#we told him happy birthday and he said it's not my birthday yet but thank you

[meezer]

one other person showed up for Mr Armpit and we just had the seminar like that. it was a great time though genuinely I felt very academically stimulated. he thanked us for coming and wished us a happy Easter holiday 🥺 I said thank you you too and he seemed touched and thanked me

[harrysfolklore]

31st - hs

happy birthday to the one and only love of my life 🥹🥹 31 omg! i hope he has the best day ever <33

MASTERLIST | MY PATREON

You woke up early on February 1st, carefully slipping out of bed without disturbing Harry, who was still peacefully sleeping. The morning sun was just beginning to peek through the curtains, reflecting light across his face. At 31, he was somehow even more beautiful than when you'd first met him - a few more laugh lines around his eyes, his curls slightly shorter now, but still undeniably your Harry.

Making your way to the kitchen, you began the birthday breakfast preparations you'd been planning for days. You started brewing his favorite coffee and pulled out the ingredients for the banana pancakes he loved so much.

As you worked, you couldn't help but smile, remembering his 30th birthday last year - the big party, all their friends and family gathered together. This year, though, Harry had asked for something quieter, more intimate. "Just us," he'd said, "maybe dinner with family later."

The sound of footsteps made you look up, and there he was, leaning against the doorframe in his pajama bottoms and that old Rolling Stones t-shirt you loved so much.

"You're supposed to be sleeping," you scolded playfully, whisking the pancake batter.

"Bed was cold without you," he mumbled, voice still rough with sleep. His hair was adorably mussed, and he had pillow creases on his cheek. "Besides, something smells amazing."

"Happy birthday, love," you said softly, abandoning your cooking to wrap your arms around him.

He hummed contentedly, pulling you closer and burying his face in your neck. "Thank you, baby."

"Thirty-one," you mused, running your fingers through his hair. "How does it feel?"

"Honestly?" He pulled back to look at you, his green eyes twinkling. "Pretty much the same as thirty. Though I did find another grey hair yesterday."

You laughed, reaching up to touch the single silver strand at his temple. "I think it makes you look distinguished."

"Distinguished?" He raised an eyebrow, trying to suppress a smile. "Is that what we're calling it?"

"Mhmm," you nodded seriously. "Very sophisticated. Very George Clooney."

"Oi!" He tickled your sides, making you squeal. "I'm not that old yet!"

The pancakes were momentarily forgotten as you both dissolved into laughter, play-fighting in the kitchen like teenagers. Finally, Harry pulled you close again, pressing soft kisses along your jaw.

"You know," he murmured, "this is already my favorite birthday."

"It's barely started!"

"Doesn't matter. I'm here with you, in our kitchen, and you're making me breakfast. What could be better?"

Your heart swelled with love for this man who could find joy in the simplest moments. "Well, it might get even better when you see your presents."

His eyes lit up like a child's. "Presents? But you said we weren't doing big gifts this year!"

"And we're not," you assured him, turning back to the pancakes before they burned. "Just a few small things. Though..." you paused for dramatic effect, "there might be tickets to that vintage guitar show in Nashville you were talking about."

Harry's gasp of delight made you laugh. "Really? The one with the '59 Les Paul?"

"Maybe," you sang, flipping a pancake. "You'll have to wait and see."

He wrapped his arms around you from behind, watching you cook. "Have I told you lately that you're the best wife ever?"

You felt your cheeks flush at the word 'wife,' still not quite used to hearing it spoken aloud. After nearly a year of marriage, it was still your precious secret, shared only with family and closest friends. The ring on your finger was usually hidden away in public, and you'd both become experts at careful wording in interviews.

"Shh," you teased, though your heart fluttered at his words. "The walls might have ears."

Harry chuckled, pressing a kiss to your shoulder. "You know, I've been thinking about that actually."

"About what?" you asked, sliding the last pancake onto the plate.

He turned you around gently, his expression thoughtful. "About keeping it secret. Don't get me wrong, this past year has been incredible, having something that's just ours. But sometimes..." he paused, running a hand through his hair, "sometimes I just want to tell the whole world that I'm married to the most amazing woman."

You set down the spatula, studying his face. "Really? You want to go public?"

"Only if you're ready," he said quickly. "But yeah, I do. It's been almost a year, and honestly, I'm tired of not being able to call you my wife whenever I want to. Of having to take my ring off for appearances. Of watching you do the same."

Your heart raced at the possibility. "It would change things," you said softly. "The privacy we've had..."

"I know," he nodded, taking your hands in his. "But maybe... maybe it's time. And what better day than my birthday? We could post something simple, just us."

You thought about it for a moment. The past year had been magical, your private bubble of newlywed bliss protected from the public eye. But he was right - there was something exhausting about constantly hiding, about choosing your words so carefully, about slipping your rings off before stepping outside.

"Okay," you finally said, a smile spreading across your face. "Let's do it."

Harry's eyes lit up. "Yeah?"

"Yeah," you laughed as he pulled you into a tight hug. "But after breakfast! These pancakes are getting cold."

Later, after breakfast and presents, you both sat on the couch, phones in hand. You'd chosen a simple photo from your wedding day - just your hands intertwined, both wearing your rings, nothing too revealing but unmistakably a wedding photo.

"Ready?" he asked, his thumb hovering over the 'post' button.

You took a deep breath, nodding. "Ready."

With a click, your secret was out in the world. You both turned your phones to silent, knowing they would explode with notifications any second.

"How does it feel?" Harry asked, pulling you close.

You twisted your ring, which for the first time wouldn't have to come off when you left the house later. "Liberating," you decided. "Scary, but good scary."

"No more hiding," he agreed, kissing your temple.

"No more hiding," you repeated, then laughed. "Your mum's going to be thrilled. She's been dying to post those wedding photos."

"Oh God," Harry groaned good-naturedly. "She's probably already sharing them as we speak."

You snuggled closer to him, enjoying this quiet moment before the world would inevitably explode with the news. "Happy birthday, H. Sorry I kind of hijacked it with our announcement."

"Are you kidding?" He grinned down at you. "This is the best gift you could have given me. Now everyone knows I'm the luckiest man alive."

"Charmer," you muttered, but you were smiling.

"Your charmer," he corrected, then added with obvious delight, "Your husband."

"My husband," you agreed, loving how it felt to say it out loud, knowing you wouldn't have to whisper it anymore.

───────── ౨ৎ ─────────

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harrystyles Best birthday gift was marrying my soulmate almost a year ago. Thank you for keeping our secret. ❤️

February, 2024

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username1 WHAT THE HELL

username2 IS THIS A JOKE

taylorswift Finally!! 🥂 Keeping this secret was TORTURE. So happy for you both ♥️

gemmastyles Bbout time you two told everyone!! now i can finally post all the cute photos from the wedding ����💕

lizzo YALL I WAS AT THE WEDDING AND HAD TO PRETEND I WASNT THIS WHOLE TIME 😭 CONGRATS AGAIN BESTIES

niallhoran The most beautiful day! Love you both!

yourinstagram Finally 🤍 Happy birthday to my husband (!!!) who makes every day feel like a love song. Thank you for choosing me, always.

username3 HUSBAND???????? MARRIED????????? IM SHAKING AND CRYING AND THROWING UP

username4 OH MY GOD THE SIGNS WERE THERE ALL ALONG. REMEMBER WHEN HE KEPT TOUCHING HIS RING FINGER IN THAT ONE INTERVIEW??

username5 not me zooming in on every detail of this photo 👀 THE RINGS ARE SO BEAUTIFUL IM SOBBING

username6 the way they kept this secret for a YEAR?? we love a private couple

username7 HARRY STYLES IS A MARRIED MAN. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. I REPEAT. HARRY STYLES IS A MARRIED MAN

username8 im so happy for them but also crying in the club rn 😭

username9 THE WAY YN JUST CALLED HIM HUSBAND IM SCREAMING

username10 not me thinking about how they had a whole secret wedding and we had no idea 😭 they're so powerful

username11 "best birthday gift" STOP IM CRYING THIS IS SO ROMANTIC

[spidernuggets]

Jason Todd x Fem!Reader

Late Jason birthday fic!!!!

MDNI

warnings: jason devouring reader's poosay

You and Jason have been dating just under a year. And today was the first time celebrating with him the day he dreaded the most. His birthday.

If he HAD to celebrate it with his family, he'd want a small get-together, sharing his special day with Alfred.

NOT this damn gala that Bruce organised, seemingly just to spite him. Bruce excused that it was mainly for Alfred, but since they shared the special day, Jason had to be there, too. Now Jason feared the most; being surrounded by rich assholes, half-heartedly wishing him a happy birthday.

But you seemed excited to finally celebrate his birthday with him, and seeing you so eager made Jason's heart swell. He's just gonna have to suck it up and put on his big boy pants and go.

"You ready, baby?" Jason asked, coming into your room. The second he sees you in that damn black dress, complimented with red, he thinks he's lost it. He couldn't even take his eyes off the long slit of the dress that revealed a glimpse of your thigh. If you didn't answer him, he'd think he'd forget how to breathe because, oh, how you were breathtaking.

"Mhm, let me just put my shoes on." You say, taking his arm and leading him to the front door where your black heels with red outsoles laid.

"Is you being all dolled up my birthday present, sweetness?" Jason asked, a sly smirk on his face as he holds onto your waist, helping you balance as you put your heels on.

You chuckled. "It can be if you want it to be. But my actual present for you will be given later." You said, kissing his cheek. "C'mon, let's go."

Jason leads you to his car, and on the drive to the manor, it takes all his willpower not to let his hand that laid on your thigh sneak under the slit and inch up higher.

You held onto Jason arm as he led you into the manor. You expected big, but god, everything and everyone looked so extravagant.

You caught a glimpse of Alfred standing near Bruce and your eyes light up.

"C'mon, Jay!" You said excitedly, tugging him towards where the two men were standing. Jason groans, knowing he'd have to talk to Bruce, but on the other hand, he does want to wish his grandfather a hapoy birthday.

"Happy birthday, Alfie!" You exclaimed, giving the old man a hug before giving him a little bag that contained your gift for him.

He thanks you, telling you that you didn't have ti, but highly appreciates the sentiment. Jason offers a small smile and a quiet, happy birthday before giving him a hug.

"Glad you can come, Jason." Bruce said with a satisfied smile.

"I didn't come here because you told me to or because I felt like it." Jason huffs, looking away.

"Many people have been expecting you." Alfred said.

"And they have gifts." Bruce added. "I expect you to behave. But I don't doubt that she will keep you in check." He said, nodding towards you. You snickered in response while Jason just rolled his eyes, taking your hand, pulling you away from them.

You stayed beside Jason, watching as he uncomfortably mingled with the party guests, giving him his birthday presents.

It started fine. Totally fine. It was nice seeing Jason receiving such nice gifts.

But the more you witnessed him opening the presents, the more self-conscious you got about the gift you have yet to give him.

His given presents consisted of gold cufflinks, finest champagne, designer clothing, luxury cologne, fancy watches, and so much more. You couldn't even think about how much these things could've cost.

"You okay, sweetheart?" Jason murmurs, whispering in your ear as he tilts your chin up to look at him. You were so lost in thought, you didn't even realise Jason was complaining to you how much he wanted to go home.

You nodded with a small smile. "Mhm. Little overwhelmed, I guess." You said, clinging onto his arm.

"Maybe another hour, ma. Then we can go home." He assured you, kissing your forhead.

And it does assure you. He loves you. And he'd love the gift you have in store for him. But still. You're unable to scratch the utch in your head from all the expensive gifts he's receiving.

You sighed, kicking your shoes off, flopping back onto the bed once the two of you returned home. Following Jason around and watching him open gifts can be exhausting.

Jason shrugs his jacket off, throwing it somewhere on the floor, lying beside you. "So. You gonna give me a gift now or continue to keep me on my toes?" He asked with a grin.

You fidget with your hands, picking at your cuticles. "Mm.. can you wait til tomorrow?" You said sheepishly. Maybe you can wake up before him and rush out to the nearest jewellers and get him a nice watch or something.

His brows pinch together with concern, watching the dejected look on your face. He props himself up on one of his elbows, his fave looming over yours.

"What's with the sour look, sour puss?" He teases, poking your nose. "What's wrong?"

You sighed, looking at him. "Nothing. Just tired." You muttered.

"Bullshit.." He murmured, lowering himself down to nuzzle his nose against your jaw, his lips just barely grazing your skin.

You lightly groan. "You got really nice gifts." You said with embarrassment.

He pulls away, his face scrunched up in confusion. "Wanna elaborate, sweet thing?"

You whined with frustration, rubbing your hands over your face. "All your gifts were just so... lavish. Just wait til tomorrow, I can get a better gift."

"Baby." Jason said firmly. "Let me see your gift."

You frowned, knowing he'd pry and pry until he saw your gift. You grumbled, getting uo to reach underneath your bed, pulling out a small decorative paper bag, handing it to him.

Jason carefully took it, like he was scared that his big, rough hands would break the delicate material. He opened the bag, digging through the red shredded tissue paper.

His eyes slightly widened as he pulled out a bookmark. It had a thin gold frame, the bookmark itself having a coloured silhouette of what looked like you and Jason, and in intricate writing, the quote "you must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you," written above the silhouettes.

"Holy shit..." Jason whispered as his fingers traced the fragile details of the gold frame.

You grumbled, not even wanting to think what he thought of it. "Jay, I promise I'll get you a better gif—"

"No!" He suddenly said, bringing the bookmark close to his chest. "I love this..." He whispered, staring at you with a wide grin.

"What? Really? It was only like 30 bucks.." You muttered, looking down at your lap.

He scoffed. "So? Who cares?"

"What!? But.. all your other presents—"

"Were shallow and thoughtless and were from snobby assholes who don't even know my name." He interrupted, carefully placing his bookmark on the nightstand before gently cupping your cheek. "But this gift, the one you're so worked up about..." He carefully pulls you on his lap. "Is the best I've received tonight." He kissed your forhead. "My favourite gift." He kissed your nose. "From my favourite girl." He kissed your lips.

You frowned. "But still!" You whined. But he shuts you up with another kiss.

"Not still.." He muttered against your lips. You hated the effect he had on you. You couldn't even argue as you melted against him, your hands lacing together behind his neck.

One of his hands gripped your hip as the other slid up your thigh, through the slit of your dress, just like he wanted to do all night.

Before going further, he laid you on the bed, his hands at either side of your face as he hovered over you.

He leaned down, lips attached to yours once more. This time, it was more sloppy and desperate, your hands pawing at his chest, fiddling with his buttons.

He helped you take his shirt off, throwing it over where his jacket laid as he travelled from your lips down to your jaw, immediately sucking on your sweet spot. You reach up to his hair, tugging it slightly as he groaned, his hips rolling down against yours.

"Fuck.." He muttered, his hands scrunching up the fabric of your dress in his fists. Being the feral man he is, he ripped your dress, the cool breeze nippng your skin making you gasp.

"Jay!" You squealed.

"Shh, I'll buy you another one.." He discarded the ripped dress with the other clothing on the floor.

"Up." He said, hands slithering under your back. You leaned up, letting him unclasp your bra. He cursed, his lips already around your nipple as you moaned, feeling his tongue swirl around it as his other hand was busy massaging your other breast.

"Fuck, sweetheart.." He groaned, his hands continuing to squeeze your chest as he trailed furthed down your body.

He stopped at your clothed core, your panties already soaked. He stretched the lace, letting go, making the elastic snap against your skin. You flinched at the feeling, your face heating up.

Jason gave the damp spot a soft kiss before ripping your underwear off, throwing it behind him. "I like this birthday present too..." He muttered, kissing your inner thigh.

"Jay, please.." You whimpered, bucking your hips up.

"Shh.. patience. Let me enjoy my birthday meal, hm?" He said, lips inching closer to your aching cunt.

"Jay.. Jay, I— Ah!" With no warning, his mouth dived inti your pussy, licking up the dripping precum like a man starved.

"Fuck, ma.." He grunted. You whimpered, your legs shaking, feeling his tongue lap over your folds and his stubble scratching your skin. "Tastes so good..."

You pull his hair, mixed sounds of your whines and squeals together with his tongue buried in your wet cunt filling the room.

You felt your core burning up, and your stomach twisting in knots while your legs shook. You chanted his name like a mantra, your head thrown back into they pillow, back arched, and your hips lifted uo further in his face as you came. Your eyes were shut tight, and you swore you saw stars.

You panted as Jason licked you clean, and when your eyes opened, there were black dots everywhere. Even looking down, seeing Jason's face stuffed between your legs made you feel like cumming again.

Jason hummed, crawling back up, kissing your lips as you tasted yourself.

"Now.." He flipped you two over, so you were straddling his lap. "I know you have another gift for me.." He said as whined, feeling his hard buldge beneath his pants.

okay. lowkey not satisfied with the way i write this but ermmmm... hope yous like it!!!

[starkwlkr]

Hi Jen!!!❤️❤️❤️

I saw your requests were open so possibly, social media au or not, Cillian Murphy’s or Christopher Nolan’s daughter (either one would be fine, but I saw your imagine about Nolan!reader x Cillian so maybe Cillian would be better, either one is fine though) dating Charles Leclerc or lando Norris

(I don’t know if this has been done yet but it feels very random, but it I saw you wrote for F1 and Cillian so I just thought of that crossover. Couldn’t decide which driver I wanted to request for so I’ll leave it up to you between Charles and lando)

But if you do, then thank you!!!

my favorite nepo baby | lando norris

faceclaim saorsie ronan (don’t hate me, yes ik there’s more irish actresses but i love saoirse) also i love this request, mixing random fandoms is my favorite thing ever

liked by maxverstappen1, ynfans and 56,377 others

danielricciardo happy birthday, lady bird

mclarentears WHAT

dannyric333 does daniel know everyone??

bottaszz you don’t understand THIS IS IMPORTANT TO ME

landonorris my favorite nepo baby

danielricciardo the nepo baby says thank you

landonorris tell the nepo baby to make an account

danielricciardo no - the nepo baby

landonorris i tried

vettelsbees this is my roman empire

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summer break

Y/n Murphy only knew Daniel Ricciardo because he had friends everywhere. It was only a matter of time before the Irish actress met the famous honey badger. Soon, his friends became her friends and the whole friend group was hanging out everywhere.

One of their hang out spots was the F1 paddock. Daniel insisted for Y/n to come to his favorite race, the Austin Grand Prix. It was no secret that Daniel is secretly a Texan so he wanted his new friend to experience the Texas atmosphere.

“We need to get you some boots and maybe a longhorns jersey. You’ll look so cool, trust me.” Daniel said as him, Heidi and Y/n walked into the AlphaTauri garage.

“He’s going to convert you into a Texan.” Heidi whispered to Y/n.

“Can you imagine me going home to my father speaking with a texas accent? He’ll have a stroke!” Y/n laughed.

“I bet that by the end of the day, you’ll love texas as much as I do.” Daniel smirked. “Maybe you’ll find a country boy you can take home to your old man.”

“Oh god, he’s going to have more strokes, die then come back and have more strokes.”

“Well then I can get you a British boy that won’t make your old man die.”

Y/n knew who Daniel was referring to. On the day of her birthday, which was a few days ago, Daniel showed her the comments that Lando had left on his post.

‘my favorite nepo baby’

While she told everyone she didn’t have an Instagram account, she had a secret one that only had about twenty followers which were close family and friends. She used that account to look at Lando’s account. She was going to lie, he was attractive.

“Just make an instagram! That boy keeps messaging me about you.” Daniel pleaded.

“I don’t use social media, I tried and I didn’t like it.” What a lie.

“Okay well can you at least talk to him? Wait, I should go with you, he might be the one having a stroke.”

So while Heidi stayed back in the garage, Daniel accompanied Y/n to the Mclaren garage so Lando could finally meet his favorite nepo baby. Y/n started to feel nervous, why? She didn’t know, she hardly knew Lando apart from his instagram posts.

“Hey Landoooooo!” Daniel dragged out the o.

“Is that Daniel Ric—” Lando’s voice stopped when he noticed who was standing beside Daniel.

“Is he having a stroke? I can’t tell.” Daniel whispered to Y/n.

“Hi . . . You’re y/n. Wow.” Lando tried to play it cool. “I’m Lando, but I’m guessing you already knew that because of the giant Australian yelling my name. Thank you Daniel.”

“Glad I could be of service. I have to go get ready, but you two go ahead and talk. Y/n, I’ve been told the Mclaren garage is the best spot to watch a race so . . bye!”

And all thanks to Daniel Ricciardo and his match making skills, your dad, Cillian, didn’t have a stroke when he finally met Lando.

[itsvenera]

Hi! I feel so blessed to have found your blog, your fluff is top tier 🫶🏻 Can I please request fluff for Kakashi x fem!reader where they take their son (who looks exactly like Kakashi) to meet Team 7 and they're all enamoured by baby Kakashi and how happy he is with wife reader? I feel like it'd be so cute~ I hope that's an alright request. Thank you so much! 😘

author's note: this is such a cute request and it has been sitting in my drafts for a while, since I have been waiting to be in the right mood for it! It was such a pleasure to write it and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do! Thank you for requesting! <3

If there was anything Konoha did best, it was celebrating.

Compared to many of the other villages, the Leaf had some form of a festival almost every month. The first Sakura trees have blossomed? Celebration. The war is won? Celebration. The Hokage has a birthday? Celebration. 6 months without any outside threats? Celebration.

For the outsiders these constant festivities were both bizzare and a bit foolish. They could only imagine how much money were spend from the yearly budget, yet somehow the village blossomed economically. The other Kages tried to ask Lady Tsunade more than once in the past how exactly do they manage to do that, but they could never get anything more than a smug smile from her.

You, unlike your husband, loved a good party. During events like this everything felt different - the people were happier, the streets were busier, even the air felt more fresh! You have been waiting for the Spring festival for a while now - not only because you loved trying all the delicious street food, but also because this year you were taking your baby with you.

Being only a few months old, your son was an exact copy of Kakashi. His hair, his eyes, his nose, his lips, even the way he pouted was absolutely the same as your partner. There were times when you sat next to his crib, looking at him for hours, trying to find at least one thing in his appearance that he may took after you. While there were none, you found solace in the fact that he showed at least some traits of your personality - the main one being obsessed with Kakashi, of course.

As you watched your husband gently rocking your child in his arms and whispering sweet words to him, you couldn't stop the smile from spreading wide on your lips. Kakashi hasn't noticed your presence by the door yet, too busy booping your baby's nose and listening to his happy laughter.

He was definitely the favourite parent.

"I can't believe I carried him for nine months and I am still the second best in his eyes", you finally said, making Kakashi whip his head in the direction of your voice. He smiled sheepishly at you, his one free arm extending for you to take.

"You know that is not true, my dove", he tried to reassure you, his attention moving back to the bundle of joy who kept twitching in his grip, "No one can replace mommy! Isn’t that right, little man?"

Almost if understanding his words, the baby turned toward you, reaching one of his small hands toward your face. You immediately melted at the gesture, before carefully grabbing it in yours and lying numerous small kisses on his little fingers.

“Do we really have to go?”, your husband groaned, looking at you pleadingly. If it was up to him the three of you would stay in your house, enjoying a cosy evening just playing and goofing around the living room. With his new role as a Hokage, your time together was limited anyway and he liked to grab any chance he got to spend a few hours with you at home.

“You were the one that promised Naruto you would finally let him see the baby”, you cocked one of your eyebrows and Kakashi immediately shut his mouth, knowing he cannot argue further.

Even since you told Team 7 that you are pregnant, Naruto has shown an enormous enthusiasm about welcoming the baby. He self proclaimed himself “the best uncle to ever exist” and has bought dozen of plush toys and clothes before you even found what the gender is. Both you and Kakashi found this amusing, yet cute, promising him that he would be one of the first people to see your son once he is born.

However, things didn't go as planned and since he was on a mission outside Konoha for the last three months and a half, Naruto was now one of the last people to meet your child. Sakura has asked you countless of times during this period to let her and Sasuke come to your house, but feeling it was unfair to Naruto, you refused every single time.

Now that the blonde was back, however, all three were eagerly waiting to meet the young Hatake.

Kakashi gently passed you the baby, while he went to the corridor to grab the baby carrier wrap he liked to use. One thing about your husband was that he absolutely refused to use a pram.

"It is safer for them to be close to me", he often said, not even hiding his overprotectiveness. Despite your baby already being the village's favourite, he only allowed people to watch him, but never touch him or hold him. It was almost like your son was some kind of a rare jewel, which was so delicate, it had to be admired from a far. And while you found Kakashi's behaviour funny, he was being very serious about it, going as far as to glare and hiss a warning at Guy and Genma every time they tried to pinch your baby's chubby cheeks.

Once the little one was safely wrapped against your partner, you both made your way toward the village centre, where you could already hear music sounding. The streets were flooded with both adults and children, who were all eager to try some foreign food and watch special performances. Every year there were entertainers coming from different lands, performing traditional songs and dances from their cultures. While you knew you couldn't stay for all of them, since you had to put your child to bed quite early, you were excited to see at least some.

You felt one of Kakashi's arms wrapping around your waist, pulling you closer to him, while he shielded your son's body with the other one. While there were none real threats or risk for any of you, the amount of people made the man anxious. You were just about to grab his hand and try to make him relax, when Naruto's loud voice sounded from somewhere in front of you.

"Kakashi-sensei! Y/N! Over here!", he waved his hands energetically in the air, while both Sasuke and Sakura looked away embarrassed from his behaviour. Your smiled at the blonde, waving back, while your husband couldn't do anything else than let out a sigh.

Once you were a few meters away, the Uzumaki ran toward you, his whole face lighting up once his eyes met those of your son. He pushed past you, without even paying any attention to you, before leaning his head close to the baby's.

" Kakashi! That's your twin, dattebayo!", he shouted and moved his finger between his sensei and your son. Kakashi flicked his hand away, glaring harshly at his student. You sniffled a laugh, before you felt Sakura's hand on your shoulder. Turning around, you offered a smile to both her and Sasuke.

"Don't touch, step back and only watch from a distance", Kakashi instructed, his eyes narrowing at Naruto. The blonde, however, didn't acknowledge his words in any way, instead turning toward you.

"Can I hold him?", he asked, his blue eyes sparkling.

"No!", Kakashi immediately answered for you and you rolled your eyes at your husband, before moving toward the males.

"Of course you can!", before your husband can protest, you gave him a stare and he reluctantly picked up your son from the carrier wrap. He held him in his hands for a few more seconds, eyeing Naruto with suspicion.

"Be very, very, VERY careful!", he said, while passing the wriggling baby to the boy's stretched out arms, "And make sure to support his head! No, not like that... Naruto, I swear to Kami-"

You cut off the white haired male's rambling by wrapping your arm around his waist and placing your head against his shoulder. The Uzumaki was doing just fine, but Kakashi being Kakashi started to panic just at sight of someone else holding your little treasure.

The baby seemed to like the blonde, as he giggled, stretching his small hand toward his face. Sakura, who has been patiently waiting for her sensei to relax a bit, immediately rushed to her teammate's side, uncapable of controlling herself longer. She wriggled her forefinger in front of the child's face, her heart melting once he caught it.

"Hello, little one! I am auntie Sakura!", the baby grinned at her with its toothless smile and she let out an "aww" sound, before turning to you and your husband, "Kakashi-sensei, he really is your exact copy! Y/N, are you sure that's your child?"

You laughed at her joke, before shrugging your shoulders and pressing yourself closer to Kakashi.

"Trust me, I ask myself that every single day!"

Finally tearing your gaze away from Naruto and Sakura, you looked over to Sasuke, who remained frozen in his place. His eyes were focused on the little baby and there was a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips, but unlike his teammates he maintained a safe distance. Feeling someone was watching him, he turned his head in your direction, his cheeks going bright red once he realized you caught him staring.

"Sasuke", you smiled at him and everyone's attention went to the Uchiha, "Do you want to hold him too?"

The dark haired male gulped, his eyes widening. He nervously scratched his shoulder, his gaze going down to his feet.

"I...", he became silent, stealing one more glance at the baby. You found it almost amusing how he was a fearsome ninja that could take dozen of enemies at the same time, yet he felt scared to hold a tiny human.

Looking over at Naruto, you nodded your head, signalling him to pass your son to Sasuke. The blonde let out a huff, dragging his feet toward his teammate.

"Be careful! And hold the head!", he warned the Uchiha, who rolled his eyes in response.

"I know how to hold a baby, dobe! I am not stupid!"

"Language!", Kakashi warned next to you and you looked up at him, only for him to shake his head. It must've been hard dealing with these two for so many years, yet you knew your husband wouldn't had it any other way.

At this moment, surrounded by so much love and happiness, you felt like you finally had everything you wanted in life - an amazing husband, a healthy child and enormous support by anyone around you. If you could choose to re-live only one moment of your life, it would be this.

"You okay, my dove?", Kakashi whispered and you nodded your head, laying a small kiss on his covered chin.

"Never been better."

Unbeknown to you, all of Team 7 smiled at both of you, admiring how happy their sensei was. After decades of suffering and loss, Kakashi took the leap of faith and opened his heart to you. While he was unsure in the beginning if he was ready to be with someone and have a family, looking back he was glad he did.

