#while doing that awkward sideways group hug???

[m4g0rtz]

I took my kid to the children's salon today and this haircut book was in the waiting area. This is easily the most 1997 thing to ever 1997:

But wait! The back is even better if you can believe it.

[sunrisesfromthewest]

First Encounter Part 10

Warnings/Summary: Rated R Language | Mentions of Weapons and Blood | People getting shot and Injured | Being held at gun point | Multiple Hints of Foreshadowing | Team heads to Gatorland to rescue the girls|

Previous Parts: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

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After debriefing the group about the plan for one last time, everyone went to their respective places, heading towards the helicopter with your dad, Mike, Armando and Lockwood, your father tries to convince you to ride in the van. 

“For the last time NO! I want to be there when she gets on just in case, she needs medical attention!” you say not bothering to look back at your father. Grabbing your hand, he stops you from walking any further, “Y/N you ain’t never been in a situation like this,Shit I don’t want you getting hurt, if this exchange goes sideways." he says with concern. 

Seeing his worried expression made you frown but your mind was made up, "Dad I know your worried about what might happen, but you of all people will tell me to have faith, in a time like this.”  

“Yeah, I would but I don’t want you straight in the line of fire, if shit doesn’t go right." he said pulling you into a tight hug. Sighing you hug him back tightly as well, mumbling I knows as his grip tightens on you. 

“Y/N/N, I wouldn’t know what to do if something happened to my youngest baby.” he says pulling away from the embrace, while gazing at you, "I know that's why nothing is going to happen....and you should know I would want to be near you since your health scare.”   

“And just so I can ease your mind I'll stay behind if things don’t go right." you say as you both continue your walk towards the helicopter. 

“That’s not the answer I want but I’ll take it for now, I love you Y/N/N.” he says as Armando helps you onto the aircraft. Sitting beside Armando you say love you to Daddy with a smile, before Marcus could take in this sweet father/daughter moment, he is cut off by an accented voice, "What you say, mami?” 

Feeling the intense gaze of your father, you choose not to reply, eyes becoming glued to a certain piece of metal dangling from the ceiling that look mighty interesting at the moment. Unaware of the current awkwardness he caused Armando squeezes your thigh to get your attention, "Sweetheart what’d you say?” 

At this very moment you were so happy for your brown complexion cause otherwise you’ll be as red as a tomato. 

“Oh, Hell Nah you been callin-” Before Marcus could start Mike calls his name making you sigh as you see his attention be directed somewhere else, giving you the opportunity to glare at Armando. 

“What?” he said not really knowing why you're glaring at him. Rolling your eyes at his clueless expression, you lean against him to whisper about what he just did a few minutes ago. 

Pulling away you watch as he tries to bite back a laugh, smacking his arm you whispered, "That's not funny...you done traumatized him, he's probably thinking about how his little girl isn’t innocent no more.”  

Biting his lip harder, he gives you a be for real look, “He already knows you ain’t innocent, princess.... especially with all those noises you were making last night.” 

Mike cuts in before you can defend yourself, “Hey change of plan, Armando, I need you to take the boat to the location, Dorn just alerted me that Callie hasn’t been seen in a few days as well.” 

“Do you think Mcgrath has her?" you asked with concerned as you watch Mike step out the helicopter.   

“We were so focus on Christine that we failed to notice Callie, when Mcgrath infiltrated Mikes house." Marcus sighs as he stops loading his gun. 

“Damn.” you say as Armando moves to leave the aircraft as well, making you watch his retreating figure with worry. Stepping back onto the ground Armando stares back at you, feeling the same anxiousness coursing through him as well but.... his nerves were for two different reason. 

“Wouldn’t it be smarter to send someone.... who’s familiar to her?” he questioned as he moves his gaze to his father. “No, if things go sideways, I know that you will do everything in your power to save them......son, I need you to do this." Mike says knowing why his son was apprehensive. 

Nodding his head he gives you one last glance, before following his dad towards the boat. Watching him leave had that ache coming back to your chest, shit Y/N not right now he’ll come back you said mentally reassuring yourself.  

You both knew that it probably wasn’t likely since he was still on the run, but you believed in him when he said he’ll do everything to fight those odds. God, please protect us, you whispered to yourself as you buckled up. 

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Landing onto the dock safely, you watched with your father and Mike as Lockwood walks out towards Mcgrath and his crew who kept a tight hold on the girls. Locking his gaze on Mcgrath through his scope Mike, waits for the perfect opportunity to shoot but everyone seems to pick up that something was wrong.  

Hearing your father whisper take the shot, and Rita voice come in over your earpiece had you gazing at Mike with worry, you can seem him visibly shaking, and before you could calm him down from his rising panic attack. Dorn cuts in through the earpiece alerting Armando about motion in the water.  

As Mike shakenly moves his index finger towards the trigger, he jumps at the sound of gun shots as he sees everyone scatter making him lose his gaze on Mcgrath and Christine. You watched as Lockwood quickly jumps to lay on the dock, as your father and Mike springs into action leaving you behind on the aircraft. 

Hearing Armando cut into the comms mentioning how he was spotted in the water, had you scrambling to grab a pair of binoculars. But when you see him emerge from the water unarmed, you sigh with relief as he moves with caution towards the building.  

Dropping the binoculars your eyes move around in search of a weapon as you hear Marcus telling the squad to infiltrate the building. 

Spotting a rifle you check the chamber before turning the safety off while gazing through the scope, in search of your father and Mike, only to see them using a food cart as cover. 

Mike seems to be having a full-on panic attack as you watch him try to catch his bearings, wanting to give them time you press your ear piece to speak, "Dad help Uncle Mike! I got you guys covered!” Confused he goes to yell at you to stay where you are, only for a body to drop right beside the stand.  

Jumping he goes to shoot the man but stops when he sees the bullet hole in his head, “Y/N when the FUCK you learn how to shoot like that!” he said after slapping Mike hard out of his panic attack. 

Laughing as you shoot another man approaching them you say, "You really think I got that high marksmanship on Call of Duty just by smashing buttons!” Watching your dad and now Mike sit there with surprised made you laugh more, as they spring back into action. 

“I got y’all just make sure you bring my new aunty back, Mike!” you say turning off your earpiece, so you could focus on shooting a few armed men. 

As Mike and Marcus approach the building with precaution Marcus yells, "We got some dope ass children!” 

Yelling back in agreement Mike enters the building first with Marcus quickly following behind him in search of Mcgrath and Christine. Seeing Rita and Kelly move stealthily onto the dock, gave you a moment to look for some more bullets. 

Hearing scuffling through the comms,you quickly look back into your scope to see Lockwood punch Rita, and run towards the helicopter while grabbing a weapon along the way. Shocked you quickly scramble to reload your gun, but Lockwood has already swung open the door, yelling frantically at the pilot to start up.  

Turning towards you he immediately points his gun at your head, making you freeze on the spot. Blinking up at him with fear, you shifted slightly as the plane leaves the dock, you could hear Dorn alarmed voice cut in through the ear pieces but you were too scared to respond.  

“Now I don’t want to shoot you Y/N, so be a good girl and drop the gun.” Lockwood says keeping his intense gaze on you as he keeps his finger on the trigger. Hearing Rita yell at you to grab something had you confused but looking through the window made your eyes widen when you see Rita aiming a big weapon at the end of the aircraft. 

Lost on why you're gazing at the window Lockwood watches as Rita shoots at the plane, causing him to yell at the pilot. Quickly grabbing onto a seatbelt, you hold onto it with dear life as you feel the impact of the bullet hit the end of the rudder. 

The next thing you know you’re screaming while spinning in the air, tightly keeping your grip on the belt. As Lockwood falls back he drops the gun in the process, causing the weapon to go off as it hit the ground.  

Feeling a bullet pierce through your left shoulder led to you screaming in pain as you lose your grip on the belt. Crashing through the roof of the building, your head slams against the helicopter ceiling hard knocking you straight out. The last thing you heard was everyone screaming your name, before your world turned black. 

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After hearing your screams through the ear piece, Armando wanted to run back towards the crash but sees Callie a few feet ahead as Kelly voice cuts through the comms, “Me and Dorn is heading after Y/N!”  

Split between two decision he growls in anger as Mike yells at him to go after Callie, while him and Marcus chase after Mcgrath. Springing into action he yells into the ear piece, "You better make sure she’s Fucking alive or I swear I’ll come back and kill you all myself!” 

Not waiting for a response, he leaps over broken concrete and shoots at the men holding Callie captive, grabbing her quickly he watches her frantically pushing against him with fear. Steadying her he yells that he’s with the good guys, and he’s not gonna hurt her. Which doesn’t seem to calm her down but he had no more time to reassure her so he chooses to drag her along with him as he looks for an exit. 

Seeing her look pass him and scream made him turn quickly, just as a man slice his arm with a knife, causing him to push her away, and fight off the man. Right after killing the attacker, another one pops up, making him receive another stab wound, before snatching the knife and killing him with it. 

Running off of pure adrenaline at the moment Armando takes out the last few attackers, taking multiple injuries before killing the man that had a hold on Callie. Falling to the ground his eyes become blurry as the adrenaline wears off, making him realize the pain currently coursing through his body.  

Eyes zeroing in on the ground he feels his body falling forward, but small hands lean him back up, “Please Stay Awake...Come On Don’t Die!” Callie says constantly trying to keep the bleeding man from falling unconscious. 

Blinking at her a few times Armando groans in pain, as he forced himself to stand up with the help of the girl. Making their way out of the amusement park, and into the small wooded area on the side of it. 

Not noticing the approaching law enforcement, and Judy entering the park. 

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Blinking awake you groan out in agony as your body lays limp, against the floor of the aircraft. Going to sit up you release a loud cry, when you feel pain radiating immensely from your side. Peering down you suck in a breath as you see a bloody piece of metal sticking out, making you glance around only to see the pilot unconscious but not severely hurt.  

Sliding out of the helicopter made you scream as you fall onto the ground, lucky not on the side with the protruding metal. The burning sensation from your bleeding head and shoulder had your vision spinning as you hear static from your busted earpiece, pulling it out you lay on the ground as your sight starts to fade in and out. 

On the verge of passing out, you feel someone began to lift you up, but after hearing a gun shot and Kelly screaming Dorns name you fall back down. Allowing Lockwood to snatch your weak body from the ground instead holding you captive so no one could shoot him. 

Physically you were too tired to fight back, but mentally your mind seemed to do everything in its power to make you fight against him. Pushing against his hand as best as you could in this state,“l-lett go of m-me.” you whispered blinking up at him as tears fall down your face. 

Keeping a tight hold on you Lockwood keeps his alarmed eyes on Rita’s approaching figure who kept her concentrating gaze on him before widening her eyes at your bleeding form, “Lockwood! Let her go she needs immediate medical attention!” she says keeping her gun aimed at him. 

Not responding Lockwood steps back dragging your form with his, as he teeters closer to the huge opening in the ground. Running his eyes frantically around for an escape he begins shouting demands at Rita to which she ignores, waiting for the perfect opportunity to shoot him. 

“Don’t do this!” she warns as she sees him step back once again, not listening he pressed his finger into your bullet wound making you scream out in pain, as he threatens to throw you over the ledge.

Trembling from the pain you feel your form slump against his as your body starts to shut down, seeing this made Rita shoot Lockwood causing him to loosen his hold on you, and fall back. 

 No longer having support to lean your weak body against, you began to fall back as well but Rita sprints forward to grab you, and just in time because not even moments later a big albino alligator kills Lockwood.  

Seeing Kelly approach with an injured Dorn had her concerned but the way their gaze widens at your state made her look down. Her frightened eyes dilates as she sees you unconscious in her arms making her yell your name with fear, “Y/N!” 

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After barely escaping from the big ass alligator, and making it through the Red Neck Jurassic Park, Marcus and Mike runs in the direction they last saw Mcgrath. Moving outside with caution Mike moves ahead as Marcus tries to speak with the team about your status, but his earpiece seems to be malfunctioning. Pulling it out his ear with frustration Marcus throw it on the ground, not noticing Mike turn in a different direction. 

Looking back up he moves forward with cautious as his eye's gazes around the beach, seeing a familiar tree in the sand made him lower his gun as he whispers, "I've seen this before.... MIKE WHERE IN TH-” turning around he goes to tell Mike that the prophecy came true, but stops at the gun in his face. 

Making eye contact with a scared Christine made his eyes shift up to Mcgrath cold ones as he barks out an order, " Drop your gun and turn around. You better not try any shit; I will not hesitate to shoot you.”  

Dropping his gun before turning around slowly with his hands up, Marcus waits for McGrath's next order, "Now move your ass forward, we gotta wait for Mr. Lowrey to arrive.” 

Retracing his tracks once Mike noticed that Marcus was no longer behind him, made him grumble angerly at his partners unawareness during a time like this. Approaching him Mike noticed Marcus just standing in the sand, with no weapons drawn making him raise his brow in confusion, but once his eyes lands behind he froze keeping his gun aiming straight. 

“Now how the hell he catch your ass!” Mike yelled at his partner, who just shook his head in shame. Tearing his gaze away from him he looks towards Christine mouthing are you okay, to which she nods.  

Annoyed Mcgrath tightens his grip on her, keeping his gun trained on Mike, "Enough with the family reunion...I’ll give you one last choice since you failed bringing me your son......wife or partner.”  

“Ah shit man! Your evil ass can’t think of anything else!” Marcus says hysterically to Mcgrath as he makes frantic eye contact with Mikes determined expression.  

“A wise man once said I’ll have to make a tough decision.” Mike declared as Marcus stares at him confused, before widening his eyes, "Aye, you need to check with that Motherfucker before you do some crazy shit!” 

“But what you don’t know Mr. Mcgrath is one of them can’t die." Mike continues as he ignores Marcus comments and Mcgrath begins to countdown.  

Before Marcus could fight against his decision, he fires the gun shooting him in the chest, distracting Mcgrath enough for Christine to break away from his hold and fall to the side, as Mike empties his clip into Mcgrath.

As he continues shooting him McGrath's body, stumbles back near the water, and with a last shot to the head, his figure falls back creating a large splash, as his lifeless body floats with the current. 

Dropping his gun, he turns back to Christine who pulls him into a tight hug, holding her tightly to his chest, he kisses her head and then pulls back to gaze at his wife with worry, "You okay baby?”  

Before she could reply Marcus whines cuts in, "Aww Mike your donkey ass shot me again!” 

Turning his concern towards his partner he moves away from Christine to help him up, "Nah get your donkey hooves off me! I swear your ass always trying to shoot me when you get the opportunity, you lucky I had this damn vest on or I swe-”  

“Your ass wouldn’t have gotten shot if you didn’t get caught! What the hell distracted you anyway!” Mike says letting go of Marcus, as he sees Christine stand beside him. 

Just as Marcus about to go in on him, he hears screams coming from the tree lines, making him and Mike look at each other before sprinting in that direction. 

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“Move Callie!” Judy says keeping her gun pointing at Armando, but Callie jumps in front of him instead. “Mom, stop you don’t have to do this!” she says trying to change her moms, mind as she watches her angry expression hardens. 

“Callie, I want you to walk forward for me baby, NOW!” Judy says eyes shifting between her daughter and Armando who is slumped against a tree watching the exchange. 

Hearing footsteps she points her gun towards Mike and Marcus who freezes on the spot with their hands up, “Judy listen to me it doesn’t have to be like this!” 

“Don’t fucking move Mike!” she commanded as Mike attempts to step forward but stops when she points her gun at him.Keeping her eyes on them she moves her attention back to Armando, who is blinking frantically while trying to keep his gaze on her. 

Eyes becoming moist her gun begins to shake as she asks her daughter to move one more time, to which she shakes her head, “He saved me mom! If it wasn’t for him, I would be dead!” 

Heart stuck on avenger her father she keeps her gaze on Armando, until she sees Mike fearful face come into her vision, "Please.” Mike says blocking her sight off from his son. 

She reluctantly drops her weapon, which makes Mike sighs with relief as Callie runs from behind him and towards her mother. 

Watching as Judy brings her daughter into a tight embrace, Mike turns his attention to his son who is laying against the tree completely drained.  

“You okay, son!” Mike says as he moves in front of Armando, eyes quickly running over his injured form, Armando watches his father worried gaze intensely. 

Nodding his head he lets Mike place his arm around his shoulder as he lifts him up, "You did good, son...you did good.” Staring at his father briefly he gives him a content look, as a voice cuts in on Judy's radio, "Howard where are you?Anybody has eyes on Aretas!” 

Both of their eyes turn to Judy as they wait to see what’ll she says, glancing at them she waits a few beats before looking away muttering go before, I change my mind. 

Thanking her Mike moves him towards the boat he arrived on, giving him directions as he releases his son from his embrace, “Be good.” he mutters while keeping a hard gaze on Armando. 

“That’s not up to you detective." Armando said calmly, as he moves to sit on the boat but pausing when he sees Marcus approaching. 

“Like your daddy said don’t be doing nothing stupid nephew, heres my burner so I can keep in contact just in case your needed for child support.” Marcus joked making Mike groan, and Armando roll his eyes while taking the phone. 

 But as Armando begins to row away, they hear a familiar voice yell loudly over Judys radio, “WE NEED IMMEDIATE MEDICAL ATTENTION FOR AN OFFICER AND A CIVILIAN WHO’S CURRENTLY UNCONSCIOUS AND LOSING A LOT BLOOD!” 

Remembering that Kelly and Dorn went to save you after the crash had Armando, moving to leave the boat but Mike pushes him back with an alarmed expression, “Son what are you doing you need to leave, now!” 

“FUCK Y/N! SHE WAS IN THE COPTER’ WHEN IT CRASHED! DID Y'ALL NOT HEAR HER SCREAMS OVER THE COMMS!" Armando says attempting to push against his father arms, shaking his head Mike keeps a tight hold on his son as he tries to leave the boat, "I know your concerned about Y/N but you need to go now, I'll contact you.” 

Seeing Armando eyes tear up from the thought of you dying had Mike blinking away his own as he sits him back into the boat, Marcus quickly helps Mike push the boat into the lake as he yells, "GO I DON’T WANT MY DAUGHTER HAVING A LOCKED-UP BABY DADDY! SHE’LL BE OKAY!”  

After saying that Marcus runs as fast as he could with fear of his own, he knew something kept telling him to make you ride in the van, now he knows why. Mike watches as his son pulls out a bloody piece of paper, and hand it to him, “Give this to her.... if she wakes up.”  

Moving further into the water he quickly grabs the paper staring at it confused, but when he looks up Armandos already rowing away.  

Keeping his eyes on his son as long as he could Mike tucks the paper in his pocket and turns away mind now focused on making sure you’ll stay alive.

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Authors Note🎙️:Hoped Y’all enjoyed this last chapter of First Encounter💕💕💕

Y’all this chapter was going to be crazy long(Even tho I literally said I was gonna make it lengthy🧍🏾‍♀️)so I’ll post the finale later today or tomorrow.😭😭😭😭(I already know y’all was finna be mad as hell if I left it at that💀)

[tainted-liquor]

'You're An Angel ʚ♡ɞ

E1610Miles x Halle Coded!BlackFem Reader ingredients: Sugar, kisses, n a lil bit of smiles! Tws: I don't think any? Awkward/accurate Miles? W/C: 882 A/N: I TRIED MY HARDEST TO CAPTURE HALLE IM SORRYY

"You're literally the sweetest!"

"She's an angel, oh my god."

"Thats my baefy for real, she so sweet!"

Everywhere you went, you seemed to earn yourself a reputation for being a great person. From your gentle and patient character, your calming voice, and your honesty when it came to tough situations. Every one of your friends always said you could do no harm, and always being someone's shoulder to cry on. When people say everyone in Brooklyn Visions says everyone loved you, they mean everyone. So what happens when a strange boy you've never seen before comes speeding down the hallway, looking lost and stressed during your shared free period?

The library doors banged open aggressively, revealing a panting and hunched over Miles as he silently apologized to the people staring at him. You whipped your head towards the source of the noise, quickly locking eyes with a sweet-looking boy as he gave a sideways smile and a nervous 'sorry'. You gave him a warm smile and a thumbs-up before returning your focus back to your notebook, jotting down notes for your Honors Chemistry class so you could actually pass this semester. It was silent for the most part, you humming along to the music playing in your right ear as you refrained from banging your head on the table over some dumb isotopes. After a moment of silence, the boy from a couple seconds earlier sat across from you, two seats to the left as he clearly struggled to control his breathing.

You leaned over the table, gently tapping him with the tip of your pencil. You whispered a small "Are you alright? You look a little stressed, would you like some water?" you asked as you offered him a water bottle from your lunchbox. His eyes widened a fraction as he turned to you, clearing his throat and giving you a very shaky "I'm alright! Thank you." You nodded your head, turning your attention to the library doors once again as your friends came swarming in like a group of NYC subway rats. As soon as you were in their sights, there was a swarm of girls rushing to give you a spine-breaking hug as they squealed things that sounded like 'Hey girl!' 'How are you!' and 'Heyyy!"

This caught Miles's attention, watching as the table slowly filled itself up as your friends wasted zero time in making quick convo, whispering and gossiping about whatever it was that they were talking about. Miles was immediately caught off guard by your voice, having already heard it a couple minutes prior, but just now registering how soft and reassuring it was. The way you muttered small praises and loving nicknames to each of your friends caught him for a loop, and he found himself staring at your gorgeous side profile as you spoke to your girls. "Uhm, excuse me do you have a problem?" Hailey spoke, immediately snapping Miles out of his mini-trance as the rest of the table whipped their heads to look at where the issue was. Miles quickly stammered, muttering a tiny 'no' as you gave Hailey a firm glare before returning your attention to the boy across from you.

"I am so sorry! She doesn't mean it, she's in a mood right now." You giggled, offering Miles another warm smile. "What's your name by the way?" You asked, leaning your head on Hailey's shoulder while still maintaining eye contact with the boy. "Oh-Uh What? Oh! I'm Morales- Ah, Miles! Miles!" he blurted, giving you an awkward smile as you nodded slowly. "Nice to meet you, Miles! Let me know if you ever need anything, okay?" You smiled, turning your attention back to your friends as Miles gave you a small nod. And that simple conversation changed the trajectory of your relationship forever.

Miles began talking to you more frequently, making up excuses to start a conversation so he could hear that soft little voice of yours as often as possible. He fell face-first into your polite and caring nature, learning why everyone spoke so highly of you as he began learning your character. He found himself drawing Gwen in the past, but when It came to you it was a whole different story. He sketched you like something out of a bible picture book, with wings spanning across pages and a halo like the sun as you flashed that perfect smile of yours. He even found himself painting you a couple of times, lively watercolor and paint markers mixing together as each feature of yours occupied his canvas.

He rushed up to your locker, watching as you emptied any unnecessary books or material into the blue metal as he leaned against the neighboring locker. "Oh, hey Bambi! What's up?" you smiled, closing your locker to face him as he gave you a nervous smile. He waved, handing you a tiny folded-up piece of paper before seemingly disappearing twice as fast as he gave it to you. You smiled in shock, unfolding the paper as you scanned over the note.

'pls go out with me'

You giggled, finding his shy and nervous demeanor cute as you placed the note in your pocket. You kind of thought you were already a thing, but it was great to have that confirmation!

[atarathegreat]

Drunken Dancing Atsushi Sendo

Akkun loved to make you happy. Nothing lit up his nerves more than when you would smile that huge smile and laugh because you were awkward when people did anything for you. Apology flowers always getting met with light giggles and waving it off, saying "It's okay, Atsu, really." He would buy you things he knew you liked and set them in the open for you to find while he was at work waiting for the picture you'd undoubtably send as soon as you spotted it.

Going to a nightclub, you once told him, was on your bucket list. You had never been and wanted to experience it in full force. For your safety and bank account, Akkun took you to one of the clubs he owned. Who didn't like free drinks and the rights to say "my boyfriend owns the club." Shame was something Akkun stopped feeling years ago so he didn't mind when you would drunkenly pull on his belt, giggling and teasing him, trying to entice him onto the dance floor. "I'm not a dancer, babe, you go have fun." Akkun smiled and nudged you away as he reached for his non-alcoholic drink. Someone had to drive you home.

Multiple men had watched you and the group of girls you'd molded to, a few speaking lewdly and making Akkun kick them out. He didn't care about any damn reviews as long as you could party without being ogled by morons with shriveled balls.

The blame was really on him, and Akkun knew that. Letting you leave the house in that low cut, shorty dress that hugged you far too perfectly was the worst idea he ever had. Not only was he going feral, despite having already taken you in one of the back rooms, but a few of the men on the dancefloor were getting too close to you. Thankfully, two of the girls in your group were sober enough to push them away, keeping you drunker ladies safe from the unwanted harassment.

Like a ghost through a wall, one of the men had managed to get close to you. Anger swelled in Akkun's viens as the monster put a nasty paw on your waist. "Don't do that." Akkun hissed when he was close enough, his slender fingers grabbing the mans wrist and throwing his hand away from you and your velvety dress. "Yeah!" Your smile and giggles didn't help Akkun any, but it was cute, "My boyfriend will kick your ass!"

"Enough." Akkun mumbled and led you swiftly back to the bar with him, helping you onto a bar stool, "Just...sit here and enjoy your drink, okay?"

"Okay!"

How you always smiled was a mystery to Akkun. What was there to smile about at every second of the day? Whatever your reasoning was, he could only hope it was never taken from you.

"Hey, Atsu?" You set down your empty cup and leaned towards him, the smell of alcohol prominent on your breath. Did he make sure you'd eaten plenty before leaving? He rested a hand on your exposed knee, pulling lightly on the bottom of your dress to cover you more, "What is it, babe?" He was bored and the silent way you watched his hand was a little annoying, but he couldn't really blame you. Alcohol was making you slower, less aware of what you were doing, Akkun just had to remind himself to speak gently. "Will you dance with me?" he'd be lying if he pretended your question hadn't caught him sideways. It was more than common knowledge to you that Akkun had two left feet, seeing as it was your feet he stepped on and tripped over. More than once he'd tried to move all the furniture to give you both enough room, but you both still ended up on the floor.

