#you could’ve waited until the event was over or even stepped outside but nah

[kethabali]

when you’re in a group of 3+ and 2 people decide it’s the perfect time to have a private conversation i fucking hate that shit it makes the third person feel so outcasted or no good reason save that shit for when you’re alone if it’s so fuckjng private

[teenagegoldrush]

“midsummers”

Words: 7.6k

MASTERLIST

Season One

A/N: i do not claim to, nor do i own outer banks; the concept, characters, plot, etc.

day eleven

andy woke up on hanging off the side of her bed, the sun shining in her eyes. the bottle of vodka, laid empty on the floor, discarded among pieces of clothing that had flown from her closet in her desperate search for it.

she groaned, rolling over and staring at the ceiling, debating her options for the day.

it was the day of midsummers, basically a kook holiday, in which the island country club held a gala for it’s members. it was an event to go to if you wanted to show off how much money you had, in the form of fancy clothes, and even fancier food and drinks. kie attended every year, unwillingly tagging along beside her parents. and pope worked it with his father, heyward being the go-to caterer.

she could go to the chateau. tell him about jj, and force him to go to the police station with her to bust him out.

she could go to the police station herself, and beg the receptionist to let the poor kid free.

or should she just stay at home and sit in the sun, getting high, and waiting for jj to come to her? because surely she would be the first person he came to... it would be the safer option, safer than going to the police station or to his house. and less conspicuous than chasing after him.

she would wait at home until he came to her.

she rolled out of bed, deciding to clean the unfortunate mess of a room she had, as well as the clothes she had slept in. she opted for a bathing suit, the smartest option if she was going to be outside all day.

outside, she cleaned the rest of the debris from the storm, making a pile of fallen tree branches in the woods beside the house, discarding any trash leftover from the water that had washed up onto her land. and when she was finished, she made herself comfortable on the dock, blunt in hand, as she tried to distract herself from the world around her.

at the sound of an engine, andy jumped up, seeing jj riding on his motorbike through the trees, and into her driveway. she was the first person he came to.

she took off running, crashing into his arms as he stepped off the bike. “holy shit, you scared the hell out of me!” she held him, tight, wrapping her arms around his neck.

he hugged her back, softly holding her waist. she pulled back, placing her hands on his cheeks. two bruises decorated his face, one on his cheek, the other beside his mouth, a cut to match both, and his lip was split. “jj…” she whispered.

jj sighed, his hands falling to his side. “dad had to pick me up from the station. wasn’t too happy about it.”

andy frowned. “c’mon, let me clean you up.” she let go of his face, guiding him inside. she led him to her bed, making him sit down on it. “i’ll go get the stuff, be right back.”

she went to the bathroom, grabbing her box of medical supplies, before returning to jj, who was still sat on the bed, his leg bouncing impatiently.

she held his face in her hands, turning it to examine the injuries. could’ve been worse. way worse. “so what’s the verdict?” she asked, pouring alcohol onto the rag. she knelt on the bed between his legs, dabbing gently on the cut on his cheek.

jj winced, pulling away. “got a hearing in two weeks, about thirty k in restitution, and an official criminal record.” andy pulled his face back towards her. “really living up to my expectations, aren’t i?”

she gripped his jaw a little tighter, as if to say, ease up on yourself. “we both are, jj. cut from the same cloth.”

“nah, you can do better. if you just try.” he shook his head slightly, wiggling away from the alcohol cloth again.

“then you can say the same for yourself.” she shrugged, now beginning to dab his lip. “you can’t say that about me without saying the same about yourself.”

“but i just think that i’m destined for what i’ve got. and that’s a bloodline with a reputation for being bad.”

“you can be the one to break it jj-”

“would you be listening to me if i was saying the same thing to you?” he asked.

andy pulled her hand away from his lip. “probably not-”

“exactly. so just let me wallow in self-pity for a little bit and hold it with the inspirational talk.” he licked his lip, wincing at the taste of the alcohol.

“don’t lick it!” she swatted at him, dabbing it again with the alcohol. “and stop talking, you’re just gonna bust it back open again.”

jj sat as still as he possibly could as andy cleaned his face, trying his hardest not to turn away when she kept pressing the alcohol-soaked rag to his eyebrow.

“have you ever tell anyone about the night you found me on the kitchen floor?” andy asked quietly, spreading antibiotic cream onto his face.

jj shook his head. “i promised it’d be a secret. i wouldn’t lie to you.”

andy nodded, applying the cream to his lip too. “thank you.” she placed the lid back on the tube, setting it inside the box, and kneeling over to close it up.

jj’s hands stayed on her waist, him looking at her intently. “can i go put this back-” he cut her off, pressing his lips to her’s softly.

andy’s breath hitched in her throat, her brain screamed at her to stop, what about the rules?! what about- but her heart took over, and she gripped his shoulders instead.

jj pulled away, letting out a breath. “andy, i-” “jj-” they spoke at the same time.

he leaned forward, kissing her again, this time she threaded her fingers into his hair, trying to pull him closer. jj pulled at her waist, the two of them falling back onto the bed.

“jj, if we do this, there’s no going back.” andy spoke, out of breath.

“who fucking cares?” jj replied, catching her lips with his again.

andy’s heart felt like it was going to beat out of her chest, her head was running a million miles a minute, thoughts forming faster than she could comprehend. she didn’t tell him to stop. instead, she whispered. “i dont.”

she was fucked.

•

“so, what’s the plan?” andy asked, pulling on her shorts.

jj shrugged, putting his shirt back on. “we should go to john b’s. everybody’s probably worried to shit about me.” he bent over, pulling his boots on. “and they’re probably wondering what the hell happened to you too.”

she nodded, lacing up her converse. “you’re probably right.”

both of them fully re-dressed, shoes on, they made their way outside, the heat unbearable. “it’s midsummers tonight.” she spoke, reminding jj.

“cool, then it’ll just be me, you and jb.” he nodded, walking beside her as they traveled through the woods.

the walk to john b’s was short and silent, a lingering touch of awkwardness hanging between them.

“whoa, whoa, whoa, hold up!” jj's arm shot out to stop her. “look.” he pointed to a spot in the driveway. a grey car was parked, tinted windows blocking any chance of identifying who was inside.

“what the fuck?” she whispered back, squinting to see any detail that could help them out. “we should go.” andy turned on her heel, trying to walk back in the direction they came from.

“no, we have to wait for john b.” jj continued staring at the car.

“jj, seriously?” she whispered. “who knows who’s in that car? could be the cops, could be the guys that chased us, i don’t wanna stick around to find out-”

jj grabbed her wrist, pulling her towards the shed. the pair crouched down beside it, waiting patiently for john b.

they knew exactly where he would come out of the trees. andy knew the path john b took through the island like the back of her hand, she had walked it many times with him. he always walked past her house to make sure her dad didn’t randomly show up, then he walked through the woods between their houses, and came out directly in front of the shed.

peering around the side of the kayaks they were sitting behind, she saw the outline of john b begin to appear in the trees. “incoming.” she whispered, nudging jj.

his head popped up, looking over the top of the kayaks. “be right back. stay here.” he nodded, walking in the direction john b was coming. when they were close enough, jj jumped out from behind a tree, placing a hand on his mouth, and pulling john b backwards.

john b ducked out of his grasp, wrapping his arms around jj and pulling them to the ground. “it’s me! it's jj! stop, stop, stop, stop, stop!” jj whispered frantically as jb reeled back to punch him.

john b sat on his knees, shoving at jj's chest. “what are you doing, bro?!” he yelled, agitated.

jj put his hand over john b’s mouth again. “shut up!” jj pulled john b over to the kayaks, where andy was still crouched down.

she nodded at john b, greeting him. he nodded back.

jj pointed to the car. “see that? they’re watching us, okay?”

“who?” jb asked, still confused.

“i dunno, let’s just go.” jj looked down at andy. “sneak around to the dock, this way.” he took off towards the water, john b and andy following.

they stepped into the water, all of them holding their backpacks over their heads. “wait, wait, wait, you got the keys to the pogue?” jj asked, turning to john b.

andy frowned as she felt water seep through her shoes and shorts. “yeah?” john b replied, and jj continued walking.

they trudged through the swamp grass, before stepping off into the deep water and wading towards the dock. they balanced their backpacks on their heads, untying the boat from the dock. jj climbed in first, then andy, then john b.

john b started the boat, letting it quietly float away from the general area of the house, then gunning it into the open water.

they rode to rixton’s cove, tying the boat up on the beach, and climbing onto a rock shelf to dry off. they all took their shoes and socks off, laying them on the rocks.

“so what the hell have i missed?” john b sked, sitting down across from jj.

“well to make a long story short, pope and andy got jumped by topper and rafe while we were on a grocery run - rafe hit her in the head with a golf club. we went to topper’s house and pope pulled the plug on his boat and sunk it. then we went to that movies in the park thing kie invited us to, and we get jumped there too. then i got arrested because i took the fall for pope for the boat thing, my dad kicked my ass because of it and now we’re here.”

john b sighed, trying to take in all the information jj had just spouted off. It was a rambling mess, but it was accurate.

“that’s absolutely ridiculous.” john b said, shaking his head.

that remark only egged jj on more. “right?! i mean, first I almost get strangled to death by kooks. and now i’m on the hook for thirty grand! we should just dip.”

andy groaned laying back on the warm rock. “okay, where do you wanna go?” john b asked, humoring him.

“yucatan.” jj answered confidently.

“yucatan?” john b asked.

“no, i'm dead serious right now.” jj shook his head. “surf all day, we can just live off of lobsters we catch with our bare hands.”

“you wanna just leave cause you got your ass beat?”

“you didn’t see the photos.” jj said quietly.

andy sat up. “what photos?”

“peterkin showed me photos of those guys that sacked john b’s. “ jj swallowed nervously. “they were all sliced up, and gutted, water-logged-”

“alright!” andy practically gagged at the description of the two men. “i get it.”

“think about it, they’re willing to kill for the gold! it’s gotta be out there!” john b jumped up, trying to convince his friends.

“have you lost your mind?” jj yelled, ripping the hat off his head in frustration. “one hundred years, man. one hundred years people have been trying to find this royal merchant, no one succeeded. and you think you’re gonna be the one that actually finds it?!”

john b clenched his jaw, looking over at andy, who could provide no guidance through this argument. “when are you gonna get it through your thick skull, if you keep going down this road, you’re gonna end up just like your dad!”

andy’s heart almost stopped. low blows weren’t usually in jj's repertoire.

"i can’t give up, jj!” john b shouted, shoving at jj, making him stumble back. andy jumped up, stepping between the boys, a hand on each chest. “we all have daddy issues here, but we can’t let that get in the way of what we’re doing.”

john b sighed, clenching his jaw. “the last time i saw my dad, we got in an argument. and then he took all of our rent money and dipped for this royal merchant. and then i told him he was a shit father… you know how the rest of the story goes.” he stepped away from the other two.

“jb, it wasn’t your fault.” andy said.

he turned back around. “it doesn’t matter who’s fault it was, andy! do you not understand that?”

jj was the one who placed hand on his chest now. “hey, get outta her face man.” john b glared at him, stepping back.

“i can’t give up on the hunt. i don’t care who’s out there who’s gonna try to kill us. do you understand that?” john b stared at jj and andy, waiting for a response. “you know that.”

john b turned around, grabbing his shoes and backpack and walking back towards the boat. “look, i’ve got a plan. you coming or what?”

andy sighed, grabbing her shoes and following after john b.

she turned back towards him as she tossed her shoes into the boat. “five hundred million, jj.” she said, staring at him. “how much do you owe in restitution?”

begrudgingly, jj grabbed his bag, following them into the boat.

“i can explain the full plan tonight, back here.” john b explained as he drove them back in the direction they came. “jj, you need to get your busboy uniform. i need you to go into the party and deliver sarah this note.” he patted his pocket, where, assumedly, a note to sarah was held.

“sarah cameron?” andy questioned, a sour taste in her mouth.

“yes, sarah cameron, irrelevant.” john b repled. “you still have that dress from winter formal last year?”

andy narrowed her eyes at him. “still have it, but it’s not gonna fit. why do you ask?”

“you’re going inside as a party guest. need you to talk to kie and pope and tell them what’s going on.”

an idea came to her head. “i can borrow one of kie’s dresses.”

“how’re you gonna contact her to tell her you’re coming over?” jj asked.

“i'm not.” andy shrugged. “i know how to disarm their alarm system.”

“you wanna break into kie’s house?” john b asked, exasperated.

“not breaking in if you don’t break anything.” andy sighed. “plus, i’m only borrowing the dress. i’ll give it back at the end of the night.” john b shook his head, heading back to town.

they dropped jj off near his house, by the time they were finished at kie’s, he would be done at home, and ready to meet them back at andy’s.

andy tied up the front of the boat to the dock at kie’s, john b got the back. “you sure you can get in there without any issues?” john b asked, toying with the boat keys in his hands.

“i’ll be fine, you just wait here and keep lookout.”

“what am i supposed to do if someone comes?”

andy shrugged, walking backwards up the dock. “the boat horn still work?” john b pressed the button, a weak beep sounding through the air. “do that!”

andy turned away, jogging up the dock and across the lawn of kie's house. she crept around the side of the house, making sure they were gone, before heading to the back again. she pulled a bobby pin off of the strap of her bra, where she kept one in case of emergencies such as this.

successfully, she picked the lock, the back door opening as she jiggled the handle. the moment she stepped inside, the alarm began to go off, but luckily for her, it wasn’t connected to dispatch. she just had to shut it off before any neighbors heard it.

it was easy to figure out the code: kiara's birthday; and then there was silence.

andy walked quietly through the house, up to kie’s room, closing the curtains before turning on the light. It was nice to be somewhere with working electricity.

she had a small collection of potential midsummers dresses, from this year and the previous years. there was a blue one, a yellow, two pink, and a dark green one, which among the pastel colors, stuck out like a sore thumb.

andy reached out, her hands brushing over the fabric. good enough. she grabbed the dress, quickly rooting through Kie’s shoe rack and grabbing a pair of sandals, before turning the light out and leaving the room. she and kie had shared enough clothes over the years to know they were the same size.

she re-armed the alarm before heading out the back door and back down the dock to john b. “you got the goods?” she held the dress and shoes up for him to see as he started the boat. “nicely done.”

“told you i got it.” she grinned, stepping onto the boat. they untied, and she held tightly to the dress as they rode back to her house, where jj was waiting for them.

“what the hell, that took forever!” he complained, jumping up at the sight of them approaching the dock.

“you know how to get inside, why didn’t you just go in?” andy scoffed, throwing a rope to him.

jj shrugged, tying the rope to the cleat. “it’s nice out?” andy rolled her eyes, walking past him, dress in-hand up to her house.

inside, john b and jj plotted their plan, and she fixed her hair by candlelight. she did the best she could on such short notice, luckily wearing her hair in braids for a few days helped tremendously. andy put her dress on, leaving her normal accessories on, rings, necklace, and various anklets, andy felt that, although she felt like a clown, playing dress-up just to sneak into a party for a small amount of time was sort of fun.

andy walked down the hallway, clearing her throat. “you guys ready to go, or what?” the guys had their backpacks on the table, filled with their outfits, which they would change into fully, on the beach.

jj blushed, staring at her. “you clean up nice, squid.” john bsaid, standing up.

she frowned. “really?” he knew she hated being called squid. “stop staring, it’s bad for your health.”

andy snapped at jj, semi-playfully. he snapped out of his trance, standing up from his chair. “so, we going or what? I’m not sitting around in this dress for nothing.”

the three of them went outside, john b helping andy onto the boat. she very much disliked having to rely on others for help.

they peacefully rode to figure 8, andy rehearsing the plan in her head. when they got close enough, the boys jumped out of the boat, pushing and pulling it through the sand.

jj helped her off the boat, and she stood, waiting for them to dress themselves. “can you believe this midsummer shit, man?” john b asked.

“of course i can, it happens every year. no matter how screwed up the rest of us are.” jj replied, looking towards the illuminated country club.

“i need you to get this to sarah.” john b handed jj a folded up piece of paper.

“oh, can i read it?” jj unfolded the paper.

“no, you can’t read it-”

“who’s vlad?”

“god, do you ever listen?”

jj stopped what he was doing, re-folding the note. he looked at andy, his eyebrows raised. “hold up.”

“are you macking sarah cameron?” andy asked, taking the words out of jj's mouth.

john b’s eyes widened. “would you shut up?”

“oh my god, you’re macking sarah cameron!” she concluded, eyes also widening.

“alright man, i’m doing it for everybody, okay?”

“how does you macking sarah cameron benefit me? i don’t want in on that action-” andy snickered, kicking at the sand beneath her feet.

“what?” john b turned to jj, who was silent.

“nothing.” he shrugged. “thanks for being a team player, bro.” andy smiled at jj's remark, as john b struggled to fix the tie around his neck.

“would you just hold still?” he grumbled, attaching it to his shirt.

jj buttoned the buttons on his shirt. “so i just give that to sarah?”

“yes, just give it to sarah.” john b looked over at andy. “you just tell kie and pope what’s going on,”

she saluted, signifying her understanding of the assignment. “vlad, really?” jj asked, teasingly.

john b ignored him, bending down to look in jj's bag for something, but instead, pulling out the gun. “are you kidding me? really?”

“no, i'm not kidding you.” jj replied, folding his collar down.

“If you get caught with this, you’re going to jail!”

jj tossed the hat from his head into his bag. “fine, but if we get ambushed, it’s on you!”

he turned to andy, grabbing her hand and pulling her towards the party. “you think we can pull this off?” he asked.

“john b picked the two finest fibbers the obx has to offer, i think we can do just about anything.“ she smiled, walking up the path towards the building.

jj grabbed a tray from another waiter, and two empty glasses from party guests. “i keep finding glasses halfway down the beach. do me a favor, try to keep ‘em corralled, would ya? I thought you were security.” he stumbled a bit, pretending to forget he was escorting andy. “oh, and can you help the lady get a drink?”

he winked, leaving andy by herself with the man.

"okay miss, the bar is right this way, or just ask any of the waiters, they should be able to help you out.” the security man lead her to the bar, where she thanked him, before he left.

she stood there a minute or so, as to not look suspicious, before beginning to search through the crowd of people for kie or pope. she snatched a drink off the tray of a passing waiter, downing it quickly before continuing her search.

she found kie by the railing of the porch, in the middle of a conversation with someone. andy walked up to her, grabbing her by her forearm. kie jumped, turning around. “andy, what the hell are you doing here? where have you been?” a moment of silence passed before, “is that my dress?”

“long story kie, we gotta talk.” she tugged at her arm. “if you’d excuse us.” she smiled at the woman kie was talking to, pulling her away.

she lead her away from the immediate crowd, the pair sitting down at a table. “if my parents see you here, they’ll flip their shit. andy tell me what’s going on.” kie said through clenched teeth. “and how did you get my dress?”

“doesn’t matter kie, i’ll give it back-”

kie looked beneath the table, her mouth gaping when she saw the shoes she was wearing. “are those my kate spade sandals?”

“i thought you didn’t care about material possessions, kiara?”

“they were a gift from my mom, i can’t just throw them away because they’re expensive!” she smacked her palm on the table. “just tell me what’s going on.”

“there’s a meeting at rixton’s cove tonight, whenever you and pope are done here.” andy watched as jj danced beside sarah, not-so-discreetly handing her a note.

“a meeting? what about, what are you talking about?”

“we’re back in the g-game kie.”

“g-game? gold?” kie studying andy’s face. “i thought we were over the gold? what happened?”

andy watched now as jj ran directly into kelce and rafe, the two decked out in pastel suits. “unexpected developments.”

she watched nervously, as rafe gathered more of his friends to rally against jj. she stood up, pushing her chair backwards. “gotta go, but i’ll see you at the cove later, okay? promise i’ll get the dress back in one piece, love you!”

she took off, holding her dress up as she ran through the doors, the opposite direction the boys went inside. she ran across a dining room, then down a hallway, almost running directly into jj. the guys weren’t far behind him. “andy? hey, let’s go!” jj grabbed her arm, pulling her with him into the men’s restroom.

he started yanking on doors left and right, trying to find an empty stall for the two of them to hide inside. they rounded the corner, trying to find an escape, but rafe was there, blocking their way.

“hey man, what’re you doing in the locker room? oh, and you brought kane too, how nice.” jj turned her around, pushing her the way they came, but another kook was there, waiting for them.

they were trapped.

"funny how i keep seeing you around figure 8, kane, when i can specifically remember telling you to keep out.”

“what are you, figure 8 fun police? i don’t have to listen to you.”

“how’d you even get in here anyway? cause i know you didn’t come with kiara.” rafe questioned them. “i bet you probably stole that dress.” he reached out to touch the fabric, but andy stepped out of reach. “what is it, silk?”

“as a matter of fact, i did steal it, but that’s besides the point.” andy glared up at him. “we’re not here to cause any trouble, so how about you just let us leave, no questions asked?”

rafe pretended to contemplate her offer. “you might wanna grab her, she’s a bit feisty.” he said to the guy behind her. he acted quickly, pinning her arms behind her and holding her tightly.

jj jumped into action, but rafe was faster, turning him around and rafe shoved him right into kelce’s arms.

“hold him still.” rafe cracked his knuckles. “what do you think, a four iron?” rafe pretended to hold a golf club, gearing up to hit jj. “keep his head still, i’m gonna line this up-”

andy struggled against the boy, thrashing wildly to get out of his grip, but she was overpowered. “very rafe of you, rafe! five on two-” jj struggled against kelce.

“if you could please stop talking? it's very disrespectful when i'm trying to hit a ball. learn your etiquette, my friend.” rafe stopped, an idea coming to his head. he smiled, crouching to examine jj's face. “your face looks really bad, starting to look like your dad a lot more.”

jj spit at rafe, an instant reflex to the insult he just threw at him. before rafe could retaliate, andy took the opportunity to break free, while her captor was distracted.

she broke from his grip, turning to punch him in the face, before turning back around. rafe was taken off-guard, but still faster than she was. he practically launched at her, slamming her into the wall with such force, it knocked the air out of her.

“i’m gonna tell you this once, and once only. we don’t want you here. nobody wants pogues on figure 8, do i make that clear-”

the lights flickered in the room, everyone turning to see the security guard from earlier, standing at the end of the room. “gentlemen.” he announced. kelce shoved jj out of his arms. “is there a problem?”

rafe released andy, stepping away from her. “oh-” jj stumbled. “pardon me, officer. no, there’s not an issue, i just… no, actually, yes, there is an issue. un, we got a criminal trespass in progress here. call it in alright? blatant disrespect for private property. me and the lady, in violation of all kinds of shit, sir.”

jj reached behind him, patting kelce’s shoulder. “but these young gentlemen-” kelce swatted at jj. “-caught us, sir, and they were about to take us away. and that’s what you should do, escort us outta here.” jj held his wrists out, mocking the security guard. “you powerpuff girls, have fun!”

the man stepped forward, grabbing jj’s arm. “c’mon young lady.” he motioned to andy, who crossed the room towards him.

as she reached the other end of the room, rafe’s face lit up. “hey andy?” he asked, her turning around to humor him. “by the way, you look pretty hot, for a pogue.”

andy’s face heated with rage, but jj jumped the gun, wriggling himself free from the security guard’s grip and charging at rafe. his boys, and the security guard stopped him. “let’s go!” the man yelled, grabbing jj by the collar of his shirt and andy by her arm.

“you think i’m afraid of you, bro?” jj yelled, as they were dragged through the hallway.

“safe travels back to the cut!” rafe shouted back.

the man pulled them all the way to the back patio, where they came from. “look, man, i can walk myself! i got legs, can you see that brother?” jj jerked around in the security guard’s arms.

“come on.” he pulled them into the crowd on the patio.

“i really appreciate what you did back there, let me just walk out by myself!” jj still thrashed around, knocking into andy, causing her to stumble.

“jj, relax-”

“mr. dunleavy, i see you got your drink. good, that’s really nice.” jj patted an older man on the shoulder.

“i’m actually gonna down that.” he took the glass out of his hand, taking the drink down in one sip.

“what the hell’s the matter with them?” dunleavy asked security.

the security guard shook his head. “i'm sorry sir.”

jj cheered, tossing the glass onto a table. “i really appreciate the discretion, ya know. it’s okay everybody, do not panic! leave it to the men and women in uniform!” jj shouted, drawing the attention of party guests.

“jj could you please not-”

“relax andy, i got this.” he turned to her, before turning back to the crowd. “Let’s hear it for them!”l

he began to clap as they were dragged across the patio. “rose! you look like lady liberty, good to see you again!”

“let go of them!” kid suddenly yelled from within the crowd. “you can’t just boot them!”

“Excuse me, ma’am?” The security guard stopped, gripping the two of them tighter.