Pulling down his mask, he laid a soft kiss on your forehead, before nuzzling his nose against it.

"I love you."

"I love you more."

cc artwork: Pietro Smurra

[yinemw]

𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬

context: celebrating bf Toji’s bday and also new years 🎇 (female reader)

warning: swearing, mentioned sex

character: Toji Fushiguro from JJK

m.list

“I wonder, how did your mother feel like when she gave birth to you and heard fireworks outside the hospital” you think out loud as you lick your fork, swallowing the rest of the chocolate cake you had made for Toji. Half of it already eaten by the birthday boy, well, birthday man.

“You’re an odd woman” Toji snickers as he cuts himself another piece of cake. A golden birthday hat sitting on his messy black hair as some confetti was still stuck to his clothes. This year it was just you and Toji celebrating his birthday and New Years. So you had surprised him when he came home from work, opening the confetti right in his face as he stepped into your shared apartment.

Letting out a soft giggle, you wrap your hands around his bicep and lean your head on his shoulder. “Remind me again why we’re not going to Shiu’s New Year’s party? It’s been fun every year”

Toji shrugged, taking another bite from his piece of cake. Humming when the velvety chocolate taste melted on his tongue, he always loved your baking. “I’m getting older, jumping around with a bunch of drunk adults isn’t really how I feel like spending the night. Besides, you’ve been talking about how you wanna go to the roof of the apartment complex and see the view. I bet we’ll see the fireworks even better from up there” he explains, seeming genuine for once.

Nodding along, you place a kiss to his jaw before pulling away. “Whatever my man wants on his birthday, as long as I get to kiss you at the countdown”

“You always do, brat”

A few hours went by, Toji and you enjoying your evening together. He was right, it certainly was cozier and quieter spending new years just the two of you.

A glass of wine rested between your fingers, your third glass that night, Toji’s fourth glass, yet he remained sober. Though his kisses did start to taste like red wine and chocolate.

“Always someone who has to start early” Toji grumbles as you hear fireworks go off outside. “Still 20 minutes till midnight”

“20 minutes goes by fast” you get up from his embrace on the couch, placing the wineglass on the table before hurrying to the kitchen. Hearing Toji groan from the living room as he follows after you. “We’ll need champagne, also I bought sparklers, and we can’t forget to put on jackets and scarf because it’ll be cold—”

“I stayed home so we wouldn’t need to stress, woman” your boyfriend snickers, pulling you by your hips right back into his chest. “Sparklers? Really?”

“Oh come on, if not for new years, at least let’s light them up for your birthday” you look up at him, batting your eyelashes as your hands sneak up his chest and neck.

“Fuck, you’d think it’s your birthday with the way I’m agreeing to your stupid ideas”

The two of you get dressed, Toji reluctantly having to wear a scarf after you wrapped it around him. He said he doesn’t need it, but he knows you won’t leave the apartment without him fully clothed.

“Whoa, how come we’ve never been up here before?” your eyes practically sparkle as you enter the rooftop. It was fairly high up, giving an amazing view of the city and starry sky. “We’re lucky, no one else is here”

“Fucking snow”

Turning around, you see Toji grumble annoyed as he steps through the snow.

“Told you to put on boots, yet you didn’t listen. I on the other hand have dry socks and no snow in my shoes”

“Whatever smart-ass”

Standing close to the railing, you take in a deep breath of the chilly winter air. It truly was a beautiful view from up here, and with Toji standing next to you, holding a bottle of champagne in his gloved hands, you can’t help but agree with him. This would be a much better new years.

“Hey Toji”

“Hm?”

“Happy birthday”

The older man let out a scoff, a slight smile on his lips as he kicks some snow. “Yeah whatever, thanks pretty”

Before you could say anything else, the sky gets lit up by fireworks. Flinching at the first few, you quickly get used to the loud sound as the various colors paint the night sky. “Shit, did we miss the countdown?!”

Toji looks at his phone, the time showing 00:00. “Yup”

“Told you 20 minutes goes by fast!” Wasting no further time, you wrap your arms around Toji’s shoulders and lean up to his face. Kissing his lips quickly, you continue to hear the fireworks around you as Toji pulls you closer. Not shying away from the kiss, Toji made sure that the first kiss of the year would be one you wouldn’t forget until next year.

Pulling away from his lips, and pushing Toji away slightly before he could go in for another smooch, you take the champagne bottle from him. “Quick quick, we’re already behind”

Toji watches you struggle to open it, letting out a chuckle as he admires the way the colors of the fireworks reflect off your face. “Gimme that, chicken arms”

“Chicken arms? Oh I see how it is, grandpa”

“It’s a new year, and the first insult you give me is grandpa—”

Finally, you manage to open the champagne, the cap going flying somewhere off the roof. “Uhm…”

Toji bursts out laughing, actually wholeheartedly laughing. It wasn’t often you saw him like this, but seeing him happy and carefree warmed your heart. Letting out a few giggles too, you pour two glasses of champagne and clink them together.

“Happy new years Toji”

“Happy new years brat”

“Would it kill you to be sweet for a second?!”

After chugging his champagne, Toji took out a lighter and the sparklers you had bought. “There, happy now?”

Smiling, you can’t help but nod your head. Taking out two sparklers and lighting them up. Twirling yours around, seeing the patterns it created. Even Toji seemed to be fascinated, following your lead and twirling it around, the light illuminating his face and making his eyes sparkle.

“What a pretty man I have”

Toji can’t help but smile, turning his head to look at you. Though he teased and made annoying comments, he was happy, more than happy. He felt content and whole.

“Seems like it’s a good thing we didn’t go to Shiu’s party”

“Oh yeah? Why?”

Toji lifts his phone for you to see. Shiu’s panicked messages of how chaotic his party was going and asking for Toji to come over and help.

“Poor Shiu…oh well, anyways, new years sex?”

“You read my mind”

[auggieblogs]

heartbreak girl | MV1 (pt.1)

part II

Summary: "I've loved you since we were kids, y/n, ever since I saw you at your 4th birthday party. I told my ma I was going to marry you someday."

Pairings: Max Verstappen x fem!reader

Warnings: language, mention of alcohol (and throwing up because of it)

Author's note: Heyyyy, hiii, lovelies. I hope you all are doing good!!! This fic is heavily inspired by "heartbreak girl" by 5sos, thank you to @navia3000 for requesting this (and thank you for LITERALLY breaking down the song for me😭🫶🏻). I know it's not completely based off the song but I tried my best. Anyways, happy reading, everyone<3

P.S.- This is definitely not my best work but I tried okay??? I really hope y'all like it and hopefully there will be a part 2.

―୨୧⋆ ˚masterlist

One thing you should know about Max Verstappen is that he harboured an intense loathing for one person in the world: Connor Smith, your now-ex-boyfriend. Max despised Connor with every fibre of his being. Connor was, in Max's eyes, a complete fuckwit, a lousy boyfriend who had repeatedly let you down. He never made time for you, often left your texts unanswered for hours, and failed to treat you the way you deserved. To make matters worse, he disrespected you, and that ignited something in Max, a desire to punch Connor's face every time he laid eyes on him, perhaps?

On the other side of the emotional spectrum, Max was head over heels in love with you. He was a silent, lovesick puppy, adoring everything about you – your infectious smile, your contagious laughter, your passion for music, and all those little quirks that made you uniquely you. Yet, despite these profound feelings, Max was too much of a pussy to confess any of this to you. His fear held him back, and it was the reason he watched you date Connor, even when he knew you deserved so much better.

But life has a way of unravelling complicated emotions. Connor eventually broke your heart. The pain was excruciating, the emotions raw and overwhelming.

Devastated, you found yourself in a mess, sprawled on your bathroom floor with a bottle of vodka in your trembling hand. Your face was flushed, your eyes bloodshot, and you felt like your world had collapsed.

Max's heart shattered into pieces as he saw you in such a fragile state. Without hesitation, he sank to the floor beside you, wrapping his arms around you and pulling you close to his chest. You cried uncontrollably, sobs wracking your body, and your breathing was ragged. Max's heart ached as he cradled your head, whispering soothing words to calm you.

Eventually, when your sobs ebbed to quiet sniffles, you looked up at Max. His face was etched with concern, but you hated that. You didn't want to be a burden to him. "He left" you whispered, tears welling up in your eyes once more.

"I figured," Max replied softly.

"I'm not the type of person who cries over a boy," you said, tears pricking your eyes again.

Max gently brushed away your tears, his touch comforting. "No, you're not," he said, still holding you close. You felt like throwing up, physically ill from the pain of your breakup. You had loved Connor, despite his flaws, and he had occasionally made you feel loved which only made you feel more confused and lost.

Unable to hold back any longer, you threw up, and Max was right there to help. He rubbed your back and held your hair, comforting you as a best friend would.

"Okay, shh, that's it," he said gently as you emptied your stomach. Afterward, he helped you off the floor, guided you to the sink, helped you brush your teeth, and washed your face. Max even braided your hair and performed your skincare routine for you.

Going to your wardrobe, he selected the comfiest pair of pyjamas and helped you change into them. Max knew he couldn't take away your pain, but he was determined to provide you with some distraction. After cleaning up, the two of you settled in to watch a movie in your bedroom. Max sat on the floor, close to the TV, and you were cozily nestled in bed.

Max still hadn't asked you about Connor because he knew you well enough to know that you would eventually talk about it. And you did.

Hours passed, and you finally mustered the strength to crawl over to Max and rest your head on his thighs. He looked down at you, a warm smile on his face.

"I'm really sorry," you said, your voice still trembling.

"For what?" he asked, genuinely puzzled by your apology.

"For being such a mess," you admitted, tears glistening in your eyes. "I know you had better things to do today. You shouldn't have to take care of me."

Max leaned down, brushing a gentle kiss against your forehead. "I want to take care of you," he said softly. "You needed me, and I'll always be here for you. You'd do the same for me."

A brief smile graced your lips, but it quickly faded as you voiced your deepest insecurity, "Do you think the reason he left me is because I'm not pretty enough?"

Max's heart clenched at your words, the overwhelming urge to kiss you and hold your face in his hands almost unbearable. But he knew this wasn't the right time, not when you were so emotionally vulnerable. He had to be strong for you.

"He left because he's an idiot, and he doesn't deserve you, y/n," Max said, his tone firm and unwavering. "Looks have nothing to do with it. You're beautiful, inside and out."

Tears welled in your eyes as his words washed over you. "He's the only one who's ever loved me. I've never had a boy like me, Max."

Max's heart ached for you, and for a moment, he allowed himself to stroke your hair gently. "You've always been loved," he whispered, his voice carrying the weight of years of unspoken emotion. "I've loved you since we were kids, y/n, ever since I saw you at your 4th birthday party. I told my ma I was going to marry you someday."

Max's confession hung in the air, a palpable tension that enveloped both of you. Your heart pounded in your chest as you stared into his eyes, the weight of his words sinking in. The room seemed to close in around you, and the tears welled up in your eyes as you whispered, "Max..."

[lucy90712]

Jude Bellingham with a bookworm reader going to the bookstore, like those videos on Tiktok where the boyfriends buy a bunch of books to their girlfriends 🥹

A/n: I had to post this today as it's my birthday and I got so many books so this seems fitting 

I woke up this morning to the feeling of kisses being pressed to my face and neck from Jude. I kept my eyes closed for a bit longer so he would keep kissing me but he caught on quickly that I was awake so I was made to open my eyes but I was rewarded for doing so with a kiss on my lips. He is usually quite affectionate but this morning he's being extra affectionate which I'm definitely not complaining about. Jude wasn't satisfied with just kisses though he wanted to cuddle so he moved my boom that was laying on my stomach from me falling asleep reading it and pulled me into his chest to cuddle. 

"Happy birthday my love" Jude said 

"Thank you" I said 

"I hope you're ready as I have a few surprises ready for you" he said 

"I'd like to think I'm ready but I never know with you there's always a chance that you will try and take me skydiving or something" I laughed 

"I promise I'm not going to do that you are going to love what I have planned" he said 

We cuddled in bed together for a while longer before he picked me up out of bed and carried me downstairs where he had set up balloons and banners which weren't there when we went to bed so he must've got up after I'd fallen asleep to do it all. There was also cards and presents sat on the table waiting for me some of which were clearly from my parents which he must've helped them send. Jude was still yet to put me down and he carried me to the spare room downstairs in his house which he didn't know what to with. Finally he put me down outside the door and made me close my eyes while he opened the door and lead me inside. I was a little scared as Jude's surprises can either be great or terrifying I always think about the time he surprised me with a giant spider he'd caught which freaked me out but he found so funny. 

He walked me inside and then allowed me to open my eyes which is when I saw what he'd done. The room which was completely empty now had book shelves across two of the walls and a comfortable chair with a lamp beside it. He'd made me a reading room because he knows how much I love reading. I read during every spare second in my life on my days off I read, before I got to bed I read even when a Jude takes me to his training sessions I spend most of the time reading. Books have always been my first love and I have so many of them but until now I had nowhere to put them so they are all in boxes hidden away in our garage. The fact that Jude had even thought about making this room a space for me to read in nearly made me tear up then he told me he built all the shelves himself whenever I wasn't home I couldn't stop a few tears leaving my eyes. 

"This is so amazing thank you so much" I said trying to hold back more tears 

"Its ok I'm glad you like it I realised that this house just feels like my home with my gym and all of the trophies and pictures hanging up so I wanted you to have your own space where you can do what you enjoy" Jude said 

"You're the best boyfriend ever I hope you know that" I said jumping into his arms to hug him 

We decided that later we would start organising my books onto the shelves but we didn't have time right now as Jude said he still has more surprises in store. First we had to get ready as he told me we are going to breakfast with some friends before we can do our next activity. Jude has really gone all out for my birthday this year which isn't necessary as all I really want is to spend the day together but he always promised me when we first got together when we were 17 that once he made it in football he'd spoil me and I guess this is him doing that. Last year we didn't get to spend my birthday together because we had conflicting schedules so Jude promised he'd make my next birthday perfect which he's doing a good job so far. 

Breakfast with our friends was really nice I haven't seen them in a while as Jude and I have been away so it was nice to catch up and they all gave me lovely gifts. We couldn't stay long as Jude insisted we had somewhere to be but he wouldn't tell me or even our friends where we were going. Once we were back in the car he made me close my eyes as he put in the address in case I knew where we were going and then again when we got closer I had to keep my eyes closed again so I couldn't see where we ended up. Jude even helped me out the car so nothing would be spoiled until he was ready for me to see. 

I heard the noise of a bell like the ones they have on the doors of smaller shops to signal that someone has come in which is exactly when I was allowed to have my sight back. Once my eyes adjust I realised that we were in a book store and not just any book store the one I always see on my way home from work but have never been into as I usually don't have time to stop. The entire place was empty which had me confused until Jude said that he had rented out the store for an hour so I could walk around and look at all the books with no one bothering me. I didn't need more encouragement than that to start walking down all the rows and rows filled with books to look at them all. 

I've never had a favourite genre or author I just love reading any book that sounds like it had an interesting storyline. Even though they say don't judge a book by its cover I definitely do as if I can see that a book as a cool cover I am more likely to pick it up and read the back. I picked up quite a few books off the shelves all of which were interesting and seemed like a good read but I was selective on the ones I kept hold of as I know if I let myself I'd just read everything in the whole store. I was so in my own world that I completely forgot that Jude was even there I spent my time looking at books and talking to myself about whether they seemed good or not. If I could live in a bookstore like this one I'd be happy forever and I suppose if Jude was here that would make it even better but even without him I'd be happy if I was surrounded by this many books. 

After I'd walked through the whole store I had five books in my arms which were the best books I found in the store. That was when I remembered that Jude was there and I turned around to find him as he could've left in the time that I was in my own world. He hadn't left though he was stood right behind me holding even more books that I’d picked up but ultimately put down. I looked at him confused but he just had a big smile on his face. 

"What are you doing?" I asked 

"I want you to fill up your little home library and I know you have a lot of books but you'll finish those books you've got in less than a month and I want you to still have something to look forward to reading at least until Christmas when I can top up your to read list again" he said 

"That's really sweet of you but I don’t need this many books plus it'll cost a lot of money" I said 

"Well it's a good thing I have the money to spend on them then but seriously don't worry about how much it costs I'm doing this as I want to spoil you you never spend money on yourself so please let me do this for you" he said 

"As long as you promise you won't do this all the time and it's just this once then I'll let you" I said 

"I promise now come on let's get all these books and head home to put them all on the shelves" Jude smiled 

I think Jude was so much more excited about putting together what he likes to call my mini library. As soon as we got back home he went and got all the boxes we've stored away while I got us some snacks and drinks to fuel us as we start what will be a long task. First I had to decide how I wanted to organise everything which was hard but in the end I decided to do it by author as I'll be able to keep better track of where everything is that way. I got all the books together and Jude put them up on the shelves for me which was the easy part of the job as I spent more time telling him about the storyline of some of the books I'd forgotten about but loved so much. Jude has never been a reader but he still listens to me whenever I'm telling him about whatever book I'm reading and he makes an effort to always ask me about my current read which really means a lot to me as it shows he understands that reading is to me what football is to him. 

It took hours but eventually we had every single book on the shelves in alphabetical order based on author. It was a magnificent sight the walls that were plain the last time I came in here are now covered with the many colours of the books I own which made me feel weirdly calm and at home. This room is definitely going to become my safe space where I can come when I need to get away and that's the best present Jude has ever given me. 

"I'm not going to see you for a week straight now we've finished this am I" Jude laughed 

"Possibly but if you join me and read one of the books then you'll see me" I said 

"I'd much prefer you read a book to me I love listening to you read" he said 

"I think that can be arranged but you have to decide what book you want to read so I'd get looking there's a lot to choose from" I laughed 

"I'll think about that tomorrow right now I want to spend the rest of your birthday spoiling you" he said 

"You are definitely doing a good job of that so far I've had the best birthday" I said 

[cosyvelvetorchid]

From a prompt sent by @titanlord231 ❤️

********

Buck stood leaning against the kitchen door frame just watching Tommy. He did that a lot. Two years they had been together and not a day went by where Buck didn't look at him with awe; still not quite totally believing that Thomas Kinard - the hero firefighter pilot who flew in to a hurricane on a whim - was his.

"Would you like me to do a little dance for you?" Tommy asked not looking at him.

"I mean, kinda." He replied and Tommy laughed. He finished plating up their breakfast and placed rbe plates on the table.

"Happy anniversary, baby." He leaned forward pressing his lips onto Bucks.

"Happy anniversary."

"So, are you going to tell me yet where we're going tonight?" Tommy asked. Buck shook his head.

"Nope." He grinned.

"You're such a tease"

"Yep."

"So can I know anything?' Tommy asked. Tommy had been not a huge fan of surprises. Mostly because his experience of surpises growing up were never good ones. But he'd learned that Evan only ever surpised him in the loveliest ways.

Like when he sometimes brings him breakfast in bed, which nobody had done for him before. Or before he moved in and Tommy got the flu, Evan cooked a whole weeks worth of meals for him, and put them in his freezer while he was asleep (Tommy kept the note he'd written that he left next to him). Or last year for his birthday when Evan had got in contact with some of his old army buddies, who showed up at the bar they were at as a surpise.

"Just wear something nice."

****

Buck lead Tommy down the street, his hand grasping Tommy's tightly.

"C'mon not even a hint if where we're going?" Tommy asked impatiently.

"No need - were here." Buck pointed across the street to the pizzeria.

"Our first date?" Tommy smiled

"I've been promising to take you back so we can redo it so I figured why not on our anniversary." Buck beamed at him and Tommys heart squeezed itself harder in his chest. He was inclined to argue and tell him there was no need to redo it, but Evan wanted to do it. Besides the look of excitement on his face was enough to shut Tommy up.

They spent the next two hours eating and talking and laughing. Unlike their first date there was no nerves, no awkwardness or humiliation. When they weren't needing their hands to eat they were attached across the table.

"Thank you, baby." Tommy pulled Evan to him for a kiss as they left the restaurant. He pushed further into Evans lips eliciting a quiet moan from both of them. He pulled away and rested his forhead on Evans.

"How about we finish this date off at home?" His voice was low and breathy. Buck knew what that meant. But there was one more thing he wanted to do first.

"Actually there's somewhere else we have to go first." He excitedly told him.

"Evan, you didn't have to do all this for me." Tommy said softly.

"I know. I wanted to. Its not far, don't worry. Then you can take me home for dessert." Tommy felt his pulse in his groin at Evans words.

"I'm going to hold you to that." He said as Evan took his hand and walked them back to the car.

Ten minutes driving and they pulled up. Buck got out and walked toward the building.

"Do you remember this place?" He asked.

"Yeah. We had coffee here. You asked me to your sisters wedding."

"Well, on the theme of recreating our first date I thought why not recreate this one too." Buck explaind. Tommy was confused.

"Evan, its 10:30pm at night - they're closed."

"Are they?" He asked, hand reaching out to knock on the glass door with his knuckle. A man in his 50s walked towards the door to unlock it.

"Hey Buck."

"Hey Tony. This is my boyfriend Tommy. Tommy this is Tony - he owns the place. He's agreed to open up just for the evening for us. Come on." He lead Tommy through the café and outside to the table that they had sat on. There were twinkling lights hanging all around giving everything a soft warm glow.

A minute after they sat down Tony came out and took their coffee order.

"Hopefully this time you'll like the coffee I bought you." Buck smiled

"I can't even remember what it was you got me, I just remember it was bad." He said and they both laughed.

"So tell the truth - how did you really feel when I invited you to my sisters wedding? Buck asked.

"Surpised honestly. Being a date to someone for a wedding is a big deal anyway but the fact it was going to be your family was even bigger a deal."

"Were you tempted to say no?"

"No. " He stated clearly. "I wanted to go with you but I needed to know that you knew how big a deal it was. I've since come to realise you like to jump I'm with both feet first regardless." He smiled. He loved that about Evan; his determination and passion to go for what he wants.

"I'm happy you did." He placed his hand on to Tommys mimicking their date 2 years ago. Tommy reciprocated.

"Me too." Tommy replied, with that famous crinkly-eyed smile that Buck couldn't get enough of.

"Speaking of weddings there's another one I wanted to invite you too." Buck admitted.

"Yeah? Who's getting married?"

Buck took a second to breath before standing up, reaching for the little box in his back pocket then taking a knee.

"Us."

"Evan.." Tommy's mouth was open as he looked down at Evan holding a little black Black velvet box with a black tungsten band inside.

"Tommy, my whole life I felt like there was something missing. No matter how hard i searched for it, I never found it; convinced I wouldn't. And then you flew us into a hurricane and.. and though my body came home I feel like my soul is still in there in the middle of it with you." His emotions rose up and tears began to fall slowly down his cheeks. "You have made my life infinitely better than I ever thought was possible. I love you so much and want to spend the rest of my life making you happy. Will you marry me? "

Tommy could hardly believe what was happening. His sweet, kind, gorgeous boyfriend wants to marry him. He never thought in a million years he would ever be in this place where the love of his life would be down on knee proposing. There was just one small issue though..

Tommy stood from his seat and a giant tsunami rushed over Bucks bones . For a moment he thought he was leaving. Instead, Tommy gave Evan the biggest surpise of his life by kneeling in front of him, reaching for something in his inside jacket pocket. He pulled out a black leather box and opened it revealing a tarnished silver band.

"Evan, I spent my entire life in fear. Fear of who I am, of who I wanted to be. Fear of being accepted. Always holding myself back because I was so scared of getting hurt again. And then you got into my chopper and suddenly everything changed." Tommy was now the one getting emotional, with his chin wobbling, tears rolling down his cheeks. "You taught me what love is. What kindness and support is. You made me feel like I didn't have to be scared anymore. And that even if I ever am, that ill have you to hold my hand through it. I love you more than I ever thought it possible to love another person. Evan, will you marry me?

Buck sniffed and wiped tears from his cheeks.

"I asked you first." He laughed.

"Of course I will marry you." Tommy answered with a smile so big Buck thought he'd never seen it before.

"Yes I'll marry you." He finally answered.

Tommy reached a hand forward grabbing Evans neck and pulling him into a deep kiss. A kiss that tasted of a wonderful future with the man he loved.

[systemadministratorclu]

Y'all, I just HAD to share this, because holy shit.

A little background first:

I run the drive-thru cash register window at a fast food joint. One of the shittiest jobs there is because some of the rudest/stupidest people on the planet come through the drive-thru, and one must have near superhuman patience to deal with it. That said, there are customers who come regularly and are not hard to deal with at all. And then there are some-very few and far between-that restore your faith in humanity a little every time they come.

This is about one such customer.

This guy comes every day at about the same time with his grandson (6 years old when this started, recently turned 7) and gets the exact same thing every time. To the point where now either I see their car or I hear the guy say his name (whichever happens first) and I'm already ringing them up. Because of this, the kid now thinks I have weirdly specific psychic powers, and has said he prefers coming to the place when I'm there. He's also decided I'm the best employee this place has. The granddad talks to me like I'm a human, they're always smiling and happy to see me (which means a lot in this line of work, let me tell you) and even on my shittiest days, they've managed to make me smile. I genuinely look forward to seeing these people every day.

Recently, grandson was hella excited to tell me he had a birthday coming up. Reminded me every day "my birthday's coming!" as most 6yo kids do.

Maybe I was feeling a little holiday spirit or something, but one day after work, I went to the Dollar Tree near the restaurant. I picked out a kid's birthday card and a Christmas card. I wrote a message in the Christmas one about what I just explained above, thanking them for bringing some joy to my days, because y'know what? People need to hear that shit. Especially in today's world. And I wanted them to know how much this meant to me. I wrote a little joke in the birthday card about not forgetting the day. Then I looked in my wallet, saw I had a $10 and a $1, and stuck the $10 in the birthday card. Addressed the birthday card to the kid and the Christmas one to kid and grandpa. I give the cards to them on their normal drive-thru visit. They are of course surprised (kid starts yelling "thank you" even though he hasn't gotten to open it yet) but thankful. Then the line moves on.

Fast forward to today.

I see the car come in but I don't start ringing the order up, because it's WAY early for them. I give my usual greeting, then I hear a woman's voice, so I think it's someone in the same kind of car. But when she asks "is this Hal?" I then realize it's the kid's mother, whom he has told all about me and who has come through with him before.

I say yes, and she tells me she's not here to order anything, just to see me, since kid and granddad are sick. I tell her to come on to the window, she does, and hands me a card and a nicely wrapped gift. I asked her to tell them hi for me, she said she would and then the line moved.

I got off on lunch break and opened card and gift.

I was not prepared. At all.

This is the gift...

...the card (no writing on the front).....

.....and the typed note inside the card that actually brought tears to my eyes.

......I'm still not over this. I will be thinking about how this went on for OVER HALF A FUCKING YEAR and I had no idea.

This is the kind of stuff that makes this shitty job worth it. People like this....We need more of in this world. I'm going to hold onto that note so when I feel like shit or I don't matter, I can look at it and know there's a kid out there who I am so important to that he got his dad to write a whole-ass letter, to some random stranger he only knows through his son, inviting me to their fucking house. I'm tearing up again as I write this, just thinking about it.

If that doesn't say "you matter", idk what does.

(And yes, I will go at some point, because how can I not? I'm not gonna dash this kid's hopes and make myself look like an enormous asshole. This is the RL version of being handed a toy phone and told it's ringing)

[semisgroupie]

ONLY THE BEST FOR MY TREASURE

mikage reo x fem. reader x nagi seishiro

wc: 1.8k

warnings: threesome, established relationship (reo x reader), nagi and reo kiss, unprotected sex, creampie, oral sex (m & f receiving), dubcon, use of a blindfold, cum eating, hints at poly towards the end, multiple orgasms (f! receiving)

synopsis: reo gives nagi a birthday gift he’ll never forget

Reo considers himself one of the luckiest men alive.

Most people have to worry about their significant others getting along with their friends but not Reo. He is thankful enough to have a beautiful, wonderful girlfriend and he’s even more thankful that you and Nagi get along perfectly.

So when Nagi’s birthday was coming up, Reo thought of the perfect present to give his best friend, you.

Reo is very observant and has noticed how Nagi’s dark eyes light up whenever you walk in a room. He's seen the way Nagi insists on having you around whenever he and Reo are hanging out, but he remembers Nagi’s little drunken confession. Nagi confessed his dirty little secret, the secret being that he would do anything for a night with you. That he’d love to hear the way you moan and whine, he’d love to see your naked body writhe with pleasure, and he’d love to bury his cock into your tight pussy.

So, being the great friend that Reo is, he decided to give Nagi what he’s been wanting for a long time.

“Reo, you said that we were going out. If you just wanted me to come over, you could’ve just said so.” Nagi groaned as he followed Reo through the door of his penthouse that he shared with you. Reo chuckled at the complaint, “just relax, I have your gift here and I wanted to give it to you first. Now come on, it's in the bedroom.”

