to do, from a tea party to a parade to a pillow fort, until Ro’s breathing slowed and gentled and his little limbs went limp and heavy with sleep against Remus.

Remus carefully put Ro down in the middle of the bed and laid down beside him, curling protectively around him and holding him close. Ro nestled into Remus’s hold easily and instinctively, gripping onto his pajama shirt with his little hands.

Remus bit the inside of his lip hard, blinking away the tears once more. He began running his hand through Ro’s hair, his other arm still curled around the child, holding him close as he kept a close eye on the clock on the other side of the room.

When five-forty-five ticked past and the window began to threaten the first tricklings of dawn, Remus pried himself away from Ro, pretty certain that he was ripping his own heart clean out of his chest and leaving it in Ro’s tiny hands. “Love you, Ro,” he murmured, bending to kiss his forehead.

Ro, who was an incredibly light sleeper, shifted and rolled over, blinking up at him sleepily. “Love you,” he echoed, smiling. “Happy birfday.”

Remus forced a smile. “Thanks,” he whispered. “Go back to sleep now, mmkay?” 

“Kay,” Ro responded obediently; his eyelids drooped closed as Remus kissed his forehead again.

Remus waited for just a moment more to be sure Ro had gone back to sleep before he climbed out the window and back to his own room, stifling hot tears all the way. In his room, he pulled out the crumpled, smudged piece of torn notebook paper in his pocket, and dragged out his prepared backpack from under the bed. He ran over the checklist on the paper one last time, then pulled out the lighter hidden under his mattress and carefully, carefully burned the list. It singed his fingers at the end; he clenched his teeth until the initial pain subsided to a duller throb. He couldn’t risk running cold water or seeking out burn cream right now.

Even though the list was gone, he looked through his backpack one more time. He zipped it up, slid it under his bed, made sure it wasn’t visible from the door or standing next to the bed, and finally climbed into his bed just as the sun peeked through the window. He hid his face in the pillow, telling himself it was to block out the light and not at all to stifle the silent sobs he couldn’t hold back any longer.

The moment he managed to get his tears back under control, he focused on swallowing down the rest of the long cry that he wanted and did his best to act like he was asleep. It helped that he was exhausted; he actually thought that he might have dozed off for a bit, though he wasn’t sure.

Regardless, the noise of footsteps in the hall was enough to bring him to full consciousness and leave him tense and stiff beneath his blanket. He heard his dad use the restroom, shuffle back to his own room, and return a moment later to the bathroom, probably this time for personal grooming.

Remus closed his eyes, breathed deep, and forced himself to relax in a mockery of sleep, even as he heard his dad walking back down the hall.

There was no noise of the door opening, of course; Remus had lost “having a bedroom door” privileges long ago. The footsteps came to a stop right next to him.

“Get up,” his father said, roughly pushing at his shoulder.

Remus sucked in a breath, as if being startled awake, although it was barely even acting. He rolled over onto his back and pushed himself up on his elbows in one motion. “What—?” His voice faltered at his dad’s glare.

“Get dressed and come outside in the next five minutes,” was the cold answer he received.

“Can—” Remus swallowed, sitting all the way up. He’d known this was coming. He’d thought he could do it, thought he’d said his goodbyes.

He’d been wrong. He could stand most things. Not losing Ro.

“Can I say goodbye to Ro?” he asked, voice coming out small and timid. It would hurt. It would hurt so badly to see him again, and Remus knew he wouldn’t be able to handle it. But leaving him was even worse.

His father’s face darkened. “No. I don’t want you anywhere near her.”

“It’s my birthday,” Remus pleaded.

“If you really loved your sister, maybe you would have thought of that before you tried being a little [f slur] under my roof,” his father snapped. “I don't want you anywhere near her.”

“Danni’s a girl,” Remus protested reflexively under his breath. And it had been years since he dated her, anyway.

“What was that?” his dad snapped.

Wow. A warning. He didn’t usually get those. Happy fucking birthday to him.

Remus bit the inside of his cheek and didn’t say anything, staring at the ground.

That seemed to satisfy his dad. “Outside,” he repeated. “In four minutes.” He turned on his heel and left.

Remus took in a raggedy breath, scrubbed the fresh tears from his eyes, and changed lightning-fast into the outfit he’d laid out last night, pulling his backpack from under the bed and slinging it over his shoulders. He slipped the most important things into the secret pockets he’d sewn into the insides of his jeans and the lining of his coat: the key to the apartment he’d put down a down payment for last month, lying about his age so he could sign the contract; the card to his (secret) bank account, where he kept the money he earned at the (secret) part-time job he skipped school for; the shitty old phone he’d saved up for (in secret) and bought secondhand; and his driver’s license, the only one of these items that his parents even knew about. There was a decent bit of cash already sewn into his coat, too. In case his dad wouldn’t let him take the backpack with him, he should still have the essentials. He left the phone his parents had given him—new and expensive and completely under their control—on his desk and stepped out into the hall. He was pretty sure it had been only three minutes—he had gotten very good at keeping track of time.

But his dad was standing at the end of the hallway with his arms crossed, so Remus couldn’t slip into Ro’s room for one more goodbye. He shouldered his backpack a little more firmly and trudged down the hallway.

There was a soft creak of a door, and Remus froze.

“Remus?” came a little voice.

Remus’s dad’s face darkened, but he didn’t say anything or move.

It wasn’t fair, it wasn’t fair, Remus’s heart had already broken today, this was too much, he couldn’t do it—

He stilled his face and turned. Ro was standing there in his pink pajama set, rubbing his eyes.

Remus took a few steps back down the hall, knelt, and hugged Ro close. “Go back to bed, squirt,” he said gently, pressing a kiss to his temple.

Ro clung to his shoulders as he tried to pry away. “Where are you going?”

“I dunno,” Remus admitted, and couldn’t quite keep the faintest tremor out of his voice. When Ro looked distinctly more frightened, he added, “On an outing. I’ll see you later. Go back to bed now, okay?”

Ro hugged him tightly. “Okay…”

“Good.” Remus pressed another kiss to Ro’s temple and whispered in his ear, “I’ll come back for you. Promise.” He sucked in a breath and got back to his feet, watching Ro cast a nervous glance at their dad and scamper back to his bedroom on tiny, silent feet.

Remus blinked hard until the tears blurring his vision went away, turned, and followed his dad out of the house. He got into the car on the passenger side without protest when his dad pointed at it. As the car pulled out of the driveway, Remus caught a glimpse of Ro’s face and two hands, pressed against his bedroom window and staring out at him; his small face was scrunched up in abject misery.

Remus set his face, shoving down the answering stab in his heart, and stared straight ahead through the windshield. Just a couple of months. Just enough that he knew his new job would work out and he’d have enough money to feed and clothe Ro, and then he’d come back and figure out some way to get him away from them.

Both he and his father were silent during the car ride. Remus had no idea where they were going; it didn’t really matter. He’d been under no illusions about what would be happening today. His parents had made it all too clear how eager they were to get rid of him at the first opportunity.

His dad drove without speaking for almost an hour, all the way out of the suburb and across to the far end of the city, until the buildings they were driving past were ones Remus had rarely seen before even though he’d lived in Sandersville all his life. At last he pulled up to the curb. “Get out.”

Remus swallowed, mouth dry, and unbuckled his seatbelt, dragging it out as long as he could.

“Don’t come back,” his dad added.

Remus rolled his eyes, opening the door of the car. “Yeah, yeah, I get it.”

“If you come near your sister, I’ll kill you.”

Remus clenched his hand where it clutched the side of the door. He couldn’t even tell if he was meant to take that literally or not.

He swallowed back the sick feeling in his throat. Say it. Say it. He could say it now. He had to say it now. While he still had the chance.

He turned back to face his father, voice quiet but steady. “I hate you.”

There was silence for a heartbeat. Another. Remus could feel his hands starting to shake in spite of himself.

“I don’t care,” his dad said.

Remus felt the words like a blow to the chest. He let the car door fall shut and watched, almost numb, as his father did a u-turn and drove away. The car turned a corner and vanished from sight.

Remus’s legs gave out from under him and he collapsed to sit on the edge of the sidewalk, pulling his knees to his chest and shaking all over, staring into the distance with unfocused eyes, breath ragged and harsh and loud.

It was not quite eight o'clock on the morning of his eighteenth birthday, and Remus Kingsley was all alone.

-

Taglist (ask to be added/removed!): @the-sympathetic-villain @just-a-little-anxious @your-local-crackhead-gremlin @remy-the-lemon-berry @midnightstorm-underthe-moon @crazydemigod666 @did-he-just-hiss-at-me @virgil-is-verge @simplestoryteller @oblivionartworks @so-youre-a-rock-with-issues @emoprincey @theblackcatscratchpost @biwithapie @poettheythem

[fruitcoops]

Sometimes I forget that Leo is 19 and can’t drink in the states. I think he would get away with stealing drinks from the boys or having someone on the team order for him in public for a while but once the season’s started and people are actively watching the games, the bartenders and wait staff start to figure out who he is and catch him being sneaky

I only write drunkenness on a case-to-case basis because it squicks me out sometimes, but something about this ask really stuck with me. To @lalalasocks, I hope your sinuses feel better! Have some outside perspective of Coops to soothe the soul <3 SW credit goes to @lumosinlove!

TW for a drunken rookie (no explicit alcohol)

“Pots and I are going to take it up the left,” Sirius said, never taking his eyes off his whiteboard as he drew out the lines of the play. iPads were generally the more conventional tool, but he had a thing for tradition and Sirius Black’s flair for the dramatic never ceased to amaze. “Knutty?”

Leo nodded and leaned forward, swiping a drop of sweat off his temple with a glance toward the game as Talker flew past. “I’ll be in for the rest of the period as soon as Coach calls it.”

“Bien.” He tapped Remus’ shoulder pad with the end of his pen and marked a path up the other side. “Loops, the puck is coming to you fast, so you need to keep eyes on us. Once you get it, turn on the jets and get it in. Good?”

“Good,” Remus confirmed, bumping fists with James. Leo watched them with no small amount of surprise—even though Remus had only been a player for six months, their line was rock-solid. James was the powerhouse while Remus flashed down the ice; Sirius counterbalanced them both in the middle. He was grateful he wasn’t the one to see them coming at him on plays.

“1, 6, 7, 12!” Coach barked. Leo clenched his teeth around his mouthguard and got ready to hop the boards. A swish of skates, a bump of Kasey’s shoulder, and it was game time.

-----------

“I love you,” Leo hiccupped, plopping himself down in Logan’s lap and tangling a hand in his dark curls. He went to kiss his cheek, then frowned. “Oh.”

“Hi,” Sirius laughed with a gentle pat his side. “Good night so far, Knutty?”

Leo made a face. “Where’s my Canadian?”

“I have no idea.”