“i invited them here. i’m a member of this club. look at the dress she’s wearing, she is clearly supposed to be here-”

“hey!” jj whispered, catching andy’s attention while kie distracted the security guard.

the pair both broke free from his grasp, jj shoving him roughly into the other guests. “oh, sorry about that.” jj cringed, mockingly. “hey, mandatory power-hour at rixton’s, kie! pope, you as well, alright?”

jj grabbed onto andy’s wrist, pulling her backwards towards the steps.

“rixton's cove, let’s roll!” andy encouraged kie and pope on.

“kie, c’mon! workers of the world, unite!” jj held his arms up. “throw off your chains!”

turning around, andy came face-to-face with john b, who had a huge smile on his face. she leapt into his arms, he held her in the air. “colonel.” jj saluted him.

“captain.” john b saluted back, letting go of andy.

“mission accomplished sir.”

over jj’s shoulder, kie and pope both were running towards them.

kie crashed into andy’s arms, the two spinning around. “c’mon baby!” she laughed, grabbing her hand and running towards where the boat was parked.

“later losers!” jb yelled, following the girls.

andy and kie made it back to the boat first, carefully tying up their dresses so they could push the boat out to where the water was deeper.

andy started the boat as the boys splashed through the water, each of them jumping onboard. wanting to make the most out of the rush of excitement she felt, andy drove them to rixton’s.

when they arrived, the boys pulled the boat to shore again, and the girls stayed behind on the boat and changed. kie was lucky andy brought an extra set of clothes with her, so they could both get out of their uncomfortable dresses.

“you know, you look really good in that dress.” kie said, turning away as andy changed behind a towel.

“i appreciate the compliment, but don’t expect it to happen again.” andy shook her head.

“i know, i know, i’m just saying…” kie paused for a moment. “maybe you could come with me next year.”

andy laughed. “to midsummers? as a guest? kiara, that’s like throwing a guppy into a school of piranhas, hell no!”

“but i think you’d enjoy it-”

“as much as i appreciate the offer, no thanks kie. not my scene.”

kie shook her head, as andy continued to change, then holding the towel for kie to take her turn.

when they both finished changing, they joined the boys on the beach, where they had started quite the impressive bonfire. “hey guys, so my dad’s already gonna kill me, so what’s this mandatory meeting about?” pope asked.

john b pointed finger guns at jj, silently asking his opinion on explaining the plan. jj shrugged. “might as well tell him, man. before we’re gaffed.”

“you ready for this?” jb asked, making the situation more suspenseful than it really was.

“yeah?” kie replied impatiently.

“so, the gold never went down with the royal merchant-”

“oh my god, here we go with this again.” pope groaned.

“hey, you agreed to come to the gold meeting, don’t complain when we talk about gold!” andy scolded him.

“it's been here the whole time.” john b smiled. “it's on the island.”

“are you serious?” kie tilted her head.

“i'd like to voice my skepticism.” pope interrupted.

“when don’t you!” andy groaned.

“what's your problem tonight?”

“just let him talk!”

“can i please present my evidence?” jb interrupted, getting up and walking over to his backpack.

pope rolled his eyes. “proceed.”

“alright, so in my backpack, i have a letter from denmark tanny.” john b pulled a folded up piece of paper from his bag.

“so who the hell’s that?” kie asked.

“denmark tanny was a slave that survived the royal merchant wreck.” he handed kie the paper. “check it out.”

kie opened the paper, reading over it. “slaves weren’t mentioned as crew members on the ship. but my dad found the complete manifest, that was his big discovery.”

“so he found a list of every single passenger?” andy asked.

john b nodded. “so tanny used the gold from the merchant to buy his freedom.” kie leaned across the fire, handing the paper to jj. andy read over his shoulder.

"after that, he bought his farm… drumroll please, because that farm is-” everyone stopped to drum on their knees. “tannyhill plantation!”

“tannyhill?” kie exclaimed.

“yeah, so after that, he used the money to free even more slaves. then he sold a shit-ton of rice, which pissed off all the white planters, and then they decided to lynch him.”

andy winced as jb described what happened to the man. “so the day they were coming to get him, he writes a letter to his son as a farewell, and in the last line of the letter, he leaves a coded letter about where to find the gold.”

“where?” kie asked, jokingly.

“harvest the wheat, in parcel 9, near the water.” john b recited from the letter. “except, there’s no wheat. see, wheat is code for gold. check this out.”

he held up another piece of paper, next to the letter that pope was reading. “the gold is in parcel 9, near the water. the gold was stamped with wheat.”

“holy shit.” pope sighed.

“all we need is an original survey map of the property, and we’ve found the gold!”

“okay, so this might have a small chance of being actually true.” pope said, still examining the papers.

jj got up from his spot, stomping over to jb and bear-hugging him, lifting him off of the ground. “i am a genius- hey, whoa! fire, you’re near the fire, you’re gonna burn me!”

“i am so proud of you right now.” jj put him back down.

john b nodded proudly. “thank you, that’s really sweet of you.”

“okay, so guys, what’s the plan?” pope broke the bromance moment up.

“good question.” john b nodded, stepping away from jj. “sarah cameron’s coming tonight, she’ll bring an original survey map-”

world stop.

“whoa, whoa, whoa, sarah’s coming?” kie interrupted him. “why sarah?”

“this is gonna be good.” andy looked down, kicking at the dirt beneath her sneakers.

“well, sarah… she got me into the archives at chapel hill yesterday. that's where i got the letter.”

“you were in chapel hill with sarah cameron!” kie asked, shocked.

“he was mackin’ on her…” jj mumbled, lucky he was away from andy, who would’ve hit him if he was closer.

“i wasn’t macking-”

“you were totally macking sarah cameron!” andy exclaimed, calling him out on his lie.

“i wasn’t macking on her, okay? i was using her for access!”

“ghere was access alright…” jj mumbled again, making andy giggle.

“did you tell her about the treasure?”

“i was just trying to get into the archives…” john b defended himself.

“is that a yes?”

“i left out key details-”

“yo, what?!” kie looked over at andy and pope in disbelief. they both shrugged, not wanting to get in the middle of the argument.

“you let a kook in on our secret? what about pogue life? what about the t-shirt company, bro!”

“i was just using her for information!”

“why don’t i believe you?”

“i’m trying to make us filthy rich here! so that we can pay off a boat, or build a new house, or buy a koi pond! look, you guys know me, do i look like the type of person to fall for sarah cameron?”

“do you want us to answer that?” pope asked.

john b turned to him. “just stop.”

“look, you don’t know her yet, i do. you can’t trust her!”

“her brother did hit me in the back with a golf club.”

andy nodded. “not to mention how many times he’s fought with me in the past week-”

“rafe and sarah are different human beings!”

“what did she do to you, exactly?” jj asked.

andy groaned, knowing this was a touchy subject with kie. “she's like a spitting cobra! first she blinds you, then she-”

pope interrupted her. “that’s a bad analogy.”

in andy’s opinion, it actually wasn’t. first she blinds you with her personality and then turns on you in an instant.

"just listen to me!” kie yelled, desperately. “whatever we get, she’s gonna try to take.”

john b shook his head, shoving all of the papers back into his bag. “it’s getting late. we have to meet sarah soon, so let’s just go.” he walked back to the boat.

andy also shook her head, kicking sand into the fire to put it out, pope doing the same.

when they heard the boat’s engine start, they ran towards it, hoping their friends wouldn’t abandon them in their fits of rage.

the ride back to the chateau was silent.

in the van, on the way to the hawk's nest wasn’t as quiet, the boys holding random conversations while kie and andy sat quietly. andy knew that kie needed space when she was angry, and not talking to her was probably the best thing to do.

“hit it boys, we’re goin’ on a recon mission!” jj sing-songed as he slid open the van door.

“yo, so i think i’m gonna do this one by myself.” john b turned around, awkwardly avoiding kie's icy stare. she rolled her eyes as he climbed out of the van.

“really?” jj called after him.

“yeah, i just don’t wanna spook sarah with the peanut gallery.”

“i just don’t understand why we’re involving her at all!” kie exclaimed.

there it is. a rarely-seen kiara snap.

“kie, we’re not involving her!” john b rolled his eyes. “it’s just a business meeting.”

on the floor jj used the cork he was playing with to pretend he was sarah, giving jb a blow job. andy rolled her eyes as pope laughed at his immaturity.

"look, once we get what we need, we cut her loose, alright? plus, we need the map.”

kie shrugged, pursing her lips. “promise me nothing’s happening between the two of you.”

“nothing is happening kie!” john b exclaimed.

“i'm being serious.”

“okay?”

“this isn’t about you, this isn’t about us!” kie motioned to everyone still sitting in the van. “this is about her. dude, she’s gonna get inside your head.”

john b shook his head.

"just promise me nothing’s happening.”

john b clenched his jaw. “i promise.”

“that was really believable.” jj said.

“a hundred-percent believable.” pope agreed.

jb shook his head again. “anyways, i’m gonna go take care of business.” he turned to walk away from the van.

“you're gonna take care of that.” jj nodded, mocking him.

“we’ll just sit here in the hot-ass car.” pope shrugged. “while it’s lightning.” thunder cracked in the sky around them.

after a few minutes of silence, kie turned to face andy. “youre okay with this?”

andy opened her mouth to respond, but kie kept talking. “with including sarah?”

“kie, i'm out-voted!” andy sighed, holding her hands up in surrender.

“not!” kie shook her head. “there's two against her.”

“they won’t not take jb's side.” andy scoffed, motioning to the boys on the ground. “it’s not a fight worth fighting to me. i'll be overruled.”

“you fight over everything!” kie exclaimed.

“well i'm not fighting about this!” andy snapped back, matching kie's energy. “and i’m not fighting with you either, so you can either let it go for tonight, or keep talking, but it’s gonna be a one-sided conversation because i’m not engaging.”

“kiara, holding onto your grudge is like drinking poison and thinking sarah will die.” pope spoke.

jj nodded. “exactly.”

“listen, i don’t even wanna hear it from you, you guys are fraternizing with the enemy!” kie retaliated.

“just stop kiara!” andy shouted, breaking kie out of her rant. kie turned, wide-eyed towards her. “it's not worth all the energy you’re putting into it! just let it go.”

kie clenched her jaw crossing her arms and staring out the door as the wind began to whip violently.

jj began to recount his run-in with the kooks at the party, when the slightest sound could be heard through the wind. “help!” someone called.

“wait, do you guys hear that?” andy got up onto her knees.

the boys atopped talking. “what?” both asked.

“please, somebody help!” andy's eyes widened as she jumped up and fully over jj's legs, out of the van.

“no, i hear that!” pope agreed.

kie followed her. “what the fuck!” andy took into a sprint, running as fast as she could towards the sound.

at the end of the sand path, sarah was bent over john b's limp body, as he laid flat on the sand. andy felt her stomach drop, and the sick familiar feeling of anxiety rise into her chest.

she dove onto her knees, skidding to a halt beside her best friend's body. “what the hell happened!”

“i don’t know what to do, he needs help! topper shoved him!” sarah cried hysterically, cradling john b's head.

“where the hell is he?” jj yelled, rage overwhelming him.

“please, please, please, get help. call someone, i don’t care who! just call someone!” sarah rambled.

“go, pope, go!” jj shoved pope back in the direction of the van.

“pope, hurry!” kie yelled after him.

sarah, still bent over john b, pressed a kiss to his lips. “john b, stay with me. please don’t leave me.”

swallowing the lump in her throat, andy reached a shaky hand out to sarah. “sarah, i know you’re scared right now, but we need to support his head. we don’t know if his spine is injured.”

“it took every ounce of courage andy had to get those words out. “if you don’t think you can do it, i will.”

sarah, with wide eyes, nodded, gently letting go of jb’s head and scooting herself backwards in the sand.

andy moved over, leaning the very edge of john b’s head on the tip of her knees, and using her hands to keep his head aligned with his neck.

she looked up at jj, eyes filled with tears. he nodded at her, silently praising her for taking action so quickly.

her hands shook so badly, her entire arms were aching, but she held jb’s head in place until the ambulance arrived.

[masterthespianduchovny]

The Poor Development of the Marauder's Era

I've recently been listening to Binge Mode and, even now, I honestly believe the Marauder's era is some of Rowling’s worst writing of the series. When I say Marauder's Era, I'm simply referring to characters and events pre Harry.

The Marauder's era isn't poorly developed because I didn't like what happened. It's poorly developed because of how Rowling handled the characters, the events she put them in, and the reaction to said events.

As a kid, I respected Lily and thought she could do no wrong. As an adult, I find her decisions questionable. For transparency purposes, I read these books in real time and was a similar age as the characters. So, I don't want to hear anything about me being "unfair." Of all of the Mauraders era kids back then, I was the most generous to Lily. It's only when I reflected more about her role in the series that I realized how lackluster she is as a character and as a friend.

Rowling relies on Lily being seen as the moral compass to signify who and what is right or wrong during this era. The problem with this is that Rowling undermines Lily in the process. Minus being flat out called Mudblood by Snape, she has no proof that Snape has done anything her friends accused him of doing, but she unequivocally views it as the truth. Despite Lily listening to Snape, it's not really in good faith because she already has her mind made up about Snape's guilt.

Now, this is important to note because since Lily hasn't seen any of Snape's alleged bad behavior for herself, why would she definitively accuse him of these things? Lily claims she was in denial about this when she ended their friendship, but it's quite obvious she does believe Snape is guilty.

What makes Lily's beliefs and choosing to side with others over Snape is that none of the Marauders have ever mentioned ONE instant of Snape doing or saying some fucked up shit. As a reminder: THEY HATED HIM. They never mentioned anything about him bullying others, calling muggles mud blood, or any other troubling behavior. It was merely because he existed. They couldn't even tie him to being a Death Eater.

Also, let's consider the fact that kids like Snape have rumors made up about them all of the time. ALL OF THE TIME. Not even Snape's own bullies could attest to Snape doing the things Lily's friends claimed Snape did, yet Lily believed their words?

And, maybe I'm being nitpicky, but the fact that Lily says "my friends" in reference to defending Snape has always rubbed me the wrong way. Snape IS her friend too. Her best friend, in fact. Why wouldn't she have said, "my OTHER friends." My Gryffindor mates or whatever? IMO, that implies that Snape is just some weirdo she talks to and not the person she's known the longest.

HOW ROWLING COULD'VE FIXED THIS:

Have Lily overhear Snape calling one of his peers Mudblood. Have the Marauders be incensed that Snape called someone a mud blood. Have them call out Lily when she tries to intervene on them confronting (confronting NOT bullying) Snape. Hell, even have Snape fucking bully someone.

Because as far as canon goes, Snape was a bystander as death eater wannabes bullied people and presumably did nothing about it. We don't see any of his alleged wrongdoings and the people who hate him can't even recall that this happened.

There shouldn't be an ambiguity or readers relying on the word and opinion of Lily to guide their opinion.

Some may say, "she's only a kid." To this I say, "You're right." Lily was a teen and teens don't always know how to handle complex situations, I will give her the benefit of the doubt. However, this means we shouldn't hold her as the moral standard.

Lily essentially says that the difference between the Marauder's bullying people and the death eater wannabes doing it is dark magic. I'm sorry, but that's weak sauce. Dark magic is such a vague and broad thing depending on what you're talking about, so nah...Also, is there something not dark about James choking Snape with soap? I mean, that could've traumatized Snape to the extent of him being triggered by soap. Isn't that dark?

HOW ROWLING COULD'VE FIXED THAT.

Jut have Lily acknowledge that behaviors by the Marauders and death eater wannabes are both bad, but for different reasons. Problem solved. She can even emphasize that she takes so much issue with Dark Magic due to why it's being used and what it ties into.

We hear how great Lily is and that everyone loves her, yet Harry meets literally NOT ONE FRIEND of Lily's. He meets James' friends and a former teacher of hers. We don't see Lily hanging out with anyone else. We hear examples of Lily feeling sad for people, but no references to her actually helping people or supporting others somehow.

HOW ROWLING COULD'VE FIXED THAT.

Maybe instead of Lily talking about the bad thing Avery and Mulciber did, she could've intervened, even if it was too late, and "saved" Mary. Hell, we could've had Lily hex James rather than just threatening it. I'm sorry, after literally reading the many ways the Golden Trio are there for each other even before big shit started to happen, Lily threatening to hex someone who is actively bullying her friend doesn't cut it.

And give her her own friends for Harry to meet.

Lily is said to be smart and empathic, but how she deals with Snape and his issues don't exactly support this.

HOW ROWLING COULD'VE FIXED IT.

Have Lily genuinely listen to Snape's grievances about the night he was saved. Don't have her be so dismissive about the Lupin thing. Maybe have Snape set up by the Marauders and the big reveal is a flop.

I know Rowling wanted to tackle people having shady pasts and how they can change, but 1. Either she needed to commit to it being a rivalry or 2. She needed to appropriately deal with the bullshit the Marauder's did. Snape is justifiably angry and distrusting of the Marauders due to one almost killing him as a joke and the other publicly humiliating him. This doesn't even account for YEARS of bullying, which remus admitted happened.

We cannot say that bullying is wrong, and then excuse the bullies because they were on the right side of a war.

HOW ROWLING COULD'VE FIXED THIS.

She should've had Remus flat out acknowledge they were wrong for what they did and that there was no excusing it. Then, have Sirius and Remus privately talk about this where Sirius admits it too. OR, despite loving them and his dad, Harry realizes how flawed they were and that their reasoning is simply to protect their dad not necessarily because James grew up. OR Rowling could've not written James and Sirius behaving as psychopaths AS WELL AS show instances of Snape starting shit with them.

SHOW US Snape deliberately starting shit with the Marauders and James trying to apologize. Show us James' growth outside of that. Don't tell us that James is secretly hexing Snape behind Lily's back because it has her looking like a dumb ass.

Also, all of this James stuff is important because Lily ending up with James is such a bad fucking look. IMO, it makes her disgust at his behavior seem performative. It says that she didn't really care about him bullying others, but rather, the perception of her being with someone who bullied others. And, no, having Lily smile as Snape was actively being bullied, and then poverty shaming him isn't a good look.

"BUT, BUT SNAPE CALLED HER A RACIST SLUR!!!"

It doesn't matter how much you want to give your friend the benefit of the doubt, if you believe he's calling others racist slurs, you need to confront it. And, if you believe it to be true, you need to end it. You don't wait until he calls you the slur to say, "hey, maybe he really is this racist person people claim he is."

HOW ROWLING COULD'VE FIXED THIS.

After James saved Snape's life, this is where he could've matured and his big head lessened. He still hexes others, but leaves Snape alone because he realized that they went to far with him even before Sirius' "prank." Instead of James being the antagonizer, it should've been Sirius. Once again, James breaks this up and he and Sirius gets into a small argument. Snape is let down as Lily runs up and Snape says his mud blood remark.

Snape then tries to hex Sirius and James steps in once Snape refuses to stop. It gets out of hand and Snape accidentally harms Lily.

I won't lie, I'm a HUGE Snape fan. However, because of how Rowling handled this era, there are many ambiguous things, situations that don't make any sense, not enough development of characters, etc which undermines the story she tried to tell.

Yes, I do love the series, except I don't like any of the Marauders or Lily. I don't hate Lily, but she grates. Remus really was a coward and irresponsible as hell. Sirius was childish as fuck and, no, him being in prison doesn't excuse or justify all of his behavior. James saved his peer's life, and then publicly humiliated and sexually assaulted him. He didn't stop bullying, he just stopped how he did it.

This doesn't mean I believe that Snape was faultless, but I believe this era was so poorly told that by default, I believe and sympathize with Snape.

Although I believe Rowling wanted readers to do this, I don't think she planned for some readers such as myself to hold the positions we do. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy Snape as is, but I do believe Rowling didn't intend for me to hold the views I do about Lily and the Marauders.

I don't understand her laziness during this era, especially since it's so key in Snape, Lily, and James' stories.

Lastly, she could've developed James and Lily better.

I know she only has so much time, space, pages blah blah blah. However, the best writers find a way to make it work with what they have.

[lightspeedrobin]

Found (Chapter 4) - Morisawa Chiaki/Reader

Summary: Chiaki can vaguely remember that time in kindergarten when he saved a girl during a school field trip but he knows that it was the first time he became someone’s hero. With only a dolphin plush and a worn-out handkerchief to remind him of that memory, he finally meets her again.

A/N: ending the year right! it took a while but we've finally reached the end, and just in time for the current event~

thank you to all the wonderful people who have stay tuned and supported me for the past four months. i enjoyed writing chiaki because he's such a pure and honest boy and i love him TT^TT 

wishing everyone a fruitful new year and the best of luck for those grinding for 5star chiaki!until next time~

Chapter 4 - Found 

-

The familiar store chimes make a gentle ring as Chiaki enters the cafe. It has been two days since he’d last been there and the quiet and relaxing atmosphere greets him once more. No children running around and the stress of meeting their needs is thankfully gone for the next few days. The kid’s section is almost empty, save for a couple of young adults who chose to sit by the area. It’s a perfect day to talk to the owner without much distractions.

Speaking of the owner, he takes a look around the cafe in search of the person in question, and there she was, engaging in an idle chatter with the barista while putting some final touches on a dish. He quickly looks away when she turns around to deliver the order, setting his eyes on a table at the back. As much as he wanted to stay in the kids section, he didn’t want to draw attention to himself today.

He settles down on his seat and sets the paper bag he’s been carrying beside him. He didn’t bother putting the plush on a different bag, but in hindsight, the owner might recognize the bag when sees it so he keeps it hidden for now. His mind drifts to the conversation he had with Kanata and Kaoru the other day.

‘I think you should just tell her. I’m sure she’ll be happy to know you two are meeting again like this.’

‘Oh but don’t just tell her. Be smooth about it. Hmm… I know a few techniques you can do to–’

‘Kaoru, he’s not trying to hit on her, you know.’

‘I know, I know. But what if…’

In the end, both Ryuseitai members listened to Kaoru’s so-called-techniques over coffee at the ES Cafeteria. It wouldn’t hurt to hear him out and the blonde looked enthusiastic sharing his ideas, not that Chiaki would be able to pull any of it off.

On her way back to the counter, the owner spots him seated at the far back, waving at her. Smiling brighter at the sight of her newly-formed friend, she makes her way to his table. He instinctively pushes the paper bag further towards the back of his seat to hide it from view.

“Hey! You’re back!” She greets enthusiastically, handing him a menu. “On a break from work?”

She speaks in a more casual tone to him now that they’re more familiar with each other. He’s glad that she’s able to relax around him.

“Nah, I’m actually done for the day and wanted to come here.” He replies as he takes the booklet. He only had a small errand at ES today so he has the rest of the day to himself.

She nods and her eyes lit up with interest. “Oh I see. If you’re already finished this early then you must’ve been working hard the past few days.”

“Yup! Ryuseitai’s been getting a lot of jobs lately and I’m glad we get to work together more often now.” He says in genuine pride. Ryuseitai has grown so much from when they were first starting out and all those job requests they’ve been getting are proof that they’re reaching the hearts of more people as idols and allies of justice.

“That’s great to hear!” She beams at the news but then puts a hand on her chin as if remembering something. “Ah, so that time I saw you by the cafe, were you perhaps supposed to meet your friends here?”

Chiaki almost chokes on air. “What?”

“The other day, you were hanging outside the cafe, right?” She explains.  “Or did I mistook you for someone else?”

He panics for a brief second but he didn’t want to lie that he hasn’t been in the area that day. Or at least, he couldn’t bring himself to lie. “A-Ah yes, that was me.”

“Well, It’s a shame you didn’t come in. We were testing out some new flavors for the parfaits that day. You and your friends could’ve tried them.” She says, her voice mixed with a little disappointment. Chiaki starts to feel bad for not at least saying ‘hi’ before leaving. But he was supposed to be hiding that day. The owner must’ve had a good eye for spotting him, or he just sucks at stealth.  

“O-Oh, um… Yeah, I needed to talk to someone so I had to head back to the agency.” He stammers. He’s not a good liar but it technically wasn’t a lie. He had no plans on giving more context to why he was at the store front in the first place and he hopes she doesn’t ask.

“Ah, I see.” Her expression seemed like she wouldn’t press any further, so he mentally sighs in relief. “Well, we still have them available today. If you like, I could put down an order for you now.” She says, pen and notepad at the ready.

Chiaki checks his watch. An hour before lunch. He could probably use a light meal to go with the parfait.

His order arrives shortly after, with the owner grinning as she sets them down on his table. He can clearly see the excitement in her eyes as she sets the parfait on the table, looking just as mouth-watering as ones he had served the other day. She’s in high spirits today and Chiaki hopes he’ll get to see more of her smile later.

As the last of his order is set down, he catches her attention by clearing his throat. “I also actually came today to talk to you.”

She raises a curious eyebrow at him. “Oh...”

“It’s really nothing important, just–”

“This isn’t about that other day, right? The ‘i-made-a-famous-idol-work-at-my-cafe’ thing?” She hugs the empty tray closer as she speaks, voice clearly in panic. It must’ve still been bothering her since then.