As Nagi followed Reo, he started to wonder where you were. Normally you would tag along with Reo wherever you two went but you were nowhere to be found. So, when Reo opened the bedroom door, Nagi’s eyes widened at the sight. You were on the bed dressed in a beautiful lingerie set, your back was to the headboard and a silk blindfold covered your eyes. Reo leaned in close to Nagi and whispered, “happy birthday, go get your present but don’t be too loud, you don’t want to ruin the moment yet.”

You chewed on your bottom lip as you waited for your boyfriend, out of the blue he surprised you with a new lingerie set and a blindfold. All he told you was that you had to put it on and just wait for him, so you did exactly that. You finally heard footsteps approaching and you turned your head to the sound, “Reo? Baby, are you here?” Nagi stopped at the foot of the bed and Reo walked over to your side, leaning in to kiss you softly, “I’m here my love. Are you ready for your reward? You waited so patiently for me and did exactly what I asked of you, just spread your legs for me okay?”

You eagerly did as he asked, showing Nagi that the lingerie you were wearing was crotchless. His mouth watered at the sight, you just looked perfect like that. Your pussy looked so slick and so beautiful, he just had to dive in. His gray eyes looked over to meet Reo’s and once Reo gave a nod of approval, Nagi dove right in.

He hooked his arms under your soft thighs and licked at your pussy like a man starved. His tongue explored every crevice to get all of your juices on his tongue. Moans fell from your lips and your back arched off the bed, what you were feeling was slightly different from when your boyfriend normally ate you out but you pushed it to the backburner, attributing the different feeling to having the blindfold on. Instinctively you lifted your hands to tangle your fingers into his hair but Reo quickly pinned them down to the bed. “No, no, my love. I need you to keep your hands on the bed. Be good for me and just grip the sheets.”

Your eyebrows furrowed a bit at his words but the tongue on your pussy made you push any questions aside. Well, it made you push most of your questions aside. There was one that was still lingering in the back of your mind, how could he speak so clearly and still keep his mouth on your pussy?

Nagi dipped his tongue into your entrance and gripped your thighs tighter as he fucked you with his tongue. He groaned against your pussy and Reo couldn’t help but stroke himself over his pants. The sight in front of him was perfect, his best friend making his girlfriend feel immense pleasure. He couldn’t ask for anything better. But he couldn’t just stand on the sidelines and watch, he had to get himself involved. He leaned down licked at your nipples through the thin lacy fabric of your lingerie. You gasped at the feeling, too wrapped up in the pleasure to realize that there were two mouths on you.

Reo continued to lap at your nipple before lifting one of his hands to lift the blindfold off your eyes. You blinked a few times to adjust to the light and your eyes widened at the sight in front of you. “Reo? Seishiro? What’s going on?” Nagi only pulled off slightly so he could rest his head on your thigh, his dark eyes already looked glazed over and his lips and chin were covered in your juices.

“Well, remember when I mentioned that one of my friends wanted to fuck you and you just took it as a joke? It wasn’t a joke and I decided that it’ll be a fun birthday gift.” He smiled and leaned in close to your ear, “don’t think I forgot about your little drunken confession either, how you said that you’d want to be sandwiched between Sei and I.” He pulled back and looked down at you. “So what do you say? Wanna give him a good birthday gift?”

Heat spread across your cheeks as you looked down at Nagi, it was like it was taking everything in him to not shove his face back in your pussy. You tore your eyes from his and looked back at your boyfriend. “Yes, I want to give him a good birthday gift.” As the words left your lips, Nagi gripped your thighs tightly and shoved his face back in your pussy. Your back arched off the bed and Reo reached a hand out to caress your cheek. “Why don’t you make me feel good while he makes you feel good?”

He removed his hand from your cheek and undid his pants then took them off with his boxers to reveal his hard cock. You lifted yourself a bit and leaned in close while he cradled the back of your head with one hand and gripped his cock with the other. You opened your mouth and Reo pushed his cock inside, groaning at the feeling of your warm mouth. You bobbed your head along his length and Nagi looked up to watch you with half lidded eyes. He began to rut his hips against the bed while Reo started fucking your face.

Your moans and gags were muffled as the tip of your boyfriend’s cock hit the back of your throat and Nagi kept devouring you like a man starved. The pleasure was all too much and the knot in your stomach was threatening to snap. Reo saw all the telltale signs of your impending orgasm and pulled out of your mouth to let you cry out and announce it. Nagi helped you ride out your orgasm and pulled away only when you reached your hands down to push him away.

He panted as he looked at you and your boyfriend then turned his attention back to you completely. “You can fuck me Sei, I want to make you feel good for your birthday.” Both men groaned at your words and while Nagi started to undress, Reo helped you go on all fours and kneeled in front of your face. You gripped your boyfriend’s cock in one hand and took it back into your mouth while Nagi positioned himself behind you and pushed himself inside you in a quick thrust.

He wasn’t as thick as Reo but his cock was longer and it curved perfectly to hit your sweet spot each time he bottomed out. Your eyes rolled back at the feeling of his cock dragging through your sensitive walls and you moaned around your boyfriend’s cock. Both men started to pick up the pace of their thrusts, Nagi bottomed out at the same time as Reo with each calculated thrust. Groans and moans left the mouths of both men as they thrusted with perfect precision. It made your mind fuzzy and as you looked up at your boyfriend, the sight made your mind grow even fuzzier.

He reached a hand out to pull Nagi close and through teary eyes you watched as they kissed, they kissed with almost the same amount of passion that filled the kisses you shared with your boyfriend. You watched them closely and it felt almost natural, it was like the three of you were meant to be in a place like this. Nagi snaked a hand down to rub your clit and that quickly pulled you away from any thoughts.

You brought your hand up to grip onto your boyfriend’s thigh and gently squeezed the toned flesh to try to signal your impending orgasm. He pulled back from Nagi and looked down at you with a smile, “go on and cum for us. I’m close too and I’m sure my treasure is too.” Nagi let out a breathy “mhm” in response and started rubbing your clit faster. “Please cum, it’ll make my day even better, angel. Make a mess on my cock.” Nagi’s voice was barely above a whisper, like his words were only meant to graze you and Reo’s ears and no one else’s.

It only took a few thrusts for you to cum and that set off a chain reaction. Nagi pressed his hips against yours and held you close as he filled you with cum and Reo held your head in place as he pushed his cock in your mouth entirely and finished down your throat. Reo pulled out first then Nagi and you all landed on the bed, panting heavily.

You looked at both men and spoke up first, “I’d really like to do that again and keep doing it. It just felt right between the three of us.” Reo chuckled and nodded at your words and Nagi leaned in to press his lips against yours softly.

“Sounds perfect, thank you for the birthday present. I think this’ll be the best birthday I’ve had.” He sighed softly and Reo sat up. “The celebration isn’t over yet, we’re just getting started and the cake should be coming in about 10 minutes so catch your breath and be ready to sing happy birthday then we can just keep fucking for the rest of the day. Give the birthday boy a proper birthday celebration.”

taglist (link in Navi): @litepowee @satmitsuplanet @benkeibear

[asherthehimbo]

Lightning in the Dark

synopsis: Yunho as a son of Zeus has always sought to defy his father, and well falling for the daughter of Nyx? that certainly sounds like something that would piss off his father. Well too bad, for Zeus- his spawn is much more powerful than he anticipated, and he can't do anything about it.

pairing: Son of Zeus! Yunho x Daughter of Nyx!Oc (Kyu), Side couple of Lee Felix X Male! Oc (Kai)

words: 28k

warnings: some of the gods aren't good parents but tbh wbk, abusive ex, mentions of abuse, stereotyping? suggestive content, violence, blood, fights, death, talks of infirtility, stabbing, mentions/ implications of suicide and r@pe but it's very breath and only in the begining (fuck Zeus, we say in unison🗣️🗣️), mature language and suggestive themes but no actual smut, Yunho is down bad

notes: WAHHH I BEEN WAITING TO WRITEEE THISSSS, it's an idea I've had for so long and after me and @kaisworlds plotted sm for this I decided to write for it because its stuck in my brain I can't do this anymoreeeeeee, anyway Skz & Atz are both involved in this. Godly parents and connections are explained here, I suggest you read that before reading this if you don't know a lot about Greek gods. also this is labeled as Oc since there are some specifics like hair color but I tried to make it inclusive so feel free to imagine yourself! also playlist! also thank you Nana ( @seongsangssbitch ) and Rayray ( @grapejellysollie) for supporting me while writing this <333 NOT proofread so if you find any mistakes please lmk<3 Happy birthday to me! as Ody said in epuc "A trade you see a gift from you and a gift from me" for all the love and support you've given me I wanted to give you guys this as a present on my birthday!

Die with a smile- Bruno Mars, Lady Gaga | Apocalypse - Cigarettes after sex | Hunter- Paris Paloma | So beuatifull- Dpr Ian | West coast - Lana del ray | Car's outside- James Arthur | K- Cigarettes after sex | Fable- Gigi Perez

Yunho's mother- his biological mother was a beautiful woman, delicate sun-kissed skin and a tiny stature, long hair that's always tied into a French braid in all the photos he's seen. His Dad had told him about her, of the woman he fell in love with, the woman who looked so much like Yunho, but Yunho doesn't think any of his visions of her could ever match to the kindness his Dad had described. He hadn't ever met her, or he supposes he had, but he was too young to remember her then, before her death. So all he's left with is the stories his Dad would tell him right before bed. 

Stories of monsters and gods, stories of creatures far more powerful than they thought possible, he told Yunho of people Yunho would meet- Yunho would always disagree, stating that the stories were just that- stories, but his Dad would give him that warm smile, eyes glistening with knowledge that Yunho was yet to learn. 

See Yunho's mother wasn't a normal woman, well not the two years before her death anyway, not anymore. She and Yunho's dad had lived a quiet life on a tiny farm, the two of them had been in a type of love Yunho could only describe as pure by the stories he was told. His mother was beautiful both inside and out- but her beauty had seemed to be her downfall, as one day, the day Yunho's dad didn't join his wife in the strawberry fields of their little farm, the most horrific thing had happened. 

Zeus, king of the gods, slayer of Kronos, god of the sky and thunder had seen Yunho's mother, in his usual adulterous ways had swayed her into warming his bed, and well- that's how Yunho came to be. His mother had been enamored with the king of the gods, no longer content with the quiet life she lived with her husband, no now she strived to be something more at least that's what his dad told him she had believed while pregnant. 

Yunho's mortal father, his dad, had loved her no matter her indiscretions, and sometimes Yunho thinks he's stupid for it. Loving the woman that had left him the moment a more powerful being came into play, that hadn't been the love Yunho was told stories about, not the love they had before. Loving someone when they tell you that you aren't enough for them anymore, it seemed wrong to Yunho. 

But then his father had told him, after his birth the spell had been released, and his mother had broken down in a panic at the realization of what the last few months of her life had come to, his mother was not a willing participant in Zeus's escapades, and the god had seemingly placed her in a false sense of delusion when he placed his offspring in her belly, but now that Yunho had been born, that delusion had worn off and all that was left was the shell of a woman she previously was. 

His mother had been named Eun-kyung for ‘graceful gem’, but after his birth, all that had been left was a lump of coal eating away at her darkened soul. Yunho couldn't imagine what she must have gone through, the shattering of the perfect delusion that had been so carefully placed in her mind by a power beyond her control. Yunho  guessed that's why she decided to leave them, to join the Elysian fields, the guilt of betraying her love, the hatred for the god that ruined her - and the lack of love for her own son must have driven her- and Yunho couldn't blame her for that. 

Jeong Eunwoo, his Dad, not Zeus, no that man would never be referred to as his dad for as long as Yunho lives, but his mortal dad had been his biggest support. His dad was a kind man, always had a warm smile and a helping hand to offer to anyone in need, and he had taught Yunho the same. Even after the death of his beloved wife, his love for Yunho never faltered, he never showed Yunho a hint of aggression or inkling of blame, but Yunho knows it must have hurt. He could see it on the nights when they would sit at the table and his father would stare at him with this far off gaze, he used to hate himself for it, he was the spitting image of his mother, but with the blond hair and golden brown eyes of the god who ruined her. 

Yunho's woken up countless nights, little feet silently padding from his room to the kitchen where he would see his dad silently crying to a picture of his mother, he never interrupted, despite the love he was raised with, he knew it must've been hard for his father, living in the home they built together without her. He never blamed his father for these moments of sadness, for the moments of regret he could catch in his eyes before it disappeared, he never blamed his father because his father never blamed him. Never blamed Yunho for being the cause of his mothers death, and Yunho will forever be grateful for that. 

Yunho was barely two years old when she first came to visit him, it was right after the death of his mother and despite his dad's efforts, the older man had been in his own period of mourning. She had visited him in the middle of the night, with an intimidating gaze and a light golden glow around her that fascinated the little brain of Yunho. 

Hera, queen of the gods, wife of Zeus, goddess of marriage, women and childbirth had stared down at his sleeping figure with disgust. Another demi-god offspring caused by her husband's infidelity, another boy that would grow up as egotistical as his father, trying to overthrow her for not accepting him, it happened countless times before and she had told Zeus to stop. That if he didn't ensure his seed would stay off the earth, she would. She had done this many times, but when the little babe had opened its eyes something in her heart stuttered. 

A heart she had thought she lost long ago, that had been chipped at by Zeus with each act of infidelity, each proclamation he made- a heart she thought had finally given up when he married her darling Hebe off to Heracles. But this little babe, he had the eyes of Zeus, not the Zeus he was now, not the parallel of who their father was- no, he had the eyes of a young Zeus. Of a little god determined to save his family, to love and cherish the earth, of a Zeus before power and paranoia reached him. Of Zeus when he had promised her the world, not the Zeus who had taken her title of goddess of marriage and dragged it through the mud. No, he was different, he was… pure so to speak. 

He had the eyes all her and Zeus's children had before they were touched by their fathers vile hands, and when he reached up at her, smiling in the darkness, she couldn't help but smile back. In a moment of weakness, a moment of nostalgia the goddess had reached down and let the babe cradle one of her fingers in his tiny hand, and he was so… warm. Not cold like the sky during Zeus's storms, not scalding like the fire caused by her husband's lightning, no he was just- warm, comforting, like the arms of her sisters had been before the revolution. 

She couldn't bring herself to kill him as she planned, not that night at least, no, she would allow him tonight and come for him tomorrow, the pure soul deserved that at least. Only when she appeared the next night, with the same plan- albeit some added hesitance, the babe was not alone in his room. Beside his crib sat a man, he was handsome, and for a moment Hera thought he might do the job for her. For had this babe not been caused by his own wife's indiscretions? She could not see his face, but she saw the strain of his back muscles, the clench of his hand on the wood of the cradle, and she had mistaken it for anger. 

“You're here for him aren't you? for my boy?” he had whispered, surprising Hera, she had thought her glamor had made her invisible to mortals, “I apologize my Queen, but I can't let you take him. I can't let you kill my son” The man breathed, his hand that was tight around the wood loosening as he gently held the sleeping child's head. Hera would've cursed the man had he been any other by now, but she did not have the rage to do so tonight, rather she had sympathy, this man must not have known, she wonders what his wife had told him then, what lies the woman had spun. 

“He is not yours mortal, you must be aware of that” she had replied, her voice as cold as the golden glow illuminating her in the dark nursery. “He is more mine than he is My Queen's husband's. I am the one raising him…. please, please My Queen, he is all I have left of her” the man breathed, and Hera could hear the tears in his strained voice. “Left of who? “ Hera asked without thought, “of my wife” the man had responded, finally turning to face Hera. 

“Your wife left you and the babe?“ she asked incredulously, studying the man's sunken features, he looked truly horrible at the moment, like a ghost of a person. “She had not just left us my Queen… the moment his delusion in her mind had broken, and she had realized what was done to her, she had left our mortal plane completely I'm afraid” the man's head droops down, and it all clicks for the goddess. 

He has not shouted at her yet, so he's clearly not as stupid as most mortal men she's come across, he loves this babe, he's raised this child with love despite his own mourning, and that's why the child's eyes are so pure. The child no longer has a mother he would use to try and replace her with in some deluded sense of proving himself to his father-to Zeus. No this child is just…. a child. There's a moment of silence before Hera speaks, “Very well then… I am not here to kill your child” she walks forward, placing a hand upon the man's shoulder as she looks down into the cot. “I am simply observing the current cause of my curiosity” the man does not respond to her words, probably for the best, she muses. Humans tend to say stupid things when overwhelmed with emotions. 

For now she'll leave the babe, watch it grow, if it ever does turn into its father like it's many brothers and sisters before had tried- well then she'll still have enough power to kill it. But the stars twinkle and the night seems to shift, as if the ancient Titaness that personifies it had been told something by her three daughters that Hera isn't aware of. For now she'll trust fate, she'll trust the Fates, unlike her husband she can understand when a being more powerful than her is at play. When a fate that is not her own is to be woven. 

˜”°•.˜”°• ⋆ •°”˜.•°”˜

Hera had often come down to check on the little babe, her husband had been too busy with his own prospects to notice, she scoffs, of course he didn't care about the one babe she had allowed him to have. But she shouldn't complain. 

Visits that started out as ‘insurance’ of her position as Queen of Olympus had turned into much more, she wouldn't admit it, not yet at least, but the babe had grown on her- and so had his father. She would often join the man in telling Yunho bedtime stories, and comfort him when he was missing his wife. These two had become her own secret little family, a present Hera would treasure and protect. Like an old friend and a son untouched by the unholy divinity of the gods, they had made her feel at peace. 

But of course the mother of war could not live in peace for long. Ares, god of war and courage, the spirit of the battle personified in one hot headed god. Hera loved her son, despite all his antics, and he loved his mother in turn- so it was only a matter of time before he had started noticing his mothers absences. Sure she could blame it on the higher marriage rate, ensuring she had more work on earth- but Ares didn't believe that, if living in this family taught him anything, it was that gods would never share their truth-even when they had no reason to hide it. The paranoia of the divine was a fickle thing. 

Ares was never known for his stealth, much preferring brutish force in the throes of his battles, but he had picked up a thing or two from Athena. So he had quietly followed his mother down to earth one evening, using the skills he acquired to remain undetected. The sun had started setting as he stared at his mother, the usually stoic goddess’s face now holding a small, pure smile he had only remembered seeing as a child. Before the fights with his father, before Hebe was given away, a smile he had longed to see back on her face. 

Only this smile was not directed at him, not it was directed to the little boy running up to his mother with a smile that mirrored her own, the boy couldn't have been older than 6- if Ares's knowledge of human children were correct- the boy seemed to be around the age of Ares's own youngest currently. He stares as a man walks behind the boy slowly, greeting his mother with a soft upwards tilt of his lips. The scene seemed so… comfortable. 

His mother lifted up the little boy, as if she was not a divine being and he was not just some - human. Thoughts run to the forefront of his mind, conclusions messily drawn as they always are in his brain. Had his mother had enough of his fathers infidelity? had she created a secret family of her own? but that couldn't be right? His mother was the goddess of marriage, as much as he wished she could, he knew going against her marriage with his father would be going against her very being. Nights he's spent begging her to leave Zeus, where she would just look down at him sympathetically, pat his head and leave it at that. 

And now she had a family, a family he wasn't a part of- a family she didn't share with him. Hurt consumes him, but it quickly turns to rage as it always does, something in him snaps, whether it be jealousy of the toddler clinging to his mothers side, or his own insecurity of not understanding the situation, it bubbled up in his chest until it spilled out his throat, in one loud, guttural scream that silenced the whole field bathed in fading sunlight. “MOTHER-YOU- LET GO OF HIM MOTHER” 

Ares had walked forward with force, he didn't charge- he would never charge at his mother, but the man beside her could be a great target to release his anger. The mortal at least had the mind to look scared, grabbing the child from Hera as she looked at Ares in shock, the child whom Ares could sense a faint aura of divinity from buried his face in his fathers neck as he looked away.  “Mother what- are you alright? What has happened? What is this?” Ares' words are shot from his mouth faster than the twins shoot their arrows. His hands fly to his mothers face, gently holding her chin and inspecting her, as if searching for a crack in a porcelain doll- scared she had been broken. 

“Ares it's not-” she tries to interrupt her son’s thoughts but his anger is boiling at a degree not even Prometheus' fire could reach.  “No mother, what is this? I follow you because I worry and I find you- with some mortal  seeming to do the very thing you've told me would dissipate your being” he's frantic. “Ares, listen to me” her voice is sharp, in that scolding way she always used  to silence him when he and his father would have their squabbles around the dinner table. 

“Yunho is not my son, nor is Eunwoo a mortal lover. “ Hera clarifies, and despite the confusion Ares still feels relief sink into him. “Yunho is..  an offspring of your father, whom I have been overseeing” Hera stops for a moment as she searches for the correct way to relay her words. “an offspring of father?”  Ares raises a brow and his gaze drifts to the child in the grown man's arms, the child no longer hiding, his curious eyes now staring at Ares- an oh.. his eyes… They  reflect the stories his mother had told him of a time Zeus had been kind. They look like a golden thunderstorm disguised behind the pupils of a boy.

 “Does he know of this? “ Ares asks, understanding his mother a bit more now, “No, and he doesn't have too, not until Yunho is of age. He knows I have allowed this one to live but….. “ her sentence trails off and Ares can read between the lines enough to understand her, to understand what this boy will become. “and the mother?” he looks at the man, “Dead, my wife is dead.” The man speaks for the first time, and his voice is gentle, not what Ares would imagine a mourning man to have when faced with the son of the god his wife committed adultery with. Then again he's holding the child protectively, so Ares assumes there's much more to it. 

He takes a moment, a breath of the sweet smell of fruits in the farm around them before he releases his featherlight hold on his mother, trudging over to the boy. His mortal father sets him down and the child does not hide away from Ares's intimidating figure, instead staring up at him with awe, it almost gains a chuckle from the god. Ares bends down, one knee hitting the ground as he stares at the child. “Your name is.. Yunho? “ he asks, remembering his mother's words, the child nods eagerly, reaching out a hand, “Jeong Yunho, nice to meet you sir!” he chirps.

“it is, not unpleasant to meet you either” he takes the child's hand in his, “do not refer to me as sir, from now on, I'm your brother, little prince” Ares gives a mischievous smirk as the last two words leave his lips, he can feel his mothers glare on his back, but Yunho is none the wiser. Jumping excitedly as he looks at his dad, “Really dad? He's one of my brothers?” ah-so Yunho had been told he had siblings, that's good, at least if any more are to pop up it wouldn't be a shock for the boy. 

Eunwoo’s apprehensive face seems to melt away as he smiles warmly at his son, nodding in confirmation, Yunho jumps circles around Ares, the energy of a thunderstorm seeming to run through him. Ares cracks the smallest of smiles- Eros was never this energetic, nor were any of his other children, mortal or god, this boy is like a breath of fresh air. He quite enjoys it. “Ares” his mothers voice reaches his ears, it's a warning, but it's not commanding, she motions him over as he looks at her and Eunwoo seems to understand as he picks up the jumping child. “We'll be inside My Queen” he nods and Yunho waves goodbye from his fathers shoulders. 

Ares walks back over to his mother as she gives Yunho a tiny wave, knowing she would go back into the home soon to soothe the thunderous offspring to sleep. “So you've chosen?“ Ares asks as he stands next to his mother. “No- and you shouldn't call him little prince, that's not what he is.” she responds, voice firm, almost as if she's scared of the repercussions his words would bring. “Not yet maybe, but I know you mother, you would not let one of father's offspring live this long- let alone help raise it- if you didn't have expectations for him”

Hera sighs but doesn't respond, she can't refute his words, because she knows it's true, she doesn't want Yunho to be apart of the world of the gods, but she knows it's inevitable - he's her chosen, the one offspring of Zeus she accepts as her own. The one who will rule Olympus if something is to happen to her or Zeus. 

Yunho is the heir, but she'll be damned if she can't hide him from the king a little while longer. 

˜”°•.˜”°• ⋆ •°”˜.•°”˜

Yunho did not like this, he did not understand it either. He didn't understand it and he didn't like it and his Dad has always told him to avoid things he felt this way about. So why was his dad making him do this? Why do they need to move?

At 14 years old, this is the first time Yunho is disagreeing with his father, he doesn't want to move. Why would he want to leave this place? a wonderful open farmland where he runs free, where he spars with his brother, where he meets his mother every night. He doesn't want to leave, but he's still following his fathers lead. He trusts the man's decision, that doesn't mean he likes it. 

Standing in the newly bought house filled with boxes that still need to be unpacked, Yunho takes in how cramped everything is- well it's not cramped, but compared to the open floor plan of the farmhouse he grew up in it is.  His dad said he'd make friends here but he doesn't want friends. He's too scared of hurting them, he knows he's different, knows the powers his godly parent had given him, - the power he will possess one day and he's scared to get too close to the mortals. 

He may be half mortal, but he's aware of his innate ability to hurt them, and he doesn't want that. He was fine on the farm, just fine. “This will be good for you little prince” Ares ruffles his hair as the bigger god walks into the home, in one of his many human forms he's still taller than most mortals. Yunho grumbles back, swatting the elders hand away, Ares thinks this is his rebellious teenage phase, his own son was busy going through it as well, or at least that's what the kids mother said, he doesn't really know much about mortals and their ways. 

“Stop calling me that” Yunho grits as he fixes his hair, he had to dye it black due to the regulations of this new city school he's going too- something about Koreans not naturally having blond hair- it's bullshit if you ask him, he wouldn't actually say that as an answer, he was raised too polite for that. But he'd definitely think it, for the first few days at least, until he gets used to it. 

“Never, little prince” Ares chuckles and Yunho swears the god acts more like a child than he-the 14 year old- does. Yunho sighs as he follows Ares into the living room, throwing himself on the couch as his elder brother places down the big box in his hands, letting out a fake groan as if the box was heavy to him. “ ‘res? Were you ever scared? when you first came down to the mortal realm, yaknow interacted with the humans?” Yunho doesn't look at his brother as he asks, rather preferring  to look up at the ceiling of his new home, porcelain white in contrast to the wood of his old house. He feels the couch dip as Ares sits beside him, moving his brother's legs to lay on his lap.  “Now why would I be scared of mortals?” the god chuckles. 

“not of them… of hurting them” Yunho clarifies and his brother sighs, “at first? no. I didn't realize how fragile they could be.. not until I had my first offspring with a human… despite having the power from me she still had her mothers mortality… safe to say she didn't last long. Is that why you don't want to be here? you're scared of hurting them?” Ares asks and Yunho finally moves his gaze to the elder, he hums in confirmation, not trusting his voice. “You're too young to be thinking like that little prince… too gentle to, you won't hurt the humans, not like you think you would” 

“Ares I'm aware of the power our father gave us.. and now with Mom having claimed me as her own I…. I'm scared of myself sometimes, of the power I could possess… How could I not be scared of hurting someone weaker?“ Yunho asks, “Our mother…  She's a piece of work sometimes but don't think of her claim as a burden, if anything it'll help balance you… it's a problem most demigods face, if they're godly parent has a power as strong as Zeus's well… they need to be at least acknowledged otherwise they're power will well… kill them from the inside..." Ares sighs, “Yunho you may have a destructive power, but don't think that's all it is alright? you're better than our father, it's why mom chose you.. you're special”

And before Yunho can respond, before he can say he doesn't want to be special, his dad and Hera walk in, “ah so we do all the work while you two laze around on the couch is that it? “ Eunwoo asks as Hera walks over to the two, gently slapping Ares' head as a sign for him to get up, “HEY - OW” he whines as he looks over to his mother, “we were just talking” he pouts. “don't pout, you're not a child Ares, it's unseemly” Hera says, and despite her tone there's a slight smirk on her face. 

Yunho likes this, the little family that's been built around him, it may be unconventional but they're special to him.. oh… that's what Ares meant. He was special, if he wasn't special he wouldn't have his family. Maybe being special wouldn't be so bad if he could keep this peace…

˜”°•.˜”°• ⋆ •°”˜.•°”˜

“You really need to find a way to release more energy Yunho” Eunwoo sighs as he looks out the window of their living room, the sky outside dark and dreary despite it being midday, lightning cackling, before his gaze drifts back to his son. “Your dad's right, your energy is too much for your body” Hera sighs as she stands in the entrance to the living room.  “Yeah well if I could train with Ares this wouldn't be an issue” Yunho huffs, “well the city doesn't exactly have the space for that” his dad retorts and Yunho rolls his eyes. “Why not take up something after school? a sport of some kind, I hear mortal children like that!” Hera says, seemingly pleased with herself. 

“Your mom’s right, why not baseball, didn't you say you found that interesting recently? some of your friends are on the team right?” his father asks and all Yunho can do in reply is hum, of course he's thought about it, but he's not the best at controlling his powers yet, something about puberty Hera told him, he kind of blocked out that part. Point is, he can't really play any power sport that is needed for him to release the energy in his body, he doesn't want to. 

As much as he likes his friends, he always feels so.. distant from them, from the bonds they share.. he's tried treating everyone equally like his father said, and everyone loves him for it but…. he doesn't think they actually know him. He lets out a huff “no team sports” and Eunwoo nods his head.  “hm what about dance? I've heard some of the gods have been putting their children into that recently”  Hera walks over and sits on her rocking chair in the living room, nobody else sits in that chair except for her, it's like her own little throne in their home.  “Dancing could be good! you have been liking those Idols recently haven't you Yunho?” his father drifts his gaze from Hera down to the boy who's still laying on the floor mindlessly throwing a soccer ball up in the air as he catches it again. 

