#you guys i was literally too busy dealing with wrapping up shit for the holidays to even notice it was down

[pendragonsclotpole]

does anyone have one of those whiteboards or flip pads so we can start the next running count of “XX Days Since the Last AO3 Shut Down”?

[jungshookz]

miss cee pd i have a request!!!! how about e2l tae x y/n but they're in law school and they're always arguing and debating inside and outside of the classroom and tae being a little shit is like "you wanna kiss me so bad" and they both don't realise that there's mistletoe above them which jimin put because he was tired of watching them constantly argue and wanted to fiZzle the tension hehe and then they KITH,, i hope this isn't too long aha

➺ pairing; kim taehyung x reader

➺ genre; sfw!! enemies to lovers!! everyone’s in law school!! mostly y/n and taehyung bickering with each other and wanting to jump each other’s bones at the same time

➺ wordcount; 4.3k

➺ what to expect; “don’t flatter yourself. i would rather throw myself into oncoming traffic than kiss you, kim taehyung.”

                                     »»————-　❄　————-««

“-now, the particular case study that was assigned to our group involves a civil action for medical negligence and a criminal prosecution for gross negligence manslaughter, which means that there are seven elements that we need to hit when we’re acting out our simulation next class,” you explain, flipping to the next page of your notebook with a flick of your wrist, “firstly, the client - jimin - must be interviewed so that we may determine the facts that surround the claim/prosecution. secondly, we need to draft witness statements - from hoseok and namjoon - and assess the legal efficacy of said statements. thirdly, we must assess the propriety of police interrogation from officer jungkook of the defend-”

you pause when a crumpled piece of paper lands by your left foot and you clear your throat quietly before stepping over it and continuing to pace back and forth at the front of the classroom

your eyes skim over your scribbled words as you try to relocate your place

…

ah!

here we are

“-ant, seokjin, through all transcripts along with the custody record. fourthly, we move on to assessing the reports that have been produced by the forensic experts-”

another balled-up piece of paper hits your foot and your head immediately snaps upwards from your book before you twist around to face the room

“would you cut that out, please?” you snap, already feeling your blood pressure starting to rise from a single glance at taehyung’s smug face

“what? i didn’t know how else to get your attention!” he hums, his arm dangling in the air with a floppy wrist, “my arm’s been up for the past three minutes, and you would’ve known that if you didn’t have your nose buried deep in your book.”

the reminder that you wouldn’t last a day in prison keeps you from lunging forward to wrap your hands around taehyung’s neck and you press your lips together to stop yourself from saying anything too crass

the last thing you need is for some professor to walk past the classroom while you’re cussing up a storm

your self-control has really been put to the test ever since you met taehyung

after all this time, you still don’t know what the guy’s deal is

he’s been a pain in your ass since day one

and for what??

for WHAT?!

at first you just thought that being a complete prick was just his weird version of being charismatic, but then you realised that he wasn’t being charming at all and he was really, truly, genuinely being a straight-up asshole

and, for the record, you’ve tried several times in the past to try to make things better but nothing’s worked

you said that he looked nice in his suit = he told you to stop looking at him like a piece of meat

you asked him how he did on the midterm exam = he told you that it was his right to keep that piece of information private and that you were being a snake by even asking about it

you said happy birthday to him = he said, and you quote, “yeah. it was until you got here.”

the point is, you’ve waved many white flags of surrender and extended many, many olive branches to no avail

at this point you’re pretty sure taehyung just gets off on being a jerk to you

and it’s not fair because it’s literally just you that he picks on constantly

at first you thought that maybe he was just threatened by your presence because you made it pretty clear from day one that you weren’t here to play around

powerful women are intimidating!

you totally get it.

…but then you overheard him offering rosé some studying tips and you even saw him help wendy carry her books for her and everyone knows that rosé and wendy are two of the smartest girls in the class, so why wasn’t he threatened by them?

...

the point is, he doesn’t treat anyone else in the class like this except for you and you can’t seem to figure out why!

what makes it even more frustrating is the fact that his stupid face is very nice to look at, so whenever he’s being mean to you, your dumb girl hormones drown out the sound of his rich, honey-like voice and place floating pink hearts around his head instead

“i’m so sorry i wasn’t paying attention to you, mr. kim.” you force out before gesturing to the notebook cradled in the crook of your arm, “see, all my notes are in here and i’m just trying to make sure that i don’t miss out on any details,” you point out, “and… i thought i said to save your questions for the end, did i not?”

“did you? i guess i wasn’t listening. sorry, sweetheart.” taehyung chirps, folding his arms and leaning forward on his desk, “anyway- don’t you think it’s a little unfair that you get to play the hotshot lawyer in this simulation?”

“everyone gets a turn to be the lawyer - last week, it was jungkook. this week, it’s me. everyone gets a shot to play the hotshot lawyer because our roles rotate.” you shake your head in disagreement, “how am i being unfair?”

“you assigned yourself, like, the coolest case study.” taehyung scoffs, leaning back against his seat and crossing his arms, “i mean… medical negligence and a criminal prosecution for gross negligence manslaughter?” his left brow arches before he turns his head slightly, “jungkook, what was your case study on again?”

“my client parked in a no-parking zone!” jungkook beams, nodding to himself, “i didn’t mind getting that case, though. it was actually pretty fu-”

“you hear that, y/n?” taehyung turns his head back to face you before gesturing behind him, “jungkook also thinks his case was boring as hell- his client parked in a no-parking zone and you get to deal with corrupt doctors and accidentally-but-not-really-accidentally-run-over-by-a-car pedestrians.”

your jaw clenches in frustration and you resist the urge to take a heel off and bash taehyung’s skull in with it

being forced to wear nice shoes to school would be so much better if you were allowed to commit cold-blooded murder with them

“well, that was last week’s case, so even if jungkook thought it was boring…” you pause, turning to set your notebook down on the front desk before twisting back around, “he’s already had his turn. and now it’s my turn!”

“you could’ve given me this case.”

“oh, please.” you snort, rolling your eyes before leaning against the front desk, “you wouldn’t have been able to handle a case this big. this has my name written all over it.”

taehyung scoffs, rolling his eyes, “the only reason why it has your name written all over it was because you grabbed it with your grubby little raccoon hands before anyone else had the chance to-”

“i-!” you pinch the bridge of your nose before letting out a laugh of disbelief, “oh my god, i refuse to have this conversation with you again, taehyung- for the last time, it was a first-come-first-serve situation, and you probably could’ve gotten this case if you weren’t so busy watching netflix in class-”

“you guys-” namjoon clears his throat, his shoulders drooping when the two of you ignore him, “…never mind.”

this always happens

you guys somehow always find something to argue about no matter what

in fact, namjoon’s convinced that you guys could sit in complete and utter silence and still find something to fight over

“how long do you think the argument will last this time?” yoongi leans over, “i bet you ten bucks it’ll last longer than last week’s fight.”

“no way! last week’s fight was half an hour long-” hoseok chimes in, “…they can’t possibly argue for longer than thirty minutes… can they?”

“remember that time they fought over a sandwich?” jungkook sighs, leaning his cheek against his fist, “that was a forty minute argument.”

“they fought over a sandwich?” jimin frowns, turning to glance towards the front, “what was there to even argue about??”

“y/n said that the spread was dijon mustard and taehyung said it was horseradish mustard,” seokjin purses his lips, “…i actually ordered the same sandwich and i’m pretty sure it was just regular ol’ yellow mustard… but i’m too afraid to tell either of them they’re wrong about it.”

“oh my god-” jimin scoffs, “forty minutes arguing about mustard?? really??”

“yep! i even recorded the whole thing just because it’s actually pretty interesting listening to two people scream about mustard so passionately for so long,” jungkook pulls his phone out of his back pocket, the rest of the boys scooting in closer to his desk, “by the time we finish watching the video, they’ll… probably be done arguing with each other. maybe.”

“-ow thick is your skull, taehyung? were you dropped on your head as a baby??” you scowl, “if i was a teacher’s pet like you say i am, then i would’ve sweet-talked my way out of being in a group with you. also, you know what? i wasn’t going to bring this up, but the only reason why we’re here during christmas break is because it was your idea to practice during the holidays-”

“yeah! you get to practice your big show in a huge, empty classroom without getting nervous about someone overhearing you practice speaking in your dumb, professional lawyer voice-” taehyung gestures around at the spacious atmosphere, “if this is your way of being thankful to me, you have an awfully funny way of showing it-”

“do you know what i could be doing right now if i wasn’t here?” you scowl, placing your hands on your hips as you glare at taehyung

“hm, let me think…” he hums, leaning back against his chair before kicking his legs up onto his desk, “bending over and trying desperately to pull the fat stick out of your ass?”

jimin sits up a little straighter as he peers over the top of namjoon and seokjin’s heads to check and see if you and taehyung are done arguing yet

your ears are turning red and there’s an animalistic, frenzied look behind your eyes, so... nope. definitely not done yet.

after all this time, he still doesn’t know why you guys fight the way that you do

it’s like you enjoy pushing each other’s buttons and irritating each other until one of you inevitably snaps (you’re usually the first one to fall off the rocker because taehyung is alarmingly good at being irritating)

“ooh, hold on-” jungkook grins, pointing to the screen before whacking jimin’s arm in rapid smacks, “my favourite part is coming up, you have to pay attention-”

jimin looks away from you two and back down at the screen

“-the low acidity liquid gives dijon mustard that intensified heat and the classic pungent flavour which is very obvious in this sandwich!” you exclaim, peeling the top slice of bread off to reveal the inside, “and look at that colour! that is literally dijon mustard-”

“okay, fine! it’s dijon mustard.” taehyung responds while inspecting his nail beds

“no, you’re not listening to- wait… did you just agree with me?”

“yeah!” he sighs, crossing his arms, “the mustard used in your sandwich is dijon mustard. and also, the sky is green-”

“oh my god, you piece of-!”

jimin looks up again when he hears your voice rise a couple of octaves

this is the part of the argument when your ‘i’m-fine-don’t-touch-me-I’M-FINE’ voice comes out

“wow! you are-” you laugh, shaking your head as you lean down and place your hands flat on the surface of taehyung’s desk “you really are something else, kim taehyung. i-!”

you let out a yelp of surprise when taehyung suddenly reaches over and yanks at a section of your hair

“ow!” you whack his hand away before flicking your hair over your shoulder, “wha- what the hell was that for?!”

taehyung doesn’t flinch at your aggressive tone and he looks up at you, completely unfazed, before giving a half-hearted shrug

“it was hanging, like, right in front of me. i couldn’t not pull on it.”

“well, your tie is right there but you don’t see me reaching over and pulling on it to strangle you because it’s right in front of me-”

“oh, threatening to choke me, are we?” taehyung hums, “i’m suddenly feeling very unsafe. should i get one of the guys to call campus security for my protection, miss y/n?”

“do you guys think we should break things off?” seokjin glances over his shoulder at the escalating scene, “ideally, i’d like for this to not turn into a how to get away with murder scenario…”

jimin narrows his eyes slightly as the gears click-click-click away in his head, leaning back against his seat and reaching up to tap at his chin

there’s something about this situation that’s reminding him of something but he can’t quite put his finger on it

“oh my god, you are such a child-!”

jimin’s eyes suddenly widen in realization, a lightbulb appearing at the top of his head

!

does taehyung like y/n?

...

oh, wow

taehyung has a full-blown crush on you!

how could he not have noticed this before?!

taehyung is literally the bratty little boy pulling on your pigtails because he doesn’t know how else to get your attention on this playground!

a comment from a former conversation with you briefly flits through jimin’s mind as he continues staring at the two of you in awe

he doesn’t remember how exactly you guys started talking about it, but he does remember you saying these words to him:

“i mean… yeah. of course i think taehyung’s attractive. maybe in another universe where he’s not bullying me 24/7, i would be more open to admitting to myself that i might have a slight crush- i-i mean, i- what did we say we were going to get for lunch today?? sandwiches?? we should get sandwiches, the place is right here-”

how could he have forgotten you said that to him?!

it’s like he finally has his hands on the missing puzzle piece... and it’s up to him to finish this puzzle!

“i have a plan.” jimin whispers to himself before reaching over to grab onto jungkook’s wrist, “i know what i have to do!”

“huh?” jungkook frowns in confusion, pausing the video before looking over at him, “what are you talking about?”

“just-” jimin gets up from his seat quickly, the chair screeching against the floor, “just make sure they don’t stop arguing with each other while i’m gone because i might take a while to find what i need-”

“you know, i don’t think that’s going to be an issue,” yoongi snorts, everyone looking towards the front to see you glaring at taehyung like you want to rip his heart out of his chest and eat it raw, “check out that throbbing vein in y/n’s forehead.”

“forget about her forehead vein-” jungkook shakes his head, “has no one else noticed how tightly taehyung clenches his asscheeks whenever he’s pissed? those trousers do not hide anything.”

everyone’s eyes immediately gravitate down to taehyung’s ass, hoseok and seokjin bursting into giggles at the sight

“what the fuck is your problem?!” you scream, taehyung’s eyes widening at your sudden outburst, “you’ve treated me like shit from day one and i’ve literally done nothing wrong!”

“okay! i think we should all just take a step back and take a deep breath…” namjoon gets up from his seat slowly, “it’s getting a little intense-“

“nothing wrong?! oh yeah, because you’re little miss perfect-” taehyung spits out, “don’t play dumb, you know exactly what you did!”

“what did i-!” you throw your hands up into the air, “please, i am begging you to tell me what the horrible thing is that i did that made you decide i was public enemy number one-”

“i heard you talking shit about me at the very beginning of the semester when you didn’t even know me! we’d never met and you didn’t even bother trying to get to know me before you formed your own opinion of me based on the way i looked-” taehyung snaps, “you said that i looked like an entitled, obnoxious frat-boy who didn’t even know left from right and only made it to law school because his daddy gave the school a generous donation- so if we’re really going to talk about who the real asshole is in this room, i would suggest re-evaluating-”

you feel the blood drain from your face at the reminder of what you said about taehyung on the first day of class

...oh.

...

okay, yeah, you... might have said that stuff, but it was only because the other people you were sitting with at the time said stuff like that and... and you were so desperate to find a group of cool law-school friends that you were totally willing to say and do anything they wanted you to do or say!

it obviously didn’t work because you don’t sit with them anymore, so...

yeah, it was a bad move to talk shit about taehyung like that without even having spoken one word to him, but if this proves anything... it’s that peer pressure is dangerous!

“well, why didn’t you just-” you stammer, feeling your face starting to heat up from embarrassment, “why didn’t you just tell me about this earlier? we could’ve nipped it right in the bud-”

“i much prefer the bullying because the feeling i get after seeing the defeat in your eyes is equivalent to a full-body orgasm-”

“oh my god, you sick freak-”

“uh, you guys-” namjoon cuts in again, holding his finger up, “can i just s-”

“okay, fine!” you raise your hands in surrender, “i’m sorry, alright? i’m really sorry. what i said about you was shitty, but i don’t see how bullying me for months on end was a good solution-”

“can you two shut u-”

“oh, i never said it was a good solution, y/n,” taehyung purses his lips, “like i said - i just did it because it was fun-”

“guys, if i could just get one word in-”

“do you even realize how psychotic you sound right no-”

“HEY!” namjoon suddenly bellows, you and taehyung jumping and clamming up immediately in alarm

“what??” the two of you ask at the same time, pausing to glare at each other for a split second before looking back over at namjoon

“i…” he trails off, his eyes flickering upwards, “…know this is kind of awkward timing, but…”

you and taehyung look up simultaneously, your eyes widening to see a dinky little shrub of... mistletoe? taped at the end of a meter stick

oh no 

oh hell no

“kiss first, and then you can apologise for what was obviously a huge misunderstanding and you can apologise for being a huge prick later - pucker up, lovebirds!” jimin chirps, waving the stick a little and watching your eyes go side to side like a ping-pong ball, “don’t be shy! also, i know the mistletoe looks like a clump of grass that i tied a red ribbon around- just don’t look too closely at it-”

“ha!” you let out a laugh before shaking your head quickly, “no way! i don’t know what you people think is going on here, but it’s certainly not that- you can’t just dangle a plant over my head and force me to kiss him-”

“what’s that supposed to mean?” taehyung scoffs in offence, tilting his head upwards slightly, “anyone would be honoured to be under the mistletoe with me!”

“yeah. anyone out of their mind.”

“aw, c’mon, you guys…” hoseok pushes his bottom lip out in a pout before clasping his hands together, “kiss and make up! we all know that’s how it works. let the christmas spirit take over your bodies and fuel your weird hate-love for each othe-”

“the sooner you two kiss and make out, the sooner i can get the hell out of here,” yoongi interrupts, snapping his fingers, “c’mon! plant a fat one on each other!”

“the only reason why y/n’s getting whiney about it because she knows she’ll fall in love with me the moment she kisses me.” taehyung suddenly speaks up and you immediately look back down at him with a glare

fall in love????

with him????

it’s not going to take a single kiss to fall in love with taehyung - it’s going to take intensive exposure therapy to fall in love with him!

“don’t flatter yourself. i would rather throw myself into oncoming traffic than kiss you, kim taehyung.” you growl, smacking your hands down on taehyung’s desk so violently that it rattles beneath you

“now, now. there’s no need to lie…” taehyung chuckles lightly as he pushes his seat back slightly and rises to his feet

“i’m not lying! i don’t want to kiss you!”

“do too!”

“do not!”

“do TOO!”

“do NOT!”

“you know, you just sound like you’re trying to convince yourself that you don’t want to kiss me-”

“you’re the one who keeps pushing it-” you jab a finger into his chest, “maybe you’re the one who wants to kiss me!”

“you think i wanna kiss you?!” taehyung laughs, flicking your hand away from him, “now look who the delusional one is!”

“i thought this was supposed to fix the arguing?” seokjin mutters under his breath, jungkook offering him a shrug while keeping his eyes glued on you and taehyung

he was running out of things to watch on netflix and this makes far better entertainment

the only thing that would make this better was if you and taehyung had at it in a grimy boxing ring half-naked

“i can’t be the only one thinking that all of this could be easily fixed if they just boned each other.” jungkook snorts, the other boys turning to look at him, “…what??”

“i wouldn’t kiss you even if you were the last man on earth.” you snarl, your voice wavering slightly

“you really expect me to believe that?” taehyung tilts his head, “don’t think i didn’t catch the way your eyes just flickered down to my lips, y/n...”

you feel your heart starting to pound in your chest when he places his hands flat on the desk as well, the tips of his fingers brushing over yours

at this proximity, the little voice in the back of your head can’t help but point out how pretty taehyung’s eyes are... and how nice he smells... and how soft his lips look...

...do you wanna kiss him?

oh, god

do you wanna kiss kim taehyung?!

no, you don’t

yes, you do

what??

WHAT?? 

“you wanna kiss me so bad, and you know it, y/l/n.” taehyung taunts, leaning forward just a little more

at this point, your faces are merely an inch away from each other’s and it wouldn’t take much effort to just lean in and… you know.

“i hate you.”

“if you hated me so much, then you wouldn’t be making such a big deal over silly little mistletoe now, would you?” taehyung smirks, pulling away before making his way around the desk so that he can get closer to you, “you like me but you’re too much of a wimp to admit it!”

“i like you?!” you gawk, “more like you like me!”

“okay-” jimin huffs, lowering the stick before taking a step back, “i really thought this was going to work, but my arms are getting tired, so if you two aren’t going to kiss, then i- oh-” his eyes widen in surprise when you and taehyung are suddenly lunging at each other not a second later, your hands cupping his cheeks and his hands gripping your waist as you kiss far more feverishly than he thought you two would

oh

oh my

“see, what’d i say? sexual tension!” jungkook kisses his teeth, leaning back against his chair and crossing his arms, “all that pent-up energy from arguing has led to this beautiful moment-”

“you’re an- mm- you’re an awful kisser, by the way-” taehyung mutters against your mouth, lips turning up in a boyish grin when you retaliate by shoving at his chest

“so are you!” you pull away only for taehyung to pull you right back in to press his mouth against yours again, “’m hating ehvery minute of this-”

“ah… isn’t young love sweet?” hoseok coos, jumping in his seat when taehyung suddenly shoves you up against the front desk with a thud, “so passionate!”

“okay, we’re just going to-” namjoon gets up from his seat gesturing for the boys to get up as well, “we’re happy to see that the argument has been settled!”

he hurries everyone to the front door and turns to glance over his shoulder, “when you guys are done, just… let us know! we’re going to pop over to starbucks for some hot chocolate. so... text one of us. or call! or you could use snapchat- it’s up to you, really-!”

namjoon doesn’t get a chance to say anything else before yoongi’s yanking his arm and pulling him backwards, reaching over to slam the door shut

a moment of silence goes by in which everyone takes a second to process what exactly just happened

“take your shirt off-”

“you take yours off first!”

“i... can’t tell if my plan was a success or a failure.” jimin mutters to himself, reaching up to scratch the back of his neck

“hey, if it makes you feel any better, at least they aren’t arguing with each other anymore!” jungkook cheers, clapping his hands quietly, “it’s a christmas miracle!”