"You know I don't dance." Akkun mumbled as he sipped his drink. Your pout would be the end of him, and the sweet way you rubbed his wrist to get what you wanted. "But, Atsushi, I wanna have a good time with you." Whiny, you were so whiney when you were drunk. Whiny, demanding, and touchy. Not that he minded the affection, Akkun always gave in to you and spoiled you with whatever you wanted. That's the only reason he once again found himself at home, pushing the couch back and tucking the coffee table out of the way.

It had been nearly an hour since you finished your last drink, but you were still fairly inebriated, giggling quietly as Akkun dusted off his hands. "Something funny?" He couldn't help but smile at you, a hand raised to beckon you to him.

"Mhm. It's really nice to watch you move things. I like seeing how strong you are." He caught you as you stumbled forward. "If that's the case," Akkun picked you up, resting his hands under your butt to keep you in his arms, "then let's dance like this, hm?"

Your weight was comfortable to hold for him, a nice change from the way you normally avoided letting him carry you about the house. Akkun smiled as you relaxed, finally just resting your head on his shoulder and letting him sway with you on his hips. Music from your playlist droned on sweetly as Akkun held you, and he could feel when you started humming along. "You're adorable when you're drunk." Akkun chuckled, "But I know you're gonna regret this is in the morning."

And he would take care of you, bring you a cup of water and some Tylenol. All while keeping you in bed and pampering you until you felt better.

[izzuku]

DON'T BE FOOLED BY THE SILHOUETTE ── ʚ

summary- tighnari tries to fight his own rut for your own sake but fails miserably the moment you two are alone after dealing with some hydro fungi

characters- tighnari x gn reader

c/w- tighnari in heat, creampie, nsfw, overstimulation, oral sex, mating press position, semi-public sex(? (overall just nsfw) not proofread!

The work was done for the night. You checked every plant, every mushroom, every tree and part of the forest along Tignari throughout the day and when the moment of going back home came, problems appeared. It wasn't anything that you two couldn't handle, it's just that you were too tired and falling asleep on your comfy bed was the only thing pushing you to end the day. Apparently on your way home, while chatting with a really... awkward Tignari you encountered a group of hydro fungi next to the bridge that would lead you back safely.

You had also noticed that today, of all days, Tignari was more reserved and distant. You asked him a couple of times if he was alright of if he needed to chat but he bat it away with a "just some notes about the flora that I need to memorize, nothing to worry about" even though you could clearly see him wagging his tail every time you directed your voice to him. A slight tint of blush on his features, deep inhales when your body got closer to him and a look on his eyes that you would categorize as "predatory" made you think otherwise. And then, the hydro fungi accident occurred. As said, it wasn't hard to get rid of them, you were experienced with monsters of this type and the forest ranger was also used to encounter tons of different creatures like this. But what really pissed you off was when one of those bitches hit you with its bubble spit, soaking your clothes and leaving you wet before turning into ash.

“Ah, fucking great. Now I gotta go home soaking wet” you cursed under your breath so the botanist would not lecture you about language. But for your surprise, he wasn't even paying attention. He was so caught up in your silhouette, your curves and the clothes hugging your figure that he didn't noticed. His tail started moving sideways and he brought his own hand to his face.

"I cannot control myself anymore. I'm going to break if I don't do this". He thought, closing the space in between the both of you, gloved hands grabbing you by your waist and head falling on your neck, filling his lungs with your scent.

"Tig...nari? What are you-"

"I'm... In heat. I'm awfully ashamed to say it out loud but you're driving me crazy and I cannot wait any longer". His lips grace your skin, leaving short licks before sucking at it, creating red marks and bites that screamed 'mine' in his head. You were his. You were going to be his until he was done with you. Not that you cared about spending everyday with him.

Laying you down on a big leaf he started roaming your body, panting and muttering how good you smelled, your wet clothes now on the ground while he grinded his clothed erection against your sex, earning a surprised gasp from you along with a tug on his head.

If it was embarrassing to be doing that kind of stuff in the middle of the forest, why was it so amazing? The way your moans only fuelled him to go deeper into you, his fast pace breaking your mind and the multiple rounds leaving you with a sore throat. His cum would not stop dropping from your hole, he needed to breed you good, he couldn't be satisfied until he emptied himself in you. Not only that, your legs were pressed against yourself, gifting him with a stunning view of you. All fucked, cum dripping down your thighs and a sweet little voice asking for more.

“That's my love...I'll give you more and then we can go back home” he ushers you softly, pulling his cock back in again, making your head spin around like a love sick. And, as the gentleman he is, he'd clean everything up after. There's nothing more satisfying than licking all of your and his cum from you. Your already overestimulated sex can barely handle his tongue. But he's just helping, really! but he's also a tease. His eyes search your gaze when his tongue penetrates you for a moment, looking for another flinch or another tired moan. If he can't get a reaction from you he'll do it again, maybe even until you cum again for the nth time.

“You looked so good with my seed in you that I couldn't resist tasting you...”

[softboydrew]

friends and arguments

The ocean front restaurant roared with countless tables of friends and families, waiters and waitresses zooming past tables with large amounts of food and drinks as the night buzzed around you.

Laughter and raised voices erupted through the air as y/n watched her boyfriend top off their friends' wine glasses, forgetting count, y/n took a sip of the red wine that stained her lips. The tartness of it washing down her throat caused her cheeks to flush while Maddie leaned in towards her and clink yet another glass against hers.

"This is the best wine I've ever had!" She squealed.

Y/n shook her head, pointing towards the rest of the wine bottles that littered the white table cloth, "You said that one, and the one before that were the best you've ever had!" y/n laughed causing Maddie to shrug and take another sip.

"Then its settled, they're all my favorite!" she announced to the table, friends looking towards the two of them with amused expressions.

"How many glasses did you have?" Chase questioned, his cheeks flushed from all the chatter and body heat.

"It's my birthday, you can't ask me that!" Maddie hiccuped, causing the table to erupt in chuckles and nodding heads.

Y/n watched as Chase took the last bite of his pasta and motion at your friends that it was time to head back to the hotel and take the drunk stragglers back to their hotel rooms.

Y/n looked around, noticing Rudy and Elaine slumped together, giggling at their forks and she couldn't help but burst out in laughter. It was definitely time to go back to the hotel. It's all fun and games until people wake up hungover and not able to get out of bed, especially on vacation. None of them wanted anyone to miss tomorrows early morning water spot activities.

Drew sighed loudly, wrapping his arms around Chase's shoulders, calling out to everyone that it was indeed time to head back to the hotel so the group could get enough time to recuperate before tomorrow. "Y/n aren't you glad that you landed such a teddy bear?" JD said, shoving Drew playfully.

"I know, I got pretty lucky for my first one, huh?" she wiggled her eyebrows over at the group of boys, they all laughed as she winked at her boyfriend who suddenly froze.

Drew unraveled his arms that sprawled across his friends chest and stood up, his expression showing total shock but y/n didn't notice. Y/n stood up, grabbing her clutch before pushing her chair back towards the table. Her friends sporadically following her lead as she said wrapped her arms around Drew's arm while they said their goodbye's and goodnight's.

The walk from the restaurant to the hotel wasn't a long one, but y/n realized quickly that it would be a very quiet one.

Drew wrapped his arm around her as they walked silently, their shoes scuffling against the pebbled walkway. Y/n giggled, playfully poking at his side making him scowl at her with furrowed eyebrows, y/n's eyes narrowed taken aback by her boyfriends action towards her playfulness.

Maybe he wasn't in in the mood? y/n hummed to push away her hurt feelings and snuggled her head against his chest causing him to stiffen under her touch- her heart dropped at yet another standoffish reaction. "What's wrong?" She questioned lightly.

Drew scoffed out a 'whatever' making her eyebrows furrow as she leaned her head back to glare at him, watching him roll his eyes into the night. "Okay, what the fuck?"

If y/n wasn't pissed then, y/n was definitely pissed now. She crossed her arms as Drew flew his hands up in the air and pointed at her like she knew exactly what he was apparently annoyed about. "Are you seriously asking me that?" he chuckled darkly. "Like really?"

"Obviously! God forbid I can't read your mind!" she watched him storm way from her, y/n's shorter legs hurried after him with clenched fists. "Drew!"

He couldn't help but let out an annoyed laugh, shaking his head before rubbing his palm against his cheeks. Sure, he was annoyed at her, but the added alcohol in his system didn't help his emotions and he couldn't think twice about how he reacted.

"What?!" He felt her hand clutch onto his shirt and he groaned, his legs slowing down because he knew he regularly walked too fast for her. "Think! Think about why I might be annoyed y/n, seriously?" he shouted with his arms flying up from his sides. He watched y/n put her hands on her hips in frustration as she looked at him with confusion.

"You do this every single time, why can't you just be an adult and tell me what you're so pissed off about?!"

"No I don't! Why am I always the bad guy and what? I can't be mad at you?" He yelled, his legs bringing him closer to y/n as she shooed him off with her hand, she rolled her eyes and huffed out as she looked towards the beach in the distance, wishing to be anywhere but here, fighting with her boyfriend on vacation.

"You're aloud to be mad at me! But its not fair when you won't tell me why! I mean what could have possibly happened in that restaurant to make you so-” y/n stopped mid sentence as she snapped her head towards him, his eyes wide as he caught on to why she paused.

He nodded, "yeah, yeah" he scoffed as he took off his hat and ran his hand over his newly buzzed haircut. "Now you know."

Y/n covered her mouth with her hand and closed her eyes tight, she never meant to not tell him, but she kept putting it off because she didn't want to scare him off early on in their relationship. He never asked. Eight months passed by and she never told him, now she wanted to find the right time and every time she thought that it would be the time, it would slip her mind. She cursed loudly causing Drew to bite the inside of his cheek, watching her shoulders fall. "I'm sorry... I never meant to not tell you-"

"Then why didn't you?"

"You're older than me and I thought it would have been awkward, or you wouldn't be as interested in me if I told you. We were new and you were so.. so you, and I was nervous and I didn't want you to think differently about me. Obviously, I- I don't know what I was thinking 'cause I know you'd never think that way or make me feel any type of way." y/n gushed.

Her eyes swelling with tears as she finally explained to her boyfriend that he was her first beau. "I'm sorry. I seriously didn't mean to keep it from you I- I promise I'd never keep anything from you intentionally... especially something important for our relationship."

Drew sucked in his breath as the salty air blew around the couple, his eyes glossing over as he watched y/n quietly break down right before him. Drew quickly stepped towards her, his arms hugging her body close into his, her body shaking against his as she cried silently. "You don't have to be sorry I- I shouldn't have been so angry." he cooed. "I just wish you told me."

"I know" y/n croaked out as she sniffled, her big eyes scanning up to his face. Drew sighed, his hands gripping her puffy cheeks to wipe her tears away. "And I feel stupid."

'Shhh" he hushed, "you're not stupid y/n." he chuckled lightly causing her to blush beneath his soft hands.

She smiled lightly, rolling onto her tip toes as she felt him lean down and sprawl his lips against hers. They simultaneously moaned into the kiss as Drew deepened the kiss, licking her bottom lip to ask for entrance. Y/n happily obliged and smiled causing their teeth to clash- his tongue finding hers, feeling like the first time they'd ever greeted one another.

Drew's hands slid down her shoulders to grip her sides and squeeze her curves causing y/n's head to fall sideways while he sponged his lips against her now burning skin. The taste of lingering wine made them both hum lowly before he brought his hand behind her back and yank her against his chest, laughter pooling around them as he rested his forehead against her forehead.

"I think this calls for a truce?"

Drew bit back a laugh and nodded, interwinding their fingers before pulling her towards the pathway back to the hotel. "You know, I'm nervous that I'm your first boyfriend." he said bringing y/n to snort out- squeezing his hand as they began walking, "Let's make me your only."

-

taglist: @pogueslandia @carolineworld

[anime-fan93]

Yo I'm kinda new here but if it's fine and if you have the time may I request an encanto matchup if your still doing it still?

I'm a minor will be 18 in a few years (I hope this is specific enough I'm personally uncomfortable with sharing my exact age)

Honestly if someone actually likes me I'd be in shock- but uh no label nor do I care what gender they are really

He/him or they/them pronouns once again unlabeled

I can get pretty moody without caffeine but I do adore physical affection- also I can get pretty worried or sink back into a shell at certain loud nosies

Cuddles and hugs to the max just yes I would love to pass out cuddling someone-

I barely sleep at night tho-

Uh yea I get scared by certain loud nosies such as yelling may actually cry if someone yells at me in anger as I hate making people upset

I love drawing! And bakeing!

I may melt if someone gives me a pet name but there getting a cheesy one like "darling" or "sweetheart" from me no questions asked

I get pretty defensive if someone tries hurting someone I know mentally or physically I personally think that it's not that much but I find making people smile by my little comments refreshing and fun.

I tend to be pretty awkward but even with me locked up in my room by choice I like talking to people I know though new people make me anxious and being alone in a place without anyone i know is even worse- also the amount of times someone's called me a cat and dog in my friend group is kinda funny-

I'm like 5'2

Look I've manged to trip on my own foot I'm pretty clumsy

Oh yea I'm a Taurus ig

I tried as I ain't to good with trying to describe myself have a good day/night/afternoon and I hope I didn't make ya uncomfortable I'm sorry if I did also please inform me if I did anything wrong with this

-a highly caffinated mushroom

Thank you for requesting!

I match you with...

Camilo!

Camilo would love you so much, but would try not to show it around his family, not wanting them to get loud and possibly scare you.

He would always make sure you had your caffeine, and physical affection, not wanting you to get mad at him, but would lowkey want to see you moody.

Camilo would make like half of the loud noises you don't like on accident, but then realize and apologize non-stop throughout the whole day.

Camilo would love to cuddle with you, whispering how much he loves you while kissing your face and neck. If you couldn't sleep, he would definitely try and stay up with you, but would end up passing tf out.

Camilo would joke being angry and yelling at you once, but as soon as you started to cry he would break character and hug you, doing everything for you for the next two days so you would know he's sorry.

Camilo would definitely bake with you, but would opt out of drawing, wanting to watch you draw instead.

He understands you getting defensive, he would be the same way about you and his family. Someone would say something sideways and he would secretly shapeshift into someone else and get them in trouble.

He would comfort you while you're out in public in a crowd, acting silly to distract you or holding your hand and giving you soft smiles.

He would love you being clumsy, always there to stop something (or you lol) from getting broken. He would love comforting you, wanting you to feel comfortable with him.

Thank you for requesting!

[purpleyellow]

It’s a mess

NCT 24th member / Dream 8th member

Bee’s Masterlist

“The C in NCT stands for Chaos: A copilation of random moments during NCT 2020″

requested by: anon

a/n: Feel free to share your thoughts with me. Requests are open!💛

“Do you know how to wink?” Sungchan asked Bee when they were sitting behind the scenes of the photoshoot. “Some members were struggling earlier”

“Yeah, I do” She giggled, politely denying as he tried to pass her a bag of chips “Thanks but I haven’t done my solo shots yet”

“Oh, okay” He nodded taking a mouthful “How many members have finished already?”

“I think half of them must be done” She answered, giggling after a few seconds “Small talk makes things awkward. Do you want to go see what the rest are doing?”

“Yeah, let’s go”. Getting up, they walked along the staff until finding Jungwoo and Kun talking on the side. Sprinting towards them, Bee crashed Kun in a hug while the two boys greeted each other.

“Do I want to know what you’re up to?” The oldest giggled as she bounced on her feet.

“We’re just passing time” She said casually and Jungwoo shook his head, placing both his hands on the side of her face and turning it towards Kun.

“Don’t trust this little face. She’s ready to backstab us at any point” Squeezing her cheeks together at the last word, the boys laughed at her confused face and let it go. “Oh, Taeil Hyung. Let us get a word from you”.

Approaching them carefully, Taeil laughed as Jungwoo threw his arm over his shoulder and began asking random questions about the weather.

“What’s going on right now?” Bee giggled to Sungchan who only shrugged, also entertained by the random switches to English on their conversation. 

“Oh, the sky is showing signs of gloominess so maybe later we’re going to get a rainstorm”  Johnny showed up talking in some very quick English making Taeil smile while repeating “Yes” and the little group watching laugh a little lost.

“Don’t you think that rain is good for the environment? That way the plants get watered, and it’s part of nature’s natural cycle” Turning to her, Johnny kept babbling the first thing that came to his mind.

Staring with wide eyes, Bee’s face broke into a beaming smile as she spoke in English the first sentence she had remembered “Nctzens are so pretty. Thank you for your love"

“We actually grew close as a group, I don’t think there’s anyone who needs a little push”. Taeyong answered a comment that asked if there was anyone who was still awkward with each other. 

The vlive before the music video was going quite smooth so far, allowing Bee to just watch and rest her head on Xiaojun’s shoulder.

“Actually,” Jaemin’s voice interrupted them for looking at another question, and he smiled at the girl “I haven’t seen Jaehyun Hyung and Bee interacting even now”

“Oh, true” Lucas clapped nodding and Doyoung agreed “It’s only when we’re as a group, maybe we need to make an episode for them”

“But we’re not awkward with each other” The girl tried to defend herself by going back to the original question “We just don’t interact that much”

“If we left the two of you alone it would probably get awkward”. Taeyong laughed at her pouting, Jaehyun also joining on her side saying “It wouldn’t, we actually went out for drinks a few weeks ago”.

Falling silent, the room turned towards him frowning making the boy shrug with Doyoung and Jaemin gasping “You what?” “When?”.

Bee nodded swinging her feet around and added towards Jaemin “I told you when I was leaving, you nodded and everything”

“I have no memory of such thing” The boy frowned further “Are you lying to us?”.

“Do you have a picture or something to prove?” Doyoung asked laughing incredulous and Jaehyun pulled out his phone, scrolling through the gallery as Bee laughed at their shocked faces.

“I can’t show it to the camera”. He chuckled stealing a glance at the managers and turning his phone sideways. The screen showing to those sitting next to him the selfie he had taken along with the girl, Jungkook and Sunny from BTS. 

“Why is this getting weirder?” Taeyong giggled as Bee and Jaehyun laughed at their questions and turned his attention back to the iPad. “Well, let’s move on”

“If I hear ‘Ayo listen up’ one more time in the next five minutes I might punch someone” Bee groaned sitting on the ground. Her threat doing nothing but entertain Shotaro who sat next to her and make Haechan and Ten laugh.

“We only got a two-minute break, so I think I’m changing places”. Hyuck chuckled walking lazily as the line formation was broken and stood behind Bee, making his legs work as a backrest for her.

Almost at the same time, Chenle’s voice could be heard shouting the same lines she had just complained about. Extending her arm, Bee softly tapped Shotaro’s heels and relaxed back into her position as he played along and pretended to be hurt.

“Yun-hee don’t hurt your friends” Haechan whined holding her arms and shaking her, the movement made her head roll loosely and a few giggles erupt. Poking the top of her scalp, Hyuck bent down to stare at her  “Why are you so tired, all we did so far was stand”.

“I’m doing a growing plan. Lots of food and sleep to see if I add a few centimeters to my height” She answered closing her eyes and missing the look between the boys.

“I think we need to wake her up” Shotaro laughed getting up and holding her legs. Following his train of thought, Haechan held under her arms, and they began slowly swinging her body.

Laughing, Bee tried to loosen her body up as much as possible as they increased the speed. Some members around laughing as well and Lucas suddenly standing a little away from them, holding out his arms and joking “Throw her, throw her. I’ll catch it”.

Scared of the possibility of being thrown around and falling because of the clumsy boy, the girl tensed up allowing Shotaro to drop her legs making her stand-up, shaking her head giggling.

“Did anyone see Doyoung?” One of the managers put his head through the door shouting and somebody shouted back “He went to the other dressing room”. The door closing instantly as he left in a hurry.

Towards the back of the room, Bee sat on the ground with Winwin, Hendery, Jeno and Sungchan. Since they were all ready to go back on stage, they decided to play some racing game on their phones while waiting for the rest.   

“Who’s red? I’m after red. Red, please slow down” The girl commented not paying attention to what they were saying and Jeno hummed.

“I’m red, you’re after me?” He asked but didn’t wait for an answer before continuing “Well, not anymore”.

Just as he said that, his car released a black substance making Bee’s car slowdown and get left behind by the others. A cheer of laughter erupting from the boy and Sungchan, while Hendery chuckled a “Noo”.

Putting her phone down, Bee slapped his arm just on time for another manager to walk inside and prompt them to go back on the stage. Throwing their phones on the couch, the group, as well as the members who were just done getting retouched, made their way to the staircase.

After performing other songs, the members started doing some speeches, arranging themselves in a line. Just as Bee was going to her place, Jeno came from her side and bumped shoulders with her standing on the marked spot. Hendery who has watched the exchange laughed remembering the game they had played.

Smiling smug, Jeno pretended to look over her head before staring back at Mark who had been talking. Patting the girl on the head, Hendery bent a little forward, indicating her to jump on his back, that way gaining some height. 

Poking Jeno’s head, Bee and Hendery each did a fighting stance with their arms, making the boy laugh this time a little louder. Taeil, Yuta and YangYang join them despite not knowing what was going on.

“Oh, are we teaming up against Jeno?” Haechan said excited, throwing a few punches on the air and soon almost everyone was doing karate poses.

After ten seconds, almost in agreement, everyone stopped and stared at each other, laughing at how random the moment was. Clearing his throat, Mark said awkwardly not sure of what to do next “May I continue?”

[sokkascroptop]

traitor. (sokka x f!reader) pt 23

prequel | part 1 | part 22 | part 24

A/N: yay!! here she is!! Lots of awkward, cringey moments, but they’re 15!! of course they’re cringey!! what will the gaang do with Y/N??? if you haven’t read my prequel of ‘Traitor’ with Zuko, I highly suggest you check it out. There are references of that story in this part!

On the flight to the Western air temple, Y/N couldn’t help stare out the window for most of it. It was more than refreshing to be able to see mountains and trees again. She never realized how much she missed them until she thought she’d never see them again.

“Are you excited to see your friends again?” Suki asked as she snuck up behind Y/N. She wondered if Suki was always so light on her feet.

“Extremely,” Y/N admitted. “As much as I enjoyed our time in prison together…” Y/N laughed at the joke and Suki joined in. 

She grabbed Y/N’s hand and joined her at the window, together they watched the trees below them blur into a dark hazy patch as the sun began to set. “I know we made a lot of jokes about how well we did in prison, but I really thought we wouldn’t get out of there. I mean,” Suki sighed. “There’s always a chance we don’t win this war. No one wants to say it but, I know you understand it.”

Y/N nodded in agreement. It was true. Keeping hope alive was good for them all, but once in a while you needed to look at the reality of a situation. Y/N’s friends didn’t always like doing that. (They were all so optimistic. It was refreshing, and tiring all at the same time)

Suki shrugged. “Anyways, enough of that talk. I’m excited to see Team Avatar too. And, I can’t wait to have more room than just my cell to train!” 

“Yes!” Y/N said. She squeezed Suki’s hand in excitement. “And I’ll have my sword back! I swear, I’ll probably be training all day; Sokka’s going to get tired of me asking him to spar with me.”

“We should spar, Y/N! I can teach you all of the Kyoshi warriors moves and you can teach me some of those Fire Nation hand-to-hand combat moves I saw you using on that acrobat!” Suki exclaimed.

“That sounds amazing, we–” Y/N was interrupted by Sokka meeting them in the hallway. 

“Guys, we’re gonna be landing soon–” He paused, eyes flickering down to their hands and then back up to meet their faces. “If you wanted to come to the doors.”

Y/N smiled. “Of course. We’ll be right there.” 

Sokka opened his mouth to say something else but immediately closed it, turning away with a blush high on his cheeks. Only then did Y/N realize that she and Suki had never untangled their hands.

Sokka had mentioned to Y/N when they boarded that he and Zuko hadn’t exactly been honest with the rest of the group when they left. They had made up a lie about going fishing which, honestly, Y/N didn’t think Katara or Toph would have believed anyways. So when they pulled up to the courtyard, Sokka and Zuko went down the ramp first to calm the three of them down. Rightfully so, Toph, Katara, and Aang were probably worried to see such a large Fire Nation airship pulling up to their newly found safe haven. 

From the shadows behind the door where she, Suki and Hakoda waited. Y/N could hear Toph’s cheerful voice carry to the airship over the stones of the courtyard. “Well, did you catch any fish?”

“I think you’ll appreciate what we caught more than some fish!” Sokka’s voice was showy and projected. Her and Suki shared a giggle before they walked out the doors side by side. 

By the looks on everyone’s faces when they came bounding down the ramp, seeing Y/N was the last thing they could have imagined. She took a moment, where she paused at the bottom of the ramp just taking them all in. Not like they had changed much in the time she was gone. Katara was still Katara, standing with her hands on her hips and her piercing blue eyes widened in surprise. Aang was still Aang, though Y/N could admit he might have been a hair taller. And Toph was still Toph, but the smile on her face grew when she heard Y/N’s voice. 

“I missed you guys so much!” Y/N felt like her face was going to break in half, she was smiling so widely. She pulled Aang and Toph into a hug all at once, just as she felt Katara brush past her arm to engulf Hakoda into a bear hug. 

Aang, ever the affectionate one of the group, squeezed Y/N so hard that she felt like she would pop. Even Toph who was never big on hugs, let the both of them wrap their arms around her as they laughed together. 