“Dance?... I mean maybe but…“ He pauses and his father seems to get what he means, “I heard of a great dance school in another town over? why don't you try that one? Come on, a few classes and if you don't like it we can try something else” Eunwoo pleads and the thunder outside crackles a bit louder, scaring Yunho into dropping the ball directly on his nose and causes Hera to hold a laugh back with her palm. “Fine I can try I guess” Yunho mutters rubbing his nose, though his mind is focused on the weather outside, he knows it's his doing, and he hates it because the more he uses his powers the greater the chance Zeus will wish to speak to him. 

The god knows about Yunho by now, but after a fight with Hera had agreed to let the boy live relatively peacefully away from Olympian life, doesn't mean Yunho wants to remind him and have the god change his mind though. Besides, it won't be that bad right? it's another town over so he won't have to deal with most of his school friends hopefully, the only problem is now he needs to socialize with a new group of humans. Yay him! 

˜”°•.˜”°• ⋆ •°”˜.•°”˜

Okay so maybe dancing isn't that bad, the kids mostly stick to their own groups or to themselves and only bother him when they need help with something. He's started picking up the moves relatively quickly and the sky's seem clearer these days, with most of his energy spent on practice, Yunho feels a bit lighter. His coach is great too, giving Yunho extra exercises or choreography when the boy asks for it, always checking up on him. It's nice, it's quiet, all he has to focus on is the music and his own footsteps, he doesn't have to worry about being overwhelmed and accidentally hurting anybody, because the passion that's quickly gripped him is becoming a grounding action. 

Whenever he was in class and the kids would hoard around him, he'd rhythmically tap his foot to whatever choreography he's learning and suddenly that threatening spark that always seemed to simmer beneath his skin would be gone. It's helped him communicate more with his peers, something he's grateful for, he's always wanted to be seen as kind, and he hopes this helps him achieve it. 

“Yunho, how would you feel if I introduced you to someone?“ His coach asked him one day after a particularly grueling practice, Yunho raises a brow as he drinks water, “uhm fine I think? May I ask why?” His coach sighs as he walks closer to the boy, taking out his phone seemingly texting someone. “I have this friend, he coaches at the other location this dance company has, anyway I've sat in with him a few times and you remind me a lot of one of his students… that boy is fast paced too, and he also doesn't interact much with his classmates” the coach gives Yunho a pointed look and he can't help but only give a sheepish one in return. It's really not his fault okay? He treats everyone equally, and not wanting to talk to one means not talking to the rest, not voluntarily at least. 

“Anyway, me and my friend thought it might be a good idea to get you two together, you're around the same age so your styles may align” The coach looks at Yunho hopefully, the younger letting out a sigh before nodding. His coach's face instantly brightens up as he pats Yunho on the back, “GREAT! because he's here!” The elder does a weird shimmy movement with his shoulders and wiggles his brows before scurrying to the entrance before Yunho can even respond.  He's left standing there, mouth agape water bottle in hand watching as his fellow classmates leave and he's stuck waiting for his coach and a new person. 

It's subtle at first when he feels it, the power that shocks him out of his dissociative state. It doesn't crackle and spark like his own, doesn't burn or feel like it's clawing to go somewhere, it's more….. misty. It's cold, it's comforting almost, like a light blanket, a knitted one with holes, or maybe one made of nylon, sheer and not used to block the freezing temperature. 

The hairs on the back of his hair stand up, he knows Hera had told him he'd be able to sense others like him, other demigods, but this is a surreal feeling, he's not even completely sure it's his senses calling out to someone of his kind until the boy steps into the room with his coaches in tow. 

He's tall, around Yunho's height, which is weird since Yunho is only this tall at his age due to his godly connection, the boy is pale and lanky, glaces placed on his eyes, which Yunho can't see due to his fluffy dark black hair covering it. The boy is sunken in on himself, not as if he's shy, no, more so uninterested in the situation. 

It's as if Yunho knows, as if a voice in his head says “this one's like you” as he stares at the boy who finally looks up at Yunho. The son of Zeus sucks in a breath as he stares at the boy's eyes, innocent and wide on all accounts but Yunho can see something more… something dark, scary, concerning…. something deadly.  “Yunho, this is Mingi- he's .... “ his coach trails off, almost as if unsure on how to handle the situation, luckily the other older man, whom Yunho assumes to be the friend his coach talked about, finishes his sentence for him. “He's like you” the man says and while Yunho's first instinct would be to believe he means in terms of skill as his coach had said at first, the man's tone suggests something deeper. “Like me? “ he manages to ask, setting down his water bottle. 

“Godly, divine, different, half-bred, Olympian-” the boy makes a face at the last word, “Chthonic, holier than thou, whatever you call yourself these days” the man sighs and Yunho gapes, “wait you-” 

“know? yes, most company higher ups do, a lot of coaches and scouts know in order to see who they want to recruit for entertainment companies” Yunho's own coach interrupts him, “you'd be surprised at how many of your idols are godly offspring” and Yunho does not know what to do with this information. “Well, you two get acquainted, we'll be off then” Yunho's coach clasps his hands together and rushes his friend out the room, closing the door leaving only a very confused Yunho and Mingi, who seems like he doesn't want to be there. 

“So uhm - I'm uh- I'm Yunho- sorry I've just never met another demigod before like - I knew others existed it's just-” Yunho's nervous rambles are cut off when the boy speaks up, “it's just Olympians like to keep their kids away from one another, think you guys are gonna rise up against them or something” Yunho nods at the boys words. “So uhm I'm guessing you aren't Olympian then?” Yunho questions as he goes to sit down against the wall, Mingi following him. “Nope, Chthonic through and through” he nods, fiddling with his fingers. “What's that like? My mom told me the Chthonic are much closer than the Olympians” Yunho turns his head to look at Mingi. 

“It's nice, the outside world can be lonely so our parents help keep the kids around one another, they don't have the ego and fear the Olympians have- no offense” Mingi laughs, “None taken” Yunho responds in kind. “So I don't really know the meeting other demigod etiquette uhm would it be disrespectful to ask who your parent is?” He looks at Mingi, and deep in his heart he's hoping his new found friend maybe says Hades, maybe he and this boy could be family, a family that could understand him. “hm, My mom's mortal, I love her with all my life, but my dad-” Mingi swings his head to look at Yunho, almost hesitating “my dad's Thanatos.”

Yunho's mouth hangs open “as in-” Mingi nods, “as in god of death yep.. how about yours?” Yunho sighs, “it would be hypocritical of me to say I don't really want to share right?” Mingi turns his body to look at him, “come on dude I just told you my dad is literally death personified I don't really think I can judge” Yunho raises a brow “oh no you can judge, trust me I do.. but uhm… my dad may or may not be Zeus… “ he mumbles the last part but Mingi clearly caught it as his eyes widen “HOLY SHIT DUDE WAIT ZEUS?? AS IN?? THAT MEANS YOU'RE - oh damn give me a minute…. dammit man now I owe my cousin twenty bucks” Mingi sighs, running one of hands over his face as Yunho looks at him confused. “you what??”

“bro the fates are real chatty and my aunt is like their favorite or whatever so they tell her stuff and they told her about one of Zeus's kids being spared cause Hera liked him then she told me and my cousin and we had a whole debate about it man” He takes a breath, “but damn Zeus as a dad's gotta be rough.. and I thought having to deal with grandma on monthly dinners was tough” Yunho looks at Mingi, and something in him hurts, the way he speaks of other godly beings, of family apart of this world, it's something Yunho yearns for. “and by aunt, grandma and cousin you mean…. “ Yunho trails off, not knowing who to refer to. Mingi's mouth makes an ‘o’ shape at the realization that Yunho wouldn't know who he was talking about, “uhm my aunt, she's a demi god- I don't think you'd know her, her names Kyu, by grandmother I mean her mother, Nyx, and my cousin is a son of Hypnos, his names Hyunjin” Mingi nods as he explains. 

“Wait Nyx had kids??” Yunho asks and Mingi looks at him confused, “yeah dude like so many literally -” “no- no not godly kids like, like demigods?” he asks again more clearly. “Oh yeah well she and Grandpa Erebus were bored so they decided fuck it! and each went to a couple of their own choosing and had a kid, Grandma had a daughter, my aunt Kyu, and grandpa had a son, my uncle Kai” Mingi nods. “wow.. that's… hmhm damn, how old are they?” he asks, not really knowing how to process the information just yet, “well my aunt's our age, a few months younger than me actually and my uncle is like a year older than us- enough about my family though, tell me about yours, come on I gotta know HOW you managed to stay alive” Mingi looks at Yunho wide eyed with a smile. 

He likes this, having a friend that understands him, he thinks he could get used to it. He hopes he and Mingi can stay friends, he'd like to hear more about the other's family, and wish that one day he can maybe be as close to those of his own. 

Nyx was bored, she was so unbelievably bored. The entertainment of watching the mortals under her night sky could only last so long until the stories got repetitive, working with her children didn't really bring her joy. as much as she loved them, they were all grown now and their work was their own. She tried being a receptionist to help sort souls who had recently died and send them to her son Charon for travel, but a few to many mortals had got on her nerves and ended in the nothingness, so she was asked to leave ‘for a while’ which was Hades code for “please for the love of god this is too much paperwork”

Nyx wasn't childish, not by any means, no she was strong and powerful, she was feared, but when you leave an offspring of Chaos alone for too long… Well then she gets a bit restless.  So, she bounds over to her husband, deciding he would indulge her in her boredom. Stepping into her cave she immediately feels the surge of power as her bare feet step on the dark void of a floor, her cave had always been where she felt the most powerful. It was her home, where she and her husband reside and where she had birthed her children. 

“Honeyyyyyy I'm bored” she yells, placing her chin on his cloaked shoulder when she finds him sitting in his office, her husband's mostly made of smoke and darkness that can't really be solidified, but he does have a cloak that gives him a semi physical form. “And what could I do to cure that boredom, My Night?” he asks, voice monotone as always, her husbands never really been one to show emotion, but she's fine with that, she knows him well enough to understand him even when his tone seems disinterested to others. She hums as she thinks for a moment, watching him move pages around until a specific name catches her eye, she leans over him and stops his movements, placing her finger on the name that's written in dark black ink “Kai.” she states, “Kai? “ her husband asks. 

“mhm, shouldn't he be ready by now? I wanna play with him” she clasps her hands together as she bounds to the other side of her husbands desk, sitting on a chair in front of him, “My Night, Human babies take nine months to form, he has currently only been in his mothers womb for eight” he states softly, “besides we agreed to let his mortal parents raise him as they see fit until he decides if he wants to be apart of this world himself, no?“ he tilted his head to his wife, reminding her of the rule she had set in place. Despite her seemingly bubbly nature she was always serious when it came to her offspring, step child or not. 

She groans and sinks further into the chair “but I'm bored and the kids are all grown up and I have no one to play with” she pouts and Erebus lets out a chuckle, “Well I'm sure the King and Queen would allow you to borrow Cerebus for a while to play” he hums, but his wife seems to have other plans. She slams her hands on the table, standing up and sending the chair flying “I want a baby” she looks him in the eye, dead serious. 

He sighs, realizing he is not getting any work done while she's here and sets down the papers in his hand “you want a baby?” he asks for confirmation and she nods, “come on so many of the gods had kids recently, even our sons!  let's have a baby hm? come on imagine another little running around the cave!” she looks at him hopefully. 

“My Night, firstly, if you wanted a baby we both know you could have just created one-” she nods, as she sits back down, “-which makes me believe there's a bit more to this. Secondly, if you make another child alone or with me that offspring would be a god- and as much as I love our children, I believe we have enough gods running amok already-” he points to the papers in front of him again, who knew helping consult Hades would be this tiring, Erebus hasn't needed Hypnos’s help to sleep since he took on this job in his wife's stead. “Thirdly, I don't think Zeus would take too kindly to us creating another god, you remembered how he was every time you announced another offspring, how he was when Hades had told him about Kai” Erebus finished and Nyx scoffs. 

“Zeus can go suck another dick for all I care” she grumbles, she never really liked him, sure he was sweet when he was still a babe, she remembered Rhea showing Zeus to her, but she's always preferred Aidoneus more- or well Hades as he liked to be called now. “My Night I know you dislike him but he's still king-” she rolls her eyes, “yeah of Olympus” her husband nods his head, “- of Olympus and we really don't wish to cause little Hades any more trouble now do we?” he asks and she nods, she really likes little Aidoneus and knows her nature sometimes causes him enough trouble with his brother as is. 

“Now, you agree with what I've said so tell me what this is really about him?” His voice is still monotone, and would be considered cold and crude to an outsider, but she loves her husband, and she can sense the softness in his tone.  “Just… When you helped that couple conceive Kai, we went through so many couples who wished to receive this blessing, so many who wished to have more children and that made me so grateful for my babies but- they aren't my babies anymore yaknow? they grew up so quickly and I-” She stops herself, but Erebus finished her sentence for her, “you wish to have a child that does not grow as quickly? “ she nods.

“I want a mortal- well half mortal- demigod I think the others call it I just- I want one” she pouts at Erebus, and it's not the one she usually has, the one she gives him when she's in trouble or being petty, it's not the one that reminds him despite their age she's still his little sister. No this one is sad, it holds a sense of longing he last saw her have when she watched Rhea hold little Aidoneus, wishing for more of her own. 

Erebus sighs, “okay” he gives a nod, “okay? “ she asks hopefully, “it might not hurt for Kai to have a younger sibling of his own kind…. besides the Fates mentioned something to me yesterday… so I think this might already be written in stone.”

Nyx stops her joyful kicking in the air as she looks back at her husband, “what did they say?” she asks curiously, worried about anything that may pertain to her future stepson or the prospect of her own half- mortal child. “I wasn't exactly listening, you know how they love to gossip, but they mentioned something about a lightning storm at night- I'm assuming that's probably just going to be Zeus overreacting to the news” he hums. “I swear I ought to teach that little lightning bolt a-” “ah My Night, why don't you focus on choosing the prospects for your child hm?” He tries to stop his wife from her vengeful tangent, already seeing the darkness creeping up on the tips of her fingers. It was daytime currently, so his wife was sporting her paler skin shade, not yet was it time for night to overtake her when she had to go to work. 

In an instant the darkness dies back down and she lights up- figuratively of course, she stands and rushes to the door in excitement, before rushing back to him and placing a kiss on his head then out the door she went, screaming about how she's going to go sit with Persephone and look through the candidates her and Erebus had used for Kai again. He just sighs, mentally apologizing to the Queen of the underworld - wait no she'd enjoy this, mentally apologizing to Hades for having the time with his wife be interrupted.

Kyu loved her mother, really she did, the goddess was sweet and kind, always having love for her children- but she was playful too, as a daughter of Chaos she never allowed her family to forget where they came from, no day was spent without even the tiniest of a mischievous slip in her voice. It always brought a smile to Kyu's face, when she would fight with her mortal parents or be under the stress of her academics, her mothers eyes would sparkle with the most chaotic twinkle, letting her daughter know that everything would be okay. 

Kyu loved her mother, but she was nothing like her, she couldn't be. She wanted to, gods sometimes she wished she could be as carefree, as mischievous. When she was younger, she would play around with her brother, Kai, they would pull pranks on their elder godly siblings, but she couldn't be that person anymore. 

It started when she was six, her mortal parents had gone through a rough patch of sorts, partying on weekends and fighting when they thought she was asleep. She started spending more time with her nephews, visiting her mothers cave more, anything to just get away, to have the chance to be a kid without worries. She loved her mortal parents, and as much as it killed her she had to admit that despite their efforts those memories of her early childhood will always haunt her. 

Her fellow demigods had become her refuge, her brother whom she didn't see a lot was a constant comfort for her, always shadow traveling to her when his own parents had gotten a little too much, he truly helped her feel at home. Her closest nephew Hyunjin, son of Hypnos, who lived just a few streets down would always come to her and excitedly show a new dance he'd learned. The boy loved the activity, and she could tell he'd have a future in it. Her other Nephew Mingi, son of Thanatos, she didn't see as often, he lived a bit away so their only interactions were at family dinners but she loved him deeply, her little - not little he had always been taller than her, and older at that- but he was still her little joy. 

Being the youngest, her love for her family was as endless as the night sky itself, and for a while, that love was extended to Erin Gim. She met him when they were both thirteen, school had just started getting serious when she met him, an offspring that held the chaos a part of her craved to release when her powers got too much. He was her tiny piece of freedom under the crumbling pressure of being perfect, of upholding the image of the perfect and regal night's daughter. 

It was such a cheesy story really, the goody two shoes, top of the grade class president and the delinquent that barely showed up for class, highschool sweethearts. Every endeavor she had pursued, he was there supporting her. Sure the relationship wasn't conventional, sure he wasn't always there, sure she didn't always feel comfortable enough to tell him everything she was feeling… but that was normal right? yeah it was… it was completely normal, everyone had things they kept to themselves. So yes, her love had been extended to him as well… until it wasn't. 

Her entire family had decided to go into the glorious industry of the elite, Kai had become a designer in his own right, both her nephews decided they wanted to be Idol's, use their talents to connect with others and she… she just wanted to stay alive, to survive. Erin had become a bit more.. controlling, he would accompany her to classes, an action originally seen as sweet now a looming figure warning her of the dangers of a misstep. 

“I love you honey, you know that” he'd always say, stroking her cheeks as tears fell from her eyes, she'd try to hide them in the beginning, but there was a point where she just gave in. “It's only because I love you that I'm doing this, if I'm to rule one day with you by my side, then you will need to be able to stand the ridicule you'll inevitably face” he'd speak softly, soothing tone and warm eyes contrasting his words, if she had been deaf his expression would have reminded her of the boy she loved. Yet she was only falling, falling deeper into the lost space of uncertainty. 

She didn't know what to do with her life, so she decided to follow her family, without the liberty of creative freedom, she signed up to JYP entertainment for a management position and luckily she had been accepted. Some shadow program thing, she had been instated as the manager for a young trainee, a boy named Kim Seungmin, son of Demeter. He was sweet, clearly too scared to show it, but Kyu knew, she always did. She was good at reading people. The way little petals would fall from his fingers when he was praised, the small quirk of his lips when he saw something funny. It was a cruel business, but Kyu was determined to help this boy every step of the way.  She guessed she'd gotten that maternal instinct from her mother. 

Her work was her escape from Erin, he thought it was a good thing that she was networking with other demigods. Recently he's had this fixation, believing he and her could have some sort of uprising, rule the underworld in Hades and Persephone's stead, she learned to ignore his rambles. Throwing herself into working, taking on more responsibilities and opportunities than any other manager of her level, it was the perfect excuse, one to get her away from Erin, one he couldn't refute. 

Of course she'd thought of leaving him, of telling someone, anyone of the downward spiral he was going through, but she'd spent too many years on this, on him. She wouldn't be seen as weak, wouldn't let her mothers reputation fall because she was too blindsided to know when she was being used. She just couldn't, she felt weak before him and she hated being weak, she wouldn't let others think of her as that either. 

Deep in the back of her mind, her heart screamed at her that this wasn't true, that her soul was not meant to be hurt in the way it was, that it was meant to be cherished. Her family wouldn't be upset, wouldn't be mad she ruined their image, they would be rageful and that scared her even more. For if her mother were to take her anger out on Eris? it would simply upset the balance of nature. Kyu couldn't be the reason for that, she wasn't important enough in her own mind to be. 

She only felt strong when others leaned on her, asked for support, looked up to her like an older sister or a mother. When Seungmin would come to her for comfort, when coworkers asked her for help, when God's complimented her maturity, she felt pride, like she was succeeding in a legacy of powerful, capable women, like she was worthy of being her mother's daughter. When Stray kids was formed, the company didn't really care much for them, decided that nine managers would be too many for a group that had the possibility of not succeeding, stating that only one manager would oversee the group and they had to decide who it was. The others immediately withdrew their own names, all young and too scared to take the risk, Kyu with her cousin and the boy she had taken under her wing on the line, decided she would do so. 

That's how she got the position she was in now, head manager of the big fourth gen group Stray kids, although they had now downsized to eight she still couldn't be more proud of her boys. She'd never regret her decision, not aloud at least, she loved the boys really, they were like her own family, parts of her life she could not live without. Especially after her brother had been hired as a stylist for Minho, it felt like everything was complete, as complete as it could be. She'd watch the stolen glances between Kai and Felix, the giggles of Minho when he was plotting something, hear Changbin's warm laugh echo around the halls and envelope those around him in the comfort of his mothers hearth, watch Chan's sleepy eyes droop when he stays up in the studio, see Hyunjin slip a little sleeping potion in said leaders drink to have the man rest. She'd watch Han do something so hilariously stupid that Jeongin can't help but smile, bringing him out of his own mental spiral. 

And while she'd never tell the others, her favorite thing to observe was a sleepy Seungmin, when he was all mope-y, when he finally fell asleep on the couch in her office after a long day yet refusing to go back to the dorms without her. He always looked so cute when he slept, little leaves sometimes forming from his hair if he had a good dream. She understood Demeter’s protectiveness over her children, especially with a son as cute as Seungmin. She mentally promised the goddess to look after the boy, and Kyu would never break a promise, especially not one as close to her own heart. 

“You really need to stop babying him,” Kai sighs, whispering as he walks into Kyu's office. A sleepy Seungmin rests on the couch with Kyu's favorite blanket draped over him. “and you really need to stop avoiding Felix” she bites back, not looking up from the files on her desk as she writes. “Hey that's different and you know it” he immediately responds as he falls into the chair opposite her by her desk. She nods agreeing, doesn't mean she'll verbalize it though. 

“Seriously though Kyu at this point you and Demeter have shared custody” Kai steals one of her pens and starts doodling on the corner of a paper closest to him, “okay and? I love Demeter so that's not a bad thing” she hums in response and Kai groans, “that's not what I meant” his voice remains monotone despite the playful atmosphere, he's always been like that, much like his father when it comes to showing emotion. 

“Then what did you mean?” She finally looks up at him, “What I mean is you've been here a lot recently… and when you don't go home he doesn't go home. You baby him and now he's too attached” Kai still continues his doodles, “I have work to do I can't go home right now-” I don't want to “-I'll get him home soon so you can tell Lix to stop worrying” She says as she looks back down at her files. Kai stops his drawing, the reasoning behind his questioning being caught. 

There's a moment of silence as Kai places the pen back in its place, “Seriously though, you have been spending too much time here recently - and don't tell me it's a work overload cause we both know that's bullshit”

“Erin's just been a bit stressed lately - you know I don't like being in stressed environments so I'm just letting him  cool off” Kyu speaks, her response almost rehearsed in its entirety, Kai gives her a look, as if he doesn't believe her. Because he doesn't, he knows his little sister better than anyone, but they've had one too many fights about this, about Erin. He can't bring up his accusations and worries again, while not baseless his sister always manages to hide whatever proof he might find. 

“hm, just don't stay here too late- or I'll sick Hyunjin on you” He hums as he stands up, taping her desk three times, she taps back subconsciously, “yeah yeah- now get out before you wake up Min” she throws a pencil at him and he lifts his hands in surrender as he backs out, silently leaving the office. She looks over at Seungmin and sighs, knowing her brother was right, and mentally preparing herself to go home so that she can ensure Seungmin went back to his own dorms. 

˜”°•.˜”°• ⋆ •°”˜.•°”˜

“I'm home” Kyu says softly as she opens the door to her apartment, sighing in relief as she shrugs off her coat and heels and puts on her slippers, she places her keys down as she walks more into her home, she hears a bit of noise in the kitchen. “Erin?” before she reaches the room her boyfriend comes jumping out of the kitchen, “Hi!” he seems excited, that's good, he leans forward to hug her. She doesn't like the way he hugs her, he's taller than her, so he always wraps his arms around her neck, she feels more trapped than comforted when he does this, reminded of far too many times his arms around her neck were threatening to find peace in them now. 

“So I bought some stuff for cookies cause I was in the mood right? but I kind of forgot that I can't bake so I thought ‘hey! you know who can bake? My girlfriend! we should make a date out of it’ so I set everything out and well yeah what do you think” He smiles at her, one of the rare times there doesn't seem to be any intent of anything else behind. “hm that sounds nice, but I'm kind of tired. Could we maybe do this tomorrow?” she looks up at him, her words carefully and tone soft as she speaks. 

His face drops, it's not really that noticeable, but Kyu knows how to read him by now, “are you sure? if we bake them now they'll be ready and you can take some to work tomorrow, you always like a sweet treat at work don't you?” he rubs her arms in mock comfort as he speaks down to her, it's supposed to be a reassuring tone but it makes her feel inferior to him and she hates that, because she knows it's not true- she knows and yet- yet she feels like it is. 

He really doesn't know her, if he did he'd know she actually hates eating things like cookies when at work, prefers little snacks, things that don't make a mess. She also doesn't like apples, and knowing Erin he's going to want to make an apple cookie.  “yeah-yeah uhm just let me go put on some more comfortable clothes and-” She's interrupted by Erin, “no come on, you can get dressed when we're done hm? cause then you can shower and you'll be all clean after we played around with the flour” he drags her to the kitchen and she sighs but doesn't fight back  knows she can't. 

˜”°•.˜”°• ⋆ •°”˜.•°”˜

“guys guys guys guys did Persephone by any chance I don't know like have a kid” Yunho asks as he rushes over to his fellow Ateez members, almost sliding past them as they stand backstage in their allocated rooms of the Kingdom set, “Melinoe and Zagreus - did you not listen when we were taught -” Hongjoong starts as he looks confused at Yunho, who stops his leader from talking, “no-no not them like a demigod kid-like us” Yunho asks, his voice almost a bit frantic. “uhm no? Dude she and Hades are like, so in love I don't think they'd ever really have any demigod children” Seonghwa hums, eyes leaving his phone to look up at Yunho, “why?”

Yunho sighs as he sinks into the couch beside San, “because I think I just found the love of my life”, his words hang in the air for a second before all hell breaks loose, everyone whipping their heads to him. “WHAT?” Wooyoung yells as both he and Yeosang zero in on Yunho, “mhm.. she was so pretty and she smelled like strawberries” he smiles blissfully as he thinks back, head resting on the couch rest behind him as he looks up at the ceiling. 

“oh so that's why you thought she was Persephone's? strawberries?” Jongho asks, trying to make sense of the situation, Yunho only nods in response. The members have learned not to ask him how he knows when someone is like them, he has a sense for it. “and you're in love?” Yeosang asks slowly, as if he's doubting Yunho. He's never shown any interest in someone before, so while this could be a good thing the timing of it all was not. “yeah…. HEY! doesn't Demeter have a kid!” Yunho shoots up, “I mean I thought she was Chthonic but maybe I was wrong yaknow? I mean Demeter that's -” Yunho shoots up as he thinks, “that would mean she's my cousin” he groans as he falls back. 

“well good thing is as far as I know Demeter only has one kid- and he's a son, and apart of Stray kids so I don't think your mystery girl is your cousin if that gives you any hope” Jongho says, “hey didn't Mingi say his aunt worked for stray kids right? If she's a staff member, maybe she can help you guess who your mystery girl is? I mean there aren't any girl groups here so the only women would be other staff members or… partners” San offers the last word a bit hesitantly, afraid of what Yunho's reaction might be. Yunho always feels deeply, even if he doesn't show it to many, even if he tries to remain neutral. 

Yunho doesn't seem to register the last word though, as he looks at San in excitement, “YES! yes oh you're a genius I could kiss you” Yunho turns to San, holding his face in his hands before he springs up, “hey where do you think you're going?” Hongjoong asks as he sees Yunho walk back to the door, “to find Mingi's aunt? I can just go find Hyunjin and ask him who she is and then I'll ask her who-” Yunho's rambling is cut off.  “You can do that after the performance, we're about to be called for filming and I'm not having you be missing when we need to go up there” Hongjoong gives him a stern look, “But-” Yunho starts to protest but is once again cut off, this time by a knock on the door.

 “Ateez? it's almost time, we're going to need you to get in positions” a staff yells from outside the door, and Hongjoong raises his hand in a ‘see?’ motion. “Come on Yun, you'll probably see her when we go stand out there yeah? Just do your best with this performance and impress her” San squeezes Yunho's shoulders as he stands next to him, “yeah yeah yeah I can do that - I can do this” Yunho psych's himself up as he looks at his members, eyes filled with determination. 

˜”°•.˜”°• ⋆ •°”˜.•°”˜

“Oh I can't do this, I can't fucking do this she's looking at me- guys she's looking at me fuck, are these cameras on? shit my knees feel like jelly, Holy Kronos her eyes are so pretty” Yunho speed mumbles as staff fixes his outfit, eyes focused on the woman across the room who's currently talking to Stray  kids, as if she's scolding them and they're hanging onto her every word. He would hang on even tighter if he was able to get just a little closer, to hear her voice. 

