#why are they wearing a banana shirt? because I like bananas. no deep reason just putting my favorite fruit on them

[akemiiya]

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[thebestofoneshots]

Gilded Constellations | (wolfstar x reader)

Series Masterlist | Previous episode

Pairing: Wolfstar x Reader Word Count: 7.6 K Warnings: ANGST w/ comfort (but also not?) Prompt: At the Potter's. This IS a Wolfstar x reader fic, but it's incredibly slow burn. They won't start all dating each other until we're very deep into the story, but I promise the long wait will be worth it. Proofread by lovely: @aremuslupinsimp

Chapter 49: High Hopes

January, 3rd, 1977

“Kids, come eat something before you leave,” Hope called from the dining room. You were just finishing up packing, Remus had borrowed you his wand and you were putting everything in place (including a mild arrangement of his room that had been evidently changed since you got there) and he had also allowed you to gemino some of the pictures he had in his wall. 

You had picked one with the four Marauders, one of 11 year old Remus and Sirius smiling at the camera, one of James and Sirius when they got on the quidditch team, one of Peter working on the map, the one of Sirius you thought was adorable the first time you saw it, one with Lily and Remus doing a presentation and a few others with Sirius and Remus in which you thought they looked adorable or that you could use to tease them later (Hope had given you a few of Rem that were basically gold). 

“Coming,” you said as you grabbed the pictures and started arranging them back onto his wall with a flick of his wand. Thankfully Remus’ wand seemed to like you since every time you used it she would respond and do exactly what you’d intended. “Rem, I’m leaving your wand on the desk,” you said after closing the suitcase and taking it in your hands as you stepped out. 

“Sweetheart, let me help you with that,” Hope said as she saw you walk with your suitcase in hand and was surprised when she pulled on it and it shot upwards pretty fast. You managed to catch it and her before she tripped backwards. “Levitation spell,” you said with an apologetic smile. 

“Sometimes I forget how many useful spells you wizards have for things like this,” she said with a smile and carefully took the suitcase from your hands and sat it in a corner of the room. “Could you add a spell like that to my suitcases, honey?” she asked as she turned to Lyall who nodded in return. “I don’t get why he didn’t tell me about those earlier,” she added as she shook her head. “I’ve got some fruit in the fridge, could you help me get it?” she asked you. 

You nodded and followed, this time the fae had sent her an assortment of tropical fruits, everything from bananas to watermelons and dragonfruit. You weren’t sure how they managed to get such a harvest in the middle of winter, but it probably had to do a lot with fae magic that you didn’t yet understand.

Remus was out of his room with a band shirt and a pair of light-wash jeans. He had one of his jumpers in his hands, but his house was warm enough for him to only wear his shirt and clearly he was confident enough to not wear thousands of layers at home. He didn’t mind if you or his parents saw the scars on his arms, you all knew he was a werewolf, and while he was sometimes self-conscious about you seeing them, you had made it clear ���on countless occasions– that you would never be repulsed by them. 

So when you saw him, with his sweater casually crumpled up in his hand, you couldn’t help but smile. Hope was looking at you attentively, and she was even more confident about her initial thoughts now than she had been by everything she’d gotten from the letters, she just hoped Remus would understand the reference she had given him so she wouldn’t have to be blunt about it.

“What are Sex Pistols?” Lyall asked in a judgeful manner as he stared at Remus’ shirt with a frown.

You laughed because that was the exact reaction you expected a wizard to have after seeing the shirt and Hope was the one to answer, “A muggle band, you’ve heard them!” She said and then she started singing “Now I’ve got a reason, now I’ve got a reason…” Lyall seemed as puzzled as before and Hope just sighed in defeat, “He’s truly hopeless.” 

You refrained from making the “Well he has a Hope” pun since it didn’t seem proper to make puns with the names of your friend’s parents. Although, a big part of you thought Hope wouldn’t really mind. 

“I thought you said she was a drummer when she was in a band,” you said, turning to Remus with a gasp. 

“I was,” she said with a shrug. 

“But your singing is fantastic!” 

She smiled. “Someone appreciates it,” she added in an exaggerated tone and walked your way, placed her hands on your back and motioned for you to sit on the table. “Come, darling, you can have all the strawberries left.”

“Mum!” Remus complained. 

“You’ve never told me I sing nice, Beag Gille. Suck it up, as you kids would say.” 

You had to hold back the giggle that threatened to escape your mouth as you sat down next to Hope. She had prepared some toast for jam. Of course, it wouldn’t be just any bread –this was Hope Lupin we were talking about– it was sourdough with dried cranberries and spices. You were going to eat it with butter and jam (that she had made with fae fruit, obviously) and even cream cheese (that one she bought on the muggle market a few miles from the cliffs, she was extra, but she wasn’t that extra). 

Hope really had served all the leftover berries on your plate, and she wouldn’t let you offer them to the boys. “They can eat them whenever they’re here, who knows when you’ll come back,” she explained and told you to ignore their pretty puppy eyes. 

At least you weren’t the only one who thought Remus had pretty puppy eyes. 

You nodded and continued eating, although you slipped two of them under the table in a very muggle magician kind of way, and nudged Remus’ leg with your own. He looked at you confused and you merely nodded downwards as you brought a piece of bread to your mouth. He looked down and instantly noticed your closed fist. 

You nodded again and he pulled his hand down in a casual sort of way, brushing his fingers over your hand to let you know he was there since you were telling Hope something about the floating spell. Eventually, he pulled his palm down underneath your fist and you turned your wrist over to let the berries fall on his hand. He allowed his hand to linger just a little bit more, enjoying the fact that he could touch you, and pulled away eventually. Grinning as he brought a piece of bread with peanut butter to his mouth. 

After breakfast, you waved your goodbyes to Remus’ parents. Lyall gave you a quick friendly hug and told you to take care and stay out of trouble while Hope embraced you for at least a minute, pulling you close to her as she did and squeezing you tightly. 

“Take care, all right? Cailín álainn?” 

You recognised one of those words, It’s what Remus had called you and Sirius once. But why would his mother call you “shit”?

“Álainn?” you asked. 

“My beautiful girl, of course,” she added and pressed a kiss to your hair. 

What did she say? Beautiful girl?!? But wasn’t that–

 “Off you go,” she added after finally separating from the embrace. “To have fun and all of that.” 

“But not too much fun,” Lyall added with an accusing finger directed towards Remus, but Hope was quick enough to push that finger out of the way and sigh at her husband.

“All the fun you want,” she said and took a small box from the mantel and opened it, revealing the very classic green of the floo powder. 

Remus took a handful and you did the same afterwards. “I’ll go first,” he said and threw the powder on the chimney as he said, “Potter’s Manor,” in a very clear voice. 

You were about to do the same when Hope pressed a hand on your shoulder. “You are a very strong woman,” she said as she stared at you directly. “A true hero.” You frowned, ready to refute her when she shook her head. “Take care of my Remus, will you? I know he’ll be taking care of you. You’re very dear to him.”

“Always,” you replied, without family left, your friends had become their equal and you would defend them with all your might if the situation needed it. Something like Christmas could not happen again. You refused to lose any more of your people. 

Hope smiled and pulled you into a quick hug, before turning you around with her hands and pushing you towards the chimney, “All right, Cailín álainn, no stalling, there are handsome men waiting for you on the other side.” You threw the powder into the fire. “Oh, and write me, darling. I want to hear all of your misadventures!” she said as you murmured the words and disappeared into the fireplace. 

Remus was on the other side, dusting off some remnant ashes from his pants as he looked around the living room, it seemed empty, he had already put on his sweater since the living room was chillier than his house, he was probably also being careful, in case there was anyone other than the Potters in the house. 

“Did we arrive at the right time?” you asked with a frown as you too dusted off your shoulder. 

“Yeah, they said about 10,” Remus replied as he checked his watch. It was 10:15, not English punctuality but that had been on his mum stalling the two of you.

Then you felt a hand gripping you from behind and pulling you upwards from the waist, you would have panicked, if you hadn’t instantly known it was Sirius. The invisibility cloak he had been wearing slipped from him as he buried his head on your neck. You had talked to Sirius and James every day, but that didn’t stop him from clinging to you the minute he spotted you. 

“How are you?” He whispered into your neck. 

“Kinda constrained,” you replied as you nodded towards his caging hands. 

“You know what I meant.” 

You swallowed, not quite sure if you were ready to talk about it all again. Thankfully, Prongs was there to save you. He took off the cloak with a rather exasperated sigh. “Pads! We were supposed to get them at the same time!” 

“Sorry,” Sirius mumbled in the least apologetic tone you’d heard. 

James shook his head and then pulled Moony into a short hug, “Merry Christmas, mate,” he said and then quite literally ripped you from Sirius’ grasp to give you a bear hug. 

“James, James, James,” you said as he overdid it with the squeezing. 

“Sorry,” he said as he pulled apart and you just shook your head with a smile in return. Sirius had pulled Remus into a similar hug, and he was still hugging the taller boy when James let go of you. You smiled when you saw how cosy they looked against each other and James placed his arm around your shoulder. 

“We’ve been waiting for you,” James said with a smile. “We need to discuss Marauder’s business.”

“But Peter’s not here,” you said. Sirius pulled apart from Remus who looked a little phased, took your suitcase and placed it on the table before plopping down on the sofa. 

“He’s on a family trip in Italy, he won’t be back ‘til after vacation, but we’ll write him the details,” Sirius said and then opened his arms and looked at you. “Come?” 

You rolled your eyes but did as told, secretly enjoying how clingy Sirius was, and sat on his lap like you often did. James sat on the table in front of you and pulled Moony by the arm so he would sit on the right in front of him,  next to you and Sirius. 

“We were thinking about a small little prank,” he said, “to mark our coming back to school and all that.”

“Yeah?” You asked, reclining onto Sirius and getting a little more comfortable. Remus, who had had you all to himself for more than a week, was having a rather hard time coping with the sudden space between the two of you. He was tempted to place his hand around Sirius’s shoulders and bring both of you closer to him, but he knew it wasn’t possible. 

“So Sirius and I were talking about the time you used the swamp bomb and how we had accidentally trapped a creature inside of it.” 

“And,” Sirius started from behind you. “We thought it was really interesting how the creature quite literally busted out the minute you exploded the bomb.” 

“It was not interesting,” Remus said almost bitterly. They hadn’t seen you fall, they hadn’t seen you in the water and they hadn’t smelled your fear as you stepped away from the murky water and frosted the lake. 

“From an impartial point of view,” you added with a shrug, clearly trying to excuse the boys’ words, you wouldn’t have used interesting to describe it either, but you kind of got what they meant by it. Remus had to hold back a scoff. He was having a hard time tolerating the bursting of the comfortable bubble you had both been immersed in. 

“Sorry Vix,” Sirius said with an apologetic look. “But hear us out. What if we put not one, but several creatures inside of a swamp bomb.” 

“Define creatures…” 

“Tadpoles,” Sirius said from behind, a small smirk playing on his lips. 

“You want them to turn into toads,” Remus said as he looked at the two boys, now a bit more invested in the prank. “Why?” 

“Because we want to infest Hogwarts with Toads,” James said with a satisfied smile. Sirius pulled a small crystal ball from his pocket and handed it over to you. Very condensed inside it, there was thick murky water. 

You took a look, “How many of them did you put in here?” you asked as you handed the ball to Remus, he pulled his hand faster than he normally would from yours, which made you frown. What’s with him? 

“About 17 dozen, Peter found a spawning bed filled with hundreds of them and the idea just came to us in an instant.” 

“We’ve been flying through the grounds to find some more, but most of them are frozen due to the snow.” 

“How many have you made?” You asked. 

James smiled, pulled a handful from his pocket, and placed it between your hands. Then he pulled another one and left it in Remus' hands. “Peter will be getting more in Italy, he promised.” 

“So we’ll have at least a hundred of these?” Remus asked. Sirius nodded. “How are you planning to explode them all at the same time?” 

“That’s why you two are here. You’re good with this kind of thing.” 

You scoffed with a smile, “You left us the hardest part!” 

“Try finding spawning beds and catching them in spheres, Vix,” Prongs retorted with a daring kind of face and stuck out your tongue to him. He gasped as he pulled back and played offended. 

“We could time-set them?” Remus offered. 

“Yeah, but what kind of charm would do that?” You asked. “A freezing charm, hiding them in the corner of classrooms and having them fall during first period?” 

“Told you they would figure it out,” Sirius said as he looked at the two of you with a proud smile and side eyes James who had a small frown and pursed lips. 

“Oh, that could actually work, but we’d have to perfect the charm so they all fall at the same time, if not they could figure it out and stop them from exploding,” Remus responded to you. 

“Does that mean one person would have to charm all of them? There’s no way in hell we’d have enough time.” 

“Not if we make the spell and teach the others how to do it,” he retorted. “Maybe we can run some tests… with toadless swamp bombs.” 

“Got some of those?” you asked James. 

“We can make them,” he responded with a shrug. 

And that’s how you set yourself up for the task, while Remus and you figured out how to deal with the spell, James and Sirius went out to make some toadless swamp bombs for you to test them. You didn’t see the Potters until it was dinner time. 

Effie was more than thrilled over the fact that you were staying at her house and she asked Mellie and Picksie to prepare some treats for you and Remus while Monty cooked dinner. “Boys, we’re talking girls stuff,” she announced after setting the table and pulled you to the side. You looked at them with a worried expression and Sirius shrugged, while James gave you a teasing thumbs up. 

Effie took you to a room filled with books and looked at you with a small frown. “You’ve already talked to Dumbledore?” 

It might have been toned like a question, but it sounded a lot more like a statement. “Yes.” 

She nodded and placed her hand on your shoulder, she had a sad sort of look on her face that made you feel like you were being pitied, which had you shift uncomfortably. It was completely different to the way she had looked at you back at the train station when you first met her, and you felt like the memories were flooding back. 

“Do you want to talk about it?” She asked simply. “Have you talked about it to someone?” 

You hesitated to answer. “I don’t,” you said honestly. “I’d rather not think about it altogether.” 

She sighed and then nodded, as if she both knew it was a bad idea to suck it all up, and understood exactly where you were coming from. “You should process it, not now–” she added when she saw the deepening of your frown. “But you should eventually talk about it, even if it’s just to yourself.” 

You nodded to her words, “Now… since you’ll be staying with the boys and I know you’re dating Sirius, I’ve brought you this,” she said, handing you a crystal bottle with greenish liquid inside.

You knew well what it was since McGonagall had shown you an identical potion back in her special class. 

“Monty has already talked to the boys, but I wanted to make sure you were also taking care of yourself. Especially now that–” She didn’t finish, but you knew exactly what she meant. 

Especially now that you don’t have a mum.

“Thank you, Effie,” you said honestly, and she instantly pulled you into a hug. 

“I’m really sorry for everything you’ve gone through. I’ll work even harder so these kinds of things don’t happen again.”  You didn’t say anything, and she continued. “You were incredibly brave,” she added, “defending a friend against them, it must have been a tough call to make.” 

That had been the easiest part. You had never hesitated on whether to try to save Nina and your mother. The hard part was failing and having to live with it. 

“Thank you,” she said. “Thank you for showing them that we aren’t all on their side and that we won’t stand down to their bigotry.” 

You didn’t speak much, but Effie continued to give you praises for a couple of minutes, and then she told you a bit about the order and gave you a small keychain with a protean charm that would allow you to call her in case you ever needed her help. After that, she gave you a small pat on the back and told you dinner was ready. 

You were still a little shaken by the time you stepped out of the room and Remus was struggling not to wrap you in his arms and pull you into a tight hug. But it was Sirius the one who did it, he pressed a bunch of kisses to your face and then one on your lips. It was quick, and it had been a second, but it was enough to have James grumble something about being forgotten because you were around, and complaining to Moony when Sirius had you sit next to him, on his usual spot. 

Even though the talk with Effie had shaken you again, you were quick to let yourself be drowned by the merry atmosphere, James and Sirius complaining and somehow managed to flip the switch, leaving the problems at the back of your mind and actually enjoying the dinner and conversation even if the words wouldn’t quite reach your mind. 

Anything to avoid, anything to forget, even if only for a minute. 

Remus had been looking at you attentively throughout the dinner, the way Sirius was being extra touchy with you, he had probably noticed how upset you were too. Sirius wasn’t stupid. But he was waiting for the right time to talk to you. He was giving you space, but holding you close while at it. It was sweet, the two of you were a really sweet match, one made in heaven. And he was nothing more than a serpent, a tempting –or perhaps tempted– serpent that had fallen in love. 

He would have to put up some space, he would have to step away, because if any of you had a taste of his apple then that beautiful relationship, that made him feel so many things at once, would crumble, and he would be to blame. 

But how could he step away? You had been through hell and back and you needed your friends, even if you didn’t want to admit it to yourself, you needed them. And he was your best friend, for fucks sake. How could he prioritise his feelings over yours? Remus started to feel like a monster again, and it was not because he was a werewolf. But rather because he had allowed himself to bask on the idea of being with you and seeing you with Sirius, how close you were to each other, it just reminded him that it wasn’t possible. It wasn’t possible to have either of you. 

You might have allowed the conversation to swallow you, but you weren’t blind, you could tell there was something going on with Rem, he was different, he had been different the instant you appeared in Potter’s manor. And while at first, you thought it might have been because he was in a different house, it was like you could almost see the inner conflict inside his eyes. It was something similar to what you saw when you looked in the mirror, but at the same time, it was vastly different. 

Whatever it was that was troubling Remus, wasn’t related to what had happened that night, even if he had cried for Nina when you told him the story, even if he had been sad about your mother and had hugged you until you stopped crying, Remus’ mind was plagued with a different feeling, you weren’t sure why, but you knew. 

“That was delicious,” you said with a polite smile. “Thank you, Monty.” 

Monty beamed at your praise and sent you a very James Potter-like wink, “You’re welcome darling, you may dine here whenever you want. And I mean it, I don’t care if James and Sirius are busy, you’re family now.” 

It had been a short, almost throw-away comment, but you felt your heart swell with warmth when he said it. You had lost your parents, but you had gained Hope and you had gained Effie and Monty. You might have felt lonely, but you wouldn’t be alone. 

“That’s right,” James said as he placed his hands around your shoulder. “She’s like the sister I never got, isn’t she boys?” 

“Well she’s not like a sister to me,” Sirius said and sent you a wink that pulled a small chuckle from you. 

Remus didn’t respond. 

And again, you noticed. It was like you were noticing many things and a lot of them had to do with Remus. Like that one thing that you had seen hints of in the past was finally revealing itself and you weren’t sure exactly what it was, but you had the feeling that you’d be able to tell soon enough.

“Gross,” James said and pulled you closer to him. 

“You’ll take her to her room?” Effie asked. 

“Indeed,” he responded as he dragged you up their stairwell, “I’ll even give her a short tour.” 

“Aha?” you asked. 

He nodded in return and stepped right in front of you when you reached the end of the stairwell. “So, that way we have the office, the library and my parent’s room,” he said and moved to the other side of the hallway and pointed at a door. “This is mine and Sirius’ room, Mum and Dad used an extending charm to make you a room and Rem will stay with us.” 

“You shouldn’t have gone through the trouble…” 

“Because you always end up sleeping all together?” James teased. “Mum is open-minded but not that open-minded.” 

You gasped and punched James on the shoulder, “Thank you.” 

“You’re welcome.” He replied. “I believe Mellie and Picksie have already taken your stuff there, so you should be set to sleep if that’s what you want. You have your own bathroom, although there is also one at the end of the hall, you already know the one that’s downstairs, yeah?” 

You nodded in response. 

“Good, any questions?” 

“Nope.” 

“Excellent. Now, it’s not that late, and we’re planning to play a muggle board game Sirius got sent by Andromeda. It’s called Monopoly.” 

“Oh, I know how to play,” Remus said casually. 

“Meet you in our room?” James asked. 

“Yeah,” you said with a nod and walked inside yours. 

You took a quick shower and changed into a pair of comfortable pyjamas. With a towel still around your shoulders to catch the wetness of your hair, you knocked on their door. James was setting up the game and Sirius looked confused as Remus tried to explain the instructions to him, the three were sitting on the floor. You approached them and after sitting down, you carefully took the instructions from Remus’ hand. Again, he was quick to pull away from you and you tried to ignore the feeling as you sank into your seat and started to read through them. You were also slightly confused. The whole “put houses and hotels” was a concept you weren’t really familiar with, it was nothing like Wizard’s Chess! 

“So, you got it?” Remus asked.

“I have to pay if I fall on your property? But why? You would never charge me, we’re friends,” Sirius said. 

“Yes, but it’s the game’s rule. If he doesn’t charge you because you’re friends then he wouldn’t charge any of us and he would lose the game,” you explained.

“And what’s with this money?” he added as he took one of the bills from the game. “It looks so weird. But muggles also use paper, I remember that. How do they protect against falsification, like gemino and muggle forgers?”

“Sirius! You’re not thinking of using magic while playing, are you?” You said as you threw him a look.

“Is it against the rules? It’s not in here,” he added as he took the paper from your hands and showed it. 

“Of course, it isn’t,” you said as you took it from his hands. “It’s a muggle game Sirius, they don’t add ‘Spells are forbidden’ in the rules like we do.” 

“So that means no magic?” he asked. 

“No,” Remus and you said at the same time. 

“And no duplicating the money if you ran out either,” James warned. 

“I’m just saying, it wouldn’t be against the rules.”

You gave Sirius a stern look and turned to Remus, it was as if he instantly knew what you wanted since he handed over his wand. “Accio pencil.” 

A pencil flew from James’ desk and towards your hand. You caught it with ease and wrote down two new rules on the paper. 

THE USE OF ANY KIND OF MAGIC IS FORBIDDEN 

FORGING THE MONEY (BE IT BY MUGGLE MEANS OR WIZARDING ONES) IS ALSO FORBIDDEN.

“Now it’s against the rules.” 

“I’ve always found it fascinating how Moony’s wand just works when you use it,” James said as he looked at the item in question in disbelief. 

“You’re just jealous you can’t use it,” Sirius said as he took Remus’ wand and effortlessly levitated the pencil back to the desk. 

“I’m sure I can if I try hard enough,” James said, taking the wand in his hands and flicking it about. Nothing happened. He flicked it again and still nothing. He did again, with more force, and the pencil flicked from the spot and launched towards him. You were quick enough to move the game board over his face and the pencil’s tip crashed against it. 

“Shit, it made a dent,” you said as you pulled the board down and looked at the place that the pencil had, pretty much stabbed into. Right above the Angel of Islington, there was a dent in the shape of the pencil, the graphite tip had broken and was now stuck in the cardboard. 

“That would have been your face, mate,” Sirius said while James took Moony’s wand between his thumb and index fingers –as if it had been a bomb– and placed it in front of Remus’ crossed feet. 

Remus rolled his eyes and took his wand, he flicked in the air and both the chipped pencil and the gameboard were repaired, he didn’t even have to say a word. 

“Yeah, thanks Vix,” He said as he turned to you. You just shrugged in response. It had been almost instinctive, you didn’t even think before acting, you saw the pencil shake and you knew something bad might have happened. “Be my team.” 

“There are no teams in Monopoly,” Remus said with a sigh. 

“Well we could change that,” James said with a shrug. 

“If they didn’t change the rules for me to forge money, then they’re not gonna change them for you to steal my girlfriend.”

“How about we just start playing instead?” you offered, and in between you and Remus started distributing the money and placing things on the board. 

“I’ll be the dog,” Sirius said, instantly taking the small metal dog from Remus’ hands. 

“I’ll take the car,” James said. 

“And you, Little Witch?” 

“You pick first,” you said simply, and Remus stared at the pieces left in his hand like he wasn’t sure which one to take, and eventually he took the thimble. Pushing the rest of the pieces your way. 

You took the small battleship and placed it on “Go”. The rest of the boys did the same. 

“Hey Moons, can I have my £200?” James said.

“It’s only after the first round,” he explained. 

“It’s on the rules Prongs, didn’t you read them?” Sirius added as he handed him the paper and James scoffed at his hypocrisy. 

You laughed at their interaction and took the dice in your hands before shaking them and throwing them on the board, “Seven? Alright you go,” you said as you handed them to Remus who got a 10. James got an eight and Sirius got a 3.

“Good, so I start,” Remus said and threw the dice again, moving towards the spot marked on the board. 

The first couple of rounds were uneventful. You were all just playing around, and it wasn’t until at least 40 minutes later that things started to get a little more complicated. 

James had gotten possession of all the orange properties after making a deal with Sirius to exchange an orange for the last railroad that he needed to complete the set. Remus had somehow managed to get the entirety of the 3rd line and while you had 3 houses on Park Lane, no one had fallen even close to either of them in the last two rounds. 

“Remus please,” Sirius pleaded. “Please, please, let me go, just this once, I’ll pay you as soon as someone falls on Kings Cross. James is super close, look.” 

Remus shook his head. “I’m sorry Pads, rules are rules.” 

“But you let Vix go a couple of rounds ago.” 

“She gave me her get-out-of-jail card in exchange, and I’ve fallen there twice already. What would you give me in exchange?” 

“Moony!” Sirius whined. James had already taken his pink cards a round earlier when he fell and also had no money to pay for it. He would have to mortgage his properties to pay off, and James had already done it once and he had been terribly upset over just getting half of the money he paid for it.

You sighed, you didn’t want Sirius to lose, but you didn’t want him to be kicked out of the game so suddenly either. “How much do you have?” 

“£100.” 

You nodded and checked your money. You weren’t much better either but you had a bit of a cushion so you pulled the £150 he needed from your bill stack and handed it over. 

James gasped, “That’s so not fair! You made me mortgage White Chapel Rode to pay off my debt!” 

“I want it back with a 20% over the total when you have capital. And I will not be charged if I fall on your properties until you’ve paid up the debt.” 

“Never mind,” James said, swallowing his own words. “Not even because he’s your boyfriend. I mean he would have been better off getting a mortgage.” 

“No,” Remus said, charging the money Sirius owed and placing it on his own stack of bills. He currently had the thickest stack and the most properties. Unless there was a massive turn of events, he would win, and you definitely did not need him keeping Sirius’ properties. “Sirius would have had to mortgage at least four properties to get enough money to pay, that would mean he’d have to sell one of his railroads and therefore he would have lost his set, decreasing the total amount of profit he’d get if one of us fell on it. He would have also had to sell the houses in Islington and sell one of his blue afterwards. And only for half the money he spent on them initially. Besides, even if she won’t get charged, we will, so he has a 2/3 chance of getting the money to pay her back. If any of us fall on Kings Cross –and we’re both close– he’ll have enough to pay Vix back and he wouldn’t have sold off any of his properties. 

“But only to pay back, and then he’ll be broke again.” 

“He’s close to ‘Go’, he’ll capitalise then, and he’ll manage to survive for at least a few more turns. She’s actually saving his ass.” 

“That’s because she’s the best,” Sirius said and placed a kiss on your cheek before handing the dice to Remus and he threw them, falling on Park Lane and finally giving you enough money to continue with the next round without major issues. 

Sirius and James survived for a couple more rounds, but eventually, they both went bankrupt, James couldn’t pay a debt to the bank and he had to give all his properties back, and since you and Remus had enough money, you had to fight it out to get them on an auction. Sirius lost to Remus later, but this time around he didn’t even ask for a waiver. 

“Here, take it all Moony, I cannot fight against your economic skills,” he said dramatically and handed his leftover money and properties to Remus. 

James had pulled a pillow from the bed and was soundly sleeping beside you and Sirius, who had pulled you onto his lap shortly after he lost the game and was paying close attention to everything you did within the game. Then you fell into the dеathtrap that Remus had designed on Fleet Street and Picadilly. Losing most of your money after two rolls of the dice. Luckily he fell on Mayfair and Parklane afterwards and you managed to get back most of what you’d lost. 

A few more rounds went on and Sirius yawned. Pulling you closer to him. “Just give up, neither of you it’s going to win this one. Moony allowed you to pay half the debt last time you fell on Coventry and you let it slip when he fell on Kings Cross because he promised to do your Herbology homework. At this point, you owe more favours to each other than money.”  

“But you can’t give up on this game.” 

“Then be ruthless to each other and have one of the two go bankrupt.” 

You pouted, and James mumbled something in his sleep, “Moony, no. Let me keep my deed card, please…” The three of you laughed and you leaned down to place a deed card on his hand. He was quick to grip it and smiled. 

“How about a truce?” Sirius offered. “I really want to go to bed.” 

“Well then go,” Remus said with a shrug.

“I meant all of us to go to bed,” he said nonchalantly. “We haven’t cuddled in a while.” 

Remus swallowed, so much for space. “You mean– we’re still doing the cuddle thing?” 

“Just in case,” you said, “Moony took Vixen in, but we don’t know if it was just a one-time thing or not.” 

Remus knew. Moony had accepted Vixen already, he wasn’t gonna try and eat or chase her unless it was a game. He could just tell you and be done with it. No more Sirius on top of him in the mornings, no more you laying your head on his shoulder before you turned into Vixen. Just him and his own bed. The idea sounded like a nightmare.

“Yeah, of course,” he said, agreeing. “We shouldn’t let our guard down. Just in case.” 

“So, shake hands, kiss kiss, and you both win,” Sirius said as he placed his hands on your shoulder and shook them a little. 

You laughed and extended your hand for Remus to shake, “Truce?” 

“Truce,” he replied with a nod. 

“Let’s go then,” Sirius said as he patted your leg and pushed you to stand. 

“I’ll go wash my teeth,” you said as you waved at the boys and exited their room. 

“How is she?” Sirius asked the instant he was alone with Moony. Well, technically Prongs was there too but he slept like a log, so he might as well be in Narnia altogether. 

“You’ve seen her.” 

“Yeah, I can tell she’s shaken. Heck, I am shaken and I barely knew the girl. You knew Nina better, didn’t you?” 

“Vixen said she was crushing on me after the first study club, remember?” 

“That was Nina?” Sirius asked, shocked as he took a deep breath. “Anyway, how is she?” 

“Quiet,” Remus admitted. “She prefers avoiding the subject entirely. She only told me what happened the day after it happened and then one time when I found her crying outside, she mentioned how she felt. I think it’s much better not to pressure her to talk about it.” 

 “I assumed as much,” Sirius said with a sigh. “But I’m worried, her smile it… it barely reaches her eyes now.” 

Remus had noticed that too. The façade you had created was not enough to hide how you truly felt from either of the two, “I know.” 

“How can we change that?” 

“We can’t. We can only support her until she feels better.” 

“It’s agonising,” Sirius breathed and hid his face in between his hands. And he hasn’t even seen her cry, Remus thought. “You know the way Nina diеd–” Sirius started and looked up, his eyes were glassy with tears. “Vix was trying so hard to defend her, so hard to escape and then she– it was a split second Moony, barely a minute, she was trying to repair the path to continue and they sent a course her way, Nina stepped in, she took the blow instead because she new Vix was already rather weak…. Nina saved her.” 

“I know,” Remus said. 

“You know what’s the last thing Nina told her?” Remus shook his head. “That she was pleased Vix was the last thing she got to see. She thanked her for saving her, even if she didn’t…” Sirius stopped and wiped his eyes. Witnessing the entire thing in first person had taken a toll on him too, Remus could tell. Sirius wasn’t only suffering for you, but with you as well. He felt tempted to bring Sirius into a hug, even more when he wiped his eyes with the sleeve of his shirt. 

Sirius didn’t feel worthy of crying, albeit he had done it more than once when he was alone, he thought that he didn’t have the right. It had been your mother and your close friend, he had been merely a spectator. What Sirius didn’t understand was that pain wasn’t something to be measured and weighed, it was not something to compare and pin against each other, you can’t say “I don’t deserve to cry” just because someone else has it a lot worse. Your feelings, no matter where they stem from, are valid since they are true for you. 

“She stayed there, she was crying on top of Nina, that was the last thing I saw. I– I didn’t think she would move.” 

“She wasn’t going to,” Remus said. You had never said that explicitly, but it had been obvious from the way things happened. “She would have kept trying if it hadn’t been for Barty.” 

“Barty, of all people,” Sirius said in disbelief. There was a second of quiet and then Sirius turned to look at Remus. He was as beautiful as he remembered, he hadn’t quite realised how much closer he’d veered to him while they talked but they were now much closer, his knees brushing against each other and he was close enough to get a whiff off Remus’ chocolaty scent, he smelled of you too.

Then the knob twisted and the door opened, Remus pulled back hastily and Sirius turned into Padfoot before you noticed he’d been crying. “Everything all right?” you asked with a frown when you felt the tense atmosphere. 

You looked at Remus but Padfoot was quicker and ran your way, jumping and placing his paws on your shoulders, his size made you stagger back a little and you laughed when he started to lick your face. Remus stared for a second and then flicked his wand so the game would go back to the box and then took it in his hand to place it on the table, avoiding the sight of the two of you almost entirely. 

“I missed you too, big boy,” you said as you brushed your hand over the back of Padfoot’s head, he barked softly in return and then dug his snout into your neck in the same way he did to Remus when you cuddled. You were petting him as Remus finished setting the bed.

The second Remus sat on the bed, Padfoot barked again, softer than he had earlier.

“Go ahead,” you said. “He’s better at petting you than I am anyway.” 

Padfoot gave you another short lick and jumped from you and towards Remus, throwing himself over in the same way he had with you, although Remus hadn’t even staggered. You smiled when you saw them.

Sirius was just happy he could hug Rem more now that he was Padfoot and was bossing him around so he would lay on the bed properly by biting his shirt and trying to pull him back. “Oi, Pads, I’m coming,” he said as he carefully unclasped his watch to set it on the night table. Padfoot barked again to hurry him. 