“How did you get here?!” Toph finally pulled herself out of the hug, but stayed close enough that her arm touched Y/N’s. 

“A Fire Nation airship; surely you heard the other’s say.” Y/N smirked.

Toph pinched the back of Y/N’s arm. “You know what I mean.”

Y/N turned around as she heard Katara speak up. “How did you do this?” she asked Sokka, as she rested her hands on her fathers arms, unable to pull herself away like she was afraid he could disappear if she stopped touching him. 

Sokka scratched the back of his neck and gave Zuko a sideways glance. “We might have gone to a Fire Nation prison on a hunch.”

Katara reached out towards Sokka and he flinched as if he expected a thump on his forehead for being so foolish. Instead, Katara pulled him in for a hug with their father. Y/N watched on with a heavy heart. It was the best outcome she could have hoped for when she was taken from Hakoda’s side at the Fire Nation naval base. But it was painful to watch a father love so openly, knowing she would never have that. As if Zuko was thinking the same thing, the two of them turned away simultaneously to look at each other. His gold eyes burned into her own and Y/N looked away again. 

She knew that they needed to get along. It was the best course of action if they were going to have to work together, but she wasn’t sure if it was the best thing for her heart. 

She had put so much trust into Zuko only to have it dashed away with the very action of turning against her and rejoining his sister and the nation that banished him. She couldn’t help but wonder if he would be willing to do it again if given the chance. Would he betray her again for the sake of his honor? At the same time a little voice in her head told her she had done the same thing. That there was always the chance for her to recant and go crawling back home, looking for remorse. Even Azula thought she could do it. 

She quickly shook that image out of her head. She wouldn’t go back, not until it was a place she could be proud of again. And well Azula, she was best not to be thought about at all. No one knew of Y/N’s hasty, last minute plan to bring Azula back with her and fix her, and no one needed to know either. She didn’t need the tuts of disapproval echoing from all sides. 

“It seems like we’re going to have a lot to talk about tonight,” Aang commented as he looked over their prison uniforms, his eyes lingered on Zuko’s bruised eye for just a second too long, and Y/N could already hear Aang’s voice of reason telling her that she shouldn’t have done that. He would be right of course, but Y/N wasn’t going to admit that out loud. 

“So much,” Y/N agreed. 

“I guess I’ll make tea,” Zuko said.

---

Turns out that even with as many stories and explanations as they had to tell, the five of them conked out within minutes of sitting down. Sokka was first, which was unsurprising, he’d done so much running around at Boiling Rock between her, Suki and Zuko that she didn’t know if he’d eaten the entire time he was there, let alone sat down and rested. And that was even before Hakoda had shown up. 

Y/N snorted at the way his face was smooshed up against the ground and leaned her head up against one of the walls near the fire. She tried to focus on whatever was coming out of Zuko’s mouth. Her eyes grew heavy until the next thing she knew Suki’s head had fallen onto her shoulder, and Y/N wasn’t far behind. Y/N couldn’t say what happened after that, but there was no chance that Hakoda nor Zuko stayed up to talk long after they realized that half of their boarding party had already called lights out. 

Despite the unforgiving–and frankly cold–flagstone floor, it was the best sleep Y/N had gotten in weeks. 

---

“Okay. And what do I do after that?” Y/N asked, her hands raised in a defensive stance. 

Suki walked around Y/N with her arms crossed against her chest, examining Y/N like she was one of her warriors. As she walked behind her, Suki tapped the inside arches of Y/N’s shoes with her toes. “You need your feet a bit wider. The last thing you need is to tip over while you’re trying to use your opponent’s weight against them.” She came around and stood in front of Y/N. She narrowed her eyes and looked Y/N over. A shiver rolled over Y/N’s shoulders as Suki’s eyes traveled down her body. 

Suki could be really intimidating when she wanted to be, with her deep brown eyes and pouty lips, she could send someone a look that could kill. Y/N had felt the brunt end of that side of her more than once. But when she was on your side, she was a really good friend. Y/N had figured that out that day she’d met Suki in the yard of Boiling Rock, and she was reminded of it everytime Suki sent a smile in her direction, like she was now. 

“Explain that more, using their weight against them?” Y/N asked. 

Suki nodded and wrapped her long fingers around Y/N’s wrists and pulled them down slightly. “As you probably know, the Kyoshi warriors are mostly made up of young girls. We had to learn how to take down people who are bigger and possibly stronger than us. You probably already do it to an extent, having trained with larger men most of your life.”

Suki gave a quick shake to each of Y/N’s wrists, feigning like she was going to let Y/N punch herself in the face. “Buuuut, I also know that most Fire Nation moves are a bit more sharp. You’re always on the offensive. And you–in particular–can be a bit punchy.” 

Y/N laughed and twisted her wrists outwards and slipped easily from Suki’s grip. “I am not.”

Suki leaned close and whispered conspiratorially, for Zuko and Aang were just on the other side of the courtyard doing their sunrise katas. “Tell that to Zuko’s face.”

Y/N bit her lip to keep herself from laughing again. “It was one time.”

“I’m sure there were others,” Suki hummed. 

“So then what do you want me to do?” Y/N asked. 

“Learn to be more defensive.” Suki poked Y/N on the forearm, directly across one of the many bruises that popped up overnight. “You’re covered in bruises from the fight with Ty Lee because you were–and forgive my stupid analogy–fighting fire with fire.”

Y/N rubbed her arm. “I don’t know what that means.”

“You were hitting her with the same force she was hitting you. Her arms and legs probably look just like yours. You know, if you’re any good.” Suki smirked.

Y/N let her head fall back and whined. “Why did I let you teach me first? Can we switch? I wanna be in charge.” 

“Too late!” Suki said cheerfully. Suddenly, her demeanor changed and Suki was looking up at Y/N through her lashes. A devious smile spread across her lips. “Don’t you want to be more like me?”

All of the air left Y/N’s lungs. Y/N stared at Suki without even making a motion to hide her blush. “Yes,” she breathed. 

---

Y/N landed hard on her back again with a thud and a groan. She couldn’t help the rage that boiled in her gut as she continued to get beat up by Suki. Y/N hated losing but she hated quitting even more. Even though this was purely a training session, more teaching than anything, Y/N refused to stop until she learned at least one thing, and if that meant losing over and over to Suki, Y/N could take it.

Out of pure frustration, more at herself than anything else, Y/N made a fist and hit the ground with the side of her hand, letting out a guttural growl. 

Y/N sat up and narrowed her eyes at Suki, who was standing over her with her head cocked to the side. “I’m going to get this if it literally kills me!”

“Okay.” Suki held out her hand to help Y/N to her feet. She was a little surprised that Suki wasn’t telling Y/N they were going to stop and try again later. Anyone else would have told her to take a break or to take a walk, but Suki was showing that she trusted Y/N enough to know her own limits.

Y/N got back in her wide-legged stance. “Agni, I can’t wait to kick your ass tomorrow,” she said angrily.

Suki, who was in the same stance as Y/N, doubled over laughing. Y/N straightened up and blinked wildly, walking back over her words carefully to figure out what was so funny. Seeing Suki laugh made a smile work it’s way across Y/N’s face. She tried to fight it off but failed miserably. 

“Stop laughing,” Y/N giggled. 

“Yeah, stop laughing! We’re trying to concentrate over here!” Zuko shouted. He and Aang were both frozen, staring at the girls like they’d each grown two extra heads. 

“Oh, don’t be such a grouch, Zuko,” Suki waved her hands in his direction. And Y/N slapped her hands over her mouth and snorted, which sent both girls into another fit of giggles. 

---

That was evidently the end of their training session for the day; their laughs having given them a better workout than the actual fighting. Both girls laid opposite directions with their heads next to each other, splayed out on their backs staring at the roof of the courtyard. Y/N muscles hurt in ways that they hadn’t in a long time. She missed training, she missed learning. She had spent the past few years practicing with guards, and the last few months teaching Sokka, but she had forgotten how invigorating and exciting learning something new could be, even if it was immeasurably frustrating the first few tries.  

Suki turned her head to the side and looked at Y/N’s profile. Y/N took a few beats before she turned her head. It was hard to meet Suki’s eyes anymore and Y/N couldn’t put her finger on why; but this time Y/N steeled herself and did. It was sort of like free falling or making a dive on Appa’s back; for a second it was scary, and made her heart leap into her throat, but soon enough it settled and she got used to the weightlessness. Y/N didn’t think she was supposed to enjoy either part, but she did. 

Or maybe Y/N did know why it was hard to look at Suki and just didn’t want to dwell too long on that imagery. That was… complicated. Y/N liked being friends with Suki, that was good enough. It had to be good enough. Even though Y/N couldn’t stop thinking about their dynamic. Where Sokka made her feel appreciated and whole, Suki made her feel alive. 

“I was laughing because I don’t think you know what you look like when you’re mad,” Suki murmured.

“Huh?” 

Suki rolled her eyes playfully. “You think you look so badass, but you really just look like an angry Momo.”

Y/N shuddered. “Angry Momo is scary.” 

“No, he’s always cute.” 

Y/N swallowed the lump in her throat and looked back up at the tiles on the roof. Y/N’s whole body flushed. Suki had just called her cute. Y/N stole a glance that felt scandalous and noticed a pinkness to Suki’s cheeks too. Y/N looked away and gave a hard blink, trying to wipe it from her mind. 

“Hey, there you are.” Sokka approached the both of them. Y/N stood up hastily and brushed the dirt from her clothes. His hair was still down, framing his face and he was rubbing his bleary eyes like he had just woken up. 

“Hey!” Y/N’s voice was high-pitched. Her heart raced like she had been caught in the act of doing something she shouldn’t have been doing. “What’s up?”

She could feel Suki’s eyes on her back, and Y/N so desperately wanted to retreat to the inside of the temple. Being around the both of them at the same time was too much. She wished she had a shell like a turtle duck that she could crawl into and hide in. 

“I woke up and you were gone. It freaked me out a little,” Sokka admitted. “I just wanted to find you. And you know, make sure everything is okay.”

“Oh.” Y/N’s eyes softened. “I’m sorry. I’m used to earlier mornings now.” Suddenly, her heart was filled with sympathy for Sokka. She didn’t realize how jarring it might have been to wake up alone, with the people you had rescued nowhere to be found.

“Right.”

Y/N glanced over her shoulder. “Suki and I talked about sparring and we wanted to come out here before breakfast.”  

“Breakfast”–Sokka leaned back and stretched–“now that’s got my name all over it. Come on, let’s go see how much noise we can make until Katara wakes up and just does it for us.” He threw an arm around Y/N’s shoulders and pressed a tender kiss to her temple. It was something he’d done dozens of times, something that she’d never paid attention to before. But now she was highly aware that someone was watching. 

Y/N turned around abruptly. “Suki, are you coming?” 

Suki smiled gratefully from her seat on the ground where she had watched the interaction between Sokka and Y/N. “Sure.”

---

Y/N spent the rest of the day doing everything she could to avoid Zuko and it seemed like he was trying to do the same thing. Neither one of them wanted to apologize to one another, or talk about what had happened between them at Boiling Rock. Which meant they couldn’t look at each other either. Making every exchange between the two of them extremely awkward for the rest of the group around them. 

It was so bad that that morning at breakfast Y/N had shooed Zuko away when he offered a tray full of cups of tea towards her, nearly spilling them in Katara’s lap. And later that day, when Zuko dropped the strap that hooked his dao sheath around his back and Y/N picked it up automatically, he snatched it out of her hands so quickly that the leather chafed her palm. 

“I thought you and Zuko were friends in the Fire Nation,” Katara muttered over her shoulder to Y/N who was braiding Katara’s hair. 

Y/N bit her lip and glanced out to the courtyard where Sokka and Zuko were sparring (which had apparently become a thing while she was away and no, she was not jealous) She knew where this was going. “We were,” Y/N said simply. 

“So I thought you would be happier to see him.” 

Y/N heard Suki snicker behind her as she weaved her own fingers through Y/N’s hair in their braid train. Y/N frowned. “He betrayed us in Ba Sing Se.” 

“Didn’t you leave the Fire Nation with Azula to specifically capture him and his uncle?” Toph said as she sat on the fountain’s edge near them and swung her legs back and forth.

“Toph, if you are not braiding, you do not get to participate in braid train talk,” Y/N nagged.

“I’m blind.”

“Poor excuse. You still have hands.” Y/N leaned sideways to flick the younger girl in the shin, but was pulled away by Suki. 

“Anyways, I’m not saying I like him either.” Katara shrugged. “But I didn’t think I’d see it from you.”

Y/N paused her hands. “There are a lot of issues between the two of us.”

“Clearly.”

“Toph.” Y/N grumbled then she sighed. “I don’t know how to fix it.” 

Katara turned her head to watch her brother and Zuko spar for a minute before replying. “You’ll figure it out.”

Y/N followed her gaze to the two boys. Yes, Katara. Let me just add that to the list of things I need to figure out. 

---

“I know you better than you think.” Suki grabbed a few dry twigs next to her foot and added them to the pile in her arms. 

Y/N almost dropped the kindling in her own hands. She quickly recovered and shifted its weight to her other arm. “What are you talking about?” She asked coolly.

The two of them offered to collect firewood for dinner that night, Toph had piped up and said that she and Zuko could help too, but as they reached the woods they split off from each other; which meant that somewhere off in the trees were two people that Y/N really didn’t need hearing whatever was going to come out of Suki’s mouth next. 

“I know I haven’t known you as long as the others, but I think that I know you pretty well, and something has been bothering you.” 

Y/N only hummed in acknowledgment. It was true, Y/N had been juggling with a few different things. Her strained relationship with Zuko was at the top of the list, because that affected the others the most, but the weird fluttering of her heart when she was around Suki was catching up fast. Y/N tried to swallow but her throat was too dry. 

It felt a little chilling for someone to read her so clearly, but surprisingly, Y/N found solace in it as well. She hadn’t had that since–well–Azula. Y/N didn’t feel like lying to Suki or herself anymore. “That obvious, huh?”

The corner of Suki’s mouth lifted in a soft smile. “The others will find out eventually, if that’s what you’re asking.”

That’s what Y/N was afraid of. Was she really showing her emotions so candidly? How embarrassing was it going to be when the rest of them found out that she was dating Sokka while crushing hard on Suki at the same time. Agni, this was humiliating. Y/N was a terrible person.

“When did you find out?” Y/N stared at her toes.

“It was when Zuko and Sokka were talking about the fight on the gondola this morning. Whenever they mentioned Azula, you clenched your hands into fists.” Suki chewed on the inside of her lip. “You only do that when you’re trying to distract yourself from something that’s bothering you.

“We both know that I have no love for that girl,” Suki continued, when Y/N stayed silent. Mostly from shock, the conversation was not going in the direction she had seen coming. “But I know you knew her differently than the rest of us.”

“Oh,” Y/N murmured. She broke eye contact with Suki and tried to recover herself. “Yes, I guess so.”

Somehow this conversation was better and worse at the same time. For another day she was going to be able to hide whatever it was she was feeling, but now she was going to have to talk about something that was so much harder. 

“So what’s bothering you?”

Y/N clutched the dry kindling to her chest tightly, letting the bark and branches dig into her stomach through her thin shirt. “I might be hiding something,” Y/N said without thinking.

Suki paused and then nodded slowly, like she was talking to a startled animal. Which Y/N figured was accurate, considering she was about 5 seconds from dropping the kindling and running. “What happened?”

“Azula came to see me at Boiling Rock. Right before we left.”

Suki frowned. “Why would she do that?”

She was kind of just doing exactly what I did. Maybe she knew her friendship with the other girls was slipping. “Well…”

Suki widened her eyes. “That’s not a good way to start, Y/N.”

“I talked to Azula on the Day of the Black Sun,” Y/N said. And once Y/N started, she couldn’t stop. “I was foolish and naive and I thought that I could change her if I offered. So, I–I asked her if she would come with me.”

“What??” Suki cringed at her own shout and quickly quieted her voice. “Y/N, what were you thinking?” Y/N didn’t miss the way Suki’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. 

Y/N blinked away impending tears, thankful for the darkness that had spread through the woods. She didn’t think that it would ever come to this. “I think she’s confused and messed up. I miss her,” Y/N sniffled. “The old her. Not the person she is now.”

“Y/N…”

“I gave her the wrong idea. By telling her that I believed she could do better, now she thinks that I can come back to her too.” Y/N sucked in a gasping breath. “I feel bad because I haven’t told anyone. And now everyone’s going to be mad at me because I’ve been hiding it for so long.”

Y/N suddenly turned on her heel and began marching back to the temple. They had enough kindling and she felt like she was suffocating in the humid air.  

Suki rushed to catch up with her. “I’m not mad.”

“You should be,” Y/N quipped.

“I’m processing,” Suki insisted, matching her strides with Y/N’s. 

Y/N glanced at Suki and was surprised to find her looking at Y/N with worry. Despite Y/N’s admission, Suki still looked at her without malice. She could have done anything, Suki could have yelled, she could have ran off to tell the others, but she didn’t. She gave Y/N the one thing she wasn’t expecting: an opportunity. An opportunity to talk about it, a space to bear her soul and explain herself. It should have made Y/N feel better, that's what friends were for. Instead, it just made her feel worse, and made feel like what she did was that much worse. Regret rolled through her body like a tsunami and she immediately dug her heels into the dirt and dropped the kindling on their feet. 

“I shouldn’t have told you.” Y/N ran her hands through her hair. “I should have just made something else up.”  

“Like I said, I'm processing it.” Suki tugged on Y/N’s hands where they were tangled in her hair. “Stop worrying about what I think. What are you thinking?”

Y/N felt like she was exposed to the bone. “I’m so mad at myself for doing it in the first place but I’m mad at myself for being mad at myself! How does that even work?”

“I don’t know.” Suki shook her head. 

“Everyone’s going to hate me.”

Suki laid a comforting hand on Y/N’s shoulder. “They might not understand, but they aren’t going to hate you.”

Y/N could only hope so.

---

“Why would you do something so selfish?!” Zuko busted out of the treeline, just before Y/N and Suki had made it back to the courtyard of the temple, Toph trailing behind him. Sparks ignited behind his teeth as he surged forward right to Y/N. 

His shout startled her so much she dropped the wood she was carrying. It took a moment for Y/N to realize that he was talking to her. They had been avoiding each other at every turn. “What are you talking about?”

The shouts had brought Aang, Katara and Sokka running out of the temple and to the edge of the woods where Y/N and Zuko were having their face off. 

“Tell them. Tell them what you told Suki.” He glowered.

“Tell us what?” Aang asked. He stood to the side of them like he was planning on jumping in at the first sign of trouble.

Y/N shared a look with Suki and then looked back to Zuko, shaking her head minutely. She was not planning on being bullied into confessing secrets that were better left untold.

“She tried to get Azula to come back with her on the Day of the Black Sun,” Zuko tattled like a petulant child, sending a glare in her direction. Before waiting for anyone else’s reaction. He continued his barrage. “How could you be so stupid?”

“Wait, did you really?” Katara asked.

Y/N barely even heard Katara speak, she was deaf to all noise except for the blood rushing in her ears and Zuko’s voice. “Stupid?!” 

Y/N was filled with rage. She could accept Katara yelling at her, she could accept a sad, disappointed look from Aang that would make her heart ache. Y/N could get over Sokka and Toph ignoring her for a few days, she wouldn’t expect anything less from them, and it would be well deserved for her moral slip-up. Azula hurt them.

But Zuko’s outburst?  Y/N was not going to accept that from him. Not from the boy who was just as bad at her at being good. 

“Fine! I did it! And I’m not stupid just because I still care about her. Look at you and I; We changed! Why can’t she have that chance too?! What about Mai and Ty Lee?! You watched Mai save us and I told you I saw Ty Lee save her from Azula. That was for us!” Y/N leaned forward and poked Zuko square in the chest. 

Zuko batted her hand away, his own hands scalding hot, just seconds away from flaming. “Azula is loyal to Ozai! She would never leave.”

Y/N scoffed. “We all were.”

“What?” 

“We both took orders from him. We were all props used by our fathers in this war started by our great grandparents. That is all the more reason that she should deserve a second chance! We know how it is to be under his influence! You weren’t there that day, she was going to do it! She would have taken my hand!”

“What did she say when you met her at Boiling Rock? I know you talked to her,” Zuko growled.

Y/N blinked, taken aback. How would he know that she had spoken to Azula that day? Though she guessed that conclusion wasn’t that hard to get at.

“She told me she was going to take me back to the Fire Nation; probably back to my dad,” Y/N choked back a sob. “She was going to let me hit my lowest point so I would come crawling back to her, ready to be their puppet again. And yet here I am. I didn’t go with her even though it would be easier to give in and do whatever they wanted. Just because I believe that everyone is worth change, doesn’t mean I think what she’s doing is right.”

Y/N brushed past him easily, avoiding everyone’s eyes. All she wanted to do was curl up in her sleeping bag and pass out, maybe to dream up a solution to her and Zuko’s anger at one another. 

“You’re delusional.”

Y/N paused. She could ignore him and keep walking. She could be the bigger person and not continue the argument, silencing him where he stood. But Y/N had never been one to leave things left unsaid once it started. She needed the last word. 

She turned around and lifted her chin. She smiled even though she wanted to scream and she bathed in the sticky, deafening silence around her. She wanted everyone to hear what she had to say. 

Without another thought, she felt something fierce and terrible leap out of her throat. “You of all people don’t get to say that to me. Not from the boy who went running back to the Fire Nation to try and get his daddy to love him again.” Y/N spit the words at him and he took it like a slap to the face. 

Y/N could hear someone yelling at her for what she had said. It might have even been more than one voice, they had all become so attached to Zuko so quickly. But she wasn’t listening to the words anyone was saying; her head was pounding too loudly and she was too focused on the sudden heartbroken look that crossed Zuko’s face. Somewhere inside she felt good; she liked that she wasn’t the only one hurting at that moment in time. She knew exactly what she was doing and not only did she twist the knife while she was there, she plunged it in deeper too. 

She watched Zuko turn on his heel and walk deeper into the forest, likely to go where he could take out his anger on a tree out of earshot of the rest of her friends. 

Her friend’s faces were masks of horror–wide eyes, jaws agape–and Y/N didn’t even have the decency to care. No, not while she was riding the high of taking Zuko down. 

“Spirits, Y/N…” Aang looked at her like she was a completely different person. Okay, so maybe that one hurt a little. Or a lot. 

Okay, so maybe Y/N wasn’t as cold-hearted as she wanted to pretend she was. Their shock at her words made her embarrassed. Y/N could feel her face redden. If the whole Azula thing didn’t get her trouble, this surely would. Where would they draw the line in the sand? When would they stop tolerating her and realize that she was really no different whichever side she was on?

“I think I’ve had enough socializing for today.” Y/N didn’t wait for a response, she just turned around again and headed back to the temple. She would grab her sleeping bag and head deep into one of the private rooms in the temple where no one could hear her cry. 

Y/N knew it was wrong of her. She knew it. She knew that it would disappoint her friends to hear her be so hateful and she knew it would hurt Zuko but it was like she couldn’t help herself. And she hated the way she loved how it felt. (There was a lot of that going on with her at the moment; hating something she loves so much.)

---

It was no surprise that Y/N had trouble sleeping that night. 

She went over and over the fight, replaying every moment. The euphoria of hurting someone was gone and replaced with shame. She was ashamed of her words and actions and it made it worse when she thought about how the other’s took it. 

It was cold without a fire, but Y/N was stubborn. There was no way she was going back out to sleep with the rest of them. She’d rather freeze. She gave a violent shiver in her sleeping bag, but she wasn’t sure if it was because she was freezing or because she just thought how Sokka was looking at her as she taunted Zuko. 

What would he think of her? Sokka was close to Zuko; he liked him. Sokka was going to hate her for her cruel words. They all would. The last thing she needed to do was divide them all again, just when things were beginning to work out. 

Once, Sokka had told her that they couldn’t hate Y/N for things she hadn’t done, but what about things that she had done? 

---

She’d chosen a room higher up in the temple, figuring that if someone did come looking for her, they’d stop looking on the ground floor. Y/N slipped out of her sleeping bag and walked to the window. A cloudless, midnight sky stared back at her. It was a strange feeling, to be inside of a building as vast as the Western Air Temple, but have no noise around her. No lanterns outside or in the hallways to light the way for anyone awake late at night. It felt ghostly; otherworldly. She was so caught up in her thoughts that she almost missed a familiar boy with dark, scruffy hair sitting alone in the courtyard, despite the time of night and the cool temperature. Then again, the cold didn’t ever get to firebenders. 

Y/N didn’t know what carried her feet down the stairs and towards Zuko. He was sitting on the edge of the courtyard, with his legs dangling over the edge. 

“Can’t sleep?” she asked quietly, a gust of wind nearly taking her words right over the cliff. 

Zuko whipped around and Y/N took a step back, knowing that his flames would be on the tips of his fingers. 

“Y/N,” Zuko frowned. “You’re always so quiet.” There was none of the expected malice in his voice.

Y/N wasn’t sure if that was an invitation, but she sat down next to him anyways, leaving a comfortable amount of space between them. “I can’t sleep either,” Y/N said after a few beats of silence. 

“I can’t imagine why. You said what you’ve been wanting to say for days now, you should be sleeping like a baby.” And there was the malice. It cut like a knife through Y/N. 

She bit her lip to keep her from saying, you’re right I should, because it would have been a lie. Instead, she said “What I said was wrong, and I’m sorry.”

Zuko was silent. And Y/N couldn’t have that. “You probably remember I don’t know how to shut my mouth when it’s good for me–”

“Apparently you still haven’t learned–”

“Okay.” Y/N pressed her hands together to stop herself from reaching over and throttling Zuko. “But the faster you let me say this the faster I will leave you alone.”

Zuko stared down at the abyss below them, but then nodded slowly. 