His lip slid out even further into a pout. “He told me I could sit on his lap,” he whined plaintively, resting his head in the crook of Sirius’ shoulder with a heavy sigh. The bar was warm—a little too warm, actually—but it felt nice to be sitting on something soft rather than feeling the sticky floor under his sneakers. And there was one more reason he needed to find Logan, one other highly important thing… “An’ I gotta give him a kiss.”

“Do you want to go look for him?”

Leo made a noncommittal noise and swung his leg under the table absently, letting the alcohol in his system lift all his post-game tiredness away. His head hurt a little from being awake so long. “How ‘bout I stay here and wait?”

“I think it’s about time to get you home.”

Leo sighed again, picking at a string on the knee of his ripped jeans. “Am I squishing you?”

“Non.”

“Mmkay.” A bright square of light half blinded him and he squinted. “Who’re you texting?”

“Finn.”

“Why?”

“So that he can pick you up and get you home before you fall asleep on me,” Sirius said, quite amused for some reason. “Comfy, rookie?”

He shifted even closer into the warmth and closed his eyes. Usually he got horny when he drank, but that feeling had already passed and a nap was sounding awful nice. “I like it when you call me that. Hate when other people do it, but it’s different with you.”

Sirius gave his upper arm a light squeeze. “Glad to hear it.”

“Used to drive me nuts,” he snorted. “Those first couple’a weeks on the team were rough.”

“…why?”

“Cause I had a huge crush on you.”

Cozy silence fell between them until Sirius moved to look at him. Leo blinked sleepily. “You what?”

“Well, Kasey was my first crush, right? I had his jersey an’ his poster an’ he’s fucking hot, but you’re the captain.” Sirius was so nice to him. Not everyone would have let a 6’4” hockey player sit on their lap and wait for their boyfriends. At the moment, though, Sirius looked a bit like Leo had thrown ice water in his face. “And obviouslyFinn and Logan are my boys and I love them so much and they were sopretty when I met them but, y’know, it’s the thrill of the captain vibe.”

“Am I interrupting something?” a new voice asked through poorly-suppressed laughter.

Leo turned his head to look up with a smile. “Hey, Loops, how’re you?”

“Pretty good.” Remus shared a look with Sirius, grinning, before taking the seat next to them. “You two look…content.”

“Oh, fuck off,” Sirius said immediately, though Leo felt his chest hitch with a laugh; he tapped Leo lightly on the elbow a moment later. “Finn’s heading over, d’accord?”

“But I just got here,” he mumbled.

“You’re in my spot,” Remus teased, sliding a glass over. “Drink up, bud.”

Leo narrowed his eyes. “What is it?”

“Water.”

He thought for a second—he wasn’t thirsty, but his mouth was getting dry—and yawned, sitting up enough to stretch before grabbing it. In two gulps, it was gone. “Aw.”

Remus bit his lip and passed a different glass over. “You can have mine too, it’s okay.”

“How are both of you so nice?” he asked, looking between them in something like distress. The music was getting too loud, but they were both watching him intently. “It’s not even fair, man. Can’t you just be an asshole for once so the rest of us don’t look bad?”

Sirius shook his head and pressed the water cup into his hand. “Been there, done that. Do not recommend. Besides, the designated drivers don’t get to be mean.”

Leo felt a little better once the water was gone; he blinked slowly, scanning the crowds for any signs of Finn’s hair or Logan’s ass. Both were identifying features he would never get tired of. “Loops?”

“Yeah?”

“Why is your hair soft?”

“I—” He tilted his head to the side in confusion. “Have you ever touched my hair?”

He leaned back against Sirius, stretching his legs out until his knees popped. “No, but it looks soft. Like Finn’s, if Finn was blonder and had curls. Fluffy.”

“It’s very fluffy,” Sirius confirmed, pulling him up a little more.

“Hey!” Leo protested. “Watch the hands, your boyfriend is right there!”

Sirius rolled his eyes with a huff. “I was making sure you didn’t slide off the bench.”

“Sure,” Leo said with a suspicious glare. “Just ‘cause I won MVP for this game—”

“Okay,” Sirius groaned, standing and detangling his limbs to transfer Leo’s weight onto Remus. “I’m going to go get your boyfriends from wherever they got distracted, and then you’re going to go home and sleep so you’re not dying at practice tomorrow. Oui?”

He disappeared into the mass of people without giving Leo time to respond, wiping his hands on the thighs of his jeans as he craned his neck to see over people’s heads. “Rude,” Leo sulked, cuddling up into Remus’ side instead.

“I know, right?” He took a sip of something lemony and Leo pulled a face. “What?”

“Aren’t you DD?”

“Last I checked, DD’s are allowed to drink lemonade,” he laughed, patting the top of his head. “That was an awesome save in the third, by the way. You could’ve got the hat from that one alone.”

“Which one?” Leo yawned again, licking his lips to rid them of the stickiness he could feel forming.

“The splits one.”

“Mmm, yeah, that was pretty badass.” More people darkened his periphery and he scooted over to make room. “Hey, mes amours.”

“I hear you were bothering our dear captain?” Finn asked, kissing his cheek with a grin. There was no alcohol on his breath, only the mint from the peppermint candies he always stole from the little container by the bar. “Come on, baby, time to go.”

“But Loops and I were talking,” he whined, though it only took a small tug on Finn’s part to get him to snuggle up into his soft shirt. “He was telling me how good I did in the game.”

A warm hand stroked his hair out of his eyes; warmer lips brushed his forehead, and he felt Logan’s hand on his knee. “Bedtime, love,” he said in a quiet voice, almost too soft for Leo to hear over the noisy bar. “Wanna be in the middle?”

Leo looked up in hope. “Really?”

“Ouais. C’mon, Knutty, up you go.”

He wobbled a little as he stood, but got his feet under him within a few moments with the help of Finn’s arm around his waist and waved off everyone else’s offered help. “Gonna be fine for practice,” he promised, patting Sirius’ hand with a nod. “Totally fine, don’t worry. Go—hic—go grind on your boyfriend, ‘kay? You both need it.”

“Sweet Jesus,” Sirius muttered. “I pity your head in the morning.”

“I’m fine,” Leo scoffed. He was already sleepy—there was no way he would have a headache, not after he had two whole glasses of water. “G’night.”

“Drive safe,” Sirius and Remus chorused as Logan fit himself under Leo’s other arm to kiss his neck twice, sending butterflies through his stomach. The outside world was nice and quiet; Leo barely got himself buckled into his seat before dozing off with his head against the cool passenger window.

[eliemo]

Snake Bite

Summary: Janus hadn’t meant to lash out. He’d just felt too much like a cornered animal, and now they all had an excuse to cast him out as the villain once again. 

Specifically tagging @anothersanderssidesblog and @wyvern-tales

Based on This Wonderful Post

TW: Panic attack, brief mention of blood, sympathetic everyone

At this point, Janus wasn’t even sure what was being said anymore. 

He knew everyone was yelling over each other, and he knew the anger and insults were all directed at him, but right now he didn’t think he could focus on the words even if he wanted to. 

And he supposed, if it weren’t for the weight on his chest and the pressure building behind his eyes, his sudden lack of awareness would be a blessing. 

He just wanted to go to bed. It had been a bad week, one inconvenience piling up after another, and he was certain if he didn’t get out of this room right now he was going to snap and say something he would regret. 

But Roman was still ranting, arms waving as he paced Thomas’s living room, and Janus knew leaving now would only make things worse. He’d let the Prince get it all out of his system, smile like it didn’t matter, and sink out until everyone calmed down. 

He understood why Roman was angry, and perhaps some of it was well deserved, but the tirade of shouting seemed entirely unnecessary. 

Sure, maybe Janus shouldn’t have disguised himself as Roman after Thomas had summoned his sides for help, especially since he’d begrudgingly agreed not to shape shift since his name reveal, but today there hadn’t been a choice. 

No one would have listened if he’d come as himself. Everyone was still wary around him, and they all seemed extra suspicious around him this week. He knew it was because he’d been a little short with all of them lately, but it wasn’t his fault he hadn’t been able to get a full nights sleep in weeks. 

He’d been waking up every morning even more tired than he’d been when he’d gone to bed, limbs aching and heavy, and by the time he found the strength to force himself out of bed everyone had already been finished with breakfast, which ruled out any chance of friendly conversation or “bonding” as Patton so lovingly called it. 

Not that he cared. He had absolutely no intention of sitting down for their little family meals, no matter what the nagging voice in the back of his head said. 

Besides, he wouldn’t have been wanted anyway. Every time he so much as breathed Virgil would act like he’d just tried to set the house on fire, and Roman didn’t even try to hide his glares. 

Logan just seemed uneasy, and Patton’s attempts to be friendly were so glaringly obvious and fake. 

When Remus made his appearances, at least everything was honest and out in the open. Nothing could offend Remus, and besides filling Thomas’s head with less than ideal thoughts at night he didn’t really mean any harm. 

Things were different with Janus, and he knew they always would be. 

So, it wasn’t completely unreasonable that Janus was beyond tired and frustrated, and he knew Thomas was too thanks to his demanding schedule. 

He needed a break, and Janus was determined to get him to see that. If he called off a few meetings, they could easily have the rest of the week off to recharge and Janus could figure out how to pull himself together. 

But Thomas would never agree to a break unless his anxiety allowed it. And it didn’t matter if Janus was correct, Virgil would be caught dead before agreeing with one of Deceit's suggestions. 

Virgil and Roman seemed to bond over their mutual hatred of him, so in a last ditch effort, Janus had disguised himself as the Prince and risen up with the others. 

He hadn't meant any harm, and it had been going so well. Roman was distracted somewhere in the Imagination, and once he’d gotten Logan to see the logic in taking a few days off Virgil had almost immediately jumped on board. 

And then of course Roman had returned just as they were wrapping up, the living room falling into silence as the two Princes stared each other down, and everything erupted into chaos. 

Janus revealed himself, despite everyone already knowing what he’d done. He’d heard Roman shout a few things like “Villain!” and “Lying fiend” and the surprisingly hurtful “Why did we even give him a chance?” before he promptly lost the ability to make sense of anything happening around him. 

He tilted his head up to stare at the ceiling to avoid having to see everyone’s stares (not to stop himself from crying, because he was not about to cry. He was used to being villainized, he didn’t care), and waited for someone to call Roman off. 

But no one did, and suddenly Roman was right in front of him, jabbing a finger in his face, and Janus couldn’t catch his breath.

“You’re not even listening!” Roman shouted. “He’s not listening! What else have you been doing behind our backs you snake-faced lia--” 

Janus didn’t even realize he was moving until his fangs were suddenly in Roman’s hand, fingers wrapped tight around Roman’s wrist, and he felt the Prince go completely still as Janus’s teeth sank into his skin. 