“You know Rem,” you said with a sneaky little smile. He hummed in return. “I think Sirius missed us more.” Padfoot’s face changed and he turned to you instantly, barking in retort. “I mean he was calling us often, he had me on his lap whenever he could, and I’m sure he would have asked me to play with his hair if it hadn’t been that we were so busy with the prank.” 

Remus smirked. “Oh, he definitely missed you more.” Padfoot now turned his head to him and barked. 

“I suppose I win the bet then,” you said with a smile and Padfoot barked one more time before running your way, but you were quicker and turned into Vixen before he placed his paws on your shoulders, sneaking in between his legs as he fell again, slightly startled. 

You ran under the bed and crossed the entire thing before jumping over and climbing onto Remus’ lap who was still sitting. He laughed as you brushed your head to his stomach and Padfoot barked at you for being so sneaky. You must have been saying something to each other –since you kept barking– but Remus was clueless as to what that might have been, so he just carefully raised you up and accommodated, allowing enough space for Padfoot to climb into and get comfortable himself.

“Didn’t you say you were tired?” he said with eyebrows raised at Padfoot who had now rested his snout on Remus’ shoulder. “Stop arguing with Vixen and sleep then.” Padfoot lifted his head and barked in return. “If not, we might as well finish the game.” 

The dog whined and sank back into Remus’ shoulder. After that, it didn’t take much for Remus soft and purposeful petting, for both you and Pads to fall asleep. Sirius now much calmer, he had both you and Remus around.

Series Masterlist | Next Chapter

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A/N: Remus noooooo!!!!!

Read more Marauders Fiction

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Arthur Be Damned

Pairing: Orm Marius x F!Reader

Warnings: Smut

Summary: Orm has the hots for Arthur's big sister, and it looks like she's got the hots for him too.

She was Arthur's big sister, and Arthur was doing his big brother duty by ordering Orm to stay away from her. Orm agreed entirely. Getting together with his brother’s older sister would be messy, to say the least. It started as nothing more than a silly little crush. A pretty girl flashed a brilliant smile towards him, patched him up and fed him because he and Arthur had to hide out for a while. He would get over it soon enough. Six months had passed since the initial agreement that Orm would stay away from her, and he was more in love with the woman now than he ever dreamed he could be. 

She was nothing like Arthur. She was quiet, introspective. Having had a hard life living with her mother, her smiles didn't come easily. When she spoke, Arthur listened and did what he was told. There was a deep sense of respect on Arthur's part for his big sister that Orm admired. She was neat, orderly, efficient. When Orm fantasized about being king, she was his queen. Regal and unwavering. He was desperate for her attention.

He did menial chores to compensate. He was bad at it at first, but he picked it up quick enough. He always went grocery shopping with her. She was on the shorter side, so getting items on higher shelves was an issue. Not to mention feeding two grown Atlanteans in their prime required a lot of food. He made sure to wear tighter, more flattering shirts to show off his muscles as he hauled bags upon bags up the driveway to the kitchen. He thanked her, complimented her, and anything else he could think of just to get her to look his way.

The benefits of being stuck in a small home with the woman of his dreams every day for six months were numerous. The one he liked best was the fact that he could observe her in silence. He spent an unabashed amount of time watching her. She noticed him doing it to. She made snide comments before when Arthur snapped at her for wearing revealing clothing. She simply laughed in Arthur’s face and said, “I have to make sure to put on a show for Orm. He’s always staring.” If his staring bothered her, she hadn’t said anything.

He learned so many things about her in such a short amount of time he felt like his head was stuffed full. In fact, despite the desperate circumstances he and Arthur were in, all he thought about was Arthur’s sister. She had a matcha latte and a bagel every morning. The topping on the bagel were different day to day but often it was peanut butter and banana. She was a university student in her last years of school, what she studied he couldn’t make heads or tales of . He just understood that it was frustrating. He also knew, the more frustrated she was, the more likely she was to play loud “nasty” music just liked the music coming from her room now.          

Orm looked up the stairs, wondering if he should try and comfort her. She didn’t seem a woman that would enjoy his company when stressed, but he hadn’t seen her at all that day. She had been up since before the break of dawn and remained shut in her room the rest of the day. He would die if he didn’t at least tell her good night. What if she didn’t like him though? He couldn’t just go up there and knock on her door to say goodnight, sleep well…could he? She had to like him just a little. Arthur was her brother, but she spent less time with him than she did with Orm. She smiled at him more, sought him out first after missions to make sure he was ok. It felt like she was choosing him. She could just be trying to be nice; he reasons. On the other hand, if she was trying to be nice, why didn’t she ever comfort Arthur the way she comforted him?

He isn’t sure how long he stares up, but when he hears a thump, he’s running to the second floor, two steps at a time. He calls her name, panicked. Banging on her bright yellow door, he calls for her again. “I’m ok!” She calls to him, sounding just as panicked as he feels. “I’m fine.” He hears scrambling and another thump; the music cuts off abruptly. She opens the door, flashing him a ‘see I’m fine smile’. She looks in disarray. Her hair fluffier, as if she’d been sleeping, her tight shirt slightly raised to show the chub of her belly, her shorts showing her meaty things. Once again, he’s plagued by thoughts of being squeezed by those thighs. “I heard a bang,” he says, looking past her and into the room. “Are you alright, did you trip?” She was a woman of poise, rarely tripping over herself. “I’m alright,” She reiterates, “I just knocked something over, that’s all.” Orm’s blue eyes snap back to her, she gives him another smile, sheepish, telling him to go away, everything is fine, just fine. That’s when the smell hits him.

Orm understood that surface people went through a mating season, not unlike Atlanteans. A human female’s season was short, about a week. They made up for the short season by going through it once a month. He took her appearance in again, and somehow managed to leap to a conclusion. She was relieving her heat herself. That thump must have been a tool of some kind, and she dropped it in the throws of passion. Orm felt himself harden instantly at the thought, he wanted to know what tool it was that had her so flushed with pleasure, he wanted to use it on her. Her sheepish smile falters as his stare becomes intense. `

“Orm are you ok?” She reaches out to him, grabs his arm, he can’t help but to step inside her room, pull her close to him and take a deep breath. Damn, that sent short circuited his brain. “Orm?” Her voice is soft, laced with confusion, but not alarm. “Arthur doesn’t like the thought of us being together,” Orm tells her, unwilling to stop the confession about to pour forth from him “But Arthur be damned. I want you; I’ve wanted you since the first moment I met you, more than I’ve ever wanted another.” She squirms in his arms, but he doesn’t let go, can’t let go, not yet. “These past six months have been nothing but a fever dream of yearning. I don’t just want to fuck you on every available surface, I want to kiss you, hold your hand. I want to take you to Atlantis and show you all its wonders. I want you to explain the surface world to me. I want to get lost in you until the end of our days.”

“Orm-” he cuts her off, “But I understand our dynamic is strange,” Orm finds the strength to let go of her. He feels stupid, weak, embarrassed. He hadn’t meant to lay his soul bear to her, but she just brought it out of him. He was madly in love with her. “We share a brother, and he’s uncomfortable with the thought of us together. I only needed you to know I have strong feelings for you. If you reject me, I accept. I want nothing more than for you to be happy.” He feels his heart give a painful squeeze. He knows there’s no way she’d accept him. Arthur was her brother, Orm was nothing less than a disgraced prince. But he had to tell her, he couldn’t go on living without at least telling her his secret. Damn her for making him so weak.    

She reaches for him, takes his hand in hers, tugs him closer. It’s the most natural thing in the world, bending down to kiss her. He’s thrilled when she wraps her arms around his neck and receives him. He takes his time kissing her, exploring her soft lips, playfully nibbling, and nipping, enjoying her girlish giggling. When they finally pull back, both are smiling stupidly at the other. “What about Arthur?” Orm asks, the king of Atlantis is going to be pissed at this new development. “It’s like you said, Arthur be damned.” Orm took it as permission to dip down and kiss her again.            

Somewhere in the haze Orm manages to close the door, walk her across the room, and get her on the bed. He hovers over her, unwilling to move too far from her lips. He spends eternity kissing her, wanting to tell her how much he loves her. It’s too early for that, he thinks, I don’t want to seem desperate. In a shocking turn of events, she flips him over onto his back, settles herself on his hips, both letting out gasps when she brushes his erection. He rests his hands on her hips as she regards him. Her wild hair seems wilder now, her eyes glimmering with mirth. She’s smirking down at him, and he swears he’s died on gone to paradise. 

It’s strange how little she looks like Arthur. Arthur was tall, tan with brown hair, green eyes, and a shit eating grin. She was much shorter, reaching the bottom of Orm’s sternum. Steady and solidly built, her skin was darker by a few shades than Arhtur’s, she had brown eyes, and her hair was black, curly, and wild.

She finds the hem of his shirt and starts to tug it up, he sits up and raises his arms. The shirt goes up and over his head. When she presses him back down, he doesn’t resist. Her eyes roam up and down his body. He knew he was fit, he spent all his life training and fighting. He had a few scars here and there. Shockingly he starts feeling self-conscious. He forces himself to stay still for her. He wants to flex, to tell her in the right lighting, he looks like a god, honest he does. She rakes her nails down his chest, catching a nipple in the progress. He damn near loses his mind. The term ‘monkey brain’ suddenly begins to make sense. Rational thought is slowly leaving him as his desire to put his cock in her nearly takes over. It’s her contented sigh and the “You’re so handsome Orm,” that brings him crashing back into himself. Handsome! He’s so handsome at that. She leans over him pressing a chaste kiss to his lips, his chin. Things get a little naughty when she reaches his neck.

He grunts at the sudden pleasure over her teeth nipping at his skin. He turns his head for her, and she manages to find a place at the junction of his jaw and behind his ear that has him fisting the sheets. He rolls his hips upward involuntarily, seeking any kind of friction. She giggles and laves attention on the spot, sucking a dark mark onto his skin. He’s so wrapped up in what her mouth is doing he isn’t aware that a hand slips beneath the band of his pants until he feels her fingers on his cock. He must let out a strange noise when she squeezes the middle of his member because she immediately removes her hand, much to his displeasure, and pops up looking panicked. “I’m sorry!”

He shakes his head, too confused to answer her. She gets off him, but before she can get too far from him, he grabs her hand. All he can manage is a strained, “Continue.” Her brows furrow, unsure if she should listen. He swallows thickly, “Please,” He manages, “Please, I need you. I was just shocked, that’s all.”

“You sounded like I stabbed you Orm,” He shakes his head. “I don-, I don’t know what sound I made, but I can assure you, it was one of pleasure. I didn’t think I’d ever have the opportunity to…to do this kind of thing with you. I’m a little overwhelmed.”  He runs his thumb across the back of her hand in reassurance. She hesitates a little too long for his liking. “Do you not want this?” He asks, perhaps he’d read the situation wrong and she was having second thoughts. “I do.” She tells him, finally relaxing, he relaxes as well, flopping back down on the bed with a sigh of relief. “Please,” he begs her, “Please.”

She does as he asks, hooks her fingers underneath the band of his pants and, with his help, shimmies them down his hips. Flinging them somewhere in her room, she has a full view of him. He wants nothing more than to shy away from her, to cover himself up from her piercing gaze. He shouldn’t have initiated such an intimate moment so quickly. “Jesus Orm, you’re perfect.” Perfect, the word echoes around in his skull as she kneels before him. Jesus, a deity surface people call out, as a curse or a prayer. Orm, his name. Perfect, a reference to him. When she thinks of perfection, she thinks of him, his nakedness, his body. He’s satisfactory looking to her, more than that, he’s perfect. All the incoherent ramblings going on in his skull cease the moment she grabs his cock once again. He makes the same strangled sound, but this time, she simply pauses instead of moving away from him.

Her clasped hand moves up his cock, down, and up once more. He can no longer force himself to stay still, fuck he couldn’t even force himself to stay quiet. “Oh, now you see, that sounds better.” She teases him. He manages to prop himself up on his elbows to look at her. She’s smiling at him. She stops again, and he wants to curse, but she rests her cheek on his knee a look overcoming her features. He can’t tell what it is, but he never wants her to stop. Lazily she squeezes him, begins pumping slowly as she looks into his eyes. There’s something there, something more than lust, something…loving. I’m going to do it; I’m going to tell her I love her. He doesn’t get the chance. She presses a kiss to his knee, then further up his thigh, then a little further up. Yes, his monkey brain screams, understanding what’s happening before he does. Yes, put it in your mouth, oh Poseidon, put my cock in your mouth.

She works her way to the base of his cock, head an angry scarlet, weeping with precum. She licks a stripe from base to tip, catching a bead of white on her tongue. He’s fascinated by the sight, watches her swallow then pop the tip in her mouth and give a strong suck. His hips jerk upwards involuntarily. She merely giggles and continues to suck him. He watches as she moves herself into a better position over him, free hand resting on his hip. He immediately takes it, entwines their fingers, settling onto his back for a third time. His mind clears as she continues her ministrations, getting lower and lower on his cock as time goes by.

What she can’t reach with her mouth, she reaches with her hand. Orm’s head, for once in his life, is completely empty. There are no duties he has to attend to, no imagined slights he has to nurse an injury for, no jealousies to consider. It’s just him, the women between his knees, and the unceasing waves of pleasure. He’s vocal, calling out her name, begging her not to stop, oh please, he needs this, please, pretty please, oh please, ohpleaseohpleASEOHPLEASE. Yes. The tight coil in his gut snaps as his orgasm rips through him. He’s aware of the noises he makes, of the giggles, of his hips jerking hard. He relaxes, lets out a breath he didn’t know he was holding, then finally opens his eyes to stare at the ceiling.

She moves again to straddle him. Brushing a heated cheek with her thumb he finally as the courage to look at her. “You ok?” She asks, “That seemed a little intense.” He wants to snap back at her, ask her how she would feel if the woman she was lusting after just gave her the best head she’d ever had. Instead, he sits up and kisses her deeply, tasting himself on her tongue. That’s when the scent hits him again, her arousal. It seems more intense now, sweeter than anything he’s ever smelled. He helps her get rid of her clothes in a quick fashion, pushes her on her back and stares open at her nakedness. If she had any reservations, hesitations, or anything else, she didn’t show it.

Orm understood that, whether for aesthetic purposes or cultural purposes, humans took their body modifications personally. Arthur had tattoos that represented his culture through his father’s line, Arthur’s sister didn’t have ink, she had jewels. He allows his eyes to roam her body freely, tracing a path from her chin, down her neck, to a nipple. Two little balls rested on either side, he tugged gently, curious as to the meaning of such a thing. He doesn’t linger, there’s too much of her he wants to explore and he’s reasonably confident he’ll have time to stare at her all he wants in the future. His hand trails downward to the shiny green piercing that rested in her belly button. He glosses over it, a half though forming in his mind that a pearl should be nestled there. As his hands travel lower, she adjusts herself, opening her legs to him. She’s got nothing to hide, and he loves her all the more for it.

His fingers slip past the curls of her pussy and plunge inside, eager to see her come undone just as quickly as she’d undid him. She’s wet. His ego takes a hit when he realizes she’s wet because of what she was doing before he interrupted her, but he doesn’t let that stop him. He pumps two fingers in and out experimentally, knowing the basics of what he was doing. She was quick to correct him. “Angle them upwards more.” He does so. That first little whimper damn near does him in. “Your thumb.” She breathes, He looks down at his hand, what about it? Was it in the way. “Use it.” He has to pause and think, how did he use his thumb?

“Have you never fingered a girl before?” Her question is gentle, unjudgmental. “I haven’t exactly had time to practice.” He admits, flushing red for different reasons now. “Here, let me.” She maneuvers his hand the way she wants it, two fingers angled up, his thumb on another piece of jewelry. “That’s my clit,” She explains when she places his thumb there. “It’s a very important piece of anatomy. Makes a woman see stars. If ever you’re with someone, and they aren’t getting there in a timely manner, I can say with much confidence if you put some sort of stimulation on it, they’ll cum in a few moments.” He wants to make a cute retort that she’s ruined all others for him, but he’s eager to absorb the lesson she’s trying to teach him. “If you ever eat a girl out, that’s where you’ll want to focus your mouth. Now, go ahead and move your fingers in and out, making sure to apply pressure upwards, and use your thumb as leverage on my clit when you move out. If you can remember, move it up and down or in circles while moving in an out.”

It’s all so clinical, he thinks, so impersonal. This isn’t how this is supposed to go. She knew exactly how to please him without so much as an utterance from him. Here he was receiving an entire lecture. But you’ll be better for it, he tells himself, you’re learning how to please her directly from the source. She isn’t letting you fumble through it, she’s giving you direction, that way next time you know what the hell you’re doing. A smaller voice he chose to beat back asked him if he was so sure there would be a next time. He starts over, doing as she instructed. Pressure in two places, nice and easy, in and out. This time, she reacts, groaning and rolling her hips to meet his fingers.

He falls into a steady rhythm. She wriggles beneath him, and he watches intently as she moves. Her walls flutter around his fingers and he feels himself harden and begin to leak once more. He’s enraptured by the vision beneath him. Eventually a sheen of sweat forms on her skin, making her glow in the light that filled the room. He leans forward, unable to resist kissing her any longer. She tries to kiss him back, but she’s too busy chasing her release, so he opts for open mouthed kisses anywhere he can reach, cheek, shoulder, anywhere. Before long, her hips begin to stutter, her walls clamp down on his fingers in a rhythm all their own. She calls his name over and over, like a prayer. It soothes the hit his ego took earlier. When she’s finished, she pushes his hand away, the sensation becoming too much. His hand is soaked in her slick, that wonderful smell overwhelming him once more.

Unsure of how to proceed, he wipes his hand on his leg as best he could and lays next to her, watching her heavy breathing become normal once more. His cock aches with the want to enter her, but she made no moves to take things that far. Eventually she steadies, and he begins to press kisses to her skin once more. She turns her head to capture his lips in a kiss. It’s lazy, unchaste, all tongues and nips and nibbles. He could spend an eternity there, but she begins to cling to him in a way his subconscious understands as her wanting more. He dares to roll on top of her and settle between her legs.

He manages to pull away from her and trail kisses down her neck as she’d done before. He tries desperately to find that magical spot on her neck that she found on him but couldn’t do it before she called his name. He stops immediately. It’s time to go, their little tryst has come to an end. Arhtur is going to be home any second and they have to compose themselves, no matter how much his balls ached to be emptied again. “Please,” she says, bringing him in for another scorching kiss. “Please, I want you.” The desperation behind her words almost kills him. He pulls back, not to be a tease, but he wanted to get something straight. In his mind, it was one thing to pleasure each other using mouths and hands, it was a different thing entirely to be joined so intimately. He beings his final confession.

“I love you,” He says, “In all the Seven Kingdoms, in all the world, there’s no one I want more than you. No one I desire to be with more. I’ll only continue if you feel the same way.”

“I love you too, Orm.” It’s the way it falls from her lips without hesitation, the earnestness in her tone, the softness of her smile. This was what made him believe her. His face breaks out into the biggest smile he ever managed. “Yeah?” She nods, wrapping her arms around his shoulders, kissing him for the umpteenth time. He wriggles around for a few moments, using a free hand to slide effortlessly into her. They both groan as he slides all the way in. He can’t explain it, but he’s weak in the best way possible. He wants to collapse on top of her and remain sheathed inside her for eternity. This is right. He belongs with this woman. The universe aligned everything just so he could meet this woman and love her.

His pace is slow to start. He doesn’t want things to end too quickly, but it seems she has other plans. She begins to match his easy pace thrust for thrust. Both of their grunts and whimpers got lost in the others’. An ‘oh Orm,’ was coupled with an ‘oh yes,’ which in turn was followed by ‘right there’ and ‘don’t stop’. All too soon Orm found himself speeding up, just a little, chasing that release. From the way her walls fluttered around his cock, he hoped she was close too. “Orm, thumb, please.” She whispers, clinging to him. Through the haze of pleasure, he manages to find enough wits to place his thumb on her clit and began to rub. Her legs wrap around his waist, bringing him impossibly deeper. By this time neither could tell which grunt belonged to who, who was begging for the other harder. They were lost in each other, and when they climaxed, it was together. Both their hips jerked erratically, each chasing their release, lamenting that the pleasure was over too soon.

Orm collapses on top of her. She brings her arms around him, scraping her fingers over the back of his scalp with one hand, and running the other up and down his back. He softened slowly inside her as they both bask in the afterglow. In the back of his mind, Orm knows Arthur is going to be pissed. But it’s like he said in the beginning, Arthur be damned.

[malum-forev]

Yesterday

Yesterday All my troubles seemed so far away Now it looks as though they're here to stay Oh, I believe in yesterday

Bucky looked out the window of the quinjet, the compound coming into view as he returned from whatever mission he was on. He couldn’t remember the place or the reason, he could only remember blurred images of what he was sent to do. Flashbacks of his present missions reminded him of his past life, even if he was fighting on the other side. He couldn’t help but try to search for you, looking at everyone on the ground. Making out figures and shapes that didn’t coincide with you. Some bigger, some smaller but none the perfect ratio that he was looking for. The rational side of his brain fought with his emotional side. Good and bad, angel and demon, Bucky and Winter Soldier. You had tried many times to convince him he had no bad side, only a side that was made bad. And for a while Bucky was convinced, he truly believed in the beautiful narrative you said. But now that you were gone, he realized that those intrusive thoughts came into the room the moment you walked out the door.

Suddenly I'm not half the man I used to be There's a shadow hangin' over me Oh, yesterday came suddenly

Why she had to go, I don't know, she wouldn't say I said something wrong, now I long for yesterday

Being with you felt like he was back in the 40’s. Maybe Steve wasn’t there anymore but at least he had you. His left arm didn’t really bother him anymore, nor was he ashamed of it. You had even convinced him to wear a short sleeve shirt once or twice. Now, his every day seemed tiring. It was as if he was living the same day over and over, in a life he didn’t want to live. Every now and then he forgot and those feelings of guilt disappeared for a few minutes, only to come back in the form of anxiety. Crossing the street even seemed like a difficult task with the shadow of the Winter Soldier hanging over him. He was back to jackets and gloves even in the summer, something you would most definitely scold him on, if you were still there. He tried to convince his mind into thinking you left because you didn’t want to accept him for who he was, it was your problem not his. Deep down Bucky knew it was all his doing, the words he said but didn’t mean, the actions he took without wanting to. Everything that drove you away, was his doing.

Yesterday Love was such an easy game to play Now I need a place to hide away Oh, I believe in yesterday

Why she had to go, I don't know, she wouldn't say I said something wrong, now I long for yesterday

He saw you, every once in a while. From afar. Whether it be in the coffee shop he knew you liked, or in the training room every day at three thirty pm. He remembered how easy it was for you two to get along. He would be grumpy and you would come in with a smile that could light up a dying star. He loved to tease you and make your cheeks turn red and you loved to act like you were embarrassed, when you really wanted him to continue giving you compliments. Now his nights are filled with meaningless and superficial conversations with women he doesn’t want. None of them get to come into his apartment, none of them get to come into his heart. Even though he knows it was his fault, even though he knows he should change, the home he lives in and the heavy heart he carries still belong to you.

Tags

@scxrletrecsmarvel@baby-banana @stucky-my-shiptoothhurtyam@bluemoon-icecream@seybox@supraveng@jasmine19346@what-a-beautiful-mess-i-made@maladaptivexxdaydreaming@confuscita@eviesaurusrex@girlfriday007@starryeyeseunbyul@thevampire97@sadisticfries@440mxs-wife@rslizj@enchantedbarnes@whitewolfsdoll@mrsbarnesx@jennyversebucky @arcanebabe@143amberrose@silentkiller2374@samantha1sodone @just-that-dumb-bitch

[jinx-jade]

When A mother's & A father's world's collide Chapter 1: Dick meets Marinette

Dick couldn’t help but wonder how he got here as a fist made contact with his jaw. The punch confuses him enough for the goon to get the upper hand, slamming the young Robin into the cement. He truly thought this was the end, his only hope being Batman noticing he was missing from his bedroom. The chance of that being slim since Bruce’s girlfriend Talia was staying at the manor.

Robin closed his eyes, waiting for the final blow, only for it to never come.

Slowly, he opened his eyes, hoping that Batman had come to his rescue. Hoping that his mentor had cared enough to check on him after the fight they had.

  To his surprise, it wasn’t his mentor that stopped the final blow, it wasn’t even a vigilante or hero that he knew of.

It was a woman dressed in almost all black.

Her combat boots, tights, skirt, and leather jacket were all shades of black, while her shirt was red, the only colored bit of her outfit.

“Hey, kid, are you doing ok?” The woman asked, crouching down next to him.

Dick wasn’t able to give a response before blacking out. He wasn’t sure why, but his nerves seemed to have calmed in the woman’s presence, eliminating his adrenaline and fight or flight response.

When he came back to consciousness, he was still wearing his mask, but his uniform was changed out for a pair of sweatpants.

His chest, arms, knuckles, and face were covered in bandaging, and he seemed to be in some type of medical area.

“Glad to see you’re doing better,” the woman claimed as she walked in.

“Where am I?” Dick asks, confused.

“Secret temple, somewhere in Tibet.” the woman answered with a shrug.

“What?” Dick stared at her blankly.

“Don’t worry about it kid. All you need to know is that my name is Marinette, and this is my home. Oh! And you have a few bruised knuckles and ribs, nothing was broken though, but you should still be careful.” Marinette claimed.

“Why are you helping me?”  Robin questioned. It was strange for anyone in Gotham to help out like that unless they were a hero or a vigilante.

Marinette simply gave him a shrug before gesturing for him to follow her. Having nothing else to do but sit in bed alone, or follow the random person who was helping him, Robin chose to follow Marinette.

They ended up in what seemed like a kitchen, but a few things seemed too out of place for it to be a normal kitchen.

“Do you have any food allergies or preferences on what you want for breakfast?” Marinette asked while gesturing to a stool at what was probably the kitchen island.

“Uhh… No food allergies… Can I have pancakes?” The masked child asked in a hopeful tone as he took a seat on the stool.

“Sure! What kind do you want? I can make chocolate chips, blueberries, cinnamon sugar, strawberries, bananas, or plain vanilla.” Marinette questions as she began taking out the base ingredients for pancakes.

“Can I have Chocolate chip with lots of toppings?” He answered unsurely, causing Marinette to smile softly at him.

“Of course!” Marinette says before grabbing a pen and paper to hand the young robin. “Here. I’m sure your guardian will be worried about you, but I’m not comfortable with letting you leave while still injured if you’re just gonna go back to fighting recklessly.”

Dick took the paper, unsure what to write.

Should he tell Bruce that he was injured and a stranger had come to his rescue and also seemed to be taking care of him till he was healed? 

No.

Bruce would only care that he disobeyed the grounded order.

Did his mentor even know he was gone?

Would Bruce care that he was gone or missing?

He probably wouldn’t notice till it was pointed out to him.

Alfred might notice.

Who was he kidding it was Alfred of course he would notice.

Would staying here to heal cause problems for Alfred?

How does someone explain that they didn’t run away from home but were simply beat up badly?

Does he make it seem like he ran away?

What should…

Dick’s train of thought was interrupted when a hand softly landed on his shoulder. Not enough weight to feel trapped, but just enough weight for the young vigilante to ground himself.

“Hey,” Marinette spoke softly, her bright blue eyes having the same calming effect they had before he had passed out after the fight that had brought him here.

���There we go, just focus on my voice, sweetheart. Take a breath in.” She instructed him while moving her hand from his shoulder to his hair, lightly combing her hand through it.

“One two three four. Out, two three four. In, two three four. Out two three four.” Marinette spoke softly, at a calming pace.

“You’re doing such a great job,” Marinette says with an encouraging smile.

“I… Sorry… I didn’t… I…” Dick tried to explain his thought process but couldn’t find the words.

“Shhh. It’s ok. You have no reason to apologize. Do you want help writing the note for your guardian?” Marinette questioned.

Dick didn’t answer for a while, unsure what to say.

“You know, when I was little, I used to have the hardest time doing things for myself. I even created a happy-go-lucky persona that I would use whenever someone was around because it made them more comfortable. This persona helped to comfort others even when I felt like breaking. The people who understand this, and know the real you will have no problems with you taking a mental health day or week.” Marinette said as she moved away to continue making breakfast.

Dick took a deep breath, before beginning to write.

_____

Hi B.

Not sure when you will find this note, but leaving a note makes it so you don’t need to worry. Look I need time to breathe. I’m sure you think that your way of thinking is universal or something, but it’s not. It doesn’t even come close to how I process stuff. So I decided I’m gonna take a few days or weeks for myself to calm down. Please don’t look for me. I plan on returning to the manor but I just need space right now.

Dick Grayson

_____

During Dick’s stay with Marinette, he felt like a spoiled brat. Marinette seemed to always know what to do or say to make him comfortable. She even did gymnastics with him when she deemed his injuries healed enough to do such a physical activity.

When it came time for Dick to go home, he felt bad for not wanting to leave. This random, secret, temple, somewhere in Tibet, felt like more of a home than Wayne manor did sometimes.

Marinette wasn’t too happy about his leaving either, but gave him a necklace with a bluebird sitting on a branch. She claimed that all he had to do was ask the bluebird to bring him home. Wherever he deemed home to be, in other words, the necklace would serve as his way back and forth from the manor to the temple.

While this didn’t seem possible, Dick had already suspected Marinette of being magic, so this was just confirmation to him.

Dick gave Marinette a tight hug.

“Hey, this is only a see you later, not goodbye,” Marinette informed him with a smile.

“I know…” Dick said with a pout.

Marinette smiled at him before making the, go on, gesture.

“Oh! My name is Richard Grayson, by the way.” Dick said before disappearing after the bluebird.

Marinette only chuckled to herself at the boy’s seemingly random idea to tell her his real name.

Upon Dick’s return to the manor, to his surprise, he was greeted with a hug from Bruce and no Talia Al Ghul insight.

Dick froze at the unusual contact from his mentor.

“Uh… Hi?” Dick said quietly, a little confused. He looked to Alfred for help on what to do.

“You were gone for quite a long time, Master Richard. I do believe Master Bruce was worried when he noticed your suit was missing and none of your trackers were working.” Alfred informs him before walking off to presumably make breakfast.

“I… left a note?” Dick tells Bruce, still a bit confused.

Bruce released Dick from the hug with a sigh, unsure what to do next.

“Do you want to spar while we wait for breakfast?” Bruce asked.

“Sure!” Dick lit up with a smile. It’s been a while since he was able to spar with anyone.

[rpd-rookie]

The One Who Runs Away, The One Who Runs Back (Leon S. Kennedy x Reader)

Author’s note: This is a sequel to “A PAST WITH HER, A FUTURE WITH YOU” and the end of my three-parts fan fiction "I TRUSTED YOU WITH MY HEART" I decided to write after so many of you asked for it. Sorry it took so long but I was navigating from one fandom to another. (BTW, if there are any Devil May Cry fans up here, you can read my DMC fan fictions here) PS: Even if I said it before, I have no hate whatsoever towards Ada or Aeon.

Tagged: Angst, Fluff, Romance, Post-Break up, Sexual Content 

Part 1 / Part 2

***

Do you remember? We started this story by quoting some sitcom character that was clueless about love. Well, here’s a suggestion. Why not ending it by quoting someone who knew a little more on such matter.

William Shakespeare - you know that English dude expert on tragic ‘drink this poison, stab yourself’ kind of love - apparently once said ‘Love runs away from those chasing her, and those who run away, she throws herself on his neck’. I say ‘apparently’ cause, even though I have a master in English lit, this quote is from the internet, and also … who knows what the guy truly said?

But it’s the quote that’s important. Not the author. The quote it’s important because it sums up perfectly how this story is gonna end. However, before starting, let me tell you this quote is going to be the only Shakespeare-worthy sentence in this final chapter. You’ve been warned.

Love runs away from those chasing her.          Well, this part was definitely written for someone like Ada Wong. Owner of countless gold medals and possibly a world record at this point, that woman is basically the Usain Bolt of the ‘Running from Leon S. Kennedy’ competition. Unchallenged winner since the creation of this sultry version of cat and mouse game, it’s better not to think about the number of times she successfully ran away from her favourite agent.  But this year, this formidable titleholder in a gorgeous red dress will have to face her Nemesis in the championship. You. Though the comparison to the hideous bio-organic killing machine might not be very complimentary to you but you get the idea.  This year you enter the Kennedy Olympics. And this year you run like Sonic the Hedgehog and you win the damn competition (screw you Usain Bold!). And you do this with your head high and without an ounce of regret. Ignore all the texts and flowers Leon might send on your track Mario Kart style. His gifts are not as slippery as banana peels and they can easily be dodged, I promise. Well, most of the time, when you’re not lying on your bed in the middle of the night crying and sobbing while reading his messages or playing his voice in your voicemail again and again until you’re nothing more but a giant mess with puffy red eyes drowning in a puddle of your own tears.        Screw those messages too! And screw his broken yet terribly sexy voice as well!

Being a man of word, Leon kept his promise. And for months you kept on running peacefully, marathoning away from this past relationship that had destroyed you like no other before while tranquilly fixing your broken heart on the way. That run was a good cardio.

But sometimes, cardio is not enough, and even just the small sight of an overpriced whisky bottle or the smell of Leon’s perfume on some guy’s clothes is enough to reopen your wounds.           And when it happens, you always do the same thing, you break the damn bottle - and run cause damn! it’s expensive! -  or you tell the guy his perfume smells like cheap cologne and that he should definitely change it, which is an improvement on your past destructive behaviour, since there was a time shortly after the break up when you would have simply dragged the guy to your place to let him fuck you senseless while imagining he was Leon. All that just for the illusion to feel him again and for the sake to kick him out the next morning, screaming like a hysterical psycho.