Chiaki quickly shakes his head, letting out an awkward laugh for not giving more context right away. “No, no, no. There really wasn’t any issue with that. This one’s actually unrelated so no need to worry. But this might take a while so...” He trails off, unsure what to say next. He’s well aware that she’s still in the middle of work but this might be the only chance he can get, and the conversation might take long considering how this would concern her largely.

“Ah...” She relaxes and now it was her turn to give an awkward chuckle. “Sorry, I tend to think ahead of things so I kind of panicked.”

He knows. At least for the times he visited, he assumed as such. But that didn’t bother Chiaki at all. The way she starts to break her upbeat demeanor in panic, fidgeting and cheeks flushing was adorable in a way.

She takes a deep breath again to compose herself, looking at the clock by the counter before speaking again. “Well, I’ll be having my break soon so if you want we can talk then.”

“Alright, I can wait until then.”

Chiaki slowly eats his meal as the lunch rush passes and soon enough it dies down, resuming into its calmer atmosphere. A good time for a break.

She asks him if he would like to wait in the staff room for a bit while she gives some instructions to her staff and he takes the suggestion. It is more preferable to have some privacy.

-

The owner steps in the staff room after a few minutes, leaving a few more words to the other staff outside before closing the door. Chiaki patiently waits as she writes down an entry on the time sheet hung on the wall before finally sitting across him on the table. Something catches his eye though: a small stain on her apron.

“Thanks for waiting.” She says. “I had to leave a few things to them before I take my break.

Chiaki feels the nervousness building up but despite that, he was able to keep calm and answer with a cheery tone. “It’s no problem at all. I am the one who wanted to talk to you.”

“Oh um… Before that, you have a little stain on your apron.” He pats his lap to indicate where it is and she makes a surprised ‘oh’ before looking down on the same area on her apron. The brown spot looks small enough to be unnoticable from afar but Chiaki was able to spot it when she sat down.

“Shoot. There is.” She confirms, and starts to rub it off with her thumb.

Just then, an idea popped into Chiaki’s head. Even after all these years, he never really practiced the habit of bringing his own handkerchief, but this day, he had one. And this particular piece of cloth holds a certain value that would bring up the subject that Chiaki had been nervous about for days.

Nervousness, however, was just part of the things he was feeling at the moment. More than that, he was feeling hopeful. Hopeful that things will stay the same between them, if not, improve. And he has Kanata and Kaoru to thank for that.

So with the usual sunny smile on his face, he reaches into his pocket for the handkerchief and presents it to her, who’s still focused on the stain. He makes sure to get that particular corner exposed so she would immediately see it.

“You can use this, if you like.”

She looks up at the handkerchief offered to her, then at him. She makes a bashful smile before reaching out to take it

“Thank you for–” She stopped mid-sentence as soon as she laid eyes on the name on the handkerchief. Surprise and disbelief spread across her face as it finally dawns in on her what the familiar piece of cloth conveys.

She slowly looks up at him and Chiaki nods, as if confirming whatever thoughts have been swimming in her head right now. Yes, it was the handkerchief she gave him a long time ago. Yes, he was the boy who stood next to her on stage in the aquatic show. And yes, he was the boy, who despite not knowing how to swim, still jumped in the water to save her.

“I-I can’t believe it...” She takes a closer look at the cloth, tracing her fingers on the neatly embroidered name and the sunflowers decorating the corners.

“I didn’t realize it right away but that boy who tried to pull you out of the water years ago�� was most probably me.” Chiaki finally puts in words. “And I wanted to give that back to you… with this.” He reaches out into the bag and takes out the pink dolphin plush. He did his best to clean it up but the accumulated dust over the years faded out the bright pink color it had from what Chiaki remembered.

She gasps and slowly touches the stuffed animal, as if handling something fragile. Her lips appear to be tugging into a smile as she looks over it. “It’s–!”

“This is yours, right? It all happened so fast at the souvenir shop that even I didn’t realize we switched bags back then.” He explains. He anxiously studies her expression as he places the plush down on the table.

Her eyes lit up at the memory. “I remember! I was so shocked that I got the wrong one.” She then claps her mouth, looking both happy and embarrassed. “That was my bad, I rushed out so suddenly that I forgot to check.”

“No, that’s okay. Really. But i’m glad that you still treasured mine despite all that.” At this point, it didn’t really matter who caused the switch. It was just an honest and clumsy mistake they made, which was natural for children their age. What matters now is this moment, where the exchanged dolphins allowed them to meet again.

“It is from my hero, after all.” She says a little softly. Instead of having that distant look from the first time she talked about her hero, she’s now looking directly at him, and Chiaki can feel the warmth and gratitude of her gaze, along with a strange ecstatic feeling inside him.

“You saved my life back then. And we both wouldn’t be meeting here again if it weren’t for that.” For some reason, he couldn’t tear his eyes away from her as she spoke. Her words seem to bear more weight to him now that there is someone to receive the admiration she has. Now that he is the one receiving it.

She smiles, the same twinkle reflected in her eyes, and this time, that smile was for him. “Thank you.”

“I...” Chiaki is left dumbstruck at those two words, trailing off from what he was supposed to day. Back in the aquarium, they didn’t mean anything big. It just made him happy before because even though they both almost drowned, she still thanked him. Even though he almost failed, she still looked up to him.

'But why does hearing them again now feel different?‘ , he wonders.

She was still looking at him, probably waiting for him to finish his thought. Still unable to think of a proper response, Chiaki lets out the first words that come to his mind.

“A hero never hesitates when there are people in need, after all.”

And she laughs.

“You said the same thing back then too.” She points out, and only then did Chiaki realize it. It wasn’t really his intention to say the same thing but maybe he never really changed all that much from when she met him.

“Now I’m sure it really is you.”

Chiaki pauses in his thoughts, the nostalgic atmosphere instantly disappearing. “W-Wait, were you actually doubting me earlier?”

“No, not at all.” She calmly says, waving her hand vigorously in denial. “It’s just too good to be true that I thought this was just a dream.” And he awkwardly laughs in return with her, having been worried for nothing.

“A-Anyway, here is your dolphin back if you still need it. Ah, but I feel bad for returning this after learning how you took care of mine well so you can keep both.” He gestures to the said animal on the table, smiling all the while. It was the solution he came up with after mulling over it a few days ago. By letting her keep both, she wouldn’t have to let go of the one she took care of all these years while still getting her original one back.

She, however, seems to be against it. “What? I can’t possibly do that. I mean, you’ve also kept mine all this time and that’ll make me feel equally bad for taking it.” And she pushes the dolphin towards him.

Chiaki shakes his head before pushing it back to her. “It’s totally fine, really.”

At the back of his mind, he was anticipating her to insist on giving him the plush and the funny exchange would go on until one finally gave in. He can feel a sense of deja vu as he preps himself for her response. He was determined to not budge this time.

Unexpectedly, however, she pauses for a moment in deep thought before sighing. “Alright. I’ll take my dolphin back… Thanks.” She pulls the dolphin towards her, and for some reason, he felt a little dismayed that it didn’t go the way he imagined.

She then taps a finger to her chin, humming in thought. “But I don’t really have any more space to keep another one sooo–” She stands up, circling around the table to stand beside Chiaki, and places the dolphin on his hands. “I’m giving this one to you.” She states, smiling while Chiaki stares at her in confusion. Only one word escaped his mouth.

“What?”

“I’m giving you my extra dolphin to keep. So now you can take care of him while I continue looking after yours.” She elaborates, having solved the dilemma he had in just a few minutes. By accepting the returned plush and giving it to him after, it catered both their intentions. Chiaki definitely didn’t expect this response.

She looks at him with such a cool and smug expression that he gives a defeated sigh. She definitely wins this time.

“Well then, I guess this one will be in my care.” He gives the pink dolphin a pat, now formally his, and he can only feel warm and happy seeing her smile widening.

She then walks over to a row of lockers on the other side of the room and opens what he assumes is her locker. Inside was her own dolphin in it’s fading blue color. She takes it out and places it on the table, right in front of Chiaki’s. “I’ll be looking forward to more playdates then.” She says in a higher tone, as if giving the animal plush its own voice, and waves its fin. It was playful and silly, but it was cute.

He gives a small chuckle as he plays along, waving his dolphin’s fin back at hers. “Yeah. I’ll come visit some time.” And they both broke into a hearty laughter.

When she looked up at him again, her eyes showed a gentle glow and her cheeks turned the lightest shade of pink as she beams at him. For a moment there, he can only stare in awe at the sight.

“I hope we can get to know each other more too.”

Chiaki feels a rush of joy welling up in him. All the pleasant emotions are mixing up inside him from her words that it was natural for his face to lift into a smile. “Me too.”

They were silent for a few more seconds, and almost instantly, an awkward atmosphere started to build up. Rubbing a hesitant hand on the back of his head, Chiaki breaks the silence. “So… I was wondering if we can, you know, chat a little more?”

He had a lot of things he wanted to talk about with her. Somehow, after all that has happened today, he feels refreshed and eager to learn more about her. But all those thoughts were flushed down the drain at her immediate response.

“We can’t."

And Chiaki is again thrown into a spiral of surprise and confusion. Her brows were slightly furrowed so he couldn’t tell what they meant. A swarm of questions started to fill his head, unable to determine whether everything had really worked out. He might have gotten carried away with his request.

“–At least not now when my break’s about to be over.” She follows right after, peering at the wall clock by the time sheet with a guilty look. He snaps his head towards the clock as well. It’s been almost an hour since her break started. He terribly lost track of time.

“Right… Totally forgot about that.” His sigh came out as a stammered laugh so she chuckled in amusement. It really did end well. She may have just been teasing him a bit.

“Why don’t we take a walk around the city later after we close shop for the day?”

“That... sounds great.”

Chiaki never expected to meet again someone from his childhood memory, not to mention, one that admired him all this time for saving her. The thought that he was able to be someone’s hero at such a young age, gives him a new-found determination to grow more as a proud member of Ryuseitai.

While he doesn’t know what their friendship would become in the future, what he does know is that spending time with her gives him an unusually pleasant and light feeling. And he’s looking forward to that walk later, and, of course, the other meetings to come.

-

this fic is also up on my ao3, @lightspeedrobin , feel free to give a follow~

Ch.3

[quant-um-fizzx]

Relenting

Synopsis: James Barnes had always been sweet, until he wasn’t. Somewhere along the way, your mutual attraction took a turn. Now, you can’t tell if he’s playing with you or playing you. Then, fate forces some honesty.

Warnings:  Dark!Bucky Barnes x Reader. Smut, Dub-Con (Sex Pollen, my friends), Language, (some) Angst, elements of stalking & emotional manipulation. Explicit, rough sex, slight anal play. Literally the most dirty talk I’ve ever written.

Word Count:  5900

If you’ve come here expecting the comedy erotica or angst I write elsewhere, this is not for you. 

This is for @darkficsyouneveraskedfor‘s writing challenge from the prompt: “Just a little more, baby.” (How we got here from there, I’ll never know.) 

I’ve labeled this Dark!Bucky, but he’s probably more gray than dark. But not the soft, uses-all-the-bath-salts-when-you’re-out-of-town Bucky I’d consider more canon.  

 *****

No one can pinpoint when, nobody’s ready to say it out loud, but Barnes came back different. Off. 

Wrong.

Might’ve been that mission in the Midwest (of all places to find that kind of cult) or when someone got it in their fool head to send him to verify exactly what the stone status was on Vormir. Your money’s on the veiled gateway rift that sucked him in but spit two out; he’d beaten his wild-eyed spare and flung it back into the void the moment it’d lunged for you. 

Chances are it’s not a solitary event, but the culmination of everything. One could hardly blame him if it were. 

Whatever, whenever, he’s not the same. Speech now often sly, maneuvering. Manners slipping into predatory where they’d always been soft.

Sometimes, you think you’re imagining it - cold glint like metal chips in ice eyes - that maybe you only see him differently because of failed romance. 

Now, he delights in flustering you. Taunting and near cruel one moment. Playful, protective the next.  Makes it nearly impossible to get a read on him. 

You find, in spite of your better judgement, uncertainty is its own kind of clever seduction. 

“Hey, I know this isn’t really my business, but whatever happened there?” Bruce inclines his head toward where Barnes stalks by outside the lab windows. His second pass since you started to prepping vials for transport. Dark, rough strides. He slips out of view and the lab seems colder. Sleek, sterile.  Your mind conjures up memories of sandalwood on fleece, in stark contrast to the lab’s xylene and bitter almond air. “Everyone thought you two were a good match.”

You smile, wistful. Mourning. “I had hoped so, too. But,” you sigh, “what makes good theory does not necessarily work in practical execution.”

Banner tsks. “Shame. Ever since you came on board, you both used to get along so well. Even now, he still looks at you like you ought to be picking out curtains.”

You scoff. “‘Used to get along’ until he...never mind. Whatever Sergeant Barnes might really want, it’s not that. And definitely not that with me.” He’d made that perfectly clear.

Suddenly, as if he’d heard you - but he shouldn't have, couldn’t have - Barnes pauses outside. His glance locks on your eyes. You fumble and clink the glass against the tray’s edge. 

Bruce shakes his head, gently using a tremendously large, green hand to steady the tongs you hold. “Careful there. Breaking that in here? Could’ve been ugly.”

“Doctor Banner,” you say, placing the final vial in its slot and trying to shift your attention from the man outside, “your report indicated that universal precautions were sufficient for international transport of these ‘classified contagion’ samples. As I have committed to hand-carrying them, despite possessing insufficient clearance to be privileged with details, if it would be best to utilize hazmat gear and airborne pathogen protocols, not only would I appreciate a full disclosure I would consider it your due diligence to do so.”

He nods. “You’re right. You’re right. It’s really an unknown at this point. I’m just being cautious. Using any iteration of the Hulk as a guinea pig is a scenario I strive to avoid.”

“Fair enough.” You click the lid closed, the half dozen tubes of churning red haze goo nestled securely inside. “Do I wait there for test results?”

“Nah,” Bruce says, already on the way back to his microscope. “Thorough runs could take longer than we can spare you here.”  

Smiling, you return your lab coat to it’s hook, smooth your hair, and give the station a once-over, making sure everything has been completed properly. This also serves as a welcome delay to going out those doors and encountering the long-haired enigma who has plagued your thoughts for longer than you care to admit.

“On second thought,” Banner says, peering up over the eyepiece. “She could have a prelim synthesis to send back in no time. Their tech is so different.” 

Taking a deep breath, you gather your gear and subtly check if Barnes is still nearby. Being off-kilter around him, while handling what you suspect is more dangerous than Bruce is letting on, is the last thing you need. 

Being around Barnes doesn’t feel cordial the way it used to. Warm banter that had felt safe.  

You can’t get a read on him, aren’t sure how you feel around him, about him. 

You don’t love him. Probably easily could.

You might fear him. Probably, definitely should. 

You do...care.

Lately, day in, day out, he’s there. Stalking along the periphery, a shuck peering out from woodlands.

He’s charming, affable enough for everyone else’s comfort. He used to be with you, too. 

Even in a crowded room, he  - sullen growl of a man - used to seem alone. The kind of alone that oozes off a person, rolls out from his shoulders. Used to it. Accustomed to it.

Trust only it. 

When you first tried - heart in your throat and skin gooseflesh - when you first stepped up to that guy, part matinee idol, part drive-in backseat rogue, he’d turned in on himself. Tried to force his large frame to disappear. Behind his barriers, he’d just watched you. Wary. Accessing.

But the next time he’d been holding the wall up, ale bottle in loose metal grip, you didn’t have to look for an opening. He’d lifted his chin and inclined his head toward chairs.

After that, the pair of you could be found engaged in long, private conversations. Content to let whatever ruckus go on around you. Foreheads nearly touching. Fingers not-so-casually brushing together. Your stomach flutters at the memory.

Now, his attention makes the hair on your neck stand up at least as much as it travels down your belly, between your thighs. Puts you on edge, mouse batted between paws. 

When you exit the lab, he’s waiting. Leans his back against a column, arms folded. Legs crossed at the ankles, pants taunt were they wrap around his thighs. His eyes flick to you, his only perceived movement. “Whatcha got there, Red?”  He draws each word out as if puffing smoke.

Your eyes go wide before you can stop them. Left corner of his mouth ticks up, goal met. 

The nickname startles you for a moment. It always does. He dusts the name off, digs it out once in awhile, just when you’ve almost forgotten. When you’ve let your mind scab over that single, awkward date. Forgotten how once upon a time, even his team thought you’d “be good together” and made that final push to fix you up. 

It had been right after the rift clone incident. If you’d not been so caught up in him - that red warmth that unfurled in your chest - you should’ve known. Paid attention to his shift, his change. The tragedy of it all.

You’d worn a crimson silk column dress, French twist, Replique dotted on pulse points. 

He’d worn black jeans and blood-dirt under his nails.

Peering at you over his menu, he’d dropped it down and motioned between you both. “You took this seriously, huh?”

Only just enough to have waxed everything reasonably prudent. 

Crestfallen, your shoulders dropped. Clearly, you thought, you’d misread the prior conversations, his lingering looks, mistakenly thought he returned your interest.

Cheeks on fire, you’d started to fold your napkin and push your chair back. “My apologies, Sergeant Barnes. I won’t take up any more of your time. You may return to the Olympic-level brooding of which you are so fond and I will retire for the evening.”

He’d thrown his head back, barked what might’ve been a laugh. “You’ll ‘retire for the evening?’“ Shook his head. “Red, you’re too much.” He grabbed a waiter - not ours, but Barnes didn’t let that stop him - “Bring us that special and a bottle of whatever makes uptight dames spread their legs these days.”

You sat still, mouth open, staring at your fork. 

He reached out, took your hand in his. Seemed to apologize with his eyes. They held yours, sky fading into sapphire. Held you without touching you. 

You look up behind lashes. “Dinner is just...we can have a good time. Talk.”  

“Yeah, let’s have the Blue Plate. See how it goes.,” he said. 

Then, the air had shifted, when he seemed...vulnerable...he pulled away. 

By the end of the night, the pulse pounds in your ears. You’d talked and laughed and when he walked you home, you knew you’d invite him in. You’d always known.  

He’d walked you to your door, eight-to-ten now-uncharacteristically chivalrous inches between your bodies on the way up the steps. Single bulb buzzing overhead. The key had proven elusive. Always on its ring and placed in the back pocket of your purse, your shaking fingers had let it slip down somewhere in your bag. 

He stepped in closer behind you, looking over your shoulder, breath passing over the shell of your ear. “You need a hand there?”

You jolted up straight, back bumping into his chest. “Thank you,” your voice cracked, “but I think I can manage unlocking my own stupid door.”  You inhaled sharply through your nose. “Excuse me,” you said, sounding mousy even to your own ears. “I didn't mean for that to sound so rude.”

“You didn’t, hmm?” He hums, breath slipping down your neck and he wrapped his right hand low around your waist.

“No,” you swallowed hard. Your skin on fire under his palm. 

“So, you’re saying you would like a hand...” He whispered, smoothing cool fingers down along the space between your hip and thigh. 

Limbs shaking, desire and curiosity and confusion swirling in your veins. You tried to find your voice, leaned against his chest’s blister strum. Shuddered as another warm breath huffed over your skin. 

“Y-yes.”

He spun you and you found your back suddenly against the cold, wooden door. His face hovered, lips barely an inch above your own. 

“As much as I think you think you want this.” He traced your collarbone, eyes burrowing into yours. “As much as I enjoy hearing your heart race.” His finger dipped inside your neckline, under the edge of your bra, skimming pebbled flesh. You shuddered, worried some neighbor might be looking, but unable to tear your gaze away from his. 

“Today’s your lucky day, Red. I am gonna leave ya jus’ the way I found ya.” He pressed himself against you, thigh wedged between yours. “‘Cause, if I stay here on this porch one more minute, with you an’ your wide eyes, smelling like sins you don’t begin to understand…” Stubble grazed your cheek. He hummed, words hot and heavy in your ear. “I think I’d ruin you.”

You wanted to grab his hand and hold it there. To ask him in and show what he did to you, to prove to him...to yourself...that this could be good. Special. Right.     

“You wouldn’t ruin me. I - I trust you, ” you squeaked, instead. Tentatively closed that fractional space, brushed your lips against his. 

He didn’t let it become a kiss. “You misunderstand me.” He moved back a bit, pulled his arm free and ran knuckles down between you, tracing your chest and then grabbing tightly around your waist. Pushed you, a quick snap, deeper into the door.

“I want to.”

Then, he’d bound off the porch and down the steps before the night air had even cooled your skin. Calling out behind him as he cut across the grass, “You aren’t ready, little girl.”

His words play back every night as you fall into fitful sleep.

Now, he looks at you knowingly. Like he knows where your mind was, that shared flickering old film reel memory.

You hold up the vials and manage a small laugh. It’s short. Belies your nerves. 

“Oh, I - I have some things to deliver to Shuri. To Shuri’s lab.” 

“Shuri’s lab.” He says, mouth moving as if rolling around an invisible hay straw. He still leans, unblinking, trained on you. 

A moment of silence as he considers you. Electricity buzzes across your skin. Words rush out of you to fill the void. “Shuri’s lab. In Wakanda. Shuri’s lab.”

His eyes crinkle, pleased as you stumble over your words. “Yeah, I’m familiar.” 

Of course he is. You’re supposed to be smarter than this. 

**

Across the hanger, Clint performs his pre-flight checklist. 

“Change of plans,” he calls out, back still turned to you. “Laura’s got me roped into filming a play tonight.”

“Okay,” you say, unable to fault her for wanting to keep Clint as retired as possible. “I need to put these samples back on ice then.” You start to head back when a shadow emerges from inside the jet. 

Clint says, dryly, “You’re going. Looks like I'm still the only one around here who doesn’t have a Wakanda stamp on my passport.”

Barnes peers down from the quinjet ramp, takes the checklist, and winks. Your stomach drops. 

Clint claps him on the shoulder. “Say ‘hi’ to those damn goats for me.”

Once inside the jet, Barnes gestures toward the insulated box you carry. “That it there? What did Barton call it? Funky Cold Medina?”

Of course. Yes, naturally. That’s exactly what it would be. Aphrodisiac Pheromones. Sex Pollen. 

The mystery of why evil organizations frequently leave a cache of screw-or-die juice sitting around abandoned complexes for wandering bands of Do-Gooders to uncover is as baffling as why they consider rampant libido to be a great offensive strategy in the first place. 

Nodding curtly, acting unruffled by the news, you brush past him and secure it in the cooler. 

**

The plane is at cruising altitude before either of you speak again.

“How long has it been since you’ve been to Wakanda?” You venture, throat tight.

He runs his tongue along his teeth, never looking away from the sky, then answers, “Haven’t been back since Strange showed up.”  He pauses, then continues, “Used to have a nice place there. Best view. Sunsets over still water.” Leans slightly out of his seat in your direction. “I think I wanna take you there.”

A smile comes over you, wide and almost hurting your cheeks. This glimpse of how he’d been, hope tingles along your arms. 

“I’d love that.” And you would. Have him let you in, return to where he’d been and who he was.

“Sure thing,” he says, voice lilting out on a devil smirk. “I could take you there. It’s...secluded. Make you scream.”

“Why do you do that?” The tingles take on a different tenor. 

“Do what?” He sounds believably innocent in the way a prostitute dresses up like a nun. 

You fidget, nails scratching a foreign itch on your palms, and chastise yourself, reminded again why it’s better when you don’t get your hopes up. Don’t act on your urge to spend time with him.  Your once almost more-than-friend...your wishful thinking...seems gone for good. Now, when he comes around, it feels like finding yourself suddenly teetering on a high ledge when you’d expected grass between your toes. 

“Why must you be so...so, crude?” 

“It is. I am. That’s the point though, isn’t it?  You like it,” he says matter-of-factly, looking you up and down, “Hell, you crave it. And that’s what’s got you confused, all tied up in knots.” He turns in his chair, arms bent and leaning on his knees, casual, is if he was discussing new coffee in the common room or a cell phone plan. “Because you’re stuck thinking the goal is a fella wife-ing you up,” he snorts.

“Hell, Red, you’re still stuck thinking you want a guy grunting on top of you Tuesdays from 9 to 9:10 with a meatloaf pan soaking in the sink.” He shakes his head. ”You have hangs-ups and I’m not gonna play along with them like that boring ass agent you wasted time on.”

“Stop,” you whisper. “Please, stop trying to scare me.”

He blows out a lungful of air. “It doesn’t scare you. That I could just take it. That I could have you - have you in all the ways that you won’t let yourself think you want. The thoughts you kill before you can admit them in the back of that beautiful mind of yours. I could have you every one of those ways. But, that’s not how I want it. Not how I want you. What scares you,” he says, leaning in. “What scares you is, that I won’t. I won’t let you keep fooling yourself about what you really want. 

“You know, deep down you know, that’s not how it’s gonna happen. You gotta admit what you need.”