“I want to apologize because I don’t like fighting with you, I never have.” Y/N took a breath. “I think that I’ve been mad at you for so long it just kind of exploded out of me. It’s just really complicated.”

“How can it be so complicated? I figured we’d both done enough bad to one another that we’d be even.”

Y/N chewed on her lip. “That’s not a great way of putting it but I understand what you mean. But that doesn’t mean we should leave everything unsaid.”

“Then what do you want to say?”

Here came the really silly part. The thing that Y/N never allowed her to think about because of how absurd it sounded. A memory of the days leading up to Zuko leaving to fulfill his banishment flashed before her eyes. Them holding each other, crying, promising things children shouldn’t need to promise one another. 

“I told you to come home safe and you never did. You left me alone, with just her.” 

Zuko scowled. “That’s why you’re mad at me? I didn’t have much of a choice in that matter, I was banished.”

“I know that.” Y/N rolled her eyes. “I know it’s stupid, but 12 year old girls don’t have the most rational thoughts when it comes to stuff like that. In my mind, you were always headed home, Avatar in tow. But month after month you were still gone, and I started to become mad at the wrong person; not the person who sent you away, who burned you, but at you for leaving me, forgetting about me.”

Zuko’s molten gold eyes glowed in the dark. “I never forgot you.”

Y/N had to look away from him. Guilt racked at her. He might have not forgotten about her, but it felt like she’d forgotten everything about him. “But we grew into completely new people. How–how can I miss you? When you’re sitting right next to me? I’m looking for a Zuko that I don’t think exists anymore. The first time I saw you after those 3 years apart, I didn’t even recognize you.”

Zuko ducked his head, letting his hair cover his scar. “Oh.”

“Not because–” Y/N wanted to reach out and touch him, to reassure him that that was not what she was referring to. “You were so angry when Azula and I showed up. But it didn’t seem like you were mad about anything in particular. It’s like bitterness had seeped into your skin and became you. Like it was the only thing that was keeping you standing up straight. I don’t remember a time you ever looked at me like that–except for now maybe.”

“Well you’re different too,” Zuko countered childishly.  “You’re impulsive and rude–the Y/N I grew up with was kind and patient even though she was...aggravating,” He mumbled through the last part like he didn’t really want her to hear it, but wanted to say it anyways. 

Y/N felt similar to a bug under a magnifying glass. It didn’t feel like she had changed all that much, but Zuko had known her better than anyone. If anyone could see it, he would. “I think we can both agree that we can’t revert back to who we were before. We’re both much too stubborn for that.”

Zuko scoffed but it wasn’t mean, there was a small smile on his lips. “I’m stubborn?”

Was he? He was teasing her. Okay, Y/N could work with that. She nudged his shoulder playfully. “You always have been.”

Y/N let a moment pass before she spoke again. “We just have to start over. Learn how to be friends again.”

“Then I forgive you.”

“That’s a really good start.” 

They both let a silence fill the air between them. It was calming and it made it feel like the night would never end. 

“I wish I had the same faith in my sister as you do,” Zuko said suddenly.

Y/N found that to be a hard statement to reply to. Because on one hand, she wanted to risk it all for Azula. She would burn down the world if it meant saving her. But the real question was, did Azula want to be saved? 

Ozai had her so tightly bound to him, Y/N was afraid breaking the ties would break Azula. “It’s not that I have faith in her, I just have enough faith in myself to bring her back from the brink of destruction. Ozai is going to use her until she is burnt out and I can’t help but think I can fix it.”

“You always thought you could fix everyone around you. That hasn’t changed.”

“I can fix her.”

“You don’t think she’s too far gone?”

“Not yet.”

Y/N laid back on the ground behind her. From here she could see the stars again.  She kicked her heels against the side of the cliff, nervous to ask her next question. “If you’re not tired. Will you talk to me?”

“What do you want to know?”

Y/N closed her eyes, the constellations were burned in her memories. “Everything.”

And they did talk about everything. From how Y/N met Suki and how she got thrown into the crystal caves; to how Y/N got on the good side of Team Avatar and trained Sokka to sword-fight.

(“I saw you two sparring today.”

“He’s not bad.”

“Yeah, because I taught him.”)

Zuko talked about his life in Ba Sing Se with Iroh and about the little tea shop they ran together. He told her about Jin and Jet and explained how he felt after betraying her and Iroh in Ba Sing Se. 

Zuko was on his back next to her with his head propped on his arms. “Even on the boat back to the Fire Nation, I knew I had chosen wrong. But by then it was too late, Azula had her claws in me and you and Uncle… well, I knew you would hate me for what I did. I just… I wanted to go home.”  

Y/N rolled over on her stomach and looked him in the eyes. “Neither one of us could ever hate you for that. We both know why you did it. It’s not your fault.” Y/N was completely sure if she was given the same opportunity at the time by her dad she would choose the same as Zuko. Pride, honor, it was so precious in their culture, but Y/N didn’t want to be honorable if it meant hurting other people. 

---

Y/N woke up to the sun streaming in the window, warming her face. She didn’t know when she and Zuko had parted ways last night, but by the position of the sun it was early afternoon that she was just now waking up. 

She stumbled bleary-eyed and hungry down the stairs feeling lighter than she had in days. Zuko was the only one around, sitting in a patch of sunlight by the fountain sharpening his dao’s and looking very tired and scowly. Somewhere down below the temple, Y/N could hear the pounding of large rocks and boulders being thrown about which probably meant Toph and Aang were practicing earthbending. 

Y/N snagged an orange from one of their baskets of food and laid on her stomach on his right side, propping herself up on her elbows. She began peeling the orange, dropping little pieces of the rind on the ground next to Zuko’s knee. 

“Where is everyone?” Y/N asked, popping the first section of the orange in her mouth and handing Zuko the next.

He talked around the orange. “You’d know if you woke up before lunch.” 

“You guys already ate lunch without me?” Y/N asked, shocked. 

“Nobody wanted to mess with you.” Zuko dragged his–no wait, that was her whetstone–down one of his blades. Y/N wrinkled her nose and bit into another orange slice. Good to know he was comfortable enough with her to go digging through her bag to get that out.

“But you told them we talked right?”

“Nope.” The corner of his mouth was lifted in a smirk.

“Ugh, Zuko.” Y/N let her head hang down between her arms. “Help me out here, don’t make me talk to my friends.” Y/N didn’t know if it was too early to say, but their banter felt a bit like old times.

“Don’t make me.”

Y/N groaned again, but she really only did it for show. This was her mess to clean up. “But where are they really? Do I have enough time to prepare a long apology for being a bitch or is this going to be freestyle?”

“Sokka and Hakoda are fishing. Teo and the Duke are exploring the temple. Haru, Toph and Aang are earthbending–”another great clash from below shook the temple and Y/N heard Toph whoop excitedly “–and Katara and Suki went to do laundry.”

“Why do the girls always have to do laundry?” Y/N grumbled and rolled over on her back. “Why didn’t you go help them?”

“Because I’m here–”

“–sharpening your swords?” Y/N snickered. 

“Yes.”

“Because that’s so important.” Y/N poked Zuko’s kneecap and grinned. “Don’t worry, you’ll grow on them.”

“I don’t care if they like me.” 

“You do,” Y/N teased. “You want all of them to like you, just like I did. You can’t help it. They’re all just too nice.”

“Whatever,” Zuko dropped his swords to the side and leaned back on his hands. 

“You’re so irritable. Did you and Aang still do katas at sunrise?”

Zuko closed his eyes against the sunlight. “We do katas every morning.”

“You can take a day off, you know.”

“We can’t.” His voice was clipped and Y/N knew if she pushed any harder he’d either stop talking altogether, or start yelling. 

Y/N furrowed her eyebrows in concern and spoke anyways. “Don’t burn him out, Zuko. Don’t burn yourself out either.”

“I’m not.” 

“Okay, but I just–”

“I’m not!” 

Y/N smiled sheepishly. “Okay! Don’t yell at me.”

“Sorry.” Zuko mumbled. 

---

The two of them lazed around the temple until the others came back, group by group. Y/N hadn’t felt this uncomfortable around her friends since she had joined with them after leaving Ba Sing Se. She could feel the tension in the air and Y/N kept cracking her knuckles to have something to do with her hands. They all looked at her warily, as if waiting for the other shoe to drop. Even Sokka kept his distance, which broke Y/N’s heart.

“I’m surprised you haven’t killed one another or at least destroyed the temple,” Sokka chuckled a bit awkwardly, trying to ease the tension. 

Zuko and Y/N stood shoulder to shoulder in one of the many doorways of the temple. Y/N raised her eyebrows at Zuko and he shrugged, seemingly disinterested. “We’re friends again.” 

“Well that must be nice for you,” Katara spat back. 

Y/N and Zuko shared another sideways look. Katara never hid her dislike for Zuko, that much was obvious to everyone, but now it seemed like that dislike was shared partially with Y/N. She and Zuko making up and being friends again only added fuel to Katara’s anger. 

Y/N twisted her finger around a strand of hair anxiously. “Can we talk?” 

“Uh, sure. Guys?” Aang looked around at the others to see if anyone else was going to speak up. There was a chorus of affirmations but Katara just crossed her arms and huffed. 

They all sat in a circle in the middle of the courtyard. The air was colder in the evenings, since it was mostly hidden from the sunlight. Y/N shivered at the way the biting wind slithered up the back of her shirt like a cold hand. 

The seven of them stared at each other for a few beats, sharing glances among themselves and then quickly looking away. Sokka pulled his knees to his chest and twirled a stick between his fingers and Y/N stared at the graceful way it moved in a circle, she longed for those fingers to be intertwined with her own. 

“I’m sorry,” she blurted out. 

She bowed her head slightly in submission before scrunching closed her eyes. She’d thought of her words carefully as she waited for them to come back. It didn’t mean it was any less humiliating. “Obviously that’s why I wanted to talk to you. I’m so sorry for how I acted last night and for what I did. It was never my intention to lie to you.”

“But you did. Why didn’t you tell us?” Toph asked. Her voice wasn’t angry, it was disappointed. 

“I hid it because I knew you wouldn’t be happy with me and I just wanted to keep the peace between us. I didn’t want anyone to question my motives. I know it’s wrong to think that way, to be so defensive. I trust you guys and you should be able to trust me too. I just didn’t want you to have doubt in me or to question my loyalties.”

“It’s not about sides!” Katara exploded. “We’re your friends, you don’t hide things from us.”

Y/N flinched back. “I know. I’m sorry that you had to hear me sympathize with someone that’s done so many bad things to you.” 

 “She’s done bad things to you too,” Suki reminded her softly. 

Y/N’s eyes fixed on Suki’s brown ones. “Not like you,” Her eyes flitted to Aang’s soft grey ones. “Or you. Zuko was right last night,” Y/N heard him snort softly next to her, “I am selfish. I want pieces of my old life back and while I’m looking in the past I’m ignoring the good that’s in front of me.”

“You aren’t like her.” 

Y/N’s eyes found Zuko’s. “Not anymore. But we but we both know there are more similarities than differences between us.” 

That sentence seemed to weigh on everyone’s mind heavily. They sat and stewed in their own thoughts, and for the first time ever, Y/N was worried about her own future with her friends. It made her nauseous to consider the idea that she was no longer a trusted friend because of one awful mistake. It was a sobering thought; Azula–how she was now–would always be Y/N’s downfall. Azula had been correct in that aspect, what would Y/N have if she didn’t have her friends? Nothing. She’d be alone, just like Azula was now. It made Y/N’s regret spread that much deeper. 

“It’s okay,” Aang’s voice was the first to break the silence. “I can’t blame you for wanting to see the best in someone.”

“I–Thank you.” Y/N blinked back tears. It didn’t matter that the rest of them followed suit and murmured their forgivenesses to Y/N, because while she was soothed by Toph’s arm punch and Sokka’s hug and the way Suki pressed her knee into Y/N’s at dinner that night, Aang’s forgiveness was the most needed. While his death in the crystal cavern had not been her turning point, it had still been her catalyst. It had changed her in ways she could never imagine. They all had. Maybe the reason why she wanted to see the good in Azula, wasn’t her own doing, but something that had been rubbed off by him onto her. Even through the hardship and the oppression, he was still a blinding light in the darkness and was just one of many that Y/N was trying to imitate more and more each day. 

---

A/N: hmmmm, let me know what you guys think! The next part is mostly written and will be posted sooner than usual!! it’s very cute if I do say so myself. 

tags: @myexgirlfriendisthemoon @reclusive-chicken-nugget @astroninaaa @aangsupremacy @beifongsss @crownofcryptids @welovediaaxx @littlefluu @lozzybowe @thebluelcdy  @sugarmoongey @fanficdepot @teenbiology @13-09-01 @riespage @davnwillcome @creation-magician @lunariasilver @rockinearthbending-marauders @francesciak​ @thia-aep​ @aphrcditeee @milk-n-cheese @solarsuki @my--shitty--art @lovingcupcake51002 @loganrwebb @celia-not-cecilia @treestarrrrrrrr @p--e--a--c--h--e--s @izzieserra​ @salsasadd​ @nataliahaslosthershit​ @awkwardnesshabitat​ @lanie103  @im-the-galactic-starfish @charlotteisabella​ @alienmotel​ @smarshere​ @sugamonster22 @mellisophilia​ @calumsfringe @whatsuphoesandbros​ @samsmultifandomblogs @i-love-superhero​ @justasukisimp @grouchiest-hufflepuff​ @zukostan221 @feverish-dove @catchingrhythm​ @euphoricmads @ivetoldamillionlies @fanficsformyperusal​ @mikxyu @someonekeepstakingmyusernames @earthtokace  @justamessandahalf @perfectlyfadingmusic @atlafanforlife @eyelash-curler @iris-suoh @chilifrylizard2 @cheese-its-and-lies @writequickly-blog @living-on-kyoshi @brightcosmos @someoneovertherainboww @stale-sandcastle @justarandomhoman​ @itsametaphorbriansblog  @llamaly  @moon-spirit-yue @moistpotatobear @missmorosis @sunflowerr-mami @ladylizzieofdarbyshire @september-ctd @pumpkinbowl14 @yoyokzzz​

tags that don’t work: @jasminedrgon, @maruchan77, @la3divine @ohjustlookalive, @natsbelova @bison-whistle  @certifiedfreak7 @smolbitch2006, @emogril @maruchan77 @ohjustlookalive @vintagerose1014516 @bcifcng @sendnuwudes @humbleseame @velveteencurls @oddment-nitwit-blubber-tweak @crxsshatcht @starxtt @ask-kfc-siblings @zuko-and-sokkas-simp @naanlianid

[obeyme-kaidii-writes]

Mammoneru

Mammon x Neru (OC)

Words - 2442

Content warnings - some angst, insecurity, lots of fluff and cuddles, she/her

Prompt/inspiration - request by @otromeru

Summary - After bringing Neru along with him to one of his modeling gigs, Mammon notices that she’s been acting strangely and heads to her room to figure out what’s up.

AO3

Mammon was in a good mood. A really really good mood.

Today he had a modeling gig lined up, which wasn’t all that special in and of itself, but he had finally worked up the nerve to invite Neru along with him. And when she agreed, he was over the moon. He absolutely could not wait to show off for her, so she could see just how cool and awesome he was when he was in his element. There was a reason he was The Great Mammon, after all.

As they walked hand in hand down the road leading to Majolish, Mammon had started unconsciously humming to himself as he gently swung their hands between them. Neru couldn’t help but giggle, shooting Mammon the occasional sideways glances, careful not to let him catch her looking lest he stop being so adorable.

Once they arrived, Mammon only had time to give Neru a quick peck on the cheek before he was whisked away to hair and makeup. A member of staff ushered her over to a table with some snacks and refreshments and told her to make herself at home as they explained the rules and where she wasn’t allowed to go before they left to get back to work. Now on her own, she couldn’t help but feel a little awkward. Everyone else just seemed so busy, taking care of their jobs and various other tasks.

But finally she heard Mammon’s laughter ring out as he returned to set. He looked right at her, locking eyes from the opposite side of the room, and flashing her a brilliant smile. She was quick to return his smile, blushing. He looked so good right then - hair styled in a messy “bed head” sort of way, white button down shirt open and revealing his chest, tight jeans hugging his ass and sitting low on his hips. Soon she found a comfortable place to watch as he set to work.

After a few different set and outfit changes, Mammon was finally allowed a break, and he made a beeline for Neru.

“Good job!” she grinned.

“That’s nothin’ for the Great Mammon,” he said with a broad smile, a light blush dusting his cheeks.

Neru laughed again as Mammon wrapped his arms around her shoulders, pulling her into a quick hug.

“Ya havin’ fun right?”

“Yeah, I’m having a lot of fun. You look great out there,” she paused a moment before continuing, “Umm, do you think I could come again? If it’s not too much trouble, I mean.”

Mammon looked down at Neru, who was now staring up at him with the biggest puppy dog eyes. His face immediately heated up, and he hugged her tighter to stop her from looking at him, which of course only made her giggle again.

“Yeah, I guess ya can,” he said, giving her another squeeze. The idea of having her accompany him to his future shoots made him giddy with excitement, not that he was about to let it show; he just knew he’d be able to do an even better job with her by his side.

They continued to chat for a bit longer before Neru had to excuse herself to use the bathroom. While a staff member showed her the way, Mammon went to mingle with some of the other models who were there for their own gigs.

“Hey Mammon!” one of the demons called out, as they waved him over.

“What’s up?”

“So we were just talking about that human you brought with you.”

“Yeah what is she? Like your pet or something?”

“That can’t be the exchange student right?”

“Uh, well, yeah she’s the exchange student, but…” he started to answer, before another demon interjected.

“She’s a bit plain isn’t she? For a human.”

“Yeah, and kinda short too. Are humans usually that short?”

“He-!”

“MAMMON! Breaks over!” Mammon whipped around to see his manager staring at him, pointing towards the dressing room, “The rest of you, get back to work.”

There was some grumbling from the group of demons, before they all quickly dispersed with a few “See you later, Mammon”-s, leaving him behind. Mammon wanted to go after them and give them a piece of his mind. How dare they talk about his human that way?? What gave them the right? They didn’t even know her!

But before he could take a step in their direction, his manager shouted at him again, interrupting his train of thought. With a huff, he headed towards the dressing rooms instead. He’d just have to find those assholes later and teach ‘em to mind their manners.

——————

In the weeks that followed, Mammon couldn’t help but notice that something was a little...off...with Neru. Previously, she had been a bundle of energy - always smiling and laughing and teasing him. But recently? She just seemed more...subdued?

There were plenty of times he’d catch her with a blank look on her face as she stared at her reflection in various surfaces. And other times when he’d be talking to her, and she would seem to zone out, lost in her own thoughts. It also felt like she had to be avoiding him at RAD, and whenever he did manage to catch her, she would fidget nervously, glancing around the whole time they were together.

At first, he had tried to brush it off as weird human business. Maybe she was just stressed from an exam or something? But as time went on, it became clear that there was definitely a problem, and as her first man and Guardian, it was his job to pry it out of her, wasn’t it?

One evening after dinner, when Mammon was sure most of his brothers had to be asleep, he snuck over to Neru’s room, knocking lightly on the door.

“Oi! Neru! Open up!”

Pressing his ear to the door, Mammon could hear sounds of movement from the inside. A startled squeak, followed by some sniffling, and the shuffling of feet as Neru hurried to the door.

“What’s up, Mammon?” she greeted him with a smile, holding the door open just enough so they could talk.

“I wanna talk to ya, so let me in.”

“Oh, umm, I was just about to go to bed so….” Neru looked away. Normally she thought she was pretty good at keeping a straight face, not wanting to worry those around her and burden them with her troubles, but tonight she was just not in a good place mentally and knew she wouldn’t be able to keep up her facade.

“It’ll only take a minute, c’mon.”

“Sorry, Mammon. I’m just really tired. Goodnight,” she gave him her best, brightest smile before shutting the door.

Only, Mammon was much quicker than she had anticipated and he wasted no time sticking his foot over the threshold, preventing the door from closing.

“Why are ya actin’ so weird?”

“What? I’m not! Honestly! I’m just tired. It’s nothing.”

“Oh, um. Ok,” Mammon said, removing his foot from the doorway as he scanned Neru’s face for any sign that she would change her mind, “If ya don’t want to talk about it…”

He could tell she was lying, he wasn’t sure how he knew, but he did. And if she wasn’t comfortable opening up to him, there wasn’t really much he could do about it, was there? He just wanted to help her feel better, or fix whatever it was that was bothering her. And judging from the expression on her face right now, pressing her further would probably only hurt her more, which was the last thing he wanted to do.

The look on Mammon’s face when he pulled his foot back made Neru’s heart shatter. This wasn’t what she wanted at all. It was in fact the exact opposite of what she wanted. Torn between wanting to avoid the unpleasant feelings she had been trying to hide and her desire to not hurt Mammon, Neru panicked, instinctively reaching out to grab the hem of his jacket when he turned to leave.

“I...I…I…” she stuttered, desperate to try to explain things to him, but all the words caught in her throat. Her eyes started to fill with tears as she stared at his feet. She did not want to cry right then. She really really didn’t want to cry. But no matter how much she tried to will the tears away, they started to fall.

“Neru?” it didn’t take Mammon long to realize she was crying, and he immediately began to panic. Shit shit shit shit! He couldn’t tell if she was crying because of something he had done just now, or if this was why she had been acting all weird, and his mind was racing as he tried to puzzle things out.

Not knowing what else to do, he wrapped his arms around her, gently guiding her back into her room so he could close the door before anyone else saw her. When he tried to let go, she only clung to him tighter as she sobbed into his chest.

“I got ya, I got ya,” he whispered to her, wrapping his arms even more tightly around her in response, holding her close. He began to rub her back, just like she would do for him when he’d have a nightmare or a really crappy day, gently shushing her and reassuring her that he wasn’t going anywhere.

Neru tried to focus on the sound of Mammon’s voice as he spoke to her, trying in vain to calm herself down and regain control over her own emotions. But she had just been so stressed and exhausted, that her body refused to stop now that it had started. She was so embarrassed to be seen acting like such a child.

It wasn’t that she had a problem crying in front of Mammon, or talking to him for that matter, but the problems she was dealing with right now? They didn’t seem like the sort of things she deserved to be so upset about. At least not this upset. Mentioning it would only make Mammon feel bad, and she didn’t want to do that. It wasn’t like it was his fault, or something he could change.

“I’m sorry,” she finally mumbled, sniffling, as she continued to hide her face in Mammon’s shirt, refusing to look at him.

“It’s ok. But ya gotta tell me what’s goin’ on now. I ain’t leavin’ until you do,” he tightened his grip around her shoulders again, making sure she understood just how serious he was about this. It didn’t matter anymore if she didn’t want to talk about it, he couldn’t just walk away and leave her alone after what he had just witnessed.

With a sigh, she nodded against him. While Mammon usually made a point to avoid conflicts, he was extraordinarily persistent when he wanted to be and she knew he wasn’t about to let her talk her way out of this now. And if she was being honest, she was a tiny bit grateful for that right now.

Satisfied with her acknowledgment, Mammon led Neru to her bed, laying down on his side, and pulling her in beside him. He tried not to think about what exactly it was he was doing, he had more important things to worry about after all, like Neru’s well-being. Still, she noticed as she climbed in beside him under the blankets just how hard he was blushing, and a small giggle escaped her lips before she snuggled up next to him.

“So,” Mammon kissed the top of Neru’s head,” what’s up?”

“I heard you talking.”

“Talkin’? When?”

“The day we were at the shoot together.”

Mammon thought back to that day, nearly 3 weeks ago now, when she had gone with him for the first time. He had felt that had been a really good day. He certainly enjoyed himself, and she seemed to as well. But now that he thought about it, she had seemed a little off by the time they had got back home. At the time, he had just assumed that it was because she was tired since it had been such a long day.

And that’s when it clicked for him.

“Wait, you mean when ya went to the bathroom?”

“...yeah,” she replied, nodding meekly, gripping Mammon’s shirt just a little bit tighter.

“Those guys were just assholes. Don’t listen to ‘em. They don’t know what they’re talkin’ about.”

“It’s not like they were wrong though.”

“Bullshit. Of course they’re wrong. They don’t know anythin’ about ya.”

“...but you didn’t disagree. And I know I’m plain. And short. And…”

“Hey, stop it, seriously,” Mammon said, pulling back from Neru in an attempt to force her to look at him, “Don’t talk about yaself like that. I wanted ta beat the shit out of those guys ok? But my boss showed up and they left before I could say anythin’, alright? I don’t think that about you at all. And I don’t wanna hear ya sayin’ those things either.”

Neru was quiet for a moment, turning Mammon’s words over in her head and letting them sink into her heart. She wanted to believe him. She really did. But she knew herself too. And she knew how she looked, how even among humans she was a rather average girl. And compared to the demons with which she now resided, especially with Mammon? She knew he was way out of her league.

But she also knew that Mammon was a horrible liar. And there was no mistaking the sincerity in his voice just now. Regardless of anything else, he truly believed what he was saying.

“...do you mean that?” she mumbled.

“Yeah, I do. Will ya look at me?” Neru hesitantly raised her eyes to meet Mammon’s gaze and he continued, “I think you’re amazing. Like, really, really amazing,” he could feel his face heating up, but he kept going, “You’re beautiful. And funny. And kind. And I don’t know what I would do without ya.”

Tears started to well up in Neru’s eyes again, but for an entirely different reason than before. She could tell just how embarrassed he was right now, and it warmed her heart to see him still trying so hard to compliment and comfort her. As her tears started to fall, she buried her face into the crook of his neck. Mammon wrapped his arms around her once more, pressing another kiss to her head.

“I love you,” he whispered as Neru nuzzled against him, and breathed in his scent.