❄️christmas with cee 2020 masterlist 🎄

[stars-in-my-universe]

Need You Part 2: Tyler Seguin

Hello everyone, thank you for loving this series! It won’t be a super long series, it was just something I had to get off my chest. Please leave some feedback, my inbox is always open, requests are also open! Those of you who have thank you so much! I love you all. 

Prt 1.

Prt.3

Warnings: Lots of cussing.

“He said he loved you?” You took a sip of your Jamba Juice and nodded looking up at your best friend. 

“Did you say anything back?” You sighed and looked over at the sleeping baby in the stroller.

“No, Nicole I did not. Because I was taken off guard and couldn’t wrap my

Head around the fact that he had said it.” Nicole gave you a look.

“But literally this has been what you’ve been-“ 

“Yeah that was before Ava.” You had a daughter to think about how and you two were starting to get into a schedule, a routine and you weren’t ready for someone to come in and mess it up or disrupt it even if it was the guy you had been in love with for At Least a year. 

“You don’t think he’d be there for her?” You shook her head.

“I think he’s not ready to have that responsibility, I think he’s still has to grow up and live his life.” 

“Plus he said he loved me, past tense.” You shrugged.

“He left or well I told him he had to leave because I couldn’t have that conversation. I wasn’t ready.” Nicole took a sip of her drink.

“Has he tried to call you?” You nodded your head.

“every day… it’s been four days. I’ve literally ignored him. I don’t know what to do.” You weren’t lying. After he had told you he loved you, you were speechless and as he tried to explain you couldn’t wrap your head around anything so you asked

Him to leave which he of course fought you on. However, Tyler was persistence, he always got what he wanted but not with this, not with you and Ava. You couldn’t have that conversation, not with him and not right now. So without asking

Him again you walked to the door and opened it, which he surprisingly took as get out. 

He didn’t say anything as he walked out and neither did you. It had been four days and you couldn’t really comprehend why now? Why did he have to tell you about it now?

“What do you want to do?” You looked over at Nicole and shrugged.

“In a perfect world I would jump into

His arms and we would be together and Ava…”

“You don’t think he’d love

Her to death? Y/n, he adores his sisters,

He loves his god daughter. He’s good with kids.” 

“She would be a constant in his life

Though, unlike his god daughter he wouldn’t be able to give her back. He would be with her if he wanted to be with me. We’re a packaged deal now.” You grabbed onto Ava’s foot lightly as she slowly opened her eyes from her nap. Looking up at you with big brown eyes she whined a bit meaning she was hungry. You smiled down at her and picked her up, grabbing the nursing blanket from the top of the stroller, adjusting it over your shoulder so you could breast feed. You shhh’d Ava as she whined before she started to feed.

“You’re good with her you know, not

Just because you have to be but being a mother comes Naturally to you, at least that’s what it seems like.” You shrugged a bit.

“I didn’t really have a choice, I made a stupid decision and got this amazing girl in my life.” Nicole smiled at you but glanced down at your phone which lit up. On the screen read:

Tyler. You sighed and stared at it. 

“You want me to answer it?” You nodded.

“Just tell him I’m busy with Ava.” Nicole Picked up the phone and let out a “y/n’s phone, this is Nicole how can I help You?” You watched as she let out a hmmm.

“She’s feeding Ava right now, Tyler. I’ll let Her know You called.” She rolled her eyes.

“Geezus Tyler, she literally has her child stuck to Her boob right now I’ll let her know you called.” You giggled and watched as she hung up The phone.

“He’s persistent, I’ll tell You that.” You nodded.

“Always has been.” A comfortable silence fell around you two as you say at the picnic table outside your apartment complex.

“So I know we’ve briefly talked about this, but like...you have any idea who the father is?” You sighed, it was an ongoing question between everyone who knew about you.

“No, I can’t remember anything from that night. I remember getting piss drunk at Tyler’s party, I remember playing beer pong with him and Freddie and Brett and then I turned around and he was making out with the cute blonde. After that I remember just taking shot after shot and waking up in Tyler's guest bedroom .” You did some things you weren’t proud of that night was one of them. But waking up in Tyler’s guest bedroom wasn’t rare, you would usually stay there after the party was over because you were too drunk to drive.

You would go get breakfast with him the next morning and then head out. However that morning you remembered waking up with no clothes on, no sign of any one else being in the room and your clothes at the foot of the bed. You remember jumping into the shower and then heading downstairs where you saw Tyler saying bye to the same blonde he was with the night before. 

You didn’t feel up to having breakfast with him and you remembered as you told him he acted weird, saying it was okay because he had other things to do anyways and that was it.

“I just feel like most people would leave a note or something. And you swear you used protection?” You gave your best friend a pointed look as you shifted yourself back into your shirt and removed the blanket, placing  Ava over your shoulder to burp her.

“I’m positive.” You felt bad not for yourself because one day you’d have to tell Ava why she didn’t have a father. 

“Well, At Least we got this cute little one here. You ready to head back?” You nodded as you stood up with her and Nicole grabbed the stroller. 

There was too much to think about right, but as you heard Ava burp a bit and you put her back in the stroller, her soft eyes looking up at you like you were her world you somehow felt at ease. 

X-x

You had just gotten home from work, unlocking the door it was quiet in the apartment. Ava was with your mom and wouldn’t be back for another hour. 

The 24 hour animal hospital you worked at you only worked three days out of the week but long shifts which made it both exhausting and easy to have your mom watch Ava on days you were at work. 

You threw your purse on the couch and slipped out of your shoes getting ready to take a quick shower and start dinner when there was a knock on your door. You glanced at the clock above the stove that read 6:30, you could’ve sworn your mom was going to bring her by around 7:30.

Walking over to the door you opened it and immediately regretted not looking through the peep hole.

“We need to talk.” You groaned as Tyler stood in your door way.

“Y/n, please we need to talk about this.” You were trapped, now would be the perfect time considering Ava wasn’t here but you were also exhausted from work.

“Tyler, I’m exhausted.”

“So am I but here we are and we’re going to deal with this.” Without waiting for an invitation be pushed past you.

“Sure come on in.” He stood in the middle of your living room tattooed arms crossed and a narrow glare on you. He looked pissed kind of how he looked after they lost a game.

“I told you I loved you. And you shut me out.” You glared back at him.

“I needed time, Tyler. You haven't talked to me for months and then you decide to show up on my doorstep one day and drop this bomb on me?” He went to speak but you cut him off.

“I know you’re used to getting what you want, I know you’re spoiled in ways I could never imagine Tyler. Attention always has to be on you, but you couldn’t even take the time out of your day to come see me when I had her. Not even a phone call and then all summer you’re on Instagram and ignoring my calls? You don’t owe me Anything but fuck Tyler we were best friends. And then you expect me to believe that you loved me?” You were on edge and you knew it, you were exhausted but all this word vomit had no barriers at this point. 

“I was your fucking best friend and you just left, Tyler. I didn’t ask anything of you, I didn’t ask for money I didn’t ask you to be at the baby shower, I didn’t ask for you to plan anything. I didn’t even ask for you to be there for me but I figured as much as you claimed you cared about me you’d want to be there for me. For fucks sake, Jamie and Katie came to see me the week after she was born. Ben, Ben Bishop? You know your goalie? He’s called me

More times then you have, face timed me even to see her. And where were you? Living your best fucking life in Mexico with some cute blondes.” You could feel the tears now streaming down your face and you watched as Tyler’s face softened at your hurt expression. 

“I would like to think we became more than party friends, we’d have lunch, we’d have breakfast we’d go shopping for shit together, I’ve hung out with your sisters and your mom for the holidays. I thought we were closer than that…” you trailed off as you let out a sad laugh.

“I really needed you Tyler, and you were just gone.” You let out a shaky breath and looked up at him. He was chewing on his bottom lip and his eyes were rimmed red, he ran a hand through his hair, a habit he had when he was nervous. 

“I fucked up y/n. I fucked up big time, I realized I had started having feelings for you, but you were the first girl I had formed a solid friendship with. It was easy with you, bringing you around my family, walking the dogs, watching movies, you didn’t want anything from me but my company, my friendship. You had your own money, your own job so I knew that wasn’t the reason you stuck around. We had fun together, we were actual friends.” You wiped your face as more tears surfaced and you watched him pace your living room floor.

 “And then the parties would happen and all I would want to do is spend time with you but I watched you with the other guys, and I realized it was better to not ruin what we had. So I buried them all, and then you showed up to my house in tears talking about how you were pregnant and you didn’t know what you were going to do and you didn’t know who the father was and I swear y/n, I was so mad. I was mad at

You, mad at myself. And I suck at words so I didn’t know how to comfort you, I didn’t know what to say. I couldn’t be dissapointed but I felt my heart shatter y/n.” You could feel yourself get angry because how dare he? But you watched as he took in a shaky breath and continue.

“And then I realized how different it was going to be, there would be no more parties for

You. No more Drinking, you’d be having morning sickness and getting bigger and you wouldn’t be able to fly out to see my family anymore. I was...I was selfish because I realized I was going to lose my best friend and I fucked up with assuming  that but I’m also not that smart, hockey player remember?” You continued to watch him.

“So I distanced myself figure if you’d be mad at me it would be easier to let you go. I knew your due date, always had, I had written it down the first time you told me it and when that day happened I couldn’t bring myself to go see you. I didn’t want to admit or give you up. And then Jamie and Katie came to see you and then Ben and they had showed me pictures and I could feel myself ache because it had been so long since I had talked to you, but I figured you’d be too upset with me. So I took off for the summer I went to Cabo except you kept calling me and every time I tried to answer, I didn’t know what to say.”

“You’re a selfish dick Tyler seguin.” He shrugged and looked down at his shoes.

“That’s what the media says.” You glared at him.

“So then why did you come here the other day?”

“Jamie, mentioned that he had seen you again and that I needed to grow a pair and talk to you because even if you didn’t love me back, you’re still my

Best friend and I should be there to support you. All stuff I knew in the back of my mind but like I said...I was being selfish.” He waited for you to say something, Anything but you were still stunned, unsure of where this put you. You realized your guys friendship had shifted and you didn’t think he understood what dating you meant. 

“ Tyler,”

“She’s mine.” You froze at his words. Your blood running cold, there’s no way.

“Ava is mine, y/n.” You shook your head.

“No, there’s no way she’s-“ 

“She’s mine because I woke up that morning and left the room, naked, y/n.” The breath leaving your chest.

“No, we used a condom there was one in the trash can.” Tyler shook his head.

“We used a condom and went at it more than once.” You could feel the tears now, there’s no way you would’ve remembered.

“I don’t remember much but waking up naked and turning and seeing you fast asleep

In the bed next to me.” You literally leaned against the kitchen counter closing your eyes.

“Tyler, there’s no way. You’ve kept this secret?!” That means this whole

Team he should’ve been there for you during the pregnancy. He should’ve helped you.

“I didn’t realize it, until that summer. I thought it was from another hook up you had. We both hooked up a lot but never did I think it would be from that hook up, but I did the math y/n. Ava is mine.” Automatically you wanted a dna test.

“I want a test.” Tyler nodded and you watched as he ran a hand through his hair and scratched the back of his neck. He was nervous and low key freaking out.

“I told you I fucked up. I should’ve been there, I should’ve. But I wasn’t and I missed out on so much and I feel like shit and I fucked up. I’m so sorry.” You could hear the sincerity in his voice.

“That’s why you wanted to see her the other day, you already knew.” He didn’t say anything.

“Tyler-I can’t. This is too much-“ you could feel the tears and the weight of all of this. This was too fucking much, your hormones still all out of whack from having a baby and all the vitamins and lack of sleep and you couldn’t handle it.

“She’s mine, y/n. I’m sorry but she is.” You glared you at him.

“She May be yours, Tyler. But you knew, you knew for so long-“

“I want to make this right y/n. I want to see her.” You shook your head.

“No.”

“Y/n.” 

“No, I can’t. I’m not ready for that.” Tyler didn't say anything instead he just looked over at the pictures on your wall.

“I deserve to meet her, y/n.” You felt the anger rise up and the way you gripped the edge of the counter. 

“You knew for how long?! And you decided to wait because you were selfish Tyler!” He shook

His head.

“I understand I fucked up, I’m so sorry, y/n. I’m so sorry and nothing I can do or say will fix that but she’s mine and I deserve to meet her.”

You took a moment and looked up at Him.

“You’re not ready to be a father, Tyler.” The look of hurt that washed across his face made you want to take the words back but you knew it was too late, things were about to get messy and there was nothing you could do to stop it.

“He said he loved you?” You took a sip of your Jamba Juice and nodded looking up at your best friend. 

“Did you say anything back?” You sighed and looked over at the sleeping baby in the stroller.

“No, Nicole I did not. Because I was taken off guard and couldn’t wrap my

Head around the fact that he had said it.” Nicole gave you a look.

“But literally this has been what you’ve been-“ 

“Yeah that was before Ava.” You had a daughter to think about how and you two were starting to get into a schedule, a routine and you weren’t ready for someone to come in and mess it up or disrupt it even if it was the guy you had been in love with for At Least a year. 

“You don���t think he’d be there for her?” You shook her head.

“I think he’s not ready to have that responsibility, I think he’s still has to grow up and live his life.” 

“Plus he said he loved me, past tense.” You shrugged.

“He left or well I told him he had to leave because I couldn’t have that conversation. I wasn’t ready.” Nicole took a sip of her drink.

“Has he tried to call you?” You nodded your head.

“every day… it’s been four days. I’ve literally ignored him. I don’t know what to do.” You weren’t lying. After he had told you he loved you, you were speechless and as he tried to explain you couldn’t wrap your head around anything so you asked

Him to leave which he of course fought you on. However, Tyler was persistence, he always got what he wanted but not with this, not with you and Ava. You couldn’t have that conversation, not with him and not right now. So without asking

Him again you walked to the door and opened it, which he surprisingly took as get out. 

He didn’t say anything as he walked out and neither did you. It had been four days and you couldn’t really comprehend why now? Why did he have to tell you about it now?

“What do you want to do?” You looked over at Nicole and shrugged.

“In a perfect world I would jump into

His arms and we would be together and Ava…”

“You don’t think he’d love

Her to death? Y/n, he adores his sisters,

He loves his god daughter. He’s good with kids.” 

“She would be a constant in his life

Though, unlike his god daughter he wouldn’t be able to give her back. He would be with her if he wanted to be with me. We’re a packaged deal now.” You grabbed onto Ava’s foot lightly as she slowly opened her eyes from her nap. Looking up at you with big brown eyes she whined a bit meaning she was hungry. You smiled down at her and picked her up, grabbing the nursing blanket from the top of the stroller, adjusting it over your shoulder so you could breast feed. You shhh’d Ava as she whined before she started to feed.

“You’re good with her you know, not

Just because you have to be but being a mother comes Naturally to you, at least that’s what it seems like.” You shrugged a bit.

“I didn’t really have a choice, I made a stupid decision and got this amazing girl in my life.” Nicole smiled at you but glanced down at your phone which lit up. On the screen read:

Tyler. You sighed and stared at it. 

“You want me to answer it?” You nodded.

“Just tell him I’m busy with Ava.” Nicole Picked up the phone and let out a “y/n’s phone, this is Nicole how can I help You?” You watched as she let out a hmmm.

“She’s feeding Ava right now, Tyler. I’ll let Her know You called.” She rolled her eyes.

“Geezus Tyler, she literally has her child stuck to Her boob right now I’ll let her know you called.” You giggled and watched as she hung up The phone.

“He’s persistent, I’ll tell You that.” You nodded.

“Always has been.” A comfortable silence fell around you two as you say at the picnic table outside your apartment complex.

“So I know we’ve briefly talked about this, but like...you have any idea who the father is?” You sighed, it was an ongoing question between everyone who knew about you.

“No, I can’t remember anything from that night. I remember getting piss drunk at Tyler’s party, I remember playing beer pong with him and Freddie and Brett and then I turned around and he was making out with the cute blonde. After that I remember just taking shot after shot and waking up in Tyler's guest bedroom .” You did some things you weren’t proud of that night was one of them. But waking up in Tyler’s guest bedroom wasn’t rare, you would usually stay there after the party was over because you were too drunk to drive.

You would go get breakfast with him the next morning and then head out. However that morning you remembered waking up with no clothes on, no sign of any one else being in the room and your clothes at the foot of the bed. You remember jumping into the shower and then heading downstairs where you saw Tyler saying bye to the same blonde he was with the night before. 

You didn’t feel up to having breakfast with him and you remembered as you told him he acted weird, saying it was okay because he had other things to do anyways and that was it.

“I just feel like most people would leave a note or something. And you swear you used protection?” You gave your best friend a pointed look as you shifted yourself back into your shirt and removed the blanket, placing  Ava over your shoulder to burp her.

“I’m positive.” You felt bad not for yourself because one day you’d have to tell Ava why she didn’t have a father. 

“Well, At Least we got this cute little one here. You ready to head back?” You nodded as you stood up with her and Nicole grabbed the stroller. 

There was too much to think about right, but as you heard Ava burp a bit and you put her back in the stroller, her soft eyes looking up at you like you were her world you somehow felt at ease. 

X-x

You had just gotten home from work, unlocking the door it was quiet in the apartment. Ava was with your mom and wouldn’t be back for another hour. 

The 24 hour animal hospital you worked at you only worked three days out of the week but long shifts which made it both exhausting and easy to have your mom watch Ava on days you were at work. 

You threw your purse on the couch and slipped out of your shoes getting ready to take a quick shower and start dinner when there was a knock on your door. You glanced at the clock above the stove that read 6:30, you could’ve sworn your mom was going to bring her by around 7:30.

Walking over to the door you opened it and immediately regretted not looking through the peep hole.

“We need to talk.” You groaned as Tyler stood in your door way.

“Y/n, please we need to talk about this.” You were trapped, now would be the perfect time considering Ava wasn’t here but you were also exhausted from work.

“Tyler, I’m exhausted.”

“So am I but here we are and we’re going to deal with this.” Without waiting for an invitation be pushed past you.

“Sure come on in.” He stood in the middle of your living room tattooed arms crossed and a narrow glare on you. He looked pissed kind of how he looked after they lost a game.

“I told you I loved you. And you shut me out.” You glared back at him.

“I needed time, Tyler. You haven't talked to me for months and then you decide to show up on my doorstep one day and drop this bomb on me?” He went to speak but you cut him off.

“I know you’re used to getting what you want, I know you’re spoiled in ways I could never imagine Tyler. Attention always has to be on you, but you couldn’t even take the time out of your day to come see me when I had her. Not even a phone call and then all summer you’re on Instagram and ignoring my calls? You don’t owe me Anything but fuck Tyler we were best friends. And then you expect me to believe that you loved me?” You were on edge and you knew it, you were exhausted but all this word vomit had no barriers at this point. 

“I was your fucking best friend and you just left, Tyler. I didn’t ask anything of you, I didn’t ask for money I didn’t ask you to be at the baby shower, I didn’t ask for you to plan anything. I didn’t even ask for you to be there for me but I figured as much as you claimed you cared about me you’d want to be there for me. For fucks sake, Jamie and Katie came to see me the week after she was born. Ben, Ben Bishop? You know your goalie? He’s called me

More times then you have, face timed me even to see her. And where were you? Living your best fucking life in Mexico with some cute blondes.” You could feel the tears now streaming down your face and you watched as Tyler’s face softened at your hurt expression. 

“I would like to think we became more than party friends, we’d have lunch, we’d have breakfast we’d go shopping for shit together, I’ve hung out with your sisters and your mom for the holidays. I thought we were closer than that…” you trailed off as you let out a sad laugh.

“I really needed you Tyler, and you were just gone.” You let out a shaky breath and looked up at him. He was chewing on his bottom lip and his eyes were rimmed red, he ran a hand through his hair, a habit he had when he was nervous. 

“I fucked up y/n. I fucked up big time, I realized I had started having feelings for you, but you were the first girl I had formed a solid friendship with. It was easy with you, bringing you around my family, walking the dogs, watching movies, you didn’t want anything from me but my company, my friendship. You had your own money, your own job so I knew that wasn’t the reason you stuck around. We had fun together, we were actual friends.” You wiped your face as more tears surfaced and you watched him pace your living room floor.

 “And then the parties would happen and all I would want to do is spend time with you but I watched you with the other guys, and I realized it was better to not ruin what we had. So I buried them all, and then you showed up to my house in tears talking about how you were pregnant and you didn’t know what you were going to do and you didn’t know who the father was and I swear y/n, I was so mad. I was mad at

You, mad at myself. And I suck at words so I didn’t know how to comfort you, I didn’t know what to say. I couldn’t be dissapointed but I felt my heart shatter y/n.” You could feel yourself get angry because how dare he? But you watched as he took in a shaky breath and continue.

“And then I realized how different it was going to be, there would be no more parties for

You. No more Drinking, you’d be having morning sickness and getting bigger and you wouldn’t be able to fly out to see my family anymore. I was...I was selfish because I realized I was going to lose my best friend and I fucked up with assuming  that but I’m also not that smart, hockey player remember?” You continued to watch him.