He inches a little closer. “You’re gonna have to beg.”

Your heart stops, eyes unblinking. “You’re wrong.”

“No,’ he says, returning to the controls and beginning your descent. “No, you’re wrong - and I’m a different kind of wrong. I’m so wrong that I’m the only thing right.”

Your head pounds. Stomach lurches as the plane breaks beneath the clouds. “You used to be my friend,” you half-mumble, staring down at your knees. “Sweetheart,” he punches the word out, saccharine-sweet, “I was never meant to be your friend.”

**

Silence stretches out for several more minutes. Only the engine’s hum, lull and dense, barely bats at the thoughts raging in your mind. Barnes’ words, his presence, suffocates you. Even strapped securely in his pilot seat, it feels like he’s crushing your lungs.

The plane lands in an outlying region. 

“I should be back by four,” you spit, container swinging wildly from your fist. The walk is probably twenty minutes from here and you relish the idea of having the quiet to process things.

“Orders are I make sure you’re safe.” He falls in step.

You spin and push a single finger into his chest, stopping him in his tracks. “Your services are not needed, Barnes.”

“Don’t be like that,” he snaps, serious. “Just because you’re pissed at me for saying shit you don’t wanna hear, don’t put yourself in danger.”

“Danger? I think I’m infinitely safer out here. It’s Wakanda, the most advanced place on the planet!” You sweep your arms wide toward the city in the distance, towers like exclamation points jutting out of fields. “I’ll be fine. Besides, the plane could have flown directly to the palace but you’re the one who elected to land way out here.”

He pushes his hair out of his face, holding it up and off his neck. You notice the curve, the warm, inviting color of his skin. He looks out toward the trees, calm as anything, like your outburst never happened. “Guess I can check out the old stomping ground.”

Fighting the urge to flip him off, you march down the ramp, leaving him standing there. “By all means. Go have congress with a goat for all I care.”

**

Mid afternoon, as soon as you break the tree line on your return, he emerges from the woods. Appears freshly bathed in the river, mane wet and loose, shirt clinging to his frame. 

“After you,” he smiles, wolfish, and bows exaggeratedly, inviting you to go first up the ramp. 

Your eyes narrow, but you climb inside anyway. 

Suddenly, coming around from behind you, his hand reaches for the biohazard bag containing the single tube Shuri had sent back.

“What are you doing?” You snatch the bag away, crushing it to your body.

He throws his hands up in mock surrender. “Begging your pardon. Just trying to be a gentleman and carry your bag.”

“Knock it off, Barnes. If you’ve got a predilection for hearing every woman throw themselves at your feet, you can satiate it someplace else.” 

“Oh, I can. Just don’t wanna.” His eyes narrow on the bag and he wrenches it out of your grasp, tosses it unceremoniously into the cooler and slams the door 

You watch the cooler as if the door might burst open and the horny wrath of Hell take flight about the cabin.  When it remains undisturbed until Barnes completes the pre flight rituals, you finally allow yourself to breathe a little deeper and turn away from it.  

“And you wound me,” he croons, spinning his seat into position. “It’s not every woman.”

You roll your eyes, strap in, and swear you’re never giving him the satisfaction of hearing you speak again. 

That resolve, among other things, breaks over the Atlantic.

The air fills, flowery. Like a florist’s shoppe - oh. Oh, god no -  so many scents it feels fake. Cloying and sweet. 

“Wha-What is- we need to land!”

He holds his hand up toward the windshield, water as far as the eye can see. “No problem. Just shout ‘ahoy’ when you spot some dirt.”

You fling aside the belt and run toward the cooler.  Viscous sludge flows slick as mercury on the floor around it. 

“What do you think you’re doing?” Barnes yells from the cockpit. 

You start rummaging through cabinets, looking for something, anything. “Maybe I can dilute it, cut the effects.” You open the cooler and pull the bag out. It’s ruptured, the vial broken and plastic cut, or eaten away by the chemical, it’s hard to tell at this point. 

“By touching it?!” He punches in codes hard enough the key clanks echo. “Stop, just - just wait. Wait two seconds until I can find out what’s what.”

You fling the near empty bag at the back of the plane. “You! You did this on purpose!” The plastic thumps, hollow against the metal door. A roaring, mute thing.

Barnes shakes his head once, hisses between clenched teeth, “You’re the one who smashed it against their chest.” 

Then, he cleanly switches tone - deep and clear - speaking into his earpiece. “Banner. Yeah, we have a situation here.

“The package Shuri sent back has been compromised. We’re mid flight, no safe place to put her down. Need to mitigate effects. Please advise.”  He pauses, presumably listening to Bruce, then purses his lips. “Nothing? Banner, are you sure?” Turns again, gives you a gauging look.

This can’t be happening. Can’t. You start to shake, knees going out from under you.

He keeps his eyes on you, touches the earpiece. “Nothing. Understood. Barnes out.” Then rips it off and throws it hard enough to shatter.

A thousand thoughts swirl at once. Is it really going to work? How long do you have? What if you go at it like rabbits who just got out of prison and then have to face him day-after-day? What if it works on you both but he resists? 

Preemptive humiliation, clawing feral behind your ribs, the terror of possibly being rejected if you, if you...finally admit...

Then, Barnes is there, crouched down beside you, offers you his hand. You wave it away. 

“Doll,” he says, soft, like one might coax a fawn to take berries. “It’s gonna be okay.”

Sniffling, you shake your head. 

“C’mon,” he says softer yet and backing up, giving you space. “Get out of that. Come, sit.” 

You look down and realize the liquid is seeping toward you. Some on your leg. Scrambling past him you make it to the other side of the cabin and slump back down to the floor. He moves away from the spill, but keeps his distance, placing himself on the other side of the aisle. 

“Why?” Betrayal pours out of you.

He sits down on the floor opposite you. Legs bent and knees up, hands clasped and hanging between. “You gotta believe me, the very last thing I want is something happening between us that’s not real.”

You stare at him. He seems so genuine in this moment. But, you force focus, because this is how he always is, right before he pulls the rug out from under you.

When you don’t reply, he breaks the silence again. “Besides, maybe it doesn’t even work. Hasn’t kicked in already. That’s a good sign. I’ve been around that type of shit before,” he pauses, looking off to the right, unfocused on something that isn’t really there, remembering some horror you don’t want to contemplate. “It’s not always so bad.” He shrugs, picks a string off his pants. “Even if it is, if it is...bad, I know I can hold off.”

You can’t look at him. Not when his voice is soft and his words are kind and he reminds you so much of the man you fell...the man you...

dammit.

He gets up slowly. Checks the autopilot. Eases back down where he was. Boots scuffing out in front of him along the metal floor.

“Did you mean what you said?” You venture. He just raises his eyebrows. “When you said you wanted something real with me-with us?” You elaborate, barely audible. 

He clears his throat, rearranges himself on the floor. Stares off at nothing. “Why else would I hold off all this time? At first, sure, I thought you were interesting enough. Probably good for letting off steam.” He looks to you for a moment, then away again. “Then, you just sorta snuck in. Took over. You and your little button up sweaters.” Gives a little chuckle. “Fucking seduced me with your cardigans and ‘Nova’ recaps.” 

Mulling it over, you start to ask, “Then, why do you-”

“You know why.”

He blows out a lungful of air.  “Because I’m not settling for half-ass. Never had much. But they always find a way to take even more.” 

So torn up in your own stupid fears - selfish, petty girl - you never thought about his lot in this. A sob punches out of you. Made and unmade. So many times. Here’s another time, one more damned time, he faces control of himself being torn away.

You don’t know how long you sit there, crying into your hand. Eventually, he swipes a tear from your face. 

He scoots back away. But his touch...lingers. He watches you trace where he’d been, little lightning strikes that turn and shift, then burn. Burns past your skin, thrums in your veins.

“It’s happening.”

“Nah, Doll. We’re halfway home, we’re not gonna do anything we don’t want to do.” 

His voice, coffee rich and smoke, settles in your belly. Your hips clench, rock. You think, this must be the cusp, there’s more to come, but you want to tell him, show him...feel him before you’re so far gone it’s a blur.

Hazy want swirls around him, poppies and violets and jet fuel in the air. Your hand sneaks up under your shirt, the rough outline of it juts out over your breast. He’s sitting up now. Licks his lips. 

“I can’t - noooo,” you say, breathless. It’s scorching now. Boiling, latent want bubbling up. You pull your shirt off, burning.

“I can’t wait,” you plead. He looks so good, always looks so damned good. “I don’t want to wait.”

His back goes straight. Muscles tense. Ready to pounce. 

“Not like this.” His breath has picked up. “Not if you think you can tell yourself later that it was chemicals talking.”

“You want real, Barnes? I’ll give you real,” you purr. Stretch out lythe before him. It’s not so bad, but you know it will be. “I do want this. I want you. Always have.”

He smiles, crooked, but doesn’t move. “That’s nice. Real nice to hear.” Watches your hand go under your clothes, between your legs. “That’s not enough. I could’ve had you back then. Back on your porch. Had you a couple times. Taken the edge off. Maybe gotten it outta our systems. But,” he stops for a moment, seeming to reconsider when you moan as you slip between your folds. He palms the hard length of him. “that’s not enough. I want all of you.”

Electric yearning rolls your shoulders, pressure between your legs frustrating. “Please.”

“‘Please’ what?” He shifts again, watching you, sweat forming on his brow. Fists clenched at his sides.

“I don’t want to date you, Red. Don’t wanna be your boyfriend or any fucking trivial thing like marriage.” Stares you down, blue boring into your soul. “I want more than that meaningless shit.”

Your mind is nothing but the want of him - broad shoulders, his gravel-tired voice, the thick of him. 

Skin on fire with tremors. “Anything you want, Bucky. Everything. Please. I just, just-” you moan, a twisted mess on the floor before him. Voice a shuddered breath.  “You’re right. I want you everywhere. Mark me up. Show me - show me you own me.”

“Fuck yeah, I do.” Then, he’s there. Hands holding your jaw, angling you open, tongue a deep slide. He breaks free, swallows your breaths, presses his head to yours. 

He’s out of his clothes while you fumble with what’s left of your own. They start to rip. “Shush. Let me.” Deftly, he undoes them, sets you free. “You need to wear these later. No one gets to see but me.” His eyes sparkle mischief until the thin sky edge gives way to black.

Cool fingers slide inside you. One, then two. Curl and pump, wet and obscene. Moments and, you’re there. “I’m gonna...I’m gonna come.”

He doesn't let up. “Yeah you are. Give it to me.”  Your head falls forward, clinging, hanging on through a silent scream, wet rushes past his wrist.

“My turn,” he snarls. Towers over your, pushes a finger past your lips, hooks it around you cheek, and pulls you to his cock. Pressure and he angles your face up, finger replaced by thumbs at each side pulling your mouth wide - drool pooling - and pushes the tip onto your tongue. 

You give a tentative lick. Try to work the girth of him while he holds you open. “Look at me,” he says, hair a veil framing his face. “You can do better than that. Don’t hold back.”

You keep your eyes on him, nudge his hands away, work him halfway down, salty musk on the back of your tongue. 

“This ain’t about you being passive, Sugar. Come on. Show me what I do to you. Fucking treat me right,” he growls, grabs your head and shoves as you gag. “I didn’t spend months coming in my own hand, thinking about you, biding my time - waiting to do this right - for you to barely-” 

Fast, determined, almost angry, you swallow him down as far as possible, eyes wet and blurred.  Find the spot behind him, between his legs, warm, heavy, and rub in tight ovals. “Fuuuck - yesssss.” He twists your hair in his hands - holding you in your place. 

“That’s it. Oh god, Sugar, you didn’t just come up with that. What else you got hiding, waiting to show me? So fuckin -“ he shudders as you massage him more, pinky brushing farther back. 

He laughs, surprised. “Dirty girl.” He pulls out, then wraps his hand around your neck, squeezing himself there as he pushes back in. “You got the sweetest goddamn throat.” Thrusts while you run your circuits until he empties himself, head thrown back and thighs straining.

He moves faster than should be humanly possible, unfurls his jacket over the floor grid, and pulls you over it. Wads his shirt under your knees.

“Floor’s hard,” he says, chest rising and falling rapidly. “I only want you feelin’ me.”

“Spread.” He smacks your ass with a sting.

You obey, arch your back, offer yourself. He dives in with his mouth, tongue in deep. When he starts to thumb your clit, constellations bursting behind your eyes, you stop him. “In me. I want to come with you inside me. Only with you inside me.”

He smiles, face slick with you. Straightens, grabs your hips and pulls you to him as he starts his slide in. 

You mewl, palms flat and fingers splayed. Try to relax through the stretch and drag, strain to take the rest of him.

He runs his hand over your spine. “Just a little more, baby,” he coos. “Fuck. Look at you. Takin’ me so good.

“You’re mine. The moment I heard your heart race, you were mine. When I made you wait, you were still mine. When I told you to beg for it and you did, you were mine. When I told you to spread your legs and you did it, you were mine.” He makes a final push, fully seated, sharp spark at your end. Holds you there, pulsing. Then, pulls out long, begins again. 

It’s everything you ever wanted. He was so right. So, so right and you can’t believe you waited for so long and you really need to thank Shuri for not inventing vibranium test tubes. 

“When that bastard wearing my face looked at you, looked at you like he had the right, that’s when-”  He moans long and low, makes a particularly full stroke, air sucking through his teeth. 

“That’s when I knew. No other man could have you. Even if that man was me.”

His hands dig into your hips. Anchoring you. He holds you open, watching. Cold thumb follows the line down the center of you. Stops above where you meet. Pad runs over where you’re tight and untested. 

“Pleeeease,” you keen. You need him. Need him everywhere. 

His hips falter, finesse sacrificed to curious need. 

“Has anyone been in here before?”

“No,” you mewl, debauched, wanton. 

His pace picks up. Harder, slamming, sting against cervix. “I need in there. Fuck. Sugar, let me in.”

Beyond words, you tilt your hips and push back, forcing him in knuckle deep.

“Only me,” he roars. “Promise me. Swear.” He angles over you, spreads you out, chest crushing to the floor. His free hand finds your neck. Pins your down. Breath harsh beside your ear.

“You. Only you.” You come, crying and clenching around him in all the places he is within. 

He pulls out. Kisses your face as he lifts you, turns you to him.

He settles between your waiting thighs - surrounds, nuzzles in, taking in your scent - until there’s nothing you can see, or feel, think, that isn’t him. 

Then he stills. Then watches. Then breathes.

Brushes his warm hand along the curve of your face. Presses a kiss, pillow soft. Weight pinning you down. He pushes fully back in, his head breaking skyward as you take him. 

Hips rolling full - the drag and curve brings him to your chest. His tongue slips along you breast, seeks and teases. Licks and pulls you in. 

His hands wrap around your thighs, anchors you, opens you up. Kisses deep and pushes in, until you’ve run out of you and he’s run out of him.

“Fuuuck, you feel so good. I knew you would. Thought about you every fu- every fucking day.” 

He stops for a moment, beaming down at you. You realize you were the one talking.   

“That’s my girl.” 

Then, he’s moves, ruts, whispers faint praise into your skin. Low. Can’t quite hear.

And you want to hear.

You want to taste his secrets and feel his sounds and listen to his mouth on you.

You push up into him, hard, matching him. You explode again, suddenly. 

“Fuuuuck.  He swells. Rhythm falters. Marks your walls. 

After, you tuck into his side, both of you curled up on the floor. His face is finally relaxed, serene. You press your lips above his heart.

“Bucky, I want you to know, I wanted this, I will always want this. I am yours. It wasn’t just the chemicals.”

He kisses the sweat and tears from your face. Tucks your hair behind your ear. “I know, Red, I know,” he says, eyes sparkling, voice sincere, “Bruce said there was ‘nothing’ to worry about. That wasn’t the pollen - that was just the antidote.”

[theladymeera]

A Little Ghost-Breaking, Part 1

A short fic for @gendryxaryatrash, happy new year!

Things got a bit busy this week and today I had to sit down and read an entire book before overdrive could delete it from my shelf so I didn’t have time to finish this today. Instead we’ll all have to live in suspense until tomorrow! Enjoy!

Bears strong influence from The Haunting of Hill House (the novel), The Ghost and Mister Chicken, Stranger Things, and Ghostbusters. Oh, yeah and there was definitely no influence from that family trip to the Grand Canyon when I was seven.

Here’s the link to it on AO3 [x]

“Wait, are you telling me that you believe in this shit?” Arya asked Gendry, incredulous.

Gendry drew himself up defensively, “Hey, you can’t tell me what I did and did not see. This was way before I ever met you.”

“So you were what, five?”

“Twelve.”

“And you trust your twelve-year-old eyes and brain to tell you that you actually saw a ghost? Not some green light –”

“– it wasn’t green this isn’t Ghostbusters.”

“Or a sheet floating in the wind or whatnot?”

“It didn’t look anything like that.”

“Oh yeah, what did it look like then?”

“It was just this sort of – form – thing, and it spoke. It was muttering something about people I’d never heard of that no one else had heard of when I asked about it but some of those names were in an old family bible that was up in the attic.”

“The ancient family bible was being stored in the attic?”

“Yeah, don’t ask me why it was put up there.”

“Look it was freaky, it was real, and I saw it four different times over that week. And that wasn’t the only weird thing that happened while we were there.”

Arya waved him off and was quiet for a minute. She grabbed her coffee and took a sip, it was starting to get cold. “Well what if we went up there this weekend and checked it out? Then I can prove to you that it was all some elaborate scheme or Joffrey’s or something.”

“Fine. I’ll make the arrangements and this weekend I’ll prove that it was all real and you’ll have to admit that you’re wrong for once.”

Arya rolled her eyes at him but the wager was agreed upon – if she could prove it was all fake he’d have to concede to her restaurant picks for the rest of the year, if he won she’d have to admit that she was wrong and come to all his boring events for the rest of the year.

The drive up to the old farmhouse was long but the scenery was lovely. It was peak season for looking at leaves and Arya made Gendry promise that they’d stop and get pumpkins and cinnamon sugar donuts on their way back on Sunday. The farmhouse was old and dilapidated, about three hundred years old Gendry told her. Considering the age, the distance from any other people, and the long dirt driveway leading to the place Arya figured that Robert Baratheon must have chosen the spot for a vacation with all his children as a way to punish the wealthier ones such as Joffrey. Though Arya had no doubts someone as messed up and vindictive as him would have found some way to entertain himself anyway. She hoped the barn cats had all steered clear of the cretin.

The boards on the porch were a bit shabby from decades of feet pounding on them, Gendry knew a surprising amount about the house and could tell her that the porch had been replaced within the last fifty years. The floors inside the house were much older though, the original hardwood had been cleaned and polished recently – obviously the owners would have had the house cleaned before the weekend guests got there. These boards were truly well-worn with slight grooves in the paths that feet tended to go often. Arya tried to avoid those spots as much as possible, making a game out of stepping in the oddest places. Gendry’s teasing her by shouting “Parkour!” every time she made a particularly difficult move didn’t stop her.

There was nothing remarkable about the three-story house Arya thought. There weren’t even any particularly old and shabby blankets or memorabilia that she was used to seeing in such lived-in places. In fact nearly everything in the place was new except for the structure itself.

“Remind me again why you thought this place was so creepy?” Arya asked her boyfriend as she peered into the disappointingly empty chest at the foot of their bed.

“You haven’t seen the root cellar yet for one,” Gendry told her as he deposited their bags in the closet. “It’s also very different at night. Even without the ghosts there’s the wind coming up off the coast and sometimes I could’ve sworn we were hearing wolves howl outside even though they were killed off centuries ago.”

“So there are ghost wolves too? Sounds like my kind of thing.” Arya flopped down on the bed, checking the firmness of the mattress. It was new and felt just right for her back. She’d been expecting one of those ancient ones that are either rock hard and squeaky or that are so worn the springs would stick into her back.

“This is a nice mattress,” Gendry sighs, “Way better than the old ones.”

Arya twiddled her thumbs over her stomach, letting herself relax for a moment. It was a nice mattress, just not what she was expecting from the age of the place. “What’s this about a cellar?” she said when Gendry got relaxed enough to start snoring.

He woke with a start and begrudgingly led her to the trapdoor into the cellar. He hadn’t been joking about it being creepy. The place was a dugout under the house, the shelves were clearly ancient and covered in cobwebs. Both Arya and Gendry avoided those because if there was any place to get bitten by a spider it was down there or in the barn. Arya got several fantastic pictures of the light shining through the cracks and spaces in-between the slats and of the abandoned tack and farm equipment. By the time she was finished it was getting dark out. The coastal wind whipped Arya’s hair into her face determinedly on the walk back to the house and Nymeria was howling for her dinner. “I think I found your ghost wolf babe!” Arya shouted back to Gendry.

“Does she normally howl for dinner?”

“Nah, but I’m not right there or anything tonight. Don’t be such a wuss.”

Their dinner was a fresh clam chowder and sourdough bread that Arya had insisted on picking up when they passed through the nearest town. Arya had developed a fondness for seafood and sourdough bread in college and while she liked cooking and was good at it she didn’t have much experience with seafood or sourdough and she figured it was worth it to get some since she didn’t get towards the coast very often. “Besides,” she told Gendry when they stopped for the food, “I’d like to spend our first night at the cabin-thing doing something other than cooking.” Gendry appeared to have gotten the wrong idea about her planned activities but she didn’t correct him, after all she might lean that way herself later.

“So,” Arya started when they’d finished washing up, “do we need to do anything special to make the ghosts come out or d’ya think they’ll come on their own.”

Gendry glared at her for a moment before answering, “I don’t recall anyone acting out of the ordinary before the ghosts showed up last time.”

“I think I saw games in one of those cupboards upstairs, do you want to play Monopoly while we wait?”

“The real question is,” and Gendry leaned forward across the table, “are you ready to lose Monopoly?”

Arya did lose Monopoly, or so Gendry insisted she would have had she not decided the game was over and packed it up by the time it became clear she wasn’t going to win. She won the drawn-out game of Scrabble that was made more difficult by a lack of cell service – “Odd,” Arya thought to herself, “I still had coverage when we got here.” But to admit that it was weird would have felt like she was conceding to Gendry’s insanity and she would not allow that. “It’s probably just because of the wind or something,” she assured herself. After they’d either played or rejected all of their options Arya excused herself to the creepy shower and with the exception of the spiders she had to wash down the drain it wasn’t so bad. Her dorm had been much worse. “At least we don’t have to use the outhouse,” Arya said to her reflection as she brushed her teeth. The thing was still standing and had been filled with very large spiders when Gendry had opened the door on their tour. It reminded her too much of her family’s vacation to the Grand Canyon when she was little. She’d gotten a urinary tract infection from holding it too long because her only opportunity to relieve herself for a five-hour period when she needed to go was in an old, creaky outhouse and she hadn’t gone because there had been a tarantula on the seat.

By the time the two of them had curled up together, Gendry’s arm thrown over her waist and Nymeria laid out along the foot of the bed, Arya had nearly forgotten that she’d come there for a possible ghost-breaking. But Gendry was already asleep and he’d sworn he and his half-siblings and cousins hadn’t done a thing when he was here before, the ghosts had just shown up during the night though they weren’t as interactive as they were in A Christmas Carol. Arya shifted so there was less weight on her arm and went peacefully to sleep.

Much later Arya began to wake, faintly aware that Nymeria was growling on the edge of the bed and Arya could have sworn she heard a long “CREEEEEAAK” somewhere nearby. It was also freezing and Arya pulled the blanket tighter around herself, snuggling back towards Gendry’s warm embrace.

“Nymeria hush there’s nothing there” Arya mumbled but the wolfdog didn’t listen. Instead she stood up and growled louder, Arya could see the whites of Nymeria’s teeth in the dim light that filtered through the window. There was nothing there in the space between the bed and the door. Only there was. Arya froze. There, in the three feet between the chair by which Arya had deposited her shoes and the door to the hallway there was a – a shape. The faint outline of a person. It was sort of luminescent like the little glow-in-the-dark stars Arya and Sansa had both once collected and stuck all over their shared room.

Then, over Nymeria’s vicious growls and little warning yips Arya heard murmuring. She couldn’t quite make out the words but they were coming from the direction of the vaguely colonial historical-reenactment womanish figure Arya could almost make out in the dim light. Arya didn’t move, didn’t speak, didn’t breathe but Nymeria kept growling, the figure kept murmuring, and Gendry’s arm tightened around Arya as he woke up. There was a ticklish sensation running up Arya’s leg and she twitched, there was a slight sting on the back of her thigh and she yelped. Nymeria lept off the bed towards the door and the figure – whatever it was – was gone.

Gendry struggled and rolled out of the bed, landing on the floor with an unmanly shriek and a thump before he stumbled to his feet and turned on the lamp. He threw back the covers and Arya turned to see what he was about. She saw a rather large spider running across the sheet before Gendry’s hand flipped it off and into the darkness towards the wall. Arya scrambled away and said shakily “did you see what kind it was?”