“I love you too, Mammon.”

[twinklelilstarkey]

The Least Favorite - Rafe Cameron

Pairing: Rafe Cameron x Reader

Words: 2.9k+

Summary: Y/N has dinner at the Cameron’s household, as Rafe’s girlfriend, and both Rose & Sarah are not big fans of her.

Warnings: Probable misspelling. Swearing? NON-CANON Cameron Family, especially Sarah, she’s a bitch here. Wheezie’s cuteness.

DO NOT REPOST, REWRITE OR TRANSLATE ANY OF MY WORK!

Part 2

“Stop it, Rafe, seriously” You say to Rafe while laughing and walking away from him.

You two had just come back from the beach and Rafe had the amazing idea of pinching you whenever you would be lost in your thoughts, knowing very well that you are ticklish in various places of your body.

Rafe takes off his helmet and gives you one of his signature smiles as a way to show you that he isn’t done with you. You pass him the helmet that you had been wearing on your drive back to his house and he grabs it after stepping off his bike.

You walk in front of him inside the house and Rose’s voice in the first thing you hear, making the two of you, roll your eyes.

“Rafe make sure to be wearing a t-shirt when walking inside the house, you never know when we have visitors” Her voice sounds from the living room, and it got closer as she finished her sentence, “Oh, Y/N… Haven’t seen you in a while”

You nod at her without saying a word and Ward appears behind his wife, also peeking to see you.

“Y/N!” He says excitedly before walking over to you and pulling you into a hug, “We believed you and Rafe weren’t dating anymore. You used to hang out here so many times”

“Yeah” You say while pulling away, “We’ve been hanging out more at my house… For no specific reason”

Oh, there is a specific reason, 100%. And that is that your house is, most of the time if not always, empty, giving you two a lot of freedom and silence to do something that would result, many times in being interrupted, when at the Cameron’s.

And no, they did not get the message when walking in on you mostly naked. Rose especially. She would obnoxiously knock on the locked door to then just ask Rafe if he could help her with carrying something.

You will never forget that. Not only was it annoying, but also extremely embarrassing.

“Why don’t you stay over for dinner?” Ward offers and Rafe holds in a frown.

There hasn’t been one family dinner with you present that didn’t end early. Rose and Sarah obviously hate you, for different reasons, and they like to make it very clear when spending time with you.

Sarah hates you over you two being old friends and you starting to date her brother. And Rose? Well, she just doesn’t like you. Rafe isn’t her favorite stepchild, therefore, she ends up hating you too.

“Sure” You answer with a fake smile, hating the way Rose is staring at you.

“Great, why don’t you two go take a shower and change back to your normal clothes, and we’ll see each other in… Maybe an hour?”

You nod at Ward and look back at Rafe, who just looks like he’s more than ready to get out of there. You give Ward and Rose another quick fake smile before grabbing Rafe’s hand and pulling him over to the stairs.

You ignore Rose’s whispers in disapproval to her husband and start making your way to Rafe’s room.

“Looks like you’re staying here whether you like it or not” Rafe teases you as you start walking through the hallway.

“Unfortunately,” You answer him.

Giggles fill the hallway as Sarah opens her bedroom door and you two frown when noticing each other’s presence.

Before you two could start expressing your hatred towards each other, Rafe opens his bedroom door and pulls you in. Sarah glares at you until you get off her field of vision and the door is closed behind you right as you step in the room.

Rafe lets go of your arm and you jump into his bed, laying on the comfortable mattress and soft sheets, sideways. You close your eyes in satisfaction and then you feel something, or, in this case, someone, heavy laying right on top of you.

“Rafe you have the whole rest of the bed to lay on” You say as your boyfriend snuggles his face onto the crook of your neck.

“You’re more comfortable” He says with his voice muffled.

You wrap your arms around his neck, and he moves his head back to look at you.

“Who’s going to take the shower first?” You ask him, ruining the mood before it could build itself.

“The both of us can take a shower at the same time” Rafe says before pecking your lips.

“No, we cannot”

“Why not?” He asks with his smirk slowly becoming a smile, hovering over you and moving his lips closer to you.

A knock on the door stops you from answering and you smile as you hear Wheezie’s voice.

“Hey, Rafe? Is Y/N here?” She asks from the other side of the door and Rafe takes a deep breath before putting his hands next to your body and pulling himself up to stand.

You stare at Rafe’s bare back as he walks to the door. He opens it and you see Wheezie right away, her eyes travel from her brother over to you laying on the bed comfortably.

“Y/N!” She says excitingly before shoving Rafe to the side and jumping in his bed to lay down beside you. Her arms hug you from the side and you smile at her.

“Hi!”

You wrap one of your arms around her as well and Rafe sighs while closing his door.

“Well, if you two would excuse me, I’m going to take my shower” He says in a low voice and you chuckle at his annoyance as he makes his way to his closet. Knowing very well, now, that this was the reason you were talking about.

You follow him with your gaze to stare at his annoyed expression and you can’t help but find it amusing.

“Do you want to know the new gossip in my school?” Wheezie asks you and you back at her, still smiling.

“Sure”

(…)

After taking a shower and changing into clean clothes, in your case, changing to some shorts and one of Rafe’s shirts, you two walked out of the bedroom right in time.

You could still hear Sarah and her friends all the way back in her bedroom, laughing and talking as loud as they could.

As soon as you made your way downstairs, trying not to show your annoyance towards the middle Cameron sibling, Rose sets her eyes right on you.

“Finally!” She exclaims, “Where’s Sarah?”

“In her room?” Rafe answers in question. ‘Since when does he know about his sister whereabouts more than anyone else?’, he thought.

While you on the other hand, only thought: ‘can’t she hear the girl’s screams and laughter from here?’

Rose moved right past you to go and look for her stepdaughter, who refuses to acknowledge that she is the last one that needs to come down to have dinner.

You lean back on Rafe as you wait at the lobby of the house. Your back is glued to his chest while his hands teasingly move over to your shoulders to squeeze them. You turn back to look at him once bored, and grab his hands, moving them away from your shoulders.

You lean your chin on his sternum and wrap your arms around his torso, breathing the smell of his cologne fresh on his skin.

“Where is Wheezie?” You ask him, since the last time you saw the girl was before you went to take your shower.

“Ran back to her room as soon as she was alone with me” He answers, and you roll your eyes at his choice of words.

You’re sure Wheezie didn’t go back to her room because she was sitting alone with Rafe, she probably just wanted to go get changed or something.

“Stop it. Not everyone in your family hates you” You whisper to him, “Only Sarah and Rose”

Rafe doesn’t answer and lowers his head over to yours, making you smile at him. You hop on your tippy toes to give him a quick kiss and before he could do anything back, somebody’s steps are heard at the top of the staircase.

Rose and Sarah appear and both you and Rafe move a bit back from each other.

Sarah’s friends are also standing behind her, probably on their way back to their houses, and they are now severely silent. It’s like a totally different friend group.

“Wheezie?” Rose calls over when she steps down of the stairs.

The smaller girl peeks out of the living room and smiles a bit at her very frustrated mother, she walks over to you and Rafe and leans on to your side.

“Let’s all go to the table, come on” Rose says when taking her eyes off her daughter.

You move your hands over Wheezie’s shoulders as she does what her mom orders and she practically pulls you with her to outside of the house. Rafe follows you as Sarah says her goodbyes to her friends, and as soon as she’s done with them, she stares at her brother’s back in annoyance.

You take a seat next to Wheezie as she continues to smile and giggle at you, and Rafe does the same, sitting on your other side, laying his arm on the back of your chair. Rose and Sarah sit in front of you and Rafe, and Ward appears right from inside the house.

“What a sight, all my family seated for dinner” He says out loud with a quite joking tone and Sarah rolls her eyes.

“Let’s just ignore that some of us aren’t a part of this family as much as they would like to” She comments in a murmur, but loud enough for anyone to here.

You and Rafe look up from your phones at her with a serious expression and she offers you a quick fake smile.

“They’ve been dating for some time, sweetheart. Y/N is already part of the family” Ward comments to his daughter, who shrugs at his words.

Rose leans back on her chair at her husbands’ words and looks over at the door of the house to see if the maids are finally coming with the food. She doesn’t care for the conversation, anyways. In her eyes, this relationship won’t last.

After some seconds of awkward silence, Ward looks at everyone at the table and tries to ignore everyone’s expressions of annoyance and hatred towards one another.

A maid steps out of the house with some of the food and Rose almost sighs out of relief. ‘Finally!’

More maids step out of the house and they quickly surround each member of the Cameron family and you to serve the warm food. You thank them, just like some members of the family (except for Sarah and Rose) and everyone dives in their meal.

While sitting in the silence and some annoying presences, you looked out at the sea, watching various type of boats pass by. Some more expensive looking than others, but you can’t help but notice how some people stared at the family sitting on the porch, most in awe.

“So, Y/N” Rose starts, looking up from her food at you, “Have you decided on a college yet?”

“Yes, actually” You answer, gaining Sarah’s and Ward’s attention, “UNC in Chapel Hill”

“Isn’t that-” Ward starts and Rose finishes the sentence for him.

“The one Rafe is going”

Sarah rolls her eyes and looks down at her food, not finding the conversation good enough to interrupt. Ward nods at you and then gives you a small approving smile.

“That’s great” He says, filling the awkward silence at the table.

You nod at him with a small smile as well and look over at Rose, is still looking at you.

“I hope Rafe didn’t influence you into that choice” She says.

“He didn’t actually” You answer, grabbing your glass and sipping your drink, “My parents did”

Rose nods, clearing her throat, as if to show that she heard you, yet wants to say something about it.

“Why not out of state? Or any other in North Carolina?” She asks.

“I didn’t want to”

“Why no-”

“I think that’s enough questions, sweetheart” Ward says, stopping his wife before she could continue her interrogation.

“Just curious, that’s all”

“I understand, but it’s a good college. Even if it’s just to be close to Rafe, she’s choosing one of the bests” Ward says, defending you.

Rose doesn’t answer and Rafe leans back on his chair, already done with his food and, unfortunately, this conversation. Sarah looks up at him and then at you, but before she could say anything, Rose lifts her head, interest written on her face.

“How did you two meet again?” Rose asks and you can’t help but chuckle softly at her question.

“They’ve been dating for years, honey. You are only interested now?” Ward asks, finding it funny as well.

“Through Sarah” You answer before Rose had to justify her question.

“Oh, yeah. How could have any of you forgotten?” Sarah asks sarcastically, wiggling her way into the conversation, grabbing everyone’s attention, “She literally used me to get through to Rafe”

Rafe rolls his eyes at his sister’s words and she catches it.

“Don’t act like it’s not true”

Everyone in this table is more than used to this conversation. At least for the first year of dating Rafe, this conversation was all that you heard at the dinner table.

Rose is already regretting making her question and pleading God, through her mind, to shut the mouth of the girl next to her.

“We all know this” Ward says, looking at his daughter, “There’s no need to bring it up again”

“I think there is” Sarah says, making you sigh and Wheezie look up from her phone, “You used our 5 years of being best friends to go fuck my brother. How can you even sleep at night?”

You grab your cup and lean back on the chair, making Rafe almost smirk as you get comfortable to answer her back.

“I sleep very well, actually”

“Oh, I’m sure. Fake is just your natural state of mind”

“You know me so well” You answer sarcastically.

“I do. I had to deal with you for years, remember? I know you better than you do yourself”

“I’m sure”

“You’re so infuriating, you know that?”

“Yap”

“I-”

“Okay, girls. I think we’re done here” Rose says, while Ward stares at the two of you, interested.

“But I-” Sarah tries to say.

“Just shut up, Sarah” Wheezie says from beside you, with a ‘tired-of-this-bullshit’ tone, catching everyone by surprise.

Everyone stares at the smaller girl, some with widen eyes, and she quietly stares back. Wheezie is never one to defend anyone in arguments, she just sits back and watches, but, for the looks of it, not today.

“So, you’re on her side, now?” Sarah screams (aka, screeches).

“For fuck’s sake” Rafe whispers while staring at the ground, beside you.

“What, Rafe? Why are you saying that? Please enlighten me!”

“Jesus Christ, Sarah. Everyone is just over with your bullshit” You answer while staring back at her, “Can you please just shut the fuck up and mind your own business?”

“I am, actually” She quickly replies, “Because it started being my business right as you started to use-”

“Use you, Sarah” You finish for her, “We already know that! You don’t need to say it every fucking second of your day”

Sarah is fuming while looking at you. If it was possible, smoke would be coming out of her ears from how much her blood is boiling with anger.

While everyone else at the table just stares at you two, not even moving a muscle. Some finding it so entertaining that they can’t look away and others just want it to end as soon as possible.

“Maybe I do! Since you seem to like to ignore everything I sa-”

“You’re kinda hard to ignore, you know?” You ask with a calmer tone, “Your squeaky voice just enters everybody’s ears like god damn needles” You point at your ear, mimicking the needle.

“Oh really?” She asks with a scoff.

“Want me to record it for you?” You ask sarcastically, “Maybe you can get a grip on how annoying you are”

Sarah takes a deep breath as those words come out of your mouth and as she was about to reach for her full glass of water, a hand stops her – Rafe’s.

“You’re not throwing it at her” He says with a somewhat annoyed yet calm tone.

“And why not?” She asks while trying to yank her hand away from his grip, but failing.

“Because some of us are just quicker” You reply while standing up, pushing the chair back with your legs and gripping your own cup.

Water splashes with Sarah’s face, making everyone, but Rafe, loudly gasp.

“Hopefully this will help you with waking up to the world and realizing that it doesn’t revolve around you,” You exclaim, putting down the glass cup back on the table, “And for fuck’s sake, understand that I did not use you to date your brother”

With that, you walk around your seat and away from the table, planning on walking home after all this bullshit.

Sarah stares at the table in silence, water dripping down your face and hair. Rafe had let go of her wrist right as the water collided with her face, obviously also shocked with what you just did, but not really surprised.

Everyone’s face, except for Ward’s and Rafe’s, are formed with widen eyes and open mouths.

Rafe moves away from the table before standing up on his feet, grabbing your phone from the table (knowing very well that you forgot it after all of this). He shoves it in his pocket and walks off to follow you to the driveway of his home.

“Well,” Ward starts, leaning back on his chair, “Does anyone want dessert?”

- - - - -

I feel like I could’ve done a better argument between them but for some reason, I just didn’t have that much imagination for insults.

Disclaimer: I love Sarah, I really do. I just like making her a bitch in my imagines for no specific reason.

[bigbadmercer]

Cross Our Hearts 2021

Okay, so I thought I’d have a go at writing. I’ve debated it for a while and this seemed like a good opportunity. Any feedback is welcome!

Day 1 - Angst

Games: Prototype/Assassin’s Creed (Protocreed)

The past few months had been pretty crazy for Desmond. After saving the entire planet, it was decided that a change of scene for him and his fellow Assassins would be nice; and so they now had a hideout in Manhattan. It was a decently sized, abandoned apartment. As their luck would have it, they decided to show up just as a viral outbreak had ravaged the city.  The virus on it’s own was bad enough, but a few days into their stay they had learned that two organisations involved (Gentek and Blackwatch) were riddled with Templars. For Desmond, this meant many missions, a few injuries, two or three surprise encounters with the infected (during which he absolutely did NOT scream) and a lot of meetings to summarise each mission. 

Oh, and he met a super-powered virus freak.

He remembered the moment vividly. He’d managed to sneak into a Gentek facility and was making his way back out with the information he’d gotten his hands on. As Desmond was leaving, an alarm started blaring throughout the entire building, accompanied by red flashing lights. Desmond paused, wondering if he had been the one to set off the alarm. He turned over his shoulder just in time to see a group of armed Blackwatch soldiers round the corner. His stomach sank - he was good at fighting, but he was guy with a blade attached to his arm. He froze and watched as the soldiers ran towards his hiding place in the shadows, getting closer, so close he could hear their heavy breathing...

And then they ran straight past him. Puzzled, Desmond turned to follow their path with his eyes. He was met with a sight that made his heart leap into his throat. A man, just a bit shorter than Desmond, stood opposite the soldiers, who had now stopped. The man was wearing a pair of jeans, a black and red leather jacket, a hoodie (wasn’t that funny?), and a shirt with the collar up. Weird. However, this is not what drew Desmond’s attention, for when he looked at the soldier closest to this man, he saw a blade sticking out through his back. A long blade, almost as long as he was tall, coming from the man’s arm. No, it was the man's arm. He was too shocked to move. He stood and watched in horror as the man cut the soldiers to pieces like wet tissue paper, the once grey hallway newly painted red with blood.

Naturally, they got to talking, and it turned out they both hated the Templars. Well, Alex (the man had awkwardly introduced himself) hated Blackwatch and Gentek. But it didn’t take much discussion for them to realise they were more or less on the same side. Alex helped Desmond through the increased security so that he could get out of the base with his precious info. Then, Alex gave him the number to a phone he’d gotten hold of and left almost as quickly as he’d appeared not ten minutes ago.

Fast forward a couple of months (and a lot of missions) down the line and Desmond was sort of friends with Alex. He said sort of, because Alex would never admit it. But Alex was friendly with him. What Desmond initially interpreted as rudeness was actually social awkwardness. Alex wasn’t deliberately a dick - not most of the time, anyway. He just didn’t have a clue about how to talk to people. And he had a good reason, Desmond thought. Alex wasn’t human; he was the Blacklight virus. He was made to be a killing machine. He was a killing machine- a pretty damn good one, too. Alex never stopped. He was in his element surrounded by enemies. He didn’t sleep and he couldn’t stay in the same space for a long time. He’d soon grow restless. Despite all this, he’d developed his own mind and thoughts.

So when Desmond found him sat on top of a roof, looking rather still apart from his swinging legs, he knew something was wrong.

“Hey, buddy. You been parkouring without me?“ Desmond called out softly, hoping he’d be able to lighten the gloomy mood that seemed to be clinging to Alex.

Alex didn’t answer.

“Alex?“ Desmond moved to sit beside the virus-man, a concerned expression falling over his face. He was answered only with a soft grunt from the other. “Hey, what’s wrong, Alex?“

“Nothing. I’m fine.“ Alex replied in a voice not too dissimilar to a growl - his normal tone of voice.

Desmond pulled a face. “Dude, I know you enough by now to know that you sitting up here alone means you’re thinking about something. Probably not something good. Knowing you, something horrible, actu-”

“Shut up.“ Alex snapped. He shifted just enough that the light of a nearby billboard lit up his face, allowing Desmond to see his expression. He’d expected Alex to look angry, or maybe even confused. But Alex, he looked... he looked miserable. 

“Whoa, hey... I’m sorry. Seriously, Alex, what’s wrong? You look really upset.“ For a moment, Desmond debated putting an arm around Alex, but decided he liked his arm where it was - meaning, attached to his body - and thought better of it. 

Alex turned his head away to hide his face from Desmond. He stayed silent for a few minutes. Desmond sat by him, also silent, waiting patiently for Alex to answer. Then finally...

“I never got a chance.“ Alex mumbled, his voice uncharacteristically soft.

“A chance to what, Alex?“ Desmond spoke gently. The last thing he wanted to do was scare Alex off by interrogating him.

“Be human.“ Alex sighed heavily, then lifted his head slightly to get a better view of the people walking on the street below. “I have so many memories. Happy memories... But they’ll never be mine. I had a cross-hair on my back the moment I woke up in the morgue because... I’m a monster.“ The last few words were spoken so quietly they were almost a whisper. And, oh, if Alex looked miserable before, now he looked like he might cry. 

“Oh, Alex...“ And before he could stop himself, Desmond was gently pulling Alex into an awkward sideways hug. Alex tensed immediately and Desmond felt tendrils squirming uncomfortably under his arms. He was about to pull away when he felt the squirming stop, then Alex practically melted into his hold.

Alex was slightly cold to the touch, which surprised Desmond. He’d always thought Alex would be warm. For a moment, Desmond couldn’t fathom how Alex had refrained from chopping his head off, let alone how he had managed to relax. Then it hit him... This was the first time in this Alex’s life that he’d ever had any physical contact that wasn’t intended to hurt him. This was the first time he'd felt comfort from another. Even though he'd never admit it, Alex needed this.

“Alex, you are not a monster. You aren’t the mindless killer that they tried to make you into. You hear me?” Desmond spoke quietly. He didn’t get a verbal reply, but he suddenly had two cold arms wrapped around him and a head resting on his shoulder.

“Hey, we have the day off tomorrow. How about we stay in and watch a movie or something? Would you like that?“ Desmond asked tentatively. 

“Yeah, I’d like that.“ Alex mumbled into Desmond’s shoulder. 

They stayed like that for a while afterwards before Desmond eventually coaxed Alex into the hideout to lay down on the couch. Desmond covered him with a fluffy blanket, which earned him a funny look from Alex. Desmond only chuckled at this as he sat beside Alex. He talked quietly to Alex about completely random subjects. Alex relaxed at this, even gave some sarcastic comments where he could. Eventually, Desmond paused his rambling to check the time. 12:43am. Damn.

“Hey, Alex, I’m gonna hit the hay. You okay with that, or do you want me to stay?“ He heard no reply. “Alex?“ He turned to look toward the couch. The sight he was met with was very unexpected.

There was Alex, asleep. Desmond smiled softly  and moved to pull the blanket up to Alex’s shoulders. It seemed he was out cold, completely unaware of the world around him.

“Goodnight, Alex.“ Desmond whispered, before leaving to go to his bed. He fell asleep quickly. He was tired, but he was also happy that Alex had finally found peace.

...Or so it had seemed. Desmond awoke not long later to the sound of distressed yell, followed by tearing and hurried footsteps. He wasn’t the only one that heard it, because soon, he was running out of his room along with Rebecca, Lucy, and Shaun. The other three got a slight head start on him. Desmond looked to the other Assassins, who had their eyes fixed on the couch, all wearing worried expressions. Desmond moved forward to follow their gaze.

He saw an empty couch with several long, deep claw marks in it. A quick scan of the room and a wide open window confirmed his worries:

Alex was gone.

[kpopmalereader]

a friend, pt.2 ; ten

pt.1

• summary: a friend, pt.2 • pairing: ten x male!reader • word count: 2620 • to do

Lucas brushes his teeth, leaning one hand on your bathroom counter. You sit on your floor beside the door, throwing a bouncy ball, letting it bounce aimlessly and fly back at you.

“I don’t think anything’s going to change,” Lucas speaks around his toothbrush.

“It already has!” You throw the ball harder and bump your head against the wall. “We’re still friends, technically, but,” You sigh and stand. “He’s awkward and doesn’t talk to me as much. Before this, any time anyone mentioned they were going somewhere, he would ask me if I wanted to go too, but he hasn’t done that since I told him.”

Lucas wants to object but can’t speak before you continue.

“He made plans for me to record more of his dances, but suddenly he had someone else to do it and didn’t need me.” You shake your head. Lucas watches you walk, but you ignore the concerned “you’re acting stupid” look he gives you and walk back into your room. “I should’ve kept my mouth shut.”

Lucas washes his mouth out and leans against the sink. He breathes in and out for a few seconds, going through a hundred possibilities of what he could say or do to make you feel better, to make the whole situation better.

Since you got in the car after the mall with that distant look, Lucas knew what happened. Guilt has been trickling through him since that day. It gets even worse when you have moments like this. Moments where you wish nothing more than for everything to go back to the way it was. He pushed you to share your feelings. He told you it was worth it.

He thought it was worth it. There was a part of him, and he’s more than sure there was a part of you that thought Ten might have feelings for you.

*

“And it’s not like I just told him I liked him.” You continue a conversation Lucas didn’t know you were having. You’re waving a French fry around. “I confessed tons of feelings. The way he made me feel and everything I liked about him. Everything.”

Lucas makes eye contact with you, and you snap your jaw down on the fry you’re holding.

“Add even more embarrassment on getting rejected and half-losing a very close friend.” You lift your eyebrows. “How fun.”

He smiles at you and shakes his head. “Let’s go do something, instead of sticking around here talking about this. We can go for a walk, or shopping, arcade, the movies.”

You nod. You’re trying to give it a chance. “Maybe.”

Lucas points at you. “Or, we can go out to a party-”

“Movies.” You nod your head. “That sounds perfect.”

“Hey, a party would be a good way to get distracted by other cute guys.”

“We can go watch a movie that has nothing to do with guys.” You offer. “I’ll start looking.”

After you eat, you choose whatever animated movie looks most exciting and head to the movie theater. Lucas pays for the tickets and the snacks, getting you a large drink and an even larger popcorn. You pick out two boxes of candies, and as you contemplate which one to buy, Lucas places both on the counter, grabbing another one of your favorites. He smiles at you, ignoring your protests, and picks out his candy.

After spending too much money on food right after lunch, you head to the screen room. Lucas lets you pick out a spot you think is perfect. (Even if he disagrees with the choice, you choose the last row, he was always fond of the middle.)

For two hours, your mind is entirely devoid of any thoughts about Ten. The movie ends. You look at each other and begin to laugh. The anthropomorphized characters and their lives have brought both of you close to tears.

You gather the leftover candy and the trash. You and Lucas walk out of the theater, ranting and raving about the movie’s aesthetic and the different theories you have for the characters. You head into the mall next to the movie theater, still talking animatedly about the characters you connected with and the scenes you liked more than anything.

The doors glide open and reveal an almost full food court that you have to traverse, avoiding large groups and the urge to get pretzel bites even when you just had a large bucket of popcorn and 2½ bags of candy.

You pass by a music shop, the records lining the walls catch your eye, and you open your mouth to ask Lucas if he wants to stop. From the corner of your eye, you can see his face fall for a quick second before he recovers and tries to usher you inside as quickly as he can. Your eyebrows furrow down, and you turn your head. Lucas tries to block your view but is too late.