It all happened so fast, Janus’s mind a frantic, racing blur as he pulled away, feeling horribly like a cornered, wild animal. 

He had exactly two seconds to process what he’d done and collect his scrambled thoughts in the sudden, deafening silence before Roman seemed to realize what had just happened. 

“He bit me!” 

Patton was taking a step forward, and Janus backed away until he was pressed against the wall, wincing when he realized he could faintly taste something coppery in his mouth. 

“Kiddo, try and relax,” Patton said, a hand on the Prince’s shoulder. “I’m sure it was just--” 

“What, an accident?” Roman demanded. “Patton, he bit me! Like- like some kind of snake-faced demon! Pat, I’m bleeding!” 

He was barely bleeding, the bite nothing more than two little pinpricks, and if Janus could find his voice he would have pointed out that Roman was behaving like an overactive toddler. 

But he couldn’t. Because he’d been trying so hard to make progress with the others, to be seen as anything other than a lying villain, and one bad day had just undone all of that, completely erasing any chance he might have had. 

Because as small as it was, he’d just hurt Roman. In front of everyone. In front of Thomas. 

He watched as Logan took the initiative, hurrying to Thomas’s side and guiding him over to the couch. 

Thomas looked pale and panicked, which meant that all the commotion was probably making Virgil—

Virgil. Janus couldn’t even bring himself to look at the stairs, painfully aware he’d just see horror and disgust...and maybe a bit of satisfaction. The anxious side had probably been looking for an excuse to send Janus away. 

“I’m going to die!” 

Janus was pulled out of his spiraling thoughts by a very loud, very distraught Roman who was diligently ignoring Patton’s frantic attempts to calm him down. 

“I find that highly unlikely,” Logan spoke up. “While the reaction was completely unnecessary, the likelihood of Janus being venomous is--” 

“Was this your plan all along?” Roman yelled, and suddenly his sword was in his uninjured  hand. “To wait until our guards were down and then poison us?” 

Janus felt numb. “I did not poison you--” 

“How can I believe anything you say? You were just masquerading around pretending to be me trying to ruin Thomas’s career!” 

“I’m not trying to ruin anything!” Janus couldn’t keep himself from snapping back, feeling abruptly trapped and suffocated. He needed to get out. “I’m doing my job. I’m trying to help. Thomas needs a break- we all need a break!”

“You don’t help Thomas,” Roman snarled, letting Patton pry the sword out of his grip, his bleeding hand held against his chest. “All you do is bring him down! All you do is try to hurt him!” 

“Funny,” Janus snapped, well aware of how much power his next words held. “I remember you saying the exact same thing to--”

Patton was suddenly beside him, resting a gentle hand on Janus’s arm, and Deceit felt like he’d been electrocuted. “Kiddo--” 

“Don’t touch me!” 

Janus yanked his arm away, frantically scrambling away from the wall and nearly colliding right into the television. The room was silent again, but that hardly mattered as he realized with growing dread that he couldn’t breathe. 

The room was going blurry, his vision hazy and distorted, and it took him a moment to understand it was because his eyes were flooding with unshed tears. 

“Janus?” 

He was sinking out before he could even try to identify the voice, rising back up in his room with a strangled gasp. 

It felt like his chest was being crushed, everything too loud and too much even in the solitude of his room. 

He threw his hat across the room, yanking off his gloves with trembling hands and letting them fall to the floor, grimacing at the glittering scales along his left arm.

He hated them. He hated every part of himself that made him different, everything that proved he was just a villain. Virgil could be accepted as one of them but Janus had no right to...to…

Janus was on the ground, his legs no longer able to support him, landing hard on his knees. He didn’t bother to fight against the sobs tearing at his throat. There was no need to hide, locked away in the seclusion of his room. 

He ended up hunched over himself, wrenching sobs tearing their way out of him, his hands moving against his will to tug at his hair, scratch at his scales, pound at the floor- anything to try to unsuccessfully ground himself. 

Anger and sorrow were waging a bloody war in his heart- anger at the others for being so cruel, anger at himself for allowing himself to lose control and hurt one of them. 

Sorrow because...because he knew it was over now. There was no way to undo this kind of damage. He’d tried- tried to be one of them- and he’d failed. Miserably. Really, he never should have expected anything else but...well, lying to himself was a bit of an unbreakable habit. 

They didn’t want him here. And Roman was right, he didn’t help Thomas. 

When had Thomas actually listened to him? Just once after the wedding? They would have come to a conclusion without him once Patton calmed down a bit. 

They didn’t want him and they didn’t need him. Nobody wanted a two-faced, monstrous villain. He’d tried, he’d tried so hard, but…

Virgil had tried to duck out once. He’d been lost afraid and alone, but…

But he’d been needed. He’d been wanted. 

If Janus sunk out it would be different. But maybe...maybe that wouldn’t be such a bad thing. Thomas would be an honest person without Janus and...wasn’t that what they all wanted?

He buried his head in his sleeves in an attempt to muffle his cries, the sobbing becoming loud and uncontrollable, and if he had a little more control he might have laughed at the irony of it all. 

Crying over being the bad guy. God, he was so selfish. 

He was just barely able to hear the knock on his door in between ragged, hiccuping gasps, but the sound made panic burrow further into his chest, squeezing until he saw spots. 

“Go away!” He screamed, voice hoarse and broken. “I don’t- I’m...fuck! Just leave!” 

It didn’t matter. It didn’t matter. It didn’t matter if he screamed or yelled or hurt anyone, it didn’t matter if someone heard him breaking down. It wouldn’t matter if he just got a hold of himself and ducked out for good. The sooner they could all forget about him, the better. 

But the door to his room was opening (he’d forgotten to lock it, stupid, stupid, stupid), and he quickly curled further in on himself, nails digging into his scalp. 

“Jesus Christ, Jan.” 

Janus shook his head at the sound of footsteps hurrying closer, flinching when someone grabbed at his wrists. 

He tried to tell them to stop, to go away and leave him alone, but he couldn’t get the words out. Every frantic breath was more shallow than the last, and it felt like there was something beating at his chest. 

“Stop fighting me, dumbass,” the voice said, and the shock at realizing it was Virgil was enough to clear his head for a split second. “Come on, look at me. Take a breath and look at me.” 

Slowly, as Virgil pried Janus’s trembling hands away from his face, he carefully lifted his head to meet the anxious side’s gaze. It might have been his imagination, but he thought Virgil’s eyeshadow might be a shade darker than usual. 

“Hey,” Virgil said with a small smile that didn’t match the distress in his eyes. “I need you to just focus on my voice right now. You’re having a panic attack.” 

Janus shook his head, dropping his gaze to the floor until Virgil squeezed his wrists slightly, prompting him to glance back up. 

“I think I know what a panic attack looks like,” Virgil said, once again with that small, unsure smile. Janus thought this might be the first time in months Virgil hadn’t glared at him. “I’m gonna help you. I’m right here, ok?” 

It was all backwards- Virgil shouldn’t be the one crouched on the floor talking a side down from a panic attack, he shouldn’t be forced to be anywhere near Janus who clearly made him so uncomfortable. 

All he was doing right now was hurting Virgil, hurting everyone, and this wouldn’t be happening if he just wasn’t here--

“Hey, hey hey.” Virgil was suddenly readjusting his grip to take Janus’s hands, bringing them to his own chest. “You’re ok, you’re fine. I want you to copy my breathing now, can you do that?” 

“I- I can--” 

“You can do it,” Virgil said. “You used to help me do it all the time, remember? In for four, hold for seven, out for eight, right?” 

Janus swallowed and nodded, squeezing Virgil’s hands despite himself. 

Virgil smiled back at him, and slowly began to count out the breaths, gently encouraging Janus each time he made it through a count, quickly reassuring him when he didn’t. 

He sounded a bit like a mixture of all the light sides, and Janus briefly wondered how many panic attacks his new family had helped him through.

It felt like hours, but gradually Janus was able to begin to breathe on his own, his whole body still shaky and weak. 

He took one last deep breath, and Virgil released his hands when he exhaled. Janus tried to ignore the pang in his chest at the loss of contact.  

“You ok?” 

Janus nodded, running an unsteady hand through sweat soaked hair, steeling himself enough to lie. “I...I’m fine. You can go now.” 

Virgil scoffed. “Yeah, not happening. You’re gonna get cleaned up and calm down, and I’m going to sit here in case you need help. And then you’re going to let Roman apologize before he does something stupid and self destructive--” 

“I don’t need an apology,” he snapped, and it would have been much more threatening if his voice wasn’t still shaking. “And I don’t want to watch you all force him to apologize for something he isn’t even sorry about.” 

Virgil was watching him curiously as Janus attempted to get his half asleep, aching legs out from under him, furiously wiping at his soaked face with his sleeves. 

He needed Virgil to leave and stop pretending to pity him. 

“Why are you even here?” He’d meant it to come out as a snarl, but it turned into nothing more than a quiet, tired question. Virgil tugged at his hoodie sleeves, silent for a moment. 

“You were having a panic attack.” 

“Oh right, and you definitely care about that,” Janus said, finally pushing himself off the ground, grabbing his bed frame for support. “All of you made that perfectly clear today.” 

Virgil moved to stand, hands stuffed in his pockets, shoulders hunched. “I know, I’m sorry. We...I should have stepped in. Roman was pissed and he gets carried away sometimes. I was serious about him wanting to apologize.”

Janus cleared his throat and ran his tongue along his teeth, wincing at the reminder of what he’d done. He glanced back at Virgil, at the sudden lack of contempt or distrust in his eyes. 

“I would have thought you would be thrilled,” he said truthfully. “Today is the perfect excuse to finally get rid of me.” 

And Virgil actually looked...guilty. The anxious side had never been one for eye contact, but now he was definitely doing all he could to look anywhere but Janus. 

“You lashed out because we all ganged up on you after a long week,” he said. “I’d...kinda be a hypocrite if I held that against you.” 

“I disguised myself. I said I wouldn’t do that anymore.” 

“You did,” he agreed. “Because we made you feel like you wouldn’t be listened to if you didn’t, and I...I feel like that’s my fault. Jesus, you just wanted Thomas to take a break. So...yeah. I’m sorry I’ve been a jackass lately.”

“I…” he paused, clenching his jaw against the new wave of tears that threatened to spill over. “Virgil, I...I bit Roman.” 

And Virgil actually smirked, like it was funny. “Yeah, and I know a panic response when I see one. Roman feels bad, Janus. We all do.” 

Janus froze, wondering briefly if Virgil had just suddenly gotten better at lying since the last time they spoke. But his eyes were genuine, hopeful, and Janus found himself wanting so badly to drop his defenses and believe him. 

“Look,” Virgil continued. “I don’t...completely trust you yet. But I know you want what's best for Thomas, even when we disagree. You’re a part of him and...and I know how it feels. To not be sure if you’re wanted. But...but you are.” 