So imagine, for a small second, the wave of intense feelings surging out of your healing heart when, in the middle of a cafe, you hear some dude sitting behind you ordering Leon’s favourite whisky while wearing the same bloody perfume. “It’s got to be relentless persecution at that point!” You sigh, already annoyed, closing your book more violently than intended. Hope you’re ready, stranger! Because you’re not in the mood to deal with this right now.            You turn around with a fake smile that reflects perfectly your irritation, ready to give him hell, your sharpest riposte already burning your tongue. After all, he deserves it and you can’t help it.         But when you meet familiar – and freaking gorgeous - baby blue eyes you freeze and stare, suddenly confused and lost and refusing to believe that in spite of the intense running, love just jumped at your neck after all and it was sitting there, taking the shape of Leon S(tupid) Kennedy.

You should have stood up and left, run for your life, run for your heart. And yet, you didn’t.    You stayed there staring at him looking at you, allowing all your memories, the good ones and the bad ones, all your buried feelings to come back from the dead, embracing them as if you had missed them, which, let’s be honest, you probably had.            You tried to scream to yourself “Come on, Y/N! Shake a leg!” but it seemed that what you brain understood was something like “Cum on him! Open your legs!” as a couple of blurry hours later, you were on Leon’s bed, legs wide open, screaming his name and begging him not to stop his amazing thrusts.

Six months, you ran for six months … Well, looks like the run ends here and now. After a minute-long deep stare, an afternoon of amazing sex and two hours long of something blurry in between.

“I missed you.” And there you were! The moment all couples that broke up have after one of them (in this case Leon with the infamous ‘I missed you line’) starts to believe they miraculously rekindled their love. The fatal post-coital cuddling session that you don’t know how to react to, as you think of all the possibilities before you.      Possibility Number 1) You tell Leon you missed him too and cuddle, enjoying that embrace you secretly yearned for months. But that includes forgetting what he has done or pretending that nothing happened.     Possibility Number 2) You push him away, get dressed, leave again and act as if this afternoon never happened. But if Leon doesn’t remind you of it, the ache between your legs will, that’s for sure!   Possibility Number 3) You jump him again until you sore even more and hope that you’ll be able to leave afterwards.         Frankly, all possibilities suck because, in all cases, it seems like you lose. Since,       with Possibility Number 1) you lose the run forever, with Possibility Number 2) you lose him again and with Possibility Number 3) well it’s result 1 or 2 + your body aching like crazy for days. I suck at math but no need to be Einstein to know the result of this calculation looks unpleasant.    So what do you choose?

You see a triangular dice rolling in your head, showing a never-ending succession of 1, 2 and 3 that doesn’t make any sense and that confuse you even more than you already are. 1, 2, 3, 2, 1, 3, 2 ! Oh for fuck’s sake!

You grimace, angry and pissed at Leon and probably even more at yourself, and finally leaves his bed and his strong warm arms, feeling the tears furiously forming in your eyes. “I can’t” You can’t look at him in the eyes. You don’t want to see his confusion, don’t want to see his pain as he witnesses all his hopes shatter to pieces.         “ What do you mean?” You can hear the sheets crease behind you, alerting you of Leon’s agitation, so you hurry and pick up all your clothes scattered in his room. You must leave, now. 2! 2 it is!  “This! All This! This afternoon never happened.” You tell him, putting on your clothes with sudden clumsy and trembling hands, not caring if your bra is correctly hooked or if you put your shirt on back to front. Your heart. You have to think of your poor heart first.          “Hey, hey, hey.” You feel Leon’s hand softly grabbing your arms and you let go of whatever you were holding right now. His voice is sweet and trying to be comforting. Don’t look at him Y/N! Don’t look at him! “Look at me.” You do. Damn it! And you see his gorgeous blue eyes staring at you, studying your flustered face and the tears slowly drowning your (colour) look. You missed those eyes. You missed them so.damn.much ! As much as you missed his hands cupping your face and his thumbs wiping up your tears. God! How many tears those thumbs have missed recently. “It’s alright.”

You want to believe him. You really do. But there is this voice screaming in your head and very clearly this time. A voice shouting, forcing you to remember that night, that awful nightmarish night, the one when you felt your heart break and your dreams turn to ashes. All that because of him and his obsession for her.

“No, it’s not alright, Leon.” You shake your head and miraculously manage to take a small step back. You never thought you could. But you had to. You can’t stay close to him. You can’t let him touch you, feel you. Not if you want to run away. And you have to run away. Like her! Like Ada. Ada! “I told you. For as long as you have feelings for Ada, I can’t … we can’t…”     “Please don’t talk about her.” He begs and rubs his hand over his face. Is he trying to chase her away from his mind? Is she still in here? Please, let her not be in here.    “But she’s the reason we’re in this situation now. She’s the reason why we’re in this mess.” You insist only for the sake to see his reaction when you mention Ada, to see if she’s still under his skin, somewhere. “Ada is not the reason. I am!” Leon corrects you, a finger directed at his heavy chest as he is putting the full blame on himself for the first time since that night. “I am the one who went after Ada when I shouldn’t have! I am the reason why we broke up! I am the reason why we are so miserable!”         “But I was fine!” You shouted back in an attempt to show him he was wrong refusing to listen to that part of you who knew he was completely right. You were miserable without him. “I was doing fine until you came back and fucked everything up! I was healing goddamnit!”             You felt new tears rolling along your red cheeks and quickly wipe them off with the back of your hand that felt so callous and rough in comparison to Leon’s gentle touch. “You can’t just jump back into my life like this and expect me to forget!”

Leon nods, agreeing with you in a certain way. But the truth is, he doesn’t want you to forget. He doesn’t expect you to erase his mistake. He just wants you to forgive him … No, he just wants you to come back to him. Period. And that’s got to be what you want to. It has to!   “So why did you have sex with me, huh?” He finally asks even though he already knows your answer. “Tell me!” You’re not the kind of person who has meaningless sex, not the kind of person who worships one’s body with divine kisses and devoted caresses if they mean nothing. “Why did you have sex with me?” And yet the answer he wishes to hear doesn’t come out. “For fuck’s sake Y/N! Answer me! Why?” He shouts making you shiver and cry even more.    “Because I LOVE YOU!” You finally scream. And it hurts. It hurts but it feels good too. Like a weight lifted off your chest. “Because I missed you too! Because those months without you have been terrible! Because I don’t know how to handle even just the thought of you or the sound of your voice in my voicemail. Because each time I see something that makes me think of you, I’m a mess and I do things that normal me would never do! You fucked me up, Leon! You fucked me up but I love you! And I hate to love you!” You grunt in pain and relief, enraged but happy that you finally let everything out. And Leon listens in silence, frozen by your powerful honest confession. But he doesn’t know how to react. He doesn’t know what to say. Part of him is overjoyed, ecstatic that you still love him but there is another part that just feels terrible, sorry for the pain your love for him caused you even in his absence.   “But you see—“ You continue “That’s the problem in our relationship, Leon! I love you in ways that are so intense, that go beyond sanity. And you love me by half.”    You see him crumple, his horrified face looking suddenly very pale as if he had just heard some dreadful news. Is that really how you feel? Is that how you see his love for you? Is that what he has made you believe?         “Goodbye Leon.”

With the full intention to leave Leon’s place for good and never come back, you grab you bag on your way out of the bedroom while carelessly shoving your underwear inside of it since you forgot to put them on in the midst of panic and precipitation. Get out of here, Y/N! Now! A reasonable voice encourages you. Listen to me!    But this not what Leon wants.

“I never loved you by half.” He declares and you abruptly stop, asking God if he’s some kind of sadist that loves seeing you in pain from the comfort of his divine sofa somewhere in heaven. “Never.” But it’s not God and his sadism that makes you turn around. It’s you, and your masochist love for that blue-eyed man before you.     “I don’t believe you” Your voice almost doesn’t leave your throat as you try not to sob.           “But it’s the truth.” He says with a calm soothing voice as he slowly approaches you. “I never imagined my future with Ada. I never wished to grow old with her or build a home with her.” You want to tell Leon to stop talking, to stay where he is but your body doesn’t seem to respond. And when you feel him grabbing your hands in his and the comforting warmth that goes with that simple touch, you know that leaving is now an almost impossible task. “Yes. I admit it. My feelings for her were real.” Even when his honesty hurts you, you don’t know how to leave anymore. “But they were nothing in comparison to what I feel for you.”     You try to let go, pulling your hands away from his loving grip but he holds you back. And you’re not strong enough. Or maybe, you just don’t want to be strong. Everything is so confusing. Everything is tearing you apart.     “But they’re still here, aren’t they?” You question, hoping his answer might give you a clue, might give you the strength to make the correct decision. Do you leave? Or do you stay? “And they’ll keep coming back each she goes back into your life. You can’t let go of her.”    “You’re maybe right.” His words hurt you more than you thought they would. They hurt like hell because you realise there are not the ones you wanted to hear. You wanted to hear him say that he would let go of Ada, for good, for you. You wanted to hear that because deep down … YOU WANTED TO FUCKING STAY! “But can you let go of your past?” He continues and you shake your head refusing to hear any other word coming out of Leon’s mouth.       “Don’t!” You beg, weary.           “No! Listen to me this time. Ada is my past, Y/N. She’s my past. And you … you’re my future. You’re my life, damn it!” He doesn’t cry but you don’t need his tears to sense how emotional and how honest he is. And suddenly, you just want to listen to him. “And I was a fool not to see it sooner. When you left me, I felt a void I had never felt in my entire life. I felt like a part of me was missing. And then, the bombing in Washington happened, and it was like I had nothing left. I needed you. I wanted you. You. Not Ada.”      “Leon” You whisper and he cups your face again, blue eyes staring deep into yours, allowing you to see everything in him, his strong love for you and all the weaknesses he hated to admit. “It was you in my mind. Only you. And it will always be you. Because I love you. Now. Today. And I will always love you.”

You cry even more, uncertain if those tears are tears of sorrow, tears of joy or a mix of both. God, how can your emotions be such a mess right now? How can you be wishing to shout at him with all the anger you’ve accumulated and, at the same time, willing to kiss him with all love you’ve got?

“If you got to believe something. Believe that. And if that’s not enough and you think you can be happy with someone else. Then go. I won’t hold you back.” You frown. He is fucking lying. You’re sure of it. “You can’t stop running after me and you know it.” He smiles and scoffs, sensing that hint of sudden defiance in your tone he enjoys a lot.  “True. I can’t sop running after you. But I’ll do my best not to catch you if that’s what you want. But you got to tell me. Is that what you truly want?” You don’t reply. Truth is, you’re not sure what to say not because you’re not sure that’s what you want but because you’re not sure you can trust him if you let him in again.                        “No.” You whisper. “No, that’s not what I want. I want you. All of you.” You can see Leon struggle to contain his growing joy as it starts to glimmer brighter and brighter in his irises. He doesn’t want to cry victory just yet. He is cautious and rightfully so. “But can I?”        “Want me?” He smiles. “ Have you completely?” You correct, searching for a promise in his eyes, one you hope, you wish he would not break this time.     “Trust me with your heart again and find out.”

This better not hurt this time…

[bobohu4eva]

Pink Lace - Final (M)

Characters: Baekhyun x Reader (feat. EXO members)

Genre: College AU, stripper AU, fluff, smut, slow burn

Summary: Baekhyun, a philosophy professor with mysterious wealth, got himself completely fucked over a girl who can’t let him into her life.

Word count: 3.1k

Warnings: sex work, mentions of sexual assault, adult themes/situations, smut

Tag list: @smolbeanmika @leave-me-in-the-summertime @totallynerdstuff @bbhmystar @nana-banana @kimyhappy @thegreatandi @geniusloey @deligxt @baekswifey @bbhyun506 @lovebuginlove @bellamendoza @baekyeonoreo @bobohumyonlyboo @wooya1224 @strawbaeri-s @xiuweetbbh

Masterlist

When you woke up it was still dark. You looked over at the clock, which read 4:42am. Of course you would wake up in the middle of the night, you fell asleep around 7 already after your activities with Baekhyun, who still had an arm slung around you. You tried to fall back asleep, but it felt too warm and you had already slept for a while. Oh well. 

You attempted to remove Baekhyun's arm from your waist gently without waking him, but as soon as you were lifting the limb off of yourself he was groaning, and instead wrapped another arm around you, pulling your back flush to his chest. You were learning he could be very stubborn. 

“Baekhyun,” you whispered, “It’s too hot.” 

He sleepily mumbled something incoherent and kept his arms locked around you, at which point you knew you’d have to take matters into your own hands, so you pinched his arm. 

“Ow! What was that for?” He whined as he withdrew his arms, massaging the spot you had dug your fingers into. 

“You’re smothering me, you’re too warm.” 

Quickly Baekhyun jumped out of bed and walked across the room to flip a switch and you felt the fan above you kick on. He jumped right back into bed, and wrapped his arms back around you. 

You rolled your eyes at him but eventually cuddled back up to him as well. “You’re se needy.” 

“Hmm you like it though.” His voice was rough and low in your ear, and he turned you around to face him. 

With only a bit of moonlight peeking through the curtains it was difficult to make out his face, but eventually your eyes adjusted enough to see him looking back at you. You could see a lazy smile on his lips and his eyes looked heavy, he looked cute like this. 

“Can’t sleep? I was surprised you fell asleep so early.” 

“You wore me out.” You pouted in defense.

He grinned, of course he knew why you’d passes out so fast, but it was still amusing to him to tease you about it. “I know baby, I was tired too.” 

You turned back around to get comfortable again, and felt Baekhyun’s hands snake around your body until they were crossed over your chest, one boob in each hand. 

“Um, Baekhyun?” 

“What?” He mumbled softly in your ear. “They’re soft and warm and perfectly hand-sized. Feels nice.” 

You let out a sigh but didn’t move his hands away, to which he let out a pleased hum. Though you’d found it strange at first you slowly grew to like the feeling. It felt more comforting than sexual, and combined with the slow rise and fall of his chest against your back you were slowly drifting off again.

A few hours later Baekhyun was the one waking you up, as rays of sunlight started to peek through the blinds.

“Good morning sunshine.” You opened your eyes to see his face hovering above your own looking down at you expectantly. 

Much to his disappointment you groaned and turned around to bury your head back in the pillow. 

“Come on y/n we’ve been in bed for 12 hours, time to get up.” 

Before you could object he was scooping your naked self up from the mattress and placing you back down at the edge of the bed with him. 

“You’re so mean.” You whined as you rubbed your eyes and looked around. Baekhyun disappeared into his closet, returning with a pair of sweatpants on and one of his white button downs for you to wear, tossing it onto the bed next to you. 

He watched as you put it on and stood up. It fit you more like a dress, hitting you mid-thigh. Baekhyun could barely contain his excitement seeing you in his clothes, and immediately had to come shower your face with kisses as he told you how pretty you looked. You couldn’t help but admire the bare skin of his toned torso as well. 

Eventually the two of you made your way into his kitchen for something to eat and you finally got to take a good look at the rest of his home, and the more you looked around, the more you fell in love with the place. Although it wasn’t a particularly large space, it was filled with beautiful things that made it feel grown up and expensive. His walls were covered in unique art and all of his furniture went together perfectly. It was a massive step up from the bare one bedroom apartments with a mattress on the floor you usually got when going out with guys your age. 

You looked through Baekhyun’s pantry and offered to make pancakes for the both of you, to which he gladly agreed. 

You’d expected him to just sit and wait while you prepared the food but he insisted on staying in the kitchen and ‘helping’, which really just meant making excuses to touch you any time he could. 

It was when he grabbed your ass mid pancake-flip, causing you to nearly launch the slab of dough across the kitchen, that you turned around and placed a playful slap on his shoulder. “You really are acting like a horny teenager!”

Instead of arguing he simply wrapped his arms around your waist as you kept cooking, head resting atop of yours. “Mmmh only for you babe.” 

It went on like that until the pancakes were done, only occasionally he would slip a hand up under your (his) shirt to squeeze a boob as well.

Baekhyun couldn’t help himself, now that he’d had you and he knew he could touch you all he wanted he couldn’t keep his hands off you. Your soft skin beneath his palms just felt so good, he couldn’t get enough. 

“Baekhyun, you have to let go of me so we can eat.” You teased as he held on to you even as you grabbed both plates to bring them to the dining room. He let out a sound of displeasure but took his hands off of you and took his plate of food. 

Despite your teasing, you were growing more and more fond of this Baekhyun. His messy hair, the lazy look on his face, how cuddly he was acting, it felt so sweet and relaxed and comfortable with him like this. You couldn’t help thinking this was something you could get used to.

“This place is really nice.” You commented as you started to cut into your pile of pancakes. 

“You like it? You’re welcome here anytime.” 

You smiled at the idea of staying there more often, not only was it a beautiful home but being able to spend time with him like this felt too good to pass up. 

“Sorry for making you miss work by the way, Mia told me you wouldn’t mind.” 

“Yeah it’s alright, I’m still doing ok right now anyway and I can just go back next weekend.” 

You noticed his face shift to something different and he swallowed, no longer smiling. He was worried you would say something like that. “Do you remember what I asked you at the club the weekend before the semester started?” He was looking down at the table now. He looked scared. 

“What do you mean?” 

He was scared. The idea of you going back to work bothered him, a lot, he couldn’t deny it, but he knew you wouldn’t take kindly to him telling you not to go. What had happened two weeks earlier was still fresh in his mind and the thought of you being around men like that again made him feel sick. He felt like he had to at least bring it up. 

“I don’t want this to sound rushed, but I really like you a lot, and I, um... You don’t have to go back. If you don’t want to, that is, I can take care of things.”

“Baekhyun...” 

“I really meant it when I said I could take care of you, if that’s what you want, I just can’t stand the though of something bad happening to you there again.” His voice got smaller and smaller as he spoke, until it was barely a whisper. 

You paused for a while to think before speaking again. “Do you not want me to go back?” 

You had been wondering if this was coming, but you didn’t expect it so soon, and as much as you did like Baekhyun, becoming completely dependent on him still scared you. 

Your eyes met from across the table and you could see how anxious he was as he slowly shook his head in response. “We don’t need to go there to see each other anymore, and the idea of you being alone there isn’t something I like to think about. I know I can’t tell you what to do, but please, if you do, be careful.” 

“So, what exactly are you thinking then?” 

“You could stop working and I could help financially whenever you want, and you would be my girlfriend.” 

Admittedly you did feel your heart flutter at the word girlfriend but you were still bothered by his offer to keep giving you money. 

“Wouldn’t you basically be my sugar daddy then?” 

His face turned into a deep frown. “I’m not just paying you to have sex with me, you know you mean more to me than that.” The look of genuine hurt on his face quickly had you regretting your words. You felt like you had just kicked a puppy. In the back of your mind though, you still didn’t want him to give you money, even if he expected nothing in return. 

“I know, I’m sorry, I just don’t want to take more of your money. I don’t want you to feel like you have to pay to be with me.”

He took both of your hands from across the table and held them in his own, his eyes looking into yours intently. “The whole reason I don’t mind spending spending money on you is because I know you don’t expect me to. I know you’re not here for that, which makes me want to spoil you even more.”

“I’m just scared that if something happens and you decide you don’t want me anymore I won’t be able to repay you.” The words came out of you in what was hardly even a whisper. You knew the words would hurt him, that he wouldn’t like hearing your doubts after having just had such a magical time together. It felt like you were about to ruin everything if you weren’t careful with your words, but you had to be honest about your concerns. 

“You don’t honestly think I would ever ask you to pay me back...” The way his expression tuned sadder and more desperate with every word you spoke killed your appetite and had your heart feeling like it was stuck in your throat. He squeezed your hands to make you look back up at him before continuing. “I haven’t felt the way I feel about you in a very long time, I didn’t think it was possible for me to be this into someone at all anymore. Please believe me when I say I’m not going to disappear. Even if I lose my job because of this, I’ll stay by your side until you decide you don’t want me in your life anymore. I haven’t wanted anything this badly in years, y/n, please I, I-.”

He cut himself off before he could get it out. As much as he wanted to say it, he knew now wasn’t the right time. 

The way he was staring back at you, still tightly gripping your hands was enough to make you feel like you were about to cry from pure guilt. Seeing him look at you like this was heartbreaking. The idea of being his was everything you could ever ask for, to get to be with him the way you had been the last 16 hours and to get to enjoy his company and his touches whenever you wanted. It felt like a dream. You did want it, to be with him like this, and although it scared you to put so much trust in him so quickly, it was impossible for you to look him in the eyes and deny it to him when you knew he was being truthful. 

“Okay.” It came out so quietly you first thought he didn’t hear you, but his face told you that he did. “I won’t go back.”

His face lit up immediately and he grinned back at you widely. “I promise you won’t regret it. I’ll do everything I can to make you the happiest girl alive.” 

“But Baekhyun-” You paused when you saw his smile quickly fade. “Only what I need. I don’t want you to give me anything more, or I’ll feel guilty.” 

“What about gifts? If I see something I think you would like could I give it to you as a present?” 

You rolled your eyes, “I guess, as long it’s nothing too crazy.”

Both of you paused, and he swallowed. “Can I ask why you’re having such a hard time trusting me? You know I’ve never lied to you.”

It was true. You really had no reason not to trust him with how open and honest he was. Never once did any of his words or actions towards you feel disingenuous.  

You sighed. It wasn’t something you liked to think back on. “The last time I had a real boyfriend was over a year ago. He seemed so charming and kind and perfect. I let him in too quickly and was head over heels in love when about 6 months in I found out he’d been going to parties and sleeping with other people the entire time.” 

“And the two of you were exclusive?” You could only nod. It felt shameful. The fact that you’d been so easily strung along by the man when he was obviously just a charming fuckboy at the end of the day. “What an asshole.” 

You shrugged. “It is what it is I guess.” 

“He was an idiot to not see what I see in you. Any man should be thrilled to have someone as wonderful and as beautiful as you. He’s missing out.” Heat spread through your cheeks and a smile forced its way onto your lips despite you trying to fight it. “I can’t say I’m upset it didn’t work out, because now I get to have you here, but you also just deserve so much better than that. I promise you you’re the only one that I want. I would never do anything to hurt you.”

Eventually you let the warmth of his sweet words win you over and you stopped holding back your grin. “I know.” 

The smile returned to his face and he stood up and rounded the dining room table to pull you up as well, and into a kiss. This was the sweetest, most romantic one yet, as he cupped your face and let his lips melt into yours. 

“So... does this mean you’re my boyfriend now? You asked as you pulled away and rested your forehead against his. 

“If you want me to be, then yes.” 

You quickly nodded and before you knew it you were being swept off your feet as he picked you up bridal style and carried you to the couch in the living room. He laid you down and found his place back on top of you, kissing every inch of your face as you giggled and gently pushed at his chest. 

He leaned back to look down at you in his shirt, hair disheveled, with a pink tint to your cheeks. “I can’t believe after all this time, you’re really mine now.” 

With a surge of blind confidence you sat up and positioned yourself on his lap, straddling him. You looked into his surprised eyes before cupping his face and bringing it to yours, as if to confirm his statement. 

“All yours.” You whispered after placing a soft kiss to his lips. 

He shuddered beneath you and you felt his arms wrap around you and pull your chest flush to his. “I’ve dreamt of you saying those words to me so many times, you have no idea.” 

You were becoming more and more aware of your lack of underwear as Baekhyun shifted you over his lap again, and this time you felt his hardness against you with the only thing separating you being the fabric of his sweats. 

You inhaled sharply at the sudden feeling, before teasing him, “Is emotional intimacy turning you on?” 

“Everything turns me on when it’s you.” He smiled back at you lazily before bringing his hands up to the collar of your (his) shirt and beginning to unbutton it. “As much as I love my clothes on you I think you look even more beautiful wearing nothing at all.” 

He was really, truly, obsessed with your body. In the best kind of way. You were like a piece of precious art to him. The pink tint that moved across your chest, the curves, the softness, the way your skin felt beneath his hands was just perfect. He needed to feel and to memorize every inch of you. 

“Can I fuck you, princess?” 

“Since you asked so nicely.” You giggled, making fun of his words from the night prior. 

He returned a dopey, blissed-out smile and his hands kept working on the buttons until he was taking it off of you completely, once again leaving you naked. His eyes scanned your body as one hand slowly made its way from your neck, down to your breasts, along the side of your waist and then finally between your legs.

“You make fun of me for being hard when you’re this wet?”

You let out a small yelp as two of his slender fingers entered you, curling against just the right spot that would have you losing your mind. 

“Thought you said you wanted to fuck me.” You taunted impatiently, slipping a hand down to pull him out of his sweats.  

As you wrapped you hand around him you felt his breath get stuck in his throat and the movement of his fingers inside you came to a halt before they left you completely. 

“If you want it so bad then go ahead.” 

He was right, there was nothing stopping you, so you lined him up with your entrance and sank down until he was fully inside you, hitting even deeper than before. His head hit the back of the couch and you couldn’t help but admire his parted lips and the slight knit in his eyebrows at the feel of you wrapped around him. 

“So tight and wet, so perfect, like you were made for me.” 

He soon had his hands on your ass and guided your motions, rolling your body against his. With every push of your hips against his own you let out small whimpers which grew louder and louder as he started to pick up the pace, bouncing you on top of him as he thrusted up into you.  

When he leaned forward to take a nipple between his lips you knew you were done for, and seconds later you were shuddering around him as the tension in your body was released causing you to cry out his name, and you were grateful that he lived alone. 

His movements didn’t stop even once your high wore off, and you found yourself grasping onto him tighter than before as oversensitivity took over. It felt like too much but you could tell by the way he was shaking beneath you and the movement of his hips was becoming inconsistent that he was close. 

Just before he stilled inside you he brought his lips to yours for a messy, heated kiss before releasing inside of you as he groaned into your mouth. His hands were gripping your hips so tightly, holding you so firmly against his that you knew it would bruise, but you couldn’t find it in yourself to care when you felt this good.

Once both of you stopped shaking and your breathing evened out you rested your head on Baekhyun’s shoulder and let your hands rest on the smooth, warm skin of his bare chest. His hands moved from your ass up to wrap around your back, holding you against him. You felt him softening inside you but you couldn’t bring yourself to get up, feeling too weak and warm and cozy on his lap to want to move at all. 

“You feel like heaven. We should stay like this all day.” He hummed blissfully into your neck. 

You chucked at his words but didn’t move either. “Baekhyun?” 

“Yes darling?”

“Do you love me?” 

The words left your mouth before you could think about it too hard. You just felt it. It felt the love in his words and actions towards you. You needed to know. 

He didn’t hesitate. “Yes.”

You sat up to look him in the eyes. “You love me?”

“I love you, y/n. Do you love me?” 

“I’m learning to very quickly.”

“I’ve been told I’m a very good teacher.” He grinned. 

When you brought your lips back down to his you felt it. The feeling bubbling deep inside of you. It wasn’t quite there yet, but you knew you would get there soon. It was only a matter of time until you were just as head over heels for him as he was for you. You were falling fast. 

As the two of you spent the rest of the day wrapped around, pressed against, and cuddled up to one another, you knew that this was exactly where you were supposed to be. 

He was your person, and you were his, and you couldn’t wait to take on so much more together for years to come. 

~The End~

Epilogue

A/N: AHHH it’s over, I finished my first ever fic. I really never thought more than like 10 people would read it so I’m seriously so grateful for all the positive feedback, it’s so much more than I ever expected. I can’t wait to start the next one! 

[neonacity]

Black Daisies Chapter 5| Canzona

Preview:

“Only the dead have seen the end of war.”

An NCT mafia AU with OT23. 

Summary: Working for the mafia comes with many layers. There’s excitement, violence, loss, and betrayals. Yet there’s also friendship, family, loyalty, and code. The last thing it needs? Love and all the complexities it brings.

TW: violence, death, mentions of drugs and other illegal activities. If you’re uncomfortable with any of these, feel free to skip. Author’s note: This is purely a work of fiction. In no way am I supporting all the illegal activities and behaviors that might be mentioned in the story nor am I implying that any member of NCT acts whichever way I may write them here--they’re all sweetiepies that need to be protected.

Chapter: 1/ First Stage

Chapter: 2/Overture

Chapter: 3/The Conductor

Chapter: 4/Crescendo

The fog of smoke from the lighted cigarette mixed with the cold breath coming from blood red lips. A woman stood in a small overhead overlooking the city, watching the shadows move across Seoul like a dark cloud bidding disaster. 

The sound of gravel crunching under boots sounded from behind her. She didn’t acknowledge it at first, however, instead dropping the nearly finished stick of nicotine between her fingers to the ground. A gust of air blew the stray stub away, its embers flaring up slightly before dying out. 

“You shouldn’t have come here.”

For a moment, it was only silence that answered her. Her dress danced in the wind, its red color looking like dried blood in the darkness. 

“You were waiting...for me.”

She finally turned around to look at the guest. Her eyes, though naturally sharp, flickered with familiarity as she took in the form of the boy in front of her. 

“I know you’re about to do something silly. I’m only here to tell you to stop whatever idea you’re having right now.”

The figure didn’t move in front of her, but the way he stared at her made the distance between them almost crackle with electricity. The man’s jaw tightened, before it finally relaxed just a little bit. 

“None of NCT is planning to participate in his game.”

The woman merely raised a perfectly shaped brow, knowing that there’s more to what he is saying.

“But I—”

“Jaehyun. Don’t be stupid.” 

“Being the Don means I can do anything I want, right? So you and I can—”

“There is no you and I,” her voice, though it sounded clipped and cold in the meeting hall earlier, had a tinge of emotion this time. Is it desperation? Frustration? Helplessness?

Jaehyun took a few steps towards the smaller figure in front of him, his hands shoved deep into his pockets to keep him from reaching out to her. 

“You will be free. From him. From all of this.” 

“If you win.” 

“And I will.”

“Not after you’ve betrayed your brothers. You know what things this kind of game brings. Don’t do something you’ll regret later.”

He locked his jaw again, his expression intense even under the shadows that wrapped the two of them. Jaehyun finally pulled one hand from his pocket and moved it to touch her arm. The woman took a step back, evading his touch carefully.

“I don’t need to betray anyone. We all agreed on it. Everything will carry out as usual,” he said in a tone that sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than anyone else. As she looked up at him, she saw the same desperation in his eyes—the same eyes that used to be so innocent before they were hardened by his life in the mafia. 

“And you believe them? Look at where you are now, in front of me, telling me you’ll be doing this. You think you are the only one who has a reason to go after the position among all of you?”

“I…” he trailed off, a frown settling on his forehead. “I trust them.”

“With the way you are acting, I don’t think you are worthy of their trust at all.”

Something finally snapped inside of him and he finally closed the distance between them in quick strides. He didn’t touch her, but they were close enough to each other that the cold fogs of their breath mingled in the darkness.

“This is the only chance I have—you have—to finally leave.” 

For a moment she simply looked at him, gaze unfaltering. She wanted nothing more than to reach out to his face and cradle it, tell him everything is going to be fine, but even as a flicker of emotion slipped on her gaze, she quickly let her cold mask replace it as fast as it came. 

“I don’t need you to save me. Don’t do this.” 

Before he could say, or do anything else, she finally took a step back again before turning on her heels to walk away. Jaehyun followed her with his gaze until the darkness swallowed her retreating form. 

“Yo, you okay?”

I looked up from squinting at my computer and turned towards the boy grinning in front of me. I probably looked funny, my face all scrunched up from staring at my screen, because he broke into a laugh before dropping himself into the seat next to me.

“Ya… I know Taeyong said you’ll be our first line of defense, but you haven’t peeled your butt from your seat since last night. Relax. I don’t think Cypher is going to do anything—at least not for now.”

My squint turned into a frown and I opened my mouth to shoot back a reply. Before I could say anything though, a painful throb on my left temple made me stop. I barely slept a wink last night. I leaned back on my chair with a defeated sigh. 

“You don’t know that, Yuta. Those guys… they’re nasty. If they got the same message that we all got last night, I’m 99 percent sure they’re thinking of something to sabotage us now.” 

“Mm… were you able to hack into their system though?”

“Yeah. Their firewall sucks as usual. Nothing seems out of place for now…” I trailed off as my gaze moved across the room. From upstairs, I saw Taeyong slip out of his room in his sweats, hair messy from sleep. He ducked into the fridge on the second floor, rummaging for something there. 

After the announcement from the Don, all the members decided to stay in the headquarters temporarily instead of going to their separate dorms to ‘watch each other’s backs.’ It was a good move in my opinion, but another side of me is also a little bit nervous of having everyone around all the time. Not that I don’t like having the guys as company… but I have my personal reasons to be anxious about the recent change in living arrangements. 

From upstairs, Taeyong finally managed to fish out one of the tetra boxes of banana milk from the back of the fridge. I didn’t realize I was still staring at him until his eyes finally met mine and he gave me a sleepy smile. 

I quickly turned my eyes back to Yuta only to find him giving me a Cheshire grin. 

“What?”

“I asked you if you also tried checking temporary databases Cypher might be using but you were too busy eating up breakfast with your eyes,” he snickered before throwing up his hands as if in surrender. “I get it, I get it. All of us are handsome but you only have eyes for—” 

I quickly gave him a punch on his left shoulder as I felt blood rush to my cheeks. “I—wasn’t staring!”

“Sure, you were just drooling—”

“Hey, anyone up for some drinks tonight?” 

Our childish banter temporarily stopped as Yuta and I looked up to see a very sweaty Johnny stride through the door. He was slightly panting as he approached us, the slight flush of his cheeks a sign that he just finished his morning run. 

“Why? You going to Anarchy?” Yuta asked in curiosity as he dug his hands in the front pocket of his sweater. 

“Yeah, I have to make sure the dealers are selling the new goods well. I could go alone as usual but our Mom there,” he moved his lips to point towards a still sleepy-looking Taeyong upstairs, “said it is best to go in groups for now. You know, just to be sure.” 