“So I distanced myself figure if you’d be mad at me it would be easier to let you go. I knew your due date, always had, I had written it down the first time you told me it and when that day happened I couldn’t bring myself to go see you. I didn’t want to admit or give you up. And then Jamie and Katie came to see you and then Ben and they had showed me pictures and I could feel myself ache because it had been so long since I had talked to you, but I figured you’d be too upset with me. So I took off for the summer I went to Cabo except you kept calling me and every time I tried to answer, I didn’t know what to say.”

“You’re a selfish dick Tyler seguin.” He shrugged and looked down at his shoes.

“That’s what the media says.” You glared at him.

“So then why did you come here the other day?”

“Jamie, mentioned that he had seen you again and that I needed to grow a pair and talk to you because even if you didn’t love me back, you’re still my

Best friend and I should be there to support you. All stuff I knew in the back of my mind but like I said...I was being selfish.” He waited for you to say something, Anything but you were still stunned, unsure of where this put you. You realized your guys friendship had shifted and you didn’t think he understood what dating you meant. 

“ Tyler,”

“She’s mine.” You froze at his words. Your blood running cold, there’s no way.

“Ava is mine, y/n.” You shook your head.

“No, there’s no way she’s-“ 

“She’s mine because I woke up that morning and left the room, naked, y/n.” The breath leaving your chest.

“No, we used a condom there was one in the trash can.” Tyler shook his head.

“We used a condom and went at it more than once.” You could feel the tears now, there’s no way you would’ve remembered.

“I don’t remember much but waking up naked and turning and seeing you fast asleep

In the bed next to me.” You literally leaned against the kitchen counter closing your eyes.

“Tyler, there’s no way. You’ve kept this secret?!” That means this whole

Team he should’ve been there for you during the pregnancy. He should’ve helped you.

“I didn’t realize it, until that summer. I thought it was from another hook up you had. We both hooked up a lot but never did I think it would be from that hook up, but I did the math y/n. Ava is mine.” Automatically you wanted a dna test.

“I want a test.” Tyler nodded and you watched as he ran a hand through his hair and scratched the back of his neck. He was nervous and low key freaking out.

“I told you I fucked up. I should’ve been there, I should’ve. But I wasn’t and I missed out on so much and I feel like shit and I fucked up. I’m so sorry.” You could hear the sincerity in his voice.

“That’s why you wanted to see her the other day, you already knew.” He didn’t say anything.

“Tyler-I can’t. This is too much-“ you could feel the tears and the weight of all of this. This was too fucking much, your hormones still all out of whack from having a baby and all the vitamins and lack of sleep and you couldn’t handle it.

“She’s mine, y/n. I’m sorry but she is.” You glared you at him.

“She May be yours, Tyler. But you knew, you knew for so long-“

“I want to make this right y/n. I want to see her.” You shook your head.

“No.”

“Y/n.” 

“No, I can’t. I’m not ready for that.” Tyler didn't say anything instead he just looked over at the pictures on your wall.

“I deserve to meet her, y/n.” You felt the anger rise up and the way you gripped the edge of the counter. 

“You knew for how long?! And you decided to wait because you were selfish Tyler!” He shook

His head.

“I understand I fucked up, I’m so sorry, y/n. I’m so sorry and nothing I can do or say will fix that but she’s mine and I deserve to meet her.”

You took a moment and looked up at Him.

“You’re not ready to be a father, Tyler.” The look of hurt that washed across his face made you want to take the words back but you knew it was too late, things were about to get messy and there was nothing you could do to stop it.

[yanjuniverse]

How Should It Be - Xiao Gui/Wang Linkai One Shot

[a/n: ah yes back at it again with another cringey one shot. i meant to post this on 5/20 but i couldn’t get my brain juices to work and finish it until tonight. i hope you guys like it. big reminder that i love wang linkai ❤️. sorry if the fic is a mess btw lol.] / master list

He sags down in his seat, visibly defeated by whatever was on his mind. A pout is prominent on his lips as his best friend cracks a smile, clapping him on the back before wrapping his arm around him, their bodies crashing together.

“Why the long face, Gui? Don’t you know that frowning gives you wrinkles?” he asks. If Linkai wasn’t so down in the dumps, he would’ve smacked the exaggerated frown right off of Chengcheng’s face right then.

Fan Chengcheng has never been the kind to just let Linkai live in his misery. Oh, no. Fan Chengcheng has to twist the knife after he stabs you. Sure, the guy’s quiet when you first meet him. But once you get to know him the way Linkai knows him, it’s a done deal. Your soul is his and there’s no getting rid of him.

“You saw my butthole once, Kai. We’re practically blood brothers now.”

Don’t ask. Linkai is begging.

“Nothing,” he shifts back into the ratty couch. He thinks for a second about how Xingjie is always babbling on and on about how he should replace it (as if Linkai has the money to replace this old hand-me-down couch. He’s a soundcloud rapper. How much does Xingjie even thinks he makes off of his beats?). Something about how just because it’s old, doesn’t mean it’s vintage. Linkai thinks that maybe the spring that pops out of the second cushion of the faded blue sofa may have caught Xingjie by surprise one too many times. That’s why Linkai always sits on the arm rest or lays like a starfish on the floor during movie nights. You’ll never catch him squished in the middle of Yanchen and Xingjie on their Thursday night Grey’s Anatomy marathons (per Yanchen’s request because how could one look at the actual sun and say no?).

He’s picking at the frayed edge of the sofa when Chengcheng says, “It doesn’t look like nothing.” He suddenly snaps, reaching into his pocket before pulling out a pair of his (nonprescription) glasses. He pushes them up on his nose then opens his phone to his notes. Linkai sees him type “WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH GUI TODAY” and watches him not only put it in bold print but italics as well. “I think we should start a diary of some sort. My sister has one of those and she says it’s all a part of a healthy life style. Wait, should we buy a Password Journal for you? Okay, wait Chengcheng. Too far off track. Let’s focus on the now.” He recomposes himself before saying, “First of all, do you know your rising sign? It could help explain a lot of things.”

Linkai thinks that there’s a reason for everything. He thinks that you never meet a person by mistake. But sometimes...he has to question his life mottos as Chengcheng waves his hand and tells him he’ll make his birth chart from scratch, all he needs is the time he was born (because Chengcheng’s already memorized that he was born on May 20, 1999 in the Fujian Province).

“Chengcheng, I promise on my mother that I won’t judge you. Just tell me if you were dropped on your head as a baby or not.“ He’s desperate at this point. There’s no way somebody just wakes up and makes the conscious decision to be Fan Chengcheng. Not any sane person, that is.

“Astrology is a very serious science, Gui and I will not stand for your bashing!” Chengcheng whines.

Likai gives him side eyes. “Didn’t you only get into astrology because Justin said you were a Gemini and he liked that?”

“No!” But the blush rising on his cheeks says otherwise. “Look. This isn’t about me! This is about you! What’s your deal?”

The older one shakes his head, throwing himself back against the couch and hoping that the weird stain to his left would manifest into a blackhole and swallow him hole. He crosses his arms and taps his shoe against the ground, eyes glued to the ceiling popcorn and wondering who the hell even thought that shit was cute. He starts to wonder how much he could pay Chengcheng to eat it when the doorbell rings.

“I’ll get it,” Chengcheng says. “I’m expecting a package!” As he gets up, he throws a cushion at his roommate before hopping away.

Linkai shuts his eyes, too exhausted to even fight back. Maybe it is his package. Maybe it’s Justin. Maybe they have another “date” in Chengcheng’s room (it’s not a real date if Justin doesn’t know it’s a date).

He’s about to drift to sleep when another cushion hits his chin, causing him to bite his tongue.

He’s on his feet and ready to throw hands when his eyes land on (a very pissed looking) you.

Honestly. He’s not surprised. You have this sour face all day and all night and it’s to the point where he’s starting to consider having Chengcheng put together your birth chart so that he can understand just that much more about you.

He crosses his arms. “And what is the problem today, princess?” he raises his eyebrows. He leans down, teasingly close, and wrinkles his nose. “I was just thinking about you.”

“Don’t look so stressed,” you scoff. He pokes your forehead, causing you to stumble back a couple of steps. “Hey!” you whine, rubbing the spot. He can just hear you screaming in your head about how he has dirty finger nails or how his hands are always so cold and boney. You huff. “You’re gonna give me a headache.”

“You give me a headache every time you walk into the room,” he shrugs, pulling back. He throws himself onto the couch again and hears the floor rattle beneath him. Another complaint that you’ll throw at him is how he and Chengcheng should just move out of this ratty old place. (“And go where exactly?” “I don’t know! Go live with Zhengting! I heard he needs a roommate!” “You want us to live with Zhu Zhengting? He’ll be on China’s Most Wanted after he kills me and Chengcheng.”) You roll your eyes instead. “But go on. What did your best friend Wang Linkai do to piss you off today?”

“We had a lunch date!” you stomp your foot.

“A lunch date?!” Chengcheng repeats as he exists the kitchen, choking on the piece of bread he had shoved into his mouth. “You two go on dates?!”

Linkai snorts. Ever since Chengcheng found out the story of how you and Linkai met, he’s been begging for you two to fall in love. (“You met in college when she dropped her books and you helped her pick them up? Fingers lingering, eyes glazing over. Love blooming like spring cherry blossom-“ “Chengcheng, shut the actual hell up. I only helped her out because I’m not an asshole.” “Not an asshole? Have you met you?”). Chengcheng says that he’s read a lot of fan fictions. He knows how this will turn out. Apparently, he’s taking bets alongside Chen Linong and Lin Yanjun as to when you two will finally get together. But jokes on them because you are denser than a book.

According to Chengcheng, it’s not your fault because apparently Linkai has terrible game. His idea of flirting with you is to flake on you half the time, watch you get riled up then pat your head and walk away after you get done ranting to him. Linkai doesn’t call that game. He calls that tolerance because some of this shit you put him through makes his head spin in circles. Plus, he’s got an image to uphold. Xiao Gui AKA.IMP cannot go around braiding flower crowns and singing to the birds like this is some kind of Disney film. He’s still trying to live down that time Xukun posted a picture of him coloring in a coloring book on his instagram story (Ziyi still sends him children’s coloring books every holiday since. Whether Linkai fills them out or not is his business and his business only).

He thinks today is going to be a bad day. He thinks it’ll be one of those days where the two of you will fight to no ends and there’s literally nothing he can do to make you feel better. He hates to admit it but he likes those kind of days because they always end with the two of you laying in his bed. Those are the nights he’ll hold you and wipes your tears, whispering a mantra of “Yes, I’m an idiot” and “I’m sorry, it’s my fault for not cherishing you.” He likes those nights because even though you get on his last nerves, he’ll be willing to admit defeat if that means he’ll get to wake up with you beside him.

“Honestly, Linkai. I don’t even know why I try with you sometimes,” you groan, setting down the bag of food in your hands onto the coffee table with one too many water stains. “Chengcheng, come join us for lunch.”

“Oh, I don’t wanna intrude on your date,” he says.

You smile at him. “It’s not an actual date.“

There’s a weird look on your face as you say that. It’s a look you get that Xiao Gui has never been able to read. Your smile is big but your eyes never seem to match. Your shoulders visibly sag and your movements slow for a second before you seem to realize what you’re doing and get back to being normal. “Come!”

“No,” Linkai plops down on the floor next to you. “He has a lab with Justin due at midnight tonight. He needs to leave.”

“Hm? You keep tabs on me?” Chengcheng has a shit eating grin on his face which quickly disappears as Linkai scoffs.

“No. You’re wearing cologne for once and don’t look oily. From just that, I know you’re going to meet Justin,” he says. “You usually smell like terrible B.O. and your hair looks dry. As for your project, you have it written on your calendar inside of a big red heart. I saw it when I went to steal the five bucks from your dresser earlier.” Chengcheng sputters, face red with embarrassment.

You swat Linkai’s shoulder. “Leave him alone,” you frown. “Don’t worry about him, Cheng. You always look and smell great to me!” you grin encouragingly before turning back to Linkai again to whisper yell. “He has a crush. Don’t tell me you’ve never gotten dressed up for somebody you liked.”

“Hey!” he says louder than you expected considering this was supposed to be a hushed conversation. “I’m wearing the jeans you said make my ass look fat,” he retorts. You simply roll your eyes before returning to Chengcheng. Once again, you’ve reminded not only Linkai but the world that you are denser than a book. He makes a face. “You expect me to read your mind and yet you never seem to be able to read mine,” he mutters under his breath, forcefully stabbing into his rice.

“What was that?” you turn back to him. He shakes his head, shoveling a load of food into his mouth to keep you from pressing. You thankfully don’t and once again, turn to Chengcheng. “I think you look amazing. Really. Go get him! He’ll be in your arms in no time!”

“Thanks, jiejie!” the dopey boy grins. “I’ll be on my way then. Be back tomorrow morning. Don’t have too much fun while I’m gone!” he winks. He’s out the door before Linkai can kill him (as if Linkai even had the energy to do so).

He’s too busy dissecting his meat to notice your cold stare. You have to clear your throat for him to look up and see your face. He groans, “What the hell did I do now?”

“You should be more supportive of Chengcheng.”

“More supportive? Any more supportive and I might as well just text Justin and say ‘Hey dinghead! Chengcheng is in love with you!’” he scoffs. “Honestly, it doesn’t get any more supportive than me.” He’s actually offended that you don’t think he’s all for Chengstin. Linkai is the vice president of the Chengstin fanclub, only coming second to You Zhangjing. “Who do you think always makes sure there’s ice cream in the fridge when Justin comes over? Who do you think hops off our shitty ass wifi when Justin comes to watches movies? Who the fuck ran across town just to fight with sneaker heads to get Justin the newest pair of shoes because Chengcheng was stuck in class? Have you ever had to fight a sneak head, YN? Have you?” His eyes are wild as if he’s seen some things he’d rather not talk about.

You sigh. “I just think you need to be nicer to him,” you shrug.

“Last week you told me not to let Chengcheng step all over me,” Linkai points his chopstick accusingly at you.

“Because you were deadass tired and up doing his laundry while he slept!” you exclaim.

Linkai snorts. You’re honestly a walking contradiction when it comes to him. “Just eat and be quiet. I’ve already got a headache. Don’t make my stomach upset too with all of your nonsense.”

“It’s not nonsense, Linkai!”

“If it’s coming from you, it is.” He shuts his foam to-go plate and stands to his feet before you could give him another earful. “I’m gonna go get a drink. Want anything? Water? A soda? A shot of vodka?”

“Ten more minutes with you makes the last option sound more appeasing than it should,” you pinch the bridge of your nose.

“Nobody is forcing you to be here,” he reminds you, patting your head as he walks away. When he returns, he’s made two pretty drinks and winks at you. Bottoms up, his eyes say.

“Really? Drinking on a Tuesday?” you scoff.

“Whether it’s a Tuesday afternoon or a Saturday night, you will always find a reason to complain,” he replies. You roll your eyes, taking a sip and feeling the alcohol burn down your throat. You grimace before setting it back down on the table. “So what do you wanna do now, hm? Watch a movie? Make me watch you online shop?”

“Maybe I could put make up on you and do your hair,” you suggest.

It’s his turn to roll his eyes. “You say that everyone elses’ boy friends do this for them and yet, I feel as though I’m the only one.”

“Boyfriend?” you repeat, completely disregarding anything else he had said.

“Boy. Space. Friends,” he says before leaning back onto his hands. “Why? Do you wanna remove the space in between us?” he wiggles his eyebrows before swooping in close to you, noses bumping. You freeze at this. “What?” he smirks when you don’t push him away like usual. “You actually thinking about kissing me this time?”

You scoff, shaking your head and moving away from him. “Wang Linkai,” you scoff again. “You really are something else. You know that? Kiss you? My best friend? I’d rather eat sand or-“ You stop, looking at him and seeing the way his eyes cast down for a second. “What?”

He looks back up. “Nothing,” he says before pulling himself to his feet again. He stretches his arms over his head and yawns. “Come. Let’s go shop. Or something. I don’t know.” He shakes his head and reaches for his drink. Maybe he shouldn’t have poured so much alcohol into his drink. One sip and he’s already a mess. “What?” He notices you still haven’t moved from your spot on the floor. “Hurry up and put on your jacket. Or do I have to so it for you?” He makes a swipe to grab your arm but you pull back, holding it against your chest. “YN, what?” he sighs, a bit annoyed. “Are you mad at what I just did? Look, I’m sorry. Let’s just-“

“Linkai,” you frown. “Why do you look so sad?”

“It’s nothing,” he replies, walking around and looking for his keys.

“It’s doesn’t seem like nothing to you.” Your words are careful, almost as if you’re trying to find the right wire to cut in order for the bomb not to explode. It’s always like that when the two of you argue this deeply. And sadly, it always ends with somebody crying.

“Because it’s never anything to you!” he throws a hand down dramatically. “So like. Let’s go because I’m not going to do this today!”

“Do what today?” you ask, standing to your feet. He shakes his head and makes it towards the door when you grab his arm. He instantly spins around and pins you against the wall, arms encasing you. You narrow your eyes at him. “What’s your deal?” you huff.

“It’s not even a bit obvious to you?” He’s smiling like a deviant. Like you’re just playing into one of his cold jokes. “Are you really that stupid?”

“What did I do to you?” you cross your arms.

“Everything,” he says, eyes casting downwards. You feel your heart starting to hammer as you realize he’s staring right at your lips. “You waltz into my life and make it absolute hell. You expect me to just know what’s on your mind. You expect me to just know what makes you happy and what makes you sad. You expect me to just know these things and I don’t and it makes me so tired and yet...” he laughs coldly. “And yet when I look at you, I want to be defeated. I want to fall at my knees at your mercy. It’s been like this since the day we met.” His hand slowly makes its way up to your cheek, cupping the glowy red flesh between his fingers. “C’mon, YN. How should it be? What do I have to do to make you like me as much as I like you?”

“Linkai, you idiot! If you liked me, you should’ve just told me!” you pout.

“And then you would’ve found something to complain about then as well,” he rolls his eyes. “Honestly, YN. Just lighten up with me sometimes. I’m trying.”

“You’re always trying,” you smile. “That’s what I like about you.”

“You wanna know a secret?” he asks, leaning in closely. “I only try his hard for you.”

And as his lips finally land on yours, you realize that this is exactly how it should have been all along.

[ice-cream-nekogirl]

Run Run Shinsou (Shinsou Hitoshi X Reader)

TIME FOR SOME HOLIDAY FLUFF!! AND HOLIDAY HIJINKS!! I’m serious Christmas shopping is the WORST and ugh this is partially inspired by some Christmas movies that involved the hardships of Christmas Shopping and my own experiences in how exhausting it is...

I’m certain it’d be easier if I had Shinsou’s power though... 

Summary: This Christmas holiday isn’t new to Shinsou, but getting a gift for the person he loves certainly is. And he goes to great lengths to get you a good one. 

You gave a deep groan as you managed to stumble to the dorms with your head up to let out more groans. “You made it out alive (Y/N).” Uraraka stood beside you with a nervous smile, with Tsuyu next to her.

“I’m honestly impressed given that you haven’t really been sleeping at a good time.” Blunt as ever she nonetheless was happy that you managed to work your way through this semester even though you were losing motivation and sleep over the last two weeks.

“Tell me about it… ugh thank GOD it’s over and now I can just… go to sleep…” You confided in your girlfriends since school semesters worked differently in Japan and so school literally just finished and now this meant you could relax for a day at the dorms, have a party with your classmates the next and then go home to your family to celebrate the actual Christmas day.

As you waved a ‘see ya’ to the girls you slowly walked like a zombie to find your dorm. The only thing that made you perk up was your boyfriend hanging by the door as he gave you a casual wave and smile. “Hey.”

The two of you arranged to meet up and hang once school officially ended for the rest of the year, at least until the holidays, and you were so glad that now you could relax with your sweet Shinsou. Even though you were tired as hell.

“Oh Hitoshi… thank God you’re here…” You chuckled as you opened your door to let him into your less than clean room but since he wasn’t the cleanest guy in the world he was perfectly okay with it. Then again, it was comfortable around Shinsou since he was a pretty blasé, casual guy himself. He just tried a LITTLE extra harder with you though even if you and he could be casual and relaxed.

“Oh yeah? Missed me that much?” His smirk made you scoff and roll your eyes, “Well who else is gonna listen to me bitch about how hard school is getting?” You asked as he shrugged his shoulders as the two of you lied down on your bed.

“You know you’ve got a point. I need you to bitch about my issues too…” He couldn’t deny that, you could vent to him all day and he’ll be happy to listen, because you were happy to listen to him about his problems too.

Still, you really did miss him as you cuddled up next to him, “But yeah… I missed being close to you… school is so fucking hard and I just needed a hug…” Your words made him blush warmly as he smiled at you a little bit. “Sure.” He said as he did give you that nice, warm hug you had been wanting.