“No, sorry.”

Arya turned back towards the door, “Nymeria get back up here” she said, patting the bed. “I don’t know what got into her” she lied, settling back down and keeping her face away from Gendry.

“Oh sure you don’t know. I know you were awake and scared out of your little mind,” he grumbled but he climbed back into the bed and turned off the lamp. Arya did not deign to reply.

[cosmiclunarprincess-fanfic]

A Succubus Tale (Series) Pt.3

Feeding Time

Fandom: Marvel

Pairing

: Bucky x Reader 

Characters: Bucky Barnes, Steve Rodgers, Natasha Romanoff, Wanda maximoff, Sam Wilson, basically the Avengers lmao

Warnings: I’m not the best when it comes to following writing rules. I pretty much write how I want to, so if you’re a stickler for grammar and what not just ignore it or don’t read loll (I’m nice I promise). Swearing, Anxiety, Kissing, Some Kinks, Fingering, A Lot of Smut.

( Word Count: 2236  )

Tags: @5aftermidnight @stevieboyharrington

Plot: Now a part of The Avengers, you’ve moved into Avengers HQ met the rest of the team and settled in. While wondering you run into Bucky and you two have a steamy encounter, where you discover something new about your powers.

I flinched feeling the cold of his metal hand reach into the band of my sweats and down to my dripping core. His other arm wrapping around my waist pulling my hips away from the wall. “Spread your legs a little for me sweetheart” He said placing kisses on my shoulder. I did as he asked while taking my hands off of the wall, to pull my sweats and then my panties off allowing him easier access to me. Bucky’s metal fingers caressed my folds with a gentleness didn’t expect from him. He went slow teasing me. A whimper escaped my lips begging him to do more. I could feel him smile into my neck as his fingers began rubbing tender circles on my clit.

My knees buckles, good thing he was holding me up with his arm or I might’ve been on the floor. I moaned grinding onto his fingers still wanting more. When he stopped, I groaned in frustration. His fingers slid back from my clit until one of them was slowly sliding inside me. I inhaled deeply enjoying the feeling of something filling me up. I arched my back and began moving my hips back and forth. His finger was at just the right angle hitting my spot perfectly. Bucky wrapped his arm around my waist even tighter stopping my movement.

“You just take what you want don’t you?” He asked releasing his grip on me to brush my hair away from my neck, then he was holding me again.

Slowly his finger began moving in and out. His lips attacking my neck once more this time he was relentless biting and sucking at my skin roughly. I knew a mark would be there for days but I didn’t care. He pulled his finger a third of the way out re adjusting his hand to place two fingers inside. I gasped at the feeling, I thought one of his fingers felt good but two of them was amazing. He explored the walls of my pussy gently with his fingers before he began pumping them in and out of me hard and fast.

At this point I was moaning so loud I was sure everyone in the building could hear me. I bit my lip feeling my wetness run down my leg. I’m sure his hand was covered by this time. I was getting so close. My walls began tightening around his fingers, waves of heat and pleasure consuming me. Bucky didn’t let up. His fingers pounding me in a way I’d never felt before. He pulled his head away from my neck to look at me.

“Look at that face.” He said smiling with satisfaction. I groaned reaching down pulling his hand from around my waist and placing his hand around neck.

I was done for. My eyes rolled back, I dug my nails into the skin of his arm. He growled, the speed of his fingers increasing. “I’m gonna cu- I’m cumi…” I couldn’t even form coherent sentences at this point. He groaned squeezing my neck even tighter. “Go ahead baby, cum all over my fingers.” My entire body tensed up, waves of intense pleasure washing over me, my walls contracting on Bucky’s fingers over and over again as I came all over him just like he wanted.

My breathing heavy and even. I stood in that same spot for another minute while I came down from my orgasmic high. Bucky kept his fingers inside me until I calmed down. Then he gently pulled them out. I shuddered feeling a bit of aftershock. I heard him chuckle. “What’s so funny?” I asked turning to face him smiling.

“Nothing, stay there.” He walked around the corner and to the back on the room grabbing towel. He brought it back and began cleaning me off and then himself. I was about to pull my clothes back on but he beat me to it gently pulling up my panties and sweats. He bent down and kissed me. I pulled back looking down at the bulge in his pants.

“What about you?”

“I’m fi…”

Bucky began to blink rapidly, he stumbled back a bit before catching himself. He shook his head trying to get rid of the dizziness. I walked over and rubbed his back. “Hey are you okay?”  He brushed the hair from his face.

“Yea I’m okay. Sometimes I get these headaches, it’s nothing.”

“You scared me there for a sec.”

“Nah its nothing I’m good, but when did you get in here? I didn’t even hear the door open.”

“What do you mean?” I giggled. I assumed he meant when I first came into the room. “I mean I was here doing inventory on the armory because I couldn’t sleep and the next thing I know I have this headache and you’re here asking if I’m ok.” I took a step away so that could look him in the eyes. A serious expression was written on his face very different form the loving one he had just moment ago. “Bucky, you can’t be serious right now?” I stood there waiting for him to come to his senses.

“You’re telling me you don’t remember anything that just happened?”

“What exactly am I supposed to remember?”

“Come on you can’t just forget something like that?” He chuckled walking back to his station where he had been doing inventory. “I think you’re sleep deprived it’s pretty late and plus you start training in the morning, go and get some rest. I have work to do here anyway.” He was so cold to me. Did he really not remember what happened between us? It literally just happened and it was amazing. You can’t just forget a moment like that. He turned to see me still standing in the same spot. He got up and walked over to me. “Tell you what why don’t I walk you back to your room so you don’t get lost huh?” I was at a loss for words it seemed like my feet just moved on their own. I was out of it the entire time we were walking when we finally got to my room Bucky said good night and left me there standing outside of my door in the middle of the night like some lost puppy.

I walked into my room a plopped on the bed face first. How could he just forget like that?I thought to myself. This man had just given me the best orgasm of my life and he didn’t even remember doing. I sat up racking my rain trying to figure out what could’ve happened to make him forget. It couldn’t be anything to do with hydra he’d been with the Avengers for two years straight and hydra was all but destroyed. Could it be some kind of trick? He could be pretending not to remember just to play with me…no Bucky isn’t the playing type as far as I know. I was a little upset but I decided to let it go, I’d never been the type to cry over a guy and I wasn’t about to start now. I crawled up my bed and just as I was about to climb under the covers this surge of energy came rushing through my body I looked down and my lower half was covered in this light pink smoke like cloud. Freaked out I ran to the full-length mirror on my wall and sure enough my whole entire body was cloaked in this thing, I had no idea what it was. It felt hot and tingly like electricity. I tried rubbing it off and that didn’t work. Then I absorbed it into my body through my skin. Now it felt good. I felt powerful, sexy and strong. I couldn’t help but look into the mirror and loving what I saw. I decided to take some sexy selfies to showcase just how hot I was but I picked up my phone, it shattered in my hand. My other hand shot up to my mouth shock. The pieces of the broken phone fell to the floor. Next to me.

What just happened? I thought to myself I knew I wasn’t that strong before. I looked down at my hands. “What’s happening to me?” I said to myself alone in my room.

The next morning, I woke up to an alarm that was effective yet not harsh at all. It went off on its own when I opened my eyes. I sat up in bed feeling relaxed and euphoric. “Thank god last night was a dream” I said while yawing. When I placed my feet on the floor to get out of bed something poked me in the foot. I looked down to see what it was…and there was my phone in pieces on the floor. “Oh no, are you kidding me?” I through my hands in the air frustrated at the fact that all the events that took place last night were real. I went to the bathroom to get ready. I took a nice shower, brushed my teeth, I thought about washing my hair but I wasn’t mentally prepared for drying and styling and shit. I knew I was going to be training so I put on a pair black high waist leggings, a hot pink sports bra with straps that went down my torso, a black pull over hoodie that said baby girl on the front and some black and pink Nike free runs. If I was gonna go down there and get my ass beat I was going to look damn good doing it. I took one last look in the mirror spraying some chanel N°5 on my pulse points before walking out the door.

I walked into the common and headed straight for the fridge and grabbed a grapefruit and overnight oats I had made last night and some water. I grabbed a plate, spoon, some sugar for my grapefruit and sat at the middle table. I guess today was sleep in day and I never got the memo because it seemed like I was the only one awake. I sat alone eating for about ten minutes when everyone started rolling in. “Look at you up all bright and early” Natasha nudged me a little as she walked by. “Ha yea I wanted to make a good impression.” She waved her hand shooing my comment away. “Y/N you don’t have to do anything to impress us. Especially not me I already like you a lot.”

“I second that.” Wanda chimed in from behind her coffee cup.

“Third.” Sam raised his hand smiling at me. I smiled back. “Ahh, Fourth.” Steve stretched as he sat in the seat next to me. His plate was loaded with healthy protein filled foods. I took a bite of my grapefruit. “Wow, are you really gonna eat all that?” Steve snickered while starting to eat his food.

“Yea, I am. This body needs fuel same as everyone else.”

“True, true. Especially for all your…extracurricular activities huh?” I winked nudging him with my elbow a bit. Everyone except Steve bursts out into a fit of laughs. He had a confused look on his face. “You mean like on missions, right?” That’s just made us laugh even harder. “No Steve I mean…you know what never mind. You enjoy your breakfast.” I gave him a reassuring pat on the back. Natasha was sitting across from us eating a bran muffin. “Remember earlier when I said I liked you, I lied I meant I love you.” We high fived and began having meaningless girl talk. A few moments later Bucky walked in he gave the room a general “Good morning” and made himself some food. He sat next to Steve. They started going over my training regime for the day. After everyone had there breakfast we all headed to the training rooms. We stretched and got right to it. Steve my first trainer for the day. He had a clip board and a timer ready to record all my results. “So,

Y/N the first thing we’re gonna do is see that kind of physical condition you’re in right now and go from there. I nodded. “So, I want you to run a mile for me, that’s gonna be four times around the track. Can you do that for me?” I took a deep breath thinking what did I get myself into.

I took a deep breath and went to the Steve had shown to me. He yelled across to me. “Ready?”

I yelled back “Yea!”

“Okay on the count of three. One, two, three.” I took off running, a light jog at first gradually running faster and faster. My body started to feel hot and tingly, just like it did the night before and before I knew it I finished my fourth lap. I was barely out of breath which was both shocking and exciting. Jogged over to where the rest of the group was. When I got to them they all had looks of shock and or confusion on their faces. “Why are you guys looking at me like that?” I asked partially not wanting to know. Sam broke the silence.

“You just beat both their records girl!”

“Who’s?”

“Them.” Sam took a step back not wanting to be seen he pointed to Steve and Bucky.

Continued in Pt.4 Coming soon…

[thirstygirlclub]

Duchess - 5

Chapter 5 –  I’ve really confused you, haven’t I?

I just wanna say this chapter is really fucking cute and I love Happy and Cat together and this chapter is literally 2000 words of her being confused and it’s adorable.

Happy/3rd POV

Happy was sat in the bar when Clay, Jax, Tig and Chibs came back from the meeting with Mr Duke-Dillinger. He sipped on his beer as they walked in chatting animatedly about what had happened and laughing about something happening to Jeremy Vivaldi.

“When the dog fucking bit him!” Chibs laughed and grabbed his hand as if imitating how Jerry had pulled his hand away, “I don’t think I could’ve stopped laughing if he paid me a million dollars!”

Tig howled with laughter as well and Happy knew exactly what dog he was talking about. He looked up at them with interest, listening intently to what they were saying. Something about Catherine’s little rat-dog biting Mr Duke-Dillinger’s business partner on the hand and Catherine walking out crying.

“That family is real mean to her, man,” Jax said once the laughter had died down, “they’ve made her feel like she’s not good at anything and she called herself dumb…”

Happy felt himself bristling up at the mention of the girl who had been so kind and gentle to his dog. Most people were scared of Scrap but Catherine hadn’t even given him a second thought and fussed him with just as much love as she showed her little, perfect dog.

“Yeah,” Clay interjected, sitting across from Happy with the rest of the guys joining him, “when you were outside they called her beautiful but stupid; Jerry’s exact words were, ‘she’s more like an ornamental doll than a computer; she is useless.’”

“Bastards,” Jax spat, “they know that’s their kid right? You can’t say that about your family in front of a bunch of strangers.”

Catherine seemed to be the topic of choice for them, not the actual events of the meeting. They all agreed that she was pretty and cute but maybe she wasn’t the most intelligent of people. Jax brought up the fact that she got confused about the difference between his house and the clubhouse but Happy thought that was an easy mistake to make if you didn’t know they didn’t live in the clubhouse. He didn’t say anything though, obviously. Jax also told them about Catherine saying she failed school, no big deal in Happy’s opinion, and that she apologised for almost everything.

“Poor kid,” Chibs sighed and took a sip of his beer, “I feel kind of bad for her. The brother seems like a bit of a shit.”

“Nah, he’s cool,” Jax shrugged, “just a rich kid.”

Once the conversation about Catherine had been exhausted, they started talking about what had actually been spoken about in the meeting. Jerry had told them that they had run into some trouble with a few of the investors for the project and Mr Duke-Dillinger had made a deal with some pretty bad people to get the funding for it so they would need to at least lower the amount of money the sons were being paid. Clay hadn’t let them pull out of the ‘protection order’ or even lower the amount they would be being paid but nobody had expected that he would; Mr Duke-Dillinger and Jerry were just going to have to find a way to both fund the project and pay the SOA.

“You heard she’s never had a boyfriend?” Tig asked in that same conspiratorial voice that he always used when he was talking about her, “imagine that? How old is she, 18?”

“23,” Jax corrected.

“23.” Tig mused, “I cant even remember being 23.”

“That’s ‘cause you’re an old bastard!” Chibs laughed.

Tig’s offended face made Happy smile and the other guys laugh.

It was a few days until they heard from the family again. Catherine had driven her car into the TM lot, dog in the passenger seat with Mr Duke-Dillinger following in his sports car. The younger woman stepped out, tossing her golden blonde hair over her shoulder and waiting until Romeo jumped out before slamming the door shut. As soon as Happy saw her he ducked into the mechanics store room to ‘look for something’ as she went towards the office, shoes clomping over the concrete and Romeo skipping by her ankles. Mr Duke-Dillinger waited until his daughter reappeared with Gemma to get out of his car, asking where Clay was.

Happy peered out from the doorway of the storeroom to watch the blonde girl talk to Jax, looking slightly sad and a whole lot more angry. She had her arms folded and her left hip jutting out to one side and her foot tapping on the ground. When he looked down at her bare legs, he noticed a dark blue/purple bruise just under the leg of her shorts. Happy had seen, and caused, enough bruises in his life to recognise it as it being from someone holding onto her too tightly. It would have caused her pain and that made him feel even worse. Who would want to hurt her? He had his suspicions but even Happy knew to have some restraint from going out and punching a rich guy in the face.

“What are you doing in here?!” He heard a quiet, British voice ask from the other side of the door, it was Viv, Chibs’ old lady, daughter of Clay Morrow and one of Happy’s closest and most trusted friends, “Hap?”

“Nothing,” Happy said with only a slight jump of surprise, “just looking for-” he picked up a car rag, “this. Why?”

“Because,” Viv laughed and leant against the doorway, “it looks like you’re spying on that girl.”

“I’m not spying.”

Viv followed Happy as he walked back over to the car he was working on and started polishing a random section but keeping his eyes on Catherine. Viv chuckled and Happy knew she had seen right through him, like she always did, and folded her arms.

“If you like her, go talk to her.”

“I don’t. I don’t even know her.”

“Liar! You’ve not taken your eyes off her since she came in! Who is she?”

Happy sighed and quietly informed his friend about who she was, about how she had spoken to his dog and the first time he noticed her pretty grey eyes in the light of a broken vending machine. His friend was looking at him with a small, fond smile and leaning her back against the car so that he was blocked from Catherine’s line of sight to hide how he was blushing slightly and had a smile of his own on his face.

“Oh, hey Mr Lowman!” they heard Catherine say, “I didn’t see you there! How are you?”

Happy looked up and saw Catherine stood behind him. He prayed she hadn’t heard him talking about her but she didn’t seem too. He nodded a greeting to her and Viv shot him a smug smile before letting them know that she needed to help her dad with… something and leaving them too it.

“Wow,” Catherine breathed, “she’s really pretty! She your girlfriend?”

“No,” Happy said quickly, “she’s Chibs’ lady.”

She looked at him with a confused expression, that he thought was incredibly cute, and shook her head. Obviously, she didn’t know who Chibs was even though she had met him at least twice before but he guessed she probably didn’t care either; she only knew who he was because her nanny made her talk to him and he had a dog.

“Hey Hap? You seen Viv? She said she’d be here but…” Chibs said, coming towards them, “hi Lass, you alright? I hope you’re ok after the other day.”

Catherine looked up at him with the same confused expression she had given Happy. The Scotsman looked between her and Happy with a raised eyebrow after she hadn’t said anything after she hadn’t spoken for a while. Happy felt himself smile slightly; the other man must have confused her somehow although he couldn’t tell why.

“Chibs,” Happy introduced her, gesturing towards the other man then back to her, “Catherine.”

Realisation dawned on the girls face and she stuck her hand out to shake his. Romeo sniffed around Happy’s feet before settling down to sit on his left foot, watching his momma and wagging his tail.

“Are you German?” Catherine asked him when she got her hand back.

Chibs, possibly the most Scottish person Happy had ever met, laughed but then stopped quickly once he realised she was being serious. He shuffled to rest his weight on one foot and put his hands on his hips, classic Chibs.

“Am I German?” He asked her, humour in his voice.

“I don’t know,” Catherine shrugged but she wasn’t being sarcastic, “are you German? You sound kind of weird and I think you are German.”

“No sweet pea. I’m Scottish…”

“From Scotland,” Happy clarified when her confused expression returned.

“I know where Scottish people live, Mr Lowman,” she laughed and rolled her eyes; looking at him with a small smile.

Chibs blinked in confusion. He started to see what people meant when they said she wasn’t the brightest of people but Happy almost looked like he was smiling; he found her funny.

“But I live here,” Chibs said then immediately regretted it when she looked around the work area, “in America, I mean. Not… here.”

“Oh. Me too! Did it take you long to learn English? I could literally never learn a new language”

Happy covered his mouth with his hand to hide the grin that was now fully formed on his face. Chibs had no words to even try to begin explaining to her about how Scottish people do speak English but there is also a language of their own but few people speak it. Just then, Viv came over shouting for Chibs but calling him Filip and this set a whole new level of confusion on Catherine’s face.

“There you are!” Viv scolded Chibs, “I have been looking everywhere for you Filip! What have you been doing? Are you ready to go?”

“I thought your name was Chibs?” Catherine asked, her frown deepening and her arms crossing over her chest, she looked extremely stressed, “I just- what? And you’re not American, you’re British?”

Happy bit back his laughter, pressing his hand tighter to his mouth. Chibs looked at him with a really lost look on his face and Viv was smiling at Catherine. Viv nodded and told her that she grew up in England so yes, she was British before patiently explaining to her about Chibs’ nickname and how he got it; telling her his real name was Filip but the guys called him Chibs.

“Oh sweetheart,” Chibs smiled kindly, “I’ve really confused you, haven’t I?”

Happy glared at him when Catherine hung her head, trying to hide her blush beneath her hair. He was angry that she was embarrassed when it was a kind of complicated thing to think about.

“Oh Mr Lowman,” she sighed, looking up at him with wide, confused eyes, “my brain feels hot.”

He pressed his lips together and nodded at her with understanding. At least he understood why she found it so confusing. She nodded back at him with furrowed eyebrows and creases on her forehead. Chibs looked between them now, finally understanding what was happening. Viv stepped forwards and put her hand on Catherine’s shoulder.

“Why don’t,” Viv said with a mischievous glance at Happy who shook his head at her with slightly wide eyes, “you come to a party on Friday? You can bring your brother if you like? I assume you won’t be drinking so you can come for a diet coke and a bit of a dance, yeah? You’ll have fun, I promise.”

“Oh, Mrs Chibs, I don’t think that would be a good idea! I don’t think Daddy would like it if I came to a party here.”

“You’re a grown up, right? Why not? It’s not like your Dad can control you forever. Besides, it’ll do you good to get out and meet people from Charming.”

Happy knew Catherine wouldn’t be able to say no to Viv; if she had all of the Sons wrapped around her finger and doing what she said, Catherine had no chance. The blonde girl thought for a moment before nodding with a smile. Happy wasn’t sure whether to be pleased or worried that she would be joining them for Friday night.

“Right, Mrs Chibs,” the scot said and tugged her arm, “we’ve got a table booked. Let’s go. See you on Friday, Catherine.”

“Bye! Thanks for the invite Mr and Mrs Chibs. See you on Friday.”

Happy smiled again at how adorably confused she was. What was even more endearing is that she was so convinced she had everything right. He tapped her on the arm as she waved goodbye to the couple. When she looked at him, she was smiling; obviously over her previous confusion. He pointed to where her dad was leaving the office with papers in his hands and her face fell.

“Oh,” she said, “I forgot about that. I can’t believe Daddy is selling my car to Mr Morrow just because Romeo bit Uncle Jerry. It’s literally so unfair. It wasn’t his fault! Uncle Jerry shouldn’t have tried to stop me from walking out; if he hadn’t done that he wouldn’t have been hurt. You know?”

He glanced down at the bruise on the top of her thigh and scowled. Perhaps it was this Jerry that had hurt her. He could ask her on Friday once he had had a beer or two, for courage. If her dog had bit the man than he was obviously not a good person. You should always trust a dog’s judge of character; they know the difference between a good and bad person.

“Ugh, and now I have to get a job. What am I supposed to do, Mr Lowman? I wish I was clever, I could have like, any job I wanted if I was clever.”

“Hey,” Happy interrupted her, “just ‘cause you ain’t good at math doesn’t mean you ain’t clever.”

She looked at him like she was going to cry but she didn’t look sad. It was like she hadn’t heard that before and Happy wasn’t sure where to look. He didn’t want to look at her; he wasn’t good with crying women but at the same time he didn’t just want to leave her to cry in the middle of the workshop. He put his hand on her hair and ruffled the perfect blonde curls into a mess with a slight smile until she laughed and pushed his hand away gently. She ducked out from under his hand with another laugh and straightened out her hair as best as she could. He was happy he had made her smile and wanted to make her laugh more.

“Thank you, Mr Lowman,” she said, still smiling up at him, “that- that’s really nice of you.”

He nodded but then looked to his left as her dad shouted her over. Happy noticed the quiet growl that came from her dog, even if she didn’t. Catherine huffed and stamped her foot slightly before turning to say goodbye to Happy and pick up her dog. Happy nodded a farewell and watched after her as she walked slowly over to her dad.

“Are you kidding?!” She suddenly shouted, “I don’t even get the money for it? Daddy!”

“Get in the car sweetheart, we’ll talk about it later,” Mr Duke-Dillinger hissed, looking around with a frown, “come on, in.”

Catherine huffed, stamping her foot again and got in the passenger side of the sports car. Happy didn’t miss the glare he received off of Mr Duke-Dillinger but he made sure to fix him with the darkest look he could muster, smirking when the man went pale and looked away. He kept his eyes on the car as it backed out of the lot and drove away.

Once it was gone, Happy stalked across to the office to talk to Clay and Jax. When he stepped in they stopped talking and looked at him.

“What happened?” he asked them.

“Mr Duke-Dillinger just exchanged her car for a month’s worth of protection. They are gonna run out of money eventually,” Clay said with a smirk as he leant back in his chair, “poor little rich girl is gonna have to get a job and work for once in her life.”

They chuckled when Happy left wordlessly and with a slight scowl on his face.

Catherine POV

I sat with my arms folded as Daddy gave me a stern talking to. He was talking about boring things like responsibility and working and being an adult. The doors of the car had been locked so I couldn’t get out when he reached a red light, like I had planned, and had to listen to him talk at me. I nodded and made agreeing noises as he spoke to make it seem like I was listening but I was actually thinking about Mr Lowman and Mrs and Mr Chibs. They were nice, even if they did confuse me. Mr Lowman had been really nice to me when he didn’t need too. I smiled when I thought back to when he messed up my hair; he had been more gentle than I had expected him to be. He had smiled at me too and that was nice.

“Are you listening Catherine?” Daddy asked harshly.

“Yes Daddy,” I said automatically.

Then he continued to talk until we got home. As soon as the doors were unlocked I jumped out with Romeo in my arms and stormed through the front door to go up to my room. Greta came in not long after and sat with me on the bed, asking if I wanted to play the piano with her but all I wanted to do was eat and sleep.

The next day, I was trawling around the streets of Charming, looking into all of the businesses asking if there were any jobs but it was like no one wanted to hire me. I guess they could tell I was stupid just by looking at me.

“Try in here Miss Cat,” Greta said and pointed to a door.