“oh? which one is she?” Yeosang asks as he looks over the staff in front of him, “The one scolding Stray kids like a Queen with her servants- she'd make such a good Queen don't you think? I know mom said I need to find someone to rule beside me-” He starts again, “Okay slow your role buddy you don't even know her name yet, seems like she's their main manager though. Wait isn't that-” Yeosang’s realization is cut off by San, “That my friend, is Mingi's aunt” he says as he smirks, Wooyoung's head suddenly poking out from behind him, “Oh shit Yunho fell in love with Mingi's AUNT??” he shouted. 

“shut up shut up I did not” Yunho reached over to slap his hand over Wooyoung's mouth, accidentally knocking the staff in front of him out of the way, apologizing immediately when he noticed, “oh you so did” Yeosang says from where he stands, “Ohh Mingi isn't gonna like thissssss” he continues, “I did NOT fall for Mingi's aunt okay? that's not Mingi's aunt-” Yunho tries to defend, retreating his hand from Wooyoung's mouth  “Oh no that's definitely his aunt he showed us a picture” Yeosang hums as he motions his fingers between himself and San, who nods in agreement. 

Yunho looks at them, his lips pressing into a thin line as he seems to take in the information, he starts nodding slowly as the members around him watch, waiting for some sort of reaction.  “You think he'd be okay if I gave him a shirt that says ‘you're my favorite nephew’” Yunho asks thoughtfully, although his face is almost void as he continues nodding his head as if all of this is just normal. Jongho looks at him as if he's just lost his mind. “First of all- ouch” the younger says in mock offense, clearly not liking his title being given away, “secondly, no I don't think he'd be too fond of that” his tone is almost deadpan, as if it's the most obvious opinion in the world. 

“WRONG, Wooyoung next opinion” Yunho turns to the giggling menace, completely disregarding the staff who just huffs and gives up on styling him further,. “I think you should go for it, yaknow give Mingi a cousin” Wooyoung wiggles his brows as Seonghwa smacks him upside the head, “hey! your mom is like- the queen of breeding kinks you should agree with me!“ he tries to defend himself, only for Seonghwa to start chasing him around their little group huddle and trying to smack him. 

“okay so don't follow Wooyoungs advice” Yeosang looks to Yunho with a facial expression that asks ‘can you really believe he said that?’ but stops once he realizes that Yunho actually looks as if he's contemplating it. “Yunho. Don't listen to Wooyoung.” he tries to snap his roommate out of it, but it seems to be of no use, “no, no he's got a point, I mean I'm my dads heir right? so obviously I need to have an heir” he nods again, as if all of life is finally starting to fall into place. “yeah, but uhm, in all Mingi's rambles about his aunt I think you're forgetting a very important detail” San says as he winces. 

“wait you're so right I know her name now!” Yunho bounces, hands on San’s shoulders, “Thank you San this is so-” Yunho's enthusiasm is stopped by the mountain boys hands atop his own, “yeah that's good but I wasn't talking about that Yunho…“ San says almost sympathetically, Yunho tilts his head confused, the smile on his face turning strained but still there. 

“Places everyone, we're starting in five!” a crew members voice reverberates through the large set, as everyone starts to shuffle into place San moves Yunho so he's looking back over at Stray kids, specifically at their manager who's walking away from them and going to stand next to a man who's slightly taller than her, he places a hand on her shoulder comfortingly as she breathes out and places her hand atop his, watching Stray kids walk to their position. “I'm talking about the fact that she has a boyfriend… “ San says and he starts moving, slightly pushing Yunho to walk with the rest of them. 

“oh” Yunho lets out a sound, eyes locked on the two, he remembers, Mingi talking about his aunts boyfriend, he remembers Mingi asking Yunho if he knows him since the man was from Zeus's line. Yunho remembers once how Mingi had brought up a concern that maybe this guy wasn't the best for her, but never talked about it again after that. His eyes stay locked on them as he's swept with his members to their places, and it seems the other man notices, his gaze that seemed kind turns to Yunho, and there's a glint of recognition in his eyes begore his gaze turns cold.

 He stares at Yunho, who's eyes flick between their faces and the hand Erin, because he remembers his name now, has on Kyu's , because god he knows her name now too, shoulder. Erin's eyes turn dark, staring Yunho down as if assessing an enemy before a slight smirk pulls at his lips as he pulls Kyu just a bit closer, and she leans in as if it's instinct, as if its natural. It seems so comforting, so loving, but something about it makes Yunho's stomach churn. “come on dude we have to go, we can talk about this after the performance yeah?” Hongjoong nudges him, trying to gain his attention and thankfully it works. 

Yunho nods and puts on the best smile he could muster as he pulls his eyes away from the couple before anyone else could notice his staring. Unfortunately he pulled his gaze away just in time to not notice the way Erin ducked down to whisper in Kyu's ear, to not notice the way she clenched her fist and her posture went rigid beneath her boyfriends hold. 

On the other side of the room, Kyu's nervous, her boys are about to perform and she has Erin breathing down her back, invading her safe workspace because whenever she has to be on filming's like these he insists to come with her, to meet the people she'll be spending months with.  She feels his breath ghost over her neck, because he doesn't like it when she wears her hair down, “Someone's got an interest in you it seems, don't have it continue, before I get interested in them too hm?” he places his other hand on her hip, rubbing circles that would seem comforting to others, but only feel threatening to her. She doesn't know who he's referring to, but by the gods does she wish whoever that is leaves her alone. Lest Erin gain interest, it didn't go well the last time. 

˜”°•.˜”°• ⋆ •°”˜.•°”˜

“come onn we're like way much more fun you should switch to join us” Han whines from where he lays on the couch, kicking his legs as if to prove the point of his little overdramatic tantrum, Kyu sighs as she sits on the floor, her laptop propped on the coffee table in front of her as she types away, “I've already told you, I'm not managing the rap unit, the head managers pulled straws, I didn't get you.” she explains for what feels like the hundredth time. The mayfly units have been formed and to take some stress off of all the managers they decided they'd draw straws, some would be in charge of certain units while others could relax at least a little, unfortunately Kyu drew a work straw. 

“exactly besides she's already going to exchange to be with us, duh” Seungmin retorts as he sits next to Kyu, playing with a piece of her hair like a cat as he keeps braiding and unbraiding it. Han sticks out his tongue at the younger, “that is just unfair- THIS IS NEPOTISM!“ he shoots up, pointing an accusatory finger at Felix. “just because we joke about Kyu being his mother doesn't mean she actually is” Minho remarks as both Kyu and Seungmin make an “ehh” sound while shrugging they're shoulders. “SEE?? NEPOTISM” Han looks at the others as if asking for backup. 

“It's not nepotism because I'm not changing to the vocal unit either” she sighs out again and Seungmin makes a noise of protest, “HAH! suck it losers” Kai huffs from where he sits styling Felix's hair, nobody knows why since they don't have a schedule right now, but they've learned not to question whatever excuse the two make to spend time together.  “why are you happy, it's not as if she's there for you” Minho days and Kai throws something at him in response, “yeah she's clearly not wanting to leave the dance unit cause she wants to meet San” Changbin stirs the pot a bit more, Kyu finally looks up to him.

 “No, I'm doing this because it would be unfair to the other managers if I just-” Kyu's explanation is cut off by Seungmin, “Be honest, are you going to abandon me for him? because like I'm so much better I can do PLANTS he's like- just the mountains” he huffs out. “You're worse than a three year old when he gets a baby sibling dude you are a grown man stop this…  it's just sad and weird at some point.. “ Jeongin says as he lays on the other couch, sipping on a juice box Kai had gotten him as he plays game son the elders phone, “hypocrite” Seungmin mumbles. 

“I still find it funny that Mingi isn't your Ateez bias I mean he's your nephew” Chan speaks up from where he's typing away at his own laptop, “Seonghwa’s your brother and yet he's not your bias either” Kyu retorts back and Chan immediately goes silent again. “Okay that's not fair you know Chan's never even really met the guy except for recently” Kai says as he drops down onto the couch next to Jeongin, finally done with Felix hair that definitely doesn't look the exact same as when he started. Kyu turns her head to her brother, “He's your nephew too and last time I heard he was not your bias” Kai's lips press I to a line as he hears his sisters words, “yeah no sorry Chan you're alone with this one” he nods, “wait who's your Ateez bias?” Felix asks confusedly, “don't worry about” Kai responds immediately and Felix makes a face that lets everyone else know he is definitely going to worry about it. 

“Besides I just think san is cute is all” Kyu shrugs, and before Minho can make a sarcastic retort she continues, “in the way I think Seungmin is cute not the way I think Erin is don't even start” she says accusingly and Minho lifts his hand in mock surrender, “keeping quiet.”

“Good, now speaking of Erin, if you'll excuse me I need to go talk to him” she sighs as she picks up her phone, walking out of the room as she brings it to her ear and they hear the fading dial tone. “So are we all just going to act like that Yunho guy that's in the dance unit hasn't been bugging us about Kyu like the whole show?” Kai asks as he looks around, “oh yeah, Zeus's kid got it bad” Minho whistles, “Hey I think it's cute, he's just being shy” Felix muses as he smiles, “It's annoying” Kai looks at him with a deadpan expression, “I don't want to be answering questions about my sister all day” he groans. 

“He's hopeful, I don't think it'll ever really work with Zeus not liking Nyx and all, they're opposites, but cut the kid some slack” Changbin huffs, “kid? he's your age- actually I think he beats you by a few months” Han looks at him weirdly as he speaks.  “I don't see how them being opposites should stop any feelings, sometimes you just can't help it” Felix shrugs as he sneaks a glance at the back of Kai's head, the fatigue of having spent the day with the son of darkness is starting to reach him but he doesn't want to let it show, so he blinks rapidly as he looks back to the rest in the room. 

“I think we're all forgetting the fact that she has a boyfriend whom she's been with since like- highschool?” Jeongin questions, “that seems like the actual issue here” Seungmin looks back at him, “yeah but do any of us actually like Erin” he asks and nobody responds, “we may not enjoy his company but he's good for her so how bout we all just stay out of it hm?” Chan looks at his members as they nod at their leader's words, Kai lets out a low grumble of something they can't really hear, but they ignore it anyway, used to him sometimes mumbling to himself. Felix doesn't though, he could never ignore a word Kai says, and he tries so hard to focus,  hearing the words “not really” after Chan had said that Erin was good for Kyu, and he furrows his brows as he looks at the love of- as he looks at Kai. 

“hey guys I just got a text, they changed some schedules so they want the dance unit to meet and film now” Kyu sighs as she walks back in, clearly not happy that the schedule was moved up a few hours. “I thought you were talking with Erin?” Seungmin asks, “hm, I was, but then I got the text so I needed to come back- he understood” she reassured the boy as she ruffled his hair, packing up her own things. “I'm gonna meet you guys in the car okay? “ She looks at the boys assigned to her unit, “meet me there in ten. ”

“Yo do you need me? “ Kai asks lazily, “yeah, you're Minho's stylist and he's gonna be on camera so kind of” she looks at him as if he just asked the dumbest question, and he just repeats her words mockingly to himself as he stands up and shrugs on his jacket. “Can I call  shotgun? I don't wanna sit between these two” Minho moves his fingers to point between Kai and Felix as he looks at Kyu hopefully, wanting to persuade her into giving up her seat. “Nope, I'm manager, I call the shots, I get shotgun, just sit somewhere else in the back” she shrugs before walking out and Minho groans in disappointment. 

˜”°•.˜”°• ⋆ •°”˜.•°”˜

“You don't have to stare at her that hard, yaknow, she doesn't bite…. unless that's what you want?” Felix startles Yunho as he creeps up behind the taller, his eyebrow raising. Yunho almost jumps as he turns around, spluttering and trying to defend himself, “staring? pfft what? no who's staring? not me nope, no sir” he scratches the back of his neck before sighing, “is it that obvious?” he winces as he asked, and Felix just nods. “yeah, but she doesn't notice don't worry” Felix tries to reassure him, “I don't know if that's a god or bad thing” Yunho sighs, and Felix hums in acknowledgement as his gaze drifts over to Kai for just a moment before moving back to where his manager is talking to an overly enthusiastic San. 

“You don't have to kill him either, if you're jealous I mean. Kyu-noona has this thing of taking people in” Felix looks at Yunho, who returns his gaze confusedly, “aren't you supposed to be telling me to stay away from her? that she has a boyfriend?” he tilts his head as the question flows from his lips. “Probably, but I'm not her keeper so…. “ Felix makes this weird spinning motion with his fingers as he drags out his last word, starting to move away from Yunho, hips first as he leans his head back and holds the elders gaze before eventually releasing it and bouncing off to Wooyoung. 

Yunho muses over Felix's words, while he would never actually try anything with her if she was in a happy relationship, talking to her couldn't hurt right? All he knows about her is what he's heard from Mingi, and from the research he's been not so sneakily doing but nobody needs to know that last part. Having an actual conversation with her might be good, maybe he could get over this feeling then, maybe it's all just intrigue, the mystery of her. 

He steels his nerves as he walks over, thinking he could just use San as a bridgeway to enter the conversation but the slippery bastard spots Yunho first and moves away just in time where he can act like he didn't see Yunho coming but also in time for Yunho to look weird if he turns around now since he's basically already in front of Kyu. He stares down at her, blinking rapidly, by the gods she's even prettier up close, he swear with every blink he's taking a photo to keep stored in his mind, engraving another piece of her face in his memory as each second he spots another interesting feature, each more beautiful than the ones before. 

“Hello? is there something I can help you with Mr. Jeong?” Kyu asks after a moment of silence, not understanding why he's not speaking. From what Mingi had told her about his best friend, which was a lot, he was quite a joyful person around most, so her first concern was that the man maybe didn't feel well. Were the lights hurting his eyes? He was blinking pretty rapidly. “You smell like strawberries” is what he blurts out, so many thoughts had been running through his mind and that was all he could get out. 

She blinks at him as his own eyes widen in shock, he claps his hand over his mouth as if he can't believe his own words. “Oh my gods I'm so-” he tries to save himself but Kyu lift a hand to stop him, “It's alright, I've heard a lot about you so I'll try and not let this weird first conversation derail my view of you” she laughs slightly, clearly joking although Yunho lets out a breath of relief. “I'm uh I'm Yunho- but I guess you already know that” he says awkwardly, rolling on the balls of his feet, “I do know who you are, Son of Zeus. My mother speaks highly of you” she nods. 

“Your - your mother speaks of me?“ Yunho asks, his voice breaking in surprise, internally his hopes already deflating, knowing the mistress of night isn't fond of his father. “Only good things lightning boy don't worry” she huffs out a slight piece of laughter, and Yunho relief is clouded by the loud thumping of his heart at the sound of her laughter. “Good things? that's not what I expected… but I'm glad then, I do have a lot of respect for your mother” Hera has taught Yunho how to keep his composure under many a circumstance, but he feels like all that training is going down the drain as his palms become more clammy, the urge to reach his hands out and cradle her own becoming almost overwhelming. 

“hm, and she you, she does prefer you over your father so-” Kyu steps forward, placing a hand on Yunho's chest and patting it comfortingly, “-you have my family's support when your time comes at least, Lightning boy” there's a playful gleam in her eyes, one that reminds Yunho of her lineage and one that makes him yearn to join whatever game she wishes to play, even if he loses. She walks away, joining her brother and Felix, the former looking at Yunho with a thoughtful expression, or at least, what Yunho preserves to be one. 

˜”°•.˜”°• ⋆ •°”˜.•°”˜

“You're kidding me right…. “ Mingi says as he stares at his best friend through the screen. Yunho sits legs crossed and hands intertwined as if he's offering a proposition to a professional employer. “oh no he's like, dead serious, like it's bad, like I had to ask Eros if he didn't accidentally shoot Yunho with an Arrow bad“ Yeosang says as he sits beside his roommate, staring at Mingi who looks like he's just been told his best friend is in love with his aunt- oh wait that's exactly what happened. 

“Listen I didn't know she was your aunt when I fell in love-” Yunho tries to convince Mingi, “STOP SAYING YOU'RE IN LOVE YOU BARELY KNOW HER??” he shouts through his phone, gripping his hair as he stares at him incredulously. “Listen Mingi love knows no bounds-” Yunho starts again, “THERE ARE NO BOUNDS TO KNOW YOU'VE KNOWN HER FOR A MONTH” Mingi stops him, Yeosang huffs out a breath of laughter and Yunho shoots him a look. “Listen, I'm not asking for your permission or anything, it's not like I'm going to act on it, I mean she has a boyfriend. I just thought I should tell you” Yunho shrugs. Mingi takes a deep breath before leaning forward and getting a bit closer to the screen, “and you're sure you like her? like, what scale of like is this? Is it like a playground crush? puppy love?” he asks. 

“It's like…” Yunho stops a moment, trying to find his words, “You know that one iconic Gomez Addams speech? of like the ‘I would die for her, I would kill for her’ I can't really describe it but honestly?  it feels like that and trust me you can be mad all you want, I mean fuck I'm mad at myself. Like who develops feelings this fast?? for a person in a relationship no less, it feels sickening, despite the depths of my feelings the speed in which it happens makes it feel unreal, like it will slip away at any moment but it's so deeply rooted I know it won't and I hate it. Because even if I did have a chance, even if the fates tied our strings together with their own hands I feel like my love would seem valueless to her, honestly who would believe me? you don't, none of you do. It doesn't make sense and I hate it” he says and his voice is shaky as he's trying to regain his composure, Mingi's eyes soften as Yeosang places a hand on his shoulder. 

“Love isn't supposed to make sense, or at least that what my mom says, I mean do you think my brother kidnapping Psyche after he was sent to kill her but ultimately fell in love with her made sense? You think Orpheus turning around made sense? think Hades took Persephone because it made sense? Love doesn't make sense Yunho, and it's not that we don't believe you, it's just.. “ Yeosang trails off as he looks to Mingi for help, “It's surprising, you've never shown any interest in anyone, you specifically were raised to think of these feelings as the most important thing by Hera, so you saying stuff like this it… It's shocking, especially considering who she is” Mingi finishes. 

“Because she's Chthonic?“ Yunho asks and Mingi shakes his head, “Because she's her mothers daughter, in every sense of the word” and the words hit Yunho deep. something about Kyu, it envelopes him like the veil of night her mother brings, the one gifted to her by her own brother- husband. He's only known you for a few months and he's barely spoken to you but God's does he yearn for more, to learn every inch of her skin, every memory she holds dear, every twinkle in her eye that reflects the stars of her mothers night sky. 

“Just, Listen I'm not saying go for it, not at all, she and Erin have been together for years and while I may not like him, she loves him. So get closer to her, be her friend if you want, anything that will help lessen your own burden, but don't pressure your feelings onto her, otherwise I'll drag you to Tartarus myself” Mingi warns, “I'd never dream of doing anything of the sort” Yunho replies, “I know, but just because you don't mean to doesn't mean it can't happen”

˜”°•.˜”°• ⋆ •°”˜.•°”˜

“I still don't think this is a good idea” Yunho says nervously as he walks with his members, holding one of the many baskets they’ve brought with them, “come on, you've gotten closer to her and your friends now, the awkwardness is gone bro, just relax. It's not like you're going to be the only people here” Mingi tries to hype up his friend. It's been a few months since Kingdom ended and Mingi had returned from his hiatus and while most groups on the show had become close, Stray kids and Ateez shared a certain bond. Maybe it had been their family ties, maybe it was just their personalities, but they meshed well together. Thus they planned a picnic, having the day off when both their schedules aligned was a grace in and of itself and they were determined to enjoy it, despite some people's anxiety. 

“Yeah but it's gonna feel like it, I'm not going to be able to take my eyes off her and it's going to feel like it's only us to me but Erins going to be there and gods I hate that dude” Yunho grumbles, he tried, really he did, to push his feelings aside and become Kyu's friend, but it didn't work. The more time spent with her the deeper into the void he fell. it got so bad that when Eros came down to  bother visit Yeosang his immediate response to greeting Yunho wasn't even a ‘hello uncle bro’ nope it was ‘god you smell like a yearning man in love it's sickening' now for a god of romance to tell you your feelings are so prominent that it sickens him isn't really what Yunho was hoping to hear. 

And Erin, god that pretentious little bastard, Yunho wishes he could deck him sometimes, and it's not even like he treats Kyu poorly for Yunho to feel this way. He just doesn't treat her great either, and Yunho notices, because he can't help but notice everything about her. Erin seems weirdly possessive, and while Yunho understands given,  he'd feel the same had he been given the grace of her attention, he would never dream of interrupting her life the way Erin seems to do. It's weird, the way her personality changes when he's there, she becomes soft- no, although it can be confused with it, not soft- withdrawn, insecure, scared almost. 

“Eugh” Wooyoung makes a noise of disgust at Yunho's words, “Seriously man, get a grip, you can't be leading us after our time in the mortal realm has run its course like this” He slaps the back of Yunho's back and oh great that's another thing that's happened in the last few months. His father has so graciously decided that since Yunho is already named heir- something he finds bizarre given the fact that his father can't actually die therefore doesn't need one- the king of the gods decided each god should name an heir, and immortalize them- without their permission. So when Yunho stops aging at the age of thirty he'll be sure to thank his father-not. 

Another reason the two groups had grown so close, all of them had been named their parents sole heirs, well except for Seonghwa and Chan, they've decided to split the responsibility. Walking up to the group who seems to already be setting up Yunho feels his stomach churn as he sees Kyu, Erin standing behind her with his arms wrapped around her shoulders and head resting on her head. Yunho doesn't like the way he holds her, it seems uncomfortable, and it obscures his vision of her delicate face, her peaceful smile.  

 Wooyoung is first to be bound over as everyone greets one another, Yunho going to help Changbin with the blankets. It's a beautiful day outside, sunny too. Felix seems extra happy, his hair a little more vibrant and freckles seeming to glow just the faintest bit as he smiles up at the sun, greeting his father probably. Yunho ensures a chuck of the blankets are placed beneath the shade of a tree, he knows both Kai and Kyu tire from being in the sun too long, and they had all planned to spend the whole day together and watch the sunset, two of them falling asleep wouldn't exactly help with that. Changbin pats his back and smiles as Yunho tells him why he moved their blankets, “Wow dude not even I remembered that and I'm like- King of hospitality” he jokes and Yunho just laughs along  but his eyes flicker to Kyu once again. 

She's standing with Erin as they talk to Seungmin who seems to have found some sort of plant, he looks frustrated in his ranting but Kyu is just smiling at him. What worries Yunho is that she's standing in the sun, and she's not wearing clothing that could protect her from it, rather a light gray sundress. Kai may be standing in the sun, but Yunho's seen him retreat to the shade for a few minutes before joining Felix again, and he's wearing a hat (Yunho also saw Felix lather the man in sunscreen so thick he doesn't think Helios could even reach Kai's skin but he's not going to talk about that). Still, Kyu's hair isn't even down to protect her neck, what if she gets sunburn? fatigue? He bites his lips as they continue setting up, nervously watching her every move to look for signs of anything. He knows being in the sun for a little while isn't that damaging, she works in the day for god's sake but, it's really hot today, and according to what he eavesdropped overheard she and Erin have been out in the sun since early that morning. 

“Come on guy's we did all this work to set everything up standing around is just insulting” Changbin huffs and the group quickly makes their way over, Kai immediately sitting in the shade and Felix sitting in the sun right next to him, the line between the sunlight and shadow separating the two perfectly. Yunho sits opposite Felix on the blanket, next to the other shadow, hoping he could sit close to Kyu as well, he hasn't talked to her in a while. He watches as Erin goes and sits down between San and Seungmin, which is weird since he's never shown an interest in the two earthly demigods, who recently have grown close, they sit at the edge of the blanket opposite the shadows, furthest from the coolness and directly under the sun. Kyu walks between them, and she seems like she's walking to the spot beside Yunho, like she knows it was left for her, but a light move of Erin's foot taps hers just before she's completely out of his reach and as if on instinct she moves to sit in front of him, slotting herself between his legs as he wraps his arms around her neck once again. God Yunho really, really hates the way he holds her. 

He sends a questioning glance to Kai whom he can see is already looking at Kyu worriedly, along with a few other members, Yunho doesn't think they noticed Erin's motion, “Aren't you gonna come sit by me?” Kai asks as he locks eyes with his sister who only gives him a soft smile in return, “I'm okay, I'm sitting with Erin” Yunho doesn't like the way she's speaking. He never does when it comes to Erin, because she never says that it's something she wants, it's not ‘I want to sit with Erin’ it's ‘I'm sitting with Erin’ and sure Yunho may be overthinking the little things, but after awhile the little things start to add up. 

“Won't you get tired Noona?” San asks as he looks up from where he and Seungmin were playing some sort of game with the ground behind them, it's part of why they chose this place, they can release and enjoy their powers that weigh them down without being seen. Yunho wouldn't, he's mastered locking away his abilities compared to when he was young, but he still enjoys the bliss it brings his friends. “She's fine, I'm protecting her from the sun” Erin replies for her, settling his head into hers as if to emphasize his point of enveloping her, and while the others either shrug or find it cute, Yunho doesn't, and it seems like Kai doesn't either.  “At least take this, you seem uncomfortable moving your dress the whole time” Yunho says as he hands Kyu a blanket to throw over her legs, it's light enough not to add any extra heat, but good enough to protect a part of her body from the sun. Yunho totally didn't buy it specifically for her and has totally not been watching her waiting for her to show she's struggling with a dress or skirt so he could offer it to her, don't believe what that target employee told you, it's a lie. 

She nods and thanks him with a quiet smile and he returns it, ignoring the look Erin sends him because at least he had made Kyu smile. “alright everyone remember it's hot so remember sunscreen” Chan claps his hands together, “and hydration” Seonghwa finishes as he starts handing out water bottles, “we can get our own water yaknow we aren't baby’s” Han says and Chan gives him a look, “Last time we spent a day in the sun and we didn't remind you to hydrate you almost passed out from heatstroke” the puffy cheeked boy just purses his lips and starts drinking the water Seonghwa handed him without retorting, causing the group to laugh. 

“okay first order of business” Jeongin says seriously, “card games” he finishes as he pulls out the giant pack of Uno, well, their version of the game, it's a bunch of different decks with different rules and cards shuffled together, they call it ‘Dos’ which is just wishful thinking that copyright doesn't catch them but hey if nobody snitches they should be fine…hopefully.  The day drags on as the group shares laughter, Yunho sending glances to Kyu and taking whatever chances he could get to talk to her when Erin wasn't looking, although he must've caught on because he started dragging Kyu along whenever he needs to grab something or stand up to talk to someone.  

Kyu only seemed to get more and more tired, her cheeks red, not with blush, but by the sun and the heat surrounding her, her eyelids would droop whenever anybody wasn't paying attention and she had gotten less and less verbal throughout the day. When sundown hit they all sat down and watched it, everyone admiring the scenery as Felix bid goodbye to his father, the blonde resting his head on Kai's shoulder as the days activities dawned on him. Yunho looked at Kyu, her smile small and her eyes closed as she breathed softly, the light of the sun now casting a soft glow on her skin, not harsh or burning as it had been earlier. She looked beautiful like this, at peace, the only thing ruining the picture for him was Erin's arm securely wrapped around her shoulders. 

Yunho had thought that was the most beautiful picture he'd ever see in his lifetime, a moment he wouldn't have been able to capture on film even if he tried, memorizing each line on her face as the golden glow casted over her, no matter the teasing of his friends around him. Yet he was proven wrong once again when they had decided to stay out later and stargaze. He was worried, Kyu had clearly been tired and she didn't seem like she wanted to stay, but agreed when Erin looked down at her and whispered something in her ear, the others cooed, but Yunho only felt the electricity beneath his fingers twitch, a soft yet familiar hum starting to buzz against his skin before he forcefully snuffed it out. 

Everyone was laying on their backs, spread out beneath the night sky as they looked at the stars above them. Kyu seemed happier, maybe because this had been her rightful domain, but even in her tired state she seemed more content than Yunho had ever seen before. The stars and the moon seemed to shine brightly that night, that was until Yunho went to lay down next to Kyu, he doesn't know how he got the motivation to do it, but Erin wasn't here, he was off somewhere else, having made the excuse of needing to take a phone call- that was half an hour ago yet Yunho isn't complaining. When he laid down next to her she turned her head to look at him, giving him that tiny smile she'd give Seungmin and San when they showed her whatever new little thing they made in the plants. It was comforting, made his heart warm up and his own cheeks flush. She looked back up at the sky, and when Yunho followed her gaze it seemed darker, the veil of night almost dimming the stars and the moon, who seemed all too happy to be coveted by its blanket. 

He had decided then, that this was when she was her most beautiful. When she was at peace, when her powers seemed strongest and the night at its darkest, she was the most divine then. A being he'd make sure even his father worshiped if she would allow him to, if she'd give him the honor of admiring her openly. Under the stars, as the darkness of the night seems to reach out at her and she lifts her hand in response, darkness creeps from her fingers down to her elbows as she whispers something in return to the night. 

He decides he'll marry her right then, become her husband, her king, anything to please her. If she'll allow him he would give her the world, the universe and all he asked for in return was to be able to gaze upon her like this, when she was at her most comforted. He was going to marry her, no matter how long he'd have to wait, he would do so with a smile on his face until the day he could put one on hers. 