“Virgil--” 

“So here’s what we’re gonna do,” Virgil said. “You’re gonna clean up, and when you’re ready Roman is going to set aside his pride and apologize, Patton is going to smother you for a few hours, and Logan is going to ask you a bunch of invasive questions about your teeth because he’s a nerd. I can tell him to back off if you want me to.” 

Janus let himself smile, small as it was, and he watched as Virgil took another step closer, the anxious side finally looking Janus in the eyes. 

“And then Thomas is going to take a break,” he continued. “And you are never ever going to consider ducking out again.” 

Janus paled, cold panic returning with a vengeance. “Oh, please. You know I would never--” 

“Don’t lie to me,” Virgil said, voice low, and Janus fell silent. “I’ve been there, Janus. I know the look, and I know what it takes to push someone over the edge. You can’t fool me.” 

Janus sighed, running a hand over his face. He was speaking before he could talk himself out of it. “You did it.” 

“I tried to,” Virgil agreed. “I was wrong. Thomas needs me, and he needs you too. Nobody...No one hates you, Janus. I’m sorry things got this bad.”

Janus just shrugged, pushing back the emotions he wasn’t quite ready to feel, let alone share aloud. But it was...nice, he realized, not being given the cold shoulder anymore. 

He hoped it lasted. He missed Virgil more than he was willing to admit. He...wished he was closer to all of them. 

“I’m not upset,” Janus said, even as he wiped at watery eyes. “It’s just...been a long couple of days.” 

It had been a lot more than just a long couple of days, but he figured Virgil knew that. The anxious side smiled sadly. “Well then it’s a good thing you convinced Thomas to take a break.” 

“I just hope it helps.” 

“Me too,” Virgil said. “Now go wash your face- you look awful. I can hang out here until you’re ready to see the others. Unless you, like, want me to leave. I can leave you alone.” 

Janus smirked, finally starting to feel like himself as he straightened his cape and made his way towards the bathroom. 

“I’d really hate it if you stayed,” he called over his shoulder. “You know I absolutely loathe your company, Virgil.” 

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” 

Janus let himself break into a full smile for the first time all day, closing the door behind him as he heard Virgil flop onto the bed. 

[theoriginalcarnivorousmuffin]

In your latest post, you said that Dumbledore MEANT to put Harry in a abusive household. That, or when he found out he did nothing to stop it. Why is that?

You’re going to get a lot of people angry with me. Well, I suppose they’re already angry. Somewhere out there, on the wider internet.

Right, anyway, the evidence of Harry’s abuse is so overwhelming that it seems improbable to me that Dumbledore wasn’t aware of what was happening. More, every interaction he has with not only Harry, but characters in similar circumstances, lends me to believe that in the event that Dumbledore does know he’d take no action.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone: Scene 1

We start out the entire Harry Potter series with Minerva and Dumbledore waiting in the early dawn for Hagrid’s arrival and to place Harry with the Dursleys. Minerva immediately announces her discomfort with this, 

She specifically says the following:

"You don't mean — you can't mean the people who live here? Dumbledore, you can't. You couldn't find two people who are less like us."

Lily Evans’ relatives are infamous enough such that Minerva McGonagall, who is presumably not as close as her like aged peers (i.e. Sirius, Remus, and Peter) knows about them.

Granted, some of this is anti-muggle sentiment. Minerva isn’t sure that suburban muggles raising a magical child like Harry Potter is a good idea. Nevertheless, she has deep misgivings, and relays them to Dumbledore.

We know from further evidence that Dumbledore is perfectly aware of what Petunia and Vernon are like as well. He gives Harry to the Dursleys anyway.

Dumbledore, for his own reasons, chooses not to listen.

Dumbledore’s Letter to Petunia

Dumbledore writes a letter to Petunia, knowing it is highly necessary, as he gives Harry to the family. The letter is... vaguely threatening but in a very polite Dumbledore way. It pretty much implies “Take Harry, or else, also be nice to your dead sister.”

The point is, Dumbledore is aware that this letter is highly necessary. And then... other things happen.

Dumbledore Sends Hagrid

Dumbledore sends Hagrid to pick Harry up.

Ordinarily, in such circumstances, Minerva is sent to introduce muggleborn children to the Wizarding World. “Perhaps she was busy,” you say, too busy for Harry Potter? Wizard Jesus and the child of perhaps her favorite students who she openly favors throughout the series?

“Perhaps Dumbledore was being nice to Hagrid, and he had an errand to do anyway,” well, it’s all well and good to be nice to Hagrid, but is he really the best guy to introduce anybody to the Wizarding World?

This is Hagrid, the likelihood of him having taken Harry to an exotic pet shop where Harry then gets eaten by the Chupacabra is 95%. The 5% where it didn’t happen is because Hagrid went to the pet shop alone and some, distant, rational part of his brain told him that Harry would want the pretty owl vs. the one-eyed blood sucking rat demon in the cage next to her.

You don’t send Hagrid if you want a child returned to you with all its limbs intact.

So why do you send Hagrid?

When you want someone who’s so painfully oblivious, loyal, and stupid that they could stare a hellscape in the face and wouldn’t even notice.

Hagrid gets a firsthand view of Harry’s living conditions. He learns that Harry’s relatives have been actively blocking Harry’s letters, that they have run across the country to avoid them. He sees the state of Harry’s clothing in comparison to Dudley, how thin Harry is in comparison to Dudley, and the way the family interacts with each other.

Harry’s child abuse is staring Hagrid right in the face.

Minerva would demand that Harry be placed somewhere else, they can find some other means of protecting him.

What does Hagrid do?

He gives Dudley a pig’s tail illegally and proceeds to tell Harry that Dumbledore is the greatest man who ever lived. 

Other Evidence Comes to Light

Other characters start getting pretty big warning signs that all’s not right at the Potters.

Ron and Hermione know the situation is “bad” and that Harry’s relatives “hate magic”. They’re also kids and don’t really understand what this means, the idea of being abused and hated by your guardians is unthinkable to them and Harry doesn’t come out and just say it.

That said, they’ve seen enough that they drop hints to those around them. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley are told about the bars on Harry’s window. Ron was so concerned about Harry in the summer after first year that he steals his father’s car with Fred and George to go pick him up. That is not normal behavior, that is deep concern for your friend.

Despite all of this... nothing happens.

Hermione spends far more time at the Weasleys then Harry ever does. Every summer, he returns to Privet Drive, and it’s likely if Arthur and Molly did have concerns Dumbledore told them off.

Arabella Figg

Arabella has been keeping an eye on Harry for years. She’s noted some very disturbing trends and been witness to years of the Dursleys interacting with Harry Potter.

She passes this information on to Dumbledore.

He knows how bad it is.

Harry Potter

Harry tells Dumbledore he does not wish to remain at the Dursleys, he notes that they don’t like him and he doesn’t like them. Now, he tries to downplay it, but this is a child saying some pretty disturbing things. You don’t brush this off.

Dumbledore does.

Dumbledore Visits the Dursleys

In book 6, Dumbledore visits the Dursleys and sees, in person, how bad it is. However, he shows no surprise, only vague disappointment in Petunia. Tsk, tsk, Petunia, I thought you were better than this.

He offers a few threats and then he and Harry go on their merry way.

Severus Snape

Snape is Dumbledore’s spy who reads Harry’s mind for half a year. Granted, Snape is a bastard who loathes Harry Potter, but he sees evidence of the Dursleys abuse of Harry.

We know, from what he relays to Dumbledore later, that he had at least some concern for Harry and was very disturbed by Dumbledore’s plan to murder him in cold blood due to the horcrux.

I think it’s very likely Severus Snape knew and told Dumbledore that Harry was being abused. I’m sure Albus’ response was, “Bitch, I know, would you like a lemon drop?”

Point being, there is no conceivable way that Albus Dumbledore, even if he was the world’s dumbest man, didn’t know exactly how bad it was. He let’s it happen anyway.

But What About the Blood Wards?

Dumbledore eventually tells Harry that the reason he can’t run away from Privet Drive is because of the blood wards created by his mother. They can only be applied if he lives with blood relatives and protect the Dursley house as long as Harry considers it home.

Now, this is a bit suspect given that Harry really considers Hogwarts his home, Privet Drive is just that hell hole he has to go back to every summer. Even the Burrow is more his home than Privet Drive so... That doesn’t sound right.

More, though, there are other means of protection.

There’s the Fidelius which Dumbledore casts on Sirius’ house in book 5. Given that, Harry really could have lived with Sirius (well, Sirius is not in a good place to have a kid around and that would be a disaster and a half). Point being, Harry could be raised elsewhere and there are wards that could protect him.

More, Voldemort and the Death Eaters are out of commission for thirteen years. Indeed, we see Dumbledore up Harry’s security detail by secretly assigning the Order to tail him after fourth year.

So, for a very long time, it’s not about Harry’s protection and when it does become that we see Dumbledore make significant changes.

So, what could it be?

Well, let’s look at Dumbledore’s other actions. Dumbledore prevents Harry from becoming prefect because “he thought it would go to his head”. Which, Harry should absolutely not be made prefect at all, and Ron’s a laughable candidate too but...

To me that’s very telling.

I hate to say this, but this is Dumbledore, but I think he has a very similar reasoning behind Harry going to the Dursleys.

He doesn’t want Harry to be corrupted by the Boy Who Lived persona. He wants him in a certain state of mind when he enters into the wizarding world and... Frankly, he wants him vulnerable. Dumbledore, in time, will need to either murder this boy or have him kill himself. If Harry has a halfway decent guardian, that task becomes a hell of a lot harder.

Harry has to love the wizarding world so much, trust Dumbledore so much, that these things are worth dying for.

You Mentioned Something About Dumbledore’s Other Actions?

Dumbledore has no sympathy for victims of child abuse.

Tom Riddle, an impoverished orphan loathed by those in his orphanage, he thinks is the very devil and sends him back into the Blitz with a smile and a wave. Enjoy the bombs, Tom, hope you die.

Severus Snape, the half blood child of an abusive muggle father and absentee mother, who is nearly murdered by Sirius Black via Remus Lupin, is told to shut the fuck up and sit down before he ruins the lives of his betters.

Dumbledore has a very bad track record with this and, well, Harry Potter is not an exception.

To be fair, I think the wizarding world has not concept of CPS or even child abuse. There’s no hint of a foster system, you go to the closest relative of the godparents. So, I think to them, you’re stuck with whoever you’re stuck with and if your uncle rapes you then it sucks to be you.

[quillsanddaydreams]

i don't like you

james potter x reader

—author's note: This was a story from my main that I adored so I thought why not rewrite it? The plot is the same, my ability to tell a story however, has changed. James and you do not like each other. Not even a bit. I hope you enjoy ;) Please do leave a comment, it makes my day.