Ten sits with someone around your age. They’re facing sideways, Ten’s guest’s face more obscured than his. You shake your head and turn back to the record shop.

“Want to buy something?” You smile and shrug. “I’ll pay this time.”

“Y/N…” Lucas starts. You roll your eyes and move past him. “Come on.”

You shop around for an hour before you decide to leave. As hard as you were trying to hide how much seeing Ten affected you, Lucas could still see you were hurting, and when you brought up the idea of going home, he relented.

You hugged him when he dropped you off, seeming okay. You weren’t as happy as when you were only worried if the main character of the movie you were watching was going to return home alright, but you weren’t as heartbroken and hurt as before the movie.

Lucas walks into the dorm. He rubs at his face and slumps on the couch. The man of the hour joins him not too long afterward. He’s slightly more bashful than he would typically be. Neither state the obvious.

Ten asks a question after a few minutes. “How has Y/N been?”

“Doing better.” Lucas shrugs. He scrolls on his phone casually, but all of his attention is on Ten. “We went to the movies today. Hung out at the mall after.”

Ten can’t hide how his expression changes at the mention of the mall. Lucas nods to confirm his thinking.

“I didn’t-” Ten starts. He stutters a few sounds, never forming full words. “I’m not-”

Lucas shrugs and plays it off better than Ten did. “He was alright. A little conflicted about his feelings, obviously, but he’s doing pretty good.”

Ten truly means what he says next. “That’s, that’s good. I haven’t seen or talked to him in a while, figured it was for the best, but I’m glad he’s well.”

Lucas doesn’t reply, thinking over the past few conversations he and you have had.

Ten sighs. “Seriously, Lucas, I still care about him, just not in that way.”

Lucas stands up. “I get it, but I’m not the one who doubts it.”

*

Winwin and Ten walk through the hallway, discussing their new specialty dance. They open the door to a completely dark house, except for the living room TV. Winwin and Ten can’t tell what’s going on, but the tense air emitting from the room clues them in. They walk closer, and Winwin looks over each of them before retreating into his room to take a shower.

Ten, however, examines everyone before his eyes fall on you. You sit between Xiaojun’s legs on his reclined chair. Your hand covers your lower face, your eyes concentrating on the screen.  Two characters face-off, and you make a hissing noise. A jarring noise comes from the TV, and your hand slaps down on Xiaojun’s. You begin to use his arm as a shield and suppress a groan. You wait for a few seconds before poking your eyes out just above his arm.

Xiaojun holds your hand and wraps his other arm around your stomach, pulling you against his chest tighter. You whine, eyes squinting. The monster emerges from the darkness. You gasp and turn your head, covering your face with everything at your disposal.

“Tell me when it goes away.”

Xiaojun pats your head in comfort but giggles nonetheless. “You can’t hide from every scary part.”

“Watch me.” You mumble.

Ten stops his staring and slips his shoes off. Questions swirl in his mind, and he tries to stomach the possibilities. It’s not his place. At least you’re coming over again.

He walks past you. You’re the only one who doesn’t notice, still buried in Xiaojun’s chest.

He takes a long shower, not emerging until the movie is over. When he does come out to get some food, you’re no longer on Xiaojun’s lap, but you’re still pretty close to him. You sit smushed together on the same seat, your feet knocking into his on the recliner. He’s explaining something with large movements and dramatic facial expressions, and you’re hooked on his every word. His words enrapture you, eyes following his actions.

Ten walks in front of you towards the kitchen. Your eyes flit up and down when you notice him, going back to Xiaojun’s story as quickly as you were distracted.

Ten chews on his cheek and goes about making his food. He’s beginning to ignore the soft gasps you elicit from whatever Xiaojun says before a laugh bubbles out of you. It goes from a quiet giggle to a barking laugh, uncontrollable. Ten looks around the corner for a second, and you’re doubled over. You grip your stomach. Xiaojun’s looking at you fondly, and Ten turns away.

Ten moves back to his food, ignoring the pit forming in his stomach.

Was your relationship with Xiaojun always so close? What’s so funny? Why does this make him feel so frustrated? He’s happy you’re coming back. He’s happy you’re happy. Everyone is happy.

*

“Alright,” The waiter nods his head at Lucas and turns to you. “And what will you have tonight?”

The waiter speaks slow towards you, raising an eyebrow with a half-smirk.

You stutter and order your food quickly. Your eyes widen, and you shoot a look at Lucas, shaking your head. You scroll through your phone, trying to ignore the lauding and looks you get from the others. You scratch your neck and look around the restaurant.

Ten grips his cup, taking a long, slow drink. He resists the urge to roll his eyes at such a public accost, literally biting his tongue.

You finish your food with some more flirting from the waiter. He pushes his number towards you as he picks up the last of your plates. You stuff it in your pocket before Lucas can reach for it, hoping no one besides Lucas sees it. Based on the immediate raised-brow eye contact Kun makes with you, that’s false hope.

You leave the restaurant behind everyone else, crumpling and straightening out the paper in your pocket.

Winwin falls back, stepping in line with you. He doesn’t say anything, but you can feel the question he wants to ask.

“I don’t know if I will call him.”

“He’s cute.” Winwin states. “Flirty. You seem to like that.”

You roll your eyes at him and kick at a pebble. You walk along for a few minutes, the boys ahead of you in their own conversation.

“I’m still…” You pick at your finger-nails. “I don’t feel as bad.”

Winwin nods. “I can tell.”

You pull the paper out. “Still not ready for this.”

“It’s understandable. You liked you-know-who for a while, I’ve had crushes before, and sometimes you need to give it time.” Winwin pats your shoulder, looking at you in earnest. “We understand, but we’re still your friends, and we will make fun of you drastically for being flirted in the middle of a restaurant! I mean, can you believe that?

You shove his shoulder and shake your head.

“You’re a looker,” Winwin hums. “It’s not a surprise.”

The sudden redness of your face makes him start to laugh

Ten walks beside Hendery and Yangyang. He only half-listens to their conversation, too busy eavesdropping on you and Winwin.

You and Winwin try to speak quietly, but he can still hear your hesitance in following through on the waiter’s solicitation. He knows you’re talking about him. Something in his stomach churns. He’s the reason you might turn down that advance. He hasn’t decided if it’s a good or a bad thing.

He’s the one who turned you down. He saw the way you looked at him, how fast your face fell before you recovered, how your voice cracked when you said you were just friends. He’s the one who did that, so why is how close you’ve been with Xiaojun a problem? Why does the way you laugh and smile with Winwin elicit a strange mixture of jealously and happiness? Why, when he went on a date with someone he previously liked and was excited to be with, his mind was full of your smile and the way you always knew what he wanted to say? And when he found out you were at the mall with Lucas, his mind went blank, and he wanted nothing more than to cut off all contact with the person he was with and tell you it meant nothing?

Did you even care? If he told you what his mind was doing to him, would you believe him? Would it matter? Is he only being protective of you as a friend? Does he even deserve a chance with you after completely disregarding what you said before? He didn’t even give your confession a chance back then. Now when you’re finally moving on, and you have the same smile you used to, is he going to strip that away again?

Ten’s walk slows, and Hendery and Yangyang move ahead of him. He doesn’t realize he’s falling behind. He doesn’t know he’s not paying attention.

That is until he’s yanked back by a hand pulling at his jacket hood. He’s knocked back into reality before a telephone pole knocks him out. His eyes focus on the metal he almost ran into, hardly three inches from it.

He looks to his side, seeing your hand still holding on to his jacket. You seem concerned, one eyebrow raised. Your mouth is moving, but it takes him until your question is asked before his mind registers it.

“Wha-”

“Are you okay? Did you hit your head?”

“No.” Ten answers. “No. I was just distracted. Thank you.

“No problem.” You straighten out his jacket and nod your head. “Be careful.”

You start walking with Winwin once more, restarting your previous conversation. Ten shakes his head free of his thoughts. Lucas makes eye contact with him. Ten smiles and plays it off, jogging up to join Kun.

*

“Do you think, if Ten liked you now, you would think about dating him?” Lucas asks.

You look at him with a confused expression, wondering what angle he’s playing. “I don’t want to think about that. It’s not worth it.”

Lucas shrugs. You pull a shirt from the rack to examine it. Lucas shakes his head at the choice, and you put it back.

“It was just a question.”

“I don’t know.” You flick through the different clothes, eyes glossy. “I still have feelings for him, but it’s difficult for me to think he would develop feelings for me. I think I would always question the intention. I don’t know.”

You move to the next rack. It’s an obvious sign.

Lucas picks up the shirt you picked earlier. “I guess the shirt isn’t that bad.”

[delaber]

Blurred Lines

Rafael Casal x Reader

Pairing: Rafael Casal x Reader

Note: Thanks for the prompts! This was fun! Smut prompts can be found here. Feel free to send me more. Angst prompts can be found on my masterlist.

Words: 6.4K

Warnings: A bit of blood and a lot of smut (my buzzwords, apparently)

Tagging: @exrthangel @theatrenerd86​ @lonelydance​ @ohsoverykeri​ @summerofsnowflakes​ @ramp-it-up​ @alexander-hamilhoe​ @honeysucklechocolatedrippin​ @riiyy​ @mysearchforgratification​ @janthony-stan

Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck. Rafa had truly done it this time. He had truly fucked up. Stepped in a pile of shit. Screwed the pooch. Whatever you wanted to call it. All because of a woman in his life who he had never truly appreciated before.

You.

He had always prided himself on his ability to stay cool, calm, and collected when it came to women, but suddenly you had shown up and it had changed everything. Well, he had known you since high school, so you hadn't suddenly shown up per se, but suddenly you had shown up almost naked! Gulp. He couldn't believe he hadn't seen it before. He had always known that you were fine, but it had still taken him almost ten years to realise that you were indeed very, very, very fine!

You had been alluring all summer but for some reason, today was extra torturous: the skimpy little bathing suit tight against your body, how it hugged your tits so he could see your hard nipples through the wet fabric as you emerged from the pool. How it rested against the wonderful shape of your ass. Your skin all wet and slippery. How easy it'd be to just wrap his arms around you and carry you to one of the bedrooms in Diggs' new house. How he could easily make you moan his name repeatedly while he did wonders to your tight little body. Fuck.

Since the day he'd met you, Rafa had always found you insanely cute and funny so naturally he had turned up the charm whenever you were around. You had picked up on it quite fast, had challenged him, and within the first few weeks of your friendship, it had become a continuous game between you; who could flirt the most? Who could make the other person squirm in their own skin? It had always been in good fun and it had never lead to anything apart from whispered sentences late at night and sporadic drunk kisses in the dark. But never more. He had made sure of that.

Of course Rafa had spent some of his teenage years wondering what it would be like to delve into you - but seeing this side to you - seeing you all grown-up and sexy like this just hit differently. He had had a hard time all summer trying to stay as far away from you as possible to not fuck up. Not because he thought he couldn't convince you to spend the night with him, but because he wasn't really sure of the repercussions of sleeping with one of his best friends. At first, he had thought that he just needed to get it out of his system and he had experienced some wonderful sessions of self-relief while imagining you doing all kinds of stuff to him, but after almost three months of lonely nights with the image of your body glued to the back of his eyelids, he realised that he was indeed royally fucked.

From a distance, Rafa watched you neatly lie down your pool towel on a sun bed, in the process flashing your perfect shapes for him. He was well aware that he had been staring at you for quite some time now, but he was wearing his sunglasses and they had been known to conceal a wandering eye or two in the past so he felt safe looking at you from the other end of Diggs' yard. And concealment was of the utmost crucial importance because right now he absolutely could not look away from you: your well-shaped bottom was strutting in the air almost as if inviting him to touch it. He imagined you looking over you shoulder with heavy-hooded eyelids calling him over while touching yourself. He would walk over to you, yank your bathing suit aside, and spread your legs apart for him on the flimsy sun bed. He would delve into you from behind and caress your throat with his lips while you moaned with imminent pleasure. You would—

He suddenly realised how creepy he was being; luring at fine women from a distance?! Pull yourself together, Casal!

With a small shuffle, he tore his gaze away from you and poured himself the drink that he had been meaning to mix before you had stolen away his attention. Vodka Redbull. A horrible drink, really, but he needed the pick-me-up to get over last night's hangover. Sunglasses and advil weren't really doing the trick today.

"She's extra fine this summer isn't she?" Rafa heard his best friend comment beside him.

"Who?" Rafa said quietly as if he had no idea who Diggs was talking about.

Diggs shot Rafa an unimpressed look, "bro, I know you think you're subtle about it, but I've caught you slipping all summer."

Rafa knew his cover was blown. He had never been able to hide anything from his best friend. With a sigh, he mumbled "Has it really been that obvious?"

"I'm not sure if anybody else has noticed but I sure have," Diggs snickered, "you are so smitten!"

"Fuck off bro, I'm not smitten. I could've bagged her ages ago if I wanted to."

"So you wouldn't mind if I walked up to her and made a move?" Diggs arched an eyebrow.

"No," Rafa said, the lie thick in his throat, "- or of course I would mind. It would wound my prospects of ever getting to live out this dirty little fantasy I have in my head, wouldn't it?" he chuckled as he tried to save his obvious lie.

"Oh my, I don't think I've seen you this desperate since... well - ever," Diggs laughed, "and I know she's into you too. Has been for ages. Go turn up the charm for fuck's sake!"

Rafa shot his friend a sideways glance, "we've known her since forever."

"So?"

"A compelling counter-point," Rafa rolled his eyes with a small smirk, "you almost have me convinced."

"Shut up man," Diggs laughed before he continued, "I mean, you've never cared about awkward mornings before. Why do you suddenly care about it with her?"

"She's a good friend," Rafa said quietly.

"Okay, I know what you're thinking; that the absolute worst case scenario is that you guys will never talk to each other again - which, might I add, is highly unlikely!" he quickly added when he saw that Rafa was about to interject. Diggs continued, "you have the same group of friends. You see each other all the time. It simply won't happen. So in my opinion, the worst case scenario is not that you will never talk to each other again, it will in fact be a few months of awkwardness before things bounce back. Who cares? You haven't talked all summer because you're having a hard time keeping it in your pants. You can go on and have a few months of awkwardness afterwards too if it turns out to be weird between you."

"You really think that?" Rafa eyed his best friend for any sign of doubt.

"I'm sure of it," Diggs said resolutely, "you need to give it a shot before someone else comes along and snatches her before your eyes. I know you like her more than what you're telling me."

Rafa had to give it to Diggs; this time, he actually did make a compelling point. "Yeah alright," he groaned before he made a quick decision; he downed the horrible vodka Redbull, mixed two tequila sunrises - your favourite drink, he knew that - and walked over to you with as much swagger as he could muster.

He stopped in front of the tanning bed you were occupying, and immediately attracted your attention as he was shadowing the sun.

"Rafa?" you said and squinted up at him. You had to conceal a small gulp. He looked particularly dreamy today. "Hi..."

Rafa felt his throat run a bit dry, "Hey... I brought you a drink. Tequila sunrise."

"Yeah, uh, thanks..." you eyed him suspiciously as he handed you the tequila sunrise and when he didn't leave afterwards you added, "uhm - would you like to sit down?"

Rafa nodded eagerly and you moved your feet to the side to make room for him on the sun bed next to your body. He sat down close to your knees and had a large sip of his drink, hoping that it would cure some of the dryness he suddenly felt in his throat.

You eyed him intently. It was weird having him up close again. Especially because his absence and weird behaviour had been annoying you all summer. He had been acting totally out of character; he had been almost distant and cold as he had practically ignored you. "What can I do for you, Rafa?" you asked him with a hesitant smile, trying to sound calm. You couldn't reveal how frustrated his absence had made you. He couldn't know that you had been pining after him for years.

Rafa's mind went into overload; oh, what couldn't you do for him? He wanted to let you know that he was one word of approval away from throwing you over his shoulder so he could carry you to Diggs' bedroom. He wanted to do all the things that he had dreamt of for the last couple of months. He wanted you on your knees in front of him. He wanted to tangle his fingers in your hair while your mouth was wrapped around him. He wanted you to send him innocent looks while you let your tongue run over him.

He cleared his throat and shuffled around a bit trying to hide the fact that his slacks had grown a bit tighter. "Uh - I don't need you to do a thing," he said with a secretive smile, "how are you?"

"I'm good," you answered him slowly, still not really sure why he had suddenly approached you. "How about you?"

"I'm perfect," Rafa nodded, "Did you have an alright summer?"

You sent him a surprised smile. He was asking about your summer now? This friendliness he was suddenly portraying seemed to come out of nowhere. "An alright summer, yeah," you leaned back in the sun bed as you realised that you'd have to let Rafa's weird behaviour go. If he had finally worked out whatever had made him act strange since June, it was a good thing for the both of you. It meant that you could have your friend back. You could have your flirting back - and my god, how you had missed being on the receiving end of his excessive flirting!

"Glad to hear it," he smiled at you while running his fingers through his blonde hair.

"You've grown out your hair," you stated with a nod.

"Yeah," Rafa smiled and tugged on one of his long locks, "Diggs kept telling me that I looked 35 with the short hair and the beard, so I figured it'd be best to let it get a bit longer again."

"You look nice," you smiled at him, "I've always liked this hairstyle on you."

Rafa felt an eruption of colour in his chest when he heard your compliment. Relax, Casal, she's just flirting as usual. "Yeah, thanks," he said and looked at his feet to conceal the goofy smile that was slowly creeping onto his lips, "It's really great to see you. I feel like we haven't talked in forever," he muttered quietly.

You had already forgiven him for his weird behaviour but you were still determined to find out why you hadn't talked in forever. You let your gaze pierce through him, "I'm actually quite glad that you approached me," you eyed him. Now seemed just as good a time as any to bring it up, "I've been wanting to talk to you."

"Yeah?" He looked up at you with a twinkle in his eye, "About what?"

You looked around on the other sun beds. Maybe he wasn't too keen on discussing private matters in front of the rest of the gang. "It's a bit crowded out here," you said with a smile, "wanna go inside?"

Rafa nodded eagerly and stood up from the sun bed, pulling you to your feet. "Ladies first," he mumbled and let you walk a few feet in front of him.

"When did you become so gallant?" you laughed at him.

When I realised that you are, in fact, more than averagely well-turned, Rafa thought to himself. He had thought it through; walking a few feet behind you would allow him to look at your well-proportionate body parts swaying in the sunlight without fear of getting caught by you. He was mildly disgusted with himself but pushed the thought away before he followed you inside like an obedient pet, his eyes glued to your tanned legs.

You led Rafa to the secluded kitchen away from the pool area. Alone at last, you turned around and leaned up against the kitchen counter, looking at the handsome man in front of you.

He was having a hard time concentrating on your face as the shift in temperature from the sun outside to the air-conditioned kitchen had made your nipples rock hard. He could see them through the thin fabric of your red bathing suit, and all he wanted to do was to slip his hands under there and massage your tits with his warm hands. He wanted to pull down the straps to reveal your beautiful build to him. He wanted to take your breasts in his mouth and circle your nipples with his tongue until you were begging him to take you to a room with a bed.

"Are you alright?" you asked him when he seemed a little distant.

"Yeah, I'm good," Rafa smirked at the mental image of you on all four in front of him, "what's up?"

"I'm gonna be straight with you. I hope that's okay."

"Of course," Rafa gave himself a mental shake and promised himself that he would concentrate on your words and not your body. This seemed important to you.

"Have you been angry with me?" You looked at him with piercing eyes.

The question took Rafa aback, "What? Why would I have been angry with you?"

"No clue," you shrugged, "but you've been weirdly dismissive all summer and you've kept your distance to me, so I've been wondering if I've done something to upset you."

"No, everything's in perfect order. You've been perfectly fine," he said with a small smirk.

"So we're okay? You and me?"

"Of course," he nodded, "more than okay."

"Good, I'm glad to hear you say that."

There was a small awkward pause between you where neither of you knew what to do or say. Rafa tried desperately not to look at your round tits right in front of him, so he directed his attention to the wine cooler behind you in an attempt to look occupied. It gave him an idea however: "Hey, did Diggs ever give you a tour of the house?" he asked you, eyes glued to a bottle of nice champagne in the cooler.

"Not yet," you smiled, "he promised me one later."

"Yeah, same," Rafa mumbled, opened the cooler, and pulled out the champagne bottle, "how about we show ourselves around?" he said and wriggled his eyebrows, "sprinkle it up with a little champagne, you know?" he winked at you.

"Now who could say no to that?" you laughed and watched Rafa pop the champagne and pour you a glass.

"Cheers," Rafa held out his glass and you gladly clinked it.

He emptied his entire glass in one fast gulp, "this is some fancy shit," he said quietly while examining the bottle.

"Should we even be drinking this?"

Rafa directed his attention towards you with a small laugh, "well it's open now isn't it? I'm sure Diggs won't mind. Bottoms up before we continue our tour. I'll get you a refill."

You smiled to yourself; Rafa's nonchalant and cavalier attitude was exactly what had attracted you to him in the first place. You did as he said, gulped down the golden liquid, and was soon standing with another full glass in hand. "Where to first?" you asked after you'd had a sip of the second glass.

"Upstairs?" Rafa asked with a shrug, grabbing both his glass and the bottle with his left hand. He put his right hand on the small of your back, and directed you towards the staircase. He noticed a small smile creep onto your lips at the skin-against-skin contact. You were both back to your usual flirting and his plan was in action. Shake, rattle, and roll.

He let you climb the stairs in front of him and it didn't take him long before he was completely hypnotised by the swaying ass in front of him. The nice curve. The way the red fabric clung nicely to your buttocks every time you took a step forwards. The tantalising sway. And he couldn't even touch you. It was pure torture, he told himself as he gulped down his second glass of champagne while following you up the stairs. He clearly needed it.

"Refill?" he asked you as you'd reached the top.

"So soon?" you arched an eyebrow at him but emptied your glass, ready for your third refill.

"I'm thirsty," Rafa smirked and could already feel his hangover disappear as it was replaced with him getting tipsy. "Rules of champagne-tours are that you need to empty your glass before you enter a room."

"Okay, you're clearly more updated on the rules than I am so I believe you," you laughed at him and took a look around the first floor, "left or right?" you asked.

"Let's try left," Rafa said and followed you to a small room, "Wait! Before you enter you need to empty your glass."

"Again? Are you trying to get me drunk?" you arched an eyebrow at him.

"Hey, I don't make the rules," he sent you an innocent look before he emptied his third glass.

You sent him a suspicious look but ended up following suit and emptied your glass before you let him refill it a fourth time. You could feel yourself getting more and more tipsy. And Rafa looked cuter and cuter.

"After you," he said and opened the door to the small room in front of you.

"Okay, this is an office or something of the sort," you laughed after you'd entered, "this is boring."

"Very boring," Rafa groaned as he took in the desk, the computer, and the three filing cabinets standing along one of the walls. "Let's move along shall we?" he whipped around and hit his head against a cabinet on the wall with a loud bang.

He heard you gasp behind him before he felt the sharp pain on his cheekbone followed by something wet running down the side of his face. He turned around, facing you, the blood running steadily down his cheek.

"Are you okay?" you said in a concerned voice before it turned to laughter.

"Hey, why are you laughing?" Rafa chuckled at the sight of you as he touched the warm blood running down his face

"I'm so sorry!" you continued laughing, "but you should see the look on your face right now. You look so wronged!"

"It was an assassination attempt!" he smiled, "did you bring me in here to neutralise me?" he emptied his fourth glass of champagne to soothe the sharp pain.

"Yes," you said all seriously, "I work for the Israeli government and I've been sent to America to take out whiney boys who steal champagne from their best friends. And as revenge, I let them bleed."

"Would a Mossad agent such as yourself happen know how to clean a wound?" He asked with a playful smile, "because I think I might need a small band-aid. This shit will not stop bleeding."

"Lucky for you, I'm specialised in treating wounded animals in Siberia. Come," you took his hand and pulled him towards a bathroom you'd noticed as you'd passed it in the hallway.

Rafa liked being tugged around by you: your small hand in his felt absolutely right. He wondered what it would feel like with your fingers wrapped around his erection and he felt his cock do a small twitch in his boxers at the mental image of you rubbing him off. ...Okay he really needed to pull himself together.

Desperate to think of something else he looked around the bathroom. "Indoor hot tub!" he exclaimed as you let go of his hand and went to the small cabinet under the sink.

"Only eighties kids get this excited over a hot tub inside," you laughed at his excited kid-like face and pulled out a band aid and some rubbing alcohol, "sit down on the edge so I can clean the wound."

"Yes ma'am," Rafa said and looked at you as you concentrated on reading the instructions on the bottle of rubbing alcohol. You looked damned cute with your nose all scrunched up.

You found a cotton pad in the cabinet as well and sat down next to him, "okay," you looked him in the eye, "this is gonna sting but try to sit still."

"Okay," he said quietly and waited with anticipation for your hands to touch his skin - even if it was a place as non-sexy as the skin below his eye where he had cut himself by being embarrassing. He took whatever he could get.

You carefully draped the cotton pad across the cut he had on his cheekbone and felt yourself blush as he closed his eyes and hissed involuntarily. You wanted to rip his clothes off.

He felt your small fingers ghost over his skin as you cleaned the wound. He tried to fight it, but couldn't hold back the visible shiver that went through his body.

"Aw, Casal, am I giving you goosebumps?" you laughed softly as you cleaned his cheek.

"Yeah," he smiled goofily at you and felt the champagne talk some courage into him, "it's either the cold from the rubbing alcohol or your bathing suit. Not sure which."

"My bathing suit?" you laughed at him.

Rafa chuckled softly, "yeah, it's a nice colour," he mumbled, "this red looks amazing on you."

"So you're saying that the colour of my bathing suit is sending shivers down your spine?"

"Yeah..." he said in an obvious lie.