Yuta shrugged. “I can go with you. I’ll also ask the other guys too. I sure need a bottle or two.” 

Johnny turned to look at me. For the first time since last evening, I felt extremely conscious of how I look. I was wearing an oversized hoodie, my hair up in a sorry excuse of a bun. My glasses didn’t do me any favors, barely concealing the dark circles under my eyes.

“You want to come with us?” he asked, smiling at me. 

“Uh… I don’t think that’s a good idea. I have to—”

“She has to watch over the rats, is what she’ll say,” Yuta interjected from his seat. He turned to look at me then with a frown. “Seriously, if you’re going to act like this, you’ll never see sunlight in the next two months.”

I opened my mouth to speak but Johnny was too quick to answer for me. 

“Great. You’ll come with us then.”

“But—”

“You can work in the club. I’ll have Jungwoo bring those mini computers you both love tinkering with. You can use them to do your magic codes and spying voodoo, right?” 

I stared at him, at a loss for words. 

“Good talk. We leave at 9PM,” he flashed me another grin and turned to walk away. I was about to give another rebuttal when my eyes landed on the way his shirt stuck to the muscles of his back. I closed my mouth and sank back to my seat. 

Beside me, Yuta was grinning from ear to ear again. 

“Don’t you just love it that we’re all staying here now?”

I turned and gave him another punch on the shoulder. 

Two hundred miles away from Seoul, a man sat back on his seat as the screen in front of him turned black. The lone light of the overhead lamp in the room made eerie shadows dance across his face as he mulled over the closing words of the Don.

“You are free to do anything you like.”

His impassive face slowly broke into a smile so sinister it almost made his angelic features unrecognizable. He has no fucking idea why the idiotic man decided to start this little game of his, but he likes it nonetheless. A chance to take over the whole mafia sounded so enticing to him that it almost made him laugh, but there’s another reason that ultimately made his blood boil in excitement.

NCT. 

“Jihoon.” 

He only slightly moved his head to look at the female who cracked the door open to his room. She had the same eyes as him, though hers didn’t look tainted with madness. In fact, it look slightly worried right now as they took in his expression. 

“You called for me?” 

“Ah, yes,” he finally turned his swivel chair towards her so he could give her his full attention. He intertwined his long slender fingers on his lap and gave her a sweet smile. 

“I need you to make preparations. We’ll be going on a little field trip.”

Her questioning gaze almost made him snicker.

“Where are we going? We have a deal to close tomorrow and we can’t—”

“Oh dear, I can’t care less about that now. It can wait.” 

The girl pursed her lips. “Fine. Where are we headed to so I can make arrangements?”

The boy leaned back on his seat, head pressed against the headrest. He grinned at her, the emotion playing in his eyes making her blood run cold. 

“Seoul. We’re going to visit some friends.” 

---

A/N: Hi everyone! Decided to post this today even though it is super short. So I’ve decided to introduce Jihoon... and I would love it if I can have a face claim that I can use for him as a reference. To those who have been following the story, I’d love to know your suggestions! This will make it easier for me to develop him because then I’ll have an idea of how he looks like. <3

Chapter 6: Rapture

[starsstruck]

cloudbusting; part two.

a classic coffee shop story. harry is a painter that quickly becomes a regular at his neighbourhood cafe, and it just might have something to do with a certain barista. rushed closing shifts, late night grocery shopping, and stolen looks.

pairing: harry x reader warnings: language words: 10.9k

art by holly warburton. (i have no vision for the mc of the fic, people in the images of paintings i use are purely because this is how i envision harry’s art to be !)

series masterlist |

a/n: part 2 babyy ! i’m so excited to share this story you have no idea, i really hope everyone enjoys this chapter ! as always i love to hear your thoughts, please share and let me know what you think ! ❣️

Life apparently was one long grocery run.

When you weren’t heading to and from work, you were going to the grocery store. Somehow never able to do one big trip with enough groceries to last you over a week. Even when you tried, you always found yourself heading back a couple nights later for something that was forgotten.

So here you found yourself, after a shift on a Wednesday night, walking through the brightly lit aisles of a nearby supermarket. With a quick stop home to change out of your jeans, to dress in something a bit more fitting for the hot July evening.

Sound of Mitski filling your ears, stopping in the produce section as you filled a cloth bag with a few heads of broccoli.

Harry spotted you nearly immediately. You were observing a zucchini like it was the last vegetable on the planet, eyebrows furrowed and full attention focused on it before you placed it in the basket that was perched in the crook of your arm.

Slowly walking towards you; not wanting to seem like he had been following you through the store, but also wanting to get the chance to talk to you.

His lips twitched as he took in your outfit, some cutoff shorts with a big beige teeshirt loosely tucked into the waistband. He squinted a bit, making out the face of Cher on the back of the shirt.  

You had moved from the vegetables to the fruits, picking up a couple of peaches at random to place in your basket. He skirted around the few people in the supermarket, heading to the fruit section as well.

Grabbing a bag of green grapes that were directly across from you, he tried not to look at you.

It took a few seconds, but as you walked over to his side of the section you finally glanced at him. Not fully realizing it was Harry right away, having to whip your head back up again as you found his eyes were already on you.

There was a moment of silent staring, neither saying a word, before you gave him a tentative smile and a small wave.

It wasn’t uncommon that you saw regulars out and about outside of the café. Since you lived closed by, and a lot of regulars were patrons that lived in the neighbourhood. More times than you could count you’d had odd encounters and run-ins.

Sometimes they would recognize you and you wouldn’t know who they were, sometimes they would try and strike up a conversation. The most you usually gave them was a polite smile and maybe a little wave.

But as Harry grinned at you, you found yourself taking out your earphones.

“Hey,” he spoke first, shifting the basket in his hands. “Fancy seeing you here.”

You laughed lightly at his words. “Seem to be seeing a lot of you lately…”

Harry felt his cheeks warm. “I mean –” he stumbled over his words. “Not that much. Considering it’s usually at your work.”

“That’s true,” you mumbled, glancing down at your shopping basket, nearly embarrassed by how much snack food you had rather than food to cook with.

“You didn’t come to the show.”

Looking back up to meet his gaze again, you bit your lips together. “Yeah I – sorry.”

There were a lot of reasons you didn’t go. When he had invited you last week, you told him that you were going to be closing that day so you might not be able to go. Which was fully the truth.

The night of, you had briefly considered it. But you also didn’t really know him at all, and found it maybe a bit weird if you went? Even though he invited you.

“Closing took a while and well – anyway, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry,” he chuckled. “It was a small show, there’s sure to be more.”

“Why do you need to have your art in a small coffee shop?” Asking after a second. “I mean – if you have shows and everything.”

“Just always looking for something new,” he shrugged. “And the gallery is tiny. I technically work there actually, with a few friends.”

“How do you technically work somewhere?”

“I help out as an art prep,” he explained, propping his grocery basket down on the ground by his feet. “It’s probably the least glamorous job you could have at a gallery. It’s just putting up and taking down exhibitions. Measuring where screws go, that kind of thing.”

You only nodded, still a bit unsure of how he fully didn’t work there.

“They don’t usually need the extra help, so more times than most I’m not needed.” He shrugged, likely reading your confusion.

“Okay,” you nodded again. “You know, there might be other cafés around that could help you out as well.”

You watched his eyebrows rise, smile growing. “Are you trying to get rid of me?”

“No,” laughing, feeling nearly nervous. “Just trying to help out a local artist.”

“Well,” he bent down, picking up his basket. “Thank you. And I guess you’ll have to see my work another time.”  

Watching the hint of a sly smile grow on his lips, mirroring it in your own expression. “I guess so.”

There was a pause in conversation. “Are you –” he motioned to the basket perched on your arm. “Are you all done? I was just heading to pay.”

“I – uh,” having the bad habit of never making a list when you shopped, you didn’t really know when to stop with your groceries.

“Yeah I’m all done. I just want to grab a few more fruits.” Mumbling as you glanced around, eyes widening at the prices of the berries.

Harry nodded, as he took as small step back. Not moving from where he stood, waiting as you grabbed a small bunch of bananas. You silently wandered past the sections of citrus fruits, picking up some lemons before deciding that should be enough for your shop today.

Harry followed patiently; at first you hadn’t realized that he was staying back for you so the both of you could head out to checkout together.

“All done,” you smiled at him, feeling oddly endeared that he had waited for you.

Walking side by side to the register, placing your items on the conveyor belt with a divider between you and Harry. After paying and bagging your groceries, you were both strolling out into the heavy evening air, moving your sunglasses from the top of your head down to cover your eyes.

“I’m going this way, where are you headed?” He pointed down the street. The sun was casting an orange glow over the building, making them shine golden.

Turning to Harry, letting your eyes skim over him just the slightest bit. He was wearing loose blue jeans that looked worn, a wide hole on the right knee. A white shirt with light blue writing you didn’t get a chance to read, was loosely tucked in. He always seemed to be nicely dressed, even though all the outfits were seemingly casual.

He also had what looked like a hair clip holding some of his hair out from his face, sitting on the top of his head. You had never seen anyone wear their hair like that, and you were finding yourself a bit curious to how he even thought of doing that in the first place.

“I’m headed that way as well, for a bit.” You replied, adjusting the strap of your bag over your shoulder. “I live like fifteen minutes away.”

“We’re close to your work,” Harry glanced at you from the corner of his eye, as you both started walking down the street together.

“Yeah,” you grinned. “It’s nice, living so close to work. It’s only a little walk, no need for a drive or transit.”

“That’s good,” he nodded from next to you. “You’re lucky. I’ve had to lug my paintings on the train a few times, it isn’t the most graceful thing.”

“I know you said you wouldn’t show me a picture of your art,” you started, curiosity getting the best of you. “But can you tell me what kind of paintings?”

He was quiet for a second. “Big ones.”

That was all he said for a moment, and you thought that he was done speaking until he cleared his throat again. “With big colours. I like to uh – I get inspired by just almost, anything that catches my eye, if that makes sense. It comes out in like, big colours and shapes.”

You couldn’t really picture what he meant, but you nodded anyway.

“Like,” he continued. “Think of anything you enjoy, or find nice or just have any feeling towards.”

“I –” you weren’t sure what he was asking of you. “I don’t know.”

He laughed, glancing over at you with a wide smile. “It could be anything. Just, first thing that comes to mind.”

Pausing again, before answering. “I like walking along the water. I just – uh, I don’t know, by the docks. I like the smell of the air. Its like, the diesel mixed with something, I don’t know, it’s probably bad for you but. I like it.”

“What colours does it make you think of?”

That oddly made sense. “Blue. Like –” looking around for a blue that properly described the one you had in mind. Finding nearly the same colour on an awning across the street, stopping to point at it. “Like that blue.”

It was a deep but bright colour, darker than a royal blue. It made you think of the way the sky met the water, on a bright sunny day. It made you think of boats that lined the docks, and the smell of the old wood under your feet as you walked along.

You turned back to face Harry. “Is that too obvious of an answer?”

Laughing again, he shook his head. “Its whatever you feel, there are no wrong answers.”

“So what about it?” You asked, once you started walking again. “What about the blue –like, what about the colour that you think of have to do with your art practice?”

“Well,” he paused, eyes facing forward. “I take inspiration from that; I take whatever shape or colour or person or just, whatever. And then I paint it.”

“Okay,” you drew you the word. “Still would help to see your actual paintings though.”

“You could’ve,” he teased. “Missed out on that.”

“Sorry – oh,” you paused, stopping at the corner of the street where you were turning right. “I’m going this way.”

“Okay,” he stopped next to you. “Oh! Are you working tomorrow?”

You bit back your smile. “No, I have two days off in a row actually. I’ll be back on Saturday.”

He smiled, sun beaming behind him. “I’ll see you then. And hey have a good time off.”

“Thank you,” you hummed, waving by to him with your free hand as you turned in the street.

You didn’t know what it was about Harry. He had an energy, if you will, around him that for some reason set you in a good mood. You had also never really struck up any kind of conversation with a customer outside of work like that, other than the few times you had run into Dani, but that didn’t really count.

Turning around to glance at him, seeing him walk in the opposite direction from you. Unable to help feeling slightly curious about the customer who you were quickly getting to know.

Here !

Reading Mae’s text, buzzing her in and unlocking your front door as well, sending her a quick text to come up.

You had spent the entire day doing laundry and tidying up, grabbing the errands that you had forgotten last night. Your apartment had gotten messy over the past couple of weeks, clothes littering the floor of your room as your ever-growing problem of lacking proper storage continued.

So happy that you had two days off in a row, a luxury. You could spend the first day tidying and getting everything done, and the second day doing something fun.

And now after a day of getting your life together, you had your best friend since college, Mae, coming over to make some dinner.

“Hi!”

Hearing her voice call through your small third floor studio, as she let herself in and locked the door behind her. You followed the sound of her voice, watching as she emerged from around the wall and into the kitchen where you were searching for a bottle of wine.

“It’s so clean in here.” She was glancing around, looking at your empty-of-dishes sink and the put away pile of books that usually sat on your table.

“It’s always clean in here,” you smiled at her, finding the wine you were looking for.

“Sure,” she smiled, keeping her laugh at bay as she knew that really wasn’t the truth.

“How was work?”

“Good,” she sighed, dropping her bag on the table, eyeing the bottle of wine you carried. “I think I’m finally getting Jules to like me. Or at least not hate me.”

“I told you, I doubt she ever hated you,” you replied, knowing all about the partner at the firm that was giving her a tough time.

Having met Mae your first year of college; although the two of you didn’t really get to know each other and get close until the second year. She majored in political science, along with you, except that she now just finished up law school and started working at a law firm.

You had always envied those who knew exactly what they wanted their path to be. Whether that path changed or not, you still wanted to have something to work towards.

Mae had always wanted to go into law, with a specialty in environmental policy and that was exactly what she was doing. You, on the other hand, had no idea what to do after getting your degree. Not applying for grad school unlike the majority of your friends, knowing that you would just be wasting your time and money with more school.

You just never really figured out what it was you wanted to do after. It wasn’t so much that you found yourself stuck; it was just that you knew that there was something missing –that life had to have more to it.

“I know,” she sighed, following you to your couch as you carried two glasses in one hand and the wine in the other. “I just feel like she’s been giving me a tough time – a tougher time than the other associates.”

“I mean,” you paused, opening the bottle. “She’s got to know how smart you are. I doubt that she makes anyone work as hard as you, if she doesn’t think you could handle it.”

“I know, you’re right,” she watched as you poured a generous amount of wine into both glasses, before passing her one of them. “And she did tell me that I was her favourite associate to go to.”

“Oh my god,” Mae was always selling herself short. “She very much never hated you.”

“Mm, I know,” Mae repeated, taking a sip of her wine, a smile now on her face. “Anyway, how about you? How’s work?”

“Same,” you shrugged.

There were never big things to report from work, especially to someone who didn’t particularly understand what it meant when a customer would order something ridiculous, or would return their drink because they thought it would be different. “I’m trying to remember crazy customer’s… oh!”

“I had a woman get mad at me yesterday because a man cut in front of her in line – she said that I should’ve been watching the door to see the order of who was coming in.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Mae laughed. “God I really don’t miss working customer service, and having to deal with entitled people like that.”

“It’s the heat,” you pointed to your open window. “Makes people dumber. I know I say this every year, but I swear every summer customers get worse.”

“And oh God,” you continued. “I was also closing with Erinne and she just is the slowest when she cleans the outside. I hate to be too pushy but like – I mean technically I’m her boss, right? I just feel like everything I say to her goes out her head.”

“That’s annoying,” Mae nodded, nearly halfway through her wine. “I know you don’t want to be that manager but you have every right to tell her off.”

“I know,” you took your own sip of wine, smacking your lips together at the slightly sweet flavour. “But I just remember at my old job, when my coworker became the manager and I never really took him seriously.”

“Okay but you’ve been manager ever since you started – and have been there way longer than she has.”

“I just feel almost if I got harsh with her? I’ve never really really gotten mad at anyone.” You thought it over. “But honestly, work is good. It really is the best café I’ve ever worked at.”

It had been too long since the two of you had got a whole evening just the two of you. It was lovely, to say the least.

“Oh! Didn’t you have a date last weekend? How was it?”

You shook your head. “It wasn’t anything, I ended up cancelling.”

“What?” Mae shifted, her legs up on the couch as she turned to face you. “Why?”

Biting your lips together, not really having any true reason for cancelling the date. “I don’t know – I wasn’t that excited in the first place, and he just kind of had an off-putting vibe. We were supposed to go out after my shift was over but it was also just an exhausting day.”

The date would have been with a coworker of Mae’s, one who she had briefly introduced you to but that she didn’t know well herself, as they didn’t directly work together.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Maybe I shouldn’t have …?”

“Don’t be,” you shook your head, voice light. “Not your fault at all, I just really wasn’t feeling it.”

Your mind drifted, having nearly forgotten about the date that you cancelled over the weekend. You had no energy for it, and no energy to force yourself to like someone you already were sure you wouldn’t hit it off with.

“I get that,” she nodded. “If you don’t feel it you don’t. No use in wasting everyone’s time with someone you’re not excited about.”

“Mm,” you hummed, finishing off your wine. “Though. There is this guy…”

You tried to stop your lips from turning into a smile, hiding half your face in your glass. Mae shifted next to you, waiting for you to continue your story as she knew that look on your face. “Yeah?”

“I don’t know,” you sighed, placing down your glass on the coffee table in front of the couch. “It’s not really anything. He’s been coming into my work a lot lately, flirting with me – or at least I’m pretty sure he is.”

“Oh I’m sure he is,” she nodded. “All your customers are in love with you.”

“They are not,” you laughed. “I’m just good at my job.”

“Has he ever been there when I’ve been in?”

“No,” you shook your head. “I don’t think so. He started coming in a few weeks ago – maybe like a month ago? He wanted to know how he could get his art up on the walls.”

“His art?”

Mae placed her now emptied glass next to yours on the coffee table, as you nodded. “He’s an artist.”

“How old is he?”

You shrugged. “I don’t know, around our age, I think. Like 25, 26?”

“What’s his name? I want to see if I can find his Instagram.” She briefly stood, going to grab her phone that was sitting next to her bag on your kitchen counter. Soon returning to sit next to you, unlocking her phone.

“Harry – I don’t know his last name.” You told her. “I don’t know, he kind of seems like he wouldn’t have one.”

Mae glanced up at you as you repositioned yourself next to her so that you could peer over her shoulder. “He’s an artist and it’s 2020. I’m sure he has one. Plus, I’m sure it’s on public.”

You watched her type in ‘Harry’ into the Instagram explore search bar, the simplest of tasks that of course brought her results inconclusive as he didn’t know people she knew.

“Do you know anything else?” She asked, after looking at the profiles of the first ‘Harry’s’ that the search result brought up.

“No,” you thought for a second. “Oh! One second.”

You remembered the small slip of paper he had given you, with the name of the gallery that he had art up at. It might be another dead end, but it was all you had.

“Here,” you called, after finding the small crumpled slip at the bottom of your bag. “He had some art at this gallery.”

Watching over Mae’s shoulder as she grabbed the slip from you, typing in the name of the gallery. Easily finding their Instagram page, scrolling through the first few pictures for anything that would help her search.

“Is this him?” She spoke after a moment, calling your attention away from the wine that you were searching for again and back to her phone.

You squinted at her screen, watching her thumb swipe over a series of photos, one of which had an image of Harry. He was standing next to two paintings, ones you assumed were his. His hands were behind his back, small smile on his face with some baggy white pants and a loose shirt tucked into the waistband, and the same scuffed Vans he always wore.

“Yeah, that’s him,” you hummed, watching as Mae tapped the picture to see if he was tagged in it.

Success in seeing that he was, going over to his page. Mae was right, it was public.

She scrolled for a bit, going past rows of what you assumed was his art. Some fully finished paintings, some close ups, some sketches in pencil crayon. She stopped once she found a picture, three rows down, of him standing in the sunshine with yellow tinted sunglasses on, an open sketchbook held up in his hands.

Tapping on the picture, enlarging it on her screen as she scrolled down a bit to read the caption. “This is him?”

You nodded again. “Yes.”

She glanced away from her phone, up to meet your eyes. Saying your name quickly, with a little laugh. “He’s so cute. I thought you said all the guys who hit on you at work were old and gross.”

“I mean,” you slid in to sit next to her. “They are. He’s not really hitting on me though. I just kind of have the feeling he’s into me, you know how it is? I don’t know.”

She nodded. “Usually when you suspect it, it’s true though, isn’t it? Flirt with him, see what happens.”

You nodded, lip between your teeth, knowing that she was right. Mae glanced back at her phone, before handing it over to you so that you could further inspect his Instagram. “And seriously, he’s really fucking cute.”

She got up from next to you, tapping your thigh with her now free hand. “I’m going to chop veggies for dinner, you keep looking.”

You only laughed absentmindedly at her comment, although not protesting as she moved to start making dinner for the night. Swiping away from the picture of Harry, scrolling through his feed. Most pictures were of his art, some single pictures, some had multiple one’s together in the post.

Reading over his username, harrystylesart. You briefly wondered if that was his real name or just one he used.

Looking at recent posts first, seeing images of pages out of a sketchbook, orange and red shapes drawn across a white page. Swiping through the post, you saw another image of the same book, this time the picture taken from a bit further away. You immediately recognized the slightly worn wooden table, and corner of the familiar little blue mug.

The drawing itself was of something nondescript, the same oranges and reds, this time with blue outlined as well. You tried to make out what it was, but assumed it was just mindless sketching. Your recalled what Harry had told you, about how he liked to use a lot of colour – this must be his process.

Still, you felt oddly happy that he had taken these pictures at your work.

You kept up with your snooping, looking through pictures of his paintings. He was right, about them being big and colourful. Some seemed to have just odd shapes, some had people, some seemed to include places or buildings.

You kind of wished that you understood them, that you knew why he was making these. All his captions were of very few words, most with no captions at all.

That being said, you found yourself genuinely really liking them. Some in particular, just held a specific feeling that you really enjoyed. You didn’t know anymore than that, you just liked to look at them.

“Find anything else?” Mae asked you, once you had shut off her phone and joined her in the kitchen.

“Nothing big,” you hummed, grabbing a pan from under the counter. “I don’t know, I’ll see. Like I said, it’s just a suspicion. Maybe I’m also a bit bored, it has been a while since I’ve been excited about someone.”

Mae nodded along with you, waving her knife in the air as if to point to you. “That’s true too, it is really fun when you start to have a little thing – I almost miss that.”

She had been in a relationship for nearly three years now. “You do not,” you scoffed.

“Okay,” she paused. “Maybe not. Dating is fun but also kind of awful. But seriously, it is nice to be excited about someone.”

“Never said I was excited,” you hummed, though you knew she saw right through you.

“Okay,” she drew out the word, clearly unconvinced. “But remember that last guy you dated? He was no fun. What was his name?”

“Ross,” you wrinkled your nose at the memory. “Yeah he wasn’t great.”

Mae nodded. “You never even told me about him until the end.”

You had a habit of not always telling your friends about your dating life. Sometimes you would fill them in on every gory detail, and other time you would briefly mention that you started seeing someone but it had fizzled.

It was also very telling about how the dates had been – one’s you were excited about were usually heard of right away.

To Mae, it seemed like you dated a lot, but that was also because she had mostly been in longer term relationships. You thought you dated a normal amount -- you often found yourself saying yes, when people were interested because you told yourself that you never knew what could come of it.

“I’ll come in to your work soon,” Mae continued, changing the subject. “I haven’t been in a while, like to properly sit down. Plus, I want to see this guy.”

“I’m back on Saturday, working right through until Thursday.”

Mae thought over he own schedule. “I have Monday off, and it’s usually calmer then too right?”

“Yeah, it should be quiet. Monday,” you paused, remembering there was something particular about that day. “Oh, I’m closing alone then. Everyone has been taking their vacation at once. But you can stay with me for closing if you want, we could get dinner afterwards.”

“Perfect! I’ll bring all my work to get done, and yes dinner sounds lovely.”

The bliss of your days off ended, and the chaos of the weekend shifts followed. The weekend was always a bit crazy – sometimes you lucked out and it was oddly empty but this was no lucky weekend.

By the time Monday rolled around, you were already tired. And it was only the third day in a stretch of a full week of work with no days off.

At least you were working the closing, offering you a small chance to sleep in as you didn’t have to get into work until the early afternoon, although the downside of today’s shift however, was that you were going to be closing alone.

Mae came into work with you, bringing stacks of paperwork with her to the café to work on.

It was about an hour after Mae had arrived, that you saw Harry coming through the side window. He was just reaching to open up the door, and you were trying to catch Mae’s attention to subtly tell her that the guy she had helped you find online was about to come in.

When Harry walked in, he saw you walking over to the front corner and sit yourself on a chair across from someone else.

He kept walking, seeing your attention pulled away as it was obvious you really knew the person you were chatting with. He heard your laugh ring out through the café from behind him, as he spotted his open table in the back and situated himself there.

Not going up to the counter until he saw you behind it again, waiting a couple minutes as you seemed to be taking a tiny break with who he assumed was your friend. Eventually though, he slowly walked to the front until he was standing across from you at the counter.

“Hi,” you called, from where you stood a bit further back, rearranging clean cups under the counter. “What can I get for you today?”

“Over ice, thank you.”

He watched you pause with a little nod, as you didn’t bother to put the order into the system right away and instead moved further back to the espresso machine to make his drink. He left some change on the counter by the till, sliding it far enough in so that you couldn’t miss it.

He walked around the counter until he was on the other side of the espresso machine, seeing half of you hidden to him as you prepared his drink.

“Sorry if that was weird, in the grocery store the other day.”

He watched you peek out from around the machine. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t know,” he shrugged. “Must be kind of odd to see a regular from your work outside of that setting.”

“A bit,” you smiled. “But not that much. You’d be surprised by how often I run into customers.”

“Really?” His eyebrows rose. “What’s the worst place you’ve even seen a regular?”

“Nothing really that bad. Sometimes it is a bit weird when I’m at their place of work. Like there’s a woman who bartends at Corner Stone, who also comes here a lot – its like we’re each other’s regulars.”

He saw your eyebrows furrow slightly, as if trying to think of some other occurrences you had had outside of work. “Oh! This doesn’t really count as seeing someone, but I’ve found customers on Tinder before.”

“Really? Ever match with any of them?” He bit his lips together, feeling the hint of a smirk on his lips.

“God no. I never used it that much anyway.” You said, laughing lightly. He briefly wondered if you had done it on purpose, mentioning something like that to him. But he had to tell himself that you were really just answering his question.

You had just finished up making his drink, placing it on the counter in front of him and tapping it lightly against the marble as you usually did.

“Why do you always do that?”

“What?” You blinked back at him.

“You always tap the cup on the counter like that.”

“Oh,” you smiled, small shrug in your shoulders. “It’s a habit. It’s to knock out any little air bubbles from when the espresso pours. If the pour is really smooth, there shouldn’t really be any. It doesn’t matter as much when it’s over ice though, since the ice gets in the way.”

“You do this with all drinks?”

“No,” you replied. “I mean with hot milk drinks you need to smooth out the air from the milk bubbles. And before preparing them you also tap out the milk, and the espresso – again if there are bubbles.”

“All about presentation, isn’t it?”

“Exactly,” he warmed at the laugh that shook your chest. “When it looks nice it tastes nice too.”

He took a small sip of the cold drink. “I don’t think you’ve ever made me a bad cup of coffee.”

“Glad to hear that.”

The two of you both turned your heads at the same time, at the sound of the door closing shut. A group of three women had just come in, chatting loudly as they all made their way to the front counter.

“I got to –” you pointed your thumb in their direction.

“Of course,” he nodded, watching as you turned away from him. Your hand moved down to your back pocket, tapping over your bum lightly as if searching for something in your pocket. He saw you pull out that red pen you always carried, twirling it between your index and middle finger as you went to stand by the till.

Coffee in hand, Harry walked around the counter and back to his to the table where he had left his things.

You eyed Mae while the group wanting to order continued to read the menu, watching her mouth something you could barely make out. She tilted her chin up, nodding her head towards where Harry had gone to sit.

Shaking your head with a light laugh, not sure what she was trying to tell you. You didn’t have time to find you either, as the woman standing closest to the till interrupted you silent conversation. “We’re ready to order.”

Not getting the change to talk to Harry again until a few hours later, right before closing. You saw him standing by the counter, empty cup in hand that he gently placed into the nearly overflowing buss bin.

“Thank you,” you hummed, walking past him on the opposite side of the counter as you started sweeping the inside. There seemed to be more grounds on the floor today than usual.

“Not a problem,” he grinned. “You seem to be everywhere tonight, I swear I just saw you going back to the washrooms.”

“A lot more to do tonight, since it’s just me closing.” You emptied out the dustbin into the garbage can, deciding that you were done sweeping for the day – hoping that the muck left over on the floor would come out with the mop.

“What do you mean it’s just you?”

You glanced around, as if you hadn’t been alone this entire time. Grabbing the dish bin that was sitting between the two of you, walking to grab whatever was left to be cleaned. Harry followed your motions, from the other side of the counter.

“I’m working alone…” you started slowly. “Usually we have two people close together, but we’re short staffed right now. Today and next week it’s just me.”

“That’s no fun,” he said, looking around and seeing nearly all empty tables now.

“Closing isn’t usually that fun,” you laughed, gathering everything that could be sent through the dishwasher. “It just takes a lot longer when I’m alone.”

“I can imagine cleaning must take a while.” He glanced around, looking at all the floor space that needed to be swept then mopped.

“It’s okay,” you shrugged, grabbing your buss bin. “I get paid by the hour, not on salary so I’ll get a bit of overtime in there.”

He only nodded, and your eyes flicked over to the clock hanging on the wall across from you. “I mean this in the nicest way possible but we are now closed.”

Harry followed your eyes to look up at the clock as well, before glancing back at you. “Are you kicking me out?”

“Yes, I am,” nodding with a chuckle, watching him walk over to where his things still sat on a table, gathering them up. Moving the dish bin to the back to fill up the dishwasher, wiping your wet hands on your jeans to go lock the door after Harry leaves.

“You know I’m not the last one here,” he said to you from where he stood, after your reappeared from the back room. He pointed over to where Mae sat at a front table, bent over an array of papers. She didn’t really seem like she was reading them though, her eyes briefly landing on yours when you looked over.

“She gets to stay with me,” you grinned, walking out from behind the counter. “We’re grabbing dinner after.”

“Nice of you to not make her wait outside.”

You laughed, walking to the front door to hold it open as the last thing to do before ushering Harry outside.

You hadn’t noticed he had come up behind you, arm brushing past you. His hand wrapped around yours on the door handle, taking you by surprise the slightest bit, as he was suddenly so close behind you.

“Oh –” muttered under your breath, taking a step back to move away, but your back only hit Harry’s chest as he had you more or less boxed in. “Sorry.”

Your hand slipped away from between the metal of the handle and the warmth of Harry’s hand, trying to slip out from your closeness to the door to give him space to walk out. Slightly propping it open, deciding to move outside and hold it open from the outside.

Glancing up at him, feeling warmth creep up your skin at the awkwardness of the moment, meeting his eyes with your lips bit between your teeth.

“Sorry,” Harry repeated to you, pushing the door all the way open to walk out. You didn’t miss the red tint on his cheeks, and the way his eyes flicked away from yours so quickly you barely got to hold his gaze.

“Have a good rest of your day,” you smiled, giving him a small wave as you decided to quickly move past whatever moment you had found yourself stuck in.

“I’ll see you,” he flashed that wide smile of his, showing off the dimples that appeared as he brought a hand up to move his sunglasses from the top of his head to lay perched on his nose.

You waved when he turned away, walking down the street away from where you were now closing the door and locking it shut.

Mae who had risen from where she was sitting was now slowly walking over to the counter, leaning her elbows on top of it while she waited for you to join her side.

She had a small smile playing at the corner of her mouth, bottom lip lodged between her teeth as if it was nearly impossible for her to keep her mouth shut.

You only laughed at her expression, shaking your head slightly when you walked past her, giving her a little swat with the back of your hand.

“What?” She calls out after you’ve left her alone again, heading to the back to load the last bit of dishes into the dishwasher. “I didn’t say a word.”

“I know what you’re thinking!” You called as you rinsed off old mugs, the traces of coffee now dried to the ceramic.

Double checking that there was nothing left to be sent through, closing the door and pressing the button for the hot water and soap to start cleaning the dishes for the last time of the day.

Emerging out in the open again, on the opposite side of the counter from Mae. You knew there was still mopping left to do outside, but you wanted to get the cash out done first and out of the way.

Mae was silent again, unmoving from her spot as she watched you dump out the coins from the tip jar as you began to lay them out to easily count them. You concentrated for a bit, making small piles of four with your quarters.

“He’s really into you,” she finally said, waiting for you to look back up at her.

You kept your head dipped down, eyes on the counter where all the coins and bills sat to be counted. Biting your lips together as you again found yourself unable to help the slight smile building.

“I know,” you finally uttered, sending her a quick glance with a laugh at her expression.

“He’s even better looking in person.”

“I know,” you repeated, eyes focused downwards at the coins that you were quickly counting. “Now shush! I don’t want to lose count.”

It was the same thing the following week, as it always was. You had your days off, got groceries, ran errands. The weekend was crazy, that was again to be expected especially with the particularly nice weather. Dani had been away, so you hadn’t seen him in about a week.

The week had been just as busy as the previous one, the hot days of late July making more and more people come in for some nice cooled iced drinks. It was a bit crazy to you, how quickly your weeks went by when all you would do was look forward to your days off.

The following Monday, it was nice to have your slow and steady shift again. You had to close alone once more, but this would be the last time as some staff were going to be back from their summer vacation so you would be fully staffed once again.