“I get it… I needed a hug too… my partner and I barely made it through that exam.” Shinsou knew that’s what stressed you out for the past week, and it honestly stressed him out too but thankfully Tokoyami was a fantastic partner and easy to get along with aside from the gloom and doom part, but since Shinsou was a little on the gloom and doom spectrum himself, it worked out and they both passed it together.

“You’re the lucky one! You at least had Tokoyami as a partner for the end of the semester exam! I was stuck with Ojiro…” It’s not that you disliked the guy, but compared to the rest of your classmates he didn’t stand out much and his quirk was hardly much especially compared to classmates like Bakugou, Todoroki, Yaoyorozu, Tokoyami and Kaminari. Ojiro was very nice to you and he worked hard to help you but… he wasn’t much compared to the others. Yes it was mean to think that but you were human weren’t you?

“You mean that bland, boring monkey Ojiro Mashirao? I’m sure that’s his name?” Shinsou chuckled and smirked when he didn’t seem to remember his name, or at least pretended to not remember his name.

“More like Ojiro Wishy ‘Washy-rao’.” You returned the smirk when you heard that snicker betray him and he couldn’t help but laugh as you burst into laughter with him. Was it the nicest joke in the world? No, but you could be your most authentic and witty self with Shinsou, and he could unwind with you too and say what was on his mind with you.

“I’m serious… you know the gift-wrapping paper that we’ve been seeing in every store? Those have more personality than him.”

“AHAHAHAHA! Oh my GOD Hitoshi… you’re such a savage… but… you’re not wrong. He’s a kind soul but he’s like a sugar cookie, all sugar but no chocolate. I like that he’s sugar but I want to taste a little something more, and he ain’t got more.” You gave him a thumbs up as you wiped your laughter tears away much to Shinsou’s great amusement.

“Well… at least you and I are done… just in time for this holiday everyone raves about… and we don’t even celebrate it here.” He said as he put his arm around you and you smiled at the thought of the holidays.

“Ah… yeah it’s more of a big deal in America and other parts of the world… I like the idea of if though… togetherness, singing annoyingly catchy songs, wearing red and green and elf costumes, watching adorably cheesy movies and eating so much sweets and food without caring about the calories.” You recalled the way your family spent the holidays and how it was especially a big deal in America, and how it was a lovely holiday even though it was busy and sometimes corny. But in a good way.

“Don’t you already do like three out of those five things? The cheesy movies, singing annoyingly catchy songs and eating a ton of food without caring about the calories?” He asked you with a cocked brow which made you laugh out loud. 

“Well yeah but this holiday gives me the excuse to do all of that and no one can say anything! It’s like on Halloween! Where girls can dress like total sluts and no one can say anything.” You pointed out with a cheeky grin.

“Heh… very nice…”

“And plus we get to get each other gifts! That’s the funnest part! I already got mine for you~!” Shinsou’s face slightly paled when you more or less stated that you already had a gift for him…

He… didn’t get you anything…

Yet!

“Oh… that’s great…” He didn’t mean to sound so transparent but you were so happy and relaxed that you almost didn’t realize how uncertain he sounded. “I have a gift for you too.” So Shinsou kinda lied, but only because he didn’t want to seem like a shitty boyfriend who didn’t even get his girlfriend anything. But he knew how he was going to spend the rest of the day tomorrow before the party…

“Awww Hitoshi… you don’t have to get me anything…” You reassured him, even though you were excited already and grinning at the thought of your sweet Shinsou actually going out of his way to get you something! Okay maybe you lied when you said he didn’t have to get you anything… you didn’t wanna pressure him or nothing but it’d be really nice if he got you something.

“Of course I do. You’re the only one who actually gives a shit about what I feel, and the only one who can get me to SAY how I feel. That deserves something nice.” Shinsou said more honestly, his cheeks warming up the more he said it. He wasn’t the most open guy in the world, but he could be more open with you.

And you couldn’t help the big grin rising on your lips as you giggled and blushed giddily, “Ohh… Hitoshi…” You gave him a bigger, warmer hug and nuzzled into his chest which actually really flustered him as he started to stutter, “You’re the best boyfriend ever…!”

Damn… now he HAD to definitely find you a gift fast after hearing that kind of statement. “Y-You know me…” He said shyly and kind of nervously as he hugged you in bed…

THE NEXT DAY...

“Hahaha… oh man now you REALLY have to find her a gift.” Aside from you, Kaminari was the other classmate of the Hero Course he could rely on since he cared enough to befriend him and Shinsou couldn’t really push him away and he grew to like the guy.

“No doi, I got that already…” Shinsou groaned in annoyance at how Kaminari repeated what he had been telling himself for the past 12 hours as they walked into the mall together. He told you that Kaminari is the one who dragged him over here as a ploy to get you off his little plan and you believed it. So that was a good thing…

“Well hey it shouldn’t be hard right? You guys are boyfriend-girlfriend, and you guys know each other super well right?” Still Kaminari was going to help a brother out and Shinsou appreciated it as he nodded.

“Yeah I do… we basically like the same kind of music, movies and all. Especially MCR and Panic at the Disco…” That was one of the first things you and he bonded over, the love of emo bands, along with Tokoyami of course. Maybe he should have asked him what you would like the most since he was your good friend too, but he was with Kaminari already and now he had to rely on himself.

Kaminari snickered a bit as he put his arm around the guy, “You got this! But uh… do you have money?” That was the most important question and Shinsou hesitated before he nodded, “Oh yeah… I got money all right.” He DID have money but… he also MIGHT have brainwashed a Santa on the way over here and pretended to be one of those Santa’s for a little while to take as much money as he could. But in his defense that Santa wasn’t even donating to a good organization, that organization was really homophobic…

“Good!” But his friend didn’t seem to think much on his hesitation or the fact that Shinsou was still wearing the Santa hat he took as the two of them kept walking and looked at all the cooler stores that had some really cool things. Should he get you jewelry? No that’d be too cliché, besides he already get you a nice charm bracelet for your birthday…

He sighed heavily when he thought he and Kaminari weren’t getting anywhere, at least until he found himself at tried and true Hot Topic. And there he saw it…

The Gerard Way Funko Pop. Black Parade Edition and oh my God it looked so fabulous he almost wanted it for himself…

“I know what to get her.” He suddenly said as Kaminari perked up a bit, “Yeah?!” He looked excited too and followed where Shinsou was looking and saw it with a gasp. “The Black Parade…” He was familiar with the band too, and he thought they kicked ass!

“You HAVE to get her that…”

Shinsou nodded in full agreement as he quickly called an employee before anyone else could get it and to his relief they were able to get it for him as he held it close so no one else could see and try to steal it.

Paying for it was a pain but he DID have some of that Santa money to pay for it and left the store with a very satisfied smile. “Way to go Shinsou~!” Kaminari even patted his friend on the back when they left successful… at least…

“Hey, hey! You’re the kid who took my money!”

It was the Santa he had brainwashed, guess he caught onto it when his bucket was empty and his hat was now on Shinsou’s head. “What are you talking about? I didn’t take anyone’s money that would be stealing wouldn’t it? We don’t steal in this society.” He quickly lied as Kaminari nodded to back his friend up.

“Yeah, you didn’t take anything that’s why all my money in here’s gone and my hat! I remember! You were talking to me and then poof! It’s gone! All of it! Give it back!”

“Quite an aggressive Santa aren’t you? I thought Santa’s were supposed to be jolly.” Shinsou backed up a bit and continued to lie so he could find a way to get out of here. “Look I’m one of you, see the hat? I’m trying to make money for donation too.” Another lie but Kaminari was going to go with it.

“That’s right man! He’s super charitable that’s why he’s got his own hat here!” The blonde exclaimed much to Shinsou’s relief, but that was short-lived when ANOTHER Santa made his way over.

“Is this guy giving you trouble?” He asked the other Santa, who nodded, “Yeah this guy took all my money and now he’s lying about being an honorary Santa Claus!” The First Santa pointed at him angrily but Shinsou just shook his head.

“I have no idea what he’s talking about.”

“Okay let’s calm down now, let me see your permit.” However, the second Santa was asking for a permit now and that Shinsou wasn’t planning on. “You really need a permit to donate to a good cause?” He asked even though that logically made sense since all these Santa’s needed to be legit in order to play Santa here at this mall.

And the Second Santa showed off his permit around his neck to show that he WAS legit and so was the First Santa, “Yeah you do, so do you have it or not?” And Second Santa was getting impatient as Shinsou and Kaminari grew kind of nervous.

“I do… in my heart. I answer to the people, as an aspiring pro-hero I can’t let permits stop me from trying to earn money to donate to the needy because they need things…” That sounded like something YOU would say since you knew how to lie out of your ass too so Shinsou took a hint from you and lied out of his ass.

“Hey! Show us your permit!” Oh shit and now a THIRD Santa showed up after seeing the commotion and Kaminari perked up fearfully and practically hid behind the taller Shinsou. “So many Santa’s are coming…” He whispered to Shinsou who was getting just as nervous but still kept his cool.

“You guys need to back off okay? I don’t need a permit and besides, I wouldn’t even donate to that organization. Don’t you know how homophobic it is? Get with the program…” Shinsou muttered in annoyance to the three Santa’s who were getting much too close for comfort.

“Don’t you bash the Savior Squad!” The First Santa took offense to that, and the Second Santa was getting closer, “Give us the money you took.” He more or less demanded instead of asked which Shinsou wasn’t going to do. He wasn’t threatened by these guys, but he DID need to get away from them.

“I’m not bashing anything. Now if you wanna take it just ask, but all of you have to say please.” He then requested of the Three Santas as they all went ‘Fine!’ and just when they were about to say ‘please’ their eyes went blank as Shinsou smirked and walked away, urging Kaminari to quickly follow him.

“Let’s get the hell out of here.” He said as the electric-user gladly complied and followed, but neither of them saw a FOURTH Santa show up so he could help his three fellow Santa’s. “Hey! Snap out of it!!” Shinsou perked up and made the mistake of looking back when he saw the Fourth Santa get the other three Santa’s out of his trance.

“He’s getting away! Get the money back!” The Fourth Santa shouted and pointed at Shinsou, whose eyes went slightly wide when he saw the very angry Santa’s all glaring right at him…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDIIYVPRpns

That was Shinsou’s cue to run like hell as he took off in a very fast dash while the pissed off Santa’s all started shouting “STOP THIEF!” “GET THAT BRAT!!” “I’M GONNA PUT A HOLIDAY HURTING ON YOU KID!!”

Kaminari shouted in terror as he backed away when the surprisingly fast Santa’s whipped right through to chase after his friend as he nervously followed. “Run Run Shinsou! Run like Hell!!” And he called out for his friend, even though no duh, that’s exactly what Shinsou was doing as he ran as fast as he could. Thank God he’d been training with Aizawa to pick up on speed. He wasn’t that fast but he was faster than he used to be that’s for sure.

“Stop him!”

“He’s getting away!”

“He took money!”

“Cut him off!”

But the Santa’s called OTHER Santa’s in the area as they stopped what they were doing for a moment to see Shinsou running off, still carrying your gift in his hands as he looked a little shocked when he saw so many more Santa’s around…

Why were there so many Santa’s!

He looked back to see another Santa, and then another, and then another! And then he realized there was now like TEN Santa’s on his ass and now he had to pick up the pace as he ran with a rare, alarmed face when he could just hear them yelling at him among the loud holiday music blaring while he was being chased.

Shinsou moved away when a Santa nearly grabbed him, and then he got lucky when several kiosks showed up for him to go to and cut off the Santa’s who were getting too close for comfort. The Santa’s all nearly bumped into each other when Shinsou cut them off, but it didn’t stop the others in the back from going ahead to try and catch up to him.

But Shinsou had to run past so many people that he was slightly ashamed to use as obstacles for the Santa’s to get past since he was only one person and there were ten different Santa’s so they had more difficulty getting past the poor people in their way.

Even as the Santa’s yelled for people to get Shinsou to stop they were much too shocked and confused to know what was going on other than the fact that Santa’s were chasing some poor teenager for some reason.

And Shinsou grinned a little when he saw an escalator and quickly ran up the one going upstairs, and kinda cut in front of others just to get away from the upcoming Santa’s. “Dude! This is crazy!” Kaminari went to the other escalator also going up and was already panting, but Shinsou nodded nonetheless. “The things I do for love.” He smirked and shrugged before giving Kaminari the gift before he jumped onto the same escalator when the other Santa’s were getting close and ran ahead of the clamoring people who shouted in shock as Shinsou made it upstairs and lost the Santa’s for a moment as he darted into a toy store.

He knew the Santa’s were coming so he was going to fight back this time, and he immediately made his way to the toy section and grabbed several frisbee’s and Captain America shields and threw them RIGHT at the oncoming Santa’s who were unfortunate enough to get clocked and the other ones moved away just in time to avoid getting hit. But when more showed up, Shinsou grabbed two toy swords to defend himself.

“All right? You Santa’s wanna dance? Okay then, but there’s only one winner coming out of this.” He said with confidence despite the fact that there were TEN Santa’s looking fierce with their fists up and ready to fight as they shouted “You can’t take all of us!” “Bring it Purple-head!”

And that urged Shinsou to quickly swat and strike at the first Santa who got too close, and he kept swinging and swinging until every Santa got too close, although he made one Santa stop in his tracks. But Shinsou’s eyes went wide when all the other Santa’s decided to body slam him to the ground in a giant Santa Slam…

His back hit the ground, but he quickly slid away fast and used the Santa that got too close to him and made the others who responded to him stop as he quickly got away and this sanpped the other’s out of it as they all blinked their eyes.

“Where’d he go?!”

“I thought you had him!”

“You let him go?!”

Shinsou snickered and laughed to himself despite the bruises he was going to get in the morning as he ran out of the store as fast as he could and ran to the nearest elevator to get the HELL out of there. To his relief Kaminari had caught up to him, still carrying your gift and panting heavily from all that running.

“Phew… dude… way to go!! That’s my man!!” Kaminari then laughed and praised his friend as they both left the mall together, rather quickly too to avoid anymore Santa’s that were around…

LATER ON THAT NIGHT…

“Let me get this straight…”

What the hell did your boyfriend just do?

“You’re telling me that you took money from a homophobic donation organization, outran and fought off ten different Santa’s just so you could get me a Christmas gift?” Because Shinsou came back to the dorms winded and with a bruise on his chin from getting elbowed by one of the Santa’s you asked him for an explanation, and he gave you one.

“Ah… yeah…” He nervously scratched the back of his neck the more you described the not-so moral things he did just to get you the gift you were carrying.

It was Gerard Way and he was SO cute and it was the Black Parade edition, and oh my God there was no way it was cheap and yet Shinsou took money just so he could buy that for you…

“That is… SO ROMANTIC~!!!”

Instead of getting pissed like he thought you would be based on your tone, you chirped rather loudly and even fawned all over the gift in your hands, “Oh my GOD~! Hitoshi… it takes a real man to steal money and pick a fight with ten Santa Claus’s just so you could go home with a gift… and you did all that for me. Awww…”

You knew Shinsou wasn’t above doing naughty things but that’s what you adored about him, he had an edge to him and you loved it. In fact it was weirdly attractive and something about this whole situation and knowing your boyfriend more than likely made the naughty list was kinda turning you on…

“Really?” But Shinsou was VERY surprised and VERY happy to hear that as he started to blush and bashfully grin, “Oh w-well… yeah I would… do that all again for you if I had to.” He shyly admitted, although he had to admit he took a twisted delight in running from all those very angry Santa’s. It was kinda hilarious the more he thought about it…

Not like he was going to get in any major trouble either, after all, he wasn’t Bakugo or anything, not many people knew he was despite his performance at the Sports Festival.

“Awww… God I love you…” You beamed as you lovingly hugged him, still holding your gift in one hand, “It’s the best gift I’ve ever gotten! God he’s adorable…” Giggling, you hugged him a little tighter as your boyfriend gave a soft smile and hugged you back.

“I love you too.” He whispered quietly back to you, sighing heavily in relief that his efforts were good and that he fought for a good cause. You.

However, now it was YOUR turn to give him HIS gift, “Aaaaaand here is your gift~!” As you pulled away you gave him the box that was not-so wonderfully wrapped but Shinsou still smiled as he accepted it and opened it up with a slightly amused smile. He hasn’t gotten presents since he was like 10 years old. Mostly because he tried to act all cool to his mom and dad that he was ‘too old’ to get Christmas presents.

But this gift really shook him as his eyes went SLIGHTLY wide but the excitement was all on his shocked face when he saw it. An actual Black Parade jacket, just like the one Gerard Way wore in his music videos…

He couldn’t even speak he was so shook, and that made you increasingly nervous as your smile turned shaky. “Um… do you… like it…?” Oh my God he hated it didn’t he…?

“No…” Shinsou replied to you quickly and you could feel yourself sweating already until he said, “I love it.” Even through his excitement he gave you a soft, tender smile as you gasped and grinned widely with a big squeal.

“OH! OH GOOD!!” Oh Thank God you were so excited you jumped a little bit as he looked so marveled and excited to put this on. He was probably going to sleep in this…

“Wow… the buttons and everything.” He couldn’t help but examine how cool this looked, it was stylish and wicked as hell just like Gerard Way. “Just like Gerard wore it…” He then put it up to size himself up, and it was definitely a good fit based on what he saw.

You blushed quite madly with a shy smile, “It’s our favorite… I knew you would like it, I know my boyfriend…” You said with a smidge of confidence as Shinsou’s smile turned into a smirk.

“You knew I’d like it? Then why did you look so nervous?” He had to tease you a little bit and it just made you blush even more as you pouted, “Well…! You’re my boyfriend! I have to get you something I think you’d like…! Let me have this…! I had to kick three guys AND girls in the junk just to get this because I saw it first but they tried to take it anyway... Used my puppet-body quirk and everything...” You whined just a little bit as Shinsou chuckled and put his arm around you. 

“Well you weren’t wrong. I do like it, no, I love it.... but knowing that you also broke a few laws just to get it for me... makes me love it even more... my naughty girl~.” He repeated what he had said as you smiled at him once more, “And I love what you got me too my naughty little Christmas elf~.” As you blushed with a warm smile as he grew rather flustered by your embarrassingly affectionate but sweet name as you and he shared a small little kiss in the comfort of your rooms.

“Happy Holidays (Y/N).”

“Happy Holidays Hitoshi~.”

The two of you said rather affectionately before you both decided to get out of your room to join the rest of the party. Especially since the Bakusquad (except Bakugo himself of course) had agreed to sing some Holiday songs with you.

All the while Shinsou had put on that jacket since it easily became his new favorite thing right now, and of course he caught some eyes from fans like Tokoyami, Jirou and Aoyama. “So soft…” And Shinsou was nice enough to let Tokoyami touch the hems of his sleeve, all the while looking very proud of it as he watched you sing along with Kirishima, Sero, Kaminari and Sero.

It's a wonderful feeling (hey, yeah, yeah) Feel the love in the room From the floor to the ceiling It's that time of year Christmas time is here

And with the blessings from above God sends you his love And everything's okay~

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays Oh yeah Merry Christmas Merry Christmas Happy Holidays~.

You were smiling the whole time as you sung with your friends as Shinsou for once got into it and put his arm around you. 

He wasn’t the most festive guy in the world but it felt more like the holidays with you in his life as you nuzzled into his shoulder as he wore that Black Parade jacket and you were still carrying your little Gerard Way Funko Pop.

“I know I said this already but... Happy Holidays Hitoshi.. I love you.” You whispered that last part to your sweet boyfriend who warmly blushed and smiled at you. 

“And I’ve said this already too but Happy Holidays to you too (Y/N)... and I love you too.” Shinsou whispered the same words back to you while you and he held each other and listened to the music, still wearing and holding onto each other’s gifts the whole time.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TUMBLR!!!

[bakugou-tm]

Fall Feels

@bnha-halloween2019 | Day 3 & 5: Thunder Storm/Pumpkin Patch | Bakugou x Reader | Teen | Cursing

Hello there, I finally have got all my drafts down for the Halloween Writing Challenges :’) So since I’m late and very busy, I won’t be able to get to every single day so I’m just going to combine a few days and make longer fics to make up for it. Quality over quantity am I right? (and I’m just a lazy busy ass) Anyways here’s some fluffy fluff fluff for my first submission, enjoy!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Honestly this place was Bakugou’s worst nightmare.

Children running around screaming and fighting over which pumpkin is their’s, pumpkins large and small littered all over the floor with little to no room at all to even walk, sweltering heat that would barely be classified as offering “shade” to those at the patch.

And worst of all, parents forcing their children to wear shitty costumes and take pictures on the uncomfortable pumpkins. He would never forget the years of torture his mother put him through just to get a cute picture for her design company, honestly he thought she only did it to piss him off.

Which it did. A lot.

And yet here the ash blond was, standing before the large tent along with his so called friends and girlfriend by his side. Just in case you were wondering, it wasn’t his idea. And surprisingly it wasn’t his friend’s idea either.