—warning(s): couple of harmless pranks, slytherin! gender neutral!reader (pronouns aren't used).

—word count: 3,431

Groaning, you got up and squinted to make out the details of your dorm. Shouts and rushing made your head thump. You slowly realized a god-awful smell was filling up your room, quicker than you could think. Squeezing your nose shut, you rushed out. Other Slytherins were alongside you, you could hear coughing all around. Your eyes pricked with tears, your throat felt raw. Seeing a very familiar messy dark-haired boy run away jeering; you sensed rage gripping your form like a vice.

Third time. It was the third time the same week that Potter and the elder Black brother had pranked you all. Except it wasn’t funny anymore. That was what pranks were supposed to be right? Something that made everyone laugh along? Looking towards Elodie who was clenching her eyes shut at the sensation, you made a plan in your mind. You knew it was crazy. But when did that ever stop you? James had never conversed with you. Nor you, him. Yet it was clear that he did not like Slytherins. Not one bit.

-♡♡♡-

James yawned, stretching his limbs for a new day. Scrunching his nose, he felt a flowery scent attack him. Maybe it was just Sirius with one of his experiments. Shrugging, he got up and into the shower. That day he had transfiguration, charms, and astronomy. Thankfully nothing with the snakes, they might still be sour about the prank they pulled yesterday. Getting out of the washroom, he hummed to himself as he passed Peter who was still fast asleep. Remus was asleep and Sirius was furiously scribbling on his homework. Always finishing at the last moment.

He didn’t realize the uniform he was putting on until he looked at himself in the mirror. And boy oh boy did he panic. Eyes widening almost comically, he rummaged through his wardrobe, everything a dark green color with silver accents. A note fell at his feet.

“Dearest Marauders,

Take this beautiful gift of green robes from me. I know not all of you deserved this, but then again, I didn't feel like any of you should be left behind. I know how much you love us, Slytherins. Why not showcase it?

With love,

(Y/n) (Y/l/n)”

“Sirius! Remus!” he called out. “Wormtail!”

Sirius didn’t even look up from his parchment, Remus let out a grunt in response. The only answer he got was a faint ‘what’ from the shared bathroom.

“Mates listen to this,” James said firmly, reading the letter out loud. That got their attention. “Our robes are all green. Vivid Slytherin green!”

Remus got up suddenly, with wide eyes rushing to check his almirah. He groaned loudly on finding them in the same predicament James foretold grass-like and smelling heavily of flowers. Sirius however, started crackling.

“What?” James bellowed, his nostrils flaring.

“Well, the sarcasm in that letter is…” He snorted, stopping himself seeing James’s frown. James shook his head as Remus glared at them both.

“This has a strong one-week dye,” he said, punctuating each word, infuriated. “There’s no way it can be removed before the expected time. Why should I suffer for all the things you two do?”

“And I am not suffering?” James quipped back as Remus just shook his head, huffing, and went back to his bed. James looked at Sirius who didn’t look worried at all.

“What? Aren’t you bothered at all?” James asked.

“I look great in everything,” he replied shrugging, making James want to punch him.

He dressed up quickly after, dashing out of the dorm towards the great hall. Ignoring the looks of the students from around and the snickers he looked for you amidst the Slytherin table. It was infuriating, how casually you ate your breakfast, almost oblivious. Stalking towards your place, he cleared his throat grabbing your attention. Your eyes sparkled amusedly, taking in his appearance.

“Why the hell did you do this?” he demanded.

“Now, that’s not a way to talk about the gift I gave you,” you said, batting your eyelashes as he scowled at you. You muttered a spell under your breath, waving your wand slightly before continuing. “I worked hard, you know?”

“You Slytherins are the best thing to walk on this planet!” he shouted before he could stop himself. His eyes grew large. Everyone’s attention now seemed to be on your table.

“Thank you, I know,” you smirked, challenging him. He narrowed his eyes on you.

“You put a speaking charm on me didn’t you?” he hissed as you put on an innocently sweet expression.

“Well, I thought you needed some help with words,” you prompted, getting better reactions than you hoped for. James growled, jumping up and down in annoyance. You tried not to laugh. Did. But the corners of your mouth turned up anyways. He looked like an idiot. The giggle you let out grabbed his attention, his cheeks turning a rosy red.

“I don’t like you,” he said in a rather squeaky voice.

“I don’t like you,” you retaliated. James hated himself for thinking the laugh you let out looking adorable. Anger, which was more of a frustration gawned on his skin. He knew exactly what he was going to do next. Giving you a sickly sweet smile, he enjoyed the slight shiver that went through your arm. Let the prank war begin.

-♡♡♡-

You rushed out of the bathroom, vexed. It had been a long exhausting day and this was the last thing you needed. Your skin was tinted green. Bright neon green. Elodie stared at you in stupor.

“What happened?” she asked and you couldn’t help the raucous whine that escaped your lips.

“I don’t know, okay? I was in the shower and after using soap, my skin turned freaking green,” you hissed as Elodie tried to calm you. You handed her a small piece of paper. “Oh and look what I found beside the shampoo bottle.”

Dear (Y/n),

A gift from me, to showcase your pride in your house. You could thank me later.

James.

P.S. This gift in no way means I’ve started liking you. I don’t.

“James. James did this; that bastard!” you said, nostrils flaring as Elodie rubbed your back.

“Well, it’s just hands and legs…”

“I'm gonna get back at him. Just watch me.”

Your jaw clenched. You knew just what you were gonna do. James started a fight with the wrong person. And you didn’t like him. At all.

-♡♡♡-

You were reading your book when you saw James pacing towards you, from the corner of your eye. Trying to keep a straight face, you fixed your gaze on the book in your hand. Yet you couldn’t help the twitch your mouth gave as he stood right in front of you, folding his arms.

“Wow,” he breathed through clenched teeth. You looked up.

“Real mature of you,” he said in a baby’s voice. It sounded like he pronounced everything through his nose. You made an effort not to start crackling right then.

“Well, one of us had to be, right?”

“Yeah. And giving me the baby voice makes you the adult.”

“I’d think so, yes.” You said brushing his hair. They were surprisingly soft. James glared at you.

“I don’t like you.” He squeaked as you raised an eyebrow.

“I thought we already established that. I don’t like you either boy,” You said, letting out a laugh.

-♡♡♡-

Adjusting your cap, you pulled your books closer to you. It was like everyone was staring at you. Specifically how stupid you looked. A whistle caught your attention. James, it had to be. When you turned towards the sound, you were sadly proved right.

“I like your cap,” he commented, clicking his tongue.

“Geez. Thank you. Just bought it,” you said, threateningly. Take one step James, I dare you; you thought. He didn’t get the message.

“I wonder how it would look on me,” he said, taking a step towards you. You hissed.

“Sorry, not gonna let you borrow it,” you tried to say in a normal tone, but it came out quite high pitched. James dared to grin.

“What if I just…” he said, coming closer as you took a step back, glowering at him in a warning. Not that he took it. He snatched the cap from your head as the long white hair fell. They reached your feet.

“James, give it back,” you warned and he put it on his head.

“Nope,” he said, his eyes full of mischief. You hesitated at his expression, he looked as candid as a child. Maybe you never noticed it, his hair fell round in pretty curls, framing his face. James winked, making you break out of your reverie.

“I think,” he said thoughtfully. “I think I’m going to keep this cap with me, I quite like it. If you want it back, you’re gonna have to take it from me.”

James took a step back as your eyes dilated. He turned around and started sprinting in that direction.

“James!” you shouted, chasing him.

People around you bolted aside, gasping at the scene. A ghostly white-haired student chasing after James as he chortled. It had been going for quite some time and everyone wondered who would win. Few in the favour of James, who had been pranking ever since he set foot in Hogwarts; a few for you since you were a Slytherin and Slytherins never lose. Others just shook their heads, wishing they would get it over with already the cat and mouse game was becoming rather tiring. No one however had the courage to raise their opinions out loud, lest they got involved in the prank war.

-♡♡♡-

“James," you said calmly, though the atmosphere made you anything but. Thick hot fumes rose from all around you making beads of sweat form on your forehead. "James, this doesn’t go in. We have to stir it first.”

“Why don’t you do it then? Little miss know-it-all” he snided. You looked at him fiercely. Slughorn had paired the two of you together for the next project and it couldn’t be more of a disaster. Only if he could just listen.

“I would if you let me,” you pointed out, finally taking over the shared pot. James watched you take a few breaths before starting to work on the potion. Muttering for ingredients from him now and then, you stirred the concoction. Soon, it started to show the exact signs given in their books.

James couldn't help but stare at you as you worked, humming to yourself all the while. You seemed cute like that, bending over the book, occasionally muttering to yourself. His face heated up when you caught his gaze. Luckily he could blame it on the heat.

“Could you cut some beetroots for me?” you asked, ignoring the way he flushed. James nodded, chopping them to the required amount. The two of you finished up fairly swiftly after that.

"So," you started after Slughorn left. He had commented on your work and applauded you both. Happiness was evident from the smiles on your faces. "Library at 4?"

James grinned, giving you a thumbs up. He packed up his stuff before turning to leave. You couldn't help but stare at his retreating figure, thinking, maybe he wasn't so bad after all. Shrugging, you shook away the thought and went your own way. There were things you had to get done that day.

-♡♡♡-

As time passed, the thought started becoming more predominant. He wasn't so bad, your mind reminded you time and time again. The more you started to know James, the more you believed in it. Constant teasing and bickering wasn’t something that became unheard of between the two of you. But it was more lighthearted now… almost as if you were friends crackling over a shared joke. James had somehow caught your eye again, in a completely different way.

It seemed you were noticing new things about him, like how he didn’t look at you with hatred. Come to think of it, was it even ever ‘hate’? Yet there was something soft about the way he gazed at you now, gentle even— you couldn’t put your finger on it. You had come to enjoy his goofy personality, the smile he gave when his eyes were light with mischief. Knowing where these musings led, you had tried your best to beat them down. What was it that you did not try? Remembering every single detail that made you despise him once, all those times your blood boiled at the prank he pulled but nothing— nothing ever worked and your heart still fluttered every time he complimented you.

Was it that bad an idea though? Liking James?

You shivered, pulling your sweater closer to you. Walking had failed to heat your body the way it always did and you reckoned that your deliberation also had something to do with that. It wasn’t about you liking him, your mind prompted, it was about whether he could feel the same way. And if you knew something, you knew that you couldn’t take the answer to be no. The skip in your step halted, and you couldn’t help the sigh that escaped your lips.

Path to the library couldn’t have been more daunting. That was until you saw James and Lily around the corner. Talking, laughing, and standing too close to be called friends. Evans, the one girl James was head over heels for, the one girl you never paid attention to much.

It was like the final shoe dropping. James and you didn’t like each other. People knew that you did as well. It was time you believed it too. Your stomach twisted up at the sight, your mood souring. You turned, walking away.