“Nanny, that’s a strip club,” I sighed in defeat, “I don’t think Daddy would be happy about me being a stripper. Come on, I’ll try that diner.”

“It’s called The Velvet Lounge Miss Cat. That doesn’t sound like just any strip club. Besides, what’s wrong with being a stripper? I was a stripper at your age and I made good money.”

I looked back at her with a laugh. Nothing surprised me about Greta anymore. Before I could say anything she was shuffling inside with her handbag clutched in her arm and looking around curiously. I sighed and followed her inside and was surprised by how classy it all looked. It was also pretty full considering it was a Wednesday afternoon. It was also not a strip club; it was more of a high class bar with lots of people in suits and ladies in dresses all talking quietly with fancy drinks in their hands. I looked around, amazed at the fact I had never been in here before; it looks like the kind of place that Daddy and Jerry would love to come too.

I followed Greta over to the bar to talk to the bartender. He looked at her with a polite smile and then at me. I smiled back. He was a relatively young guy but older than me; he was maybe about 35ish?

“Hello young man,” Greta said, “is there someone I can talk too about getting my lovely Miss Cat here a job? A manager perhaps?”

“Oh,” the guy said, “yeah sure! I’m actually the owner, my name it Theo Martin. It’s nice to meet you, Miss Cat.”

“Please,” I laughed at Greta and held out my hand for him to shake, “call me Catherine. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Catherine,” Theo repeated, “pleasure’s all mine. What kind of thing were you looking to do? We’ve got an opening for a cocktail waiter or waitress? Have you done this kind of thing before?”

“Oh… well, no not really. I mean, I have had things served to me?”

Theo laughed and nodded. Greta sat herself onto a bar stool while I talked to Theo. He explained to me about the job; pointing out a couple of people dressed in waistcoats and ties walking around with silver trays in their hands. They were walking around the tables and then coming back to the bar to pick up drinks and to go back to the main seating area. He asked me about myself, where I’m from and stuff, what experience I had (which was none) and my career plans. I hadn’t really thought that far ahead; Daddy said I would just marry a rich guy and run a household so that’s kind of what I was gonna do. I didn’t say that though. Theo seemed to like me because he offered for me to have a trial shift waitressing.

“You think it’s something you would like to do?” He asked and I nodded enthusiastically, “good, so you wanna come for your trial on Friday, 12pm sound good?”

“Yeah! Yeah definitely, I can’t wait!” I smiled and nodded.

“Alright then Catherine, I’ll see you Friday afternoon.”

“Thanks Mr Martin, see you Friday!”

I skipped out of the door of the lounge, blinking in the sunlight and laughing. I couldn’t believe I had a job, a trial at least. I just hoped I would be good at it. Greta hugged me once the door shut and we cheered, giggling and gently pushing each other.

“Well done Miss Cat!” she exclaimed, “I’m so proud of you!”

We went for a coffee and an ice cream to celebrate. I didn’t even feel bad for having sugar; it was like Mrs Chibs said, I am an adult after all.

((I want to split up the story but FFN will literally not let me do anything that I usually do so here))

CUTIES!- what do we think? huh? Mr Lowman has seen her bruises, is she gonna go to the club party or will she chicken out of going against her dad? is Happy going to finally say something over 2 words to her? will he get drunk and go in for a kiss or will he be too scared?

Are we proud of me for posting this instead of procrastinating? I know we are!

Anyway, thanks for all of your encouragement! You are lovely!

Jeffyzfavoriteskittle27, your review of chapter 3 made me laugh because that’s kind of how I wanted people to see her! Like, I wanted to convey the fact that she has literally no idea what the real world is like!

See you in the next one!

Love, Doe

xxxxxx

[trollhunter94]

Pairing: Gabriel x Hunter!Reader

Others: Katrina Lachlan (Witch)

Warnings: Memory loss, Character Death, Lots of angst (I mean lots. Be prepared, maybe grab a tissue).

Words: 4.1K

Summary: The case of Barry the accountant, who choked to death on dollar bills. It was the day before the Winchesters arrived in town and you’d already cracked the case. Things quickly take an ugly turn, leaving Gabriel to deal with the consequences.

A/N: Requested by the awesome @bungeewabbit. It’s a spin-off from 12.11 (Regarding Dean) and incorporates quotes from the movie Regarding Henry. Hope it was worth the wait ^-^

The whole day had been spent tailing Katrina around the town as she covered her tracks, only raising your suspicion of her and her siblings. The sun was beginning to set when you followed her back to the edge of their family estate, armed with Witch-killing bullets and ready to finish this.

Katrina was just 50 yards ahead of you when she turned the corner of the house, moving out of sight. Little did you know, that she had spotted your car tailing behind her on multiple occasions and was on to you.

She quickly stopped and pulled something sharp out of her pocket, slicing it deeply into her hand. Dipping her fingers into the blood, she proceeded to draw a symbol on the outside wall of the house before waiting with anticipation for you to catch up.

As you approached and turned the corner, she stood there with a left hand raised and slammed it against the wall, shouting “dearmad!” A wave of energy blasted outwards from the symbol, heading straight for you.

The next thing you consciously remember? Running.

Twigs snapped underfoot and branches of pine brushed your face as you manoeuvred through the woods under the cover of darkness. Your heavy breathing filled the silent night; the thick clouds of fog that lingered between the trees made you void of any spacial awareness.

You circled past a fallen tree for the second time and slowed into a walking pace, viewing nothing but endless trees. Staring at them too long, they began to wobble and sway, dancing as if they were alive. Something’s not right here.

You started to run once more, to get out of this weird place. But the track ahead of you was no longer solid. Thick mud lay in wait to swallow you up. And swallow it did.

Each step became deeper and more difficult to get out of, leaving you to take slow and strenuous steps until the task became too tiring. A forceful yank of one leg freed your foot, but left the shoe buried in the unforgiving natural landscape.

Stood still with your foot raised and a sock exposed, you surveyed the endless path ahead, deciding your next move. There are no moves left. Why even bother? This is how I die, alone and shoeless.

Your exposed foot lowered slowly, along with your hope, feeling the cold and squishy mud easily engulfing it. Seconds passed as you stood there, unable and unwilling to move anymore. Your gaze lifted upwards at the trees that canopy the starry night sky.

Your thoughts drift to the amount of times you had been close to death, the countless number of monsters that had tried to kill you or eat you. This snapped you out of this state of self-loathing. I don’t want to die. Not like this. If I can kill a Demon, I can get out of some mud.

With knees pressed heavily into the muddy ground, you pulled your phone from the back pocket of your jeans. Who to call? Only one person can get here quickly enough and have the ability to help you. Gabriel.

Pressing ‘call’, you try and lift the phone to your ear but you just feel too tired. The energy within you is fading at a powerful rate, making your body gravitate towards the floor. Your head rested against the muddy forest floor, eyelids feeling heavy, they began to close. The hoot of an owl was the only audible sound as you began drifting away, out of consciousness.

“Yellow? … Y/N? You there?… Y/N. What’s going on? … Y/N!”

Something roused you from a deep and peaceful sleep. What is that familiar scent that you just can’t quite put your your finger on? It’s a comforting smell, resonating a sense of something loving and homely.

Your body shuffled under a blanket, leg stretching outwards to touch against something solid and warm. Your eyes opened and focused on the golden-haired Angel staring down at you.

“Gabriel?”

A smirk held on his face, just thinking about what shenanigans you had been up to last night. He propped himself up on an elbow and questioned you with intrigue. “Hey short stuff. What happened to you? I found you asleep in the woods, knee deep in mud”.

You sat up and unconsciously scratched your head, trying to recall the events of yesterday. “Shit. I’m not sure. I think I was chasing someone”.

His eyebrow lifted with interest. You had travelled to the other side of the country for a case and didn’t even bother to tell him. He shook off the hurt, masking it with a sarcastic comment. “Well, stick to the soda next time, hot shot”.

You shook your head in disbelief. “I wasn’t drunk.” The glass of water on the bedside table caught your eye, making you unconsciously wet your lips in thirst. You reached for the glass and took a few small sips. “At least I don’t think I was”.

He rose to his feet as the feeling of doubt and jealousy took over. Walking around the edge of the room, passively inspecting the furniture, he spoke his mind. “Well, you were definitely on something. I’m also super touched that I’m the one you decided to drunk-dial, instead of Dean-o”.

You slammed the glass back down on the table in annoyance. Not this again. “How many times do I have to tell you Gabe! That was a one-time thing, okay? Stop bringing that up all the time".

Gabriel lifted his hands defensively at your denial. “If you say so”. His facial expression was full of disbelief and amusement.

An uncomfortable silence held the room as you both stared at each other. Now was not the time to talk about either of our feelings for each other. You broke the tension with an itching question. “How did you know where I was staying?”

He pulled a key from his pocket with a look of innocent defiance. “I kinda rummaged through your pockets”. He dropped the key on the bedside table before looking down at you with a cheeky grin.

You questioned him with a sceptical face. “What? Why are you smiling like that?”

His eyes drifted upwards as he confessed. “Well, I couldn’t possibly have put you to bed with mud-soaked clothes on. So, I changed you”. As your eyebrows shot upwards, he was quick to correct himself with raised hands. “Without looking, of course. I am a gentlemen, after all”.

Lifting the duvet cover, you saw that he had changed you into clean clothing. You threw the covers off and let your feet touch the soft carpet, leaning forward to rub the pressure that was building around your forehead.

Gabriel tilted his head, wondering if you were mad at him or maybe just hungover. He decided to push his luck and tease you a little more. “You feeling a little hung over there, sugar?”

“Uh, just sit down and shut up, you idiot. I need to use the toilet”.

You stood and barged your way past him, a fuzzy feeling in your head clouding all spacial awareness as you stumbled to the bathroom and closed the door behind you. As you emptied your bladder, your thoughts began to drift.

What did I do last night? … I must be here on a case… Should I call Garth? Nah, I should find my research notes, then I’ll know.

After flushing the toilet, you moved over to the sink and began washing your hands. The soapy water turned brown as the mud from behind your fingernails was removed. Your gaze moved upwards, catching sight of your reflection in the mirror.

Although you knew that it was yourself in the reflective glass, you failed to recognise the pale-faced person staring back at you. It looked tired and almost alien. Your hands reached up to explore the curvatures of your cheeks and chin before moving up to run your fingers through your hair. This was weird.

You soon snapped back to reality, gazing around the bathroom and wondering why you were even in here. Reaching for the handle, you opened the bathroom door to see a man on the other side of the room. He quickly took to his feet when he heard the movement of the door, watching your blank expression with intrigue.

“You’re not still mad, are you? Uh, come on. I could’ve done a lot worse than look through your pockets". You watched him curiously for a few seconds, thinking about the word ‘pockets’. Pock-ets. What are pockets. Do I have any? I wonder what they do.

Gabriel’s hands shot outwards with impatience, prompting a response from you. This snapped you from your thoughts, addressing the man with curiosity. “Can I help you?” His mood quickly shifted with a sense of anger and frustration at your question. “Don’t be smart, okay. You told me to sit. So I sat”.

You shook your head slowly. Did you tell him to sit? Who is this man? “Sorry”… you took a step out of the bathroom with a quizzical brow… “Do I know you?”

“Seriously?” The look of instant hurt and confusion plastered his features. He was dumbfounded, unsure of whether you were playing a trick on him or this amnesia was real.

“Y/N. It’s me, Gabriel. Are you sure you’re okay?” He took a step closer to you with raised hands, feeling protective and wanting to comfort. You slowly backed away from his approach. “I’m fine, but are you sure you’re not lost?” 

He had never seen this before; the way your eyes darted from him, to another part of the room and then back to him again. A look of complete unrecognition. It was true, none of your surroundings looked familiar. Was this your place or his? Maybe you should leave.

“I think I should go” you said timidly, heading towards the nearest door. “I need to find… Someone. Or something. I can’t remember”. You turned the handle to reveal an airing cupboard, nothing but pipes and a sudden waft of mildew. This was definitely not the front door. You closed it and began to rub your temples, frustrated at your lack of recognition.

Gabriel watched your actions with curiosity. Knowing now that this was definitely not a joke, there was no way he was letting you out that door, to be at the mercy of everything and anything.

“Y/N, please? I’m a friend. A really good friend. You can trust me”. His hands struggled to restrain themselves as the urge to reach out to you became overwhelming.

Oblivious of his struggle before you, a sense of panic began to stir inside your stomach. You shook your head and side-stepped past him towards the front door. Unlocking the bolt and opening the door, you turned back to reply. “I don’t know you. And I certainly don’t trust you”.

You followed your feet as the motel fell to the distance. The rain crashed against your face and diminished your vision as you kept moving forward, putting one foot in front of the other.

Gabriel quickly caught up to you, appearing on your right and walking alongside you with a small bounce in his step. “Where are you even going?” His tone of voice was gentle with a hint of humour at your innocent defiance.

“I, Um”… Your confidence and pace slowed down as nothing came to mind. You stopped and looked at the surrounding buildings, not even knowing where you were. “Home?”

“Your home is hundred’s of miles away, Y/N. The real question is what brought you here and where did you go yesterday?” He held onto your shoulder and turned you to face him.

Anger and panic now stirred inside, leading you to push against his chest with both hands. He stumbled backwards with a startled expression whilst you voiced your confusion. “I don’t know, okay? I don’t know what you want from me”.

You continued to express your feelings. “Look, we’re not buddies. So stop following me, okay? Just let me think for a second”. Gabriel watched with anguish at this display, saying nothing as you continued to turn on the spot, trying to locate yourself.

The truth is, Gabriel loved you. Deeply and with all of his heart. You weren’t just another Human to him, you were a shining example of why his father had created humanity. A beacon of hope for those in despair and a stubborn fighter, determined to save as many lives as possible.

And to see you in this position, so lost and unsure about anything, was crushing his soul. He had to get you somewhere safe, where you couldn’t come to harm.

He ducked down slightly to make eye contact with you; staring into your eyes with enough intensity to make you forget about anything else and focus on him. “How about we get out of this rain and back to your motel room? Eh sugar?”

The confusion that surrounded you seemed to drop at the mention of that name. Sugar. It sounded so familiar.

The soft expression that now befell your face gave Gabriel his signal to intervene and end this madness. His hand touched your arm and within one quick gust of wind, you were both facing a door with the number 4 nailed to it.

Gabriel opened the door and escorted you back inside, feeling relieved that your little memento act was over. You took in the decor of the room with child-like wonder. “So this is my place?”

He strolled into the kitchen area, heading for the kettle. “Yep. The manager said that you’ve booked the room for the weekend”. He walked over to the sink and began filling it with water.

“So I don’t live here?” You picked up a leaflet from the bedside table with a picture of the motel. Your eyes squinted as you tried to focus on the small print. Gabriel placed the kettle back down with an accompanying “nope” before searching through the cupboards.

“And you don’t live here either?”

Another “nope” came from behind an open cupboard, now joined by the sound of clunking dishes and cups.

Your attention focused on Gabriel, causing you to drop the leaflet and turn to him. “So where do you live?” His scoff could be heard, followed by a sarcastic response. “Why? Do you wanna come live with me?”

A long pause filled the room as you headed for a chair and asked yourself that question. “I don’t know. Do I?”

A loud thud came from behind the cupboard as his head collided with a shelf in a second of surprise panic. He reappeared with a teapot in-hand and a look of embarrassment and shock on his face.

“Aw, sugar. As much as I’ve wanted to hear that proposition, I was hoping it would happen when you were more… you”. He turned around and began filling the teapot with hot water.

Your palms rested against the table, head tilted and eyes creased in a lack of understanding. “More me?” He turned back to face you, lifting a hand to rub the back of his neck with caution. “Yeah, well… I mean, do you even know who I am?”

You face remained blank as you stared at him. “No, sorry. Should I?”

“I should hope so” he replied sharply, feeling hurt by that comment. “We’ve been friends for years”.

A long and slightly uncomfortable silence fell upon the room as you both stared at each other. He eventually broke contact to look downwards, letting out a heavy sigh.

He sat down opposite you and picked up the teapot, pouring the brew into both cups. “If we find out what did this to you, maybe we can reverse it. I’m guessing it’s some kind of hex”. He set the teapot back down and picked up the milk jug, hovering it over your cup.

“Say when”.

The milk flowed and mixed with the tea, slowly filling to the rim of the cup. Gabriel watched you curiously, wondering why you didn’t say stop. You were too busy, staring at this man before you, trying to remember him until you caught Gabriel’s intense eyes on yours.

He lifted the jug away and tilted his head with a look of amusement. “When you’ve had enough, you say when” he explained.

“Oh”, you replied blankly, looking down at the full cup. “When”.

He laughed a little, putting the jug back down and picking up his cup. “I hope you like it milky”. You followed his lead and picked up your cup, wrapping your fingers around the handle and sipping gently as he continued to speak.

“So, you have no recollection of what you did yesterday?“

You responded with a head shake, keeping the cup close to your lips. He hummed before standing up and scanning the room, looking for any evidence of research. Eventually, he spotted a piece of paper tucked under the bed.

“Aha!” He retrieved the paper and stood in front of you, trying to make sense of your shorthand writing. “I have no idea what this means. Do you?” He placed it on the table and sat down, waiting for you to remember something.

You stared at the three short bullet points, not even recognizing the words. You began to read it aloud, slowly and with hesitation.

“B… Bar..ry. Barry”. You looked up at him, still unsure of who Barry was. Looking back down, you continued. “Ch… Che… Check. R… Rec…. cords. Records”.

Moving on to the final bullet point, you grabbed the paper and held it closer for a better look. “L… La… ch… Lan. Lachlan?”

You looked up at him again. “Did I say that right?” He nodded supportively at you, still unsure of what it meant.

Your fists flew upwards in celebration. “Yes! I can read!”

You go to stand up, too distracted by your achievement to realise just how weak your legs were. They instantly buckled, letting your body tumble to the floor, alerting Gabriel from across the table.

“Y/N!” He leapt from his chair and reached out to catch you. Unfortunately, he wasn’t quick enough. He was forced to watch as your head hit the floor with an audible bang.

A noise of gut-wrenching fear left his throat as he threw himself downwards, wrapping a hand behind your head and pulling you up against his chest. “It’s okay, sugar. I’ve got you… I got you”. His hand gently caressed the crown of your head, attempting to soothe you.

The contact roused a whimpering ‘ouch’ at the sharp pain from his movements. He took the opportunity to wrap an arm under your legs and pull you against him as he stood up.

Carrying you with care over to the bed, he gently laid you down and moved a tuft of hair out of your face. Enough of this drama, he thought. It was time to fix this. Placing two fingers to your forehead, he passed his angelic grace through you to heal this amnesia.

His grace flowed through you, healing the bump on your head and the remaining traces of last week’s flu. Your eyes shot open at the feeling of his grace, making contact with the golden-eyes of a concerned Gabriel.

You blinked at him, giving a weak smile and swallowing to regain the moisture in your throat. His shoulders dropped in relief before he rested his forehead against yours. He waited a moment before leaning back and lifting a finger to scold you.

“Don’t you ever scare me like that again!”

Before you could react, he pulled you back into another hug, glad to have the normal, sarcastic and loving Y/N, back with him again. His arms squeezed around your ribs, leaving you short of breath and feeling weaker.

It wasn’t long before an involuntary force could be felt, pushing up from your throat, causing you to cough against his embrace, cheek pressed to his shoulder. He quickly noticed something wet trickling down his forearm. Looking down at the foreign feeling, he instantly saw the streak of congealed blood.

“Oh, no… Y/N?”

He leaned back and placed a hand on either side of your face, lifting your head up and watching fearfully as you tried to speak. “W… W… When”.

His face contorted in confusion. “When, what? What is it? What are you trying to say?”

You looked up at him, feeling dehydrated, tired and just desperate for this to end. ” H… Had… En…nough" was forced from your heavy chest. A sense of relief came upon you after getting those words out, letting your head fall backwards, eyes drifting closed.

“Oh, don’t do this to me. Please, Y/N? I can’t lose you, not like this. No. No. Please?” His grip tightened around the back of your neck, his other hand brushing long strokes against your hair.

An ache pulled deeply inside of him, hearing your heartbeat audibly fading, the beats slowing down softly as the rhythm of your blood flow decreased. He didn’t want to believe it. You couldn’t be dying right now. Nope. He was going to force his grace into you.

He pulled you forward to lean against him, allowing his hands to press against your back, moving up to your shoulders and then to your neck as nothing happened. Why isn’t it working? His grace should be fixing you.

The aching feeling inside of him grew heavier, almost painful. This was fear; an emotion that he hadn’t experienced in eons. But now, the thought of losing you was terrifying.

His arms reached around and clutched you against his chest, locking your bodies together in your dying embrace. Wanting to keep you close, to cherish whatever time you had left, he rested his chin on your head and shut his eyes.

He repeated a sentence in his mind to stop the volcano of emotion from erupting. I’m not going to cry. I’m not going to cry. I’m not going to cry.

An unfathomable amount of time had passed by before a chill washed over him. He took a sharp breath as the last traces of warmth left your body, leaving behind a stiff and hardened corpse.

Gabriel knew that as soon as he lets go and lays you back down, it becomes real. This wasn’t something that he was ready for. Not now.

He began to pray. Please Dad. Not this one. Not now. Not today... Please, save Y/N. Just let me fix this. Just... Do something!

He waited, hoping that something would happen; that you would wake up and smile at him the way you usually would. Waiting for a punch in the arm for being such a sap, or for you to yell at him for squishing you so much. Anything was better than nothing.

But nothing happened. The time had come to face reality. He slowly unfolded his arms, leaning you back against the pillow with a hand either side of your head. As he studied the paleness of your skin and lips, that aching feeling inside began to pull and knot again, causing him to rush to his feet in panic.

Gabriel turned to face the wall, hands clutched and pulling at his hair as the tide of emotion broke through. A yell of anger rose from his throat, arms swinging to knock the vase and telephone from the top of the cabinet, sending them crashing to the floor.

He spun around to assess the damage, deciding that he wasn’t done with this outburst. With a mind of their own, his feet began to move, taking him to the other side of the room. Reaching the table, he picked up a chair and threw it with a mighty force against the wall, reducing it to pieces of firewood. It still wasn’t retribution enough.

This anger was getting worse. He gripped the edge of the table and flipped it as another deep growl of fury left his throat. A loud crash filled the room and a pool of tea leaked across the tiled kitchen area, weaving between broken shards of crockery.

He looked down at the broken teapot. It reminded him of you, everything did. How could Humans deal with this feeling of grief. It was horrible, torturous and down-right painful.

Using his sleeve, he wiped the tears that ran down his cheek. Bending down and reaching for the handle of the teapot, he stared blankly at it. He knew that you were still lying there, on that bed. He couldn’t find the strength to turn back and look at you.

He had to leave this place, to go somewhere and scream at the top of his lungs. You were gone forever and he just couldn’t accept it.

The sound of fluttering wings was the last noise made inside of that room for the next three hours.

Thanks for reading.

Tags: @uselessace  @konankami

[pot-of-gluttony]

Navigating

Prompt:

Day 1 - Precanon

Day 3 - House is Not a Home

Rating: G

Category: Gen

Chapters: 1

Characters: Katsuya Jounouchi, Shizuka Kawai, Ms. Kawai, Mr. Jounouchi

Summary: A visit to the park goes awry, but it doesn’t matter...

Warnings: Heavily implied domestic/child abuse

Author’s Notes:

Hahahaha. I can’t believe I’m actually trying to do another event after my previous disaster.

How do you do summaries?

I hope it’s not too distracting that he’s referred to as Katsuya throughout the thing. I figured since he’s interacting with his family, and since his mother and sister probably still used his dad’s name before the divorce, it would just be more fitting.

Also on AO3!

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Howling shouts accompanied by falling cabinets, shattering glass and ceramic, and a muffled distant voice.

Katsuya Jounouchi ran all around the apartment -- since when was it so big? -- trying to keep things from crashing into the floor. The walls glowed many shades of red and orange with the occasional pink that would blink in and out in-between the harsher fiery colors. It was hard to keep up with everything. It all came falling faster and faster, breaking against the floor, rebuilding itself bigger and more unstable, and then falling again due to the unending earthquakes that made it impossible for him to get to any one spot on time. The angry voices kept fueling each other, though one was always more volatile than the other -- always in control.

He made it to the little cabinet that held the trophy he got last year at school for winning a race. It was very crucial that it was safe; if it got damaged, who would remember how he was the best 7-year-old in track? Although he could win that again this year, so maybe it wasn’t too important.

It wasn’t just the trophy, though; the cabinet also held all the homemade pottery he made with Shizuka and Mom, back when Mom still had time to do pottery with them. They had only done one piece without her supervision since then and he got an earful for letting Shizuka play with plaster and paint. But when their mother tried to take the lumpy, green torpedo -- it was gonna be a plane; they used a bird-shaped mold and he was gonna polish the wings and details to make a plane, but he screwed up the wings so he opted to turn it into a torpedo which was way cooler anyway -- Shizuka cried her little heart out and Mom decided to keep it after all.