“So.. marriage” Hera’s voice rings through his dad's apartment, startling Yunho as he almost chokes on his glass of water. He had come to visit his dad on one of his few weeks off, and had not expected to have Hera surprise him at midnight when he went  to get a glass of water after staring at the night sky through his window for a solid hour or two. 

“I'm - I'm sorry- what?“ he coughs out confused, hitting his chest as he breathes heavily, “don't choke Yunho, it's unseemly” Hera scolds him, “Thanks mom I'll remember that next time” he retorts and Hera has a hint of a smile at her son’s sarcasm, clearly she raised him right- somewhat. “Yes, you should remember everything I teach you, you do, don't you?“ she moves her body to face him from where she sits at the dining table, clad in dark blue and green robes, golden jewelry holding the pieces of fine fabric together as it drapes off her, white hair tied in a bun with a peacock pin holding it together, the crown placed atop her head a tinier, more practical version of her actual one. Dark green eyes bore into Yunho's with an intensity he's never seen directed at himself. 

“Yeah, yeah of course I do” he nods as he hops on the countertop, long legs dangling off the edge so he's facing her, “but I don't understand why you're visiting me in the middle of the night to ask if I remember what you teach me” he tilts his head confusedly. “You remember what I told you about marriage?” she taps her fingers rhythmically against the wooden table beside her, “uhm? that you oversee it and so you know the most about it?” he asks, not quite knowing what she's referring to, she's told him a lot about marriage, quite passionate about the topic. 

His mother only sighs, “That it's an important promise, not to be taken lightly, especially not before the gods” she hums, and he swallows thickly, “yeah.. yeah I know that” he twiddles with his fingers in his lap, scared of where this conversation might lead. “You asked why I was here, visiting you in the middle of the night? so your father had no way of hearing us- he wouldn't dare poke his nose under the night's cloak, not recently anyway. I came here for an explanation, to ask you why your thoughts were screaming ‘marriage’” she doesn't look at him this time, rather looking out the window. His breath hitches as he stops all movement, “I don't - I don't know what you're talking about” he stammers out, knowing he would never really lie to Hera, but still trying anyway. 

She turns her head back to him as she stands up, walking to stand in front of him, “Don't try and deny it, You were screaming, pleading, projecting your thought to me and to her who watched over you that night” Yunho's eyes widen at her words, “Wait Nyx heard-” Hera shakes her head, “Not her, Selene did, but it may as well be all the same, she would never keep anything from her lady. So if I'm going to be approached by a primordial because you have a crush on her daughter, I need the truth”

“I don't have a crush on her mom- I love her- I'm in love with her and it hurts mom, it hurts so much that I wish I didn't have these human emotions- she consumes my every waking thought, my every action every breath, it's like wherever I look I draw a connection to her because I've deluded myself into believing the fates are trying to show me she's the one for me. I know you've taught me about the sanctity of marriage and I know it would never work with Zeus in the way but I… “ Yunho breaks down, a single tear dripping from his eye as he lets his face fall onto Hera's shoulder, he's been holding it in so long that he feels like he can't real it back now that he's spilled everything. 

“You love her” Hera finishes his sentence for him as she pats his hair, “but she has eyes for another” she continues, knowing that the girl is currently with her own grandson, she's never really liked the boy, neither has Zeus which is why he didn't care when he started dating the nights daughter, but Yunho.. Yunho is a different story. “I know, I hate it, I know she's with someone else but these emotions just won't stop growing, like my heart is ready to burst out of my chest and take my humanity with it” he huffs. 

She brings his face from her shoulder, holding it with one hand as she gently cups his cheek, “I think that's the best part about you Yunho, the humanity. Unlike us Gods, you have a heart, a soul” she hums, “I do, and my heart beats only for her, my soul yearns for her touch I- I can't live like this anymore mother, can't continue living as if nothings wrong knowing she's in the arms of another man- a lesser man.  She deserves more than him- more than me! more than the night sky, more than anything anyone could ever give her.. “ he confesses and Hera’s resolve steels. If her son wants this girl, if he believes the man is not suited for her, then Hera will make damn sure both she and her son get what they deserve, that the sanctity of marriage won't be sullied more. She'll need to talk to Aphrodite after this. 

“What do you need” she asks, and he looks up at her, his eyes filled with a yearning she could only describe as purely human,  yet with the intensity of the divine “I need- I need to offer her my bleeding heart, whether she cradle or crush it- I would still be at peace knowing it was touched by her darkened hands” he states, and she smiles at him as she hears his last words. He loves this girl, not only for who she presents to be, but for who she truly is. “then you'll do just that” Hera offers and Yunho looks up at her confused, but she doesn't say a word more, already knowing that up in the sky another conversation quite like this one is taking place. 

˜”°•.˜”°• ⋆ •°”˜.•°”˜

“Selene baby! What brings you to my neck of the woods?“ Nyx asks joyfully, trapping the shorter goddess in a tight hug as Artemis watches the two from a far, giving them their privacy but still doing her job. “I have news to share with you my lady, it's about your daughter- the  half mortal one” Nyx's joyful face instantly disappears as she looks down at Selene with a serious expression, “What happened to Kyu? I knew it was strange that she hadn't talked to me tonight yet but… “ the elder bites her lips as she waits for the moon to respond. “No no, mistress your daughter is not in any.. immediate danger, but I am here to share news” Nyx tilts her head at the gray haired goddess warning but nods her head for her to continue. 

“I believe an Olympian is in love with her” she states, and Nyx chuckles, “Well id hope so, I may not like the boy but they've been together so long id be worried if he doesn't love her… well id also rip his head off but that's neither here nor there” she hums as Selene nods her head, “Not Erin, there's another. The son of Zeus… a few nights ago his thoughts had been screaming, I could hear them- he sought marriage” she says and Nyx has a thoughtful expression on her face. “hm.. Zeus's boy…. he likes my daughter?” she asks suspiciously, “he loves her it seems my lady, I've been watching him. He stares up at the night sky every night and talks of her, I'm not sure if he knows I listen, or wishes for me to carry on his messages, but he speaks of her for hours, asking of her health and pleading for the stars to respond” she tells Nyx. 

“And Erin? What have you seen of him?” she raises a brow, “I have not seen much of him, nor your daughter Mistress, it seems after she had greeted you he withholds her from enjoying the night sky” Selene says, bracing herself for the impact of Nyx's rage.  “I… I entrusted you to look after my daughter when I had to work.. and you did not think to inform me that she was being withheld from my domain?” the primordial's voice is deadly calm, darkness around them growing stronger as the veil her husband had gifted her sways angrily, Artemis’s shoulders tense at the change in atmosphere and she locks eyes with the scene unfolding, Nyx's skin turns dark, almost unseen as her hands glow white, Selene falls to her knees, as if her light had been sucked info Nyx's hands. Artemis immediately moves to catch the Moon, trying to support her as she looks up at Nyx, “My lady maybe we should-” “How long” Nyx interrupted her as she stares down at Selene, a darkness looms over the both and a shadow hand grasps Selene's chin and forces it up from behind, “I believe my wife asked a question” Erebus’s voice rings deep in their ears, and alerts Artemis that they are no longer only in the night. Everything around them is pitch black and there isn't a star in sight. 

“How long.“ Nyx asks again, and her voice sounds almost as if it had mixed with her husbands, dark and powerful, dripping with venom as she stares down at her dear friend, “How long has that bastard been keeping my daughter from me” Selene breathes heavily, “about- about f-five years” she says, and Erebus drops her head, no longer supporting her chin. “You've kept this, kept my daughter from me for FIVE YEARS?” Nyx shouts, veil and hair floating as she grows larger, fingers turning to talons as she looms over Selene, “My darling night, calm down” Erebus tries to reason with his wife, although he himself is not too fond of the information they were just given, “I AM CALM” she retorts, her voice distorted and monstrous. 

“I'm  sorry mistress, It's just- lady Kyu asked me not to tell you!” Selene shouts up at the giant goddess, and Nyx stops in her tracks, staring down into the moon's eyes for a moment as if to gauge if she is telling the truth, before the goddess starts to shrink down. Returning to her normal form and the light from her hands returning to Selene as she tries to stand up, supported by Artemis who does not interrupt what is clearly none of her business. “She what?” Erebus asks this time, the shadows of his figure wrapping around his wife to hold her, whether that be for comfort or the safety of the two moon goddesses before them he doesn't know. 

“Five years ago, around the time Her group had just started out, she and Eris’s boy had a fight. I'm not sure what it had been about but it got heated, I would've told you but she pleaded with me not to Mistress and I…” Selene doesn't finish her sentence, not wanting to offend Nyx nor Erebus. Artemis holds her up, trying to support her and help her stand as she looks at the two primordials before them. “You didn't wish to disobey an ask from your future lady” Nyx finishes, her voice back to normal but lacking its usual steady tone. Selene nods in response, the black haired goddess takes a deep breath before she releases herself from her husband's hold, bending down to now hold the moon's cheek in affection again. “I'm sorry I yelled at you like that darling, but you need to promise never to hide such things from me again, especially when pertaining to my daughter, do we understand one another?” she asks, despite the soft tone there's a hint of malice as her gentle hand digs a nail into Selene’s cheek. Not hard enough to draw any ichor, at least not yet. 

“Yes, yes I understand Mistress, I apologize” Selene’s response is immediate and laced with just enough emotion to have Nyx believe her. The  veiled goddess releases her hold on Selene as she stands up, locking eyes with Artemis, “you'll ensure she keeps that promise, won't you darling deer?” she asks her, and the huntress only nods in response, feeling no more powerful than the animal she had just been named, caught trapped by a pack of panthers. “Very well, may you go” Nyx walks back to her husband as Artemis takes the chance and helps Selene back to their chariot, not sparing a glance back or waiting for the goddess to change her mind and continue their journey. Leaving alone the husband and wife of all that is void. 

“My night I understand -” Erebus starts, “Five years, five years has my daughter been kept from me. I thought she had just been busy. I've heard that mortal kids often migrate away from their parents at a certain age. I thought it had rubbed off on her. I'm a bad mother Erebus, I didn't even realize my own daughter was not spending time in her rightful domain- oh my poor baby she must be so tired” tears well up in Nyx's eyes as she paces back and forth in the endless void of darkness. Her husband takes a breath  acknowledging how serious this is for his wife to be calling him by name, no matter how enraged he himself is, he knows he needs to be the voice of reason between the two of them.  He steps closer and holds her arms, his shadow mist wrapping comfortingly around her as he stops her pacing. 

“You are not a bad mother for giving her space my night, it was a completely logical assumption for you to have made, never once has she given you any reason to doubt her” he tries to soothe her, placing a kiss to her forehead, she always enjoyed when he did this, said the cold shadow of his lips tickled her skin. “I'm her mother I was supposed to know, it had taken me too long to notice the way her mortal parents had been handling her and now- now she's going through Morai knows what at the hands of some Olympian bastard who doesn't know his place!” her voice starts to raise again, causing Erebus to rub her back as he tries to contain her. “My love, we cannot be sure of what it is they are hiding, while I am well aware of your dislike for the boy, and share the same notion, it is not our choice to make, now is it? Remember, when you had come to me the day you asked for her?” he asks softly and she nods in response, “I had told you about what the fates had shared, had I not?” he continues, feeling her nod against what should be his chest, “and what was it your wonderful daughters had said?” He waits for her to speak. 

“You said they mentioned a lightning storm at night” she mumbles, gripping onto his figure like a vice as she's not understanding where he is going with this conversation. “Yes, and we had thought it had been connected to Zeus, and it could very well still be in a way… the news Selene brought, it had been of Yunho's admiration for our princess hm?” He continues, hoping for his wife to catch where his thoughts are leading, yet she only looks up at him, waiting for him to clue her in.  “Now you and I both know you've spied on that boy enough to know he has pure intentions-” it's true, Nyx had not liked the idea of Zeus having another offspring, even if he had been approved by her darling Hera, she still had to ensure the boy was good, especially after he had befriended her precious grandson, “- and for Selene to have heard his thoughts of marriage, his cry must have been a desperate one, a meaningful one… we know he would never make such a proclamation, even in thought if he did not mean it, he is Hera's son after all” He finishes. 

“So are you suggesting what the fates had told you has to do with him and Kyu?” she asks, contemplating his words, he only nods in response as a flicker of insight sparks in her black tear-filled eyes, “So you are suggesting we leave the problem to him… “ she asks softly and he only nods, “I have had a… premonition of sorts for the last few months, of something coming, something big… I believe this is something we must have them sort out themselves” 

“I know but.. still I need the reassurance that she will be okay, otherwise I will rip off that Eris boys head myself” her eyes narrow as she speaks, Erebus thinks for a moment, before snapping his fingers. Before them his son materializes, messy hair, in nothing but pajama pants with his toothbrush still hanging from his mouth, “SHIT! Dad a warning next time” Kai yells as he slightly shivers from the cold hitting his bare skin before he observes the scene before him, “oh this is serious….. okay then” he nods slightly, wiping his mouth from toothpaste. He knew something was off the moment he was summoned, he and his father may not have a bad relationship but they aren't close either, boths inability to express actual feelings when not directed to their lover straining their relationship despite the love they have for one another. 

 “Does Zeus's boy truly love your sister?” Nyx asks, and Kai doesn't even act surprised at his stepmother's knowledge on the subject, all he does is nod in response, “He's more obsessed with her than uncle Hades when Aunt Perce comes home from spring” he responds and Nyx's face seems to brighten up just a little, “and the Erin boy… is he good to your sister?” his father asks him. “Not good, he's m.. I don't know what he is, when it comes to him Kyu is more private than she's ever been, she doesn't share much and I try to keep away from him.. something about him just feels off” she responds as he looks at the two questioningly, “what's this even about?”

“We heard some… news and wanted to ensure your sister's safety” Erebus tells his son, “So you feel it too then? the impending feeling of doom hanging in the air?” Kai raises his eyebrow at his father who nods in response, when his father does not offer another word he understands that he has said what they wanted of him, “can I go back now?” he looks between the two, Nyx nods. “yes, and do say hello to little Felix for me” she kisses the top of his head and walks off to who knows where, “what I wasn't even-” Kai tries to defend himself but his father only pats his forearm  where a burn mark in the shape of a hand lays comfortably. “You need to tell that boy that his touch hurts you in the extreme light, he's too innocent to know otherwise” his father offers before walking away, and Kai can now only stare at his reflection in his bathroom mirror as he's teleported back to his apartment.

Something is wrong, the feeling consumes Yunho, stirring in his stomach, humming beneath his skin as it mixes with the ever building electricity that courses through him, creating a melancholic melody of ominous dread as he looks up at the sky. It had become his usual routine this past year, staring up at the sky hoping that Kyu was staring up at the same time as him, he’d talk for hours, about his day, the thoughts he would have of her, all shared with the moon. He wasn't sure if he shared these things in hopes she would hear, that the message would be shared to her, or if it was only to release himself from the guilt of feeling for a taken woman, he'd prefer the latter, for if it was the former, and the message had been shared then he wouldn't be able to handle the heartbreak of her never having responded.

Yet tonight his usual routine is interrupted as he stares up at the sky, it’s winter, a time he’s come to appreciate as the night sky grows longer and Kyu always seems happier, whether she’s more active online or responding to texts, the more constant feeling of her presence brings him joy. Unfortunately on this cold winter night the joy is diminished, the usual darkness of the longer night sky is brightened, the moon and sun seeming to outshine the darkness, creating a purplish veil instead of the usual darkness that had become Yunho’s comfort. It creates an uneasy feeling in Yunho’s stomach as he worries about Kyu, it’s not natural, was it due to her? Was the lustre light of the night connected to Kyu or her mother? 

Thoughts swirled in his mind, maybe he should call her.. but that would be weird wouldn't it? if he had just called her randomly at night, but then again they were friends maybe it wouldn't be too abnormal. He bites his lips as he stares up at the moon, face pleading wishing she could give him answers. Was he being paranoid? sure but one quick text couldn't hurt… and then one quick text went unanswered, and it turned into two, then three, giving up he sent one to Kai, maybe he had heard something? 

“Kaiiiiii you have a text from Yunho- he's asking if Kyu is okay- why would he ask if Kyu is okay?” Felix questions as he walks to Kai, giving the phone back to the taller person who's looking out to the night sky, “he's just worried” Kai replies, not responding to the text. His father was right, something was coming, and Kai did not have enough care to mess with fate, no matter how much he loved sister, this needed to happen. “Worried about? the night? it is a bit bright tonight” Felix hums as he rests his head on Kai’s shoulder, “Thinking about it Kyu hasn't responded in the group chat tonight” Kai only nods his head at Felix's words, “and she won't. not tonight at least, she's busy” he states, “with what?” The blond asks, Kai simply turns his head to kiss his cheek, not knowing the answer. 

“Aren't you worried about her too then?“ Felix hums despite the smile on his face at the small show of affection, “of course, but it's not my fate to interfere with this” Kai turns, holding Felix's face in his hands, “so why don't you help distract me from my worries hm?” he asks and Felix only smiles up at him as the moon looks down at the two through the window. 

Once she's sure they won't interrupt, she turns her attention back to the faux black haired male who's currently pacing along his balcony. She knows she promised the young mistress she wouldn't interfere, but it's getting worse and she'd rather break a promise than see her young lady then have to witness her death under the weakened night sky. She promised Nyx she'd take care of this, and had to have the goddess distracted lest she rip off the son of discord’s head and give Zeus a reason to start the war he'd been itching for. This has to happen tonight, and it has to be Yunho. 

“Is she okay?” he asks up at the sky, voice shaking and desperate in a way Selene has never heard him speak to her before and this is just what she wanted to hear, the desperation and yearning ensures he’ll be willing to do what fate had lined up for him, so for the first time since he’s started talking to her, she responds. As a voice in his mind, cold and drifty in a whisper, “no, she needs you”  Selene speaks and Yunho looks up in surprise, taking a moment to understand the importance not only of being called by the moon but also of her words, although all that is pushed to the back of his mind as he understands the meaning of her words. “Where” is all he grits, “The park under the night” she says, and at first Yunho doesn’t understand, everything is under the night sky, but the memory at the back of his mind resurfaces, seemingly forcefully dragged to the forefront of his worried thoughts. The night at the park in which he witnessed Kyu reach out into the night, and the night reached back to her.

Quickly he moves back inside the house, not bothering to grab a coat to protect him from the cold winter's night, the electricity murmuring beneath his skin already warming him enough, No longer a soft and subtle hum of nerves as it constantly was, his powers were now murmuring, whispering as if trying to coax him to release it, he had a feelings he’d have to listen, he  ignores Yeosang question as he grabs his keys and rushes to the car, jumping in and driving off at a speed he’s sure to break the speed limit with, but he can’t find it in himself to care, quickly he navigates his way to the park not far from his own dorm, it’s quiet outside tonight, too quiet, as if the entire world had been put on hold for this very moment. 

He doesn’t even park the car, only stops it and yanks out the key, jumping when it comes to a stop as he sees the park in his view, he can hear it now, the sound disrupting the quiet night, yelling and crying, loud and gut wrenching, the murmur of the lightning beneath his skin gets louder, his head starts to hurt as he tries to suppress it. The storm clouds build on the horizon as he rushes forward,  the voice he can recognize as Erin’s growing louder, drowning out his powers. He only stops when he reaches the clearing, seeing Kyu stand before Erin, hunched over and holding her stomach, he hasn’t been noticed yet, his mind going into overdrive as his eye’s frantically take in the scene, Erin laughing up at the lightened sky, “YA SEE THAT? HM? SEE HOW YOUR POWERFULL DAUGHTER FALLS? KNEELS BEFORE ME?” he screams up, pointing a bloodied knife in Kyu’s direction, “THIS IS YOUR FAULT!” he turns the knife upwards, and Yunho is surprised he has yet to be smite, that he had ever gotten this far into hurting Kyu.

His powers are screaming at him now, head throbbing in a way that almost disorients him as rage builds, the thunder beneath his skin cooking the red blood in his veins into golden ichor as he  slowly tries to creep to Kyu, no matter the unspeakable things he wishes to condemn Erin too, getting Kyu out of the way and in the safety of his arms is his first priority. She does not notice him until he’s behind her, gently wrapping his arms around her to support her, ignoring the warm wet feeling of her blood beneath his fingers as he tries to put enough pressure on the wounds to stop bleeding. She doesn’t make a sound at his touch, whether that be because she’s too tired too or because she recognized him he didn’t want to know, although the way her body went rigid before relaxing when he whispered in her ear suggests the former. 

“YOU RAISED HER TO MOTHER EVERYONE UNDER YOUR SKY AND NOW GUESS WHAT?” Erin shouts deliriously, thinking the gods are listening to him with bated breaths, “SHE DIDN’T WANT TO CARRY MY CHILD- SO SHE WON'T EVER BE ABLE TO BEAR ONE NOW” he waves the knife in the air, her blood dripping from the cold steel onto his hand in a taunting manner, “SHE WON'T EVER LEAVE NOW BECAUSE NOBODY WOULD WANT HER AS BROKEN AS I'VE MADE HER- NOBODY-” his manic screaming becomes more deranged as he turns his head back to her, likely for another toxic spill of words to leave his throat, but he stops, noticing Yunho standing beside her, supporting her as her breath hitches due to Erin’s attention on them, “go” she whispers to Yunho, her voice weak and throat hoarse, he only tightens his grip on her in response. 

“Or well, not nobody… the pathetic little puppy comes crawling for spoils that aren't his? You're just like your father aren't you? Taking women that aren't yours” Erin tuts, swinging the knife in Yunho’s face tauntingly, “Well sorry to break it to you but unfortunately her pussy can no longer bear whatever children you wish to put in her soo.. Shoe along now, uncle” the last word drips from Erin's mouth like venom and Yunho has to stop himself from lunging at the man. The thunder clouds roll in, dark and fast as they grow, reflecting the storm behind his eyes, “Yunho, go, this is not your fight” Kyu whispers to him, her voice weak in a way he never thought he’d hear from her, her face turns to him, sweat beading on her forehead mixing with the silent tears down her cheeks, her eyes are pale, no longer the soft gray, now more sullen and void as she looks at him desperately, “I don’t want him to kill you too, please”  she begs, and Yunho does not understand why she doesn’t strike the man down, she’s much more powerful than him, even in her weakened state, so why won't she just let go of him.

“I’m not going to let him kill you either” my queen, Yunho does not add the last two words to his sentence, but it’s clear Erin knew he wished to say it, “No not me, Yunho-” she’s cut off by the brunette before them, “Not her you idiot, she is still my queen, I wouldn’t be able to take over the underworld without her unfortunately, so I won’t kill her- you on the other hand, are currently holding my prize so if you would ever so kindly let go” Yunho hates the way Erin speaks of her, as if she is not a person, not the love of Yunho’s life. “She’s not yours” Yunho speaks, his voice ringing through the clearing as rage fills him, sparks tingling at his fingertips, his hair losing its dark color as he feels Kyu weakly trying to push herself out of his hold. “Oh? And you think she’s yours?” Erin asks, tilting his head. Before Yunho can respond Kyu lets out a stronger push, breaking free from Yunho’s hold and simultaneously pushing herself toward Erin, stumbling before she grips onto his shirt for support. “Please Erin, stop this, I'm begging you” she pleads. 

“aww Baby it’s okay hm? You know I'd never hurt you if not for your own benefit, I'm doing this for us” Erin says, stroking her hair as he looks down at her but not bothering to try and support her, Yunho wants to reach out, to grab  her and take her as far away from Erin as possible, but he sees the sparks along his fingers, hears the faint clap of thunder above them and knows touching her would only hurt. “You see Yunho? She chose me, she doesn't love you, she knows to whom she belongs and for that she'll be rewarded… unfortunately she must have lead you on enough to make you believe she loved you, for that she has to be punished” Erin’s voice  speaks and before Yunho can register it the sound of Kyu’s gasp fills the air as the knife is imbedded in her back this time, she’s thrown to the ground with a resounding crack implying she must of hit her head, she doesn’t move further and Erin’s attention is on Yunho as he steps forward.

 “She'll live, don’t worry, she always finds a way to stay alive, like a cockroach, but it’s you and me now buddy. You think your dad will praise me when I give him your head? The son who dared love the enemy? Think he'll give me your position as heir? It’ll be a lot easier than fighting for it, not that I wouldn't win either way of course.” Erin speaks, and with each step he takes forward the thunder above them clasp louder. Lightning strikes down to the ground, and when he’s right in front of Yunho, who’s feet are planted to the ground, eyes looking terrified at the woman on the ground, the sound of a falling tree echoes through the clearing. His face falls, the ashy blond tips that are slowly seeping into the rest of his black hair obscuring his face from Erin's view, “Your right” Yunho says, voice void of emotion as his fists clench beside him, “Oh I know I am” Erin  replies with a smile on his face.

“I am my fathers son…” Yunho says as he lifts his head, brown eye’s now glowing golden as he grabs the already scrunched shirt of Erin, sending a surge of power through his body just strong enough to make his muscle spasm and go limp as the knife in his hand made from Hephaestus's metal falls to the ground before he could even think of using it on Yunho. “And my father isn’t afraid of killing those who anger him” Yunho spits  out, and before Erin could even think of replying Yunho sends the first punch, the power behind it along with the electricity  sends Erin to the ground immediately, but it’s not enough for Yunho.

He falls to his knees, straddling the bloodied man beneath him as he continues punching him, the lighting striking as the storm rolls in time with his punches. “You really think you deserve her? You're nothing but a bastard and a shame to the family name, no wonder your mother abandoned you, you mutt. I'd be just as disgusted if my son were like you” Yunho speaks between punches, not holding back the strength not the power that's praising him, chanting beneath his skin in joy at the release, eating at the man beneath him whose face is already caved in and skin burned in patches. All the power Yunho’s ever held back is released, the door not being able to close as he simply sees red, his hair now fully golden, the man beneath him doesn't respond, but that’s fine, Yunho doesn’t need him too.

A cough from his side is what snaps him out of his rage, scrambling off the unconscious and barely breathing body beneath him over to Kyu. Blood seems from her mouth, her stomach, her back, and somewhere on her head that Yunho can’t find beneath the heavy black hair. He pulls her into his hold and she looks up at him with the faintest smile, “You look p-pretty in blond thunder boy” she tries to move but groans and stays where she is, “You n-need to stop, you shouldn’t become a murderer for me” she tells him, and he wants to scream at her, he'd kill anyone for her, massacre the whole world if that's what she wanted serve the heads of those who wronged her on a plate if she just asked him too. The tears fall from his eyes, “I- I need to get you to a hospital I-” he frantically panics, trying to position her in a way that wouldn't cause her wounds to worsen,  the power that's still screaming at him to finish off the man behind him doesn't dance atop his skin anymore, not with her in his arms “Hey, hey no you- “ she splutters again, more blood emerging from her mouth, a golden sheen coating the angry red.

“You need to calm down before this storm attracts your fathers attention” she says, Yunho’s sure it already has but he couldn’t give a damn, he’s pleading with her, trying to have her keep her eyes open, her breath even. She smiles again, this time at something behind him, he doesn’t want to look, does not want to acknowledge the unmistakable feeling of death looming behind him. “Hey Than” Kyu says softly, “Hello μικρή αδερφή” the gravelly voice of Thanatos responds, his tone soft and caring in contrast to the rage Yunho can feel from him. Kyu closes her eyes in content, humming softly at his words, “No, no Kyu stay with me, please love, please open your eyes I'm begging you Kyu stay-” Yunho pleads as he holds her face in his hand, the mixture of her and Erin's blood rubbing off on her cheek from Yunho’s palm, sullying her beautiful face.

She doesn't respond, and feels cold in Yunho’s hands. She always ran cold, but this was different, she was freezing. “Don’t take her, please I'm begging you don’t take her” Yunho beseeches the god behind him, “I don’t want to” Thanatos replies. “Then don’t, as your future King I order you, do not take her from me” Yunho’s voice breaks, not holding the power or sounding nearly as threatening as he wishes it too. “I need to take a soul, a shade needs to be given to the underworld” Thanatos says as he looks down at his dying sister in the arms of the man she never had the chance to love.

There's a silence, no sound to be heard on the clearing except for the roaring tempest overhead, no breath, not from Yunho, not from the two unconscious bodies and certainly not from the god of death himself. “Then take him” Yunho breathes, “She’s closer to death than he is, by the power I was given I need to accompany the soul closest to their demise” Thanatos tells him, planting the seed in Yunho’s mind that he wishes will grow quickly. The silence overtakes them again before the last of the dark roots atop Yunho’s head turn a golden blond, matching his eyes and the ichor he’s created in his veins, there’s a strike of lightning behind them, so sudden and loud it takes Thanatos by surprise, luckily he does not jump, the glow of the bolt matches the one on Yunho’s hand that's holding Kyu’s thigh as he hugs her tight against him, trying desperately to listen for her heartbeat.