“Oi!” James called out to you, apologizing to the students he bumped into. You brisked forward, hoping to make it to your dorm. It didn’t work, James ran to catch up with you. Damn his long legs.

“Stop fucking running,” he huffed on reaching you. “Where are you going? We have a study session. You haven’t changed your mind, have you?”

You gritted your teeth.

“I was heading to the library but you and Evans seemed quite busy, so I thought against it,” you said, albeit aggressively. Jealousy was never a good color.

“We were just talking for a moment,” James explained. “I want us to complete the project first though.”

He looked at you, confused. It was hard controlling your anger right then. You couldn’t help the dry laugh that escaped your lips.

“Of course,” you said in a temper. “The faster we finish up the project, the faster you can get rid of me, right? Because you don’t like me.”

James’ smile dropped. Sadness gave way to rage. Of course, you still thought that even after all the time he spent with you.

“Yeah. I don’t like you,” he hissed, gritting his teeth. “So let’s complete the project, shall we? To get rid of each other?”

You looked away. It was the last thing you wanted to hear. You yearned for him to tell you otherwise, to apologize for his words, and to reassure you that it wasn’t so. That you two were something. Friends, companions, anything but this. Yet the bigger part of you told you that he was right. And you were nothing to him.

“Yeah, sure.”

-♡♡♡-

The following study session was tense. You two never worked quietly. Jokes, laughs, and incessant chatter filled the air when you were together. James had regretted his words as soon as they came out of his mouth. He watched your expression fall and a wall build up around you. Your eyes hadn’t met his since. It ate him up. Somehow he didn’t know how to break the bubble he created.

He hated seeing you close off to him.

You heaved a sigh checking the last lines you’d written and then looked at the clock. It had been two hours.

“I think we should stop. There are just two pages left, we can do them tomorrow and you’ll be free,” you said, packing up your things. James opened and closed his mouth as you picked up your bag.

“Hey, wait!” he said as you turned towards him.

“I didn’t mean to, “ James started, but you cut him off.

“James, it’s alright,” you said, taking a deep breath blinking away the tears that emerged. “I understand. You don’t like me, I don’t like you and we’re stuck together for some time. You don’t have to apologize for that.”

James sucked in a breath. That wasn’t right. At all.

“But—“

“There you are! I’ve been looking all over for you,” a voice came and you shifted to see Elodie. You looked over at James, whose eyes pleaded you to stop. But you couldn’t.

You left the library, walking towards your friend leaving behind the boy who stood transfixed at his spot. Why did he feel like he was losing everything? He grudgingly moved his feet towards the common room, your thoughts plaguing his mind. James heard a shout behind him, twisting to see Lily jog up to him.

“James, I was wondering,” she began biting her lip. “Maybe we could sneak out for some butterbeers today? It’s freezing and the snow looks heavenly.”

James found himself shaking his head. His mood was far too spoiled for anything.

“Not today, Lily,” he answered. “I’m tired.”

“Oh, I meant it as a date, you know?” Lily added hopefully. James considered her for a moment. It was everything he had wished for years. Yet he couldn’t feel the happiness that should have come with it. He wanted, no— he needed someone else, someone who made him far giddier. He needed you.

It was like a bolt striking him. He had never been so sure of anything else. Unable to keep the grin off his face, he spoke his next words in a rush.

“Lily, I’m sorry but I can’t,” he shouted, sprinting towards the dungeons. Running through the rather empty corridors he saw the snow which coated the grounds. His breath came out in puffs as he urged himself to move faster. He stopped when something caught his eye. You. Standing out in the snow, looking at the sky with a smile.

Moving towards you, he conjured up a snowball and threw it on your back. Your eyes widened in shock as you jumped, looking towards him.

“What now James?” you snapped.

He conjured up yet another ball and threw it at you. Your eyes grew larger and you glared at him.

“I wanted to say something,” he said as you conjured up a ball and threw it at him in response. He hissed at the icy sensation.

“Then say it.”

“I don’t want to get rid of you,” he said, throwing a snowball at you as your teeth clattered at the sensation. You threw a snowball in return, narrowing your eyes at him.

“Then stop acting as you do.”

He threw yet another ball at you.

“You make me act like that,” he stated. You threw a huge one in response.

“I make you act like an idiot?”

“Yes, you drive me crazy,” he said, throwing some snow at you as you grunted.

“Then why don’t you leave me alone?” you huffed as he threw yet another ball at you, making you cough and splutter.

“Because I can’t.”

“Why?” you asked, throwing a ball at him.

“Because I can’t leave the best thing that happened to me,” he said, making you stop. You stalked towards him and poked his chest with every word you spoke.

“I'm the best thing that happened to you? What is this? Some kind of sick prank? You don’t even like me,” you sobbed, frustrated and angry. That was how he made you feel. Everything all at once. James didn’t know how to answer you so he just took your hand away and cupped your cheek with his other one, leaning in to kiss you. Your eyes fell shut as feeling his lips against yours. You grabbed his shirt pulling him closer feeling his arms tighten around your hips, sucking his bottom lip. When you pulled away you both caught your breath.

“I promise those are the truest words I’ve ever said,” he whispered, his hair messier than usual. He cradled your face, pressing his lips against your forehead. You crossed your arms.

“I still don’t like you,” you said in faux anger. James let out a teary chuckle.

“I don’t like you either,” he replied, smiling.

—as for the taglist: I don’t make taglists, I have a blog @from-my-quill ​ which is updated whenever I post fanfiction. You could have the notifications on for it and it will work just like me tagging you.

⟨⟨REBLOGS AND FEEDBACK ARE APPRECIATED⟩⟩

[miiamour]

tequila kisses

gn!reader x remus lupin

summary: remus gets stupidly drunk one night and shows signs of admiration. what happens the next morning when he got too wasted to remember?

warnings: drunk remus, alcohol, fluff, slight angst, illusions/mentions of sex, kissing.

word count: 2k

a/n: remus is very tall so you could be 5’10 and he’d still be able to rest his head on yours. this is gender neutral reader so please let me know if it has gendered pronouns or anything that implies a gender. also big thanks to @destourtereaux for helping me with the plot! <3 ily rosie!!

the gryffindor common room was lit up with red tinted lights. the furniture was pushed to the corners of the room for dancing space, although the dancing seemed more like sex with clothes on. the tables that were near the entrance of the common room, had drinks and snacks.

it was felt hot and sweaty. the smell of alcohol lingered throughout the room. teenagers either grinding on one another or taking shots of whatever alcohol james brought. it was a weirdly comfortable feeling.

sirius and james decided to throw a party for the pure reason that they got an O on transfiguration— though they’d throw a party even if they failed.

you had been standing around in a corner with a cup full of firewhiskey. you had been friends with the marauders for years so i’d have been wrong for you not to go.

james, and sirius were currently dancing with some random girls who’s names they probably didn’t know while peter watched, swaying by his lonesome. and as for remus— where is remus?

you scoured the room for him, couldn’t have been too hard, he was extremely tall. you saw him in the corner of the other side of the common room, with a bottle of— you squinted— tequila.

you squirmed your way through the people. you watched the room as you made your way to the table; people making out in corners, others doing shots, dancing on top of tables, every cliche teenage party thing was currently happening.

“hey remus, you alright?” you asked loudly, trying to talk over the music that was bouncing off the walls.

“who? me? yeah.” his words slurred together. “peachy keen” he said. he leaned against the wall and his long fingers gripped onto the bottle like his life depended on it.

it was the night after the full moon and peter had told you that remus got into an argument with james and sirius. chances are it was about something stupid and the boys would come crawling back to remus; they couldn’t live without their moony.

“yeah, that’s totally believable” you looked at remus, he stared back at you with half-open lids as he took another sip from the bottle.

“i think you’ve had enough rem” you attempted to take the bottle of tequila out his hands, he protested at first before loosening his grip, allowing you to take it away from him.

you turned your back to place the bottle on the table and when you turned back, you catch remus with a cigarette and a lighter in hand.

“seriously?” you scowled.

“don’t mention the twats name” he mumbled, the cigarette in between his slightly chapped lips. he lit it then took it between his slender fingers, releasing it from his mouth and a cloud of grey smoke fell out his mouth effortlessly.

maybe it was the firewhiskey talking, but remus looked extremely fit. merlin, the things you’d do to be in the place of the ciga—

“y/n?” remus interrupted your promiscuous thoughts. “did you hear me? i asked if you wanted a hit.” he mumbled while he waved the cigarette in your face.

“hmm? oh, no thanks” you responded cluelessly. you watched as he took another hit.

“i love this song!” remus exclaimed as fernando by ABBA began playing “dance with me, y/n.” he threw his cigarette in a random cup of punch and grabbed your hands, and you just couldn’t say no.

you laughed at him lowly, he was a horrible dancer. it was as if he had no control over his limbs. he swayed his head to the beat of the song. you adored his shaggy hair that was perfectly sprawled all over his head as if the gods precisely placed every strand. you admired him as he danced, his scars made him all the more beautiful.

“there was something in the air that night. the stars were bright, fernando” remus sung as he spun you around.

remus pulled you chest to chest and rested his arms on your shoulder and you wrapped your arms around his torso.

“they were shining there for you and me. for liberty, fernando” he continued to sing.

you held him closely, the subtly woodsy smell of his cologne and his heartbeat brought you comfort. as he hummed to the song, you couldn’t help but feel an oasis of serenity, like you and remus were the only two people in the world.

yes, he was drunk, but something about his actions seemed genuine; the way he rested his chin on top of your head lingered with a sense of sincerity. you felt protected in his arms.

“y/n?” he murmured.

“yeah?” you responded softly.

“i’m drunk—”

“—i know rem” you chuckled.

“i’m drunk, and i hate everyone and everything.” he breathed out. remus pulled away from you, brushed the front pieces of hair away from your face, and said sweetly, “everything but you”.

you smile at him and that must’ve done something because within three seconds, he grabbed the sides of your face and his lips collided with yours, your top lip stuck between his. his lips tasted like the perfect mix honey chapstick with tequila. once again, the world felt empty, just you and remus.

you felt remus’ tongue drag along your bottom lip and you attempted to pulled away only for him to chase your lips. “remus, you’re too drunk for this”, you mumble against his lips.

“but i’m sober enough to know that i want you” his lips grazed yours as he spoke. remus had never been this confident, and that’s how you knew he exactly how drunk he really was.

“remus, come on. you’re not thinking straight, you’re probably going to completely forget about this in the morning” you half-jokingly scowled him, and a part of you didn’t want to stop. but it would have been wrong to continue given how drunk he was.

“how ‘bout i bring you up to your dorm, eh?” you suggested.

he hesitantly nodded his head, and grabbed your hand. as you two squirmed your way through the crowd, you managed to catch a glimpse of peter who had a confused look on his face. the boy nudged james, and gestured towards you and remus. james then nudged sirius, and motioned to the two of you as you disappeared from the party.

he staggered up the stairs, nearly tripping a few times causing you to laugh quietly.