It was yours. For some reason you were dead set on going to one of these shitty patches to pick a pumpkin out for your dorm. Why you were so determined on getting one of these rather odd shaped fruits for your room, he didn’t know. 

After his friends begging him literally all day to go, it only made him want to decline the offer even more. But when you got him alone and gave him that stupid adorable face you always flaunt when you want something, he knew he was fucked.

So begrudgingly he tried to hide his disgust, not very well at that, and stood by your side as your eyes lit up at the sight like a child at a candy store.

“Katsuki look at all the pumpkins!” You squealed with a wide grin quickly bending down to pick up a pumpkin that was almost the size of you, which showed as you shakily got it to rest against your legs before showing it off to the Bakusquad, “Aren’t they awesome!”

The rest of Bakugou’s friends seemed way more interested than he did, marveling at the pumpkin in your hand while Kirishima picked it up from your shaking hold.

“You might want to look for one more your size (L/n).” Kirishima chuckled as you let out a slight pant of relief once the heavy pumpkin was out of your hands.

“Go.. go big or go home am I right?” You said in between heavy breaths with a grin, most of your friends laughing except for Bakugou who clicked his tongue.

Walking beside you with folded arms, the grumpy boy scanned the perimeter of the tent with unimpressed eyes, “Just pick out a damn pumpkin already before you get fucking scoliosis.”

Looking over to your boyfriend you snuck a quick kiss to his cheek, giggling slightly at his startled expression, “Don’t rush me Katsu, I’ll just take even longer~”

Bakugou glowered down to you, ready to let a string of curses come out until a bright flash was seen from above. It only took seconds for the horrendous boom to come after, shaking the ground aggressively as the rain followed suit.

Your hand immediately found its way into your boyfriend’s at the startling sound, even Bakugou glancing up at the sudden change in mood.

For a second he almost felt a surge of excitement, this meant he could go home right? But then other sounds filled his ears that made him want to blow up the planet.

Children crying, adults shouting, loud wind and rain just adding to the new chaos of the situation.

Bakugou’s friends all let out annoyed groans, the six of you moving under the tent so not to get drenched by the heavy downpour.

“Talk about bad timing for a storm to show up.” Kaminari groaned with folded arms, the group nodding in agreement as they brought up what they should do next.

The ash blond couldn’t be more annoyed, the weather couldn’t hold out for five more seconds? Now he had to come back another fucking time so you could pick out a damn pumpkin, this was supposed to be a one time deal!

Though he remained silent, it was clear Bakugou’s mind was screaming profanities as he glared at the heavy rain, hands shoved deep in his pockets.

He hadn’t realized he was spacing out until he felt two nudges at his side, vermillion eyes glaring over to see Kirishima looking at him with a concerned expression.

“(L/n) okay? She doesn’t look too good bro.”

Bakugou raised a brow, glancing down over to you. Immedietly he noticed how closed off your body language had become. (H/c) locks covering most of your face, arms wrapped around your torso, lower lip just barely lowered in a small pout, and were your eyes getting glossier?

There’s no way you would cry over this, right? He knew you really wanted to come here but it wasn’t the end of the world?

“Sorry about the weather (L/n)-chan it’s a real bummer, maybe we can do this next year!” Mina said with a reassuring grin, your eyes snapping up to her own as you noticed all eyes on you now.

Quickly fixing your posture, you forced the corners of your lips to raise up and nodded, “It’s okay guys don’t worry about it! I only wanted to go because this place reminds me of home..”

Shit. That’s why you were so excited to come here. Bakugou forgot how seriously your country took these holidays, doing these small things must’ve made you feel a little more at home.

“My entire family would always come to this pumpkin patch, and we would take picture then me and all my cousins would pick out a pumpkin and have a carving contest when we got home,” You explained with a small smile, not being able to help it as your eyes sunk to the floor, “I guess recently I’ve been feeling a little homesick, I was hoping this would help bring some happy memories back.”

Now Bakugou really felt like a piece of shit. He had been such an asshole the entire way here thinking you were acting like a two year old, when really you just missed your family.

Your relationship was still a few months new, so he wasn’t used to sharing feelings and actually thinking about how you felt. It was something that he always beat himself up over in the back of his mind, but his stubbornness and pride often got in the way of it.

But he would be damned if he just watched you feel this way for the entire rest of the year. He was your boyfriend, it was his job to keep you happy. And he would really be damned if he wasn’t the best fucking boyfriend you’ve ever had, hopefully the only one you’ll ever have.

His eyes flicked over to the plastic table at other side of the tent, seeing the associate start to pack his box of money and signs. This wasn’t going to do.

“Don’t you dare fucking close this place up,” Bakugou yelled from across the tent, startling the young man as he looked over to see the six of you still there, “It’s nowhere near closing time buddy.”

Your head perked up at the sound of this, not only you but the rest of his friends looking at the ash blond confused as he snatched your hand into his own. You blinked owlishly at him as his vermillion orbs landed on your own, softening slightly as he took your features in.

“We aren’t leaving here until we find the best fucking pumpkin.”

At this your friends all cheered, a warm smile spreading across your cheeks as you squeezed his hand excitedly, “Thank you Bakugou.”

Bakugou would be lying if he said his heart didn’t do a flip as he saw that beautiful smile flash across your lips, but he also would never admit that in his entire life.

So instead he walked in front of you and tugged you along through the patch of pumpkins with a scowl on his face.

“Whatever, just pick a damn pumpkin out already!”

This is why you loved the ash blond so much, he was such a wild card. Some days he made you want to slap him senseless, but in the end he always made sure your heart was on cloud nine. He even managed to turn this horrible situation into a good one.

Even when you first started dating, you had a small feeling he had a heart deep down in that prideful body of his. People warned you, even a few teachers did, but you saw the light in him. If their wasn’t a light, why would he want to be a hero after all?

Bakugou was simply a normal misunderstood teenage boy in your eyes, one capable of love and being human. Yes he did work harder than the average person, and he was insanely prideful, and sometimes he could be an asshole. But he had a heart, and you intended on digging it out so other people could see what you see in him.

The loud snapping of your boyfriend brought you back to reality as you glanced down at the pumpkins. You might as well try to find one as soon as possible so the poor sales guy could go home.

Back at home you always went for the smaller pumpkins, they were just so cute how could you not? All of your cousins and yourself were able to pick out one large pumpkin for carving, and another pumpkin of any size for your room.

Since you obviously couldn’t fit any obnoxious ones in your small dorm, you figured you should pick out a decent sized one that could fit on your desk.

Meanwhile, Bakugou watched as you somehow gracefully maneuvered through the rows and rows of pumpkins. He figured you must’ve been used to walking through them from back home. 

It wasn’t until he watched you dance through the pumpkins that he realized just how cute you looked today. He begrudgingly noticed that you were wearing one of his shirts. Half of him didn’t mind too much, part because seeing you in one of his shirts made him swell with pride, the other part admiring how well you put the outfit together.

You had tucked in the front of the plaid shirt, which was oversized on you, while leaving the back end of the shirt out giving it a loose simple look. The colors went well with your high waisted jeans and of course those stupid boots you always had to wear during the fall season.

Even as you bent down to examine the pumpkins, you were just so naturally beautiful. Your (e/c) eyes narrowed carefully, soft lips pursed together in concentration, silky locks cascading down your shoulders. It almost pissed him off how imperfectly perfect you were.

Quickly shaking his head, the ash blond muttered a curse to himself. He needed to get out of his damn head, you were making him too fucking sappy.

Glancing around at the pumpkins around him, Bakugou chuckled slightly at the sight a of a rather awkward pumpkin. The stem was practically chopped off, probably kicked or torn off by some bratty child. One side was distinctly higher than the other, making the lumpy object look deformed.

Grinning deviously, the ash blond tugged the pumpkin in his arms before calling your name, his grin growing wider once you made eye contact with him.

“Hey (S/o), this looks like your ass!”

Why you had any thought in your mind that perhaps your boyfriend was trying to help you, you had no idea. As soon as your eyes fell on the rather depressing pumpkin, your lips puckered out into an annoyed pout, your eyes following suit with a sharp glare.

This earned a loud snort from Bakugou, the ash blond finding your change in mood apparently hilarious.

“Oh I’ll show you funny...” You grumbled, glaring at the ground until you noticed the patch of squash a few rows down. Grinning you quickly grabbed a smaller one and whipped your head back to your laughing boyfriend with a smirk.

“Hey Katsuki~” You purred, successfully gaining his attention causing you to sneer before you held up the pathetic squash, “This one looks like your dick, asshole.”

Bakugou’s once wide grin fell into an expression of shock before a scowl came across his lips as you bursted into laughter. For someone so aggressive, he sure was sensitive.

That’s one of the reasons Bakugou came to like you. Even though you were kind and gentle, you were also confident and didn’t take shit from anyone. Any normal girl, except for maybe Mina, wouldn’t be caught dead saying something like that to him. Yet here you were, making fun of his package, inaccurately at that.

“Oh you think you’re funny you little shit?” Bakugou hissed, storming his way over to you as you continued your obnoxious laughter.

Grinning over to him you slowly stopped your laughing, pretending to wipe a fake tear from your eye as he neared you.

“Oh I think I’m hilarious babe, don’t you think-”

Your words were cut off from being lifted into Bakugou’s arms, a yelp escaping your lips as you held onto his neck tightly and blinked down to him.

“Bakugou? What are you doing? Why are you getting closer to the tent?” 

The onslaught of questions seemed to go in one ear and out the other as you both neared the edge of the tent that was barely protecting you from the pounding rain.

“Katsuki! I swear you better not do this!” You shrieked, holding a vice grip on your boyfriend as you felt light pelts of water brush against your face, “Katsuki don’t-”

You couldn’t finish your sentence before cool water began to soak against your back and side, a shrill scream escaping your lips as you tried to hide your face in Bakugou’s hair.

If you thought Bakugou’s laugh was loud before, this would’ve been a howl of laughter then. Somehow he thought you getting drenched was funny.

But if he was going to play that game? You were going to then.

Gritting your teeth you lifted your leg that was behind his torso and kicked it against he back of his knee, causing his legs to buckle forward as he stumbled outside the tent with your drenched body.

Bakugou attempted to drop you but you held onto him like your life depended on it, keeping him out in the rain so you could both be soaked to death.

“(S/o) you little shit!” Bakugou growled as he ducked his head low, your giggles filling the air as you ran your fingers through his now damp locks.

“What? Don’t like getting wet pretty boy?” You questioned with a grin, placing a few kisses on his cheek while he glared up to you.

Initially the ash blond was mad, not wanting to get a genuine denim jacket wet, but with you looking down at him with so much joy... how could he be mad?

Even for a minute you though Bakugou was mad with you, but soon his glare softened, his vermillion eyes narrowing playfully at you as he grabbed your chin and pressed his lips against your own. Whenever he was like this with you, nothing in the world mattered at all. Not his friends, not the pouring rain, nothing. Just you and him.

Smiling through the kiss you held on to the back of his head and moved in close to him, welcoming the drops of rain falling from your now soaked hair.

And even as much as you didn’t want this moment to end, you knew for your friend’s sake and the poor sales associate’s sake, you should probably pick your pumpkin out so you could continue this at home.

Pulling away from him was a slight challenge, his head following your fading lips until your head was away from his own, causing his eyes to open while he scowled at you.

“The hell did you stop for?” Bakugou growled lowly, but stopped when he noticed your eyes weren’t on his own. Your (e/c) gaze was narrowed at something behind him, examining something. Raising an eyebrow, he opened his mouth to ask but you scrambled out of his arms before he could get the chance.

Quickly Bakugou made his way back under the tent, shaking his head out to get at least the dripping water from his locks before looking over to you.

Your soaked form was bent over some pumpkin, holding it close to yourself before you spun around and looked to him with a grin, “I found the perfect pumpkin!”

Bakugou nodded slowly as if taking everything that just happened in before walking beside you to see what this magical pumpkin looked like.

And to his surprise, it was white. Not orange like the normal pumpkins, just a light cream color with a curly stem.

“The hell do you want that one for?”

Smiling softly you stood up with the pumpkin in your arms, brushing the wet strands of hair out of your face before looking up to Bakugou.

“Because it reminds me of you.”

For a second, just a second, Bakugou didn’t understand. Were you still making fun of him? But then it clicked. The pumpkin had the same color tone as his ash blond hair. Only you would correlate such a stupid thing, only you would take something so meaningless and make it special.

And yet Bakugou felt his face getting hotter by the second. He wasn’t even sure if it was the way you were looking at him or the words you spoke, but there was no way in hell he was going to let you see him blush.

Without hesitation the ash blond snatched you into a hug, holding you close against him so you couldn’t try to get away.

“Why the fuck are you so sappy shitty girl?” Bakugou grumbled, placing a soft kiss on your forehead before glancing the other way so his friends on the other side of the tent wouldn’t see his rosy cheeks, “You watchin too much of those fucking Hallmark movies?”

The sound of your giggling filled his ears, making his heart warm as your voice vibrated against his chest softly,

“Maaayyybbbeee.” You cooed with a goofy grin as you squeezed your face from his grasp to rest your chin on his chest so you could look up at him with that adorable expression of yours, “I can’t help it! They make my heart squeeze!”

Bakugou couldn’t help but smile at this, a small ‘tch’ escaping his lips as he grabbed the pumpkin from your grasp and tugged you along to the check out table.

“Yeah yeah heart squeeze, let’s get your sappy ass home.” 

[deniigi]

hannukah! for the Peters. Or just shenanigans with holidays is peachy

I literally spent hours today trying to find a Hanukkah sweater for my father, so anon. I feel this one deeply. Have some nonsense around gift-giving.

Just a note, Peter = Blondie in this

—

Gwen laughed when Miles showed her the gift he’d picked out for Peter B. He thought at first she was laughing at the lights tangled in the cotton balls attached to the Santa hat on the socks, but between gasping breaths she managed to wheeze out the real reason.

“B’s so Jewish, Miles,” Gwen said.

And just like that, Miles felt like the Red Sea had parted in front of him.

“Gwen,” he said. “I fucked up.”

—

Gwen could stop laughing any day now. Any. Any that she pleased.

“You—you—”

“Girl, I need you to help me,” Miles said.

“All of them, Miles. You got them all Christmas shit.”

He hadn’t known, okay? Like, he knew that his Peter was Jewish because he’d told Miles that he wasn’t going out as Spiderman on Yom Kippur and his headstone had had a Star of David on it, but even with that, Peter was really into Santa. Like, bizarrely into Santa.

Peter wanted to grow up to become Santa, he claimed. It was a life goal of his. He liked to show people his Christmas album and point to his half-assed Santa get-up on it while whispering ‘soon.’

It was hard to tell if he was fucking with people or if he legitimately wanted to be a jolly, white-haired, fat man when he got old. With Peter’s personality, it could go either way, but mainly his interest took the form of something bordering on an obsession.

MJ’s disgust for Santa was probably the thing fueling that, now that Miles thought about it.

The only thing keeping Santa out of Peter and MJ’s home décor year round was MJ’s complete refusal for anything red and white to enter their apartment without prior inspection.

Miles had just figured that this Santa thing, like the whole Friend-to-Small-Creatures thing, was a trait common to all Peter Parkers. And maybe he’d sort of fucked up and assumed that his was the only Jewish one, but any way around, it couldn’t be left to stand now. Corrections had to be made.

“Gwen, help me,” he said as pitifully as he could.

Gwen could not resist the puppy eyes. She tried to. She lasted ten seconds and a pouty lip.

“Fine,” she sighed. “But you’re gonna need to coordinate.”

—

MJ was always very helpful when Miles asked her things. She was nicer than she looked, unless she was with Peter. She bullied Peter in front of his friends but was (allegedly) super nice and patient with him when they were alone.

She was not Jewish. She just hated Santa.

“It’s an honest mistake,” she told Miles very kindly. “And given that our Peter’s…like that, I could totally see how you’d make it.”

“Should I just get them all menorah socks?” he asked.

MJ considered this.

“You could do that,” she said, “Or you could give them seven useless things and one thoughtful one. That’s what Pete and May do to each other. It’s kind of a competition for who can find the shittiest gift until the last night. Pretty sure last year we were dealing in real-life-sized cardboard cut-outs and twisted paperclips.”

Peter’s weird truly knew no boundaries.

“Okay, well, how about not?” Miles said. “How about only thoughtful gifts?”

MJ lifted an eyebrow.

“Chapstick,” she said.

Peter’s weird was kept in check purely by his wife’s relentless pragmatism.

—

Okay, so. Gifts decided. A menorah hat vetoed.

Gwen was real butt-hurt about the menorah hat thing. But they pressed on.

Gwen thought that it would be kind of cute if all of the Peters had matching Hanukkah socks. She thought that they would probably all like that. They had near-matching suits as a it was, which they all seemed to appreciate.

So socks it was. But then came the trouble of sizing.

“We need a shoe,” Gwen determined. “One from each of them.”

Miles was not stealing people’s shoes. That was weird.

—

So Miles was stealing people’s shoes now. It was weird. Gwen made it as weird as humanly possible by trying to fit one of her own shoes into each one they stole.

This unfortunate side effect aside, the nice thing about having Gwen along for this ride was that one of them could chat with the Spidey they’d targeted while the other stole the shoe.

It worked every time.

Miles was worried about these people. They literally did not notice people making off with their sneakers. That is, until they got to B. Nothing was ever easy when it came to B.

His shoes were guarded by his wife in the bedroom, who had understandable concerns about this particular type of thievery. She refused to give any of B’s sneakers, boots, or slippers to Gwen until Gwen fessed up as to what they were doing. This led to Miles trying to hold a long and awkward conversation with B in the other room while B cracked his DP’s back by walking on it.

“You doin’ anything for the holidays, Miles?” B asked casually over the swearing under him.

Miles couldn’t see DP’s face but he was positive that he was not enjoying this experience.

“Just, uh, not that,” Miles said.

He couldn’t look away.

“Oh, well. If you’re not doin’ anything, you’re always welcome here, kiddo,” B said. “We’re having Chinese food and watching Fast ‘n Furious 2. It’s gonna be fun. Get a couple of drinks in MJ and she’s got commentary that you wouldn’t believe.”

Miles did not doubt it.

“Are you guys doing, uh, Jewish things, too?” Miles asked.

B blinked at him.

“Like what?” he asked urgently.

Miles nearly flinched.

“I dunno,” he blurted out to cover for it. “I just thought that you’d do something. You know, Hanukkah and all that.”

B sighed in relief and Miles realized that he thought he’d missed something.

“I honestly don’t give much of a shit about Hanukkah,” B revealed with a shrug. “I mean, like, on the scale of things? Rosh Hashanah? Eons better. They don’t even compare.”

Miles did not know what that was.

“New Year,” B said. DP whined under the ball of his right foot. He shifted his weight to his left one.

Right. Cool.

Miles stood awkwardly watching DP pound a fist against the floor until Gwen hurried out from her interrogation session and announced that they had to bounce.

They said bye. B didn’t seem to notice.

—

Gwen had categorized all the Peters into Beefcake, Stringbean, and Silly Putty.

She claimed that these were the only categories that Spiderpeople could fit into and, on this scale, there was a correlation between age and category. The young were more likely to be stringbeans. The twenty-somethings tended to be silly putty. And the old folks were beefcakes.

She refused to answer any and all questions about Ham.

Miles sat up in horror upon wondering if human was kosher in Ham’s verse or not. Gwen told him to stop thinking and go back to writing out cards. She’d amassed what seemed like a billion pairs of blue socks. She was very busy making neat little packages for them out of wrapping paper.

After about an hour, they had before them a row of presents with names printed on them so that she and Miles didn’t mix any of them up.

“What now?” Miles asked.

Gwen beamed at him.

“Now,” she said. “We go in reverse. Gotta return all the shoes, remember?”

She’d kept.

The shoes.

Miles laid his head on his arms.

It was going to be a long night.

[slasherscream]

poly billy and stu celebrating holidays with their s/o?? from birthdays (theirs) valentine's day, christmas, etc love your blog sm!! it's my favourite 🤩🤩

A/N: anon this is such a cute idea thank you for sending it in. 

     billy loomis x reader x stu macher

                                                     ——————– 

Let’s start with the top’s birthday. So Billy? He is an iconic mix of bitch and bastard. Meaning that he is absolutely pretending to hate his birthday. Or at least is exaggerating on the point of how much he wants “everyone” to forget about it. Because … and I mean this ….god help you if Stu and you ever forget or listen to him when he says “don’t do anything”. It would be a fucking nightmare of which you would never wake if you both did this. 

Luckily Stu already made this mistake one year before y'all were all together and he knows. The first year you’re together Billy is going through his regular shtick of bullshit. You pull Stu aside privately later and ask, “so are we doing anything for his birthday or are we listening to Billy.”

Stu gets….the most distant far-off look in his eyes. Like he’s a man that’s come back from war and just got drafted again. He’s never grabbed your shoulders harsher, “We have to do something he’s lying.“ 

So you do something. The good part about Billy’s birthday is he’s actually not hard to please. Start the day off right with an acknowledgement. So you do a movie night the day before. This way when midnight hits you can pause Halloween and he will almost start yelling at you before you guys whip out obnoxious colored party-horns and start trying to blow them to the beat of Happy Birthday. He is rolling his eyes but deeply pleased as he was already contemplating ….revenge of some sort at 11:55 (please god make Billy chill out for one day). 