Thanatos looks behind him, the unconscious body burnt and the grass around it flaming, earth cracked from the pressure of the electrical discharge that hit the now dead body. “Take him.” Yunho speaks with finality, voice truly sounding like the order of a king, Thanatos nods, grateful that he did not have to reunite with his sister in such a way.  “I'm sorry” Yunho whispers as he presses his forehead against Kyu’s own, feeling her heart beating against him. Whether he’s apologizing for becoming the murderer she asked him not to, or for the small amount of lightning he sent through her to jumpstart her heart, he does not know.

Ever since he had rushed her to the hospital, Yunho had not left Kyu’s side, staying beside her when she had been asleep for 3 days, holding her hand and praying to any god that would listen that she’d wake up. His father tried to summon him, but he refused, he wouldn't leave her, couldn't, Hera had stopped the King from smiting his heir, but Yunho knew his father wouldn’t be too happy about the damage caused. Even tried to come down to the mortal realm to get Yunho himself, only to be stopped by Nyx, who stated his son had  been placed under her protection after saving her daughter. This caused Zeus’s anger to grow but he knew better than to cross the goddess of his nightmares.

When Kyu had woken up the first face she saw was a doctor, not Yunho. She could feel his presence, the electricity in the air, and the moment his name invaded her thoughts, the side of her right thigh started to pain, ignoring the voices of the frantic doctors she had thrown off her blanket, desperately yawning up her gown to gain access to the searing skin. Her eyes was met with the claim of thunder on her skin, pitch black contrasting with the paleness caused by her bloodloss, protruding from the soft flesh like a tattoo, little bumps of raised skin seemingly glowing with a golden sheen, she wanted to scream, because it hurts, fuck it hurts , but something about it, the searing heat of the lightning she can feel moving beneath her skin makes her feel alive.

Her eyes frantically move from the doctors to the room around her, desperately searching from his face, she doesn’t see him, but she does see a mop of unmistakable golden hair from the window leading to the halls outside her room, he’s not looking at her, back facing her room, but when she spots him the pain dies down, she relaxes as the doctors around her continue their work, the sound of them fading out as she focuses on the back of his head, memories returning to her of the moment right before she lost consciousness.

“You really need to talk to her, you know?” Kai says as he hands Yunho a coffee, it’s been a week since Kyu had woken up and the newly returned blond man had yet to enter her room. She yelled out at him, asked those who visited and her doctors to tell him to come inside and yet he refused. He couldn't look her in the eye, knowing what he’s done. “Mhm” he hums, dark circles beneath his eyes clear as he accepts the coffee from the other, sitting upright and ignoring the pain his back suffered from the cold metal chairs that line the outside of the hospital rooms.

“Seriously bro I’m gonna make you sniff some essential oils and sleep for at least a few days if you don’t get some proper rest” Hyunjin says as he walks out of Kyu’s room, looking over at Yunho as he goes and sits beside the blond. “Put him out for a week!” Kyu’s voice yells from the room, and you can hear Mingi’s soft huff of laughter following her words. “See?” Hyunjin makes a face at Yunho. “I'm fine, I'm not tired” Yunho defends himself and Kyu’s voice can be heard mocking him, he only huffs in response. “If you would just come in and TALK to me, then I wouldn’t be doing this and you wouldn’t be huffing and puffing!” Kyu shouts again as she hears Yunho.

“She’s right ya know, you'll need to go in there eventually” Kai says as he closes her room door, voice softer to ensure she can’t hear the conversation happening. “You've been sitting here the whole time, ignoring her and your father. You need to face something, hate to break it to you but sitting here 24/7 isn’t helping anybody” he sighs as he sits on the chair opposite Yunho. “I'm not here all the time, I go home to shower and stuff” Yunho mumbles, but he only receives a look in response, “Can I go face my father?” he asks and Hyunjin slaps his chest in response, “Go talk to her.” Yunho groans as he slides down in his chair.

“She’s not mad, I promise” Seungmin walks in on the conversation, holding a bag of clothes he went to go pick up for Kyu, “You say that and yet I do not believe you” he points a finger at Seungmin, “If she was mad I don’t think she’d be calling out to you everyday” Seungmin walks closer, throwing the bag in his hands on Yunho’s lap. “Go” the boy speaks with finality. “She may not sound mad but what if… what if I walk in there and the moment I look into her eyes and she’ll realize what I've done and hate me forever” he asks, only receiving three blank looks in response, “Yunho go in there or so help me I’m calling your dad- mortal one” Kai’s threat does not fall on deaf ears, “Okay now we don’t need to go that far” he tries to get himself out of the situation, but with the way he’s being glared at he knows it’s not possible. 

“Yeah okay” He stands up, stretching as he hears his back crack, ignoring the winces of those around him, “If she hates me I’m smiting you all, because apparently I have the power to do that now” Yunho says before taking a deep breath, knocking on the door, Mingi opens it, eyes widening as he sees Yunho at the door, “Oh- well that's uhm- hm yeah I'm gonna go” Mingi fumbles before practically bolting out of the room. Yunho takes a breath as he walks in, he doesn’t take his eyes off the floor as he walks over to the closet to place down Kyu’s bag, he mapped out the entire planning of the room the first few days when Kyu was not, and kept retracing the steps of the room when he sat in the corridor to keep himself from going insane. “Yunho” Kyu’s voice seems much better now, he’s heard it yell to him from outside the room, but it’s different now. More clear, stronger than it was the night of the incident. “Yunho look at me please” she pleads, he grips his fists but only continues putting away clothes and not looking at him.

“I’m.. I’m sorry, that you had to be the one there, that I turned you into a murderer” Yunho finally turns at that, it’s not that he wanted to, but it felt like instinct to turn, to reassure her that none of this was her fault, “No-No Kyu it’s not-” his breath hitches as he finally looks into her eyes. It’s like he’s back to the first day he met her, butterflies in his stomach and his knees feeling weak, sparks sourcing beneath his skin in the way that makes him feel giddy and not ready for war. “Hi” she smiles softly at him, “Hi” he responds, voice shaky. He can feel tears forming in his eyes as he finally looks at her, she looks so much better, the light in her eyes shining in a way he’s never seen before.

She pats the spot beside her on the bed, Yunho takes the hint and moves forward, but he sits on the chair instead of the place offered, “When I- When I told you I didn’t want him to kill you too -” Kyu starts, but Yunho stops her, “You don’t have to-” Kyu interrupts, ”no, no I do- I - I need to speak okay?” she looks at him and he nods, she takes a breath before continuing. “I didn't mean it in the way of I thought he would kill me, He’s he’s killed before, for me, and I didn’t want that burned on your shoulders- I know- I know our parents take care of all this stuff but if this ever gets out it could ruin your career-” ‘I don’t care about my career, I care about you, I want you to be safe’  Yunho thinks, but he only continues to listen to her speak, “-When we were young, fresh out of highschool and just started college I thought of leaving him for the first time, I had this friend who wanted to help me, I didn’t really know him well, but he was such a sweet guy and I needed any excuse to get out.. But Erin found out and, well, he took care of the problem before it could show itself.” she says as she draws her knees up to her chest, she shouldn’t be able to, but her wounds have been healing faster than they should.

“I’m sorry you had to go through that” Yunho whispers, trying to suppress the urge he has to hold her in his arms, “I'm not telling you this because I want your sympathy Yunho, I need you to understand” she says, “understand what?” he asks, “Why I can't reciprocate your feelings, the claim you made Yunho I.. I know it wasn’t made with bad intentions, and I know you’d never be like Erin but, I've spent my whole life being his prize, being claimed by him and not seen as a person of my own, and as much as I hated him for everything he’s done to me I-” she breathes, “You loved him” Yunho states her thoughts, and she only nods. “I’m sorry I killed him” Yunho says, and she shakes her head again.

 “Don’t, don’t feel sorry Yunho, you did what I wished I could have, it was something I was too weak to do despite the power that my mother gave me. I couldn't kill him, and it wasn't because I still loved him I- I didn't want to admit I was weak enough, stupid enough to have made the decision of loving him in the first place. So as much as I like you Yunho, as much comfort as you bring me I- I’m not ready to be claimed as someone’s else's before I get to find myself. I just- I need time, could you please give me that?” she turns her head to him, tears glistening in her eyes as her cheek is pressed against her knee.

“I never, I never expected you to even feel anything for me Kyu. The fact that you’ve just admitted you even have some sort of likeness to me is a blessing I didn’t even know could have been bestowed upon me…. You’re not weak Kyu, you're one of the strongest people I’ve ever met, I wouldn't ever force my feelings upon you.. I never meant to claim you it just- it happened and I will give you as much time as you need” Yunho looks into her eyes, brown with golden flecked iris’s staring into her gray and silver ones, reflecting the meaning and importance behind his words. “But I will tell you this, as much time as you need, as long as I need to wait.. I won’t lose you again. You don’t have to be mine, You don’t have to be the queen that will one day ascend the throne with me but… but I will forever and always be yours, the King that's willing to do anything for you, and I need you to know that”

She smiles at him, the unshed tears in her eyes finally falling, “I know Yunho, I know”

˜”°•.˜”°• ⋆ •°”˜.•°”˜

“Do you understand what you've done boy? You've disrupted the balance. Killed one of your own.” Zeus’s voice booms through the Olympian court, of course the god couldn't just talk to Yunho normally, no he needed to summon him to the court, before the eyes of multiple gods to ‘face his punishment’ whatever that means. “Zeus I've told you I honestly do not care that the boy was killed” Eris says from where she sits, bored out of her mind. She didn’t care for the boy called her son, he wanted to disrupt the delicate balance of discord, he did not understand how to carefully plant a seed, she did think him deserving of her lineage anyway, if anything the boy who is technically her half brother did her a favor.

“Sush daughter, we must mourn the loss of Erick and punish this one accordingly” Zeus silences Eris, “His name was Erin..” Yunho huffs, his father doesn't care about the dead half god, just wants a reason to punish Yunho, he hasn’t ever really liked Yunho, not liking the fact that his son is more favored among the gods than he is. “That's what I said, Erin, sweet boy that one” Zeus nods his head solemnly, beside him Hera rolls her eyes. Ares huffs from where he sits besides Aphrodite in the stands of the fake courthouse his father created for this occasion, Demeter is standing there with her arms crossed and foot tapping in that livid manner that makes Ares shudder, like a mad mother she looks at Zeus.

 “A sweet boy?” a dark voice haunts the room, sending shivers down the spines of the gods as dark smoke rolls in from beneath the doors, Yunho’s back straightens as he recognizes it, the voice that's come to talk to him in dreams, to both threaten and thank him for his connection with Kyu. As the shadows spread and the room is encased in a veil of darkness Ares smirks, knowing his father is in for it now. The doors open once the room is fully dark, “You call the bastard that hurt my daughter, sweet?” Nyx asks as she steps into the room, the light her husband has drained from the room running from her fingers to her elbows as she simply seems like a dark shadow, her husband is not beside her but they know he’s here, the darkness around them a show of his presence. 

“Lady Nyx, as much as you know I respect your judgment, this is a matter not involving you” Zeus speaks through gritted teeth, tone strained as he tries and shows respect for the goddess he fears. “Doesn’t involve her? The dead had hurt her daughter, I think she has every right to be here” Hera speaks, her word carries the same weight as Zeus’s in this court, as much as he tries to deny it. “See? Hera gets it.. You know you've always been my least favorite of Rhea’s children Zeusy boy” Nyx states as she walks closer, flashing her hand atop Yunho’s shoulder comfortingly, “Unfortunately for you, my daughter has grown fond of him, and as any loving mother would, I protect what's hers. He’s under my protection Zeus, you will not punish him for having done what's right”

“My lady, Yunho has used the powers he was given not only to hurt a member of his future kingdom, but dared to turn his own blood to ichor. Blasphemy cannot go unpunished under my reign.” Zeus tries again, “He used those powers to protect our daughter, the ichor made in his system does not compare to what he will hold once he ascends, this is all redundant in your baseless case against the prince” Erebus’s voice rings through the room, seeming to have no clear starting nor end point, just as the darkness its all encompassing. 

“That boy, tried to ensure my daughter would never know the joys of being a mother” Nyx spits to Zeus, “and as I was informed your daughter's ability to bare children remains in tact, he had failed so that cannot be used against the dead who's not here to defend himself” The king replies, and without missing a beat Nyx silences him by saying “Your father ate your siblings and yet they stand alive before you, does that release him from the punishment he currently suffers due to his cruelty?”

“Oh shit” Ares mumbles, eating some of the popcorn Hermes popped up with beside him, Apollo on his other side, Aphrodite slaps Ares upside the head to quiet him down. “Now My lady that-” Zeus is cut off by Hera at his side, “This is fruitless Zeus, you’re trying to punish the boy for loving that girl because you can’t handle that fact that they’d be more powerful together than you'd ever be, which is just insanity because they aren't even together” the goddesses words make the other gods nod in agreement, mostly because they don't want to be there.

“Yeah no see asking me to punish him is like asking me to go against love and that's kind of the opposite of my whole vibe” Aphrodite speaks, and the three male gods beside her nod while eating their popcorn like mindless puppets. “That girl has taken great care of my son, so I would not want to punish this boy for his bravery” Demeter interjects her own opinion. “So no one wishes to punish him?” Zeus asks, and everyone shakes their heads, he sighs, despite the anger rising he is a smart enough king to know he can’t go against the vote of all his subjects, and he does not want to anger two of the oldest deity’s known to the world. He nods, “Alright then the boy will be… released”

Months later, when the story had calmed and his fathers rage had mostly cleared Yunho couldn't be more content than what he currently was. Laying in bed with the soft hum of the tv, the golden glow of the setting sun and the love of his life in his arms he couldn’t wish for more. It was the beginning of summer and Kyu’s tiredness worsened as the sun got stronger and the days got longer. As worried as Yunho would always be for her during these times, a part of him wanted to thank Helios, for it only meant he got to hold his sleeping love in his arms longer.

Her back pressed to his chest, resting her head on his arm as she plays with the fingers of that hand and focuses on the show she’s watching, she looks so beautiful, ethereal even. Yunho’s other hand that had been resting on her hip was now mindlessly tracing the lines of the lightning along her thigh, grateful that the summer heat makes her wear shorts and gives his eyes access to the greatest piece of artwork he’s ever created. Her breathing matches his own, heart beating in sync with his as he can’t stop himself from leaning down and placing a kiss atop her head. “I love you, you know that right?” he mumbles into her hair.

“Mm, I don’t think there’s a universe in which I don’t” she hums back, a small smile playing on her face as she turns her head to look at him, “what brings this on?” she asks, instead of responding he just ducks down further, capturing her lips in a passionate kiss and she responds in kind before giggling. When he pulls away she looks up at him mischievously, a hint of chaos in her eyes as her lips curl into that tiny smirk that drives Yunho wild, “You haven’t been focusing on the show have you?” she turns her whole body around as she looks up at him, “What? I totally have how could you question that” he asks in mock offense, but his eyes don’t leave her lips.

“Alright then, what did Buck just fall off of?” she asks, and she can practically see the loading screen in Yunho’s mind, “Who’s Buck?.....” Yunho makes a face and Kyu playfully slaps his chest in response, he only grips her hand in his as he laughs down at her, “Come on Love, you can’t expect me to focus on some show when you look so pretty in my arms” he smiles as he watches the blush form on her cheeks. “Some show? this is my favorite show” she huffs and Yunho makes a noise of disagreement, “See now I know that’s a lie because your favorite show is The originals because you have a little crush on that hybrid guy” Yunho says knowingly and she buries her face in his chest. She grumbles before she looks up at him again, a hand coming up to tangle in his hair, no longer the golden natural blond, or the fake colors of his dye. No now it’s a soft blond with black roots and ends seeping through, proof of her affect on him.

 “I've affected you too much” she beams up at him softly, “I could say the same” he moves her so she’s now laying atop his chest, his palm flattening out against the mark against her thigh as it glows a faint golden, sending a exhilarating jolt of electricity through her body. “But you know what?” he asks as he presses a kiss to her forehead, bringing both hands up as he holds her face in them, threading his fingers through her hair as he tuck a strand behind her ear. “What?” she grins up at him, “I wouldn’t have it any other way” he utters but before he could act on the thoughts swirling in his head, she beat him to it. Moving upwards and capturing his lips with a fervent need.

The tv still playing in the background, the setting sun and rising moon, the heat of the day worsened by the tension in their bodies is a stark reminder that the future King and Queen of the gods will never be separated, their bodies intertwined, souls connected and hearts beating as one. 

Yunho remembers the stories his dad told him, of Humans having four legs, four arms and two hearts, being split into two souls by Zeus and left to roam in search of their other half forever. He never thought to ask any of the gods if this had been true, but feeling the love coursing in his chest for the woman atop him, he believes it must be.

taglist: @grapejellysollie @seongsangssbitch @idkwhatto-namethis @leezanetheofficial @waywardsummoner46 @randomfan218-blog @kaisworlds

copyright | 2024 | @asherthehimbo

waahh, im also planning on writing a spin off for Kai and Felix so if you wanne be tagged in that lmk😼

edit: spinoff written and found here!

[happilykrispypirate]

The Mistake

Pairings: Mattheo Riddle x fem! Nott! reader

Warnings: Swearing, fighting, mentions of sex, every detail of a probably awkward looking makeout shesh and my shitty writing.

Summary: Pansy invited Y/n out to a local bar with Blaise, Pansy then decided it would be a good idea to invite her brother and his best friend.

A/n: This is based off of true events that have recently happened to me and I am unsure how I should process it or how I really should be feeling about it. I know how I should feel about it, but I don't. So, writing fanfic is my only coping mechanism at this point.

-

"Alright, everyone got everything?" Pansy asked as she and Blaise walked hand in hand with Y/n right next to her into the bar.

"Yeah, my brother said they would save us a table so long," Y/n said as she searched for her brother. She saw them, finally, at the way back near the bathrooms.

Good, she thought, I'm going to be spending my whole evening in there listening to Pansy rant about how annoyed she is with Blaise and how in love she is with Mattheo.

"What's up, fuckers," Y/n greeted.

"What's up, you little shit," Theo smiled as he hugged his sister.

"Hey Matt," Y/n greeted as she gave him a hug.

As soon as everyone greeted everyone, they all sat down. Y/n knew it would be awkward if she was third wheeling with Pansy and Blaise, so she's thankful her brother and Mattheo decided to join.

"So, how pissed are you two?" Y/n asked as she looked between the two boys.

"I'm good, but he's gone," Theo said pointing at Mattheo. He was staring at Pansy.

The two of them met a while back on Y/n's birthday. Even then she and Blaise were a thing, she knew it was a disaster waiting to happen.

Blaise, of course, doesn't know anything.

"As always," Y/n said laughing, and shifting uncomfortably as the seat she was sat on had to be shared by two other people.

"Y/n, I need to go to the bathroom, come with me," Pansy said as she suddenly pulled her away.

Here we go...

"I can't do this," Pansy said once they entered one of the bathroom stalls.

"I knew this would be difficult for you," Y/n said as she slid down the door whilst Pansy sat on the toilet.

"I don't want Blaise, I want Mattheo. I mean, we've been talking for hours almost every night, he makes me feel, I don't know, special?" Pansy said as she sighed and held her head in her hands.

"Maybe you should just leave Blaise, if Mattheo makes you happy then go for it," Y/n said.

"At this point, I think he might like you more than he likes me, and I'm totally fine with that, if you want to go for him, do it. As long as you're happy," She said.

"Dude, I don't even know the guy, and he doesn't know me either. Besides, I highly doubt that he'd ever want to do anything with a chubby girl who hasn't even had her first kiss yet," Y/n said, trying to make her best friend feel better, when she only made herself upset.

"You're beautiful, stop saying those things," Pansy said, "I do think I need to talk to him though."

"I'll try to get him over to the bar inside, whilst Theo keeps Blaise distracted," Y/n said, "I just hope you're sober enough to talk to him, I know you've been drinking long before you even got here."

"I'm severely tipsy," She said giggling as she headed out the bathroom.

Pansy quickly told Blaise that she was going to go pay for the drinks they'd bought so far. Y/n just disappeared to find Mattheo, he was talking to someone else.

When she finally got him away, she told him to follow her into the bar, and that Pansy wanted to talk to him.

She stood off at the side, looking at the two talking, not hearing a thing they're saying because of the music. She looked away when he grabbed her face and kissed her. Making sure that Blaise couldn't see them, and also not wanting to feel the lonely feeling that she feels whenever her friends tell her they've kissed someone.

After a few minutes, she walked back to them, "Listen, as cute as this is, we need to head back to the table, Blaise will get suspicious," She said.

"Right, Matt, you head out first, we'll come after you," Pansy said. Mattheo smiled at her lovingly before walking out.

Pansy hooked her arm around Y/n's, "Holy shit, that was the best fucking kiss I've ever had," Pansy said excitedly, only earning a light hearted chuckle from Y/n.

When they got back to the table, Y/n saw that the space where she had previous sat had grown smaller. Leaving her no choice but to sit next to Mattheo who had the whole seat to himself.

His jacket was on the table, and without thinking she laid with her head on top of her arms on the jacket.

"Oi, wake up," Theo said once he saw his sister laying on her arms.

"I'm awake you fucking dickhead," She said rolling her eyes. She noticed from the corner of her eyes that Mattheo was looking at her.

"Hey, leave her alone," Pansy said, and she just chuckled as she saw the two starting to argue.

"Wow," She heard Mattheo say when he was looking at her.

"What?" She asked confused.

"You're really beautiful," He said.

"You're really drunk," She said shaking her head.

"If you say so," He said causing her to roll her eyes.

"Focus on one girl, please, I'm not worth it. Focus on Pansy," She said.

"I'm trying to but, Blaise is getting in the way. I mean look at her, she's beautiful, but it's a big turn off that Blaise is with her," He said rather loudly.

Blaise heard this and he glared at Mattheo.

"Shush, he might hear you," Y/n whispered turning to him, she didn't fail to notice how his eyes kept trailing down to her lips.

She instead turned her head to lay on his shoulder so it looked a bit less suspicious.

Mattheo then put a hand on her leg and rubbed circle's on her thighs. She didn't do anything. She knew she needed to, but she couldn't.

She then moved away from him, noticing Pansy's look.

After a while of them drinking, Y/n had moved back to her previous spot. She was talking to her brother when she saw that Mattheo was trying to tell her something. She couldn't hear him over the music so she got up and moved over to their side to sit between her brother and Mattheo.

"You okay?" She asked once she sat down.

"Yeah," he said nodded.

"Alright," She said, before yawning, "Jeez, I'm going to fall asleep."

"Now, sleep here," Mattheo said patting his shoulder.

Y/n knew she shouldn't but she remembered what Pansy had said earlier: if you want to go for him, do it.

So, she laid her head on his shoulder and he placed a hand on her thigh while he laced his other hand with hers.

"I think we're going to go and sober her up before we head home," Blaise said referring to Pansy who was way past drunk.

"Alright, I'll see you in a bit," Y/n said, pulling away from Mattheo completely, before they walked off.

"Hey, Theo, please go talk to Pansy for me," Mattheo said.

"Alright," Theo said before getting up and leaving them alone.

Y/n laid her head on his shoulder again and he rested his head against hers.

Next thing she knew Mattheo tilted his head and placed his lips on hers whilst holding her face.

What the fuck are you doing! She internally screamed at herself as she continued to let Mattheo makeout with her.

She didn't expect the tongue at first but before she knew it he swirled his tongue around hers. She didn't move her lips, unsure that if she did that she'd be doing it right.

The position he held her in was awkward and painful for her, so she pulled away from the kiss and sat up straight.

"Holy fuck," She said, "You were my first kiss."

"Let me be your next one as well," He said before attacking her lips again. The same happened this time, just as it had before.

Only this time when she pulled away he hugged her tight, he moved her hair away from her neck and started kissing her on the neck, making sure to leave a hickey.

She then quickly realised what was happening so she pulled away again.

"I can't do this to Pansy," She said as she held her face in her hands.

Mattheo put an arm around her and pulled her close. He kissed the side of her head, her cheek, her nose.

Before she knew it, he was leaning in to kiss her again. When their lips met she, for some odd reason, glanced to the side and saw Pansy looking at them.

"Fuck," She said as she saw Pansy run away. She immediately stood up, "This was a mistake."

"What happened?" Mattheo asked.

"Pansy saw us," She said.

"Shit," He said.

-The next part I wished would've happened because it would've made this whole situation a whole lot better-

Y/n quickly ran after Pansy.

"Wait!" Y/n said grabbing her arm.

"How could you?" Pansy yelled, tears running down her face.

"I'm sorry, it was a mistake," Y/n said, tears threatening to fall.

"I don't ever want to speak to you again," She spat before walking away.

Y/n took deep breaths, trying to contain the tears, when her brother walked up to her, "What happened?" He asked.

"Mattheo kissed me and Pansy saw," She said, Theo had known about Pansy and Mattheo ever since it happened, "And now I have no ride home. And my best friend hates me."

"No, you know what fuck her," Theo said, as he took the crying Y/n into his arms, "You're single, Mattheo's single and Pansy is technically in a relationship with Blaise, because they've slept together, more than once and they're always together. You're not wrong, she is."

She knew he was trying to make her feel better but she, in some way, regretted Mattheo's being her first kiss. She knew it was a mistake.

Mattheo came running to them, "What happened?" He asked.

"Pansy saw you two, and told Y/n she never wants to speak to her again," Theo said.

"Fuck, Y/n I'm so sorry," Mattheo said.

Y/n looked at him and slowly shook her head, "It's not your fault," She said, before she looked at Theo, "Can I maybe get a ride home?"

"Sure, you're just going to have to sit on Mattheo's lap," Theo said.

"Oh fuck," Y/n groaned causing Theo to chuckle.

"You're never going to live this down," Theo chuckled.

-

Y/n sat on Mattheo's lap looking out of the window. She hated the fact that her brother's car only has 2 seats. Yet she didn't mind it one bit.

Mattheo kept staring at the bruise on her neck, he felt proud of himself when he knew he shouldn't be.

He wasn't going to lie, he's liked Y/n since he met her. Pansy was a distraction, and it obviously didn't work.

When they arrived at Y/n's apartment Mattheo followed her up the stairs to her front door.

"I don't think it was a mistake," Mattheo said, catching her attention, "I've been wanted to do that, ever since I met you."

"Really?"

Mattheo nodded.

"Took you long enough," She said.

Mattheo rolled her eyes and leaned in and kissed her again.

It was a mistake at first, but mistakes make good stories, and good stories, have a happy ending.

[stormruff]

Birthday (Portgas D. Ace x Shanks Daughter! reader)

Pairing: Whitebeard pirates× Shanks Daughter!Reader, Redhair Pirates x Shanks Daughter! Reader, Portgas D. Ace x Reader

Warnings: cursing. Oc insert

A/C: hiiii! This my first imagine with my oc, if don't know her check out here. Sorry for the mistakes, my english is not so good.

Happy new year!!

At first shight, it was a good idea. Akane just wanted to spend her boyfriend's birthday with him. There only two problems. The first one: you both were from different pirate crews. He is second commander of Whitebeard's crew and she is second sniper of Redhair's crew and was Shanks daughter, adopted, but still his daugther. And second: Ace birthday, is January 1st, which is New year.

She tried to argue with Shanks, and Ace with Whitebeard.

"Shanks please just this time!"

"Oyaji, please!"

"I already said no!"

Whitebeard and Shanks were so similar, two jealous and hard-headed Yonkos. The only difference was that Shanks didn't leave two bumps on her head.

It was then that his idea popped into his head: bringing the two crews together. Akane told Beck, who didn't like the idea, but Roux, Monster and Yasopp loved it. Shanks loved it because he could drink as much as he wanted. She sent the idea to Ace who loved it, but told Marco to speak since he was still recovering from the bumps.

Well, Whitebeard, at first he didn't like it, but as he adored his daughter-in-law, in this case Akane, he made an exception.

"Akane, come here and drink with me!" The old man says as sh3 giggle, he picks you up and puts her on his leg pouring some Sake for you.

"Hey! She hasn't even had a drink with me yet!" Shanks pouted.

"She didn't even give me a welcome kiss!" Ace crossed his arms.

"my ship, my rules."

"Well, my daughter, my rules!" Whitebeard just gave them a serious look as she appeared from above his leg.

"Do you want to stop being jealous for a little bit, Shanks?" Akane giggle as Ace laughs too. "That goes for you too."

"Hey!"

She laughed, as Whitebeard handed a glass of sake into her hands as he drank from the bottle.

"how does she do that? Make Oyaji laugh like that"

"she's already used to thick-headed Yonkos." Beck said getting a laugh from Ace and Marco.

"Yeah... Wait, What you mean with hard-headed Yonkos?"

Akane laughed again. when she finished her drink, Newgate picked her up and took her to the floor, but Ace took Akane from his hand and gave her a kiss.

"Now we can have peace... at least for a day." Marco pointed out.

"Thank you very much for accepting my proposal, Newgate-san!"

"Akane... We already talked, you can call me Oyaji"

"I can try New... I mean, Oyaji..."

"How nice it would be if I didn't have to get my kids' attention more than twice... you did a good job, brat" he reffered to Shanks.

"Uh- Thanks?"

...