The afternoon had gone by very slowly, nearly too slow, that you had just been mindlessly cleaning all day. It was good, in a way, because it meant that there would be less cleaning to be done later that evening once the doors were locked and you would be left to finish up alone.

Another commonality with your Monday shift is that Harry was routinely there. Situated in that back corner table he always seemed to get, bag on the chair across from him and things spread out in front of him. You had been too preoccupied with all your reorganizing and cleaning to properly chat with him today. But a small part of you also wanted to see if he would come to you.

Nothing really interesting happened, though, until you were getting ready to start even more closing cleaning and you were passing by his table with a broom in hand.

Sweeping under the empty table across from him first, before moving closer to where he was sitting and letting your eyes wander from the floor to the table, catching a glance at his sketchbook.

It was similar to what you had seen on his Instagram, only this time he had several drawings that were distinctly people.

“Hey,” he suddenly spoke, pulling your attention away from his book and over to where he was now looking at you. “I can see you snooping.”

“Oops,” you shrugged, feigning sheepishness. “I told you, I like to try and figure out the lives of customers. That comes with looking over their shoulder at what they do.”

“Have you figured out the lives of everyone sitting here now?” You didn’t miss how he changed the subject.

“Of course.”

“I think I have too,” he hummed, sitting back in his chair and crossing his arms over his chest as he gazed up at you.

“I see most of these people a few times a week – I think I have a bit more dirt on them than you.” Placing your broom to lean against the wall behind you, making sure it didn’t fall before crossing your arms over your chest.

The shop was nearly empty by this point, but you knew that almost every customer currently sitting at a table had been in here at least once a week.

“What about those two?” He pointed with his chin, nodding his head in the direction of the couple sitting in the back, across from where Harry was. “Do you think its a date, like a new relationship? Or a longer term thing.”

“Oh,” you hummed, having seen those two at least twice a week for the past couple months. “They’ve been dating for at least a year. Minimum.”

“Okay,” he drew out the word, nodding as he agreed with you. “What about those two?” The only other couple was across the shop on the other side, sitting on the big plushy chairs that Dani always sat at. You had never seen them before.

“I would say,” you paused, trying to observe their body language as you stood back with your hands in the back pockets of your jeans. “Second or third date. They’re still sitting across from each other and have nothing else with them to work on – but they seem just touchy enough. Coffee was probably a last-minute idea, but for sure not the first date.”

Looking back at Harry, finding him still watching you. “You really thought about that one, huh.”

“I told you –” eyes flicking back to the couple in question. “I like to figure out people’s lives. Seeing people on coffee dates is always fun. They’re usually always first or new dates, or in long-term relationships.”

“Coffee dates are easy first dates,” Harry murmured, nodding his head. “Wouldn’t be surprised if you saw a lot of them.”

You thought it over for a second. “I guess I do, yeah. Easy for nervous couples.”

“Can’t imagine you like getting coffee on a first date.”

“Not really,” you said, not missing a beat. Eyes slightly narrowing on him, lips curving, as you silently wondered where he was going with this conversation. “Unless they don’t know what my job is.”

“What about just getting coffee – like not as a first date – is that okay?”

You bit your lips together, eyes briefly leaving his. “Of course.”

He smiled. “Done that recently?”

Was he trying to see if you were single? “No, not recently,” you hummed, eyes flicking back to his.

You only broke his gaze for a second as you watched him pull his bottom lip between his teeth, grin breaking the corners of his mouth. Neither of you spoke for a moment, eyes locked in a little staring contest.

He was the first to look away, clearing his throat as he angled his head towards the front door. “I think I’m keeping you from customers.”

Your attention was pulled away from him, watching a group of four walk in through the door, glancing up at the menu hanging behind the register.

Shooting him one more quick look, before sauntering off to go slid in behind the counter. Hands still placed in the back pocket of your jeans, grabbing the pen that was in one of them as you went to take their order.

After that group there seemed to be another, and another. It wasn’t busy, per se, just steady. And since you were alone, it gave the feeling of being a bit busier since there was no one else there to help you pull shots, or take orders.

Still, slowly customers petered out and there were only a few people left sitting around the café. You had already cleaned the majority of the espresso machine, cleaning out the portafilters and clearing the grounds that collected at the bottom.

Dishes had been constantly running, and you just grabbed the broom to start sweeping the emptier half of the café so that once you were closed, the cleaning wouldn’t take long.

“Closing soon,” you hummed, as you passed by Harry’s table with the broom in hand once more.

“I know, I know, don’t worry.” He put down his pencil, his pause in movement causing you to stop by his table for a second. “You’re closing alone again today, aren’t you?”

“I am,” you breathed, eyes flicking to the clock.

“And you don’t have you friend here to keep you company like last time.”

“I don’t,” you bit your lips together.

He shifted a bit in his chair, feet flat on the ground with one arm placed over the back of the chair as he twisted his body to face you. “Do you, uh –” he paused, flipping his pencil between his fingers. “Do you need any company?”

“What are you suggesting?” You felt the corner of your lips perk to a sly smile.

“If you want,” he quickly started, sitting up straighter. “I could keep you company.”

There was another pause, neither of you speaking for a moment.

But you found yourself nodding to his request. “It’s not that interesting, just me running around cleaning, and counting coins. But I mean – if you want to.”

He nodded along with you. “’Course I do. Plus. I really like this space to work in, it’s inspiring and all that.”

“Okay,” you slowly spoke the word. “But you’re going to have to lift your feet later so I can sweep under your table.”

“Will do.”

You moved past him after that, head still lowered as you swept under the tables across from where Harry sat, moving your little pile of dust and dirt into the dustbin. Busying yourself, since you actually were busy, trying not to smile after your conversation with Harry.

Soon you were ushering the rest of the customers out, the clock hitting seven and the doors being locked. You brought in the patio furniture after fully sweeping and mopping one side of the café, the side that Harry was not sitting at.

The inside cleaning was all nearly done, beans put away, espresso machine fully cleaned and counter wiped down. You were just starting to sweep the second half of the shop, nearly done with the cleaning before you could cash out.

“I can help, if you need.”

Harry had remained fairly quiet after the doors were locked with the two of you still inside. Just as he said, he was still perched over his table with pencils in hand and book open in front of him. You were too busy to really stop by and see what he was doing, assuming he was working on those sketches you had seen when you were spying on his Instagram.

“I’m not paying you,” you teased, glancing at him from the corner of your eye. “But seriously, you don’t have to.”

“I can – if you want. I’m bugging you enough, may as well help.”

“I thought you wanted to feel the space, or something? Getting inspired? But really – it’s okay. I’m nearly done here and just need to cash out.”

He paused for a second, before nodding. “Okay, okay. Well I’m here if you need me.”

Conversation stopped there again, for a while at least. You cleaned the washroom, finished mopping all floors and dumped out the dirty water. After all the big cleaning was done, you made yourself a nice cold iced tea in a to go cup that you would take home afterwards.

Grabbing a chair from the back room and bringing it up to the till to sit down while you cashed out, dumping out all the coins and bills from the tip jar first. Counting in silence, not having noticed how Harry had moved tables and was now seated across from you instead of in the back.

“It’s different after closing.”

You glanced up from where you had rows of quarters lined on the counter, trying to not loose your count. “I mean,” you spoke, only after writing down the amount you calculated. “It’s the same – but calmer. Or sometimes more stressful, depending on the day, and who I close with. It’s for sure not as nice as being here alone in the morning.”

You saw Harry nod. “I really like the mornings.”

“You mentioned that,” you hummed, beginning the dreaded task of counting up the smaller coins.

He fell quiet again, watching you quickly move the coins from the counter to the register, counting under your breath while you worked. He didn’t want to distract you and have to start all over again, instead deciding to pull his attention back to his sketch book.

Flipping his pencil between his fingers a couple times, listening to the coins clacking overlapped with the soft sounds of whatever song was playing – he didn’t know it. Finding himself drawing small things he saw around the shop; the way the mugs were stacked, the way the leaves on a plant fell to one side, the way there always seemed to be umbrellas shoved in the vase out front even though it hadn’t rained in weeks.

And then he found his eyes falling back to you; the line that formed between your brows as you focused on counting, the way you sat with one leg tucked under the other, the small movement of your lips as you spoke under your breath.

He hadn’t fully realized he was colouring in the curve of your cheeks until he caught himself unable to stop looking up at you. Using the only pencil crayons he brought with him, colouring you in with two shades of blue.

Starting your outline over again and again, each time focusing on a different part of you that he could see. Squinting as he drew the soft curve of your eyelashes, and then the rise of your hairline, and the dip of skin from your neck until the soft green colour of your shirt started below your collarbones.

After a couple minutes in silence, your sudden movement from where you were sitting brought his attention back up to you, watching as you walked away from the till to the back, quickly coming back with a little baggy in hand.

He shut his sketchbook with the pencils still resting between the pages, rising to his feet with a little push back of his chair. The noise brought your attention to him for a second, eyes flicking between him and your task at hand.

“You did that fast,” he hummed, leaning his elbows down on the counter across from you. You were bagging the counted money, writing down the amounts of the day. Harry tried to not let his eyes linger on your hands. Not wanting to seem like he was spying on how much money you had made in a day, when he was really watching the way you were gently gripping the pen that was being swiveled between your fingertips.

“You learn a few tricks over the years to make it go faster,” you murmured, zipping shut your baggies that would be placed in the safe for the night.

Once you were all done, the only thing left was one last load of dishes to run through before you could close for the night.You began to wait for the dishes to clean, you were suddenly aware of how quiet the space was around you and Harry, the soft music of Mazzy Star creating a dreamy atmosphere.

You also realized you had no real reason for letting Harry stay past closing – it wasn’t like the two of you were doing anything afterwards. But you also knew that you were maybe expecting something, and just maybe the two of you would be doing something together once you were off work.

Bringing the dish rack filled with clean steaming dishes to the front counter, letting them drip dry for a bit before you started to put them away.

Harry was tentatively walking over to where you were, not completely crossing the invisible line that separated the inside to the outside of the café, but pushing it enough.

“Sure you don’t need a hand?” He asked, once he was leaning against the counter that the dishes were sitting on.

“I told you, I can’t pay you for any of it,” you joked. “But really, it’s okay. I’m nearly done.”

He only nodded, watching as you looped your fingers through the handles of mugs to carry more of them at once.

You wondered really what Harry had to gain from watching you finish up your closing shift. You knew he said he liked the space of the café, that it inspired him. Whether that was bullshit or not, you didn’t mind his company.

Still slightly curious about how he was spending all his time at your work, and how he didn’t seem to have anything else going on at the moment other than watching you put away still steaming hot dishes.

“I know you said you kind of work at that gallery,” you started. “But I mean – and I don’t mean this in a bad way but, don’t you have another job? Like not a 9 to 5 but, I don’t know. You’re here weekday’s and weekends, sometimes early and sometimes late.”

Pausing, not sure if you were properly vocalizing the small curiosities you had about Harry. “You know I like trying to figure out the lives of customers but – I mean what do you do?”

He was silent for a bit, and a first you thought you had made a bit of an idiot of yourself but you saw the small tug at the corner of his lips, indicating a smile.

“I’ve been telling you,” he finally said, eyes gleaming when he looked at you. “I’m an artist. That is my 9 to 5. I manage to get some small jobs here and there to make some extra money, but so far I’ve been able to make a living. Get’s a bit tough sometimes but lately I’ve been managing to get a slow and steady stream of commissions.”

You felt a bit bad, nearly dumb for asking. “What kind of small jobs?”

“Well,” he leant against the counter across from you. “Some art handling at galleries. I taught a few classes, probably not very well, at a community centre. Just small things to make some money on the side. But like I said, being an artist is my 9 to 5.”

“Oh,” the word sounded so small in response. “That’s really cool. I mean that, that’s just … really cool.”

You didn’t know why you found yourself so lost for words. He had explained it to you so casually, so nonchalant about following what he wanted.

Picking up the now empty dish tray, bringing it to the back. You didn’t pay that close attention to what you were doing, quickly rinsing it out and turning off the dishwasher. Your mind was wandering, Harry’s words running through your head over and over.

Not realizing it at first, but when you dipped your head down to make sure the dishwasher was properly drained, your vision went a bit blurry. There were small tears pricking at your eyes, building at your waterline and threatening to spill over.

Quickly tilting your head back as if the tears would fall back into their ducts, dabbing the skin under your eyes with the back of your hand.

There was no real reason for the sudden tears that appeared, you knew that. It was probably a culmination of too many busy days of not enough rest. But another small voice was telling you something else, and you knew exactly why you were crying.

But for now, you couldn’t indulge your thoughts too much since you knew that would only open the gates for more tears to come. Shaking your head, pulling out your phone from your pocket to use as a makeshift mirror to make sure the whites of your eyes weren’t shining red.

Keeping your head down a bit as you walked out, avoiding Harry’s gaze. Grabbing your cup filled with iced tea you had made for yourself before cashing out, taking a long sip as if more hydration would make you look as if you hadn’t been crying.

Silently checking over that everything was all ready for the opening shift tomorrow morning. Heading to the iPad to clock out, closing the POS for the day.

“I’m all done,” you finally spoke while heading to the back room for the last time, making sure the fridge door was properly shut before grabbing your bag and keys to leave for the day.

Waiting by the alarm system when you gathered all your things, watching over your shoulder as Harry stood by the door with his own bag. Punching in the security code to set the alarm for the night, hearing the paced beeping that started and alerted the time you had to walk out and lock the door.

He propped the front door open for you, holding it open before waiting while you  locked it shut, double checking it was properly closed.

“I just have to…” you muttered under your breath, heading in the opposite direction to the other side of the café. There was an emergency exit in the back, that usually remained lock but sometimes someone would unlock it and forget to close it again, so you always made sure to check.

The door didn’t budge when you pulled on it, finding it properly closed. You met up with Harry again, avoiding his gaze as you kept your eyes trained down on the pavement under your feet.

You knew there had been a big and sudden shift in your mood, but you couldn’t think of any reason to explain it so you simply remained silent.

But, you also didn’t want to start explaining why you were suddenly crying.

“Which way are you headed?”

“Uhm,” you had to think for a second, although you took the same path every single day. “This way.”

Pointing ahead in the direction you would walk down before turning over to the block your apartment was on. Harry hummed next to you, beginning the walk by your side.

Remaining quiet for the first couple minutes, keeping your eyes more or less downcast. Knowing you probably didn’t have the best energy to be around right now, and not even wanting to bother with any kind of small talk.

“Are you alright?”

Lost in your own head, you had almost forgotten about Harry walking next to you in the cooling air of the city. You turned to him for a brief moment, eyes flitting over his before looking forward again.

“Yeah I – I’m just tired. Long couple of days.”

Before Harry got a chance to speak, you realized that you need to turn onto your block. “I’m going here – I’ll see you around.”

You turned the block, stopping for barely a second as Harry uttered a small “See you,” before you walked the opposite direction of him.

Pace picking up as you wanted nothing more than to be home at the moment, quickly walking the rest of the way home.

Finally closing your door behind you, not caring where your bag ended up on the floor and going to immediately crack open a window, airing out the stuffy apartment. You busied yourself with lighting a stick of sandalwood incense, letting the smoke slowly blow out the window, the smell starting to fill the room.

It wasn’t until you went to change into a sweatshirt and shorts, catching a glance of your appearance in the mirror when you suddenly felt tears well up again. Reaching for your phone, deciding that if you were going to wallow in your sudden sadness that you should have a soundtrack for it.

Pouring yourself a glass of wine, knowing you should make something to eat as well but not having the energy for it at the moment.

You only took one sip of the drink before placing it back down on the counter, feeling small tears fall from the corner of your eyes. Wiping under your face with the back of your sleeve, knowing more tears were to come.

The sudden cry had come out a bit out of no where. It sometimes was like that, the unexpected surge of tears that suddenly needed to fall from your eyes.

What surprised you, was that it was triggered by what Harry told you. Him telling you that his work as an artist was his 9 to 5 job, that he was following what he always wanted to do and was so far able to get by.

It was similar to the way you felt with Mae, sometimes. The two of you had graduated with the same degrees, but she was following her dream while you had the same job you held all throughout college. Sure, maybe the location of the job was different, and this time you were manager, but it still felt like the same job.

It wasn’t that you felt unfulfilled in life, and you did really like your job. It was just that there was sure to be more – this couldn’t be it for the rest of your life.

And the small, snarky comment from family or even customers didn’t help. You had had customers ask you if you were just working there “for now” and if it was “some place you were trying to get out of.” It was condescending really, and you always politely smiled at them and told them no, but it never helped with feeling not good enough.

So sitting with your wine, and a little cry, was very much what you needed right now.

[heyyyharry]

Red or Yellow

(a blurb from the Flatmate series)

…in which Harry and Y/N argue over the paint colour for their living room and split the room into two (pre-relationship flatmates).

Word count: 2.5k

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.

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“I think this place is haunted,” Ben remarked as he swept his eyes around the living room which was covered in plastic sheets.

“What gave that away?” Mark, Ben’s fiancé, asked as he followed Ben inside. “The claw marks on the door or the blood on the wall?”

Harry scoffed as he waved the paint roller at the claw marks. “She-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named was dog-sitting the other day. The dog was pretty aggressive.”

“She-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named?” Ben asked.

Mark squinted his eyes, hands on his hips. “You mean Y/N?”

“Mmmmm.” Harry rolled his eyes.

Before either Ben or Mark could ask him what was wrong, Y/N emerged from her room, dressed in overalls and holding her own paint roller. As soon as she made eye contact with Harry, she gave him a look of contempt and said hello to their neighbours as if Harry wasn’t there. Harry gave a sly smile as he watched her pick up the yellow paint bucket she’d left in the corner of the living room. In her corner, to be exact.

Long story short, they’d divided their flat into two halves, and she was still bitter that he got the one with the couch. He didn’t know why she was upset; she had the entire kitchen all to herself because he wasn’t allowed to cross her side to get there.

“I thought you two were still in your honeymoon phase,” said Ben with an eyebrow raised. “What happened?”

“He happened,” Y/N said before Harry could speak. “And when have we ever been in any phase?”

Harry let out a bitter laugh as he threw his hands in the air and accidentally splashed red paint onto Mark’s sleeve. Mark gasped, but nobody cared.

“We’d agreed to paint the living room’s walls red for the vintage look!”

“We never agreed to paint it red,” she countered, lifting her yellow paint bucket. “And when people say vintage, they would think yellow!”

“No. Red.”

“Yellow.”

“Red!”

“Yellow!”

“Green!”

Everyone looked at Ben, who raised a smile. “I thought we were naming the colours of a traffic light.”

“Could someone please tell me how to get the paint off silk?” Mark said, but once again, nobody cared.

“I swear to God, you’re gonna turn half of our living room into a sex dungeon like the one in Fifty Shades of Grey.”

“Okay, whatever you say, Miss Minion.”

“What did you just call me?”

“Do you want me to sing that Banana song?”

Ben nudged Mark, still smiling while Harry and Y/N were literally screaming at one another. “Remember when we used to fight over silly things? Oh, young love.”

“Whatever,” Harry scoffed and turned back to their neighbours. “Are you guys free at the moment? I really need some help.”

“A tough guy like yourself needs help to paint half a living room,” Y/N asked in a mocking surprised tone.

Harry purposely ignored her. To Ben and Mark, he said, “Well?”

Ben’s mouth was hanging open as he looked to Mark for an opinion. Mark raised both hands over his head. “I’m sorry,” he said, eyes wide. “I’m wearing silk today. Can’t get more paint onto this shirt.”

“It’s okay. You guys don’t have to help him,” Y/N said, glaring at Harry.

Ben bit his lip, thinking for a long moment before he tossed his head back and turned to his fiancé. “Hey, babe, you could go home first. I’ll stay and help them.”

“Okay, babe,” Mark said as he leaned in and kissed Ben’s cheek.

Harry swore he could see a look of concern crossing Mark’s face before he left the flat. Harry received that look a lot from the residents in this block who’d seen him and Y/N argue, so he wasn’t offended by it, just amused.

“Okay,” he exhaled happily, rubbing both hands together. “What we’re gonna do is–”

“Thank you so much for helping me. You don’t have to but–”

“Hey!”

Ben froze as he’d just dipped his roller into the yellow paint bucket. Both Y/N and he looked over their shoulders at Harry, who was gaping at them both.

“I was the one who asked for help!” cried Harry.

Baffled, Ben opened his mouth to speak, but Y/N put up one hand to stop him before he could make a sound. “Harry’s a grown man. He doesn’t need help,” she said.

Harry sneered at her, putting both hands on his hips. “All right, little missy. I see how it is. Good luck with your Despicable Me theme.”

“I wish you no luck with your sex dungeon.”

“Honestly,” Ben said, taking a deep breath. “I’m only here for the tea so don’t expect me to help too much.”

.

.

.

“The tea is ready!”

Harry wiped the sweat off his forehead with the sleeve of his shirt as he glanced back over his shoulder at Y/N. She had her AirPods on so she probably hadn’t heard Ben call out from the kitchen. He could let Ben tell her that it was time for a tea break, but he needed an excuse to speak to her anyway. Yes, he was still annoyed by her wanting to paint the living room yellow knowing how much bright coloured rooms pestered him. No, it didn’t change the fact that he wanted to kiss her every time he was looking at her when she wasn’t paying attention. And well, another reason was that he couldn’t get to the kitchen, so either she or Ben would have to bring him tea.

He put down his roller, wiped his hands with a cloth and walked to the piece of duct tape on the floor they’d used to divide the room. “Psst!” He aggressively waved his arms to get her attention.

Y/N stopped painting and turned off the music on her phone, seemingly agitated. “I’m not lending you one of my brushes.”

“I don’t need your brushes.” Harry rolled his eyes, gesturing to the kitchen. “Ben said tea was ready.”

“Oh.” Y/N threw on a cute little smile that almost made Harry forget he was supposed to be cold towards her.

“Hey!” he called as soon as she turned away. She stopped, raising an eyebrow at him. “Could you bring me a cup? Thanks.”

Y/N narrowed her eyes as she folded both arms over her chest. “Not when you’re asking me with that attitude.”

“What attitude?”

“That.”

He closed his eyes and sucked in a breath. “Okay, fine. Could you please bring me a cup?”

Y/N glanced upward as she tapped a finger to her lips. “Hmmmm...maybe if you say: Please, my sweet, beautiful flatmate, whom I’ve wronged so many times before and never apologized to.”

Harry made a face. “I’m not calling you my sweet, beautiful flatmate whom I’ve wronged so many times before and never apologized to.”

Y/N smirked as she lifted her shoulders. “Too bad, you just did.”

“Damn it!”

She shook her head, and he could tell that she was trying her best not to laugh. He didn’t want to think so highly of himself, but he knew he was charming, and it was just a matter of time before she agreed to have this entire living room painted red, so they could get this goddamn tape off the floor, and he could set foot back into the kitchen again.

“Tea’s coming!” Y/N announced as she carried a tea tray to the living room. “Ben’s eating all the snacks in our fridge, by the way. He’s done helping us.”

“He didn’t help at all.”

“He helped with the first few strokes.”

Harry breathed out a laugh. “That’s what she said.”

Y/N rolled her eyes. “You’re so immature.”

Shrugging, Harry sat down on the couch and held out his hand for her to give him a cup. Y/N was humming a familiar tune as she put the tea tray on a small table across the room. Harry watched in bafflement as she picked up a cup, stirring it with an evil smile and just staring at him like that.

“Hey! Where’s mine?”

“Right here. Come get it.”

Harry stood up as he scoffed, shaking his head. “Baby, we both know you’re a tease but don’t challenge me.”

He could see her cheeks turning red but she tried to mask her shyness with a feigned sassy expression. “Are you sure you don’t want tea?”

“I want tea so you’d better give it to me,” he said, raising an eyebrow with both hands on his hips.

Y/N took a sip, smiling innocently. “Nope. I don’t want to. Do it yourself.”

“Are you telling me to come get it?” he asked, taking a step forward.

She opened her mouth to speak, but what came out was a loud gasp as he crossed the duct tape line and padded straight towards her. He didn’t say a word, took the cup from the saucer she was holding, took a sip and put it back down. He wished he could snap a photo of her gawking at him like she’d just seen him commit murder. He had to try his best to stay in character and not guffaw right then.

“You broke the rule,” she said softly, but the look in her eyes was deadly as hell.

He straightened and wiggled his brows. “You said you’d bring me tea. Guess we’re both liars.”

Her lips curled to the side. He could have sworn he hadn’t seen her pick up the paintbrush. Before he could even blink, she splashed yellow paint onto his shirt. It was an old shirt and already got paint on it, but what she’d done had declared war.

“Apologise, Y/N,” he demanded, calmly.

She, also calmly, put down her tea and waved the brush in front of his face in a provoking manner. “I don’t think I did anything wrong.”

“Oh, you didn’t?”

“N–What are you doing?!” Y/N yelled as Harry dipped his entire hand into the bucket. He grabbed her by the wrist, tugged her into him and smeared paint all over her face. She was shouting at him to stop as he laughed viciously. To his surprise, Y/N wet both of her hands with paint and spread it all over his head. His shout turned into startled laughter; he didn’t think she’d have it in her to do that.

They started ‘fighting’ for her paintbrush. As Harry was trying his best not to overpower and hurt her, she took advantage of that and coated his mouth with paint. She was in hysterics as he spat in disgust. Without warning, Harry cupped her face firmly with his large hands and pulled her back in. “Let me give you yellow kisses.”

“What? No! Get off of me!” She tried to escape, laughing uncontrollably as they both tripped and ended up in a heap on the floor. One of them accidentally kicked over his red paint bucket, and as they tried to get up, they tripped for the second time and fell into a puddle mixed between red and yellow paint.

“You’re such torture!” he said between laughter.

“So are you!” she exclaimed, getting on her knees as he sat there with his legs spread.

She stuck out her tongue and cringed as she saw paint dripping down from her hair. It took him everything not to lean in and kiss her right then.

“Can this be washed off?” she asked.

“I can wash it off for ya,” he said cheekily.

She made a face. “If I didn’t know you so well, I’d think you were flirting with me.”

He said nothing, just smiled. Maybe she didn’t know him that well after all.

“What in the world?!”

Both Harry and Y/N whipped their heads to the kitchen door and found Ben standing there with his hands on his hips and his mouth hanging open.

“Did that aggressive dog come in here and make this mess or did you two do the dirty while I wasn’t here?”

“We did the dirty but not the kind you’d enjoy watching,” Harry said.

Y/N buried her face into her palms as Ben made a gagging sound. “Ew! Don’t ever say that again! You straight people are so weird!”

Harry burst out laughing as he got to his feet and offered Y/N a hand. She didn’t take it and got up on her own.

Ben swept his eyes around the room, taking in the mess they’d made. “So I guess you’ve both agreed to mix the paint?”

Harry gave a half-shrug. “I don’t mind a yellow room, to be honest.”

Y/N’s face lit up. And it was probably the cutest thing Harry had ever seen. “Really?”

He pressed his lips into a soft smile, unable to help himself. “I just want you to talk to me again…”

“Aww,” Ben said.

“And because I want to use the kitchen. I’m too broke to keep going out to eat three meals a day.”

Ben sighed as Y/N rolled her eyes, but Harry knew it was all good because she was smiling at him. “Fine,” she said, crossing her arms. “Why don’t we pick another colour that both of us would like? Well, one that at least one of us would not hate.”

“Sounds good to me.”

“Aww, would you look at that?” Ben interjected, placing both hands on his heart. “So cute. I’m here if you two need any help. Honestly, if you need anything, just ask.”

“Well, we kinda need help to clean up this mess—”

“What was that?” Ben cut Harry off, straining his ear as if he’d actually heard something, while Harry and Y/N just stared at each other in confusion. “Oh, I think Mark’s calling me. He’s probably having trouble with our shower again.”

“I didn’t hear anything,” Y/N said.

Ben ignored her as he shouted into nothing. “Baby, I’m coming! Sorry kids, thanks for the snacks and the tea and the literal tea. Good luck!” And just like that, he dashed straight out of the room.

Once the door had fell shut behind him, Harry turned back to Y/N. They held each other’s gaze for a second before bursting out laughing for two minutes straight.

When the laughter finally died down, Harry swept his eyes over the mess they’d made. “This looks so sexy in porn,” he said, squirming in his paint-covered clothes, “yet feels so uncomfortable in real life.”

His heart skipped a beat as he heard her giggle.

“Not gonna lie,” he inhaled, suppressing his Cheshire Cat grin. “I miss you laughing at my jokes.”

Y/N seemed to be hiding her blushing as she looked away. “Laughing at you mostly,” she mumbled.

“That, too,” he said, grinning. “I just miss making you laugh.”

Y/N laughed again; he could tell she’d tried not to, yet couldn’t help it. It made him forget the fact that he was covered in paint and would probably spend the next couple of months trying to get his natural hair colour back.

“Stop being weird,” she said nervously, giving his shoulder a gentle shove. “We have a mess to clean.”

[chickwiththepurpleguitar]

Lilly!!!! Congrats on 500 followers! As for a prompt, how about Willex + Banana? teehee!

Thank you and thanks so much for the prompt!! This is my very first time writing Willex, and even really writing Willie, so this was really fun for me, and I took your random prompt and ran with it lol. I hope you enjoy! Content warning for anxiety. 

--

It becomes a thing kind of by accident.

See, when Alex gets anxious (and not, like, regular, reasonable anxious, but like stupid anxious, like literally nothing is wrong and he KNOWS this but his brain won’t stop telling him he’s in some kind of danger anyway), it helps to have something in his hands. Drumming’s the best option of course, because the blisters on his fingers distract him from how cold and shaky his hands are, and the noise drowns out his own troubled thoughts, and if his heart is racing cause he’s out of breath, then it’s easy to pretend it’s not also racing for literally no reason at all. When he’s away from his drum kit, he just shoves his hands in his pockets and rubs his fists against the fabric, or he twirls his sticks in his hands (though he’s done less of that lately ever since it got out of control once and one of his sticks flew out of his hands and got stuck up Reggie’s nose).

But then one day, Alex and Willie are taking a walk down by the beach, and things are good, really, it’s a nice day and only three people have walked through him and Julie braided Willie’s hair (which just does things to Alex), so by all rights, he should be having a great time.

But as much as he tries to ignore it, Alex just can’t shake the feeling that something is… off. Willie is talking about something—some guy named Tony who’s “not worth shit” apparently—but Alex barely hears him, too lost in the fog steadily rolling over his brain. The sun is a little too bright all of a sudden. The beach is too crowded, even though Alex can’t really feel any of the bodies pressed in around him. Somewhere down the boardwalk, a dog barks, and Alex flinches.

Willie must notice something’s up, because he slows to a stop and hovers a hand above Alex’s shoulder. “Alex? You okay, man?”

Alex swallows, nods, tries to take a deep breath (it doesn’t really work). He might be hyperventilating just a little bit, and there’s sweat dripping down the back of his neck that can’t just be from the sun, and his hands feel tingly and numb, but he manages a shaky, “Y-yeah. I’m—I’m okay.”

Willie frowns, clearly not believing him, which is admittedly fair. Alex can’t help a burn of frustration at his own stupid brain from bubbling up inside his chest. Nothing’s even wrong, he should be having a good day, so why does he feel like the freaking Jaws music is playing in his head? He closes his eyes, realizes standing blind in the middle of the sidewalk only makes it worse (even though it’s not like anyone can knock into him), and opens them again. His hands open and close futilely around the air, but there’s nothing for him to grab onto to ground himself. He’s just wearing a t-shirt, so there’s no pockets to shove his fists through, and he didn’t bring his drumsticks with him (and he’s learned recently that summoning them when he’s anxious doesn’t always end well; the last thing he wants is to accidentally crush himself or Willie with the entirety of his drum kit). 

“Okay,” Willie says, stepping in front of Alex so that his view is blocked of everything but Willie. “I’m right here, Lex, okay? Everything’s gonna be fine. Can you tell me what you need? Do you want to go home?”

“No,” Alex says instantly. He doesn’t think he can focus enough to teleport right now, doesn’t want to find out what’ll happen if he tries.

“Okay, that’s totally fine, we’ll stay right here. Can you try to breathe for me?” Willie’s voice is calming enough to cut through the fog at least a little bit. Alex manages a deep, albeit shaky, breath, and Willie’s smile lights up golden. “Good job, man, that was great. Keep doing that if you can, okay?” He holds his hands up. “Touch yes or no?”

“Yes. Oh god, please, yes.” Alex grabs one of Willie’s hands with both of his and immediately starts playing with Willie’s fingers, letting the contact of skin on skin and the physical task of twiddling Willie’s fingers between his own bring him back down a little bit.

Willie gently reaches up the hand Alex isn’t holding and cards it through Alex’s hair, smiling softly. “You know you can ask, right, Lex? You don’t have to wait for me to offer.”

Alex nods. He knows. That doesn’t mean he’s ever gonna do it. “Sorry.”

“Hey, no, none of that.” Willie shifts his hand in Alex’s so that their fingers link together and gives it a reassuring squeeze. “Is there anything else I can do? You good to keep walking?”

“Yeah, I’m good,” Alex says, and even thinks he means it this time. He’s still not 100%, but he’s breathing a little easier, and Willie’s hand in his is grounding, and he’s been walked through like fifteen times just since they’ve been standing here, so yes, he would very much like to keep walking now.

Willie smiles and steps around so they’re standing side by side again, and they continue slowly down the boardwalk, still holding hands. Alex starts to apologize, stops himself, instead just says, “It helps, sometimes, having something to do with my hands, you know?”

Willie shoots him a carefree grin. “I get it, Hotdog. Glad I can be of service.”