He is not lying about not wanting anything big though. He really only wants to celebrate with you and Stu. Don’t throw him a party. He won’t be mad per-say but he won’t be like pumped or anything. Will end the party early or will make you and Stu sneak off with him. This is #His Day and the focus will be #On Him. 

His Mom used to make him a cake every year and Stu, as his life-long best friend (and now boyfriend), totally remembers the tradition. He's just not capable of baking or cooking. But he tells you and hopes you can do it and you can (if you're bad at baking too let's just imagine with you and Stu both working hard you can...achieve....something). Surprising Billy with the cake would make him feel #Soft.

Honestly he's spending the whole day acting tough and pretending he barely wants to do anything but?? He loves it and loves that you're both 100% focused on him and making him happy. He's just a brat. But ignore him while he's scoffing about you guys both kissing his cheeks at the same time he's having the time of his life. He just wants to cuddle and watch movies and for no one to go anywhere. 

If you want to go Big for Him one year or something the best thing you could do is put Rich Boy Stu's money to good use and get him autographed shit from Horror Icons. Or original props from movies. He'll lose his fuCKING MIND. Finally breaks his lame "cool guy" act for 0.5 seconds. 

Stu doesn't play hard to get and he doesn't play mind-games (with you and Billy, that is). Y'all know damn well he wants a big fuss made about his special day. He also wants a big party. It's super easy to make him happy on his birthday if you just remember that unlike Billy he wants this to be as over the top as fucking possible.  

Wake him up with breakfast in bed screaming happy birthday at the top of your lungs and he jumps up like a kid on Christmas Morning. Yes....this is #His Day....pay attention to HIM. 

Give him lots of presents! He's easy to buy for! New clothes. Stupid jewelry. Horror shit. New voice changer box. He just likes receiving gifts. They don't have to be expensive ...just have him open a lot of packages and he'll love it.

Do a surprise birthday party. It's not a surprise in any way at all but watching his face light up when he walks into his fucking house at the end of the day and half the highschool pops out like "surprise!!" is so fucking worth all the hassle that you and Billy have to smile at each other. 

Billy has thrown him parties before but they're more of just...huge get-together’s. Like highschool(TM) parties where you're too cool to decorate. You? Not a pussy. You deck out the whole house and Stu loses his fucking mind. Knows you are the cause of this and kisses the shit out of you. Dips you and everything. Billy is protesting because, "Hey I blew up half these fucking balloons" ...don't be a piss baby it'll be your turn in like thirty seconds. 

Fourth of July?? Stu has the most illegal fireworks he could get his hands on so they’re. …. pretty illegal. They’re the asshole neighbors that set them off like weeks before the 4th and if you weren't fucking them you'd want their heads on a platter. As is? Eh.....you're fucking them so I guess this is the neighbor's problems- They always forgive because Stu's family throws the greatest fucking barbecues day of.

St. Patrick's Day? Time to get fucking WASTED. You are wearing green aggressively because the one year you didn't Stu pinched your ass all day long. Even Billy joined in when he saw how feisty and annoyed it was making you. Stu is still doing it but you...tried at least, RIP. It's the tradition now. 

Valentine's Day?? billy vc: love is a neurochemical con job. But don't worry Stu will not allow him to be a bastard about the day because he's affectionate and loving. Stu knows how to celebrate the day perfectly. This is his time to shine! The Most Obnoxious Boyfriend. Everyone else is jealous. Flowers? Delivered in the middle of class. Huge chocolate box that is also #Expensive? Have fun putting that in your locker (he's sweet so he's actually gonna put it in his car for you once you've had a few)! Would pay the Band Kids to Follow Billy and s/o around MOSTLY to annoy Billy but also to be cute. They're playing the fucking .... they're playing this. Billy is so angry but..... like.... his inner possessive loves being made a fuss over publicly so whatever. Maybe he won't kill the band kids for this. You're not an ungrateful cretin so you clap and laugh. 

Billy does get Stu a gift ...something not really...Valentine's Day-esque but something he'll like. Like a horror-themed bong (i'm so sorry y'all this man obviously is smoking weed). You wrap it in pink, heart themed paper for him which he didn't know you were going to do and he is going to get you for that ...later...in the bedroom. But Stu loved it so whatever. 

You? At the exact same time you and Stu present each other teddy bears. His teddy for you? Cute and fucking...Huge. Yours?? Fucking horror themed.. made to be gore-y and bloody looking. He gasps, obviously touched, "Babe!". Gonna get made out with so hard.... How are you so cute and funny? He loves you!! It sits proudly on his dresser. 

What do you get Billy?? He really does dislike the Holiday because he thinks people who use this as the day to show they half-ass care about their s/o one day a year deserve death and despair. He will give them that death and despair. So what to give him then?

Stu pretended to be too busy planning for Valentine's Day to plan any murders with him which pissed Billy off even more the week prior. He was busy planning Valentine's Day. He was planning the Normal one they'd have with you and the more private, bloody one they'd have later that night killing couples together. Icing on cake? You pitched in by helping Stu plan it and by picking out new knives for them to use during. They're #Pink in a way that is obnoxious but the quality is amazing and you say, "it's your Valentine's Day knives!!! Just to use on Valentine's every year. Do you like them?"       billy choked up: it's fucking .... alright 

Got em'! The only way you can make the night better is letting Stu and Billy have sex with you when they get home. They're high off the kill rush and Billy is pleasantly-surprised that Stu did a really good job of planning everything alone. They're covered in blood and feeling love-dovey. Let's all do heavy eye-contact missionary tonight

April Fools is a mess and it leaves all of y'all mad at each other for a solid fucking week. Everybody gets got. Nobody can trust one another. Nobody should.

Thanksgiving is not a happy time for Billy. He doesn't like spending it with his Dad because while he's ...so good at misdirecting or #Avoiding Things He Doesn't Want To Deal With it gets very hard at this time of year to not get mad at his Dad. He's for some reason never going to hurt his Dad who he could easily blame for his Mom leaving?? But he won't. Though he's very angry during this time of the year. His Dad will try to do anything and he just shuts himself in his room. Doesn't even wanna go to Stu's house or your house. It would just make him feel .... weird, upset, like he's intruding... jealous, even. It's kinda sad. He won't even pick up your calls that day. You and Stu don't even have to sneak into the house. Billy's Dad quietly let's you in and you go upstairs and just hold him together. It's a solemn holiday because it's like the start of reminding Billy about his Mother abandoning him. 

Christmas goes kinda the same way tbh but he's ....trying to make an effort to not be as big of a bummer since Christmas is a little more significant than Thanksgiving. He knows you and Stu actually enjoy the holiday season. He tries to distance himself in general during this time because he just doesn't know how to be anything else. It's actually kinda sad because most of Billy's emotions if they're negative wind up manifesting as anger but he's genuinely depressed as shit. 

Things are different when you all move in together because now he's also not trying to spend the holidays with the literal reminder of why his life sucks (his cheating ass daddy). Plus you and Stu are determined to give him new Holiday experiences to replace the ones that make him feel so shitty with nostalgia. He's grumpy the first Christmas you guys spend together after you're living alone but not angry the way he's been at Christmas times' past. Improvement.  

The Christmas after that? Doesn't cringe once seasonal music starts playing in stores. Ghostface killings get a little less violent and frequent (he's not using them to cope as soon as it gets cold). Getting better. The Christmas after that?? You can get him to help you decorate. He helps you and Stu with the tree. He makes cookies with you. You watch horror themed Christmas movies and some regular ones (you cannot be a movie tyrant during the holidays, billy-). Christmas after that? You all send out a "family" Christmas card. You and Stu are in ridiculous sweaters and Billy is in one of solid red but he's wearing a Santa hat. His arms are crossed but there's the slightest smile on his face. You each have an arm around him. You all look happy together.

Now ..... for the big one: Halloween. Thought I skipped it? Hah! Best for last. This is their happiest time of year. They are so ready for this shit you have no idea. It's disgusting how ready they are. It turns October and Stu drops this video in your three person chat. Billy replies with a devil emoji. Disgusting?? You know you're in for a chore of keeping them in line for a whole fucking month. They will be doing MISCHIEF. They will be doing SHENANIGANS. Both MURDER and OTHERWISE. They're teepeeing houses. Cars. They're stealing candy from kids like dicks probably. Or laughing at people who are doing this. They keep the kills to Halloween night though. A whole month of just planning so they can do something big and terrible. You have to be looking after them extra during this time because they're so excited they are ...not ...doing that. you: you guys please drink some water i haven't seen you move in hours billy and stu: billy: holy shit it's been- stu: babe please make us something to eat we haven't had anything since yesterday :(((( 

Fucking dumb idiot disease. If you're living together?? God help you, you used to only have to see them get hype as fuck. Now? You must experience it 24/7. Halloween prep starts emotionally? Once summer ends. They want to deck out the house to the nines and you’re just gonna have to piss now staring at/being aware of the over-sized plastic spider Stu put on the back of the toilet. 

Everything is spooky. Cobwebs everywhere. Black! Orange! Pumpkins! Outside decorations that are actually scary as shit. They're the haunted house on the street that gets #Talked About. They're gonna go murder the shit outta people later but early in the night?? The kids that manage to walk up to the house?? Get fucking...the Mother-load of all candy. The brave little bastard dressed as a ballerina-fairy-princess?? Fist-bump. Billy does not much like kids but all the kids who get to his door? You deserve this. Full-sized chocolate bars and bags of candy. Maybe even a dollar or two. Stu is actually great with kids and is the nice one who guesses all of their costumes. Somehow can guess the weird ones accurately? 

Once that part of the night is over they go out and just wreak total fucking havoc. Halloween in Woodsboro is a nightmare. They're having fun at least! This is their Christmas and they love it. Babe         babe don't wait up. They tell you as if you couldn't fucking guess?? They're not home till the wee hours of the morning and they're dead-exhausted but they had the time of their lives. 

                                                     ——————–

[selfignitingimagines]

Lydia- I Think I Do

Request-  Lydia + number 2 of the holiday prompts would be great ^^

2. “I know I was supposed to plan the entire Christmas party, but this is A LOT harder than it looks, okay?” In which decorations are destroyed, plans go awry, and someone has to swallow their pride and ask their crush for help.

A/N- I LOVE Lydia Martin, okay? I totally changed the holiday in the prompt but oh well. Thank you for the request!! Happy early New Year guys!!

“What do you think about a dutch braid?” Lydia asked, leaning forward as she held out a thick section of your hair.

You shrugged. “Whatever you want to do.”

“This is supposed to be your makeover,” she reminded you.

You tilted your head, smiling at her in the mirror. “I think we both know it’s always been your makeover.”

Lydia’s lips curled up. “Fine, so I’m a control freak when it comes to makeup.”

“Don’t forget hair and clothes too,” you added, winking at her.

Lydia blushed, and looked back down to examine your head. “I think I’m going to try a milkmaid braid on you. And then we can curl these strands right here…”

“How did I know we would be doing this when you invited me over?”

“Because you’re the perfect model,” she said swiftly. “And you’re perfectly willing. Unlike Malia, who almost took off my fingers when I tried to paint her nails.”

You laughed softly. “Sounds like Malia.”

“And, because I already talk too much about myself,” she continued. “This way, I’m too busy to gossip, and you get to catch me up on what’s been going on with you.”

“I haven’t been that busy…”

“Y/n, everytime I texted you at school, you were always studying. We haven’t really talked in months.”

“Well, I’m just glad the semester is over,” you admitted. “I didn’t do much but study and sleep when I was at school. And when I came back, I missed almost all the action.”

Lydia scoffed. “You skipped your finals to come save us from hunters, Y/n. You were the action.”

A warm feeling spread through you, a direct result of Lydia’s admiration. “Well, calculus could never be as important as my best friend. And you’re a lot more fun.”

“Speaking of fun,” she mused. “What are you doing for New Year’s?”

“Are you throwing another party to end all parties?” you wondered, teasing her just a little.

As her best friend, you had been to a fair amount of Lydia Martin’s infamous parties, and year after year, they never failed to impress. Things changed after Allison died, and it became only you and the rest of the pack, but Lydia still went all out.

“Honestly,” she told you. “This year was hell. I’m not sure I want to celebrate it.”

Your mouth fell open. “You want a quiet night in? Lydia Martin does not do quiet nights in.”

She sighed, smiling sadly. “Maybe at one point in time. I’m just not the same girl I was in high school, Y/n. None of us are the same.”

“Maybe,” you admitted. “But you’re still my best friend, and to be honest, I think we should celebrate the fact that we’re all still alive.”

“I’m just not in the mood to plan it,” she admitted. “If I’m doing it, it has to be done right. I just don’t have the energy.”

“Lydia,” you said softly. “We’re all going separate ways. And since everyone comes back for the holidays, New Year’s is the one time when the stars align and put everyone back in the same place. You really wanna pass that up?”

She frowned. “I don’t know.”

“What if I plan it?” you asked her.

She glanced at you with skeptical green eyes. “You’ve never planned a party before.”

“And?” you demanded. “Everyone has to start somewhere. We can still have it here, but I’ll do all the prep work. You can sit back, put your pretty feet up, and let me throw the party.”

She pursed her red lips. “You’re sure you want to do this? It’s a lot harder than it looks.”

You rolled your eyes. “Are you forgetting that I’ve seen you at your worst?”

Her lips curled upward, and she placed a warm hand on you shoulder. “You have...I guess it’s up to you then.”

You smiled brightly at her, ready to prove yourself. It wasn’t that you particularly cared about partying. You would have been just as excited about a movie night with the pack, but you secretly wanted to impress Lydia.

For years, you had watched her light up rooms full of people with her charisma and careful planning. You wanted that too, even if it was for one night. Maybe if she saw that, she’d finally want you as more than a friend.

As her fingers wove through your hair, you pushed away your longing and plastered a smile on your face. You were going to throw an amazing party if it was the last thing you did.

-----

It was a disaster.

The decorations you ordered ended up being for Halloween, due to some mix up at the shipping facility in Oregon. Little plastic champagne flutes were decorated with spiders and skeletons, despite your order for stars and glitter. Instead of silver and black banners, you now had purple and green ones, plastered with a shaky font reading “TIME TO GET SPOOKY.”

Your cookies had burned in the oven, the cake hadn’t arrived from the baker, and Malia had knocked over the enormous platter of cheese and crackers, intending to steal a snack.

“This is awful,” you groaned, as Malia munched on a cracker from the floor.

She was sitting at your kitchen table, staring at you with raised eyebrows. “I mean, the food is still good.”

“I literally charred these,” you reminded her, snatching a blackened chocolate chip cookie and waving it in her face.

She reached for it, took a crunchy bite, and looked thoughtful. “They’re not that bad.”

You sighed and ripped it from her hand, tossing it in the trash without a second glance.

“And why are you eating those?” you demanded. “They fell on the floor!”

“They still taste the same. Maybe a little bit dusty, but mostly the same.”

You opened your mouth to reply, but ended up closing it. It was better to just drop the subject.

“You know, you could always call L-”

“I am not calling Lydia!” you snapped, sinking down into the chair across from her and putting your face in your hands. “I told her I would take care of everything. I promised I would do it.”

“Look, I get you don’t want to look stupid in front of her, but I think you’re past that…”

You glared at her, but then your lip started to tremble, and you broke down into tears. “You’re right.”

Malia grimaced. Emotions were never something she had been good at dealing with, not even her own.

She reached forward to pat your back stiffly. “Um, hey. It’s not that bad. I mean, the worst she could do is be disappointed in you.”

You began to cry harder, and Malia groaned, reaching for your phone. “Y/n, just call her. She’ll probably be happy to help. You know how easily she gets bored.”

“I don’t want her to hate me.”

“I could never hate you.”

You glanced up, jumping slightly as you realized Lydia was standing in the doorway of your kitchen. Mortified, you asked “What are you doing here?”

She sighed. “I figured you might need a little help. And Malia, is right, I was bored out of my mind.”

She came over to wrap an arm around your shoulders. “Oh, Y/n, why didn’t you just call?”

“I wanted it to be perfect,” you explained, wiping tears away from your cheeks. “I wanted to do something special for you.”

“For me?” she asked.

“Well, for everyone,” you said quickly. “But especially for you. You always go all out, Lydia.”

She smiled. “Yes, and it’s exhausting...but the fact that you wanted to do this for me is amazing. And you almost pulled it off too.”

You buried your face in your hands, and she pulled you into a hug. “You were pretty damn close...which is why this party can absolutely be saved.”

You picked your head up and looked at her with puffy eyes. “It can?”

She nodded and winked at Malia, who didn’t seem to notice as she gnawed on another burned cookie. “It’s nothing a trip to the dollar store can’t fix.”

-----

“Wow, Lydia,” Scott remarked, as he stepped into her foyer. “This place looks great.”

“Actually,” Lydia informed him, looping an arm through yours as you stood in the entryway. “Y/n planned the whole thing. I was only here for assistance.”

Scott gave an impressed nod and smiled at you.

Kira smiled as she trailed behind him, glancing up at the cheap foil banners and balloons you and Lydia had dipped in glitter glue. As it turned out, no one could really tell the difference between expensive decorations and these.

“I love it,” she told you. “It reminds me of you. Very bright.”

You flushed, and Lydia squeezed your arm excitedly.  

Stiles showed up next, rolling his eyes as he led a chattering Liam and Mason into Lydia’s

house. He had been tasked with chauffeuring them to the party.

“Holy shit,” he said, as he walked inside. “You did better than I thought you would, Y/n.”

Lydia shot him a glare, and he swallowed. “It looks very nice.”

“Looks like that’s everyone,” you remarked as you followed them to the kitchen.

The cake was sitting on the kitchen table, decorated in silver and gold icing. It turned out that the bakery had just been running late, and on your way back from the door, you, Lydia and Malia had stopped by to pick it up.

Malia had stuck her face up against the glass, eyeing all the pastries and sweets, and she ended up choosing the cookies that would replace the ones you had burned. Even though, as Malia stated, “They tasted fine.”.

Throughout the night, you laughed and drank and enjoyed the time you had together. When Liam flicked on the TV to see the ball drop, you all screamed with joy as the new year rang in.

After the excitement had died down, everyone was either asleep (Malia), drunk (Mason and Stiles), or talking quietly.

You and Lydia had made your way to the top of her stairs, and were sitting quietly with near-empty glasses of champagne in your hands.

“Did you really want to do this for me?” Lydia asked softly.

You turned to her and smiled. “Yeah. You’ve come such a long way. I kinda wanted to celebrate that.”

She smiled, a light blush creeping onto her cheeks. “So have you. You’re the bravest person I know.”

“And you’re the strongest,” you said softly.

She gently shook her head, causing her red curls to shake. “I’m not strong. I’ve spent this entire year scared out of my mind, wondering if all of us are going to stay alive or not. I was terrified something would happen when you were at school.”

You laughed softly. “Lydia, I just went away to college. I was probably safer not being in Beacon Hills.”

“I know,” she whispered. “It’s just...there were things I wanted to tell you. I was afraid I wouldn’t get to say them.”

“Then tell me,” you said with a shrug. “We’re together now, aren’t we?”

She nodded. “Y/n, you’re my best friend. You’ve always been my best friend. Out of everyone else, I was most terrified of losing you and at first I thought that was why. But that wasn’t it.”

You felt your breath catch in your throat, and you set your glass down out of fear that Lydia could see your hands shaking.

“There’s more,” she continued. “When you did this tonight, I finally realized that you might feel the same way. That you might be in love with me too. And I really hope it’s true.”

She was staring at you with those wide green eyes, so full and hopeful. You wanted to say so many things, but you couldn’t put into words the years worth of feelings you had for her.

Instead, you leaned forward, cupping her warm cheeks and kissing her. She leaned into you, eagerly kissing you back.

With her lips on yours, you remembered all the small little moments that had told you that you loved her. They flashed through your head like a film reel, and it was like you were watching your life from the outside.

You could remember spending hours in her pool during the summer, spitting water at each other and splashing. You could see the two of you watching the notebook, hugging each other and crying. Getting ready for the first day of school together. Sitting with her after Peter attacked her. Clinging to each other for support at Allison’s funeral. Doing each other’s makeup for dances, prom, and tearfully before graduation. Saying a goodbye when you left for college, knowing it could never truly be goodbye, not with Lydia.

She kissed you back fiercely, as if she knew exactly what you were thinking and was feeling it too. When she pulled away, she reached up to run her thumb across your lip.

“You ruined your lipstick,” she remarked breathlessly.

“You can fix it,” your murmured to her, reaching forward to pull her into a hug. “Lydia, I love you.”

“I love you too,” she whispered. “So much, Y/n. You have no idea.”

You pulled away to smile at her, looking into her deep green eyes.

“I think I do.”