“quit giggling” he playful frowned as he caught his balanced and pulled you towards his room. as you two walked in, remus pointed to a corner i’m the room, which was presumably his side of the dorm.

his side was cleaner than james’ and peter’s, who’s sides were messes, paper scattered around and dirty clothes pile near their beds. sirius’ side was the tidiest of the four, with organized records and a neat side table. remus’ side had a few things strewn around but it was overall fairly tidy. his bed was slightly made, he probably rushed to make in the morning.

remus crawled under his covers comfortable— not even bothering to change into pajamas— and you sat next on his bed, next to him, he was already falling asleep. “i need to go remy, you gonna be okay?” you said softly as you stroked his hair.

he looked up at you half-lidded and remus sleepily shook his head, “can you stay? just for tonight?” he pleaded as he lifted the blanket, gesturing for you to get in.

you’d leave in the morning before he wakes up and he’d forget all about it, you reminded yourself.

you shifted uncomfortably in his twin bed. remus adjusted himself, turning his body to face yours so that there was more space. his pinky grazed yours and you interlocked yours with his.

“goodnight y/n” he whispered, his warm breath hit your face before he leaned forward and placed a soft kiss against your lips.

•••

rays of sunshine shone through the windows, and birds sung. you squinted due to the bright sun greeting you, once able to open your eyes, you looked to your side and saw remus; asleep and snoring quietly.

you quietly wiggle out of the blanket, you caught a glimpse of his roommates; sirius was turned on his side with his back to you presumably sleeping, but james and peter were no where to be seen. you tiptoed to the door before—

“where’re you going?” you heard a voice, only it didn’t belong to remus. the question almost sounding like a teasing... sirius.

you slowly turned on your heels and faced something you’d though that you would never see— sirius with messy hair, he laid on his bed, elbows propping himself up.

“hey pads” you smiled and waved awkwardly.

“hiya” he wiggled his fingers as he waved “let’s just get to point, did you and moony shag?” he asked bluntly.

“what—!” you covered your mouth, forgetting to keep quiet and you walked towards him “what? no, he got stupidly drunk last night and nothing happened” you whisper screamed.

“my head hurts hell” a sleepy voice came from the side of the room you just snuck away from. both you and sirius turned your heads and saw remus, who was clutching his head.

remus saw you on sirius’ side of the room and his eyebrows furrowed, “what’re you doing here y/n? did you and sirius... sleep toge—”

“no!” you both shouted.

“please stop yelling” remus said, rubbing his temples.

you could sense the slight tension between the two boys. you remembered that they had a fight and they hadn’t made up yet.

sirius looked at you, then remus, then back to you. “i’m going to go; leave you two alone.” he stated, walking out the room, a bit dramatically.

silence filled the room. you shifted on the balls of your feet while remus was now sitting crisscross against his headboard as he played with his fingers.

“sit?” remus asked and gestured towards his bed. you tread over to his bed and sit right across from him.

“so what happened last night? because honestly, i don’t remember anything, ‘cause if didn’t sleep with sirius, why were you here at—“ he looked at the clock “eight am on a sunday?” he looked at you with sunken and luminous eyes.

“well, i actually slept here.” you said as you played with blanket on his bed.

“uh, like, here here? as in, in my—my bed? with— um— with me?” he began to stammer over his words.

he was so endearing when he was flustered. he fidgets with his fingers or basically anything he could find.

“yes, rem, you asked me to stay last night. and other things happened, i told you that you’d forget about them, and well you did so—“

“i kissed you.” he said, almost surprised at his own words.

“yeah. you did.” you responded. “you— um, remember last night?” you asked.

“parts of it; i remember drinking my body weight times two, i remember dancing to ABBA, and kissing you—“ he paused “and then holding your pinky?” he said with confusion.

you gave a half-suppressed laugh “that’s about everything, the gist of it at least .”

“‘m sorry about last night, i know i was drunk—” his nose scrunched up every few seconds; it was a tic he developed over the years, you noticed it happening whenever he felt sheepish.

“—but, um, but i was being truthful, sort of. with my actions at least. what i’m trying to— what i’m trying to say is that drunk remus does what sober remus doesn’t have the confidence to do” he said softly. remus looked up at you, his irises resembling pools of caramel. “basically what i’m saying is that i like you. and it’s completely okay if you don’t like me back, i understand. i just can’t keep this bottled up or else i’d exp—”

you interrupted him with a kiss, he caught on quickly and kissed you back and cradled your face with his left hand. yours eyes were fully closed with delight as you ran your fingers through the bottom of his hair. your nose bumped against his as the two do you moved your heads, trying to find synchronization and once you did: pure bliss.

drunk remus and sober remus are very different, but you preferred when he was himself and his kisses didn’t taste like tequila.

taglist: @anywherebuthere @keepawaythenargles @myloveforluna click here to be added to my taglist <3

[hxseok-honee]

atlas heart || part 28

a/n : aha,,, ahaha,,,,, listen, i know this is a jimin au okay I KNOW -- but this chapter belongs to jung hoseok and thats that im sorry

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_______________________________

When Y/n finds Jimin down by the lake, she feels that every fiber of her being wants her to turn back, wants her to run and hide under her blankets -- as if she’s the one that needs protecting from him. He doesn’t see her until she’s a few feet away, approaching him from the shoreline. The smile he gives her when he turns is kind but reserved, like he’s preoccupied. She lets out an awkward laugh.

“Why did you want to meet down here in the middle of the night? Way to be weird, Jimin.” He rolls his eyes playfully, nudging her with his elbow before gesturing back toward the ground not far away, covered in grass instead of the sand here by the water. Y/n follows him there, taking a seat next to him with question marks in her eyes when he doesn’t answer her. He snickers at her confusion.

“You’re really stuck on this, huh? Maybe I just wanted to look at the stars with you.” Her features scrunch up cutely as she reacts to his admittedly cheesy one-liner, and he feels the tips of his ears go red. “Okay, I swear that sounded better in my head.” She grins before turning away, looking up at the sky in contemplation. Jimin thinks that maybe, in other circumstances, they really would have been able to sit here together in peaceful silence and watched the stars all night long. He hates that he has to ruin it.

“I actually… I have to talk to you.” She doesn’t pull her gaze from the sky, but he does notice that her expression has clouded over with something he can’t place. It looks a lot like resignation. Swallowing once and trying to shake out his nervous limbs as subtly as possible, he takes a single deep breath before turning his upper body to face her. She still won’t look at him.

“I know you’re probably going to hate my guts after this, and I completely deserve that because I’m selfish and stupid, and I’m too nosy for my own good, and I never should have pushed so much, but I--”

“I know.”

“Yeah, I know you know that I’m an idiot, and that I’m annoying, and that I ask too many questi--”

“Jimin, I know.” He stops then, and the look of pure confusion he gives her breaks her heart. She has no idea that the pained expression she’s giving him is breaking his. She can’t even keep her eyes on him when she continues. “I know that you know.”

Jimin jaw drops, and he gets the idea that he looks a bit like a dying fish, closing and opening his mouth as he tries to figure out how to continue. He hadn’t planned for this turn of events when he’d practiced the conversation in his head.

“You -- but how? Was I too obvious?” He sits up straight, terrified that his suspicious behavior had already gotten her into more danger. “Did I do something that risked your secret? What was it? Tell me so I can make sure never to do it again--” Y/n’s eyes shut as she sighs, and she quiets him with a shake of her head.

“Dumbledore told me, the day after you’d gone to see him. He wanted to warn me.” Jimin stares at the side of her head, processing that she’d known almost two weeks that he’d figured everything out, but she hadn’t confronted him about it. “I haven’t told the boys yet, but I’ve been freaking out about it. I wanted to talk to you right away, but… I decided to wait until you were ready to talk about it…” Her eyes flick to him, but at the sight of his gaze fixed completely on her, his attention fully hers, she looks away. “I was scared that you hated me. Even when you kept reaching out and talking to me, I felt like… maybe you hadn’t realized exactly what I am or what that means. I was waiting for you to leave me. Or expose me. I don’t know. I feel like I’m losing my mind.”

“I would never do that to you.” It falls out his mouth, feeling oddly like a confession when he says it without thinking and is immediately embarrassed. He clears his throat when she looks up at him with wide eyes, scratching awkwardly at his collarbone. “I needed time to process… not that you’re a werewolf, but that I had been such a fucking idiot the entire time. I should have listened to your friends and just let you be. I was nosy and selfish and objectively really annoying, and I hadn’t even realized that they were just trying to keep you safe by pushing me away. I’m really sorry, Y/n… for endangering you like that.”

He won’t look at her -- he can’t. But when a cold hand closes around his own, squeezing gently, he at least is able to look in her direction. She squeezes again, and, with as much courage as he’s ever had to gather at once, he lifts his eyes to meet her. She looks to be on the edge of tears, but she’s smiling at him, and it confuses him to no end.

“You’re not… mad? Because I completely understand if you are--”

“I’m not mad, Jimin. I’m kind of relieved that you know now, even if I am probably going to always be scared that one day you’ll wake up and realize that I’m a monster and run for your life.” He breathes out a laugh, knowing that she’s not joking. He just can’t imagine a version of himself, now or ever, that would look at her and see anything but the girl he’d been desperate to befriend all this time.

“I’m not going anywhere, Y/n. I want to help you, if that’s okay. I want to do anything I can to help keep you safe.” It’s then that she pulls away from him, her expression turning apprehensive. Jimin takes one look at her and assumes it must be about her friends. “I know that Hoseok and Jungkook don’t like me, but I can talk to them if you want me to! I can explain myself and make sure they know that I’m just trying to help--” She shakes her head suddenly, cutting him off with a wave of her hands. She can already tell how her conversation with them later tonight will go, dreading having to ask them to meet so she can break the news.

“No, it’s not them… I’ll handle the boys -- it’s probably better that you aren’t there when they lose their minds, so I’ll talk to them. It’s just… things are more complicated than you think. It’s not really as simple as helping me… there are things you still don’t know, and it’s not my place to tell you…” Jimin thinks back to the way Dumbledore had called the situation ‘infinitely more complicated’ than he knew, and the way Y/n’s talking right now has him going out on a limb.

“Is this… about Remus Lupin?” Y/n meets his eyes with alarm, her breath catching audibly in her throat, and Jimin knows he’s right. “He’s… like you, right? His friends are involved, too.” She gapes at him, unsure how to respond.

“How…” He looks away, rubbing at his neck uncomfortably.