Alex blushes, smiling down at their joined hands. When he glances back up, though, Willie’s no longer smiling, instead squinting thoughtfully at Alex’s other hand, empty and still sort of twitching at his side.

“Give me one sec,” Willie says before Alex can ask what’s up, and then disappears. A moment later, he poofs back and presses something into Alex’s hands.

Alex blinks down at it, confused. “Willie. This is a banana.”

Willie shrugs. “It was the first thing I could find.”

But from then on, whenever Alex gets anxious away from his drums, Willie gives him a banana, and Alex turns it around in his hands, scratches off the sticker, picks the peel open from the bottom. And then, once he’s calmed down, he holds Willie’s hand and splits the fruit with him.

Send me a pairing and a prompt to celebrate my 500th follower!

--

Taglist:  @whenweremarried @sunsethimb0s @pink-flame @penguin0613 @fighttoshine @sunsetcurvecuddles @nickalicious @reggiescrookedteeth @brightattheorpheum @queenmolina @spidergirl0325 @jandthephantoms @lexilucacia @sapphossidechick @acnhaddict @cest-la-vie-de-la-lee @sunset-bobby @lenacarstairspotterstewart @moreflowersthanweeds @conversationaltreestump @burntchromas 

[ilguna]

Redamancy - Chapter Nine (f.o)

summary: it’s time to forgive and repair.

warnings; swearing, brief mention of murder.

wc; 8.9k

NOTES; I give reader a last name to fit the world.

–

This morning, you’re floating around the room. There’s an impossible grin on your face as you move to get ready today, not even mad over the fact that you didn’t get much sleep last night. It’s the anticipation of seeing your tribute again--now a victor! You’ve always pictured the moment where you finally get to see your tribute again after their big win, and it’s finally happened.

Five years of trial and error, and you’ve finally found a solution. It doesn’t matter that it’s been standing in front of you the entire time, all that matters is that you made it. You figured out what you need to do in your future years. In no time, you’ll be just as infamous as Districts One and Two. No more caskets, you’ll finally be able to start sleeping easy.

What you wear today doesn’t have to be anything specially fancy. You settle for a pair of black jeans and dark grey shirt. You kick the black tennis shoes out of the closet and into the middle of your room. You drop the clothes onto the bed, but bring the black underwear into the bathroom with you.

You turn on the shower, and strip yourself naked. The last time anyone has seen Annie was a week and a half ago, inside of the arena. Since then, you only get updates on her. Mostly the injuries she sustained, and fixing the blemishes that might have appeared on her skin since being inside of the arena. You went ahead and approved the full-body polish, mostly because you’re not sure if she can handle seeing the scars as reminders.

It’s less of the fact that she might find them ugly and will want them covered up later, and more of the fact that she literally will not be able to handle seeing them. Along with all the other testing and evaluating that they’ve been doing over the last week and a half, they’ve also been frequently checking her mental health. She’s pretty drugged each time they ‘wake her up’ from her medically-induced coma, but from what they can tell, it’s not good.

Annie’s time in the arena has left her damaged. Which is okay, because that has happened to all the victors that you’ve met so far. This will be the first time you’ve seen it more severely, and you’ll just have to take a different approach with it. You’ve already decided that she won’t be replacing you in the mentor program, or helping you, Anchor, and Finnick in the boarding school. At least, not until you’re sure that she can handle it.

For now, she’s a delicate flower, and needs to be handled as such. 

You shower, scrubbing yourself clean. The sugary smell of the body wash fills the air, and you find yourself taking in deep breaths through your nose to savor the sweetness. Even if it’s unintentional, the Capitol is exceptional at selling products to you. How can you resist the body scrub that makes you smell like ice cream? You can’t.

You have time before you need to be out in the dining room to meet Finnick to go down to Annie. So, you sit on the floor of the shower, hair out of reach of the water to make sure that you won’t have to dry it, and let the warm water soothe you. Every now and then, you’ll turn it hotter, or colder, bouncing back and forth until your stomach is growling and you can’t put it off any longer.

You dry yourself with a soft towel, eyes on yourself in the mirror. You can’t really help it when you turn to see the scar on your back. A part of you is sad that you couldn’t even keep one thing for Annie. A scar, a cracked tooth, some abnormality. Something on her body that would tell everyone, when shown, that she won the Hunger Games and kept an injury as a souvenir. Even after everything that she’s gone through. 

It would be a sign of strength, you think.

You pull on the black underwear, and leave the bathroom to get dressed in your room, since that’s where you left your clothes. The moment you step into the doorway, you can see Finnick sitting on the chair in the corner. He stares blankly at you for a moment, before he slowly turns a red color.

“I should’ve knocked.” He covers his eyes with one hand, but does the little peek thing through his fingers as a joke.

Of course, the one time you don’t lock your bedroom door before you go to take a shower, someone comes in. And of course, the first person that does it by accident is Finnick.

You give him a face before pulling on your jeans, “You need something?”

“Just came in to check on you, you’ve been showering for a while now.” he says, there’s a smile hinting at the corner of his lips. 

“And you didn’t knock?” you pull on your shirt next, and reach for a pair of socks, when you realize that you didn’t set any out by accident. This starts your next hunt.

“I did, actually, a couple of times. Elysia got tired of the sound so she told me to sit and wait or give up altogether.” Finnick shrugs, “We’re both adults here, so I thought that you wouldn’t be too bothered if I sat in here.”

“Seems like an innocent enough excuse.” you grin, he laughs a little bit to himself, “What are you planning?”

“Obviously I was hoping that you’d walk out naked.” 

You roll your eyes, “You’re a little late for that.”

You open the top drawer of the dresser to find that there’s only one pair of socks, which means that you’re going to have to wear this pair tomorrow. You’ll only be in the Capitol today and tomorrow, after that you’re going to be going home. Unfortunately, none of you are going to have a minute to think to yourselves as soon as Annie’s awake. 

You pull on the socks, and then the shoes. Together, you and Finnick meet Elysia in the dining room. She’s wearing a particular green color that you vaguely remember her wearing after you won your games. It’s a different shade, a pea green color. It’s not an awful color on her, but it’s the color itself that looks gross. It seems that all of the times you’ve had to change Alyssum’s diaper has finally gotten to you.

“You look like you’re wearing baby shit.” you say, going down the steps.

Elysia’s neck practically breaks from how hard she turns to look at you, “What?”

“The color, it’s putrid.” you sit in a chair. Finnick sits next to you, laughing.

She looks down at what she’s wearing, a frown appearing on her face, and then she looks back at you, “You’re not kidding.”

“It’s an ugly color.” Finnick agrees, “It’s a good thing that you’re changing later.”

“The both of you are insufferable.” She sighs, but going back to drinking her coffee, “I suppose I should thank you for being honest.”

“You’re welcome.” You say, piling the food onto your plate.

“Just keeping you on your toes.”

It’s pancakes, and spread all over the table, is a variety of toppers. Different types of syrups, like caramel, fudge and maple are offered. Next is the sweets, like chocolate chips and toffee. Or there’s the fruits, bananas, strawberries, blueberries, everything you could possibly imagine. Which is quite a difference from the day you were only allowed to have fruits.

You grab what seems good, keeping in mind that you’ll be able to try as many combinations as you want to. You start with the fruits, and then the sweets, and end with the syrups, since they’re pretty irreversible. You could always ask for a new plate, or you can just be smart and wait until the end to try syrups.

Anyway, Finnick seems to have the same thought process that you do. Maybe he’s finally realized that this will be the last breakfast you eat. As tomorrow you’ll probably be eating brunch, or lunch altogether from how late you’ll be getting up. The final interview will be conducted at two tomorrow, you’ve already been given the schedule. And since the Victory Banquet that will take place tonight, lasts until early morning, you’ll all be sleeping in past breakfast.

The avoxes take their time clearing the table, since you three are in no hurry to leave. There’s still half an hour to burn before you should even think to start making your way downstairs. There’s no set time that Annie will be awake, but they’ll let her out of the room at a certain time. When they’re sure that the drugs have worn off and that she won’t hurt herself, or others.

And since her current mental state is a little questionable, she’s been met with quite a few exceptions from the gamemakers and President Snow, himself. You remember having to put on your arena outfit after you woke up in the medical room. It wasn’t a pleasant sight after everything that you’d been through. The navy blue color has almost permanently been ruined for you because of it. 

If it was hard for you, there’s no telling what Annie might think of it. So, she’ll be wearing sweatpants and a shirt. The accommodations don’t really stop there, they’ll continue on from today, to tonight, to tomorrow afternoon, District Four, all the way until after her Victory Tour. Annie is in no state to be constantly hounded by cameras as soon as she gets home. Same thing goes for coming face to face with the families of the dead tributes.

Annie’s lucky that she was born and fought for the district she’s in currently, otherwise there’s no telling what other mentors would have made her do. Look strong-minded, as if the games didn’t affect her at all. Pretend as though killing two tributes isn’t detrimental all by itself. Act like Marsh never meant a thing to her, like he was just garbage to be thrown away.

No, you and Finnick know the value of human life. You know that volunteering takes a willpower that you will never have. On one hand, you’re lucky that Alyssum isn’t in your age group, because you would have hated to volunteer over her. To willingly put yourself into a situation that would supposedly look like a ‘noble act’. But on the other hand, if she’s chosen for the games--since her eligibility doesn’t just magically go away because you’ve won--you won’t be able to volunteer for her, only mentor.

It’s mostly the reason why you’re so hellbent on sending her to the boarding school. You, Reed and Mox can’t protect her. She’s too young. Reed is seventeen years older than her, Mox is sixteen, and you are twelve. If she gets chosen, none of you can go in there and protect her. Even family friends are too old to do that, and you would never ask them to do it in the first place.

To volunteer to go into the games is to willingly accept that you might die when you go inside. It means to stand in line to get on Charon’s boat to cross the river Styx. It’s like standing outside of the gates of hell, knowing what is happening on the other side of the fence, and choosing to go inside anyway. In a way, it also means that you are not completely whole, and you are trying to find the missing piece. 

The Hunger Games is not that missing piece.

The Hunger Games takes all the pieces you have and scatters them. You have to find each and every one of them individually, and hope that you haven’t gone out of order. Otherwise, you’re stuck in some purgatory of not knowing what you’re missing and thinking that missing piece is the solution.

You know because you’re speaking from experience. 

The moment you rsoe from that platform inside of the arena, you lost everything you had before. You had to build it from the ground up, hoping that the foundation that your brothers had helped with, was sturdy enough to build the rest of the house. You got lucky in there. What they don’t tell you, is that you lose all the pieces when you come back, too.

You’ll never be able to officially understand what Annie will feel and go through, but you’ll be able to offer her advice. Tell her that she’s not alone, and every single victor had to go through the same process that she’s going through now. Readjusting back to reality after living inside a death trap designed to kill you, is hell. It’s always like walking through hell.

“I think I’m going to change.” Elysia says, getting up from the table and leaving towards the hallway, which might actually lead her to a room with extra clothes for the escorts. You don’t know, you never go farther than the balcony because there’s never a need to.

“Are you okay?” Finnick asks, his hand is gentle on your shoulder, “You’ve got a look on your face.”

“Just remembering how I felt post-games.” you look at him.

“Hopeless?” His voice is careful.

“Hopeless.” you agree, giving him a smile, “It’s okay, the pieces are coming back together. One at a time. I’m sure by the time I’m Haymitch’s age, I should have my head on straight without the help of alcohol poisoning.” 

Finnick lets out a laugh, and then draws you in close enough to press a kiss to your lips. There’s a small explosion of heat across your face, since the giddy feeling from when you were a teenager seems to have come back. Along with all the previous feelings you had for Finnick. 

You never stopped loving him, you were just waiting until it was the right time.

He presses a kiss to your forehead after, “Is your room back home soundproof?”

You pull away from him, face twisting, “You know how to ruin a moment, huh?”

“It was a genuine question!” He asks, but there’s laughter in his voice.

“If that’s really a concern, we can just use your house.”

He makes a face, “Your bed is always softer.”

“That’s because I know how to get a proper mattress.” a smile appears on your face as you get to your feet. You can hear Elysia coming down the hall, heels clicking on the wooden floorboards.

She’s dressed in a darker green, which still goes with her makeup, so there wasn’t a need for change. She obviously did this on purpose, just so that she wouldn’t have to take off what she’s wearing, put on a fresh layer, only to take it off a couple hours later. It would be a waste, mostly because all of the products in the Capitol are crazy expensive.

“We can go now.” she says.

Together, the three of you take the first elevator down to the Training Center, and then a second one further underground. Where the walls, floors and ceiling is all cement, and the doors are hidden unless digitally told to move. You remember sitting inside of your medical room, waiting for the doors to open for you. A random panel on the wall had moved. You knew the door blended in, but the architect was a genius for how well they'd done it.

You’re not allowed to go beyond a certain point. Annie hearing your voices directly outside of her room can make her feel like she’s going insane--it’s a rule for all victors, not an accommodation for her--and might even make her destructive. The peacekeepers stand in place for a while, motionless and waiting for orders. When the orders are given to them, they leave you three to yourselves in the hallway.

“Three more days until we go home.” you massage the back of your neck, “Finally, I’m tired of this.”

“So it takes nearly three full weeks for you to grow homesick?” Finnick asks.

“More of the fact that I just want to start the next round of trainees.” you run a hand through your hair, now, “Now that I’ve caught the mistake, I just want to fix it before it’s too late.”

“Do you have a set schedule for training?” Elysia asks, you can see Laurel coming your way.

When she stops next to Elysia, she doesn’t really say anything, just listens to what you three are talking about. If you didn’t know her as well as you did, you’re sure that you would be afraid to speak about this in front of her. However, she’s like one of your best friends, you trust her with your life.

“Mostly during the school year, we take a break when the games come around, and pick it up a week or two after. But this year I’m probably going to make them come in as soon as possible.”

Elysia opens her mouth, pauses, and then asks; “You take their entire break from them?”

“No,” Finnick says, you smile along, “No, when we designed this, we knew that we wouldn’t be able to run it all day long.”

“But you call it a boarding school.” she says slowly.

“To make sure that we don’t get in trouble with the law.” you raise your eyebrows slightly, feeling smug, “Preparing tributes for the Hunger Games is highly illegal, but if you can find ways around it…”

“Also, the school runs from late afternoon into evening. The teens have the entire morning to themselves.” Finnick says, “Because there’s nothing more teenagers hate than having to get up in the morning for school.”

You nod, “It runs for four to five hours, sometimes over if it’s a special day. We always warn the parents and teens in advance. We also keep track of who comes in, who drops out and for what reason. And also grades, for the younger kids because their education is important and all of that.”

Finnick’s trying to suppress a smile, “We run a very ethical business.”

You laugh, elbowing him.

You can hear the scuffle of feet behind you, which makes you and Finnick turn to see who’s coming. You know already, there’s no one else in this part of the building that has woken from their slumber. 

Annie stands at the end of the hallway, looking only slightly disoriented. Her hair looks like she used her fingers to comb through it. As you said earlier, she’s wearing the grey sweatpants, with a matching grey shirt. At first, she just stands and stares at you guys, almost like she’s unsure if you guys are real.

And then a smile spreads across her face, breaking into a run with her arms open wide. You open your arms too, not being able to help the grin on your face. She slams into your body, arms tight around your waist. You squeeze her, rubbing her back with a laugh.

“Welcome back, Annie.”

She moves onto Finnick next, then Elysia, and finally, Laurel. When all of you can see her face, it’s slightly blotchy from crying. She wipes her eyes and gives you guys a wobbly smile, wrapping her arms around herself.

“How are you feeling?” you ask.

She shrugs slightly, “Tired, when are we going home?”

“Two days, we’ll be on the train by tomorrow afternoon.”

Annie smiles, Laurel touches her shoulder carefully, “Are you ready to go?”

“Yeah.” 

And then her eyes land on you, Finnick and Elysia, “Don’t wait too long to get ready, you only have a few hours.”

“We got it.” Finnick gives her and Annie a wave.

Laurel brings Annie’s arm into hers, talking to her on the way to the elevator. They take a turn around a corner, and then they’re out of sight. For a moment, all three of you stand in silence, trying to gather what you can from that brief interaction with Annie.

“I think that we shouldn’t be as careful as we’re being.” you say slowly, trying to make sure that you won’t be wording this wrong, “She isn’t a child, she’s eighteen.”

Finnick’s nodding along, “You can be fragile and still not break under pressure.”

“Bingo.” 

--

You decided that it wouldn’t hurt to get ready for the recap in the same room. You had Finnick bring his suit, and whatever he would need for his hair into your room, since you have too much to transfer. You stand in front of the mirror, half-naked and curling your hair. Finnick sits on a kitchen stool, wearing his black slacks and a white undershirt. He’s caught in a game of buttoning and unbuttoning his cuffs.

“We should get her a counselor.” he mutters absently.

“She can use mine.” you let the curl fall, and then twirl the strand of hair around your finger for a couple of seconds, “She’s still active, I see her every now and then when I’m having a particularly hard time.”

Finnick’s eyes find yours in the mirror, “How often?”

You shrug, “It’s gotten less over the years, but sometimes little things will set me off.” you give him a half-smile, “I don’t cook by myself anymore because the knives in our kitchen are small and triggering. But if it’s teaching the boarding school, I can use knives, swords, whatever all day long without a problem.”

You know what the problem is. When you cook, you like to do it alone because you don’t have people around you to distract you. You’re not as prone to making accidents. However, it also means that you’re allowed to think to yourself, and dig up everything that you’ve worked hard to bury. Like what it feels like to have your hands coated in blood, and the panicked feeling when Allio had woken up right as you’d begun to retreat.

If you’re surrounded by the teens, it means you’re using the knife with a purpose. You’re teaching them how to defend themselves, you don’t have to think about all the bad things you’ve done with a weapon, and all the feelings that came after. You also don’t do it often, too. You know to take breaks between you teaching and Anchor, because progress can unwind very, very quickly and easily. Years of work can be gone in a simple hour.

“Huh.” Finnick lets out, “Anything else?”

You think for a moment, and then laugh, “I don’t like the taste of fish. I can’t stand the smell of it cooking, either.”

Finnick laughs too.

“Alyssum asked me for a rabbit last year, like a pet.” You shake your head, “I told her no but I couldn’t explain why, exactly. How do you tell your little sister that you know what they taste like? Much less that you ate them for weeks on end?”

“That would be a good way to traumatize her.”

“Just a couple more years, and then I’ll let her in on the secret.” you wink.

You do your makeup next, going easy on the gold eyeshadow. Earlier, Laurel had hand-delivered a puffy gold dress, as well as Finnick’s black and white suit. He doesn’t get to have all the fun colors like he used to, unless he’s dressing himself. Laurel and Pleurisy wouldn’t allow that this time around, and you’re not really upset about it. She knows better than you do when it comes to what the Capitol will want to see.

“Are you nervous?”

You raise your eyebrows, “For what?”

“To be on stage, it’ll be the first time since we were kids.” 

You pause, looking at him, “Are you nervous?”

“A little.” he admits, shrugging, “I mean, people will know that I’m a phony and did nothing.”

“Except you did do something, you mentored. Just because you didn’t help in the boarding school, doesn’t mean anything just yet.” you back up for a minute, “I wish Leo was here to do my makeup, he can do it more evenly than I can.”

“I think it looks good.” Finnick says, “The real problem is the eyeliner, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, but I’ve been practicing.”

It’s quiet for a second, “You didn’t answer my question.”

A low hum sounds from you as you try and finish up what you’re doing, “I don’t think so.” you move onto your other eye, “It’s not about me, it’s about Annie and her victory. It’s harder to be afraid to look good and stuff like that. I’m not the main focus, we won years ago.”

“Except they’re going to know we’re a couple…” Finnick trails off, “Maybe that isn’t a bad thing.”

You smile, “See? You’re worrying over nothing.”

You finish up what you’re doing, which takes an additional ten minutes. After, you pull on the dress, have Finnick zip up the back, and then sit on the chair in front of the mirror. You lightly curl some of his hair to accentuate the look, it’s also somewhat of a throwback to how he’d look on stage the last time you two were together.

“You look very handsome.” you say, rufflign up his hair to make it look less clean.

“I look handsome? I think you look handsome.” Finnick says.

You fake a gasp, placing your hand on your chest, grinning, “Oh my gosh, thank you.”

He rolls his eyes, laughing. The only thing you have to do is put on jewelry and put on your shoes before it’s too late. You go ahead and do the black heels first, Finnick volunteers to do the ribbons on the bottom because he knows how to tie a tie. When he gets to his feet, you cup his face and kiss him.

All the jewelry is black, except for your ring. You pull on the bracelets, and while you’re positioning them, you spy a wiggly gold one. So, you place it in the middle to make a small pattern, before moving onto your ears. The earrings are dangly black lines, it doesn’t draw much attention, and it’s mostly hidden by your hair, unless you move it behind your shoulder or tuck strands behind your ears.

Just before you think you’re ready enough to go, you go back and apply black lipstick, afraid that Laurel will pick that out when she finally sees you in less than an hour. You make sure that the black isn’t on your teeth, and won’t be transferring onto Finnick if you end up kissing him more. Then, you head out of your room and into the dining room to see that Elysia is just about to leave the apartment too.

She’s dressed in silver, but she isn’t shiny like you are, “I think Annie’s wearing red.” 

“She is.” Finnick says, “It’s a maroon color, goes down to her calves.”

When you first saw the dress when Laurel showed you, it seemed a little dangerous, especially the color. But getting to see it in person a couple days ago, you finally agreed that Annie would like it. Annie’s not really going to get to see herself in the mirror, because they want to make sure she won’t have a panic attack just before the recap and crowning. Everyone was promised to make her glance in the mirror as brief as possible.

Elysia brings you and Finnick to where you’ll be standing when you’re raised. Unlike the first time, this time you and Finnick aren’t separated by a wall. You stand on yours briefly, and Finnick mimics you. A sense of nostalgia goes through you, staring at the wall in front of you like this, hands in your lap. Back then, you were moments from seeing Finnick for the first time since the arena. The first time he’d be able to see you awake, alert, alive.

You’re sure that you hate the feeling of all of this, rushing back into your head fast enough to give you a pounding headache. But you don’t move from the platform, you smile down at it slightly. It’s an old friend, the start of your journey home.

“Finnick?” you ask, looking at him.

His eyes meet yours, the darkness in here makes it nearly impossible to see the smile that appears on his face, “(Y/n)?”

“Thank you.”

His face twists slightly, “For what?”

“For saving me.”

He opens his mouth to ask what you mean, but Elysia appears telling you that Annie has made it down. The prep team and Laurel are going to go get ready, so you have a couple of minutes before you really need to start worrying about being where you should be. She disappears again.

“I’m going to go check on Annie real quick, I’ll be back in a few minutes.” you get off the platform.

Annie is standing by herself in the dark, playing with the smooth ruffles on her dress. She runs her fingers along the cloth, an easy soothing method. When she hears your heels, she looks over, and then smiles.

“Hey,” you stop in front of her, “You look great!”

Her chin lowers slightly, “Thank you, you do too.”

“The recap is going to be extremely easy. All you have to do is smile and wave.” you fix some hair, pulling it over her shoulder, “You don’t have to watch if you don’t want to.”

She nods, rubbing her hands down her dress until they disappear, pockets. You totally forgot that Laurel had incorporated pockets into her dress. You don’t even remember why she had done it in the first place, maybe because of the Victory Banquet? You suppose that makes the most sense.

Either way, she pulls out a small strand of rope, already frayed, “Laurel snuck me this.”

“Smart, I didn’t even think to get you something like that.” you nod, “We’ll be up in a couple of minutes, so just stay on the platform. You’ll be brought up last, you’ll hear Caesar and the audience above you.” 

“Thank you.” 

“I’ll see you in a bit.”

You join Finnick back at the plate, stepping onto it and readjusting little things to make sure that they’re in place. Finnick does the same, as the minutes tick down. Before you know it, the anthem is blasting overhead. It’s only a matter of time, now. You’ll be on stage briefly, and then you’ll be sitting in the crowd.

You listen to Caesar greet the audience, and then slowly start to introduce Annie’s prep team. Cleo is up first, then Beth, then Leo. They don’t get extremely loud cheering, as they’re not seen as super important. They only handle hair and makeup, but they still get their own small spotlight. And it’s their second time, too. Elysia is introduced immediately after, you’re sure she’s thrilled that being in District Four is finally paying off.

Of course, Laurel gets loud cheering because she organized Annie’s outfits. You’re sure she’s dressed in black, that’s her go-to color. However, she’s very good at making it not look like a funeral color, and more of a welcome sight. You remember her telling you, once upon a time, that the color shouldn’t be frowned upon and exclusively made for funerals. Just like white, black can be made a bright color too.

You’re not entirely sure about that, considering that you’ve been to more than your fair share of funerals. She can think that the color can be reimagined into something that hasn’t such a dim meaning as soon as it’s seen. But in the districts, it’ll never be given a new meaning. 

You and Finnick are next. You can hear your name being called, a little echo following after. The crowd is already cheering loudly, just as you’re beginning to be pushed up. You wipe the grim look off your face, knowing that it’s not what the audience will want to see. Plus, you’re not entirely sure you want to spend the rest of the day in a bad mood. You still have hours of being around Capitol people ahead of you.

You blink and squint through the light, waving towards the crowd. You can hear your blood rushing in your ears, heart pounding loudly in your chest. You look over to see that Finnick has this cheeky smile on his face, and then he looks at you. It’s an immediate sense of deja vu that washes over you.

As the two of you come together, he holds his hand out for you to take. You slip your palm into his, and pull him to you a little bit to give him a kiss. He meets you halfway, and honestly, if you thought that the cheering before was loud, it gets louder. You smile against his lips, and he can’t help but to let out a little laugh himself.

The two of you meet everyone else at the front of the stage, waving and pointing to the people you recognize from the betting room. At the end, the prep teams lead the way down to the front row of seats, leaving the middle just for you and Finnick. Very last, so she has the entire stage to herself, Annie raises from the ground.

The crowd stands, so you stand with them. You clap, and when Annie has made it to the top of the platform, you go ahead and whistle. You can’t imagine how lonely it is up there, being by herself. Suddenly you’re more appreciative of the fact that the gamemakers gave you an opportunity to go home with Finnick. Imagine standing on that stage, knowing it could have been two.

You squeeze Finnick’s hand a little harder.

Annie sits in the white chair, hands dipping into her pockets. She nonchalantly pulls out her string and messes with it while her recap begins to play. And since all recaps tell a story, hers is ‘lone survivor’. It’s not a happy tale, as it starts with teamwork. She watches Marsh get beheaded in front of her, but the room falls silent when she slits Geare’s throat, and then attacks Sanguin. The recap ends with her on the roof, announcing her own win.

Again, the anthem plays. Annie raises from her spot in her seat, as you all watch President Coriolanus Snow come out from the side, with a girl trailing behind him, carrying the crown on a pillow. He stops in front of Annie, at an angle so that the audience can see. He carefully picks up the crown before placing it on her brow.

He moves out of the way, cheering erupts all around you. Annie places one hand in her pocket, the one that was holding the rope, while she waves with the other. She looks naturally happy here, you wonder how you’ll break the news to her that she won’t have a moment to think to herself after this. You and Finnick won’t be allowed to stay near her the entire night, you’ve got people to talk to, yourselves. 

Caesar finally wraps up the show, bidding you all a good night, with a reminder to tune into tomorrow’s final interview. It’ll be the last real time that they see Annie before the Victory Tour, as tomorrow the last glimpse the cameras will catch is her leaving the train station. After that, she’s in her own protective bubble, away from the cameras.

You all hurry to catch Annie behind the stage, singing praise to how well she did on stage, even if it was just sitting. She looked absolutely wonderful with the crown, Elysia doesn’t stop telling her that, even after you all get in the car. The ride to the Victory Banquet at the President’s Mansion is filled with pure instruction and warning.

“You’ll have a small bit of time to eat before you’re bombarded.” you say, watching as Elysia fixes little bits of Annie’s costume, “So, eat quickly and don’t grab rich foods that you know will make you sick.”

Finnick goes next, “They’re going to want conversation and pictures, so keep it brief and don’t stop smiling. If they offer you drinks, turn it down. There’s a hundred combinations they have, and not all of them are good.”

“We’ll come by every now and then to check on you. But we can’t stay the entire time.”

“You’ll do great.” Elysia assures her.

And just as promised, you leave Annie alone when you get there. Just like her, you and him don’t have much time to yourselves. So, you eat and talk at the same time, covering your mouth occasionally if you’re doing both. The food is rich, cooked perfectly, and delicious. Some food will melt in your mouth immediately, while others you have to chew it a few times before the flavor really kicks in. It’s a buffet, so just like this morning, there’s endless possibilities on what you can taste.

You and Finnick make your way around.

“About earlier, when you thank me for saving you--what were you thinking?” he asks, watching you.

You give him a smile, grabbing a bowl while you carefully spoon in a type of stew that smells savory. When you get the first taste of it, it’s not too thin, and it’s got a variety of spices, too many to think. It’s on the variety of overwhelming, but the thought of more makes your mouth water.

“When I stepped onto the platform, I remembered how I felt when I knew I’d be seeing you in mere minutes.” You look at him, “You were the first thing I asked for when I woke up, did I ever tell you that?”

“No, actually.” he smiles a bit, mirroring you, “If it makes you feel better, I asked if you were okay and alive.”

You laugh, he does too, “When I got on stage…” you quiet for a second, lowering the bowl, “I was relieved.”

“Me too.” Finnick says, “But I was also nervous about kissing you again.” you give him a look, “Honestly!”

“Right, Mister Casanova--”

“Oh, not this again.”

“--who had all the girls in high school wrapped around his finger--”

“(Y/n), it wasn’t like that.” his face is slowly turning red, adjusting his footing.

“--never had his first kiss before me? Okay.” you grin, watching him recollect himself.

As he takes deep breaths, the normal color of his face begins to return, “I never said that, all I said was that I was nervous to kiss you again. Because, you know.”

“No, I don’t know. Go ahead and enlighten me.”

He tilts his head, making a ‘seriously’ face at you. You’re thoroughly enjoying this, watching him explain his feelings. If this is how he gets every single time, you think you’ll have to do it more often. Find the deep things that he hasn’t told you just yet, and watch him get flustered when you pretend not to know.

“You’re telling me that you didn’t notice I liked you? I walked you home after school, in the rain, snow, sun. My mom gave you cookies, (Y/n).” He says, and you have to pause to think.

“I just thought you were being friendly.”

“We hung out everywhere.” he emphasizes.

And you guess he’s right. You thought that you and him didn’t hang out that often, but it’s a lot more than you can recall off the top of your head. You were so preoccupied in your own little bubble, worried about things back home and how they would get done, to notice that he was always there.

“I’m sorry I didn’t notice earlier.” you tell him.

He shrugs, “I could always tell there was something on your mind.”

You smile.

Unfortunately, your time together, alone, ends there. You discard your plates and bowls in the proper places, knowing that you’ll be able to pick up more later if you have the time. For now, you talk to sponsors and important Capitol people. It’s mostly praise on how well your mentoring is, to get a tribute as dedicated as Annie is. But it’s also filled with pictures and polite smiles, pulling Finnick in close to join you.

There’s a few people that come around and tell you that they met you beforehand. Some of them you genuinely recognize, others aren’t as memorable, and you figure it’s because they came later. You remember all the faces blurring towards the end of the night. Mostly because they were drunk, dressed the same, and would talk the same before leaving.

You and Finnick work together to keep an eye on Annie. As far as you can tell, she’s holding up well. She seems like she’s comfortable, taking pictures and shaking hands. Elysia checks up on her first, and then comes around to you two to tell you that she’s feeling fine. About an hour later, you two become shields for her to allow her to recollect and start again.

She drinks water, you escort her to the bathroom, and help her pick out foods that will make her feel full. You vaguely know the tastes of all the food, and if you don’t, there’s papers that will tell her. Most of them are on point, some stray altogether. Annie seems to have fun, though, being able to pick her foods instead of having the Capitol regulate what she eats.

After that, you leave her again, wish her luck, and join Laurel and Elysia. They’re enjoying drinks with the prep team, who are all on the verge of making fools of themselves. Depending on the flavor of the alcohol, the color of the drink varies. You pick up a tall glass that fizzes that tastes like pineapple, lemon and orange. Finnick drinks a blue one that tastes like blueberries, blue raspberry and makes his face twist because it’s sour.

Some drinks go down like pure water, others make you pucker and cough from the intensity. Finnick will think that he’s strong enough to take on the drink that you just had, and then he’ll be subjected to the same burning sensation in his throat. You enjoy laughing at him after each time, until he finally learns his lesson.

As the night goes into morning, you and Finnick stop drinking and migrate around to say your goodbyes to as many people as you can before getting Annie with Elysia. All of you pile into the same car, where you’re brought to the Tribute Center. Immediately, Annie is brought to her room.

“We’ll see you tomorrow, just try and get some rest, okay?” you close her door, say goodnight to Elysia, and then you’re left with Finnick.

“Can I sleep with you tonight?” he asks, moving some hair out of your face.

“Yeah.”

You slowly undress, hanging the gold dress in the closet, dropping the shoes beneath it. In the bathroom, you shed every piece of jewelry into a single drawer, not caring whether or not it fits in. You don’t have to look good tomorrow, you won’t be on camera until you’re at the train station.

You clean your face, and meet Finnick in the bed. Slipping beneath the blankets, you lay on your back, closing your eyes as you allow the tension in your back and shoulders to escape you. Finnick comes into the room a couple of moments later, no longer wearing his suit, only his boxers.

He jumps onto the bed, making you bounce. You let out a laugh, watching him get under the blankets too. You let him pull you into his body, finding out that he’s a literal furnace. You’re not sure you’ll last too long with the blankets if he’s producing this much heat. Either way, you wrap yourself around him, feeling him pull you against his body.