[qqueenofhades]

alone, i fight these animals [alone, until i get home]

To nobody’s surprise, I had another Kastle plot bunny, as I absolutely adore them being soft, but Frank and Karen are also messy, broken, dangerous people with a lot of trauma, and I wanted to write about them dealing with that and something from Frank’s POV. Also, I had a whole lot of feelings about Frank as a father, and well. This happened. Set sometime in my future verse where they’ve moved in together.

Rated M; content warnings for canon-typical violence, themes, and language, and mentions of sexual abuse, abortion, child loss, etc. Angst, but we get there in the end.

The door of the cellar stands half-open, letting in a wash of damp, cold New York winter night, that ever-present murky tang of the Hudson mixing with the sharper, metallic reek of blood. Frank completes his methodical pace around, making sure that nobody is still groaning, but if anyone is in fact alive, they sure as hell aren’t stupid enough to tip him off, and he wonders if he should shoot them all again, just to be safe. Jesus, he wants to. One shot, one kill, that’s always been the rule. Even Schoonover, who masterminded the murder of his family, got one clean shot to the head, no wasted energy, no needless mess. But these sons of bitches… Frank’s trigger finger is still twitching, and he clenches it hard. One thing at a time.

As far as he can tell, the seven corpses in the cellar are indeed genuinely in that state, and the faint, acrid whiff of shit confirms that. Frank kneels down by the nearest one and rolls him over. Pale, doughy, middle-aged white guy with glasses, looks like an office manager, which seems to be how most of them look. This fucking bastard was the leader of one of the biggest child porn rings on the Deep Web, made money hand over fist with his sick videos, supposedly used one of his own kids in them. He’s been on Homeland’s radar, they were preparing a big sting op to blow up the ring. Madani’s gonna be pissed that Frank got here before she could, but that’s her problem. Waiting for some fat-cat bureaucrat to get back from his Caribbean vacation to sign the warrants, have you ever heard something that stupid? These monsters were out here still hurting kids, hurting little girls, and needless to say, they were not expecting the Punisher to burst into their lair in all his trench-coated, jackbooted glory. Some of them put up a fight. Lots of bullets flying, but Frank was careful not to hit the servers. Madani’s eggheads can confiscate them and comb them to their heart’s content, see if there are any more they missed. He was never giving them the decency of a comfortable life in prison, no matter how unwelcome child abusers are in there. He still can’t slow down the roaring in his ears.

Frank dispassionately examines the bullet hole in the ringleader’s forehead. He’s definitely dead, but for the first time in his life, Frank almost wishes he’d broken his own rules. He doesn’t torture unless he needs information, and he had all the information he needed, here. But this asshole didn’t deserve to die that easy. Once upon a time, Frank would have believed that sinners would get their just desserts in hell, but that’s kid stuff, fairytales. He ain’t like Red with the Catholic shit. Watched it turn to ash a long time ago. Probably burst into goddamn flames if he stepped into a church now.

Outside, he can hear the drone of sirens -- someone, understandably, has taken note of the ruckus in the cellar and called the cops. Frank should get out of here, and as he rises to his feet, an unexpected pain in his side clips him and makes him grunt. He looks down to see a wet stain on his black hoodie, where one of the pedos got lucky and winged him low in the ribs. He didn’t notice it in the chaos, and it’s far from the worst he’s ever taken, obviously, but he should stop at an all-night pharmacy and get some shit to patch it before he gets home. He doesn’t want Karen to worry.

With a final glance around, Frank jogs to the door and lets himself out, just as footsteps are hurrying down from upstairs. He steps outside into the night and hangs a sharp left as red and blue lights start to splash the wet pavement – good ol’ NYPD, day late and a dollar short as per fucking usual. The appearance of a bunch of dead perverts in a basement isn’t going to cause anyone any personal distress, but it does serve as a calling card, and Madani, at least, is going to know who did it. Not that Frank thinks she’ll narc on him – they have a weird understanding, and part of him feels that she wouldn’t have mentioned that tip about girls being trafficked through Newark International if she didn’t want him to do something about it, wanted but could obviously never say or encourage him to undercut her whole sting. Madani can be ruthless in her fashion, but she’s still obnoxiously dedicated to the ideal of the law and truth and the American way. Give the feds time to do their job. That’s a good one.

Frank speeds up, almost growling at a goggling dog-walker to keep his eyes fucking forward, and darts into an alley to peel off his jacket and stuff it into his backpack with his usual clanking arsenal of automatic weapons. The wound in his side isn’t bad, but it’s definitely bleeding a lot, and he glances around (there are literally five million Duane Reades in Manhattan, he has to be within a few blocks of one). Sure enough, couple more minutes, he sees one, and steps inside with an anemic clank of bells. The bright fluorescents make him squint. They’re playing “Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer,” because apparently this might in fact be hell after all. Tacky Christmas stuff everywhere.

Frank strides past some alarmed local shoppers to the pharmacy, grabs some first-aid shit – bandages, disinfectant, surgical tweezers, whatever he needs to get the slug out – and heads to the counter. The clerk can’t help but try not to look too hard. He asks Frank if he wants the mouthwash on promotion, 99¢, or the $1.99 gingerbread cookie. Frank says sure. Man’s just trying (valiantly, really) to do his job, and doesn’t ask any dumb questions. He appreciates it.

“Happy holidays, sir,” the clerk says, as Frank hands over a $20, gets $4.46 change, and stuffs it all in his pocket. “You have a good one.”

Frank answers this with a curt nod, glances around to see the old lady in line behind him looking like she’ll hit him with her cane if he doesn’t scram and let her pick up her Geritol or what-fuckin-ever, and offers her a too-polite nod. “Ma’am.”

With that, and her eyes burning holes in him as some hooligan who is definitely Up To No Good, he makes his exit and tries to decide where would be the best place for an impromptu triage center. He could take advantage of that other ubiquitous Manhattan institution, Starbucks, though they’d probably get real precious about allowing him to use their bathroom if he didn’t buy one of their godforsaken overpriced drinks. Nothing else is coming to mind, however, and he could use some coffee. He crosses the street to the nearest one – they’re open until 9pm, it’s 8:23, he’d better not take too long – and goes in. It’s mostly empty by now, though there are still some hipsters bunked down with their ultra-thin iBooks and busy pounding out the Great American Novel or whatever they write these days. At that, Frank almost leaves again, but his side really fuckin’ hurts by now, and beggars can’t be choosers.

He buys a small (or ‘scuse him, tall) black coffee. The barista asks for his name. Frank says, “Pete.” Digs out the change from the drugstore and pays, sits at a corner table and sips for a few minutes, then gets up and heads into the bathroom.

Frank shuts the door, pulls out his kit, and shrugs his sweatshirt off over his head. He gets a look at the wound and has to admit it’s maybe a little worse than he thought. Thirteen bucks’ worth of medical supplies from Duane Reade is going to have to cut it, though, and Frank sponges off the blood, throws the used wipes in the sanitary bin, and angles his torso up to the mirror so he can get a good look at the hole. The tweezers are kind of shit, but they’re the best he can do, and he grunts and grimaces until he gets the butt-end of the bullet in sight, slick with blood. It takes a few more minutes (someone is passive-aggressively pounding on the door, and they’ll shut up if they know what’s good for them) until he finally eases it out. Wraps the deformed slug in another of the wipes and shoves it in the rucksack, as he’s guessing the Starbucks minions don’t want that in their garbage. Neither, frankly, does he.

Frank yells at the door-pounder that it’ll be a minute, and sticks himself awkwardly back together as best he can. He’ll probably need to stitch or staple it, but he’s got more stuff at home, and he’s hoping Karen will be out late. She went over to celebrate the first night of Hanukkah with the Liebermans. They invited Frank too, of course; it’s hard to forget that he literally sacrificed himself to a couple of psychos to save them, and his stint as the family’s weird violent guardian angel/replacement dad and husband is still something that catches him in the vulnerable place he keeps only for his lost family and for Karen. He wants to see them, wants to see Sarah, but it just hasn’t seemed like the right time to walk back in. They’ve got their lives back. He doesn’t know if he fits.

Having finished his makeshift surgery, Frank sticks one more butterfly bandage into place, washes his hands, shoves it all back in the backpack, and emerges to glare terrifyingly at the hipster who has been fighting him for custody of the lavatory. The guy shrinks (good move, man-bun) and apologizes, which Frank ignores. He strides back into the store, all dim and Christmasy and whatever, and grabs his coffee off the table, finishes it, and tosses it into the bin. It’s 8:54, the baristas are sweeping and mopping up and putting the chairs on the tables, and he nods at them too. “Night.”

It’s even colder by the time he emerges, the raw wind slapping at his cheeks, and he wonders if he wants to walk the rest of the way back to Karen’s place, or if he’ll just get the damn subway. Not the weirdest sight New York has ever seen down there at this hour, but he does still have a lot of guns in his bag, and he doesn’t want some nosy-ass transport cop deciding he wants to make quota for the night. Frank decides to walk.

It’s about twenty minutes until he turns into the street where he has spent the overwhelming majority of the past four months, to the point where both of them have implicitly acknowledged that it’s not likely he’s going to move out. Frank has his own cubby in the bathroom, buys half the groceries, takes his turn on the chores, likes to make dinner for Karen sometimes when she gets home from work, and he knows damn well that he doesn’t want to live anywhere else. Or if he did, only if she was there. He needs her, needs her around, needs her there, whatever unspoken relationship they have, where they live together and sleep together and otherwise act like a couple in private, but still have not talked about it or taken it public or acknowledged it between themselves, let alone anyone else. Of course Frank is not letting any asshole get within sniffing distance of Karen again (it’s a hard job – she somehow attracts as much shit as he does), but it’s more than that. They belong together. Life, whatever it is for him now, for them, is just right when they are, no matter what else is going on.

To his surprise, Frank sees a light under the apartment door when he steps up into the hall, and he hurries to the end, then pauses, in case it’s someone in there who shouldn’t be. He takes a quick grip on his pistol, nudging at the knob, but it hasn’t been forced. When he opens it cautiously, he sees Karen’s bag and heels scattered on the floor; the light is coming from the bathroom. She’s home earlier than he expected. Shit.

“Karen?” He shuts the door and drops his rucksack with a clunk. “Karen, you here?”

She doesn’t answer, but he hears a weird sound from the bathroom, like a combination cough and sob and sigh, and it sends a sharp spike of panic through his bloodstream, the fear that she might have been badly hurt. He practically runs down the hall and finds her sitting on the edge of the bathtub, in dress and stocking feet, holding something in her hand. It takes him a few more seconds after that to realize that it’s a used pregnancy test.

All the blood drains from Frank’s head at top speed. He feels almost dizzy, faint, like the world has fallen out from under him and he has no idea how to stand upright, as if he half-wants to turn tail and run out of here as fast as he goddamn can. His tongue locks to the roof of his mouth and he puts a hand out for support, trying to muster up words, anything, but nothing is there. Why is this – how is this even happening? Karen’s on the pill, right? She’s on the pill, and they’ve only been sort-of-together for four months. Oh Jesus. Maria got pregnant with Lisa after three, told Frank that he could leave if he wanted but she was keeping it, and he proposed marriage that same day. He is obviously willing to do the same again if necessary, but if history is repeating itself – Jesus. Jesus, no. Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ, no. Not the same cycle to the same violent end. He can’t. He will lose his entire mind, and this time, there will be no chance of ever getting it back.

“Karen?” His voice sounds strange and foreign to his own ears. “Karen, what the hell is…”

“I’m…” Karen takes a breath. He thinks, he’s certain what she’s going to say next, and he can’t prepare himself for it, and then it isn’t it. “I’m not,” she says, after another moment. “I’m not pregnant. If you were wondering.”

It’s pretty clear that Frank was indeed goddamn wondering, was in fact just about to have a heart attack over wondering, and he doesn’t know if this is better or worse to hear. On one hand, there is a burning, unbearable, savage relief, that they’ve escaped the trap, whatever cruel joke fate was just planning to set for them. On the other –

“Not,” he says, hoarse and gravelly, as if to confirm it. “Okay. There some reason you thought you were?”

Karen is too distressed to pay much attention to him, his dirty and disheveled state, and rocks back and forth on the bathtub rim. “I was taking my placebos,” she says, after a pause. “You know, the cycle of pills end, you take the placebos and have a period, and that was supposed to happen three days ago. But I didn’t, and I realized that there was at least one day where I forgot, and I… well, I haven’t been feeling that good recently, and tonight I was over there and I just… I didn’t… I couldn’t do it, and…”

She trails off, gripping her knees, as Frank remains frozen in the doorway. He has no idea what to say, this is far from his area of expertise, but he’s still too numb to interrupt. “So what?” he says at last. “You thought you should check?”

“Yeah. I…” Karen wets her lips. “There’s been a lot of stress recently, I suppose it could be like that. Sometimes I skip, you know, I’m not totally regular. I just… when I figure I’m going to start, I take a bunch of ibuprofen, just so I know I won’t be in pain. I don’t care about dosages or whatever. Take three every few hours. That way it doesn’t hurt. But it also means I didn’t notice right away, and…”

Frank flinches, not for any detailed description of female monthly habits (he was married, he’s not a caveman, and he definitely isn’t squeamish at the sight of blood) but just at the idea of it being that way for her. Take as much medicine as you can to make sure it doesn’t hurt, don’t give a shit, just want it to go away. Not only talking about cramps, there, and he knows Karen well enough to be sure. He runs a hand over his close-cropped hair, trying to think of something useful to say, but still can’t come up with it. He glances involuntarily at the test – it does appear to be negative, like she said, not that he thought she was lying to him – but part of him knows these things aren’t always accurate, especially very early. Maybe the question isn’t settled. Maybe the trap wasn’t escaped.

“Anyway,” Karen says, inhaling a shaky breath. “I really wasn’t feeling good, and Sarah told me to go home and get some sleep, and I had to… just on the way home, I… thought of it and I had to know right away. So I stopped off and got this – ” she waves the stick – “and. Yeah. I didn’t know you were going to be out tonight.”

Frank thinks unwillingly of both of them, probably in goddamn Duane Reades less than a mile apart, buying medical supplies for different reasons, terrified of the other finding out. He still hasn’t gotten his breath back, and doesn’t know if he will. At last, he perches on the toilet lid, still dressed in his grimy blacks, hesitant of reaching for her hand. There is still blood beneath his fingernails. Karen still looks close to tears, and he wants to comfort her, but he isn’t sure what she wants to hear. They’ve obviously never discussed the subject of children, not when they haven’t even talked about their relationship as a real and formal thing, as if acknowledging it and embracing it will set up the universe to kick it out from under them. Neither of them can really trust that it will be able to avoid the temptation. But at last Frank says, “You probably didn’t want – I mean, we’ve got enough going on right now, huh? It’s a good thing, right? Good thing.”

He mostly agrees with this, but it still scrapes his throat, and Karen lifts her head, blonde tendrils of hair falling loose from her bun. There’s another long pause, then she says, not looking at him, “No. I can’t say I really did want it. I can’t be – I don’t know that I could be the right kind of mother, I don’t… it’s complicated. If it was some other guy that I’d been with for just a couple months and this happened and it was positive, I would have – I would have made arrangements, and I can’t be blamed for that.”

No, Frank thinks, no, she can’t. He’s obviously the last person in the world who has any moral standing to prattle about the sanctity of life, and a woman has the God-given right to make her own choices about her own body. He isn’t going to open his fat mouth and step on a landmine. But it’s true that he feels something else, something visceral and tender and terrible, about the idea if it had been his. Would Karen have even told him, if he hadn’t gotten home now? Even if – or especially if – it was positive? Would she just make the arrangements, and live with the unbearable knowledge of what she’d done to him for a third time, even if it was nowhere close to being an actual kid? Jesus. Jesus.

“Fuck,” Frank says at last, since there’s still nothing else he’s coming up with, and has the feeling he shouldn’t sit in total stone silence forever. “Karen.”

“I’m sorry.” She rocks back and forth again, as he reaches out involuntarily to grab her arm. “But the thing is… Frank… I still feel that way, and I did, and I do… but there was also part of me that wouldn’t have minded if it was. I just – I thought about it, and you, and us, and some kind of real family… I wanted that. It scared me, but I wanted it, even with all the good reasons I shouldn’t. I don’t know. I don’t know if that’s enough for it. I’m sorry.”

“Hey. Karen.” He grips her arm tighter. “You don’t have to be sorry, all right? You do not have to be sorry. You don’t owe me goddamn anything, just because you think I want it. Especially not this. Jesus. I’m sorry you’ve been feeling shitty. I didn’t – I’m sorry.”

Karen looks at him, her eyes swimming in tears, but they don’t quite fall. There is a clear irony, painfully visible to both of them, that they have been living together for four months, they’re both messes in the bathroom tonight, and they don’t even really know all the reasons why. She takes him in, and a faint frown creases her brows. “Where’ve you been?”

“I’ve been…” Frank shifts his weight. “I had an errand to run.”

“The kind of errand you usually have to run?” Karen’s voice is sharp, and she pulls her arm out abruptly from his touch. “I thought you were done with that.”

“I’m done with some parts of it, yeah. But as for others – ”

“Goddamn it, Frank.” She stands up abruptly; they’re almost the same height, and she stares him cold and level in the eye. “Who did you kill tonight?”

“A bunch of fuckin’ pedophiles, that’s who!” His voice rises, despite his efforts to keep it down. “A bunch of disgusting abusive scumbags, Karen, that’s who! People hurting kids, hurting their own kids, in some cases! You gonna stand there and tell me they deserved a fair trial and a process of law and twenty years in special protective custody? Huh?”

Karen slaps her hand down on the bathroom counter, face white, except for the hectic spots of color burning in her cheeks. She doesn’t immediately say it was wrong; she can’t, and she likewise knows him too well to even bother. Finally she says, “And you too didn’t say anything.”

“It works better for us if we don’t.” Frank whirls on his heel. “Is that really what you want? Want to know every time I go out to put a bullet in some punk-ass piece of shit? Am I supposed to ask permission, fill out a goddamn request form for each one? If you want me to just move out and find my own place, you could say so, you could fuckin’ say so. Don’t feel like you have to keep me around if you still can’t stand who I am!”

“And see!” Karen takes another step, eyes flashing. “That’s part of the problem, Frank. Every time, every goddamn time, you go straight for that, go straight for that bullshit, you go straight for suggesting that you leave and I never see you again. You asshole, you goddamn asshole, why do you still keep doing that? What, do you think I’ve changed my mind overnight, that I know something about you that I didn’t know yesterday? You have to keep testing me, making sure I don’t suddenly hate you, or – I don’t know what, I don’t fucking know what? You son of a bitch. You son of a bitch.”

With that, she reaches out and shoves him hard in the chest with both hands, as Frank, surprised, utters a grunt and takes a few steps backward. She’s also caught him close to his bullet wound, and he winces, having the (accurate) feeling that she’ll be even angrier if she finds out about that. He feels like he has to fight back somehow, defend himself; he is, to say the least, not used to taking blows without retaliation. But he can’t lash out at her too much, not when she’s Karen, not when she’s right, not when he knows it. There is a crackling silence as they stare at each other, nose to nose. Then Karen says, “You want to leave, you can leave. But that is your fucking choice. Don’t make it about me.”

Frank opens his mouth heatedly, discovers that he has no good answer, and snaps it shut. He and Maria had a few blazing arguments in their time – she had an Italian temper on her, and he wasn’t joking when he told Karen back in the diner that she could be ruthless, rip his heart out and stomp on it. He also usually came out on the losing end of those scuffles, coincidentally. Any sane man knows it’s a chump’s game to fight with the woman you love, but that doesn’t mean he’s still just going to sit here and not even try to –

(Oh God.)

(He knew it, he knows it, he knows it every time he looks at her, but still.)

Karen continues to stare icily at him for several more moments, until he blows out a breath and backs down, feels like a wolf in the pack rolling over to expose his belly to the alpha, calling off the fight. “I’m sorry,” he says again, almost inaudibly. Not for doing it, of course, but for not telling her. “Sorry I was a dick.”

Karen gives him a weary, affectionate, exasperated look, as if to say that at this point in his early-forty-some years, Frank Castle could, unfortunately, hardly be anything less. She raises both hands to her head, shakes it, and turns away, tossing the pregnancy test in the trash as if to banish its existence from both of their memories. Not looking around at him, she says, “The Liebermans were hoping you’d come tonight. Sarah and Leo especially.”

Frank cringes. “Maybe you can go back tomorrow instead, huh?”

Karen gives him a searing look, as if to say that she was literally just talking about him, don’t change the subject, Frank. She steps to the sink and runs the water, washes her makeup off, as he continues to shirk there in the doorway like the useless fuck he is. At last he says gruffly, “You feelin’ any better?”

“I think it’s stress. I haven’t really been sleeping.” Karen pulls out a wet wipe and sponges off the remains of her mascara. “I just… Frank, I… no, I’m not pregnant this time, thank God, but if this keeps up, us two, together, there could be some other time when I am. I can look into something longer-term than the pill, something I don’t have to remember to take at the same time every day, since you know. Our lives can be dumb that way. If you wanted.”