Katsuya looked into the cabinet’s little glass doors to make sure everything was okay. Strangely enough, the torpedo was now a perfectly sculptured little submarine and a different, darker shade of green.

Bi... other...

Maybe he could ride it? Nah, it was too small.

B-g.. other...

It looked as though it was steadily growing, though. Maybe if he took it out, it would have enough space to grow and he could board it with all the other crafts and the trophy.

Big brother...

It finally dawned on him that Shizuka’s voice had been calling for him for some time now, but he couldn’t see her anywhere. He wanted to get out of there now. If the submarine grew as soon as he took it out, it would’ve been too heavy for him to carry it as he looked for her. Then again, maybe he could’ve gone looking for her from inside the submarine. He could’ve navigated the apartment and not worry about the earthquakes, which had transformed from rattling his body from the inside out to outright robbing him of whatever stability he had.

But what if the submarine was on autopilot? Once he got in, it would take him somewhere safe -- he was absolutely sure of it -- but what about Shizuka. Would the submarine go back for her later? Should he even risk it?

“Katsuya, please wake up!”

His eyes shot open and he instinctively pushed himself upward. He ended up with half his body propped up on his elbows, struggling not to fall back. His vision was spinning wildly, the rampant noises outside their bedroom door causing his head to throb harder and harder without reprieve.

He wished he could cry.

“What’s wrong, Shizuka?” he mumbled with a strained, sleepy voice.

“I think Dad’s back home,” she whispered. “I think Mom’s all alone with ‘im right now.”

“It doesn’t matter. He won’t hurt her,” Katsuya replied, mostly believing his own answer. “If we go out, we’ll be hurt a lot more than her. Besides, Mom grounded me the last time I tried to help her agains’ Dad. I dun think she likes it when we meddle. She gets really upset and--”

“I know,” Shizuka whispered with a hoarse voice. She wanted to cry, too, he noted. And she was having a harder time than him not doing so. “But I wanna see that she’s okay.”

“Okay,” he replied.

He closed his eyes tightly, took a deep breath and willed the dizziness away as much as he could. It didn’t do much, but it gave him a momentary reprieve; enough to sit up fully. After a few seconds, he scramble off the bed and onto his feet. He stumbled towards the door, Shizuka squeezing his arm so tightly he was almost afraid she would yank it off. After a few minutes of hesitation, he tried to turn the doorknob.

It wouldn’t move.

His eyes widened. The spinning had stopped, but the throbbing continued and soon his chest started to hurt a little. “It’s locked. Why is it locked?” he tried turning the knob forcefully, unscrewed his arm from Shizuka’s grip and tried with both hands. He pulled on it, hung off of it. Shizuka placed her hands over his and tried to help turn it.

It wouldn’t move.

“Why is it locked?!” Katsuya yelled and started banging on the door with his fist. “The door’s locked! Mom! Mooooom! Why’s the door locked?!”

He heard his mother shouting from the other side. “Katsuya, go to sleep!”

“Why is it locked?!”

“Don’t wake up Shizuka!”

“Mom!” Shizuka yelled, her voice cracking as tears started to brim her eyes. “Mom, why’re we locked inside?!”

“Why the hell is the kids’ room locked?!” a furious voice bellowed. “How did you even get that key?!”

Silence.

“Mom?!” Shizuka sobbed.

“Honey, just go to sleep-- Where the hell are you going?! Stay away from her!”

“Why are my kids locked in their room?!”

“Get away from that door!”

“Are you hiding my kids from me, woman?! Is that it, is that what you’re saying?!”

There was another crash, this one closer to their room. Katsuya shoved Shizuka away from the door, and almost immediately it started to rattle.

“I told you to stay away--”

“Open the goddamn door!”

“First, you’re coming back to the living room and calming down. I am not letting you near Shizuka like that!”

“If you don’t open the door, I swear I will break it down! Don’t test me!”

Katsuya grabbed Shizuka’s hand and hurried to the window. It was supposed to be locked shut, but their father had busted the lock once when he forgot his house keys and wanted in. At the time, he had given Katsuya a grim look and with a low, gravelly voice told him not to tell his mother. Katsuya scowled at him but kept his mouth shut nonetheless. Shizuka just did her best to stay clear of her father as he had stalked out of their room. They weren’t able to sleep afterwards that night.

Right now, however, he was strangely grateful he hadn’t told his mother -- she would have fixed the lock.

He invoked all of his strengths to open to pull up window. It lead directly into the fire escape, which made some rickety sounds when he jumped off the window frame and landed on them. Otherwise it seemed pretty stable.

“Come on, Shizuka, we gotta hurry,” he whispered to her.

“But... where... where’a we goin’?”

He held out his arms for her. “To the park,” he answered with a hushed tone. “We can stay safe there until Dad stops being mad.”

The banging on the door would pause for screams between the two parents, followed by more banging and the serious threat of the door being knocked over. “You have five minutes to get me that key!”

“Come on, Shizuka.” Katsuya tried his best to sound as calm and collected as he could, hoping not to be given away by his shaking hands and the terror that was doubtlessly creeping up on every feature of his face.

Finally, Shizuka climbed over the window frame and reached for his arms. He helped her stand on the cold railing and gently pulled her along with him as they hurried down the flight of metal stairs. The more he breathed in the cold air, the more he felt like something chilly was cutting part of the inside of his head, but it didn’t hurt much. More than anything, it steadied his body more and more, making his skin feel warmer and sweatier.

He stopped Shizuka before she walked off the last step as there was a freezing puddle waiting at the end -- one he hadn’t noticed until he had already plunged into it.

Katsuya bent down and looked over his shoulder. “Quick, get on my back. I’ll carry you there.”

She shook her head. “That’s too far.”

“You’re not wearing any shoes!”

“You’re not wearing shoes, neither!”

“It’s fine!” he insisted. “I can run fast. That makes my feet really strong. Come on, I’ll show you.”

“You won’t get hurt?”

“Nope. It won’t be too long anyways cuz we just gotta” -- he paused and gestured at the light post at the end of the alleyway -- “we just gotta, like, gotta follow the lights all the way there.” 

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

Shizuka pressed the palms of her hands against his shoulders, then tried to find a way to hook her legs to his hips. They almost fell back but Katsuya was able to balance them at the last second until she could fix her hold on him.

He stood back up and began jogging lightly down the alleyway, bare feet scampering over the concrete as he tried to focus more on the posts and less on the deep dark that surrounded the buildings.

It took about eight minutes to reach the park, although he almost regretted it when they got there. It was darker than the streets, the ground was cold and the grass was wet and itchy. There were noises everywhere, ranging from the animals hiding in the bushes to the creak of the swings moved ever so slightly by the slow, freezing wind.

For a moment, he considered backtracking to the store they had passed along the way. He had been there several times in the past. It was only to hang out with classmates, seeing as he couldn’t actually afford to buy anything. However, sometimes he went in alone -- on the particularly annoying days when school had been tedious and he knew nothing good waited for him back home, it had been a good place to stop for a quick break. The smell of freshly baked pastries and hot chocolate, the light conversations and laughter from the customers, and the soft music that always played in the background were nice. Unfortunately, it wasn’t worth it for two kids to go in this late at night without any grown-ups to accompany them. They could get in trouble. Or worse -- they could be taken directly back home.

As soon as it became clear to him that waiting out their father’s tantrum at the park was truly the best option, he realized Shizuka had already left his side and awaited him at the swings. How she didn’t seem the least bit worried about what lurked in the dark puzzled him and he only willed himself into following her in because big brothers take care of their little sisters.

“It was wet,” Shizuka said when he approached her.

“What was wet?”

“The swing. It was like it rained, but it never rained all day long so I don’t know why it was like that.”

“That happens to the stuff that’s left outside at night.”

“How does that work?”

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “Maybe sometimes it rains a little and we just don’t notice it because that’s when we’re inside.”

Shizuka remained quiet. As his eyes adjusted better to the dark, he could see her tired gaze fixed firmly on her wriggling toes hanging slightly over the ground.

“Maybe I could know if I go to school,” she finally replied. “Maybe if I could go to school, then Mom would’n have to take care of me all the time and Dad would’n be mad all the time and we would’n have to hide or run when they fight cuz then they would’n fight.”

“I don’t think it’s cuz you can’t go to school,” he said. “Sometimes jerks are always jerks. It doesn’t matter what you do or what I do or what Mom does cuz none of that’s gonna fix him.” He watched her quietly for a few moments. “Who said you can’t go to school?”

She slowly began swinging. “There’s a girl in my ther’py thing and her mom said to our mom that she has as many years as I do, and-and she also said she was goin’ to school after her next birthday. But I heard Mom say my birthday is before that girl’s birthday so if she’s goin’ to school, then I should go, too. But I’m not...”

Katsuya tried to swing at the same pace as his sister. It was a little tricky to get a hang of it since he constantly kept swinging harder and faster than her. After a few tries, however, he got a hold of her rhythm and after confirming that they were moving at the same pace, he leaned his head towards her as much as he could without disrupting either of their movements. She hadn’t looked at him once while speaking; she wasn’t looking at him now, either. This was one of those times when she didn’t feel right looking at anyone. Their mom usually held her face to her to speak to her, but he could tell Shizuka didn’t like that. So he got as close as he could to make sure she could hear him clearly without having to look at him.

“That doesn’t matter.”

“It does matter. That’s why kids go to school. It’s i’portant.”

“It’s only important if you’re okay, like if you’re not sick. When I get sick, I dun go to school. You’re very sick, so you can’t go to school. That’s okay.”

“But my eyes are better...” Shizuka whispered. Her swing came to an abrupt stop as she jumped back onto the ground. “I mean, not all the time, but they do better now. The doctor said they were better now than before. Can’t I try to go to school then? After my birthday?”

Katsuya stopped his swing and joined her on the ground. “You could study at home,” he replied. “I heard from my friend Miho some kids do that. Their parents are their teachers so they don’t have to go to school. Maybe Mom’s gonna teach you at home. That would be pretty cool, actually. School is really annoying.”

Shizuka gave him a mixed look of confusion and frustration. “’Cept you like school. You always come home late cuz you like staying at school more than staying at home.”

“I dun--” He looked around to make sure no adults were within earshot. “I dun actually stay at school after school is over. Sometimes... I’m not even at school when I should be at school.”

“Why?”

“Cuz school is annoying and if you don’t know a lot, teachers get mad at you all the time. And I dunno a lot. So I try to go to school almost every day, but some days, I just hang out outside with my friends. And when school is over, I dun stay at school, I go to other places before coming home.”

“I wanna do that.” Shizuka looked down. “I wanna go to a place that’s not home.”

Katsuya gently reached for Shizuka’s hand and tugged it. He started walking slowly towards a dome-shaped play area. She followed his steps, her eyes never lifting. Thankfully, the dome was close enough to the sidewalk that some of the light from a nearby post reached it. He crawled inside and she followed him and they sat against the wall of the dome, slumped into one another.

“One day, I’m gonna take you somewhere else to play,” he said. “And when your eyes aren’t sick anymore and you go to school, every time we get out, I’m gonna take you to a new place every time. And-and! And when I turn into a grown-up, I’m gonna get a big, nice house without Dad and you can come live with me. And you’ll never get sick cuz I’ll take care of you.”

Shizuka yawned and rested her head on his shoulder. She brought her knees to her chest and curled up to keep warm. Katsuya wrapped an arm around her and lied back.

“Can Mom come live with us?” Shizuka asked. Katsuya tilted his head back. He stared at the roof of the dome silently. “Big brother?”

“If she wants to,” he spoke softly, “then I guess she can.”

“You dun want her to live with us?”

“I think she doesn’t like living with me too much.”

Shizuka shifted and wrapped her arms around his torso, settling her head against the crook of his neck. “I do.”

“I know,” he squeezed her closer to her, causing her to erupt in tired little giggles. “It doesn’t matter anyways.”

----------

This time around, Katsuya was able to board the green submarine along Shizuka. He wasn’t sure how the submarine found them while he was showing her his classroom, but then again, it made sense it would know where he studied seeing as he did make the thing.

It never took them far enough. In fact, it never took them far at all. It orbited the building where their apartment is from high above. He could see his parents running up and down the same stairs they took to escape. His father screamed at the top of his lungs, rambling incoherently the entire time; his mother kept alternating between yelling at her husband to shut up and calling for Shizuka’s name.

“Do you want to tell her you’re okay?” Katsuya asked his sister as she hid away from the submarine’s windows.

“Not if she makes us go back.”

K-tsuy-...

He tried to ignore the overwhelming feeling of drowning that hit him in that moment.

“I... she wo-...” He gasped for air and stood on his toes to stay above the invisible water line. “She won’t!” he shouted for Shizuka to hear. “I won’t let her!”

Shizuka looked up at him from where she was curled up on the floor of the submarine. Her eyes were wide with bewilderment and she didn’t reply. He had already dropped back to his heels, but thinking she might not have heard him, he stood on his toes again and took a sufficiently big gasp of air to shout out the answer for her to hear.

Before he could, however, a hand yanked him to the ground and in a second swoop dragged him out of the park dome.

“What were you thinking?!” his mother yelled at him. “Do you know how badly your little stunt could have hurt Shizuka?! She’s your baby sister, you have to take good care of her!”

Katsuya tried to blink his grogginess away and gaped at his mother kneeling over him, accompanied by a pair of policemen, one of which was holding a very drowsy Shizuka. It was light out now, though not very bright. Just enough that he could actually see the park. The light posts would be turning off soon.

“I-I thought--!”

“No!” she said. “You didn’t think. If you had thought about what you were doing, you would have stayed in your room.”

“And wait until Dad broke down the door?!” he yelled.

Her grip on his arm loosened and she stared at him exhausted.

“Ma’am, what’s this about the boy’s father?” one of the policemen asked.

“It’s” -- she paused and sighed -- “I-It’s just a nightmare he keeps having. We’re fine. He’s just... a very adventurous boy and I should have never left him alone with his sister.”

She helped him stand up, grabbed his hand while averting her gaze from him, and reached for Shizuka with her other hand. The policeman handed her over and Shizuka hesitantly reached back for her mother, coiling her little arms around her mother’s neck as she picked her up.

“Do you need us to escort you back home?”

“No, I can make do. Thank you so much for your help, officers.”

What followed was an agonizingly silent walk back home. Katsuya could swear they were moving even slower than when he was trudging through the dark with his sister on his back. He kept stealing glances at his mother and sister, but only Shizuka returned them. If he weren’t holding his mother’s hand, then he wouldn’t be sure she remembered he was still there.

“Mama,” Shizuka whispered halfway through the trek, “please dun be mad at Katsuya.”

She stopped. Katsuya looked up at her, but her gaze hadn’t changed. He tried to distract himself to keep the prickling sensation from getting worse and realized they were only a few steps away from the store.

“Everyone at school says they make the best honey toast ever there,” he said between subtle sniffles.

His mother turned towards the store and approached the door. For a moment, he dared be hopeful.

“I’ll make breakfast once we get home,” she said, eyes never prying away from the glass of the door.

“Why can’t we eat here?” Shizuka asked.

“You need sleep, sweetie.”

“I can’t sleep with Dad yelling,” she protested.

“He’s quiet now, dear.”

“Can’t we buy honey toast to go?”

“No.”

Shizuka wriggled impatiently in her mother’s hold. “Why not?! Is it cuz Katsuya wants to eat here?”

“It’s no--”

“Stop being mad at him!” she cried. “Please dun be mad at him no more!”

Their mother sighed. When she finally faced him, her eyes were hard and sharp. He turned away from her glare, anger seeping into every vein of his body.

“It’s fine, Shizuka,” he reassured. “It doesn’t matter.”

[ramirei]

A Good Morning on Friday: audition 6 + epilogue

“I have to do my best on Friday. After all, I won’t be able to see you for two days.”

Hamanaka Midori and Narumi Sena are connected by the fact they both attend Sakuragaoka High School and, for one reason or another, their eyes meet inside the train they take to school every morning. Even though both are interested in the other, “good morning” won’t quite come out of their mouths due to their nervousness. Now a senior in the same class as Sena, Midori realizes his true feelings as he repeatedly practices his “good morning”s…?

Find the masterlist with all the chapters here!

Please support Honeyworks by purchasing the novel here!

And it’s done!!! A lot of what happens isn’t new since we got the Nichiyoubi no Himitsu MV but it’s nice seeing all their inner thoughts!! 

It’s a courage test I gotta pass and now isn’t the time to run away…

audition 6

 The culture festival was approaching in one week and every part of the school was bustling after classes. People running in the busy hallways, the sound of hammers and saws, and the voices of people calling for help as they prepared for the festival.

 These were the signs of a festival.

 Da freshmen and juniors are really gettin’ fired up.

Midori stopped on his way to the Film Research Club room and absentmindedly looked downstairs. Most of the seniors had their classes in the morning so there were few that were still at school during this time. It was mainly people like Haruki and the others who were still in school working hard on their own work or Ayase who specially stayed behind to help his underclassmen.

 “Oh, Midori! Hurry up, we finished setting up the screening for the MV already!” He heard Souta’s voice from the top of the stairs.

 Souta was flailing his hands towards him when he looked up, “I can’t help it. Your guys’ room is far from da audiovisual room.” Midori dashed up the stairs while skipping steps and began to walk next to Souta.

 “Yeah, yeah. Haruki and Yuu are waiting, too.”

 “Huh, Yuu, too? Will it be okay since he’s a exam student…?”

 “That’s taboo in front of the person himself. Since he’s been questioned plenty of times by everyone else.” Souta said while wryly smiling and shrugged his shoulders, “But y’know. Isn’t it okay? Even Yuu’s gotta take a break every once in a while.”

 “If he’s gonna take a breather, shouldn’t he be doin’ it with Natsuki? Since they finally confessed ta each other, right?”

 “Midori, you sound like an old man… Also, that’s taboo, too.”

 “What da heck, it’s ‘cause you guys kept teasing him ‘bout it with no mercy.”

 They arrived at the classroom in no time as they talked about trivial things. Souta called out, “We’re coming in,” and opened the door with a clatter.

 Immediately, a chilling air flowed out from the opening.

 “…”

 “…”

 For some reason, Haruki and Yuu were glaring at each other inside the room. Midori unconsciously took a step back from the biting air.

 W-What da heck?

“Hey, don’t tell me you guys are still arguing?” Souta said, dumbfounded, without paying mind to the unpleasant atmosphere. Haruki and Yuu both should’ve been able to hear him, but they stayed silent and didn’t once look over at them. It looked like Souta hadn’t been expecting a response as he quickly entered the room, “Didn’t I tell you guys? I told you to make a conclusion on whether we’re using the new take or the previous take while I went to get Midori.” It looked like the problem at hand revolved around their course of action for the movie editing.

 Midori couldn’t say anything as an outsider and it looked like he could only watch over the course of events that would occur. Seriously, those two are such brats…huh? When he glanced over at them, their mouths looked like they were trembling for some reason. Were they resisting the urge to shout? Even if it was like that, they were being suspicious, or, more like, strange.

 As soon as he figured it out, their shoulders began to gradually shake.

 “Hahaha! Both of you fell for it!”

 “Mochita, you’re too angry.”

 It looked like they had been trying to hold back their laughter. Haruki and Yuu held their stomachs as they burst into laughter with teary eyes.

 “You guys, seriously…”

 “You’re not funny, geez. Seriously, you guys are such kids!” Souta sat down on the nearest chair and huffed angrily just like the word they used to describe him. Although he had scolded them for being troublesome, he also looked happy.

 Well, it’s not like I don’t understand how he feels.

Just a while ago, there was somewhat of a discord in the atmosphere between Haruki and Yuu. Midori hadn’t especially thought to ask them the reason why and neither of them spoke about it. It wasn’t like he wasn’t worried, but he had been optimistic that they’d definitely be okay because it was Haruki and Yuu.

 “By da way, what ‘bout the MV? It’s finished, right?” Midori asked as he pulled out a chair next to Souta.

 As he did so, Haruki, who had been working the laptop, lifted his head and sniggered, “Don’t be surprised when you see it, okay?”

 He was being extremely confident, huh.

That was probably what any other person would say outside of their group if they had heard him just now. But, from the perspective of someone that knew the creations of the Film Research Club consisting of Haruki, Yuu, and Souta, he had thought that this was a natural response. Rather, he probably would’ve laughed at him for being so humble.

 “I’m gonna start it.” Haruki said as he clicked the mouse.

 The computer screen turned black, then the song’s title was shown. There was a small static sound as the screen shook before the intro began to play. On screen was the school building they were all familiar with. Then, matching the sprinting vibes of the guitar, the camera rapidly dashed up the stairs.

 W-Woah… Dis is amazin’, it’s like a movie.

There was a close-up of the door leading to the rooftop before it was opened with great force. What exactly was waiting behind that door?

 As soon as he gulped down his breath, the video stopped with a snap.

 “Wha-!? Did it malfunction?” Midori asked as he half rose from his seat.

 Haruki said while sniggering, “Nope, that was the ending just now.”

 “Huh? Didn’t you say dat it was finished…?”

 “It is done, but we’re only going to show you up until this part, Midori.”

 “That’s right. Look forward to seeing it during the concert!”

 Yuu and Souta both added, enjoying every second of it. Though they had said that they were showing him the music video, it looked like they had intended since the beginning to only show him up to that point in the video. It was quite a pretentious way of doing things.

 “What da heck is dat…” Midori sullenly puffed his cheeks.

 Haruki’s smile was becoming more and more wider, “Don’t be so surprised that you skip your lyrics, okay?”

 “Nah, nah, nah! For me ta skip lyrics, I gotta be super surprised, y’know?”

 “You’re definitely going to be surprised so give your gratitude later.”

 “G-Gratitude?” Midori said, bewildered, at their incoherent words. However, Haruki, Yuu, and Souta were all, for some reason, full of confidence.

 Was it really that great of a video? Of course, he had gotten excited just by seeing the intro, but even so, there was a hidden meaning behind the way they were acting.

 Don’t tell me they set a trap ta surprise me or somethin’…?

Bzzz. Bzzz.

 Someone’s phone vibrated, interrupting his thoughts.

 “Oh, it’s mine.” Souta excitedly took his phone from his pants pocket and tapped the screen. Immediately, his face relaxed.

 “Is it Hayasaka?”

 “It’s probably Hayasaka.”

 Both Haruki and Yuu said without even looking at Souta’s phone screen.

 “How did ya know?”

 “If you look at Mochita’s face, it gives it away.” Haruki said, pointing at Souta as he intensely looked at his phone, with an “I-know-how-it-is” look on his face.

 Den dat means… are they like dat? That not only did Yuu and Natsuki start dating, but Souta and Akari did, too. Midori was dumbfounded.

 He glanced at Souta just as he lifted his head excitedly, probably having finished reading the text. “Hehe, it’s from Akarin.”

 “See?”

 “Seriously! Why’re ya bein’ so reserved? If it was like dat, you could’ve told me.” Midori said while poking Souta in the side with his elbow. He thought that Souta would definitely take the opportunity to talk about his love life, but his reaction was something else entirely.

 Souta said “That- well, it’s not-” while flailing his hands back and forth. “We’ve only just been going out to eat cakes together!”

 “Hmm? Den, you’re tellin’ me… You guys ain’t goin’ out?”

 “We aren’t! Well, I mean, I think it’d be great if that happens one day but…” Souta said with his face bright red. It was obvious that he liked Akari judging by his words.

 “Midori, you…”

 “Huh?” He turned to look at Haruki when he suddenly heard his name.

 An indescribable expression appeared on Haruki’s face as he quietly stared at Midori.

 What da heck, I feel like somethin’ like dis has happened before… Midori thought as he tried to remember. He then realized when it was. That’s right, didn’t Haruki have a similar expression on his face just after Golden Week? Back then, Haruki had dodged his question and Midori ended up not finding out what he had wanted to say.

 “Da heck?” This time, Midori was able to clearly say it.

 Haruki was slightly surprised, then he grimaced, “Our graduation ceremony’s gonna be here before you know it.”

 “O-Oh. Dat’s true.”

 “If a chance comes rolling in front of your eyes, you better take it quickly.”

 “H-Huh…?”

 What the heck was he talking about?

 Haruki ignored Midori’s confusion and a look of satisfaction appeared on his face at his own words.

 “Should you be saying that, Haruki?” Souta said with a slight wry smile.

 A rare hurt expression appeared on Haruki’s face, “…Not really, I’m just saying it.”

 “Well, I guess. But, if you’re gonna do that, then why don’t you tell her, too?”

 To who? What?

 Midori tilted his head in confusion. On the other hand, it looked like Haruki understood the meaning behind those words. He avoided looking at Souta’s “I-know-how-it-is” look on his face while knitting his eyebrows together with a frown.

 “Situations and stuff differ from person to person, so isn’t it okay as long as those people do it without regretting it?” Yuu sighed as if to say he was fed up with them.