"The colour... and not the cut?" you asked looking into his eyes, wriggling your chest in front of him. You had always loved the rare times where you could make Rafa - the always calm and collected womaniser - uncomfortable. This seemed like one of those times.

"Uh - the - uh - the bathing suit isn't too shabby either," Rafa chuckled slightly as he let his eyes run over your wriggling chest. You would definitely be the death of him.

"You like my bathing suit?" you said quietly as you too felt the champagne rush to your head.

This time, Rafa didn't answer you but just nodded and gulped visibly. He looked as if he was having a hard time keeping his hands to himself and it was turning you the fuck on. For years, you had wanted Rafa to actually do something about his relentless flirting. "I have to admit; I bought it with you in mind," you sent him a small shrug as if it was nothing.

His smile grew wide, "yeah? Did you dress up like this just for me?"

"I wanted you to notice me," you said with a small smile.

"Well it worked," he said quietly and ran his eyes over your chest.

"Good," you chuckled and turned your face away from his. In the past, he had had several chances to act and he hadn't. It was stupid of you to believe that he wanted more than just a bit of casual flirting - even if it did feel like years of flirting had been leading to this moment.

Glad to have something that could divert your attention away from the very fuckable guy in front of you, you picked up the band aid that was lying in your lap, took it out of its packaging and carefully put in over the cut on Rafa's cheek bone. Your eyes were glued to the cut for a couple of seconds, allowing Rafa to gaze into your eyes.

It's now or never, he thought to himself and reacted before he could hold himself back; he reached out his hand and put it just below your chin, leaned forwards and planted a brief, soft kiss on your lips. You had kissed before but this one somehow felt different. His kisses had always been short and sweet - he had practically perfected pulling away from you before losing all control - but today was extra hard. He couldn't believe himself... Ten years of holding himself back and a fucking bathing suit had him feeling like a teenager again. Calm the fuck down, Casal.

"Thanks for taking care of me," he hummed against your lips and retracted his face from yours.

You let out a small whimper at the lack of contact but came to your senses soon enough. "A pleasure," you smiled up at him and slightly cleared your throat, "we should continue our tour."

Rafa nodded and emptied the rest of the champagne bottle in each of your glasses. He quickly poured it down his throat. "House rules," he shrugged when you sent him a bemused smile.

You followed suit, bottomed up and put down your glass next to the kitchen sink. You gave Rafa's arm a slight tug and urged him to follow you to the next room on the tour.

Rafa gladly - and slightly dizzy - followed you out of the bathroom and into the next room on the tour; Diggs' bedroom apparently. It seemed almost scripted.

"Master bedroom," you exclaimed when you saw the king sized bed in the middle of the room. You looked over at Rafa who was swaying a little, "are you okay?" you laughed.

"I'm a bit dizzy," Rafa joined in laughing, "not sure if it's the assassination attempt or the amount of champagne I've had."

"Probably a little bit of both," you smiled and put a hand on his arm to help him steady a little, "do you need to lie down for a minute?"

"Yeah, I think I better," he let out a small laugh and threw himself down on the bed.

You quickly followed suit, and positioned yourself on the bed next to him, "is the room spinning or is it just me?" you laughed.

"Oh it's definitely spinning," Rafa chuckled and reached out to touch your hand, "ah, much better," he said as he recalled the feeling in his abdomen when you had kissed only minutes earlier. He wanted to kiss you again. He couldn't hold himself back.

"I agree," you said softly and looked over at him, "how's your boo-boo?" you let out a small laugh.

"Still stings," he shot you a small smile and remembered Diggs words. He had to snatch you up before someone else did. What he did now seemed to be crucial to how your interactions would be shaped in the future. So he decided to just go for it, "you know... my mom used to kiss the pain away."

"You want me to kiss it off you?" You laughed.

"It might help," he said and brushed his fingers against your skin as his hand moved further up your arm.

"Are you trying to seduce me?" you laughed.

"Yeah, maybe," Rafa said and felt how the champagne made him daring and truthful, "you've been driving me insane all summer."

"I have?" you chuckled, slightly surprised, "is that why you've stayed away from me?"

"Yeah, I've been having a hard time keeping my hands to myself..." he chuckled innocently.

You decided to act on how cute you'd always found Rafa, leaned closer to him and repeated the short and sweet kiss you'd shared in the bathroom a couple of minutes earlier.

When you retracted your lips from his, Rafa moved his head forwards and continued the soft kiss, this time with a bit more power to it.

This was definitely new, you thought to yourself as you moved your lips in time with Rafa's.

He popped himself up on one elbow and kissed you so sensually that you physically felt the wetness between your legs. So his tongue could do more than spit out silvered words? Rafa had game! His soft tongue was slowly caressing yours while he let his hand run over your upper body. You felt the goosebumps emerge on your skin as he ran his fingers over your ribcage.

Rafa broke the kiss and sent you a smirk, "look who's sending who shivers now," he snickered.

"Shut up," you groaned and leaned forwards, softly recapturing his lips.

He hummed against you as you slowly moved your lips across his. His thumbs were brushing against the sensitive skin just below your boobs, but he didn't touch you anywhere that wasn't considered safe. He wanted you to approve of it before he delved into you.

You understood his careful actions and wriggled around a bit to get him to touch you properly.

"Are you sure?" he whispered against your lips, "you've had quite a bit to drink and I've been trying to seduce you."

"Just be happy it worked," you smiled against him, "I've been wanting this too..."

Rafa's smile grew wide, "really?" he laughed

"Yes. Now shut up and kiss me."

He inched his lips closer to yours and captured them once more. His tongue caressed yours slowly and sensually while his hand squeezed your thigh tightly. A small moan escaped your lips when your fingers tugged on his long strands of hair.

Rafa pulled you on top of him so you were straddling his waist.

You let out a small smirk when you felt his erection underneath you, "you're already hard."

"I've been hard all summer," he groaned as his lips found your throat, "you've been driving me insane in all your little sundresses. You have no idea how hard it's been to hold myself back."

"You don't have to hold yourself back with me," you whispered and looked into his green eyes while you moved your hips suggestively on top of him.

"From now on, I have no intentions of doing so," he groaned at the friction, his hands moving to the straps of your bathing suit. Slowly, he pulled them over your arms, making sure to kiss your clavicles in the meantime. He pulled down the red bathing suit and revealed your small round tits topped with small perky nipples for him. Exactly as he had imagined. He took one of your nipples in his mouth, while showing the other love by cupping your breast lovingly. You let out a sharp moan when you felt his tongue circle your areola.

Rafa's erection grew considerably and when you danced your fingers down his chest, and he decided to do something about it. He threw you down on the bed next to him and forcefully ripped off the bottom half of your bathing suit, leaving you completely naked on the bed. He took a step back and admired your finally naked body before him, your wet pussy glistening in the sunlight. He palmed himself through his slacks and let out a groan at the sight of you writhing on the bed, looking up at him with lust in your eyes. Your small hand was running along the length of your glistening slit and he had never been more jealous of a couple of fingers.

"Take of your clothes," you panted as you spread your legs apart.

Rafa quickly shuffled out of his shirt and slacks but kept his boxers on.

"Last chance to back out," he said as he leaned over you and trailed his hand down your body. You let out a small moan as his lips found yours, his fingers hovering above your waistline. "If you keep making those sounds I'm not going to be able to stop myself," he groaned in between kisses.

"Who says I want you to stop?" You let out yet another moan as his tongue found yours again.

"Good," he smirked against you. His fingers found your heated centre and you let out a raspy breath when his fingers dipped inside your sensitive folds. "Fuck you're so wet for me," he growled as he easily found your tight opening and pushed a couple of fingers inside you. You were moaning excessively and pushing yourself against his playful fingers as the was toying with you.

"Fuck, you look so good with my fingers inside you," he growled, "tell me how much you've wanted this!"

"So bad," you panted and looked up into his darkened eyes, "I've been wanting you to fuck me for years."

"Yeah?" He felt himself getting even more excited and he moved his fingers faster in an out if you, "have you been thinking about me when you're alone at night?"

"Yes," you whispered.

"Tell me about what you've been fantasising about."

You pushed his fingers out of you and sat up straight on the bed, sending him a lustful look. "I've been thinking about your big, heavy cock," you said as you pulled off his boxers, revealing his erection to you. You took him in your hand and ran your tongue over his wet head. Rafa shot back his head with a small groan, but kept the eye contact.

"What else?" He panted as he watched you pop his head in your mouth.

"This," you said, "my lips around you. Your fingers inside me."

"How can I deny you that?" He stroked your cheek, "lie down."

You did as he told and watched Rafa climb onto the bed on his knees. He positioned himself close to your face and ran his hand down your abdomen, his fingers easily finding their way to your pussy. You reached up and grabbed him by the root, positioning yourself so you could wrap your lips around him while his fingers worked their way inside you.

You bopped your mouth up and down his length a few times, releasing his head with a small pop before starting over.

"Oh fuck," he groaned as he bucked his hips closer to your face, "fuck you look amazing."

You let your tongue swirl around him while your hand pumped up and down him a few times. He shot back his head with a groan, "fuck I'm not going to last long," he panted.

You pulled your face away from him and said, "are you going to cum down my throat?" Before your lips resumed their positions around him.

"Yes," he panted, "are you going to take it all for me?"

You nodded and pulled him down your throat.

"Oh fuck," he panted and pushed his hair out of his eyes, "fuck you're working me like a pro."

You tightened your lips' grip around him and swirled your tongue around his head that had started leaking down your throat.

"Oh shit," he groaned and caressed the side of your face, "fuck you look so sexy with your lips around my cock. Fuck I'm so close!"

You pulled him as far down your throat as you could and reached up to cup his balls.

Rafa's breathing was hushed and shallow and he had his eyes closed. His fingers were still fidgeting with your clit but his movements were sporadic and lazy as he couldn't concentrate on much else apart from the tight wetness around him. With your tongue swirling around his head, your left hand cupping his balls, and your right hand working its way up and down his shaft, he gave out three loud grunts before he started shaking above you, warm cum shooting down your throat. He grunted a few times with his eyes closed before he came to his senses, pulled his fingers out of you and licked them only to have them resume their positions on your core.

"Oh god," you moaned as his fingers curled inside you, "oh fuck Rafa."

"Turn around for me," he whispered.

Quickly, you turned around and were sitting on all four in front of him.

"Ass up," he said and gave you a hard spank before he ran his hand over you.

With a pant, you buried your face in the mattress, "are you going to fuck me now?"

"I can't do that now," he groaned and positioned his face behind you, "it's your fault. You and your amazing lips," he said and caressed your ass with his hands for a couple of seconds, "say my name," he groaned as ran his tongue over you.

"Rafa!" You moaned when you felt his tongue.

"No. My name," he gave out a muffled demand.

"Rafael," you panted and he pushed his fingers inside you as a reward.

"Yeah, that's right," he said darkly and felt you tighten around his fingers, "fuck you're driving me insane. You're so good for me. Have you been wanting this for a long time?"

"Uh-huh," you panted in response.

"Show me," he panted before he started moving his tongue and fingers faster against you.

"Oh fuck! Rafa! Rafael!" You moaned loudly as you felt all your nerve-endings tightening between your legs. Rafa's tongue was moving sloppily over you as you cried out with your release, the grip around his fingers pulsating and tightening significantly.

Rafa was enjoying the sight before him - although a little disappointed that your tight gripping was wasted on something as boring as his fingers.

When you had panted and moaned out his name, he pulled his fingers out of you and let you plump down on the mattress.

You were still panting when you looked up at him with a huge grin, "why have we never done this before?"

"Because we're very stupid," Rafa chuckled and plumped down next to you, "that was amazing!"

"Yeah, definitely."

"Next time, I'm not letting you corrupt me to cum down your throat," he groaned and gave your breasts a kiss, "next time, I'm going to fuck you so hard."

"We're gonna do it again?" You arched a bemused eyebrow at him.

"Of course. Call me selfish but I don't ever want anyone else to touch you."

[james-rowan]

Here’s my (very late, sorry 😓) contribution to the @dualrainbow Pride event. Thank you To_Dragons for helping me edit.

Ships: Montagne/Blitz, Lion/Doc, Valkyrie/Finka and Castle/Maverick

The Pride Festival

The Austin Texas Pride Festival was held on a hot, sunny afternoon, and it smelled of fair food, sunscreen and energy. It was colorful, and bright, mrainbows everywhere, adorning stalls, signs and, of course, people.

To the European operators who had been to Pride events before, it was not only loud, but bold. From the outfits, that ranged from simple rainbow wristbands to full on outrageous outfits (or just a jockstrap), to the signs and stalls and performance stages. Couples were embracing, kissing and making out openly and passionately, without shame or guilt, not only couples but the rare poly groups, finally able to carry on with open affections and taking full advantage. The atmosphere was infectious. It had already claimed Maverick and Castle, who walked very close to each other -despite the heat- hands in each other’s back pockets. They also were very unrestrained with the kissing.

And Montagne thought that he and Blitz could be overly affectionate. But then he was still waiting for his lover to meet them there. He had flown out on his own specifically for this.

Their group included the aforementioned Castle and Maverick, Valkyrie, Finka, himself, Lion and Doc.

They had traveled from Fort Polk, Louisiana, where they, that being the FBI SWAT, SEALs and GIGN, and one tagalong (at her vehement request) Finka, were doing training with the U.S. Army rangers stationed there. After two weeks of a field exercise in muggy swamplands, their Pride group had been excited to go somewhere dry, but unfortunately Houston did not live up to the Texas desert stereotypes; it was almost as humid as Fort Polk. But at least here there was civilization. And Montagne himself was excited to finally see Blitz.

“Schatz!”

Speaking of whom, he was charging at them, looking very much the part of a Pride attendee. He caught his lover in his arms, swinging him around once, despite the soreness from training, then dipped him into a deep kiss. that gained the awe and cheers of not only from some in their own group, but several onlooking strangers as well.

When they finally parted , Lion muttered, “They’re acting like they haven’t seen each other in a year.”

The couple ignored him as Blitz held Monty out in arms length to appraise his outfit. He tutted, “Not to live up to the stereotype, Schatz, but what are you wearing?”

Montagne looked down at himself. He was wearing a lightweight button down with rolled up sleeves, dark trousers and shined shoes, nothing offensive, if a bit formal compared to everyone else, but the reason was important.

Blitz himself was dressed the complete opposite, wearing a loose stringer tanktop that exposed his toned shoulders and even his pecs when he moved just right. Jean cutoff shorts, sneakers with colorful laces, large sunglasses, a backwards ball cap, wristbands: every article of clothing was either rainbow colored, or had an inclusive pride flag adorning it.

“Euh… what’s wrong with it?

“If it were any other day, nothing,” Blitz said. “You look sharp and sexy as ever. But this is Pride, American Pride, ja? Look around.”

Almost everyone was wearing Pride merchandise, had flags draped on their shoulders, or had face paint of various LGBTQ+ symbols, from obvious t more subtle. The bolder were the ones wearing much more and the even bolder much less.

Blitz grabbed his hand, “Come, we’re fixing this.”

“Aren’t we a little old for…”

“Psst, nein. This will be fun, ja? To dress up as we please, get swept up in the atmosphere.”

“We can already dress as we please.”

“I mean colorful, and silly, no fashion rules to hold us back. Come on!”

With that Blitz dragged him off, leaving the rest in their wake.

~

“Well,” Finka chuckled. “Hi to you too, Elias.”

“Those two are disgusting,” Lion snickered. “How long have they been together? A year?”

“Two,” Finka said. “With no signs of slowing down.”

“Their honeymoon phase is going to last forever at this rate,” Valkyrie said.

“That explains why Gilles is going to…” Lion stopped himself, eyes wide.

“What is Gilles going to do?” Valkyrie was now very interested.

“Olivier, you wanted to show me something?” Doc, the amazing man he was, quickly interjected.

Had it been a few months ago, Lion would have been confused, but now Doc had bailed him out enough times during conversations that he immediately went, “Ah right, this way.”

“We’ll go with you,” Valkyrie smirked.

“Non, non, it's private,” Lion said.

“The good Catholic boy he is, he cannot share,” he said, steering Lion away before he could reveal too much.

Out of earshot, Lion mumbled, “How can you be nice while mocking me at the same time?” Lion was a bit prickly at the Catholic comment. It has always been a point of mockery for people outside the church.

“I could ask you the same. You have quite the talent for it. Far more than I can hope to achieve.”

“Most of the time I don’t mean to.”

“I know.” Doc’s tone softened into a reassuring one, giving his side a squeeze. “Otherwise we wouldn’t have found common ground, mon coeur,” he said. “People also tend not to question when a Catholic needs to do private things, no? With Islam it works quite well.”

Lion took a deep breath, but understood. It was nothing malicious. “Thank you. I didn’t want to be the one to fuck that all up.”

It had taken years to come to a mutual understanding, let alone to find a way to deal with their mutual attraction to one another. It was a rocky, long road, but here they were. Lion hoped one day they would be exactly like Blitz and Montagne, or even just Castle and Maverick.

Lion brushed his forefinger against Doc’s hand, tentatively seeking to hold it. Their relationship was so new, so fragile, like a baby bird or sugar glass, too easy to hurt or shatter. A hundred things, even things gentle or nice, could ruin a relationship, if you looked into it. And considering their history, before they got together… where just one off hand remark would destroy a truce they had established between each other, setting them at each other's throats once again. Lion never wanted to go back to those times. He’d do anything to keep it from degrading back.

Doc immediately took hold of his hand, as if he had been waiting to do so all day, giving a loving squeeze.

Warmth flooded Lion, he felt a giant stupid grin spreading across his face. It was almost too much, as he felt pricks in his eyes, as he squeezed back. He glanced sideways at Doc, finding him gently smiling, mellow as always when he was content. He wanted nothing more than to sweep him up and kiss him fiercely, but maybe then it’d be too much. He’d settle for this for now.

After browsing a couple stalls, he remembered something. What did the relationship advice he found on that one website say? That he should always seek to compliment and let someone know how much their actions mean to him, so he rubbed the back of his neck, trying to find the right words.

“You know,” Lion said, barely able to be heard over the crowd. “I’m so glad you’re willing to hold my hand.”

“Willing? I want to,” Doc corrected, bringing it to his lips and kissing his knuckles.

Lion smile only grew wider, and he had to look away as red creeped from his ears to his cheeks now. “J’taime.”

“J’taime.”

The warm fuzzy feeling in his chest threatened to burst, helped along by with the anxiety, the pervasive fear that this was about to be ripped from him at any moment.

They grabbed something to eat and sat down on a bench. If American food was considered greasy, their fair food was simply lard on a plate, with maybe some sugar or ketchup for seasoning. They commented on this to each other, when something caught Lion’s eye. There were older women and a couple of men wearing t-shirts, that said “free mom hugs.” (the men’s shirts said ‘dad’) As implied, they hugged everyone who came up to them. Some hugs were light and quick, and some deep and heartfelt, lasting many minutes. Lion’s eyes followed one of them until he came upon a group of them, holding signs, the same message written on them.

“Is that what I think?”

“Hmm?” Doc looked up. “Ah, probably. Hold on.”

To Lion's horror, his fellow frenchman asked a nearby American who they were; the man explaining with a bright smile that they were a charity organization that helped LGBTQ+ youth, and they gave out hugs - of course -, for any who had been rejected by their families for their sexuality.

Small talk ensued, in which Lion was only half-participating in as he ate, and when the man finally left, Doc nudged his side.

“You’ve been glancing at them this whole time. Go on, go talk to them.”

“I don’t need a hug.”

Doc tsked, “That’s a lie.”

“Huh?”

“If anyone needs a hug from a father figure, it is you, no?”

“I…” Lion paused then shook his head. “No, I’m over it, I put it behind me. It happened over a decade ago, after all.”

Doc raised an eyebrow, one of his infuriatingly knowing smiles tugging at his lips.

“They are for this who were disowned for being homosexual, Gustave. I was not...”

“And your father would have accepted you being with another man? Or is it only teens getting their girlfriends pregnant that he takes moral issue with?”

Lion didn’t have an answer for him. Well he did, just not a verbal one. There were so many reasons his father wanted nothing to do with him.

“I’m over it,” he repeated, but this time with less conviction.

“Then it would be of no consequence,” Doc said, squeezing his hand. “Go on.”

It was an awkward walk to approach them. He had to remind himself he was a soldier, he had faced death multiple times, fought against some of the most dangerous people in the world and this- This was just a civilian man at a pride event. Much older than him, sure, with a kind face and beard. But he realized as his step grew increasing hesitant that it wasn’t the human he was afraid of, but his soul, and what it could do to his own with just a few brash words.

What was he even going to say? “Hey I saw your sign, my dad hates me, can I get a hug?” That was ridiculous. Maybe lean into the role this man was offering to play, “Sorry dad, I was a fuck up, I can't change?" Or… "sorry you were not capable of loving me the way I am?" Both sounded completely rude to say to a stranger.

But as he approached, the older man met his eye, and there was no need for questions, nor words. The dad only smiled at him and opened his arms.

Lion found himself in the other man’s embrace before he even realized, hugging him as if his life depended on it. The older man matched his energy, a hand on the back of his head as if Lion really was his own child. Time seemed to stretch on and on; Lion had been anticipating a quick hug, just a little taste of what he got so envious of every time he saw someone have a loving moment with their parent, but no, his body refused to let go and so did this stranger. This stranger who held onto him with a fatherly patience Lion once thought only existed in fantasy.

The lump growing in his throat ached. He tried swallowing it down, but it only made it worse.

He shouldn’t have done this. He thought he was over it, yet it hurt, it hurt so fucking much…!

He wanted to run, he wanted to stay, he wanted…

“It’s alright to cry,” the man whispered. “I got you.”

“My real father disowned me.” Lion wasn’t proud of how strangled his voice sounded, or how he let some tears escape.

“I’m so sorry, son,” the man replied, rubbing his back gently. “You didn’t deserve that.”

“I did.”

“No, you didn’t. Nobody does.”

“I never could give him a reason to love me.”

“Children don’t need to give a reason. They’re supposed to be loved by their parents, no matter what mistakes they made, real or imagined. You deserve to be loved.”

Lion was biting the inside of his cheek, trying to will away the need to sob. This was a happy moment, a validating moment, with kind words, and warmth, why did it hurt so much then? His fingers clutched at the man’s shirt, as he gently rocked them. It didn’t feel infantilizing, it felt relieving, needed, like a hole finally being filled.

“You can cry, you know,” the man whispered again. “Emotions are made to be expressed. You don’t have to be strong, not here, not with me. I know you’re hurting, Don’t worry, I’m here.”

A choked sob escaped, and Lion pressed his face into the man's shoulder. “There you go, let it out, I’m proud of you.”

There was no coming back from that. He broke down, and it was ugly.

Lion sobbed into his arms, all rsesemblance of control disappearing, but the father held him through it all. It lasted way longer than Lion thought possible, but they eventually subsided, and he was still being held as he calmed down. When he felt strong enough to break the embrace, he was met with a gentle, fatherly smile.

“Do you feel better?”

“Oui.. yes, thank you,” he wiped his face with his own shirt. “Thank you. Thank you so much.”

“You don’t have to thank me,” the manhe said. “I’m just doing what fathers were meant to do.”

“Merci.”

They talked for a little while after. About what happened with his father, his family, himself. The cynical side of him expected them to reveal their ulterior motive, asking him for charity donations, to attend a church service, or even a cult, but they didn’t offer him any flyers or business cards, just warm words... water and tissues. At least he wasn’t the first grown man to cry like this in their arms. They were genuinely good people.

Doc had been waiting patiently for him on the bench, and stood up to embrace him and kiss his cheek upon his return. “How do you feel?”

“Drained,” he said. Then he added, “Relieved. I guess you were…” he caught himself. “No, you were completely right.”

“I’m glad you went then, mon coeur.”

Lion needed a smoke. Before got to know him, Lion would have assumed the doctor was too high and mighty for a nicotine fix, but then found out he was a man in a high stress job like the rest of them, and didn’t judge. Except on the mandatory substance abuse powerpoints they all had to sit through every few months.

He lit up, drawing the smoke in and letting it mellow him out. Every so often he would think back and a few more tears would leak out.

He wiped his eyes with his thumb. “You know why I was so happy that you took my hand?”

“Non,” Doc said, rubbing his back. “But please tell me.”

“I was at the store with my mother and father,” he said. “I was just following along, and I see my mother offer her hand to hold, you know, this gesture…”

He made it. Doc patiently nodded.

“Well I was nearest to her, I think. I was so happy, I remember feeling loved, all warm, because my mama wanted to hold my hand.”

He paused, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Go on, I’m listening.”

Lion took a deep breath. His voice shuddered, “She let go, non.. she threw my hand away from her, in utter disgust. As if I were disgusting. She snapped, ‘I don’t want your hand.’”

Lion ducked his head. “It was a small thing, yes, but it hurt, it hurt so much. Turned out she wanted my father’s hand, not her son’s, not mine.”

It was a few beats later before Doc said, “How old were you?”

“Four, maybe five,” Lion said. “I hate that feeling, those moments where you finally feel happy and loved, and the next second someone shatters it completely. Despair is a good word for it, I think.”

“How often did these types of things happen?”

“Plenty, I was a disgusting child, after all.”

“No,” Doc said. “She was just… cruel.”

Lion huffed, not a wry laugh, just disbelieving. “You’re not going to tell me that she tried her best?”

“Did she?”

“I… I don’t know…”

“Then I think not,” Doc said softly, cupping Lion’s cheek. He leaned into the warmth.

"I still get this horrible… fear when I want to take someone’s hand, or show any affection. So I usually don’t.”

“I wouldn’t do that to you, mon cher. And if I ever make you feel the way your mother did, I want you to tell me.”