“I’m so fucking tired.” he says.

“Me too.” you briefly squeeze him, “We’ll be home soon.”

He presses a kiss to your forehead, “You smell nice.”

“So do you.”

He lets out a half-laugh, before the two of you fall into silence. And eventually, sleep.

--

The morning is chaotic, as you have to move quickly to get ready this morning. Finnick brought in clothes last night to change into this morning. So, while he gets dressed, you briefly pull on a shirt and shorts before going out to eat breakfast with Annie and Elysia.

Annie’s only given so much time. She practically inhales the stew and rice, not having any time to properly enjoy it before the prep team is appearing. Laurel isn’t here just yet, as always. On the way out of the room, Annie picks up a buttered roll on the way out, waving to you and Finnick. She disappears in the hallway, you can hear her door shut.

You and Finnick don’t have a load of time, either. But you’re still allowed to eat slowly and properly savor the taste. When you’re done, you tell Elysia that you’ll be out before Annie starts her interview, and then Finnick goes to grab today’s clothes. You disappear into your room.

You take a shower, which entails washing your hair and your body. You should’ve done it last night, but you were far too tired to actually do it. When you step out, the machines dry you from head to toe, hair included. You pull on skin-matching underwear, and then pull your hair half-up, letting the rest be down like normal.

Makeup isn’t a number one priority, so you settle for mascara. Cameras aren’t going to be focusing on you, as you said. Finnick is sitting in front of the window when you get back inside of your room. He briefly looks over his shoulder to see you, and then back out at the city. The sun is nowhere to be seen, even though it’s past afternoon time by now.

You get dressed in ripped black jeans and a pink shirt. The tennis shoes are also black, the ring blends in slightly, which is the good news. The bad is that you and Finnick are almost matching, because of the shirt he’s wearing. But instead of telling him to get changed, you sit on the bed and pull on your tennis shoes. The city looks fairly alive, considering that Annie will be on television in less than a half hour.

“I’ve been thinking.” Finnick says, you hum, not moving from your spot on the bed, “It wasn’t me that saved you.”

Your eyebrows draw in, “What?”

“It was you who saved me.”

“Finnick, you know how dumb you sound right now, right?” you start, “You saved me from dying--twice! You saved me from the stab wound, and then kept me from falling over the edge of the cliff.”

“But you’re the one who got us to the cliff in the first place. You knew that running headfirst into the careers would get us killed. You were the one that kept pushing on even though you were physically dying--”

“Which wouldn’t have been possible without you healing me!” you say.

“And you were there the entire time during the victory tour.” Finnick’s voice gets quieter, “You held my hand the entire time. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have made it through.”

You get off the bed and sit next to Finnick, taking his hand in yours. You say nothing, leaning your head against his shoulder. The two of you sit like this for a while, watching the cars dart around in the streets until you have to get up and be there for Annie’s interview.

It’s pretty uniform. You, Elysia and Finnick stand in the doorway, behind the cameras but Annie can still see you if she looks over. Caesar starts off slow for her, cracking jokes and keeping topics light. There’s a few questions he has to ask, which make your hands curl into fists, nervous if this will be what makes her break down. Especially the question about leaving Sanguin alive.

But Annie eases right through it, “I didn’t have to kill her, so I didn’t.” and then moves onto the next question without blinking an eye. It works like this, her answers are informative enough to make sure that Caesar can’t press on, but vague enough to not dig up memories. You’re proud of her.

It goes on for a little while more, as the questions have no set direction. You know that when he’s asking about the end, it’s almost over. So, you cross your arms, watching and listening to Caesar propose the question.

“When you saw the water coming, what was your intention, exactly?” 

Annie pauses for a moment, drawing her lips inward, and then she lets out a smile, “I was trying to run for as long as possible before I had to get into the water. I ran straight, because zig-zagging would only slow me down. And the further I ran, the more the height of the water, and really the intensity, started to lower.

“I got on the roof because I knew that it would be easier to swim to the top of the water from halfway, rather than the bottom. And the pressure at the bottom might have been too much for my ears. I waited until the water was right in front of me before I dived in, so that the impact wouldn’t shock me. At the top, all I had to do was coast and wait until something happened.” Annie finishes, playing with her fingers.

“So, you didn’t anticipate winning?” Caesar asks.

“No, I thought that the other tributes might have been somewhere safe already. That the water would eventually lower, and I’d go right back to trying to survive.”

Caesar smiles, “Which is why the announcement came as a shock.”

Annie smiles back, “Yeah.”

The interview is over. Caesar wraps it up, and the cameras are off. You can hear laughing, watching people hug. Annie raises from where she sat on her chair, and comes over to you and Finnick.

“Home?” She asks hopefully.

“Home.” you repeat.

Just before you all leave for the train, you collect anything that you might want out of your room. You find that the clothes you wore during the reaping are nicely folded and placed on the edge of your bed. You pick it all up, holding it against your chest when you meet Finnick in the hallway, looking the exact same way that you do.

You all meet in the front room together, where you go downstairs and out onto the street to see cars with blackened windows. Together, you, Finnick, Annie, Elysia and Laurel fit into a large car. Where you all assure Annie that she looks great, and that she answers her questions like she should’ve.

She gets a brief moment to say goodbye to Laurel, hugging her and thanking her for everything that she’s done so far. After that, you’re all brought onto the train station, where Annie waves goodbye for a couple of seconds, and then you’re inside, and the doors have closed.

“Holy shit.” you let out, stretching your arms above your head, “Glad that’s over.”

The entire train is dark for a couple of seconds, as you pass through the tunnel on the way out. As soon as light has filled the windows again, Elysia is bringing you all to the dining room to eat. It’s a big dinner, with plenty of courses. Annie seems to have it down by now, and she lasts all the way to the end before she’s full. You and Finnick picked at what you wanted, finishing up with the chocolate lava cake and ice cream.

After, you all sit on the couch together to watch a replay of the interview. Every now and then, Annie will admit how she was thinking of saying something else, and then will tell you what she could’ve said instead. Some of it is letting the audience down more slowly, other times it’s straight-forward and almost out-of-character. Like she’s trying to purposely provoke the Capitol into having an interaction.

When it’s over, you’re left to entertain yourselves. Annie says that she’s heading right to bed, and you and Finnick figure that it won’t hurt to do the same. However, neither of you are tired. For a while, you swing in Finnick’s hammock, talking to him about the boarding school and the schedule, how you’ll fit him in and what the teens will benefit from it.

“You think your brothers will kill me tomorrow?”

“We’ll just barely step off the platform and you’ll be dead.” you laugh, “You have no chance of even making it back home.”

“I think I can run fast.” 

You look over your shoulder, through the holes of the rope at Finnick, who’s watching you. You tilt your head, amused by the thought of him managing to outrun Reed, “I don’t think you’ll make it ten feet. He’ll just jump at you. What will you do then?”

Finnick sputters out a laugh, “Jump out of the way, easy peasy.”

You laugh a little too loud, covering your mouth. When you settle, you say; “I think they’ll be happy to see you again.”

You can hear Finnick get up, and you watch as he comes closer, standing next to you. He takes your hand in his, squeezing it, “Good, because I don’t plan on going away ever again.”

You give Finnick a soft smile, “I know.”

--

REDAMANCY IS PART 2 OF A TRILOGY //MASTERLIST//

add yourself to the TAGLIST

@f1nal-g1rl / @starlight-selene / @neenieweenie / @amixedwitch / @accxio / @suranne-doesstuff

[forgotten-daydreamer]

For the fanfic requests thing, I finally decided what to ask you.

A TsukkYama sickfic where Tsukishima got a fever after training too much and has nausea and dissociates a lot, so Yamaguchi tries to help him and take care of him. Nothing sexual obviously but I want there to be a tender and soft moment between them where Yamaguchi tries to bring Tsukki back to reality. Make it as long as you are able to and be as whump as you can. ❤

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS REQUEST! I’m absolutely in love with your idea, when I first read it I had to stop and take a deep breath because every little part of me was screaming. Hopefully this will be close to what you had in mind! Thank you again @theark-ofvoid for sending a request :)

Fandom: Haikyuu!!

Pairing(s): TsukkiYama (Tsukishima Kei/Yamaguchi Tadashi).

Word count: 2893 words.

Tags: fever, vomit, exhaustion. Set shortly after the Tōkyō Training Camp Arc. Rated G.

一

He should have left with the others. He knew he should have. He was well-aware that this was eventually going to kill him, he knew that pushing his limits was stupid, that it wasn’t going to make him better. But Tsukishima kept going. Minute after minute, he insisted on perfecting his serves, his spikes, his sets; he’d run laps until his legs began to feel like jelly, wobbling dangerously under his weight. He’d worked hard to make his fingertips reach higher, to have stronger arms, to dive in case he were to receive a ball, if that would have meant not losing a point. He’d been running himself to the ground for two weeks straight, every day, even on the weekend when the gym was closed and he could only workout in the tiny backyard. Even Kageyama and Hinata, who were known to always finish a little late, had started to leave the gym before him. 

But unlike those two, Tsukishima needed this. He needed to work harder, he needed to get better. Bokuto had been right, after all: Tsukishima liked to pretend that he didn’t like volleyball, that it was just a hobby of his, something he did to blow off some steam. However, deep down, he knew the truth: he was weak. He was too weak. He’d tried to downplay his weakness as simple indifference, but Tsukishima knew that the only reason why he didn’t show just how much volleyball meant to him was because, after all this time, he was still weak, pathetic, a child that couldn’t get over his trauma. 

And Yamaguchi wasn’t happy about it. He’d been keeping a close eye on his boyfriend ever since he’d noticed just how off he’d started to look: surely enough, his arms and legs were more sculpted, but the spectacles couldn’t hide just how sunken his honey eyes were, nor how his complexion had taken a sickly grey tinge over the course of the past two weeks. 

At lunch, Tsukishima would eat his usual, tiny portions of food, though Yamaguchi would always ask him to finish his too, pretending that he was full and that he didn’t feel like throwing the food his parents had made for him away like that. He’d maybe leave a couple of spoonfuls of rice, or some vegetables, or a banana he’d barely even touched, asking Tsukishima to finish those for him. Sometimes, the blond would comply, but Yamaguchi had noticed that his boyfriend had began to act annoyed at his requests, so he’d stopped doing it, and limited himself to observing the boy. 

Today was not different.

“Tsukki,” he called, sitting on the sidelines. Everyone else was gone already一 they’d left at least an hour ago一 and the moon was already shining up in the sky, stars blinking faintly in the distance, hidden beyond flimsy clouds. Yamaguchi pulled the sweatshirt tighter around himself, drawing his knees closer to his body. 

“Tsukki, we should go home.” he insisted. Tsukishima didn’t even react to the voice, and instead he kept juggling, sending the blue and yellow ball higher and higher. The rhythmic, dull sound of flesh hitting synthetic leather was almost unnerving to Yamaguchi, but Tsukishima had completely tuned it out.

Up. Down. Up. Down. Up. Down. Up. Down. Up. Down. Up. Down. Up. D-

The ball fell on his head with a muffled thud, but Tsukishima didn’t wince. Instead, he crouched down to grab it, expression unreadable. Normally, he would have clicked his tongue, or kicked the ball, or reacted in some way. But he didn’t, and for Yamaguchi, that was the last straw. The green-haired boy got up from his spot and paced toward his boyfriend; he grabbed at his arm, grip delicate but firm. As soon as he made contact, however, Tsukishima flinched violently, immediately pulling away, wide-eyed. He blinked, slow and sheepish, squinting slightly and wondering why the hell his glasses weren’t doing their job. 

Yamaguchi repeated the action, albeit more slowly. “Tsukki, enough! It’s late, we need to lock the gym up and leave. Now.” he said, not leaving room for discussion. Despite his hard expression, Yamaguchi’s guts twisted and knotted uncontrollably, the sensation that something was definitely not right sending shivers down his spine. 

Karasuno’s number Eleven swallowed, thick. He glanced around, and Yamaguchi couldn’t help but notice how his boyfriend looked like a deer in the headlights. A very warm, suddenly-too-pale deer in the headlights, now that he noticed. The shorter boy moved his hand that was resting onto Tsukishima’s shoulder up, placing it on his forehead; he pulled away in an instant, gasping. 

“Tsukki, y-you’re burning up!” he fretted, “You know what, that’s it, I’m taking you home right now. Stay here, I’ll go grab our stuff. Don’t you dare touch another ball.” he hissed, thought he wasn’t angry, but more like, scared out of his mind. Before Yamaguchi could help Tsukishima to at least sit down, the latter whimpered, and he froze.

“I d-don’t... m’not...” Tsukishima stuttered out, voice weak. His eyes were shut tightly, almost painfully as he tried to stop the world from spinning around him. “I th-think一”

And just like that, his head ducked, and he almost headbutted Yamaguchi in the chin as he collapsed forward with a thick, burning retch. The putrid scent of half-digested food and bile spilled from his lips and nose, tears of exertion and agony pooling at the corner of his eyes. The sick soiled the floor and his shoes, and little specks of refuse ended up onto Yamaguchi’s too, but he didn’t care. 

“Fuck一 Tsukki! It’s alright. There, get it all up, come on.” Yamaguchi fretted, trying hard not to lose his composure, “What's wrong, Tsukki? What is it? Where does it hurt?”  His sweaty palm was pressed against Tsukishima’s damp, forehead, too hot for comfort, while the other hand of the freckled boy rested between his boyfriend’s shoulder blades, rubbing in what he hoped would be considered as comforting patterns, “You're doing amazing, it's alright, just take a deep breath for me now. Easy does it, you're okay, I'm here, baby, I'm here. You're fine, it's fine, it happens, d-don't worry.”

Tsukishima’s body spasmed as he gasped for oxygen whenever his mouth wasn’t busy spewing the content of his upset stomach, clenching painfully. He felt too hot, too unsteady, disoriented if not for the physical contact of Yamaguchi that somehow helped him to cling onto consciousness. Just barely, that is. 

“...ki, hey? Can ... me? Tsukki!?” called a voice from somewhere above him, and it was lined with panic, but his fever-addled brain didn’t really register any of that. The blond groaned, shutting his eyes tightly and pressing his soiled lips in a thin, trembling line. A wet burp escaped his mouth, but he didn’t bring a fist up to conceal it, and instead sank forward again, bringing up another wave of vomit. 

The world around him felt like a broken carousel, its hinges screeching and clanking loudly and making his head pound. Everything was going around and around in dizzying trajectories, taking him along for the dizzy ride, and it was loud, nauseating. Sweat dripped down his forehead, and the white shirt he was wearing stuck uncomfortably to his pale skin, drenched in salty sweat. Something一 someone was moving him, talking to him, but he couldn’t focus on it, he couldn’t bring himself to care, now. 

“...shima please, please answer me! Kei!” called Yamaguchi. He was gripping at Tsukishima’s wrists tightly, leaving shallow marks on his boyfriend’s skin as he unconsciously dug his short nails into it. The honey in Tsukishima’s eyes had been replaced with a darker shade of yellow, and his pupils were blown like he’d been in the dark for too long. He didn’t seem aware of Yamaguchi’s presence, he didn’t seem to hear his boyfriend as he called his name repeatedly, urgency evident in his tone, and he didn’t seem to understand as the freckled boy bolted to the clubroom only to return a minute later, phone held in the crook of his neck as he spoke. Tsukishima watched with blind eyes, passive, unfocused gaze falling somewhere behind the pinch server.

“...r mother’s gonna …  soon, you’ll be alr… hear me? Tsukki, pl...” he heard him say. He couldn’t quite understand the words, but he felt grateful. And scared. 

He coughed weakly, “Ya-ama..?”

“Tsukki!” Yamaguchi beamed, trying to catch his gaze, eyebrows arched in fear, “Tsukki, I’m here. You’re okay, you’re- you're alright. It’s just a fever, there’s nothing to worry about!” he explained, mostly to himself. “Stay with me now, alright? Your mother’s going to pick us up in a few minutes, and she asked me if I could stay with you for the night since she has a nightshift to cover. Is that okay?”

Tsukishima blinked, lips quivering as he tried to compose a somewhat cognizant thought, and failed. He let his fuzzy head loll forward, limp against Yamaguchi’s shoulder. 

“Hurts.” he slurred, shivering. “M-messed up.”

“No, no, shhh, you didn’t mess anything up. You didn’t mess anything up, Tsukki. Stay with me now. You’re here with me, I won’t leave you.”

Tsukishima whimpered. “Dunno wha’s happenin’ t’me.” he mumbled, “M’sorry.”

“You don’t have to be!” Yamaguchi screeched, maybe a little too loud. “You have nothing to be sorry for,” he added, voice lower, “it’s alright, it happens. You just need to get this under control.”

“Ca-an’t.”

“You can. You can. You’re too hard on yourself, but you can work on it. We can work on it.” Yamaguchi explained, rubbing at his back to ground him when he noticed how shifty his boyfriend’s gaze was getting. “Tsukki, hey, hey.  Don’t go yet. Listen to me, okay? Listen to Yama.” he said, “I’m sorry this is happening to you一 man, you’re scorching. B-but we’ll fix this, yeah?” 

Yamaguchi cursed himself. He’d seen it coming, he knew it was going to happen and he didn’t do anything to stop it, to stop him from hurting himself like that. His grip around Tsukishima’s shoulders tightened, and he shifted closer to the boy. His eyes were still open, but he didn’t look entirely conscious. This was worrisome, to say the least.

“Tsukki, you with me?” the pinch server asked. “Do you feel like you’re going to be sick again?”

A shrug.

“Okay, okay, that’s fine. Just stay with me.” he insisted, “You’ll be okay soon, we just need to…”

To the middle-blocker, Yamaguchi’s voice sounded as if he was speaking from underwater. Or maybe, Tsukishima thought, he was the one that was drowning. It felt like it. But he also felt like he was melting. How could he melt underwater? That sounded… funny.

“Tsukki..?” Yamaguchi called fearfully, eyes wide and filled with horror as the boiling boy chuckled for no apparent reason. He was almost too scared to prop him up. 

And the blond was fully-intentioned to reply, to explain why the image that he had in mind was amusingー Yamaguchi was surely going to find it hilarious, too. He opened his mouth, voicing out a shapeless mutter, before the grey that had been clawing at his vision since he'd collapsed decided to take over him. He felt so heavy, all of the sudden; his limbs were in agony, and his head pounded. Tsukishima briefly wondered if he had some painkillers in his bag, before he inadvertently tilted to the side, world tipping, going dark. And then, he knew no more, dragged under by an infinite void.

By the time that Ms Tsukishima arrived, a few minutes later, Yamaguchi was an absolute mess; he’d tried to keep it together, for his boyfriend’s sake, but when Tsukishima had collapsed after giving only the tiniest, most pitiful sigh as a warning, he’d lost it. Ms Tsukishima, already dressed up for her shift that was going to begin soon, had found her son laying on his side, as the kind boy who was always next to him kept running a hand through his matted hair and calling out his name, voice broken. His eyes were red-rimmed and shiny with tears, chin twitching as he stifled soundless sobs.

The two of them had then managed to drag Tsukishima's lanky body out of the gym and haul him into the car. Yamaguchi had grabbed Tsukishima's phone and had called him, placing the device on the seat of the car, and taking his own with him as he went to rapidly clean up the mess, while Tsukishima's mother went to retrieve the bags. That way, the freckled boy and Tsukishima's mother could feel a bit less guilty about leaving the unconscious blond alone in the car. 

They were both back in the car less than five minutes later, and Tsukishima had not regained consciousness in the meantime, nor during the drive. Yamaguchi could only run his long, shaky fingers through the damp hair, and pray. Tsukishima's boiling head rested on his thigh as he rested, lost into a fitful sleep.

ー

When he came to, he felt... just as bad as before. Worse, maybe.

Tsukishima didn't want to wake up, but consciousness seemed to be willing to forcefully drag him back to the land of the living without his consent, and there was nothing he could do when his senses slowly returned to him. The pain did too, and suddenly the middle-blocker realised just how worse for the wear he'd had it.

“...ki?” someone called. The voice was low, warm and familiar, and it made him feel at ease. He wondered whose voice it was. 

“Tsukki, baby?” came again, and this time, this time Tsukishima knew. His eyes blinked open without him telling them to, not managing to unclose past slits; the form before him was blurry, its outlines faded and unclear. Something was wrapped around a handー his hand, he reminded himselfー and it was warm and soft, though slightly wet.

“Y-Yama.” Tsukishima croaked out. The room around him started to become more familiar to his burning eyes, and the blond came to the realisation that the place he was in was his own bedroom. With his free hand, Tsukishima felt the clean sheets, and grabbed a fistful of them, grip weak and unsteady. He inhaled, slow and deep, taking in the scent of lavender of the pillowcase; with the little strength he'd left, he somehow managed to lift his and Yamaguchi's hand, and put the freckled boy's against his lips, planting a soft kiss, allowing himself to whiff at the scent of strawberryー Yamaguchi had started using cherry body soap ever since he'd discovered that he reminded Tsukishima of a strawberry when flustered, apparently. He found it cute.

“How are you feeling, Tsukki?” Yamaguchi asked, voice gentle and barely a whisper.

A half-choked groan was all he got in response. The pinch served hummed.

“You're running an awfully-high fever. It got to 39.4°C earlier, but I think it’s a bit lower now.”

“M'sorry.” Tsukishima mumbled. Yamaguchi didn't even need to ask why, and the blond knew it. Karasuno's number Twelve let his shoulders drop, and he stood up from the chair he was on, and sat onto the mattress, feeling it sag under his weight. He delicately rubbed Tsukishima's cheek, before he started to cradle his hair, careful not to pull any strands. Only then did Tsukishima realize that a damp cloth had been draped over his forehead. Through fever-fogged eyes, the blond could still see how sadness lingered in his watery gaze.

“You don’t need to do this to yourself.” he simply stated. 

“M’sorry, Yama. I don’tー I didn’t think…” he trailed off. He still had a high fever, and his thoughts were scrambled also due to the fact that he had no energy in him right now. 

Yamaguchi exhaled softly, “Scoot over.”

“Wha’?”

“Come on, Tsukki, let me lay down a bit.”

Tsukishima did as he was told, moving a few centimeters to the right so that Yamaguchi could get under the blanket next to him; he didn’t lay down entirely, and let Tsukishima move his head to rest on his chest, hearing the rhythmic thumping of his heart. 

“Don’t do that ever again. Please.” Yamaguchi whispered, “That was scary, and I don’t want you to go and almost kill yourself like that. You don’t need to.”

“I need’a be b-better.” Tsukishima croaked out, “If I c-can’t block, m’notー the team won’t wa-ant me. I jus’ wanted to be good enough.”

The hand that was cradling his sweaty hair stopped moving, and Tsukishima barely kept himself from whining at that. “You’re already good enough, Tsukki, and even better than that. You’re you, you’re good just as you are.” Yamaguchi said, stern, “The team will always want you. We need you, Tsukki, and not only because you’re a good player, but because everyone likes youー yes, even the other first-years, don’t start.”

Tsukishima chuckled despite himself. “M’really sorry, Yama.”

“It’s okay, just… don’t do that again, please. That’s all I’m asking.” Yamaguchi breathed out, voice soft. He leaned over to plant a soft kiss onto Tsukishima’s warm forehead, the salty sweat moist against his lips, Tsukishima leaning into the tender touch. “Now rest, I won’t go anywhere.” he said. 

The blond could only breathe out the umptenth apology, before he was enveloped in the darkness once again. But this time, he was safe.

一

(reposted and edited on my ao3)

[justreadingfics]

Looking For a Heartbeat - (26- Final Chapter)

Pairing: Bucky Barnes X Reader

Series Summary: You and Bucky used to be in a relationship. Feelings were hurt, you left. It’s been two years and you’re back. You both will handle the reunion well, won’t you?

Word Count: ~4.5k

Warnings for this chapter: sugary sweet fluff all the way, happy endings clichés because author loves them and couldn’t help it.  

A/N:  I need to thank @lesqui, @nedthegay and @suz-123 who on different times of the process of writing this long ass fic helped me by reading it and beta-ing for me. This is it, the final one. It almost feels like an epilogue, tbh. It’s been a long journey and as much as I’m happy with the end, it’s also pretty much bittersweet for me. I can’t express how important it was to read every comment reblog, messages and asks, to see the likes and reblogs, the yelling, the love, the laughs and loving words. There’s been so much love I can’t really deal with that, lol. Seriously, thank you. I hope the ending is satisfying, but I know there’ve been different expectations for this story. This is how I always imagined the ending, I hope you like fluff. More A/N at the end.

Masterlist link on my description.  

  The repeating sound of the pen hitting against the notebook is something you’ve grown used to and, as unexpected as it can be, it turns out to be kind of relaxing for you.

But not to the man beside you.

You glance to your left on the couch and see his leg bouncing. The drop of sweat running down his forehead is also evident as his arms are kept crossed in front of him. Bucky is obviously nervous and Heloise being so quiet while staring at him from under her glasses with an unreadable expression for so long certainly isn’t helping.

It was your idea to start couple's therapy with her and now it’s your first session together. Heloise has been helping you so much throughout this time and, as sure as you and Bucky are of how you both feel for each other and what you want from the relationship, it felt right to seek some professional support to help you find the right pace.  Even with her peculiar ways – which you’ve particularly fond of by now- you know she’s the right one to help you.

Heloise clears her throat. The exaggerated loud sound cuts through the silence and makes Bucky flinch beside you. Her eyes finally advert from him to you while she points her pen at him, “Now I can tell why that other doctor went bananas for this one,” she deadpans.

Bucky chokes on absolutely nothing and you can’t help but smirk, “You should see him shirtless.” You wink at her, ignoring when Bucky gasps even harder than the first time and snaps incredulous big eyes at you.

Heloise’s shoulders move as she chuckles and writes something down on her notebook. Bucky cocks an outraged eyebrow at you. With a smile on your lips, you shake your head dismissively and give him a reassuring squeeze on the knee. He still seems unconvinced, though, eyes narrowing suspiciously at you. He’ll get used to her eventually.