 Souta’s eyes immediately flashed with a sparkle and said, exaggerating his words, “Ooh! People with girlfriends say different things, huh?”

 “Moooochiiiiiiiiitaaaaaa?”

 What da heck, I don’t understand what’s goin’ on at all! What da heck are they talkin’ ‘bout? Midori was now completely stranded in the conversation. He watched the others.

 Yuu and Souta were talking about “whether or not you can call going to eat ramen a date” while Haruki was completely in film director mode. He was analyzing the screenplay papers that were stacked on top of the desk.

 Even if Midori tried asking him a question now, he probably wouldn’t get a proper reply back. He didn’t understand Haruki, but it was true that his words had struck him in the heart. There wasn’t even half a year left until their graduation. On top of that, once the cultural festival ended, their final exams would begin without time to rest before they’d have to prepare for their college exams around the beginning of winter break.

 That meant…

 ‘Bout how much time do I have left to talk to Narumi? The moment he put that thought into words, his chest tightened.

 Even though it was an “ill-matched,” “secret” love, he didn’t want to lie to himself about his feelings for her. That’s why he put all his feelings into the song he made for the cultural festival concert. But was he really okay with just that? Would he really be able to say that he wouldn’t regret anything when the time came for their graduation as he watched Sena walk away?

 Makin’ a song, singin’ it, and den havin’ her listen to it… Of course I can’t be satisfied with just dat!

It would be great if his feelings were conveyed to her, even just a little bit, through his song. That was what he was thinking in the back of his mind, but that was only his own self-satisfaction. He wanted Sena to know about his feelings. He also wanted to ask her about her feelings. Since it was like that, he probably had no choice but to confess to her first.

 I’ll put all my heart, all my feelings, inta singin’ and den when da concert ends, I’ll… He reached a decision quickly.

 Midori left the Film Research Club room with a, “I’ll see ya guys later!” and walked into the hallway. He then took his phone out from his pants pocket.

 “We made a new super awesome song for da cultural festival. I’m gonna sing with all my heart, so I definitely would like you to come and listen to it.”

 He checked it again and again before softly pressing the send button. Sena probably wouldn’t be able to send a reply until late into the night. She had left school the moment morning classes had finished because she had a magazine photoshoot today. He was about to return to the home screen on his phone when he saw “read” appear next to his message. His phone then vibrated to indicate that he received a message.

 “I will definitely go. I’m also lokking forward to seeing you that day!”

 Huh? Lokking forward to? Did she accidentally make a mistake while typing “I’m looking forward to seeing you?” It looked like Sena herself hadn’t noticed it because the next thing she sent was an animated panda stamp saying “see you later” as it waved.

 Dis kinda stuff happens to Narumi, too, huh. He found another new side to her and that made him feel giddy.

 He wanted to see Sena’s different expressions. What did she like and what kind of guy was her type? No matter what it was, if it was her, then he wanted to know more. Even her dislikes and what she couldn’t do; he wanted her to not hold back and tell him everything.

 “Just you wait, cultural festival…!”

★ ★ ★ ☆ ★ ★ ★

The day of the cultural festival was a fine, clear autumn day.

 Midori helped out at his class’ food stall making lots of yakisoba, then spent his break time with Haruki and the others. He carefreely spent the time he had until their concert in the afternoon while walking and exploring all parts of the festival.

 He spent that time in a flash before it was time for rehearsals. Due to the Drama Club’s play beginning soon in the gym, their final tuning was, like always, in the audiovisual classroom.

 When Midori opened the door to the classroom, the three of his bandmembers were already holding their instruments. “You guys’re so gung-ho!”

 “Well, yeah. We ended up choosing to do 3 songs along with that original one, so it’d be pretty embarrassing if we let them hear a bad performance. We’d definitely be laughed at even at our graduation!”

 “Suzuki, you idiot… Be careful what you’re saying, it’s bad luck.”

 “Well, I guess. He’s been like this since way before.” Kuma, the drummer, said with a wry smile as he glanced at Hiromichi who was clutching his bass guitar with a pale face.

 It’s always like dis right before a concert.

But that would also end today. Although they’d probably still get together after graduation, no one knew if they’d still have their instruments then. If that was so, then this would possibly become their last stage.

 …No, dat stuff doesn’t matter right now.

 Midori stood in front of the other three and quietly lowered his head, “I’m thankful dat you guys’ve been goin’ along with my selfishness all dese years. Thanks.”

 “…Midori, you don’t have to say stuff like that.” Suzuki said, laughing it off, probably on purpose.

 Midori raised his head, “It’s okay, listen to me,” then continued, “I’m glad dat we’ve come dis far in da club with dese members here.” After saying it, his vision gradually began to distort. Midori pretended that he was wiping his sweat and roughly rubbed his eyes.

 Normally, they would tease him in this kind of situation, but it didn’t look like any of them were in a teasing mood.

 Suzuki, who easily got into the mood of the conversation, firmly bit down on his lips as if he was trying to overcome something, “M-Me, too. I was thinking that too…!”

 Taking Suzuki’s words as a signal, Kuma and Hiromichi also continued, “Thanks for these 3 years.” “It was a lot of fun, seriously.”

 “No, no, you can’t. You gotta wait until after da concert to cry…”

 “Midori, what’re you saying when your eyes are watering?”

 He wondered who was the first to burst into laughter. Laughter from the four of them echoed in the audiovisual room. No matter if they cried or if they laughed, this was their final high school concert.

★ ★ ★ ☆ ★ ★ ★

It looked like the play from the Drama Club was a huge success this year as well. The commotion from the audience still hadn’t stopped even when Midori and the others arrived on the side of the stage in the gym.

 “It’s kinda nerve-wracking to be performing after them.” Suzuki said with a wry smile as he peeked out at the audience from the gap in the curtains.

 Though Midori had agreed and said, “Yeah,” he held his cheeks in both hands and slapped them to snap himself out of it. It would be hopeless if they let themselves be overwhelmed by the atmosphere now. “Da stage is warmed up ‘nough for us now, so let’s get dem more excited with our concert.” Midori said and held out his hand to Suzuki and the others.

 The three of them immediately understood what he was doing and extended their own hands.

 “Let’s do our best and have fun for today’s concert! One, two…”

 “YEAH!” The four of them shouted, their voices together as one, in a circle.

 His body strangely became lighter. Although he was still nervous, his heart beat quicker at the expectation that he held for their concert. Midori lifted the corners of his mouth with a grin and walked out onto the stage.

 Each of them stood in front of their instruments on stand by and gave the signal to the cultural festival committee. Immediately, the buzzer in the gym rang and the curtain slowly lifted. The excitement that had seen from the audience from the gap in the curtains directly wash over them and their hearts beat loudly.

 Aah… I really love dis feeling.

The moment he felt the gaze from the audience, Kuma began to count down with his drumsticks.

 1, 2, 3, 4…

 The first note came from Midori’s guitar. He strummed his pick with strength just like the dozens of times he did so during practice. The MV began to play on screen at the same time. The audience probably hadn’t thought that they’d prepare something like this because they heard stirring voices from below them.

 The short, but what felt like a long, intro would soon come to an end and the parts that the three others added to the song would come. And, it was at that time that…

 “Ah!” Someone in the audience yelled. Other people with surprised expressions were also pointing at the screen.

 What the heck appeared on the screen?

 Midori turned his head and it was at that moment that he froze. So da thing dat I had to look forward ta was dis! The person being projected on the screen was Sena. It was only her back but there was no doubt about it. There was no way that he could mistake anyone else for her. After all, she was the person he liked. It almost seemed like his breathing had stopped when she smiled at him on the screen.

 “Midori! The lyrics, the lyrics!” He heard a voice come from behind him away from the mic.

 When he looked at the source of the voice, Suzuki was making a panicked expression. Suzuki pushed Midori’s back with his shoulder while skillfully performing, causing Midori to suddenly come to his senses.

 Now I’ve done it, I seriously skipped some lyrics… It was a good defeat. Midori laughed, doing it away from the mic, then jumped back into singing.

 This was a sensation that he hadn’t had before.

 Maybe it was because this was a song that he wrote himself, but, even without especially making it a point to put his feelings into his performance, his feelings were already naturally spilling out.

 In the tips of his fingers that pressed down on the guitar chords. In his trembling throat. In his pulsating heartbeat. He was singing, throughout his body, that he loved Sena.

 Before he knew it, the audience was clapping their hands to the beat of the music. The wave of their enthusiastic atmosphere swept all the way across the stage and he felt a thrilling current rush through him from the bottom of his feet.

 When they talk ‘bout a sense of unity, they mean dis, huh?

The song entered its interlude and, immediately, the guitar solos began. Midori came in a beat after Suzuki and, matching the leaping sounds of their guitars, a single spotlight was turned towards the audience. Emerging from the foot of the light was Sena.

 She came ta listen to us…!

He was happy, he was nervous, he was excited; in any case, a variety of feelings simultaneously overcame him from the pit of his stomach and it almost looked like his heart would fly out from his mouth. Then, in the next moment, he felt his eyes meet Sena’s.

 Go. od. Lu. ck.

 He saw her mouth these words and somehow, without any reason at all, he wanted to cry.

 I, I really like Narumi after all.

The interlude then ended and finally the “boy” in the song would express his feelings to “her.” Even though “he” knew that he was ill-matched with “her,” he didn’t give up. That’s why, he decided that he would take a step at a time to become closer to “her” ideal person. Then, he would tell her his feelings. He would look straight ahead at only “her” with all the feelings he held.

 “I love you.”

★ ★ ★ ☆ ★ ★ ★

Sena snuck out of the gym by herself while the audience was still moved by the lingering aftereffects of the concert. If she had stayed there any longer, it was likely that she would’ve burst out into tears.

 She crouched inside an empty classroom and steadied her breathing. Hamanaka’s song was amazing…

He had “sung with all his heart” like he said he would in his messages. The song itself had a bright mood that felt like it was sprinting. But every part of the lyrics overflowed with Midori’s feelings and it made Sena’s chest tighten as she listened to him. Before she knew it, there had been a single line of tears running down her cheeks.

 …That must mean Hamanaka is in love, too. She had that feeling after listening to that song. He wouldn’t have been able to sing with that much of his heart if not.

 Who does he like? I’m jealous of her… just kidding… What’s the use of thinking that after all this time?

 Sena bit down on her trembling lips. The reason why she had decided to appear in the music video that Haruki and the others made was because she wanted to take that one step forward. That, even if it were a “secret love,” she didn’t want to turn her back on her own feelings. She had been satisfied with just that.

 It should’ve been okay even if she didn’t confess, was what she had thought. But her heart was stubbornly honest. She had thought that she would be able to convey something, even if only just a little bit, from the music video and had replied to Midori’s message with, “I’m also looking forward to seeing you that day!”

 The song that Midori wrote was full of his straightforward feelings regarding love. It wasn’t just all lip-service. He sang without sugarcoating his words; that he was engulfed in both anxiety and jealousy. That falling in love with someone could be like a battle with yourself. That the extent of how true your feelings were for that person would also make your anxiety that much larger.

 Sena had realized while listening to his song that she had unconsciously overlapped the song with her own feelings. And her back was being pushed by the “boy” in the song. Like how the “boy” confessed to “her,” she would tell Midori her feelings. No matter what the results turned out to be.

 …That’s right, I have to properly tell him my feelings. Her phone vibrated at the same time she raised her head with her resolution made. In the new notifications section, she saw Midori’s name and her heart leapt. A message from Hamanaka… I wonder what’s it about?

The cultural festival would end in only a few more minutes and the only event remaining was the closing party.

 Sena tapped on the screen nervously with trembling fingers.

 “Once da closin’ party starts, can you come to da gym?”

 She unconsciously stopped breathing while she read his message. The minute she finished reading it, her heart suddenly beat loudly. Maybe, this is… this might be my chance!

There would be no one at the gym during the closing party. The party was an event that took place in the schoolyard and would focus on the cultural festival committee.

 Sena stood up straight and sent a stamp of Kumapan* saying “OK.” It would be okay. She was no longer the girl who couldn’t even greet Midori. Like the rainy day when she lent him her umbrella, she only needed to make her body move.

 I have to be courageous one more time. Right? Was what Sena told herself as she opened the classroom door.

★ ★ ★ ☆ ★ ★ ★

As expected, the front of the gym had returned to being quiet. The countdown until the closing party began had started in the schoolyard.

 5, 4, 3…

 Sena also counted down inside her head matching the sound of the school’s bright voices. Her pulse was going wild and the sensation was becoming strange. During that time, she may have forgotten how to breathe because she was so nervous.

 2, 1.

Suddenly, the sound from her surroundings quieted as if they were far away. The only thing that appeared in her mind was Midori’s smile.

 0.

The moment they finished counting, Sena pulled open the cold, heavy door. The heat that was trapped inside the gym floated out and blew over her cheeks. Midori was standing in front of the stage.

 “Hamanaka, sorry for making you wait…!” Sena said as she rushed over to him.

 Midori nodded. However, that was all he did and he didn’t say anything back. It somehow looked like he was nervous.

 Is it something that hard to talk about…?

Though Sena was confused as to why he had asked to meet with her, she smiled at the frozen Midori, “Good work with the concert! The concert was really lively.”

 “…Mm.” This time, she faintly heard his voice. Although it was only one sound, Midori’s mouth wouldn’t move as if it had been locked shut.

 Maybe his voice became hoarse from the concert earlier?

The moment she thought that, she heard a voice murmur from somewhere, “L-L-Li…” No, it wasn’t from somewhere, it was from Midori right in front of her, “L-L-Likkya… No, um…”

 Sukiyaki*?

 Midori’s face went red when he saw Sena tilt her head with a questioning look. He turned his face downwards.

 Oh, his face just now… cute…

She wanted to see it up closer. When she thought that, she took one step, then another, and shortened the distance between her and Midori. During that time, her heart beat wildly, so much that it hurt, but her legs wouldn’t stop. She wanted to see all of Midori’s expressions. She wanted to do stuff like see him more and hold his hand. She wanted to know what sweets he liked and what color he liked. Even the things he wasn’t good at or the things he couldn’t do, she wanted him to tell her everything without holding back.

 I want to become Hamanaka’s special person.

That was why, she needed to take that first step forward. She would look straight up at Midori, then confide him with her feelings. “Can I have you to myself?”

 The next moment, Midori raised his head with a snap. His cheeks were even more redder than she had seen them earlier. But, that probably was the both of them. Her own cheeks were probably turning red.

 “Hamanaka.” Sena wanted an answer so she looked straight at him without averting her gaze.

 Midori was no longer averting his gaze. He took two deep breaths, then a third, and slowly opened his mouth, “Y-Y-Ya…”

 “Ya?”

 “Yay! It’s mutual!”

 “Huh?”

 Midori pumped his fist into the air while Sena looked at him blankly. That, that meant, in other words, that her confession was being accepted? Maybe, surely, definitely for sure. But she still wanted to hear him say it properly.

 Sena said his name, “Hamanaka,” while pouting her lips just a little bit, “I want to hear your answer.”

 “!” Midori’s eyes widened and his face turned red in an instant. His eyes moved from side to side as he mumbled, “Huh, um, I –”

 Seeing Midori like that made Sena smile and she continued to stare at him as she wanted for his answer.

 “I-I, um…”

 “Yeah?”

 “…If you’re okay wit me, den I’d be happy.”

 “It can’t be anyone but you.” Sena said and pinched his red cheeks. Midori was surprised at first, but, whether or not it was conveyed that she was hiding her embarrassment, he bashfully laughed.

 What is this… my head feels light… She was so happy that she felt it all the way to the back of her throat.

 “…Y’know, Narumi.” Midori hesitantly said.

 It looked like Sena would cry if she said anything now, so she urged him to continue with her eyes. When she did so, he gently caressed the hand that was pinching Midori’s cheek.

 “Me, too. It can’t be anyone but you.” He held her hand tightly. Midori’s hand was as warm as her own, “I love you.”

 She processed the meaning of his words a moment late, but the moment she did her tears overflowed.

 Midori panicked, asking, “A-Are ya okay!?”

 She was so overwhelmed with emotions that her words wouldn’t come out at all.

 The phrase “I love you” had this much destructive power… Even now, she felt like her heart would explode. It was such a real sensation and it was telling her that this wasn’t a dream.

 Sena wanted to tell Midori how she was so happy that it hurt. She looked straight at him, “…Me, too…”

 “Hmm?”

 “I love you, too.”

 Midori’s eyes rapidly widened at Sena’s words.

 Then, without knowing who it came from first, they burst into wide smiles.

 “Please take care of me.”

 “Please take care of me, yeah?*”

epilogue

 He had always thought that it was an ill-matched love. But, when he took that one step forward, Sena had been reaching her hand out to him like he was to her. They, then, took each other’s hands and became boyfriend and girlfriend.

 However, due to Sena being a part of the entertainment industry, the fact that it was a secret love hadn’t changed. Sena had Midori all to herself. On the other hand, Midori didn’t have the “magazine model Narumi Sena” all to himself.

 This love was their own little secret.

★ ★ ★ ☆ ★ ★ ★

8:07, the 2nd train car on platform 2.

 Sena got on the train at the usual time at the usual place.

 Midori quietly turned back and naturally said, “Mornin’.” He said only that one word before he turned his back to Sena. That was the distance between classmates.

 For some reason, there were junior high schoolers gathered when they arrived at the station nearest their high school. As soon as they saw Sena, they rushed up to her without delay. It seemed like they had been waiting for her. With things like colored paper or the magazines that Sena worked for as a model in their hands, both girls and boys pressed her with, “Please sign this!”

 Looks like Narumi’s in trouble… would it be betta if I go save her…?

Midori nonchalantly glanced in her direction and his eyes met with Sena’s. In just that one moment, Sena sweetly smiled. She hadn’t said anything, but that was enough.

 Midori passed by Sena and the others without stopping or saying anything.

 She’s so popular like always, huh. It didn’t mean that Midori didn’t have his own thoughts about it after seeing her approached in that way. But the “magazine model Narumi Sena” belonged to everyone. And, Narumi Sena’s lover was him and only him. That reality became the driving force that pushed Midori forward.

 Anyway, it’s ‘kay if we just go our own pace without bein’ in a hurry. Oh yeah, maybe I’ll call her tonight. And ask her if she wants ta go to da amusement park on our next day off to re-do dat day!

★ ★ ★ ☆ ★ ★ ★

There may be difficult times, but if it’s with us, then it’ll be okay. After all, I’ll be with you. From now and in the future, let’s keep making fun secrets together.

* Kumapan is the name of the Honeyworks mascots * Midori stutters while trying to say “suki” and ends up saying “su-su-ki-iya” which sounds like sukiyaki * They’re saying よろしく to each other. There’s not really a good way to translate it since it’s a cultural thing, but it’s like them saying they’re looking forward to their new relationship.

[wordsturnintostories]

1/ Nothing in the Mirror

Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four

Masterlist

Summary: A lot can happen on a late spring day, especially on a bus.

Warnings: idk just fluff and embarrassment

Word count: 1252

Author's_Note: This was supposed to be a drabble. Instead, it turned into a series with a number of chapters. It was also supposed to be suuuper fluffy. But just you wait until the next chapters. Nothing turns out perfect, I guess. This is dedicated to @buckyslion , who is such a cutie and who deserves a surprise. I love you, sweetheart. You'll even find an easter egg in there. I'm so excited for this. :D

Today was a good day, you decided. Training had been fun, your last minutes in the steam-off phase had ended in a hilarious splash battle and now, after showering, you felt refreshed. Your hair felt really nice today, smoother than usual. Maybe that was the new hair product series you’d gotten from your host mother for your birthday. Ever since the shower, your hair spread the beautiful smell of fresh fruits and blossom and you just couldn’t help but cherish it. Oh, and then, your day had turned out to be even better, because the bus you usually missed after training came a few minutes too late and you were at the stop right in time to hop in. Yes, your day was splendid and to be honest, the whole last year had been, despite being so far away from home. New York was an adventure and you enjoyed it.

The bus ride, however, was a different story altogether. Not that it could dampen the deep joy filling your body, the one that your friends kept teasing you for, this enthusiasm that captured your eyes, made them sparkle and, together with the relentless and huge smile, look like pure sunshine. Your curls tickled your neck as the last breeze of fresh air streamed into the bus, just before the doors closed. The vehicle was packed. You were lucky it was still spring, with nice temperatures outside, mild, but already warm enough to wear tops and short pants. In summer, this bus ride could’ve been a disaster, but right now, it was still pleasant. Some people left the bus at the next stop and finally, you could stand in the door zone instead of the aisle, where people huddled together way too close, bumping into each other every time the driver hit the brakes.

Soft music reached your ears through your headphones and you closed your eyes for a few moments, just enjoying the melodious harmony of sun and the content feeling in your body. This was a very good day, you should memorize it. Of course, you had noticed the two handsome men standing on the other side of the door zone. They were talking and laughing all the time, which was cute because they both had their own ways of scrunching up their faces or hitting their chest to express their happiness. Both of them looked fine, from the physical aspect, and they seemed to be driving home from sports as well, you deduced from their duffel bags and their choice of clothes. You knew your friends would’ve already tried to push you towards them. They looked good, sure, and you were usually a confident young woman, but there was no reason to interrupt them.

The taller one, the blonde, wore a tank top that showed off a lot of muscles, while the other one, the one with the ponytail, wore a shirt and a jean jacket over it. Plus he wore a glove. The jacket was strange, with the sun so warm today, but well, your brother was a frozen nugget as well. The glove was just weird. Maybe he was injured. Both of them laughed again. Good for them, you thought. Seeing other people this happy was quite the thing to you - it always made your face light up just a little bit more. Bloom by The Paper Kites came on and you smiled to yourself. This was such a beautiful song, maybe even your favorite, you thought as your hands gripped your phone to add the song to a playlist.

Suddenly, you fell forward. The bus had stopped so abruptly, you flew, landing directly in the arms of the big blonde guy. He looked as surprised as you and even his friend seemed a little shocked by the change of events. You blushed because the driver was still hitting the brakes, still pressing you into the well, very muscly guy. And you’d thought this day was good. When the bus was finally standing still, you excused yourself and returned to your former position. The driver must’ve been new or the traffic just really bad or something, because he started to go and a half a second later, stopped again, making you fall the whole way back. Into the blonde. Oh great. „Oh, and here we go again“, he mumbled and his friend scratched his neck, smiling as well. „Sorry. I really didn’t want to-„ You stepped back a few steps, scanning your surrounding for a grab handle to hold onto. „Nah, don’t worry“, he smiled and looked very genuine saying that. It was strange, you felt like you’d seen his face and this square jaw before, but you couldn’t actually lay a finger on where you knew him from. You sent a look to the front of the bus, where the bus driver gesticulated wildly. He was about to enter a roundabout that, typical for rush hour, didn’t offer much space for a bus. Finally, he made a move, though, still complaining, of course, just to send you flying again. „I can’t believe it“, you mumbled, blushing a lot harder this time, because this time the blonde had seen it coming and caught you like a guy caught his girlfriend in the smoochy- area of an airport. This was so silly. „And there she is. Just can’t stay away from me, huh?“, he chuckled and made you laugh. He seemed kind and as easy as you could tell the mood of a small child, you could see he was just joking around, making the best of this situation. „Well, someone is pushy today“, his friend grinned, nudging his head towards the driver. „I don’t mind“, said the blonde when noticing your discomfort. „I’m Steve, by the way.“ „And I’m James“, the other one winked, sending Steve a look. James leaned forward as if to tell you a secret. „Just wanted to let you know, in case you come flying again. I wouldn’t mind one of your hugs either, doll.“ His comment made you laugh and his face lit up watching you. The bus finally made it through the roundabout without any kinds of stops or sudden changes and some kids in the back started clapping. All three of you chuckled and you finally dared to take a step back, out of Steve’s embrace. „You smell really nice“, he commented. Aw, he really made making compliments feel so easy. Not that you were bad at making them either. Compliments aren’t hard when the kindness behind them is genuine. „Thanks. I would tell you the same, but I was, um.“ „Distracted“, James offered, having just a little too much fun right now. You huffed. „I mean, you should’ve told me before. I didn’t think about smelling your cologne. Sorry, I guess now you’ll never know.“ Because now, you’d hold onto the grips in the bus and no, you wouldn’t let go and crash into Steve again. „Aren’t you adorable today.“ „Excuse you. That was rude“, you scolded James, before adding, „I'm always adorable, please.“ You grinned and Steve laughed out loud, throwing his head back and grabbing his chest. If you hadn’t laughed before, you sure did now, because him laughing was hilarious. „So, what’s your name, beautiful?“, James asked. „Oh yeah. I-„ Just then you flew forward again, but you stumbled and flew straight into James. The next thing you felt was a strange pain in your head. Somebody had turned the sun off, too. Then, you were gone.

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Tags:

@buckyslion , @aubzylynn , @inappropriatepirate