The day was chaotic, well like a pirate ship, Akane's Uncles are playing cards with some WhiteBeard commanders, basically, Yasopp, Beckman, Vista, Izou, Punch and Monster, Thatch and Roux was making the food.

Akane, Ace and Shanks are next to Whitebeard and Marco, just wacthing the card game.

"Incredible, five minutes and no one starts a fight ineresting..." Ace looks at her with an arm wrapped arround your waist.

She giggles.

"Probally they are stealing in the game. This game is worthing a lot of money." She grins.

"Troublemaker! can you bring a drink for your favorite uncle?" Yasopp teased the girl.

"Of course! Do you want a drink too Uncle Yasopp" she teases.

Shanks brust out laughing.

"That 's my baby!"

He stands up and she handed him a bottle.

"What do you see?"

"Vista and Izou are with a exclent game. They need a Jack of hearts and a Queen of hearts."

"Thank you, troublemaker."

"Your... little thief." Marco teased her.

"I'm a pirate after all" Akane smirks. Ace gives her a kiss on the cheek.

"What they promise you?" Whitebeard caught the point.

"A new flute and arrows" She grins."They won't lose, all of them are far from.-"

"We win!" Monster took the money from the center of the table

"What?"

"How did this happen?"

"They steal, I'm sure"

"We're pirates after all!" monster smiles "isn't it right Akane?" you didn't answer. "Akane?"

She gritted her teeth.

"Shit." Vista says

"Something tells me we'll have monkey meat for dinner" Yasopp comented

"Ace-yoi will hold her, don't need to worry" Marco tried to relieve the situation.

"Give me back that fucking money Monster!"

"Ace-yoi, why do you not..." Marco yell as he sees Ace snore with a meet in his hand "he slept?!"

"No no no little devil we win in the game rules, besides we aren't the only ones stealing isn't right?" Monster teases you.

"Fuck off! I'm sure you stuck your cards up your ass again, you monkey from hell!"

"Hey! Respect your uncle!"

"You're not my uncle devil's monkey! Give that money back!"

Shanks and Whitebeard burst out laughing.

"Is it always like this on your ship, brat?"

"This has been going on for 16 years... and it never stops being fun."

"because he's not the one who takes care of Akane's injuries." Hongo hissed.

***

"Ace, stop clinging!"

"You are angry, love, we can't have you running around the ship like this."

"I'm not angry Ace, I'm fine." You sighed... "Do you want to go to somewhere more quiet?" Akane sugested and Ace smirk, she playfully punchs his arm. "That's not what I meant, I want to feel the wind, a little more."

***

The couple are sitting in the crow's nest adimiring the view of the sea.

"Did I already said that you are incredible?" Ace lean on her, and smile.

Akane gave a kiss in his head "So many times."

"You are incredible, you are... so many things, I can't describe you."

"So do I.."

The crews started shouting and singing...

"They are happy."

"You know what this happiness is?"

"I know"

Ace looks up and caresses your cheek, and smiled.

"Happy new year Akane."

She leaned in closer and kissed him. After a while, she broke the kiss and sighed,

"Happy birthday, Ace."

[lvrhughes]

Best Birthday Present | Q. Hughes

pairing: Quinn Hughes x fem!reader

word count: 2.7k

warnings: none?

summary: You take quinn around for his birthday before ending the night with him, becoming his favorite birthday present

not my gif!

3, 2, 1…

It was midnight. Officially Quinn’s birthday, where he was, peacefully asleep in his apartment and yet you weren’t. 

Staying awake, waiting for midnight to send the simple ‘happy birthday’ right away. Running over the final details of your plan for his day, the team wanting to do something for him and of course you’d agree. What kind of media manager would you be if you hadn’t? 

The team came to you because they knew you were good at planning, seeing how well you helped plan events in the organization even when it was up to another office. Quickly asking you to help plan a day Quinn would enjoy, making sure he’d have more than enough time alone, at home maybe talking to his brothers and parents. 

Your eyes scanned over the plan one last time, ensuring there were no mistakes. The soft buzzing of your phone brought you out of the trance, moving the day plan to the side to see. 

Quinn’s name covered the screen, his contact photo coming up beneath. 

“Hey Quinner.” You answered, seeing the sleepy boy on the other side of the call.

“Oh did I call you?” His voice was deep with sleep, proving that he had been asleep until moments ago. 

“Yes you did, why’re you awake?”

“Don’t know,” He yawned, “Thanks for the birthday message though.” He smiled, a soft, stubble smile that could’ve given any girl butterflies. 

“Of course, Quinny.” He always smiled at the nickname, glaring when anyone else would call him it. 

“Wait so why’re you awake?” He questioned, realizing he could ask that now.

“Oh, you know just working on some work stuff.” You could hear how terrible the lie was and when Quinn burst out laughing you knew how bad it was. 

“You’re lying.” He laughed, leaned up in his bed now, the blanket falling from his chest. 

“Me? Lie? Phft never.” You could see his smile even in the darkness, the light from your end reflecting on him. 

“Fine, don’t tell me what you’re doing, on my birthday, without me.” He played, clearly waking up now. 

“Can’t tell you yet, the team would kill me.” 

“So the teams’ in on it too!” 

“I already said too much, gotta go Quinny, sleep well, you’ll need it.” You grinned, quickly ending the call after. 

Another immediate call back from Quinn came right after, making you answer again. A smile on his face as you accepted. 

“Come on, baby, you gotta tell me!” He grinned, seeing the pink cover your cheeks at the pet name. Of course this wasn’t the first time he’d used it, nor the second or third, he used it quite often, purely to get the same reaction out of you everytime. 

“Told you Quinny, I can’t but just know, you should be up and out of bed by 11am.” His lips perked up further into more of a smirk at the words, his mind whirling with more questions. 

“And why’s that?” 

“We got a plan and a schedule we gotta stick to.” 

“Oh? And what’s this plan, babe?” 

You turned away at the pet name, tilting the camera to the wall as your face turned crimson. Quinn laughed, slowly you turned your phone back to you. 

“Goodnight, Huggy Bear.” You grinned, seeing the smile grow on his face before ending the call yet again. 

3am, just a few more hours, but until then you’d sleep. Setting the alarm for 9am and curling into your spot on the bed, falling to sleep quickly. 

“Ugh.” You groaned at the constant knocking at your door, quickly grabbing your phone to see the time flash, 5:42am, before walking to your door. 

“Whoever the fuck this is, you best have a death wish!” You groaned as you unlocked the door, seeing an eager Quinn on the other side. “Quinn?” 

“Good morning sleepy head!” He grinned pushing his way in. 

“How’d you get my address?” It seemed like a fair question, he’d never been over before and now he’s shown up at your door. 

“I may have paid Brock to give it to me.” He shyly smiled. 

“My golden retriever betrayed me!” The dramatic groan fell from your lips as you fell on to your couch, seeing Quinn follow you into the living room area. 

“Golden retriever huh?” 

“Yes, he’s blonde like one and quite literally gives off the exact same energy.”

Quinn shrugged, having no argument. Sitting down beside your fallen body on the couch, tilting his head to look at you. 

“What’re you doing here?” You asked, closing your eyes, fighting to stay awake. 

“I can’t just spend my birthday with my favorite media manager?” 

“No, not when you show up too early.” You groaned, rolling onto your side. “I want to go back to bed.” You sighed, opening your eyes enough to stare at quinn. 

“I mean you can, but then what should I do?” Quinn shrugged, waiting for a response to kick him out, to go bother Brock two doors down. 

“You go back to bed too, you were up at three am with me.” You nodded, getting off the couch slowly. 

“But that means going back to my apartment, so I’d have to drive back home, then go back into my bed that I just made,” His list continued, giving you a playful list of stupid reasons why he shouldn’t go back to bed. 

“Okay well, go annoy Brock or come to bed with me, take your choice.” You declared, your tired eyes just barely catching the way his widened at your offer. 

“You want to take me to bed?” He finally smirked, making you smack his arm. 

“Not like that you dick! Fine stay out alone on the couch, miss out on the TV in my room.” You mumbled, turning towards your room. 

“No, wait. I’m coming.” He said, quickly following you to your room. Your body quickly falling onto your bed, Quinn following behind you. 

“You have the other side, this is my side.” You shooed him away, waiting for him to lay beside you. As little as you’d been with Quinn his presence was always so warm, it was so easy to be with him. To act as if you’d been friends for forever and invite him to sleep in your room with you.

You passed him a TV remote, telling him to put whatever he wanted on, curling up into your side. His eyes lingered on your body far longer than they should've, seeing the rise and fall of your chest as you settled into a comfy spot. 

He chose a random show, one he’d seen before, too focused on you to watch anything else. The urge to reach over and hold you overwhelmed Quinn, fighting his own body not to. 

Until you rolled over to him, pressed against his body now, his arms instinctively wrapped around you. His eyes closed, feeling your steady breaths against his neck as he held you lulled him to sleep. 

Needless to say when more knocking on your door appeared at 8:56, neither of you were impressed. Groaning and hiding your face in Quinn’s chest before realizing that he was not your pillow. 

“G’morning.” He whispered, his voice raspy from sleep.

“Morning, birthday boy.” You grinned before the knocking continued. “Ugh, you think if we just ignore them they’ll go away?” 

Quinn shook his head, smiling at your unimpressed attitude to get up.

“You know they won't.” 

“But I could hope.” An odd silence came after, then the sound of your door opening. “I didn’t lock it after you showed up.” You groaned, hearing that they’d learned that information. 

The patter of half the team’s footsteps lead up to your door, seeing it slowly open and Brock’s head peek through. A confused look crossed his face before being pushed into the room by the other members of the team. 

“You’re sleeping with Quinn?” Elias asked, straight forward, making you groan again and hide under the blanket. 

“You’d think if they were sleeping together they wouldn’t have clothes on dumbass.” Brock pointed out. 

“I am not sleeping with Quinn!” You mumbled, peeking out from the blanket to see an amused look on Quinn’s face. “You stop looking so happy.” You glared, seeing quinn put his hands up in false surrender. 

“But technically, you are sleeping with me.” He grinned, making you smack his arm, his hand reaching out to grab yours. 

“You are only in here because you didn’t want to be alone on my couch when you showed up at 5am!” 

The rest of the team slowly piled into your room, some of them immediately turning out at the scene of their captain and media manager in the same bed. 

“We came over to go over the plan, we didn’t know he’d be here.” Brock admitted, seeing the written out plan on your desk, grabbing it and Elias’ arm and leaving. He herded the rest of the team out, informing you they’d be waiting in your living room. 

“I can’t believe you.” You shook your head at Quinn, who still had a smile on his face. 

“What? You don’t want the team to think you're sleeping with their captain?” 

“No, I do not. Not when I’m not actually sleeping with him!” The smile stayed on his face as you got up, leaving the warmth of your bed to search for more appropriate clothes for the day. 

“You could be.” You froze at the words, turning to Quinn, who still laid in your bed. 

“What?” 

“Nevermind.” He quickly brushed off, getting out of your bed and folding the blanket up. “I’ll go so you can get changed.” He smiled, walking out without another word. 

You walked out of your room, equipped in better attire now. The entire team was squished in your living room, listening to Quinn tell some random story while Brock tried to figure out your coffee machine. 

“Do you need help?” You grinned at Brock, who was taking his best guess and pushing random buttons. 

“Yes, badly.” So you taught him, which buttons to push and how much water to put in. Letting the coffee brew quietly behind you as you leaned on the counter listening to Quinn. 

The next hour was spent making many pots of coffee, your fridge being emptied out by the team, with a promise to restock it for you, and even more stories from various team members. 

Then it was time for the first part of the plan. Take Quinn mini-golfing. 

Without telling him where you all were taking him, getting him to agree to go was a little harder, but manageable. More manageable when you took his keys from his pocket and made him sit in the passenger seat before you took his car without him. 

“Mini-golf?” He grinned as he saw the sign, looking over at you driving. 

“Yes, this is the first part of your birthday surprise from the team.” You smiled at him, parking his car beside Brock before getting out. 

“Can I have my keys back?” Quinn asked, reaching for them in your hand. 

“No, we have more places after.” He shook his head, laughing at the sight of you holding his keys behind your back. “Now, let’s go play!” 

The game went good, the team split into groups to play sections of the course at a time, Quinn being the winner of your group. 

“We let you win.” Elias mumbled, making you nod along. Quinn almost burst out laughing at the sight, letting out a strangled sound instead, his heart filled with joy. 

“Sure sure.” He grinned, getting a light smack from Elias. 

The entirety of the game had taken three hours, being slowed down by all the laughing and horribly missed shots. 

2pm, just in time for the matinee. Getting the theatre to agree to replay Quinn’s favorite movie had been a bit harder of a task, needing approval from canucks admin to use team money to do so. But it was approved. 

So once again you were driving Quinn’s car, him in the passenger seat, staring at you the entire drive, bringing him to another mystery destination.

“Where to know? More golf or?” He asked, staring at you in the mirror. 

“You’ll find out in a minute.” He rolled his eyes, returning back to staring at you. “Why’re you staring, Quinny?”

“Can’t I stare at a beautiful girl?” Blush covered your cheeks, making you attempt to smack his arm for him instead to grab your hand. Holding it for the rest of the ride. 

“The theatre?” 

“Yep, come on!” You grabbed his arm, dragging him inside, quickly running into the line for concession. “What do you want?” 

“Um-” Quinn hadn’t had time to answer before the two of you had made it to the front, letting you order first. Quinn nodded along, whispering to you that he’ll just steal your food. 

“Could you add another large drink to that too please?” You added at the end, Quinn sending you a questioning look. “You can take my food, not my drink.” 

He laughed, taking one of the drinks and following you into the room, the rest of the team trailing behind. 

By the end of the movie your head was resting on Quinn’s shoulder, his hand holding yours. Keeping his hand in yours as you left the theatre, leading you back to his car. 

“Can I drive my car yet?” He asked as you approached his car, making you shake your head. 

“Nope, one more place for the night.” He just nodded, walking to the passenger seat quickly as you slid into the driver’s. 

It was a short ride, arriving in perfect timing. 6pm. They had reserved Quinn’s favorite bar for the night, having it entirely to the team and other canucks management. 

“Happy birthday, Quinny.” You smiled as you walked in with him, seeing the decorations put up around the bar. 

The rest of the team followed shortly, ordering food and drinks, simply having a good time. Quinn’s face held a look of pure joy the entire night, keeping close to you, only disappearing when his brothers called. Yet he dragged you with him, pulling you down a random hallway for some quiet to answer the call. 

“Happy birthday Quinner!” You could hear the boys yell over the phone, Quinn thanking them before admitting how much he missed them. 

You knew Quinn loved his brothers, but you’d never been close enough to see how much. It was a heartwarming call, his parents calling the minute his brothers hung up, repeating the happy birthdays and I miss you’s. 

The minute the call ended your arms wrapped around Quinn’s neck, pulling him into a hug, his arms quickly wrapping around your waist. 

“If I would’ve known how much you missed them I would’ve tried harder to get them here, I’m sorry Quinny.” 

“Oh, no baby, it’s okay, don’t cry over it.” He smiled, a soft, gentle smile as he saw the tears welling in your eyes. 

“But you’re not with your family.” 

“But I’m with a very special beautiful girl instead.” He smiled again, wiping the stray tear that fell. 

It was like a magnetic force pulling you into Quinn, leaning in subconsciously until he pressed his lips against yours. Feeling your body melt into his, his arms around your waist, holding you against him. 

“I’ve been wanting to do that since I first saw you.” Quinn whispered against your lips. 

“Why didn’t you?” 

“Had to wait to get it right.” He grinned kissing you again. 

“Anyone seen Qu- Nevemind.” Tito’s words cutting off, wandering into the hallway. “I came to give you this,” He said, giving Quinn a small box as you hid your face in his chest. “Please don’t mind me, return to whatever I interrupted.” He laughed when he walked away, making you groan and lean further into Quinn. 

“Oh no, I didn’t get you a present.” The realization hit you as Tito walked away, leaving you staring at the box he handed Quinn. 

“I think you being my girl now is the best present ever.” Quinn smiled, his hand pressed into the small of your back as he turned, pressing you against the wall. 

“Yeah? So I’m your girl now?” 

“If you want to be.” 

“I want to be.”

[idkwhatimdoinghere1655]

Birthday Buddies - Max Verstappen

<word count - 3009>

"OK Maxie, here you go," you said, handing him the envelope with his name scrawled on the front. "Thank you, my love," he smiled, running his fingers under the flap to open it. He eyed you suspiciously as he didn't see a card in the envelope, instead seeing a folded piece of paper. 

Unfolding it, he saw the words written on the page. 'Max, as you know, today is your birthday! You're 26, and have already achieved so much, and I am so proud of you! To find your gift, you have to use your brain a bit... So, your first clue is the place we went on our first date,'

"Making me use my brain... Honestly, my love?" he sighed.

"Yes, now, take me to where we had our first date," you smugly smirked. Max figured he may as well play along. You had planned it all out, and he already knew you had put a lot of effort into it. Plus, it was your birthday too, so he had to listen to you just as much as you listened to him. 

"OK, OK, follow me," Max smiled, taking your hand and leading you out of your apartment. He took you through the winding streets of Monaco, the sun slowly setting over the city. You arrived outside of a small cafe that he took you to, because it was out of the way of the world and you could get to know each other, without the prying eyes of the world on you. 

"Good job Max, you have unlocked the next clue!" You smiled, handing him another, identical envelope as he opened it. "So you could just let me skip straight to the end, but you're choosing not to?" 

"Where's the fun in that? I thought it would be fun to take a trip down memory lane," you said, the both of you remembering the magic that was your first night out. Max thought it was a nice idea, since you had done a lot together since you had started going out, and these were definitely some of his favourites. 

He thought he had blown it after your first date, since he was a stuttering, babbling mess due to how much he liked you. He could barely hold a conversation without being gobsmacked that you were there with him. 

He just couldn't get over how much he liked you, but he thought he had ruined any chances with you. Little did he know, you found it endearing how nervous he was. "Yeah, I guess it is fun," he nodded, unfolding the next piece of paper. 

'Well done, but you're not quite near the finish line yet. Next spot: Where did we have our first kiss?' he read outloud. "You really have to make this a bit harder, these are too easy," he shook his head, taking your hand again. 

It wasn't too far away from the cafe, and it was out on the marina. Some of the boats had their lights on, and the buildings behind you were also lighting up. "You're not in the right spot, hang on," he said, placing his hands on the sides of your arms and shifting you so you were stood by the exact palm tree on the marina yacht club walk. 

"There, we are in the perfect spot," he said, standing in front of you. He remembered gazing at you as you looked out on all of the boats, your eyes glittering under the marina lights. You were entranced by the way the sea sparkled, and how the boats gently bobbed on the surface of the water. 

There was no resisting the urge to kiss you when you noticed him staring, and it was the best decision he had ever made. He drowned in the feeling of holding you close, getting to have his lips against yours. It was like sparks flew whenever he touched you. 

"Yes we are, meaning you get the next clue," you smiled, the memories making you feel drunk with happiness. "OK, this is kind of a two in one," you told him, fishing the next envelope out of your bag. 

'You can't have possibly forgotten this one, because I know I can't, and I don't think you'll ever let me! Take me to the first place that you told me you love me...' he read, a smirk dancing on his lips. "Oh I will never forget this one," he smiled, grabbing your arm.

You were almost reluctant to put this as a clue, since it was a bittersweet memory. Max had taken you to the most beautiful restaurant you had ever seen, and it was still one you frequented now. 

Then, he had taken you on a short walk around the streets of Monaco, before stopping you at a bench by the sea. He was so nervous, since he was about to tell you his feelings. You, on the other hand, were nervous because you were sure you were going to throw up. 

You had felt off all day, but you weren't going to cancel on Max, so you just grinned and bore it. But now, your actions were proving to have consequences. As Max stopped you by the bench, you remembered every little detail of the events that unfolded.

He sat you down, just like he did two years ago, and took your hands. As the both of you thought back to that night, it was as if it were yesterday. Max looked beyond nervous as he looked at you, terrified you weren't going to feel the same way.

Current Max started to stutter, reenacting the moment. "So, Y/N, I... Uhm-" he fumbled, jittering around just like he did. "I love you," he blurted out, and you could have sworn you were back there. "I-" you started, before turning around and pretending to wretch into the bin behind you. 

In the memory, Max didn't care that he could have just ruined everything and simultaneously embarrassed himself, he just cared that you were OK. He rushed to your side, before sitting you back down. 

Now, he said the exact same line he had said, "Me saying I love you wasn't that bad, was it?" he said, and it caused a smile to form on your face both times. "I do love you Max, I just feel awful," you said, leaning into him like you always did.

"That was a weird night," he smiled.

"It was. I was surprised you still loved me after that one, it was the worst timing possible," you laughed, looking at his dazzling smile. "I couldn't fall out of love with you for something so small, I was just relieved you felt the same, my love," he said, waiting for the next clue.

"Next up, the penultimate clue," you said, handing him the final of the normal envelopes for the night. 'Since it's your birthday, it wouldn't be a birthday treasure hunt without sending you to the place where we found out we have the same birthday!' 

"This has been the easiest treasure hunt I have ever been on," he smirked, walking off and expecting you to follow him. You had picked all the spots quite close together, so that you wouldn't have to walk too far. 

"OK, here we are," he said, just stopping in the middle of the street. It had simply come up in conversation when you were walking and talking, and the two of you were both shocked, but also excited. 

Ever since, you both went all out to have the best day the both of you could ask for. "Any reason you sent us here or?" he asked, rocking back and forth on the spot. 

"No, I just thought it was relevant," you shrugged, producing the final envelope of the excursion. "This one might be harder for you, but I don't know," you told him, handing him the golden object. 'Finally, take me to the place where I first fell in love with you,' it said.

Max looked confused, and you could see the cogs turning in his mind. "I would have remembered if you had told me where this was," he said, not moving from the spot as he thought. 

"Would you like a lifeline? You can phone a friend, take the bonus clue, or have me point you in the right direction," you told him. 

"I'll take the bonus clue," he decided, waiting for whatever it was going to be. 

"You have selected: 'Y/N's Bonus Clue!'" you enthusiastically said, revealing a blue envelope with a big, orange question mark adorning the front.  "Thank you, my love," he smiled, opening the envelope and looking more confused. 

'We've already been here today...' he read to you, taking a moment to think. It could have been any of them, really, but he went for the one he thought would be most likely. "OK, follow me," he skeptically said, taking you back to the marina yacht club walk, next to the palm tree where you had shared your first kiss. 

"Unfortunately, that is the first one you have gotten wrong today. You can still use one of your life lines, those being phone a friend or have me point you in the right direction," you told him, glad you hadn't made it too easy on him. "I'll phone a friend," he said.

"Alright then, phone a friend it is," you said, pulling your phone out of your bag and dialing a mystery number. Well, it was a known number, but you had changed the contact name to mystery number. "I thought it was phone a friend?" he said, taking the phone from you. 

"It is," you nodded as if it were obvious, the mystery person picking up on the other end of the line. "Hi, this is Max, I'm doing Y/N's treasure hunt, and I'm stuck on the last clue. I've been told you might be able to help me?" he asked, feeling positively ridiculous. 

"Hi, yes I can," the person tried not to burst out laughing, "You need to take her to the place where you first figured out she was the person you wanted to spend your life with," he laughed, remembering when Max had told him that. He had found it unbelievably cheesy, yet sweet at the same time. 

"OK, thank you Lan- I mean mystery person, I appreciate it," Max giggled, now knowing where to take you. "Right, off we go," he said, leading you to the final destination. He was hoping the mystery person wasn't wrong, because that would be embarrassing. 

"Here we are," he hummed, stopping you back outside the cafe that was your first place. "I think the mystery caller sent me to the wrong place," he sheepishly said, rubbing the back of his neck. Surely you hadn't loved him since your first date, right?

"No, you're at the right spot," you reassured, letting him figure it all out in his head. "What was the clue, Max?" you prompted. 

"The place you first fell in love with me," he recited, the pieces still not fitting together in his mind. "And where are we?"

"The place we had our first date?" he said, and it sounded more like a question due to his unsurity. "Exactly, because I've always loved you. Even if I couldn't put a name to how I felt back then, now I know it was just because I had never loved anyone as much as I love you," you smiled.

"Thank you, my love, that was beautiful," he smiled, trying to contain tears at how much your words had touched him. "As for your gift, it's back at home," you said, and nothing happened. "I said, as for your gift, it's back at home!" you shouted, craning your neck so your voice would carry further around the corner. 

A man appeared from around the corner, a hood pulled up over his eyes. He dropped something by your feet, and you picked it up. "Sorry, excuse me, you dropped this," you said, but the man kept on walking. "Well isn't that strange," you said, handing him the black, leather book that the man had dropped. 

"It is, isn't it?" Max joined in, catching onto the act. He ran opened the cover, immediately realising what this was. It was a photo album, with all the pictures you had taken at those spots you had sent him to today, as well as others from other good times.

He ran his fingers over your features, noting how you hadn't changed at all in the two years you had been together. "There's not much you can do for a man who has it all," you smiled, hoping he liked it. "You're right, I do have it all, I have you," he said, cringing at himself internally.

However, you couldn't hide the goofy smile and blush that tinted your cheeks. "But this is the best gift you could have gotten me besides yourself," he said, flicking through the pages upon pages of memories, forever recorded through colour. 

"I'm glad you like it," you grinned. 

"Now come on, birthday girl, let's get you home," he smiled, tucking the album underneath his arm, looping the other around your waist as he lead you home. When you got to the door of your apartment, you noticed it was open. 

"I swore I locked this when we left..." You said, worried. You didn't want your birthdays to be ruined by someone breaking into your home. "Yeah, you did," he reassured, but he was awful at hiding the smirk on his face. 

Pushing the door open, you saw that the room was lit up in nothing but candles, and relaxing spa music was playing. "I didn't take you to a single spa while we've been globe trotting, so I thought the least you deserved was the at home Spa de Max," he explained, pushing you through the door. 

"Well I already think Spa de Max is better than any spa you could take me anywhere else," you told him, walking into the apartment. "I hope to live up to your expectations, so, go put this on, and your masseuse will be with you when you are ready," he said, handing you a fluffy white robe - just like in a spa. 

"OK," you zealously nodded, excited for what Max had in store. You did just as he had said, changing out of your clothes and into the robe. When you got back out to the living room, you saw the dining room table in the middle of the room, with what looked to be a mattress topper on top.

"Trust me on this, it is actually very comfy," Max said, standing beside the table. "On you get," he told you, and you clambered onto the table. "May I?" he said, slipping his hands into the robe by your shoulders. "Yeah, course," you agreed, letting him slip the soft fabric off your shoulders, and leaving the rest handing on you hips. 

"Lie on your front for me, my love," he said, as you maneuvered onto your front, resting your head on your arms. "Now just close your eyes, and relax," he instructed. Max dabbed some essential oils on his hands, before running them over the span of your back.

As he worked his hands into your muscles, you were trying not to fall asleep. "How did you know we'd be going out?" you asked, wondering how he had managed to sneak someone in to set the house up.

"Because your little helper is also my little helper. He told me we'd be leaving, so I sent him to set all of this up. But, don't worry, he didn't tell me a single detail about what we'd be doing," he reassured you, knowing you wouldn't want the surprise to be ruined.

"Our helper has been a busy boy," you slurred, trying to keep yourself awake by talking. 

"Aww my love, are you tired?" he teased, moving his hands up your neck and across your shoulders. "This is just so nice," you mumbled against your arms.

"Don't fall asleep just yet, you still have a few more experiences in Spa de Max," he said, his hands ceasing their movements. "That'll be hard to beat," you said, sitting up on the table. "Fine, I'll take that as a challenge," he smiled, 

When you stood off the table, Max pulled your robe back up and over your shoulders, tying the belt back up to keep you warm. "Tonight is finally the night I will allow you to put a face mask on me," he said, pushing you onto the couch and sitting next to you. 

"Really?!" You asked, gobsmacked. For some reason, Max had plainly refused to put on a face mask whenever you did, but now was your opportunity. "Yes, anything for the birthday girl," he smiled, even if it was his birthday too. The best gift for him was seeing you happy, after all. 

You tugged your headband out of your hair, slotting it onto his head as his blonde strands were pushed back out of his face. On the coffee table, Max had differents pots of face masks with pre-sliced cucumbers to choose from. "Which one?" he asked.

"I'll go for blue," you nodded as he picked up the blue pot, unscrewing the lid. Max just dipped his fingers in, practically slapping the thick substance onto your face. He slathered it around until he thought he had covered enough of the area. 

"Max, you have put it on so thickly, it'll never dry," you whined, seeing half the container was gone, meaning half was on your face. "Just means you'll be extra refreshed," he smiled, picking up the green pot and handing it to you.

You did the exact same to him, slathering more than two thirds of it onto his face, before trying to put the cucumber slices on his eyes. Before you could, he pulled you in for an affectionate kiss. "Happy birthday, my love," he smiled, tucking some of your hair behind your ear.

"Happy birthday to you too, Max, I love you," 

A/N - Happy birthday to Maxie! And to me so I guess that's fun... Have a great day!

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