Heloise claps her hands, grasping your attention, “Alright, let’s make this relationship last. Spill all the juice.”  

~~~

5 YEARS LATER

The giggles are loud enough for you to hear from outside the front door of your apartment. Her giggles, to be specific. The smile comes out easily on your lips just to the sweet sound of it.

You take in a deep breath before twisting the knob. As soon as you walk into your apartment, the voices become clearer.

“Don’t lie to me, daddy.”

“That’s all true, I’m telling you, if Uncle Steve see a little tiny spider he’ll be quaking in his boots, my Sun.” Bucky’s voice is soft an amused coming from the kitchen.

Summer’s sweet laughter comes shortly after as they continue the conversation.

Wanting nothing but to hold them tightly before you get to tell them the big news, you drop your bag to the floor by the door and whistle the four tunes the three of you have come up with and that belong to you only. A way to recognize each other without needing any words.  

They’re quiet right before you hear a chair scratching against the floor and tiny bare feet running to you.

“Mommy, mommy, mommy.” The little ball of energy rushes into the living room and lashes herself to your legs.  

You’ve been on a mission for days now and you were only supposed to comeback on Sunday, but it’s one day before and your presence here is a surprise for her. A pleasant one, you can see.

“Hello, my little sun,” You laugh, reaching down to pick her up. She’s much heavier now at the age of 6 than she was as a baby, but you still love to take her in your arms just as much as you used to, especially after so many days away from her, depending solely on video calls whenever you had a little time to see her, “I missed you so much,” You lean back and take a good look at her, seeing how much she’s grown to look just like you – except from the eyes, which is all Bucky - and attack her little face with kisses as she squirms and giggles, wrapping her arms around your neck.

“Me too.” She pops a long kiss on your cheek back as you step to the couch and sit down, keeping her on your lap, “Daddy’s making cupcakes, I know it’s almost lunchtime and he said he wasn’t gonna but then I told him I really, really, really wanted to eat his cupcakes because they are so good and better than the ones at the bakery, and then he decided it was ok, and then he made a lot of chocolate, vanilla with chocolate chips, blueberry, strawberry-”

As she continues her childish rambling, your eyes travel to behind her shoulder and meet the sight which will never cease to take your breath away. You take in a shuddering sigh as Bucky leans his side to the doorframe, arms crossed in front of him, watching you and Summer with that look in his eyes. That look that comes with a small smile and makes you very much aware of your thundering heartbeats and tells you how big his love for you and your daughter is.

Over grey shirt and sweatpants, he’s wearing his black apron, the one which Summer gave to him at Father’s day, after using her fingers to write “Super Dad” with white paint and he never takes it off when he’s in the kitchen.

You smile as he leans away from the doorframe and walks towards you. Without breaking his gaze from your, not even once, he sits beside you and pulls your chin for a kiss. You sigh through the soft and longed touch of his lips.

“Ugh, daddy, I was talking to mommy,” Summer puts her little hands on both your cheeks and pulls your faces apart from each other, making you both chuckle a the imposed separation.

“Sorry, honey.” He fumbles with her hair, “But daddy missed mommy very much.”

“It’s ok,” She forgives with her signature sweet smile, “I missed her, too.” She leans forward and lets her head rest on your chest, hugging you with a strength she should possess.

“Aw, I missed my two little suns so much,” You hug her back just as tightly and props a kiss on Bucky’s cheek.  

Bucky hums and keeps running his hand through Summer hair as talks again, “Not that I’m not happy with the surprise, but weren’t you supposed to be back tomorrow? How was the mission? Is everything ok?”

“Yes… I think it is,” You gulp, swallowing down the words that are desperate to come out but you still have no idea how to say them.

He frowns at you, not pleased with the answer, but visibly doesn’t want to start an inquiry in front of Summer.

“Did you fight a lot of bad guys, mommy?” She asks, not moving away from the spot where she’s nuzzled into you.

“I did, my sun.” You run your hand back and forth over her back, “Me, Auntie Wanda and Uncle Sam.” You tell her after placing a kiss on top of her head. She always loves to hear about your missions.

Her powers have been slowing showing signs, being mostly expressed on an uncommon intelligence that allowed her to learn how to read at 3 and build her first artificial intelligence (a little pug she named Maggie) at 4 with the help of her Uncle Tony, who’s always more than happy to allow her wander around his labs. Her physical strength is still shy inside her, but you know it will soon flourish. You know she’ll be a great fighter someday. Hell, she already is.

“I can’t wait to grow up and be a badass,” You and Bucky exchange looks due her choice of words but she goes on, unfazed by it, “Just like you and Auntie Wanda, and Auntie Nat, Auntie Carol, Auntie Pepper, Auntie Shuri and-”

“Hey, daddy’s pretty badass, too.” Bucky puts on an exaggerated pout, placing a hand on his waist.  

“Of course you are, daddy.” She leans away from you and turn to him to pat his beard, “Your cupcakes are super badass.” She says, before continuing her chanting of the names of her super aunties.

You look at him and laugh at the smug satisfaction on his face by her answer before not being able to resist in placing a kiss on his cheek one more time.

The mission to rescue Summer five years ago was also Bucky’s last mission. It was no secret, that life was never what he really wanted and after discussing it in therapy and a lot of talking with you and Steve he decided it was time for him to dedicate himself to the mission of his life: taking care of his daughter, you and, most importantly, himself.

Whenever people ask, he says with a notable amount of pride in his words, that he’s a stay at home dad. By the way, he’s become very popular among other parents (mostly moms) that were regulars at the parks he usually takes Summer to. He doesn’t know, but there’s a group chat of moms where he and his qualities as a dad – physical included- are the main subject. How do you know that? After Summer’s kidnapping, you’ve become very keen to find out exactly who interacts with her, and being an Avenger is very useful to provide you the right tools for it. Yeah, you tell yourself that’s the only reason why you spy on those moms… but they’re harmless. You’re very fond of a particular thread where they mentioned how much he gushes about you.

“Mommy,” Summer gasps, “It’s Saturday, you’re going to uncle Harry and Auntie Nat’s house with us, too.”

“Yes, of course, baby. I can’t wait.”

Nat and Harry’s famous Saturdays Movie and Dinner nights. They’re your neighbors now. After the wedding, the five of them - Harry, Nat, the two kids and Harry’s mom- moved to a new apartment on the Tower for safety reasons. Tony has made the place impenetrable after what happened to Summer and nothing like that ever happened again.

You’re thrilled to have all your friends – your family - so close to you. Summer worships Jon and Luna, who’ve been growing up so fast, turning 11 real soon with a Harry Potter themed party, which you’ve been helping Nat to plan for her kids. Yeah, her kids. She’s not just Auntie Nat for Luna and Jon, anymore. It happened at Summer’s 3rd birthday party by one of the Tower’s pool, a year before Harry’s marriage proposal. Luna was running after a tiny stray kitty when she tripped on her toes and fell right to the ground. Her crying was loud as she held her injured knee close to her chest. Harry and Nat were at your table and they both promptly got up.

You could see how strongly Nat had to hold herself back to let Harry run to the little girl’s rescue, who already had her twin brother by her side, trying to console her but to no avail. She had already confided in you how much he loved those kids, but didn’t really know how far she could go with them without imposing. But what made the jaws from everyone around drop was when Harry kneeled beside the kid only to make her cry even harder and scream pointing at Nat, “No, I want my mommy.”

“Come here, mommy, please,” little Jon pleaded holding his twin hand and looking at Nat’s direction.  

All eyes snapped at Nat and it was just a split second that she looked taken aback before rushing to attend the little girl, succeeding to calm down her daughter almost instantly with the help of her son.

While Harry kept a goofy smile on his face the whole day, Nat spent an hour crying in your bathroom. They ended up adopting the kitty which caused Luna’s trip and naming him Rocket.  

“I’m so happy you’re here, mommy,” Summer throws herself into your embrace again.

“Me too, babe,” Bucky nuzzles into the crook of your neck, managing to embrace you and Summer with his metal arm.

Your eyelids flutter shut and you sigh, relishing in the pile of pure affection you’re under, breathing in the love they have for you.  

The sweet quietness doesn’t last long as the child in your arms straightens up briskly, making Bucky’s arm drop from her back as she stares at him with widened blue eyes matching his, “Daddy what about our surprise?” 

Bucky stiffens beside you as you turn to him, “Ooo, really?” You inflate the astonishment in your tone, licking your lips in anticipation. Surprise with Bucky and Summer when you come back from missions always means some delicious food he prepares to welcome you back.    

You frown at how Bucky aims a flustered glare at Summer. Oh, this is new... Your narrowed gaze turns to your child to see her little hands flying to cover her mouth. You have to hold yourself back to not laugh at her theatre. You know her so damn well, you’re certain she didn’t let the said surprise slip out by accident and it intrigues you more.

“What are you two up to?” You tilt your head at Bucky.

Still looking at Summer, his expression softens and his smile is indulgent at her, before shifting his gaze back to you, “Well, I guess there’s no better time than now,” He turns back to her, whispering “I have an idea, come with me.”

Without further notice they both get up briskly, Bucky takes Summer’s hand and ran to the kitchen, leaving you open mouthed behind as you hear soft laughs and whispers between them.

Well, that’s just fitting. No matter what they might’ve planned for you, it’s rather unlikely it will beat the surprise you also have for them. You have absolutely no idea of how you’re going to tell them that, only that you must tell them soon or you will burst into anxious little pieces right there.

It’s only a few more minutes when, at the living room entrance, their sight catches your attention. You smirk while side by side they walk to you. Summer with a huge grin on her face, while a nervous little smile curls Bucky’s lips. You only notice Summer has one arm behind her back when they both kneel on the carpet in front of you.

You’re up till now amused face by their antics falls and your frantically beating heart rushes up your throat. Your suspicions are confirmed when Summer brings her arm in front of you and reveals the blue velvet box you thought was securely guarded in your bedroom’s safe. You hadn’t another sight of it ever since you moved apartments. She opens the box and there it is. The diamond Bucky bought you years ago.  

“Mommy,” Summer’s sweet voice makes you lift your astonished gaze to her, “Will you marry us?”  

A sob slips out of your mouth and you turn to Bucky to see the tears already shining on his expectant eyes, gleaming with warmth but also with a little bit of uneasiness, you can tell.

He pours all his love into his gaze to quietly mouth for only you to see, “Will you marry me, my love?”

“Yes.” You don’t need a second to think as you sob out your answer, “Yes, of course, I will marry you,” You repeat more steadily despite the tears and you drop to your knees in front of them to grab both of your loves into your arms. While Summer squeals her joy, you feel Bucky breathing deeply, holding you back as strong as ever.

“Thank God,” he whispers, “I love you, I love you,” he repeats in your ear, before trailing a path of kisses to your mouth.

You two turn into a couple of 6 year olds just like your daughter, giggling and laughing as he pushes away only to gently take the ring Summer was guarding in her hand and finally, finally put it in your finger, where it always belonged. You’re the one to grab his face by the neck and kiss him again, hoping he can feel all your love. You know he does as he kisses you back just as fiercely.

The shy giggles makes you break the kiss with a laugh of your own as you turn to your daughter and sit down on the floor, holding her on your lap as Bucky takes his place beside you, resting his back on the couch.

“I was so nervous you would say no, mommy.” She lets out an exaggerated sigh.

Your head falls back as you and Bucky laugh, “How could I, honey when I love you two so much, of course I would say yes… as a matter of fact-” You breathe in some intake of courage, looking from Summer to Bucky, before taking their both hands and placing them on your belly, “Not only I, but we will marry you.”  

They both catch your meaning instantly as their eyebrows shoot high on their foreheads, the resemblance between them, expressed on their eyes and many mannerisms turning especially evident then.

“What?” Bucky whispers, still pretty much astonished and without taking his hand from your belly.

“I’m going to be a big sister?” Summer brings both her hands to her mouth, keeping her eyes widened at you.

“Yes, my love. I hope it makes you happy.” You try to smile to hide how nervous you are by telling the news to them. You’ve talked about the possibility of a new kid before and Summer even asked for a little brother or sister, but it was all speculation and  this definitely unexpected. Something wrong might’ve happened to your birth-control pills and-

“Happy?” She squeaks the word in a high-pitched sound, “I’m super mega ultra happy.” She gets up from her spot and starts jumping on the carpet with her little arms up, properly celebrating the news, like only a carefree child would.

You laugh and feel a little bit of relief calming down your chest at her reaction, but the fact Bucky’s still silent and just staring at you with a dropped jaw doesn’t allow your heart to be fully rested.

Summer stops jumping to look at you with a vibrant sparkle on her face, “Oh, I have so many toys I wanna share with them.” She says before turning around and rushing to the direction of her room.

You can't help but laugh at her good-hearted energy, “Hey, sweetie, no, we can see that later-”

“I’m coming right back, mom.” She yells, already in her room.

You chuckle a bit more before you chew on your lower lip, looking back at Bucky, “Hey, big news, huh?” You tentatively say, “At least she took it ok-”

His lips are on yours before you can finish whatever you were going to say. With every caress, every brush of his tongue against yours, you feel each little muscle of your body relax and you sigh through the kiss when his hand fondles with your belly and his other one goes to the back of your neck, pulling you even closer.

“Is that true?” He whispers, letting his forehead rest against yours when he breaks the kiss.

“Yes,” You nod, wrapping your arms around him, “I got really sick several days on the mission and then I decided to buy a pharmacy test and voilà, here we are.”

You see his chest moving up and down as he takes in a breath, “I made such a shitshow back when you tried to tell me about Summer-”

“Bucky-” You try, not really wanting to remember those times right at that moment…

“I was such an asshole and I stole us the chance of living the news together,” he continues, stroking your belly and keeping his head linked to yours, “Now I have this second chance,” He lets out a breathy smile and your heart softens, “You make me so damn happy, I love you so much.”

“You make me happy, too,” You assure him, “You and our little family.” You pull him to one more kiss.

“Another kid?” He smiles, as the kiss is over, looking down at where his hand rests on your belly, “Will you want to find out the sex before birth?” He wonders.

“As a matter of fact,” you cringe, “I already know.”

“What?” He frowns “How?”

“Yeah, I mean… you know Wanda was there at the mission, too, right?” He nods and you continue, “And you know how much her powers have been enhancing? Well, she has a strong feeling and-”

“No.” He shakes his head, and his hand leaves your belly so he can put a finger on your lips, which you place a small kiss on, “I think I don’t wanna know this time.” He admits, shrugging.

You smirk, nodding to accept his position. But to be honest, you can’t wait to see his reaction when he finds out that soon he’ll have one more girl to call his.

“Hey,” You say, raising your finger with the diamond on, “What about this?” You raise an eyebrow.

“Oh,” It slips out of his lips as a blush creeps up his cheeks and he brushes the back of his neck, “I know I should’ve asked that sooner, but the life we have so far all always felt so good, I didn’t even think-”

“No, silly,” you chuckle, putting a small kiss on his lips for reassurance, “I know that, we already have been happy enough, it’s just- this ring, I had in a safe locked with a code, did you…” You tilt your head.

“Oh, no,” His head falls back as he puts his hand on his stomach to let out a laugh, before nodding towards Summer’s room.

Your jaw goes slack, “Really?” You frown.

“I found the missy playing with it the other day.” He says more proudly than he should.

“Are you telling me the 6-year-old kid not only found the safe, but also broke in the code to open it?” You scoff when he nods, still overly smug about it, but after the shock passes you can’t help but feel a little bit of pride, too. Right then you know that, if that’s what she’ll really want, she will be an exceptional Avenger someday.

“When I saw the ring after so long, I knew it was time. She agreed.” He brings a hand to cup your cheek, moving his finger to caress your face as his loving eyes meet yours, “We were planning a special dinner for tomorrow, but I think she just couldn’t help herself.” The crinkles beside his eyes are adorable as he lets out a soft laugh, “It’s always been yours, anyway.”

Unable to part your gaze from his, you sigh as your heart thunders against your chest. You’re about to kiss him again when the sweet voice you love so much holds you back.

“Mommy, mommy,” Summer pants and runs back into the living room, holding as many toys and stuffed animals as she barely can, even letting some fall on her way, “I think the baby will like these,” she points out, dropping the toys in front of you.

“Of course they will, baby. Especially if you play with them together,” You agree, fuzzing with her hair.

She raises her chin and gives a toothy grin before addressing to Bucky, “Daddy, I think we should celebrate with your cupcakes, what do you think?” It’s nothing but adorable when her little eyebrows wiggle with the suggestions at her dad.

“Hmmm, I think you’re absolutely right, my little Sun.”

“Yaaay,” She exclaims, raising her arms and bouncing on her little legs, “Which one do you want, mommy? I’ll go get it for us, we have all kinds: vanilla, chocolate, vanilla with chocolate chips, strawberry.” She counts the flavors with her fingers.

“Alright, I love daddy’s cupcakes, I’ll have one of the strawberry ones, please.” You wink at her.

“Ok, one strawberry coming your way right now.” She says before turning on her heels and bolting to the kitchen.

“Hey, what about me?” Bucky yells, but receives no answer.

You laugh loudly at the pout that forms on his lips before leaning in to place a kiss on his cheek, “It’s just because I’ve been away, honey. You know you’re still the love of her life.” Your heart melts when his lips curl into a smile, still looking ahead to the kitchen, “And you’re mine, too.” You whisper, running your fingers through his hair.

He tilts his face to you, fully smiling, before his eyes darkens and he leans in to run his lips up your neck, “Later.” His tongue teases the delicate skin of your neck, making you shrug your shoulders and giggle, “When we’re alone in our bedroom,” He drags his lips over your jaw and the giggle catches in our throat, “I can’t wait to show you how much you’re the love of my life, too. One time,” he kisses your jawline, “Two times?” the other side, “Maybe three…” his lips lock onto yours - breathless at the promise.   

His tongue darts to curl around yours and the kiss deepens as you pull him to you.

“Ugh, are you two being gross again?”

You pull apart, laughing as Bucky whispers something like “so much like her uncle Steve”, under his breath.

“Says the girl with chocolate all over her face.” He scowls lightheartedly, when she’s closer to you and the remains of chocolate on her jaw is the evidence she had one sneaky cupcake in the kitchen, “Oh, I see someone remembered her poor old daddy exists,” he adds, spotting the third cupcake – chocolate chip, his favorite – on the little trail in her hands.

She giggles, placing the trail next to you and Bucky and squeaking in surprise as Bucky catches her in his arms and screams “Tickles attack,” making the little kid toss and squirm, before she manages to escape from him and latch herself into your lap for shelter, only for you to attack her with kisses this time, being followed shortly by Bucky.

Is not always that easy.

Is not always that perfect.

You two still struggle, you two still fight, sometimes over the stupidest things and other times over not so stupid ones. But it’s love…and, like you and Bucky have said before, love isn’t perfect.

You’re just not afraid of it anymore.

~~~

The End. 

A/N 2: I’m having a hard time to detach myself from this story and I’ve seen a lot of people who writes drabbles/one-shots per requests or not for their story after the ending. I’m considering doing it next year if that’s something you guys would be interested, too.

Also, if you really liked this story, please, don’t hold back on sending me a message!

[gingerale2017]

𝟛| ℂ𝕒𝕘𝕖

One year before the present day

Scarlet never thought that she would be noticed. Her whole life, she'd been invisible, but she always pushed to get attention. At first, it was to gain attention from her no-good father, who cared more about his drinks and women than his daughter. So she ran away to her grandmother's house. And that was when she lived in France. They moved here to New Beijing to get away from her father. But that was not the real reason. Scarlet had the same power as her grandma, the ability to have perfect accuracy. That's why she won dart night all the time. Her grandmother realized that there was no opportunity in France, so they moved to New Beijing. She met Selene, a girl in foster care with a terrible foster family. But then, a new superhero started showing up, calling herself 'Cinders.'

And Scarlet was a bit obsessed. 

She told Selene all about Cinders, how she dressed, rumors, why her hair is always in a ponytail, her secret identity, etc. Selene was still flustered when Scarlet talked about Cinders and never talked much about the superhero with her. Selene would always change the subject when Scarlet would bring it up. Cinders were Scarlet's idol! When Selene was 14, and Scarlet was 16, she revealed herself as Channary's late daughter. Scarlet already knew this, but when Selene told her she was moving to Blackburn Skyscrapers. Scarlet freaked. She was losing her best friend. But then someone else took an interest in her. No other than Cinders herself!

Now here she was, a year later from everything, and was working with Cinders. But no one knew about Scarlet's power, and she kept it a secret because she didn't feel the need to tell anyone. She was happy and still obsessing over Cinders, and hopefully, she would stay like this for a very long time. 

"Scarlet!" a familiar voice rang through the halls of the abandoned factory that the superheroes took over as their 'secret base', "Look out!" Android came running in; her arms stretched out and tackled Scarlet.

"What! What happened! Is there danger!" Scarlet exclaimed before Captain Thorn came flying in, carrying a big pole. It was more like he was flying away from something, "Did you hurt Cinder again?" 

"It was an accident!" Thorne yelled, "I didn't mean to hurt Cinder; she was in the way!"

"Well, guess what, Dingus! Next time you're going to open your eyes and look at your surroundings before you go pole vaulting!" Cinders appeared in the doorway, her mask covering her eyes, and had a messy ponytail falling apart. She usually wore an all-black outfit with a black leather coat that reached her feet with orange streaks running through them. Her hair also had orange highlights in them. Scarlet had to admit; it looked pretty cool. 

"Sorry, gorgeous, I didn't mean to give you a black eye to ruin your perfect face." Cinders growled and facepalmed. Captain Thorn had a traditional superhero outfit. With the red cape and everything. 

"We have visitors!" The Androids voice rang. She wore a bodysuit that had a low cut on her chest. The outfit had pastel blue and lavender purple streak the white background. The colors went well with her dark skin and blue braids. All three of them wore masks over their eyes. 

"Who's here? Nobody told me that we had people coming over," Scarlet looked at Cinders, and every time she did, a rush of excitement went through her. It was almost as if she couldn't believe she was here with three superheroes! One of them was her idol! Her heart thumped, and she looked away. 

"Just some friends. They have information on the people being experimented on in Blackburn Industries."

"Last time you said a friend was coming over, and now we have the Frenchling," Thorne said. Scarlet scowled at him, and he gulped, "What I mean is, are we going to get some new superheroes?"

"Possibly. It depends if they want to or not." Cinder picked her nail with the metal-covered hand. 

"Hello, fellow superheroes. I am Winter Hayle-Blackburn, at your service" A girl with dark brown skin and a pure white dress walked in gracefully, followed by a man with pale blonde hair. When Scarlet could see her face, she gasped. This girl was beautiful! She saw that there were scars under her left eye and briefly wondered what could've caused them. How did everyone get so attractive all of a sudden? Is it like a superhero gene or? Iko gasped and looked at Cinder, then back at Winter like she figured something out.

"Hi, Winter. You already know me. This is Android, Scarlet, and Thor-"

"Captain Thorn"

"Thorn. Anyways, you said that you have news for us?" Winter's eyes went wide and looked at the man behind her. 

"Right. Jacin and I would like to talk to you all about the man in the cage."

|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||

"Ze'ev Kesley," Scarlet murmured, looking at the file Jacin had given them, "Who names their kid Ze'ev?" She looked at Android, who only shrugged in reply. They were at the back of the Blackburn Skyscraper, and Winter gave them a lock combination t get inside. Winter also instructed them to go to the basement, and they will find Selene there. Scarlet was excited to meet her friend again but a little scared. What if Selene changed? Well, at least she had Cinders.

Android punched in some numbers and opened the door. "Since we're all alone, I have some questions I've meant to ask you ever since you joined the team," Android said like they were going to gossip about boys. 

"Oh no," Scarlet said under her breath.

"So, first, are you into anyone?" 

"No?"

"Why did you say that like a question?"

"I don't know?" Android huffed as they made their way through the back tunnels. She wore regular civilian clothes for a change, and a blue hoodie covered her striking hair. She also wore a scarf and sunglasses to keep her identity hidden from Scarlet. 

"Well, I do, and he's so cute," sighed the superhero dreamily.

"When did you meet him."

"The other day."

"Makes sense," only Android could fall in love with a person in a day. They went inside the elevator, and Scarlet pressed the button that went towards the basement.

"What about Cinders?" Scarlet looked at Android, confused.

"What about her?"

"You look at her the same way I look at Kai Pierce every time I see him on a picture." It was then Scarlet knew for sure that The Android has officially gone cuckoo bananas. Scarlet began to laugh.

"You're ridiculous."

"I think that I'm right." Scarlet laughed some more.

"Then I look at you and Thorne the same way," Scarlet looked up, "It's just that you guys are important, you two are superheroes, and I'm just the girl who helps them with minor tasks."

Android looked at Scarlet weirdly, "You know, Cinder, Thorne, and I have been considering telling you about our identities. And adding you as a fully-fledged member to our team!" Then, in one motion, The Android took out her sunglasses and scarf, and Scarlet gasped.

"One, this is not happening. Two, I have never seen you before in my life, so put the disguise back on. Three, I don't have- wait, I do."

"You don't have what?"

"Are there cameras in here?!"

"Yes, but they can't hear what we are saying."

"Oh, ok. But they can identify you!"

"No one knows who I am."

"Right," a ding disrupted their conversation, the elevator doors opened. Scarlet walked and recalled the directions that Winter had given them. She couldn't believe what Android just did. Scarlet refused too. But wait, did that mean that she was part of the team now? Will she get a name and a suit. The thought of being a superhero excited Scarlet so much; she could be jumping up and down. Then she saw someone she hadn't seen in a long time.

"Scarlet, you finally arrived! Long time, no see. Hey Iko." Selene was wearing a white shirt with green cargo pants with gloves and grease all over her face and smiled at Scarlet. Her old friend shared a secretive looked with The Android- WAIT! DID SELENE CALL THE ANDROID IKO! 

"You know An- Iko?" Selene nodded

"Yep, she's The Android.' I tried to convince her to get a better name, but she like 'The Android'"

"Y-you know. wh-what is h-happen-ning r-right n-now." Scarlet felt like she was going to faint. Selen knew The Android. SINCE WHEN!

"It seems to me that Selene over here is Cinders, and Iko is The Android, and I, the incredibly handsome Carswell Rampion, is Captain Thorn." A guy appeared out of nowhere and slid an arm over Selene. No, CINDERS! 

"Sorry I kept it from you all this time. I didn't know you had powers, and I didn't want to leave one of my closest friends behind, so I thought it would be better not to tell you."

"Wow. Umm, okay, this took a turn I did not expect."

"I think this is probably an inappropriate time to cut in, but Winter said some heroes were coming in to rescue me. I'm assuming that you guys are them?" Scarlet looked at a man older than her with striking green eyes. He had handsome features, and when he locked eyes with Scarlet, she looked away. She could also feel her cheeks heating up. He was behind metal bars placed inside the wall, and Scarlet didn't know how she didn't notice him until now. Maybe it was because she was just told THAT HER BEST FRIEND WAS CINDERS! SCARLET'S IDOL! THE HERO OF NEW BEIJING!

"Are Ze'ev Kesley?" Asked Selene- Cinders. The man nodded his head. He also had unruly dark brown hair. Scarlet briefly wondered how it would feel. 

"Okay then. Our sources tell us, and by sources, I mean Winter, that you can shapeshift into any animal, am I right?

"Well, each animal takes time and practice to morph into. Sometimes it's painful, but the wolf is my favorite, and it's the easiest to control."

"So, do you have a pack or something?" Scarlet butted in. Ze'ev smiled warmly. She could felt her heart do a little backflip.

"No, but if I did, I would probably be the alpha. Hopefully." He looked away as if he was in deep thought.

"Yeah, I think so too." She smiled at Ze'ev, and he smiled back. Unlike other, certain men, Ze'ev was nice and warm. She liked that. Biting her lip, she looked up and felt something warm rush through her. 

"I think I see some sparks flying," The Android- Iko singsonged. Snapping out of her trance, Scarlet glared at Iko and Thorne, who were snickering. She looked at the superheroes and saw not the great, extraordinary, talented, power-wielding celebrities. She saw normal teenagers. And Scarlet was one of them. Her friends had spilled all of their secrets, so Scarlet felt she had to do the same.

"Hey, guys. I have something I've been keeping from you as well."

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[devildompotato]

It's almost 10 am and I still haven't slept, so I'm going to drop this off to kick off my "Cross Post From AO3" endeavor.

So, have some hungover Luci smut! Inspired by the daily chats that I can't be bothered to find the name of right now.

NSFW!!!

Luci x f!OC

"Love you."

 Of all the things she expected Drunk Lucifer to text her, that was not it. She felt a thrill go through her whenever she read those two words, even though she knew he probably wouldn't remember sending that text. And of course, there's no way he meant it. But her heart didn't care, and sped up every time she thought about it.

It occurred to her that he was probably in his room, as she'd heard the door not too long ago. She slipped her robe on over the shorts and tank top she wore to bed, stopped in the kitchen to fill a nice, large glass of water, and headed to his room. When she knocked, he slurred "Come in," so she entered, shocked to see him practically undressed by Lucifer's standards. He had on his standard dress shirt and black slacks, but that was it.

"AISLING!" he shouted. "I'm so happy to see you!" He stumbled towards her like a clumsy puppy, pulling her in for a tight hug. "I was just thinking about you and now you're RIGHT HERE! It's like magic!"

"Yes, Lucifer, just like magic. Here, I brought you some water. Drink it before you go to bed so you don't get hungover. "

"You're SO nice. Are all humans nice like you? That's a stupid question, I know they aren't. You're just special. And you're here and I love you and everything is great!"

"Okay, Luci. Let's get you into bed." She gently guided him to his bed, which was only possible because he wanted to make her happy. He was much too large for her to actually move. He plopped down on his bed, sitting back against the pillows and drinking his water. He caught her hand as she turned to leave.

"Why don't you stay here tonight?"

"You will be so mad at me and yourself if I do that."

"But Aisling you're so pretty. I want you to stay." With that he grabbed her robe and pulled her into lap. "Isn't this better? Now I can kiss you."

"Lucifer..." her response was cut off by his lips. Even sloppy drunk, he was amazing at kissing, and as his hand started sliding toward her breast, she mentally sulked because she knew she had to put a stop to it. "Lucifer, you won't be happy if I let this happen. If you really want me, come to me when you're sober."

Lucifer pouted adorably, which was a word she never thought she'd attribute to this man. But he let her go and snuggled into his sheets. After shutting his door, she sighed, knowing her dreams were going to run wild with possibilities. Damn the man for teasing her with what she'll never have.

 ******

 Lucifer: I've got a terrible headache so I don't want any of you to cause any trouble for me.

 Aisling wasn't surprised at the text that woke her. She pretty much ignored the ensuing flurry of texts that followed, and instead headed to the kitchen. Beel was already up, snacking on some fruit.

"Isn't Satan on food today?"

"Yeah. But I guess I ate everything he'd planned on using so he's out shopping."

"Oh Beel, what are we gonna do with you?" She gathered her ingredients, throwing a couple bananas his way. She quickly made the smoothie and headed back out, handing Beel the last banana and ruffling his hair as she walked by.

She quietly made her way to Lucifer's room, knocking as softly as she could manage while still needing to be heard. She heard some muffled swearing, and the door was wrenched open with a furious Lucifer snapping "WHAT?!" by way of greeting.

"Your text made it sound like you were hungover. This is a foolproof human world remedy."

He stepped back, letting her in. He took it with a skeptical look, sniffing the drink. "Bananas?"

"Yes. It's literally just a banana smoothie, I promise there are no weird ingredients. But it does work."

He took a sip, humming in appreciation. "... thank you."

"Did you drink your water like I told you to?"

"You're the one who left that?"

"Yes. I take it you don't remember last night?"

"Not really. I remember texting you and..." his eyes widened and he gasped, "we didn't... did we?"

"No. You kissed me and I left. I knew you didn't actually want it so I knew I couldn't stay."

He stopped drinking his smoothie and turned to her, "If I asked you, I wanted it."

"It doesn't count when you're drunk. You'd have been pissed if you'd found me in your bed this morning. You don't want me when you're sober, and that's when it's important."

He set his drink down and walked up to her, framing her face with his hands. "I promise I want you all the time. Every time I see you, every time you cross my mind, I want you. And let me tell you, you're always on my mind."

She couldn't find her voice to reply, shocked at what he had said. He looked deep into her eyes, thumbs brushing her cheekbones, until she found something to say. "I think that's the most you've ever said to me... that wasn't a threat."

"I'm a man of few words, what can I say? Other than, can I kiss you?"

She nodded, wide-eyed. He was so tall that she had to stand on her tiptoes just to have a chance of meeting him in the middle. He wrapped his arms around her thighs and lifted her, holding her tightly to him. She was still in the clothes she'd slept in, which meant his hands were brushing skin tantalizingly close to the curve of her ass.The kiss was sweet, with an underlying dark current of desire. It was a hint of promise, should she want to take it. Instead of putting her down when he pulled back, he carried her to his bed. He set her down and turned to grab his smoothie. She must have looked confused, because he laughed softly as he climbed into bed.

"I really do have a headache. So I'm going to finish this smoothie, and take a nap. I'd like you to stay with me."

"Just to nap?"

"I fully intend on having my way with you when I awake, unless you feel differently."

"Uh no... that sounds good."

He laughed again, this time at the blush staining her cheeks. He quickly finished his smoothie as she got under the covers, pulling her tight against him when he was done. She wasn't even sleepy, but his calm heartbeat, even breathing, and body heat had her drifting off before she knew it.

She woke up to Lucifer coming out of his bathroom. He smiled when he saw her watching him. In his rumpled sleep clothes and wild bedhead, he was boyishly charming, reminding her of the Lucifer he'd been in Levi's game.

"I don't know if it was the sleep or the smoothie but I feel great. Thank you."

"Well, if it was the sleep then you don't have anything to thank me for."

"I don't remember the last time I slept that well, and I think that's on you. So you can't avoid my gratitude." He climbed on the end of the bed and crawled up to her. She felt like prey to a large panther, with the smooth way he prowled and the wicked gleam in his eye. When he reached her, he caged her in his arms.

"Now, I believe I promised to have my way with you when I woke up." He was so close she could smell mint on his breath; he must have just brushed his teeth.

"I should probably brush my teeth before I let you kiss me." She squeaked when he dove in for a kiss, blushing as he bit her bottom lip before pulling away.

"You taste fine to me. So unless you're trying to get away from me, I say we should continue."

She nodded, too overwhelmed at the thought of sex with Lucifer. Just the thought made her wet. He started kissing his way down her neck, leaving soft little love bites along the way. She clutched his head as he continued his journey, sinking her fingers in his soft hair. When he reached the edge of her tank top, he pulled her up just enough that he could pull it off. When he laid her back down, he took a moment to simply enjoy the way her breasts moved with her panting breaths.

He began to kiss his way to her nipple, stopping to suck a mark into the sensitive flesh of her breast. She was already quite pale, but that particular area was practically white, and his mark stood out in stark contrast. He let out a pleased little growl. It was low enough that she could hide it, but if she wore a low cut shirt, everyone would know she was his. He finally made it to her nipple and teased it with the tip of his tongue.

She gasped, lifting her hips to his, trying to get some friction. Her hands tightened their hold on his hair, holding him to her. He jerked away, grabbing her wrists in one of his large hands and putting her arms above her head. As he used the other hand to rub her sensitive nipple, he leaned down to murmur in her ear, "Keep these here, little one, or I'll have to tie you up."

She couldn't help the groan that left her when he mentioned tying her up. He grinned to himself, continuing on, "My little human likes the idea of me tying her to the bed, doesn't she?" She rocked her hips against the mattress, but stayed silent, so he pinched her nipple, hard. "I asked you a question."

His rough treatment of her nipple just turned her on more, so it took a moment for his words to register. "Yes sir. Please."

He hadn't expected the "sir" and it sent a thrill down his spine. She was shaping up to be a far more exciting bed partner than he'd imagined, and she'd been plenty exciting in his fantasies. He nipped her earlobe, his voice dipping into an impossibly low register as he practically growled in her ear. "I even get a 'sir' from you? Oh sweetheart, we are going to have so much fun exploring that. But for now-" he sat back on his heels, reaching for the waistband of her shorts.

He was just about to pull them off when he had a wonderful idea. He moved off of her legs, rolling her to lay on her stomach. He straddled her legs again, lightly dragging his fingertips along the waistband of her shorts before lightly spanking her. "These shorts are sinful. Absolutely delicious. Sometimes I do extra rounds or make up a reason to stop by your room just in case you're wearing them. They taunt me with your gorgeous ass. Positively indecent. And you walk around in them for just anyone to see? "

She gasped, both at his spanking and rubbing her ass, and at his words. "I can stop wearing them outside of my room if you want."

He rolled her to her back so he could look her dead in the eye. "If you want. But I like it, and I'll like it even more now. When all of my brothers stare and drool and wish they were fucking you, I'll be the one who knows every inch of your body. I'll know what it feels like to be buried inside of you. And I'll be the one to know how you taste."

He finally pulled off her shorts and panties, taking a moment to run a finger along her slit. "Ohhh, you are sowet, my love." With that, he settled between her thighs, spreading her open to his hungry gaze as he gave one long lick to her dripping sex. She whined, bucking her hips. He let out a pleased hum against her clit before pressing his tongue to it, driving her wild. Her chest was gleaming with a thin sheen of sweat, her chest heaving as she panted.

He slid his tongue deep inside her, curling and twisting it against her walls. She moaned loudly, her hands gripping his sheets as she ground her hips to his face. He wrapped his hands around her hips to hold her as close as possible while his tongue drove her to distraction. He let go of her hip with one hand, using his fingers to tease her clit. That was what threw her over the edge, practically sobbing through her orgasm. He felt her walls clenching around his tongue; he groaned, a long, low grumble that sent vibrations through her, prolonging her orgasm.

He crawled up her body, admiring her post-orgasm flush. He gently ran his thumb over her nipple, making her shudder. Her eyes were dark with arousal, and as he positioned himself to enter her, she bit her lip.

"Sir, wait."

There was that damnable "sir" again. He might not survive sex with this woman. "Yes?"

"Let me taste you. Please. I need to."

Fuck. And now she's begging to suck his cock? He really isn't going to survive. He rolled off of her, laying back against his pillows and spreading his legs to make room for her. "Far be it for me to not fulfill your needs."

She settled between his legs, looking up at him through her lashes. "Thank you sir." She lowered her head, poking out her tongue to lick up the precum at the tip. He groaned, ever so slightly thrusting his hips up. She pressed down slowly, until the tip of his cock slipped into her throat. She pulled up and off, licking her palm and wrapping it around the base before taking him back in her mouth. She kept going until her mouth met her hand, moaning and choking on his length. He could see the bulge of his cock in her throat and couldn't help but lay his fingers against it. The feeling of his cock moving in her throat nearly brought him to the edge.

"Aisling, stop."

She pulled off of him with an obscene slurp. "Yes, sir?"

Her voice was rough and husky, as if he needed a reminder that he'd been nearly balls deep in her mouth. It sent a shiver down his spine. He gently ran his fingers through her hair. "You're too good at that, and I didn't want to come in your mouth."

"I'd love it if you did."

He closed his eyes for a moment, wondering if she was trying to make him come with her words. There was no way she was this perfect for him. He pulled her up his body, rolling her to her back and wrapping her legs around him. He entered her in a one long, smooth movement, bringing twin moans from each of them. He rested his forehead against hers. "Are you trying to kill me, little one? I never imagined you were so submissive. You are far more perfect than my wildest fantasies."

"Did you jerk off to thoughts of me?"

He growled and thrust into her harshly. "Yes. So many times."

"I think I'd like to watch that sometime..." she moved her face so she could whisper in his ear. "I've masturbated to thoughts of you a lot. I even did it last night. Had my fingers buried deep inside myself less than 5 minutes after leaving your room."

"Fuuuuuck. I'd REALLY like to watch that." With that, he picked up his pace. He was so close to coming, and he was determined to make her come again before he did. He held her hands above her head, shaking his bed with the force of his thrusts. Her breasts were pressed against him, teasing him with their softness. He gripped her wrists, pressing them into the pillows as he drove into her. She adjusted her legs so they were higher up around his waist, and the way she gasped and clenched around him let him know he'd hit the right spot. He pistoned his hips, driving into her. Before long he felt her milking his cock, moaning his name. He gave one last hard thrust, spilling into her and kissing her deeply to muffle his moans. Fucking her in the middle of the day on a Saturday probably wasn't his smartest idea, since all of his brothers would know what they'd done.

Still, in the end it didn't matter. They might give him shit for it, but she's in his bed. She was begging for his cock. They traded lazy kisses for a while, grinning at each other. He slowly started pulling out, pausing when she gripped his back. "Am I hurting you?"

"No but...I don't mind warming your cock for a while."

He growled and pulled her into a harsh kiss. "You really are fucking perfect. I'll have to take you up on that another time. I really should start my day before my brothers destroy the Devildom with their shenanigans."

She pouted a bit but nodded. He stood and held out his hand to her, "Come on, let's shower." She stood to the side as he adjusted the temperature of the shower, and when he pulled her into the shower he pulled her back flush against his chest. He peppered her neck with kisses as he said, "Just so you know, I have a LOT of paperwork to do today. So I will be requesting your cockwarming services after dinner. Plan on staying the entire night."

She shivered when he bit down on her neck. "Yes, sir."