“Well, the night I figured things out -- it was a few days before the full moon, so your symptoms were a little more apparent at the time. I saw him in the Great Hall the next day, and he was looking just like you… and his friends, they act a lot like Jungkook and Hoseok sometimes… it wasn’t hard to put it together.” Y/n sits there in silence, not certain if Jimin is just really observant and was hyper-aware of everything because he’d just realized such a monumental secret, or if she needs to talk to the Marauders and her own friends about being less conspicuous. Probably both. She barely hears Jimin when he starts talking again.

“Is… that what’s keeping you from letting me help? I swear I won’t say anything -- I’ll even pretend I don’t know about him. I’ll do anything.” She watches him as he starts to devolve into what’s probably the third rant in the last half hour alone, and she knows he’s desperate to prove himself to her. He doesn’t need to -- he’d made his innocence and kindness clear to her long before he’d had any idea of her affliction. It’s everything about him, really, that’s causing her so much pain. She’s scared for him.

“Jimin… are you sure this is what you want? We’re in the middle of a war… and you’re a muggleborn. If anyone were to find me out, and they link us… I don’t know what would happen to you. Everything’s so delicate and dangerous, I don’t know if I can put you in that kind of danger.” This time it’s Jimin that reaches out for her, slipping his fingers through her own and linking their hands once he has her in his hold. He looks entirely level-headed when he looks her in the eye and responds.

“I’m with you, Y/n. I’m with you.”

--

Y/n stares up at the entrance to Slytherin common room, a deep frown set into her features. She’d made what she’d believed to be the right choice by not having Jungkook and Hoseok in the same room when she told them about Jimin -- they have a habit of enabling each other’s worst characteristics, and the last thing she wants to deal with is two enraged boys in the middle of the night. But now that she’s here, having just left a furious Jungkook in the room of requirement, she’s not looking forward to having this conversation again.

Jungkook had been surprisingly calm when she’d broken to him that Jimin had discovered her secret, but if there’s only one thing in the world that Y/n can say with complete confidence, it’s that she knows Jeon Jungkook. The look of complete ease that he’d given her had terrified her far beyond any explosion of anger. She almost prefers that he had reacted. It had taken her the better half of an hour to calm him down, only feeling comfortable texting Hoseok that she was on her way to him when she’d seen an emotion cross Jungkook’s eyes other than blank detachment. Even then, it was only annoyance at the fact that she refused to let him “talk” to Jimin on his own.

Now, it’s almost 3am, and Y/n’s only brushing away her tragic attempt at reasoning with Jungkook when the door to the Slytherin common room slides open, revealing a sleepy-eyed, bedhead-ridden Hoseok. He’s only half-dressed, clearly unable to be bothered to care about his appearance this late at night. He scratches at his bare collarbone with one finger while he squints at her, his blatant concern hidden slightly by how disgruntled he looks.

“Do you have any idea what time it is? Why would you do this to me?” Y/n snorts, knowing from experience how objectively rude Hoseok can be in the first few minutes of being awake. She hopes he stays bogged down by his sleep-deprived mind long enough that he doesn’t completely lose it when she talks to him. She glances past him into the common room before responding.

“Is there somewhere we can talk in private? I have something to tell you.” Immediately, the sleep is gone from Hoseok’s eyes, and Y/n mourns the hope that he wouldn’t be clear-minded during their conversation. He nods once, pointing over his shoulder.

“My room’s fine.”

“Isn’t Yoongi there?” Hoseok shakes his head, a slight smile gracing his features while he explains.

“He got a call from Kim Seokjin not that long ago -- something about a late-night snack run and how eating alone is ‘a lonely habit’.” He shrugs, and Y/n guesses that Yoongi must get dragged out against his will by Kim Seokjin quite often if Hoseok is unbothered by it. Hoseok points again in the direction of his bedroom, and Y/n only follows with a nod.

By the time they return to his room, Hoseok’s awake enough to be self-conscious, so he’s searching for a shirt immediately, gesturing for Y/n to close the door behind her. Then he flops down onto his bed, crossing his legs and patting the spot at the end of his mattress for her. When she decides to remain standing, running her fingers along the edge of his bedpost awkwardly, Hoseok squints, suspicious.

“What happened?” Y/n closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, looking Hoseok head-on and ripping the metaphorical band-aid off.

“Jimin knows about me. He just told me. Before you say anything, we talked about it, and--”

“That little shit--” Hoseok’s standing from his bed, fists balled up in rage as he heaves out an enraged breath. “When I get my hands on that nosy, obnoxious fucking twerp--”

“Hoseok, wait! Wait.” Y/n holds her hands out in front of her, planting them on his chest while she stares up at him with wide eyes. “It’s okay! It’s fine, we talked! He’s not going to say anything to anyone, even about the stuff with Remus--” She’ll admit that saying that last part probably wasn’t her best idea, considering how Hoseok reacts, blind with fury.

“What do you mean? What does that mean?!” He’s growing louder now, and Y/n knows she has to calm him down before he wakes the entirety of Slytherin house. Taking his face in her hands, she tries to force him to focus solely on her, but it only results in Hoseok gripping at her wrists, desperation clear in the way his hold is shaking. He’s looking at her with wild eyes, demanding an explanation for something so wholly unacceptable, but Y/n can’t give that to him while he’s like this.

“Hoseok, I need you to breathe, okay? I’m okay. I will be okay. But I need you to lower your voice and breathe. Don’t think about anything else.” This display -- a total loss of control -- is what she’d expected from Jungkook, but the boy who’d been beside her their entire lives must have known better than to show his ruthless side and risk upsetting her. In this moment, Hoseok, who’s always so keen on hiding himself behind a mask, is seeing red the way he never has before, and that’s what scares Y/n most.

“Eyes on me, Hobi, hm? Look at me -- I’m right here, and I’m okay. Look at me. See? I’m perfectly fine. Nothing’s gonna happen to me, I promise.” She’d somehow managed to bring him down from his erratic high, keeping his face close until she could see in his eyes that he’s looking only at her. His breath is ragged, and if she thinks she’s caught the slightest tremble of his bottom lip when he opens his mouth, he’s hiding it well. But what he whispers to her breaks her heart clean in half.

“You can’t promise me that. The more people that know about you, the harder it is for me to trick myself into believing you.” Taking a breath to stop herself from tearing up, she releases him slowly, stepping back when he only moves to sit back down on the edge of his bed.

“Hobi… you can’t do anything to Jimin, okay? You can’t confront him or do anything rash. I mean it.” It takes a few moments, but finally Hoseok is lifting his eyes to meet hers. He nods, and Y/n knows that’s all she’ll be able to get out of him. She wishes it was enough, that weak agreement, but if there’s one other thing in the world she can say with complete confidence, it’s that she doesn’t know Hoseok quite as well as she knows Jungkook.

--

Jimin’s on his way to class the next morning, lost in his thoughts about Y/n -- he can’t seem to focus on anything else these days -- when he’s unceremoniously dragged by the back of his robes into an empty classroom and shoved against the nearest wall. Hissing at the pain, he barely has time to slump over and catch his breath before he’s being pinned back against the cold stone by a pair of very determined hands.

He stills completely when he finally lifts his gaze and meets the eyes of Jung Hoseok. The Slytherin is visibly furious, his glare almost manic as he pushes Jimin’s shoulders back into the wall. He only lets up when an involuntary cry of pain escapes Jimin, but he never lets the boy go.

“Now, you’re going to listen to what I have to say, and you’re going to listen closely. Yeah?” Jimin isn’t sure it’s a question that needs answering, considering that he’s literally trapped, but the increased pressure of Hoseok’s knuckles on his chest has him nodding frantically. Hoseok doesn’t release him when he leans down into his face.

“For some ungodly reason, Y/n has decided that you can be trusted, and I’m sure you loved that she said she’d talk to us so you wouldn’t have to do it yourself, huh? But I think that you deserve to have the whole picture, Park -- look at me when I’m talking to you.” Jimin had shut his eyes simply from the proximity of Hoseok’s hateful glare, unable to handle it, but when the older boy shakes him roughly, he opens his eyes so wide that he’s terrified to even blink.

“This game you’re playing? Using your obvious little crush on Y/n as an excuse to pry into her business and put her in danger just because you like sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong? It needs to stop. Because you don’t know all the rules, Jimin. And you don’t get any do-overs.” Jimin can feel the grip on his shirt starting to tremble, and at first he thinks maybe Hoseok’s so enraged that he’s actually shaking, but the glint in his eye tells Jimin differently. It tells him that Hoseok is scared -- he’s terrified. The uncertainty of Jimin’s existence in Y/n’s life -- not knowing if this is going to end badly for them -- it’s scaring him, and Jimin gets the feeling that Hoseok’s someone who deals with fear by being angry. Taking a very big risk, he whispers out to the 7th year.

“I swear, I just want to hel--agh!” Squeezing his eyes shut when Hoseok lifts him away from the wall and promptly slams him back into it, he doesn’t finish his plea. He can feel Hoseok’s breath fanning angrily over his face, and he swears a low growl rumbles from deep within the Slytherin’s chest when he responds.

“Shut up! You don’t know what that even means. You don’t know how to help. All you’ve done is screw things up for us, so let me welcome you into our little group with a warning.” A hand clamps the sides of Jimin’s jaw, lifting his face and squeezing hard until Jimin opens his eyes to look at Hoseok.

“You get one chance, so if you even come close to screwing that up, Y/n is the last thing you’ll have to worry about. Clear?” Jimin nods again, the hand on his face making that incredibly difficult. Finally, Hoseok releases him and steps back, watching with unmasked annoyance as Jimin fixes his clothes and rubs at all the spots he’s sure will be bruised by morning. They stare at each other, Hoseok eventually rolling his eyes with a sigh.

“Y/n told me you want to help. She asked me to mentor you in potion-making. I only agreed to it because she’s very stubborn when she wants to be, and someone needs to take over her doses. I won’t go easy on you, so you better be ready for a summer of hell. I need to know she’ll be safe with you once I’m gone, and frankly, I don’t even trust you to boil a pot of fucking water, much less a dangerous, highly sensitive potion.” Jimin swallows hard but doesn’t comment on the blatant insult, only processing that Jung Hoseok has agreed to train him.

Hoseok’s eyes flicker to the door, and Jimin takes that as his cue that the conversation -- if that’s what this was -- is finished, so he wanders out of the room in a slight daze, Hoseok following closely. As if the universe is telling him that this moment can, in fact, get much worse, Jimin meets the eyes of one Jeon Jungkook as the Gryffindor happens to be passing on the way to class. Where Hoseok’s glare was unbridled fire and rage, Jungkook’s gaze is turning to pure ice, and Jimin can’t decide which is worse. Jungkook doesn’t even acknowledge him as he passes, breaking eye contact and going on his way as if Jimin doesn’t even exist. Hoseok chuckles darkly behind him.

“I almost feel bad for you, Jimin. If you think you have it bad with me, you’re in for a real treat with Jungkook.”