Lion nodded, looking down, not entirely sure if he would. Doc tilted his head back up. “Hey, I mean it.”

Lion took his hand and almost went for a kiss, but the deep moment was interrupted by Blitz and Monty approaching. Lion quickly turned away so neither of the two could see his red puffy eyes, but he did see Monty was wearing a stringer tanktop, tie dyed rainbow, and adorned with rainbows in body paint and a look of subdued embarrassment any time Elias had his back turned. Blitz was going a bit overboard on this look.

“Have you seen Meghan?” Blitz said, “unless you have a bag?”

Doc pointed them into the right direction, as Lion quickly drank his water.

“Olivier, are you okay?”

“He just needs some alone time with me,” Doc saved him. Again.

The pair offered their sympathies to Lion (much to his annoyance) and wandered off to find the two women.

“Don’t you ever dress me up that garishly,” Lion snickered.

“Please, mon coeur, I have taste,” Doc said, before grabbing his knee and squeezing, voice now whispering in his ear. “Besides, I prefer you out of your clothes.”

He nipped his earlobe before Lion could exasperate out his name, earning a yelp instead.

Any semblance of protocol melted into genuine, unmasked joy just to be in each other’s company, in a welcoming space where they could be open about themselves Gustave himself was intent on kissing his lover better.

~

Finka and Valkyrie had been watching a stage performance when Blitz appeared at Valkyrie’s side, grinning, as usual, and... now covered in glitter?

“Meghan, can we borrow your purse?”

“Huh?”

“I don’t want to have to carry around Gilles’s shirt all day.”

Valkyrie turned fully to see Montagne, who had trailed in after him, no longer wearing his tasteful, understated ensemble, but had been attacked by rainbows and what looked to be the same shimmer bomb that Blitz must have been caught in.

“No, you’re going to get glitter in it,” Valkyrie frowned.

“Please? I’ll clean it out for you myself.”

“Glitter?” Finka said, turning around. “We have to ride back with your boyfriend, and you wore glitt-”

Finka must have caught sight of Montagne’s giant pecs escaping the too small, flimsy shirt, because she turned bright red and turned back to stare very intently at the performer.

All Valkyrie herself could think was ’damn Montagne is strong and it shows’, but that was it, of course. Her girlfriend however was bi, with a particular weakness for large people with muscles.

“Och, I almost forgot,” Blitz said cheekily. “You have any sunscreen? Gilles wasn’t prepared for this outfit.”

“I don’t think any of us were prepared,” Finka snipped, still keeping Montagne out of her line of sight. She pulled out a sunblock bottle from her cargo pocket and tossed it over.

“You alright there, Lera?” Blitz asked as he caught it.

“I’m fine, it's just hot,” she replied, still avoiding eye contact, “The weather, I mean.”

Blitz grinned, “He is hot, isn’t he?”

“Mon cher…” Montagne groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Just…”

Meghan clapped her hands, “Okay, go away, go be gay somewhere else. We have enough that of our own over here.”

Blitz ignored her, looking at Finka with a grin, “What do you think of us getting temporary hair color? I was thinking of dyeing our hair rainbow.”

“Well, you’ve gone this far,” Finka said, pointedly staring at Blitz’s eyes. “Might as well go full golubok.”

“Hah, ja, I like the way you think, I…”

“Here,” Meghan said, grabbing Gilles’s shirt from Blitz’s hands and stuffing it into her purse. “Go dye your hair now. Go on.”

“Alright, all right.” Blitz grinned, holding up his hands and going. Montagne sighed deeply, a twitch working its way through his cheek before following. Odd, but not her problem. She had someone much more important to worry about.

“You’re into muscles, huh?”

“You know I am,” Finka said sheepishly. “Sorry, I just wasn’t expecting that.”

Valkyrie laughed, “It’s fine, he got great boobs.” That caused Finka to snort. “You know, for a man.”

Finka laughed longer than she expected, but it was always nice when her girlfriend had one of her genuine laughs.

“It's always nice to see real muscles,” Finka said. “Real ones, from being big and strong, and healthy.”

“Oh, you mean some like mine?” She flexed, tattooed arms positively sexy as the bulged.

Finka’s eyes got a hungry glunt to them, she put her hands on Valkyrie’s arms, feeling the solidness beneath her fingers, “Yes, just like that.”

Finka kissed her girlfriend long and deep, and Valkyrie relished being able to do so in the open, without the anxiety of having some bigot laying eyes on them and causing a scene. It was annoying enough to deal with the old people (and the occasional man similarly aged man) she had never met before tsk at her for daring to have tattoos and being too buff, saying she was too pretty to mark herself up like that and ask how she was ever going to find a man looking like that. She had already broke the glass ceiling for women in something as prestigious and hardcore as the Navy fucking SEALs, but there were still so many in American society that were convinced that women existed to look pleasant to men, regardless of if said women even wanted a pet man or not.

The kiss was broken when Finka’s wristwatch timer went off, and her girlfriend quickly drank from her water bottle. It was such a practiced motion, Valkyrie wasn’t entirely convinced Lera was aware she was doing it, and it made her heart ache. When she was finished, she wrapped her arm around her shoulders, pressing a kiss to her temple.

Later they were browsing stalls, and Finka gravitated towards one that was selling pride flags and shirts, not only the standard colors for each identity group, but also the ones that represented multiple identities within the same flag. Finka fingered a nonbinary one with a heart in the bisexual colors on its center. Interesting choice.

“I’d love to see you wear one of these, babe.”

Finka smiled, but shook her head, “I don’t know…”

“Come on, I’m not trying to pull a Blitz on you, I’ll wear one with you.”

“And what am I going to do with it afterwards?”

“Keep it? We’re not in Russia, our base is in Greece, basically its own sovereign territory.”

“When you went through SEALs, there were dissenters that tried to prove your were lesbian so they could get you removed from the program, didn’t they?”

Valkyrie shrugged, “Yeah, but they failed.”

“The last thing that the Russian government wants is one of it most elite spetsnaz operatives in an international effort to be homosexual,” Finka explained. “Its not illegal, yet, but my existence could be considered ‘propaganda.’ I might not just be removed from Rainbow, or Spetsnaz, or the Russian military, I could be jailed.

“Ah.”

“You know what Russian prison is like? I might be able to survive the system if I wasn’t sick, but I am diseased. They’d deny me my medication, not let me stay hydrated or fed or exercised and I’ll...”

“Hey, hey,” Meghan said, quickly drawing Lera into a hug. “I’m sorry, it was just a silly idea.”

“I’m…” she took a deep breath then nodded. “Thank you.”

Meghan kissed her forehead, holding her hands. Lera usually had to be stressed, well, more stressed than usual, to go on such a downward spiral so quickly. Being at such a Pride event, probably, if anyone found out. Finka didn’t believe her own Rainbow Spetsnaz brothers to out her, they were too close, but it was still risky.

“The Soviet Union used to accept openly gay people, did you know that?”

Valkyrie shook her head.

“Not a lot of people do, even in Russia. It was the early years, of course, but they gave gays rights they never had before. But then, of course, the Soviets needed more bodies. Bodies for war, and bodies for work, and of course, they believed gays were the reason that their population wasn’t pumping out babies at a fast enough rate.”

“Oh.”

“It all comes down to child production, doesn’t it? You know this.”

“Unfortunately I do,” Valkyrie said. “Not even just governments but families too. When my grandma found out I was lesbian, she sobbed, crying about how she won’t have any grandbabies from my father’s line. Then she blamed my father for raising me too military, while blaming my mother for letting me compete in high level sports.” She adopted a shrill, tottering grandma voice, ‘Sports always turns girls into dykes. I wanted greatgrandbabies from every child! But you made her want to turn into a boy!”

“Blin.”

“Yeah, exactly.”

“My own parents alway knew I would like girls,” she said. “Enough to be surprised and confused when I brought home boyfriends that I was genuinely happy with. They cited my, uh, how you call it, boyishness? Well, I never felt comfortable in the woman’s role and they, knowing what my siblings and I had…, they didn’t really feel a need to pressure us to do anything but stay as healthy and active as possible.”

Meghan slowly began to realize this was turning into much more than a simple sharing of stories, and squeezed her hands in support.

“I never liked being…. I don’t know how to put this. I didn’t like the gendered language used for me. And I never felt when people were talking about women, they were talking about to me as well. Just as I thought the rules and expectations boys are taught growing up applied to me as well. You know, don’t cry, be tough, treat women with respect, fight those who try to push you around. Then I learned of this new concept a couple years ago, someone could be neither. I laughed at it at first but...”

“Lera…” Valkyrie said softly, with a loving smile. “Do you want me to use they/them for you?”

Her… their eyes lit up. “Would you? I mean, I’m not sure just yet, but I would like to try them out. “Non pun intended?”

“Hmm? Oh yes,” they were positively beaming. They were so beautiful.

“Just to see. I mean, I still have to use she and her at work but, just in private.”

“Of course, babe.”

Valkyrie cupped their face and kissed them deeply.

She ended up buying Finka something, a silver bracelet in the colored stones in the nonbinary colors as the setting. Something simple and discreet yet powerful where it mattered.

~~

Montagne had texted the couples to be on their way back to the group when Blitz finally realized he wasn’t just looking like a rainbow, but rather a discontented victim of a rainbow being sick.

“What’s wrong, Schatz?”

The giant man sighed, folding his arms over his chest.

“So… there is something wrong…?”

“If it were any other day, I wouldn’t have minded, but today…”

“Where else could you do this…?”

“It is not the location, it is the look!” he gestured down at himself. “The timing of it!”

“I don’t understand… ok, ja, I can see why I might have gotten a little carried away.”

Montagne raised a glitter encrusted eyebrow.

“Ok, completely carried away.”

“Mmm.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It is not the fun you were having that I have a problem with, I am used to your antics.”

Blitz went pink, and bashful. Like a puppy being scolded.

“And you know I love your antics, ge added quickly. But why of all days,” Gilles trailed off, pinching the bridge of his nose, and very nearly getting glitter in his eyes.

“Because… its Pride…”

“Yes, you’ve been saying this the whole time.”

“We can go wash it all off, I’m sorry,” Elias said, crestfallen as he moved past him towards the bathrooms.

Montagne caught him around the chest with his arm just as the rest of the group returned, “Non, it's fine… its fine. Perfection is not needed.”

He saw Doc and Loon quickly fumble for their phones, thankfully behind Blitz’s back. Once they nodded, he guided Blitz back to in front of him. “These past few years I’ve known you, you’ve done nothing but make me happy. Your antics, your jokes, your dedication, your downright sweetness, even the way you tap your helmet during exercises. Even before we started seeing each other, your smile would light up my heart and I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you.”

“Gilles…”

Gilles sank to one knee, pulling out a shining wedding ring from his pocket.

“Will you marry me?”

Elias had clapped his hands over his mouth, unable to process this. Their group, except for the GIGN of course, were surprised and estatic. Valkyrie even exclaimed “So that’s what you French bastards were hiding.”

Blitz still hadn’t answered, his eyes shining.

“Elias?”

“Ja! Natürlich sage ich ja, du großer Dummkopf!”

“I assume that's a…”

Blitz very nearly bowled him over to give him his acceptance kiss. He lifted him up as he stood, Elias straddling his hips and swung them around, a dazzling display as the glitter caught the sunshine.

“I’m sorry I got irritated, I just wanted this to go a certain way,” he breathed when their lips parted.

“Schatz, you could have proposed to me covered in mud and sweat.”

“I know,” he said. “But I still wanted to make an effort. I wanted to do it right.”

“You did,” he said. “Look at you, covered in rainbows, just to make me happy, ja?

“Mmm,” he said as Elias lowered himself back to the ground.

Blitz understood now. Gilles was a traditional romantic after all, wanting the candlelit dinners and picnics at the parks on Sundays. He wanted that to extend to his proposal but Blitz was too excited to have silly fun to notice.

“Hey,” he said. Despite the heat they couldn’t stop embracing. “I love you, you know that?”

“I love you too.”

“If you want,” he whispered. “We can still have your perfect proposal night.”

“Two proposals?”

“Ja, why not? I’ll still be excited.”

Gilles gave it a thought. “I’ll have to make things more romantic between us,” he murmured. “Just to throw you off so you don’t know when its coming.”

“Oooh,” Blitz said, draping his arms over Gilles’s shoulders. “I like the sound of that.”

They dazzled them with another sweeping, showstopping dipped kiss, because of course they did.

“I agree with Lion,” Finka laughed with a grin. “You two are disgusting.”

Blitz laughed into Gilles’s mouth, and flipped her off without looking away.

“Great, now those two set the standard for romantic proposals,” Maverick said.

“Does that mean we’re going to be competing now?” Castle said, perking up.

“I’ll win,” Valkyrie declared. “The rest of you might as well quit now..”

“Pfft, nah, man, if anyone’s winning that it's me.”

“You know, we French have romance in our blood,” Lion said. “I wouldn’t even have to try and I’d win.”

While they dissolved into bickering, the silent ones of their pairs all shared a look, realizing at once what their partners had implied.

Blitz and Monty still had yet to look up from their glitter makeout, oblivious to what they had just started.

[purpleyellow]

Road To Kingdom

The boyz 12th member

Mae’s masterlist

“A summary of Mae during RTK” 

a/n: not @/ me using the performance names as historical events. Feel free to share your thoughts with me. Requests are open! 🧡

... After the concept meeting for Sword of Victory...

Mae cracked open the door to a practice room, making sure no one was inside before dropping her stuff, as well as her body, on the floor. The lightbulb making it almost impossible to keep her eyes open reminded her that she used to do that during her trainee days.

Here she was again, feeling hopeless like she was going to face the biggest challenge ever. And the girl was sure she wasn’t ready for it. 

Minkyung had a problem of self-doubting even though she couldn’t pinpoint it, all the members seemed willing to take on the challenge, yet she felt like she’d be the downfall of the group. And yes, she had a thing for being dramatic as well, that’s why she rested the back of her hand on her forehead and sprawled out her other arm.

The door flung open with mild force, startling her from her thoughts and sending her body into a more normal position. Q entered the room without a word and just laid on the floor next to her. Both members looked at the ceiling deep in thought.

Mae went back to the idea she had during the meeting. Not a particularly bright one, though it did attack the fact she felt like an upcoming burden to the group. Taking a deep breath she mumbled, “I think I should take a hiatus”.

After her words, the room went back to silence. Her heartbeat had increased due to the heaviness of what she had spoken, and looking to the side, she saw Changmin frown.

“Are you sick?” He asked after a few minutes and the girl shook her head. “Physically or mentally unwell? Is there an issue we can fix?”

His questions made her taken back, for Mae it was very clear why her taking a break would be beneficial for the group. 

“I’m saying because of the program”

“We’re joining a competition, so you want to drop out?” Changmin sat up confused. 

“I’m thinking of the bigger picture. The group will do better if you don’t have to worry about me keeping up with you guys”.

“No, you’re not. I’m sorry, but you’re being selfish now” He chuckled. “We don’t mind if you need to repeat the same move a couple of times extra to understand how it goes. Do you honestly think it’s going to help being one person down?”.

“I figured I wouldn’t be setting you back. It can be stressing sometimes and -” She sat up trying to explain her thoughts, and he shook his head.

“Minkyung, you bring a lot to the team, just because you struggle with something doesn’t mean it’s worth losing everything else. When we were rookies I used to get annoyed because you were so quick to give up. But then you began understanding how you learn and your limits. And even though it takes you a little longer you push yourself. Why did you suddenly come back to assuming you can’t do it?”

“The meeting today. Everyone is preparing a lot, there’s so much thought involved and maybe not pulling it off would mean I failed you guys”

“I’m terrified too,” Changmin nodded, placing a hand on his chest “I mean, did you listen to the stunts they were talking about. My first thought was to run away. But then I remembered we’re here to prove ourselves” 

Sighing, Mae looked at him annoyed “You’re a great dancer, and singer and whatever else, you’ll do fine because that’s how your body works”

“And you’re an insane performer” He cut her off with wide eyes. A random giggle left his mouth before he continued “I’m talking about acting and becoming another person on stage, you literally do that in the blink of an eye. This is your chance of growth. Who cares if you pull an all-nighter to get the right angle? When you’re on stage it’s like someone else entirely, and we haven’t even done some crazy concepts like we’re planning on doing”

“If the angles are wrong then we won’t look synchronized” The girl mumbled looking at the big mirror and Q chuckled.

“And that’s why you’re not going to rest until it’s perfect. None of us is going too actually. We’re going in as a team, with all our flaws and strengths”

“It’s nerve-wracking, isn’t it?” She mumbled after a moment of silence. Changmin laughed and added. “I’m scared to death”

… Five hours before Catching Fire…

The last rehearsal before the performance had ended and the group went back to their dressing room. Sitting sideways on the couch, Mae rested her head on her arm and watched some members go get their makeup retouched.

Jacob sat on her side and stared at the girl’s blank face before laughing. “Can you blink, so I know you’re still alive?”

Blinking once, she slowly adverted her gaze to him and bit her lip “This is crazy”

“It’s not as fast-paced as they show it on TV though. At least we have some time to process what’s going on” Jacob shrugged making her narrow her eyes at him “But yeah. It is crazy”

“Sunwoo keeps going on high places. And there’s some acrobatic stuff I’m not sure how it works and-” She kept mumbling like she hadn’t been there for the tiring practices and rehearsals. Laughing Jacob interrupted her by adding.

“And you fake kicked someone”

“And I fake kicked someone” Mae repeated with wide eyes making him laugh and Hyunjae approach them.

“Hey, I’ve been jumping on high places too,” He said defensively making her stare at him and shrugged. Jaehyun laughing before patting her on the back “How about once we get home today you have a really long night to sleep”

“I’m good” Mae shook her head “I’ll sleep but tomorrow don’t let me miss the meetings please”

Agreeing with her, Hyunjae stepped back to the styling session and the girl stood up to use the restroom.

Just as Mae turned around the corner, a faint sound of a violin came from Golden Child’s door. Before she could fully process the song it was playing, the door opened wide showcasing Jangjun.

“Well, do we have a spy among us?” He laughed bowing at her and Mae repeated the gesture a little embarrassed.

“I was just passing by and heard the violin. I didn’t mean to interrupt” She said making an x with her hands.

“Nah, I don’t believe you” He teasingly said and dropped an arm over her shoulder, ultimately bringing her inside the room “So, what did you hear? Are you going to sell this information to your members? And what is it going to be your concept today, I can see the hunger games thing on your shirt, is it like a revolution”

“Uh, I don’t know… Hello” Bowing to the rest of Golden Child, the girl tried to remember what he had first asked her. “I only heard a melody, and don’t worry I won’t spread it around”

“Hyung, I told you not to play it right now” Bomin scoffed to Joochan, who seemed to realize he was still holding out his violin before hiding it on his back.

“But Mae-ssi is a friend, isn’t she? She will hold out the shock factor for us” He laughed making the girl nod and give them a thumbs up. “Do you know how to play it too?”

“I do actually” She laughed and Joochan gestured her to take the instrument “Oh, no it’s fine”

“You heard our song already. At least play for us or tell us something about your stage” Jibeom teased leading her to sigh and take the violin to herself.

Fixing up her posture, Mae quickly played a random song she had learned as a child making the boys cheer. 

“Okay, I should be going now,” She said bowing embarrassed by their compliments and Denyeol nodded along. Fist bumping her before raising a finger.

“But, Mae if you could do us a favor” He started grabbing her attention “Please make sure you show you’re surprised”

Laughing she nodded making her way to the door, before leaving she held up her hands with her fists closed “Golden Child fighting!”

“Mae fighting!”

(requested by 🍓🥛 anon) 

… Behind the scenes for Heroin…

“Why are we so embarrassing?” Sunwoo giggled and clicked his pen repeatedly. He and Mae were sitting on the same side of the table waiting for Leedo from Oneus to show up for the writing session. 

Bouncing her leg, Mae hugged the boy’s arm and looked at the door expectantly, only to get startled by it opening up. 

“Hello” The tall boy put his head inside the room and entered it slowly. The three idols greeted each other and sat down still a little awkward from being the first time they truly interacted.

“I got the demo, so we can write the raps to go with it” Leedo said unlocking his phone. A piano melody that would blend in with Sunmi’s Heroin started playing, and Mae quickly unlocked her own device.

Opening a piano app, she waited for the recording to be over before quickly replicating it on her phone in different tempos.

“You picked it up quite fast” Leedo laughed scribbling down on his paper, and she smiled. “Sorry, just a habit before writing. This way we can adjust it as we go”

“No yeah, sure” He cleared his throat and Sunwoo bit his lip to prevent himself from laughing.

“Anyway, for the lyrics, I was thinking we could talk about becoming an idol”

After finishing up with their rap parts. The three idols made their way up to the practice room where the rest had began working with the choreographer.

“Mae, come here” Juyeon called out as soon as she stepped in the room, so he could run over some parts with her and Ravn. “There’s only actual choreography for you after the last chorus, but we do some kind of puppet thing during your verse”

“My love for this song couldn’t be any bigger” Mae giggled and looked around the room for the camera “Sunmi Sunbaenim, if you’re watching this, let’s be friends”

Laughing, Juyeon pulled out a chair for them to start while saying “Watch out. Taemin Sunbaenim commented on danger, maybe she’ll actually see this”

“Wait, he did” Mae stopped with wide eyes and Juyeon nodded. “Holy sh-”

“Yeah” Laughing he pulled her arm “Just remember this is still a broadcast” 

“Honestly, if she ever reaches out let me know. I want to be her friend too” Ravn added making them giggled, and she gave him a positive sign.

“As long as you don’t tell Juyeon, because he’s been censoring me a lot lately”

“Well, we have an agreement”

Sulking, Juyeon added “I don’t see how this is fair but okay”

… 1 minute after Quasi una fantasia …

The members bowed to the staff and extras before slowly stepping away from the stage. Mae could see some of the boys crowding around Juyeon who seemed pretty upset, though she had no idea what was going on. 

Holding her side, the girl went behind the boy and gave him a back hug making them waddle together back to the dressing room. Once they were all settled back, she stepped away from the crowd and raised her shirt a bit showcasing a forming bruise right above her waist.

“Crap, how did that happen?” Kevin who looked her way at the right time said under his breath. “You need to ice it, probably"

“I bumped on the corner of the piano," She said recalling the incident. “Hopefully it wasn’t noticeable. The camera wasn’t turned to me anyway”

The one part that had gotten her most nervous during this performance was her piano solo for the climax of Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata. Not only it dictated the rhythm for the first dance break, but it was also challenging for her as she hadn’t played something like this in a while, and it ended a few seconds before her part. 

So strategically speaking, she had to run off the instrument as soon as it was done and went back to the center of the performance. Not without hitting her hip against the wood.

“Is it hurting?” He asked while waving for a staff member and asking them for ice.

“It’s starting to. Do you think it’ll leave a big bruise?” Mae shrugged and hissed as the cold hit her warm skin. Shaking her head, she tried to focus on something else “Well, not mentioning everything. How was the performance?”

“Weren’t you there to see it yourself”

“I don’t know. I kind of blackout every time we go on stage” She made him laugh, but her face was dead serious.

“Wait really?”

“Kind of. I can remember it roughly I guess. Today there was so much to focus on that I’m not sure if I was entirely present. I banged my hip and didn't feel it at first for all things”

“Dude, same I guess. I need to lay down and get smushed by ten weighted blankets tonight” Kevin added hugging her on the other side and leading them to the couch.

… 3 days before Checkmate …

“The synchronization feels off” Eric spoke from the huddle of members watching the recording of their practice.

“Mae…” Q started, but before he could finish the girl spoke “Right arm higher. I got it”

“If you got it then why didn’t you do it right away” He turned playfully to her and poked her nose. 

Massaging her back, the girl laughed and walked back to her spot next to Haknyeon. The boy dropped his bottle on the floor to help her out “Did you fall on your side?”

“No. I did trip while running from one side to the center, so maybe that was it” She shrugged looking around the room “Nobody is intact”

“Tell me about it” He pouted and called Sangyeon closer. “Hyung, maybe we should work on another part. We’ve been doing this section of the chorus for too long”

“Go talk to the captain, I’m not in charge of that” The leader laughed sending him towards Changmin, Juyeon, and Hyunjae talking to one of the choreographers.

“They would listen if you’re the one asking,” Mae said leaning on his side and Sangyeon nodded. 

“Yeah, but I already came all the way over here. I don’t feel like walking back” Sangyeon chuckled, looking to the side where one of the staff members started calling his attention.

“We’ve got the costumes ready if you want to do a rehearsal with them” Looking up at the leader, Mae separated herself from him to run for the stylists while he went to call the other boys.

After the stylists helped her put on her clothes, one of them brought a box and quickly pulled her to the side “I know we’re not doing hair and makeup for today. But I’d figure it’s best for you to have it on for the rehearsal so we can make sure it won’t fall”

“Wow, is she getting a present?” Eric laughed approaching them and the stylist opened the box to reveal a thin black tiara to go along with her outfit.

“The crown itself is one of the props, so we had to make it subtle, but we couldn’t pass away the chance to represent the nickname you were given during the program,” She said helping her adjust the thing on her head and Mae walked to one of the mirrors.

“Wow, thank you so much Unnie,” The girl said checking herself out in the mirror “My face looks dead but damn this is pretty” She added making Eric and New, who also had joined them, laugh.

“You know, during a chess game, the Queen is one of the main pieces” She turned around to them holding a hand to her chest and a teasing expression “Thank goodness we didn’t go with a narrative that would give me that role because I’d crumble under the pressure”

“Only for the first week, then it would quickly get to your head” Chanhee scoffed patting her on the back and making her giggle. Eric chuckled as well and urged them outside “Let’s go work, so we can get Kingdom’s lost princess back to her place”

“Mock me as you want, I never asked for the nickname”