Frank tries to answer, once more comes up short, and looks at her wordlessly instead. There is part of him that wants to assure her that she can do whatever she wants, she doesn’t have to ask him for permission. Another part of him can see – not clearly, not entirely, but still – some ghost of whatever she did, a blonde little girl with Karen’s eyes and hopefully her nose as well, a little girl running, laughing, calling him Daddy. The word he thought was burned and buried for good, the word that still echoes and haunts him in his dreams. Part of him feels that now that Lisa and Frankie are asleep forever in that cemetery in those child-sized coffins, Lisa’s bedecked with Disney princesses and Frankie’s with Mets gear and a United States Marine Corps teddy bear, no one ever gets to say it again. The other part – perhaps all of him, and then some – would offer his entire soul for the whisper of a chance.

“You can think about it,” Karen says, seeing his dumbstruck expression over her shoulder in the mirror. “I just… thought I would let you know.”

She straightens up, towels her face off, and turns to go past him, out of the bathroom, but bumps up against his wounded side, and he doesn’t bite his grunt fast enough. Karen stares at him narrowly, then steps back and folds her arms. “Take off your sweatshirt.”

“I’m fine, Karen, honest, it’s not a – ”

“Take. Off. Your. Sweatshirt.”

Frank thinks just then that if they ever do end up as parents, she’s got the maternal death voice down, and bites his tongue smartly on future remarks. He awkwardly tugs it off, notices that there’s some blood spotted on the bandages, and hastens to reassure her, “One of ‘em had some shitty .38, it’s not a big – ”

Seeing the thunderous expression on her face, he once more shuts up on the double, and she regards it without speaking. Then she blows out a long, ragged breath. “Jesus Christ, Frank.”

“It’s not bad.”

“I don’t care if it’s bad or not. Were you planning to tell me you got shot?”

“I was…” Frank thinks that the truth will hang him, and he doesn’t lie, but there you have it. “All right, probably not.”

“Christ.” Karen rubs at her temples. “What kind of relationship is this? We live together, we share a bed, Foggy’s eye twitches every time he tries to ask about my ‘boyfriend’ without saying the word, even Matt knows you’re here now – and we can’t tell each other anything? How did that happen to us, Frank? We used to be the only people who told each other the truth. We have some idea, we always do, but – what? We’re too scared for more?”

“Maybe.” Frank draws in his breath with a hiss as Karen’s fingers brush over the hole. “I guess I just thought you were happier if you didn’t have the details.”

“It’s not like I suddenly expected you to become an altar boy. Besides, I’ve got one guilt-ridden Catholic opposed to murder in my life, that’s all I need.” Karen’s voice is wry. “But if this – if us – means anything, then… maybe we’re going to have to talk about it.”

Frank tries to think how to answer that, and once more comes up with nothing. Not his style, to fire blanks. This time, however, he is saved from the necessity of an immediate reply by his phone buzzing in his back pocket, which is a bit of a surprise. It’s not like there’s a long list of people liable to call him up for a chat, and he pulls it out, sees it’s a restricted number, and debates a moment before swiping the screen. He grunts, “Yeah?”

“Castle, you son of a bitch.”

He grins then, despite himself. “Evening to you too, Madani. You find the little present I left for you?”

“Cut your shit, Frank. Of course I found it, that’s why I’m calling you.” Dinah sounds exasperated, which he supposes he can’t blame her for, entirely. “You have anything else you want to tell me?”

“Voluntarily incriminate myself to a government official? Yeah, I’ll pass. You’ll notice I left all the computer systems intact. You get whatever poor bastard’s job it is to look through that, see if there’s anyone else in the ring. I might even leave those collars for you.”

“You’re such a dick.” Madani definitely sounds mad, but – and it might be Frank’s imagination, but still – almost like she’s trying a little too hard. Like she knows it’s the expected response to discovering what is, no matter how good its motives, still a mass crime scene with multiple casualties, especially when this was supposed to be DHS’s hunting dog from the start. “You don’t think that the rest of them aren’t going to immediately erase their tracks and go underground, now that the main ringleaders just got executed? Change their names, flee the country, scrub their assets? You just made this operation months longer, however much more time and money it takes to track the others down, when – ”

“You’ve got the smart people, I’m sure you’ll figure it out. Otherwise just tell me their names, once you find them, and I’ll take care of the rest. Be faster.”

“Jesus Christ, Frank. I really should arrest you.”

He snorts. “Yeah. You’re welcome to try. How’s your dad?”

There’s a pause, both of them recalling that Dr. Hamid Madani saved his life a while back, and Dinah would probably strangle him through the phone if she could reach. Then she spits, “Fine. How’s Karen?”

Frank wonders if that’s something Homeland knows, been keeping tabs on them somehow, or just something she guessed. “Fine,” he says. “But you jackasses mind your business. I see any kind of tail, any agent trying to ask her a couple casual questions, you’ll wish you didn’t. You’ve been hunting those shitheads for months. How about a thank you, huh?”

There’s a long, loathing pause. Then Madani says quietly, “I don’t regret they’re gone, no. But that doesn’t mean you have a blank check to do it again. This will not go on forever, you can trust me on that. Night, Frank.”

“Night, Dinah.” He doesn’t know if she hears it, because the line clicks dead almost immediately, but he takes the phone away from his ear and sees Karen staring at him with one eyebrow almost touching her hair. He puts it in his pocket and says, “Just our friend in the government. Wanted to check in on my handiwork.”

“I didn’t know you had friends in the government.” Karen clearly can’t resist the riposte, even as she knows well enough who he means. “And it was evidently spectacular, if she’s calling you right away. Damn it, Frank.”

Frank takes that stoically, aware he deserves it, to say the least. Karen makes another small sound of distress as she looks at his side. “Maybe we should go to Metro-General.”

“Yeah, no, I’m not sitting in the ER for hours with a bunch of crackheads.” Frank can’t see that going well, though he is aware that rudimentary self-surgery with unsanitized, off-the-shelf tools could be a recipe for a nice little case of sepsis. Under her withering stare, however, he amends, “Tomorrow. We can go in tomorrow morning. Okay?”

“Okay.” Karen blows out a breath. It’s plain that she is still ferociously angry at him, but she bites her lip. “God. I’m not going to ask you to tell me everything you do, but if you come home with bullet holes in you, is it too much to explain that?”

“No. Sorry.” Frank is eager to smooth things over, and he trails after her into the bedroom as she steps in, shuts the curtains, and briskly starts to undress. It is not suggestive in any way, just the way it is when you’ve lived together a while and you don’t care if the other person sees you in your baggy sweats or naked or haggard or otherwise as a mess. Nonetheless, Frank watches her, can never be unaware of her, as she strips off the dress and rolls down her pantyhose, digs around for her pajamas in her bra and underwear. He awkwardly clears his throat. “You want me to sleep on the couch tonight?”

Karen snaps off her bra, grabs her pajama top, and pulls it on. With it halfway over her head, she gives him a tolerantly irritated look, as if to ask when she’s ever really, really wanted him to go. There was definitely that one time with Grotto, Frank thinks, but if he is trying to get out of the doghouse, he probably should not mention when he was shooting around (if not at) her and terrifying her. Finally she says, “No.”

Frank is relieved, despite himself, and wisely decides not to say anything else that could prejudice his position. He digs around for his own pajamas and changes, then waits until Karen has gotten into bed before climbing in next to her. They pull the covers up. There’s a thick duvet on, since it’s winter, and Karen has some pretty quilt, and piles of pillows. Frank settles down with a long sigh, as he still does not quite trust this comfort, sleeps with a loaded Magnum in the bedside drawer, and they lie there, staring at the ceiling, until Karen switches the lamp off. There are another few minutes of silence, until Frank fumbles out, finds her hand where it lies on the mattress, and squeezes hard.

Karen hesitates, then squeezes back, and they edge somewhat closer together, until their shoulders nestle. They don’t do anything else – she’s angry, and he’s wounded, and both of them have a sense that it might be unwise to challenge fate tonight, given what just happened. But she settles down on his shoulder, and Frank feels his heart shake a little, and sleeps.

He’s very stiff the next morning, and the wound has a bit of a funky smell when he peels the bandage off to check, and it doesn’t take much badgering by Karen to get him to agree to go down and get it looked over at the hospital. It always feels like a crapshoot giving Pete Castiglione’s ID to people, especially since they know the Punisher isn’t dead (or do they think that again? Frank loses track of how many times he’s supposed to have died) but he gets properly cleaned and stitched up, started on a course of antibiotics, and assured he’ll probably be fine. Not that he doubted that, or needed a nurse to tell him, but whatever.

It’s midday, cold and grey, when Frank emerges from the hospital with his prescription in hand (Duane Reade, here he comes again, no doubt) and there are a few snowflakes swirling in the air, though they haven’t settled. There are Christmas tree stands on the sidewalk, and carts with hot chestnuts and cocoa and popcorn, people carrying shiny department-store bags, and he slows down a few paces, despite himself. Christmas was fun when you had kids, or at least when he was home for it. He spent too many of the Christmases of Lisa and Frankie’s ultimately-too short lives calling on Skype from a tent in the desert, Kandahar or Fallujah or wherever, nine and a half hours ahead of them, while they unwrapped presents and showed them to the camera. Jesus, what he wouldn’t give to have even one of those back.

Frank breathes hard, closing his eyes, letting the human tide pass him to either side. The memory is painful – it couldn’t be otherwise – but for the first time in he doesn’t know how long, it doesn’t immediately, instinctively drive him to rage and violence. Everyone who’s ever lost someone, or just doesn’t get along with their family, dreads this time of year. Karen went to Thanksgiving dinner with Foggy, Marci, and Matt, but Frank spent it alone, as goddamn usual. Didn’t think it was the greatest idea to turn up there, didn’t want to ruin it for her. He was relieved when the Liebermans extended the Hanukkah invite, if nothing else because that it spared him trying to think how to spend the time instead. Now, though. He doesn’t know.

Frank thinks he might drop in on the group later – he’s been trying to do that every so often, try to be accountable somehow, and if nothing else, he probably owes Curtis the chance to once more chew him out for being an asshole. Curtis, though, he’ll understand, at the end of the day. He’ll be pissed, but he’ll understand. He always does.

After a moment, Frank starts to walk again, pulling up his hood and shoving his hands in his pockets. Again, however fleetingly, he can see that little blonde girl running ahead of him, excited, looking back at him to follow her. If she was real, if she was here, he doesn’t think he’d ever let her out of his goddamn sight, not for an instant. Fuck all those other wars, all those shitholes in the dark. He would not ever want to be anywhere but there, but here.

He turns in the prescription, then gets home and cleans up the place, and in mid-afternoon, changes and shaves and puts on something at least a little nice. When Karen gets home from work, she’s surprised to see him waiting with his coat on and a bottle of wine in hand. “Are we – ” She eyes him up and down, pleased but wary. “Are we going somewhere?”

“Yeah,” Frank says. “We’re going over to the Liebermans.”

Karen pauses, then looks down, biting a smile, almost as if she’s not going to let him see that, not yet. She goes into their bedroom, changes out of her work clothes and freshens up, then emerges. “Okay,” she says, almost shyly. “Okay.”

They get into Karen’s car and drive out to Brooklyn, turn into the neighborhood and find somewhere to park on the street. They get out and head up the steps, and before he knocks, Frank suddenly freezes. He probably shouldn’t be back here. Who knows if someone followed them. What if it all happens again, somehow, and this time he can’t –

Karen reaches out and squeezes his hand. Then she nods at the door. “C’mon.”

Frank heaves a breath – Jesus Christ, he wasn’t that nervous jumping out a goddamn C-130 for the first time, it’s just a door, it’s just a house in the suburbs, he’s been here plenty – and rings the bell.

There’s a pause. Then he hears footsteps, the chain clicks back, and Sarah Lieberman opens the door. The smell of something good wafts out after her, and she’s wearing an apron, but as her eyes lock on him, it all seems to fade. She blinks hard, then presses a hand to her mouth. Finally she says croakily, “Frank?”

“Hey. Sarah.” Frank holds out the wine bottle like a peace offering. “We – felt bad that Karen had to leave early last night, and we were hoping – ”

Whatever else he’s going to say is lost as Sarah hugs him so hard that his ribs creak. She’s a small woman, and he’s a very solidly built man, but he drops the wine bottle on the doormat (fortunately it doesn’t break) and Karen darts in to pick it up. Frank wants to tell Sarah to go easy, he still does have a .38 hole in his side, but he doesn’t. Instead, he hugs her back, and there’s something for half an instant – unmanifest, unspoken – that he, that both of them somehow understand. Sarah is happy rebuilding her life with David, and Frank of course is utterly devoted to Karen, and neither of them want anything different. But maybe in some other world where David did die, and Karen was fucking sensible enough to stay far away from Frank (he still doesn’t know why she sticks around, not entirely, but no good can come of asking), maybe it would have been this. Maybe Frank and Sarah would have ended up somewhere, somehow, as part of their own little makeshift family. You never know.

After another moment, Sarah lets go of him, discreetly wiping her eyes, and leans up to kiss his cheek. “We’re – ” She stops, and has to start again. “We’re really glad you’re here.”

Frank grins crookedly at her, and steps into the warm house. Heads down the hall into the dining room as Zach and Leo jump to their feet in surprise, and Leo races to hug him like she wants to win an Olympic medal. Frank grunts. “Easy, sweetheart.”

She ignores him, which probably he deserves, and hugs a moment more before letting go, and he tousles her hair and grins at her. Zach is a little more cautious, but at least the kid seems to have gotten over his wannabe-tough-guy shtick after being kidnapped by some people a lot worse than anything he could have come up with. He coughs. “Hi, Pete.”

“Hey, kid.” Frank doesn’t bother correcting him, just as David emerges from the kitchen, carrying a glistening golden-brown challah. Upon sight of their unexpected visitor, he doesn’t drop it, but it’s close, and Frank clears his throat. “Happy Hanukkah.”

David recovers himself, puts the challah on the table and covers it, then stares at Frank. After a long pause he says, “Thanks, asshole.”

They look at each other for another long moment, then step toward each other, do the bro-shake, and clap each other clumsily on the shoulder. David half-hugs him, and Frank hugs him back, even as he has a feeling that he’s probably in for a roast, overtly or otherwise, for at least the first half of the night, and definitely after the kids go to bed. They step apart as Sarah and Karen enter the dining room, David recalls his duties as a host and offers to pour the wine, and Zach offers to get Frank an extra yarmulke. He agrees, and sits down, and thinks that he had a dream like this once, a nightmare. It was his family, Maria and the kids, and David’s, and it was Thanksgiving, at least until the armed men stormed in. Half of him can’t help looking for them now. It probably will never stop.

Tonight, however, they aren’t there. Tonight there’s company, and food, and the second candle in the menorah. Tonight the world goes on, and spins softly into the darkness of a winter night and toward the beginning of tomorrow, and Frank Castle, somehow, goes too.

[bandzrus]

Crazy Little Thing Called Love (Chapter 5)

BoRhap!Roger Taylor x Reader

Masterlist

Summary: The year is 1974, after the release of Queen II. You and your three friends have moved from Canada to England to study abroad.  Your life takes a huge turn when you finally decide to take a break from school and visit the local club and you meet the boys of Queen.  And most importantly Roger Meadows Taylor.  

Note: okay sorry for the long wait on this chapter and that it’s not very long (holidays), it’s sort of a bridge chapter.  I have at least three more chapters planned out, but after that I’m not sure where I want this story to go haha.  PLEASE feel free to send me ideas!

Words: 2210

 ***

              You wished you could feel sorry about what you did to Mark, because maybe then your friends would give you a break.  

              “So let me get this straight,” Sharon started, taking a bite of toast. “You’ve wanted to break up with Mark since we moved here, but you couldn’t bring yourself to do it.”

              “I just...  I was hoping he would get the hint when I stopped calling him.”

              “But you did call him.”

              “Yes, to break up with him finally!  But he wouldn’t let me talk and next thing I know he’s flying here for my birthday and he thinks we’re finally going to… you know,” you explained exasperatedly, waving your hands at imaginary objects floating over the breakfast table.  

              “But why would you want to break up with him?  You guys were so cute together!” Sharon cooed.  

              “I know everyone thinks that, but to be completely honest with you Shar, I was bored with Mark.  I don’t want to… live my whole life as a house wife back in Vancouver.  Why do you think I suggested we come out here for school? The world is so big!  There’s so much to see!  So many people to meet!”

              “Like Roger Taylor?”

              You sighed and accepted defeat.

              “Yes,” you answered, putting your glass of milk to your lips.  

              “But did you really have to break up with him like that, Y/N?  That was awful!”  Sharon twirled a piece of red hair between her fingers.

              “Like I’ve said to you guys already, I didn’t mean for it to happen like that!  I was going to tell Mark before he went home that I wanted things to be over, but-“

              “You couldn’t have waited until AFTER Mark had gone home and you guys were finished?  You realize you cheated on him, right?”  Sharon was taking her usual nagging to a whole new level with this.  

              “Stop trying to make me feel bad about this!  I’ve said all I need to say to Mark, and it shouldn’t be your guys’ problem who I sleep with!” you snapped, slamming your glass down on the table a little harder than necessary.  

              “It’s kind of a big deal if that person is ROGER FUCKING TAYLOR!”

              You threw your hands in the air and got up from the table.  

              “I am not talking to you anymore about this,” you vowed, leaving your friend and heading to your room to get dressed.  

              You were about to leave the apartment to go for coffee when the phone rang. Sharon was in the bathroom and Patricia and Heather were already gone, so you answered it.  

              “Hello?”

              “Y/N?”

              “Speaking.”

              “It’s Roger.”

              Shit.

              “Hi,” you greeted lamely, unsure of what to say.  

              “We’re not leaving until tomorrow, care to join me and the boys for tea?” the drummer asked, voice crackly but still very appealing over the wire.

              “I was just about to head out,” you told him.  

              “You can’t make even a little time in what I’m sure is a very busy schedule for me, doll?”

              You laughed.  

              “No, I mean I’m about to head out for coffee so tea sounds greats,” you giggled into the receiver.

              “Come by the hotel then, we can all go together.”

              “Okay Rog,” you agreed.

              “And wear somethin’ nice.”

              “Oh?  What kind of place are we going to for tea?”

              “Nowhere special, I just like seeing you dressed up, especially if it’s for me.”

              You thought about your outfit from the other night.  You had worn that for Roger.  

              “Cheeky today I see.”

              “You know me too well already,” Roger chuckled.  

              “I’ll see you at the hotel in half an hour then,” you told him before hanging up the phone.  Going to your room, you began rummaging through your closet.  Though you had already changed out of your satin pajamas, what you were currently wearing wasn’t exactly anything special.  You hadn’t planned to be out much today. Flicking through a series of dressed, your eyes stopped on a black little number you had forgotten about. You changed into it and a white blouse, then headed out of the apartment to call a cab to Queen’s hotel.  

                The door swung open as soon as your first knock hit the wood.

              “Y/N!” Roger greeted you, a cheesy smile on his lips.  Mary waved from her spot on the couch next to Freddie, and Brian and John each said their hellos.

              “Hi Roger,” you said, unable to resist returning his grin.

              “My stylist is here!” the drummer announced to everyone, grabbing your hand and pulling you inside.

              “Good thing too, you’re still in your pajamas, Roger,” John chuckled, waving a hand at the blond.  Everyone laughed and Roger turned to you.

              “Care to help me pick something out?” he asked.  You nodded.  “We’ll have to go back to my room then.”  A cheeky grin sprang up from his lips and you felt yourself blush.  

              “Rog, would you please try to be polite to her?” Freddie begged.  But it was too late, the blond was already pulling you back out the door and over to the next room.  Closing the door behind you, Roger let go of your hand.  

              “So I was thinking we should match, which is why I’m still in my ‘jams,” started Roger.  Agonizingly slow, he pulled his t-shirt up over his head and tossed it to the floor, leaving him in nothing but a worn pair of boxers and a single sock.  Biting your lip, you tried not to let your eyes undress him any further.  He caught you staring anyway and chuckled.  

              “Looks like I’m not the only one who likes what they see,” he remarked. You apologized and went over to his dresser and began rooting through the drawers, averting your eyes.  

              “Where’s that white vest you wore the other night?” you asked him, redirecting the conversation.

              “This one?”  The drummer held up the white fringe vest that had been stuffed under the bed.  

              “Mhm,” you hummed.  “What about the pants?”  

              “These?”  Roger held them up before slipping them on.

              “You’re going to need a shirt too,” you said, turning back to the dresser to find something.  

              “I thought you liked me without one.”  

              You gave Roger a pointed look before throwing a white button-up shirt at him.

              “Roger it’s barely eleven o’ clock in the morning, we’re going for tea, I’m pretty sure they won’t serve you if you don’t have a shirt on,” you argued. Roger just smirked, but put the shirt on anyway.  As he shrugged the white vest over his shoulders, you situated yourself right up close between his legs and began fixing his hair.  

              “Love it when you do that,” the drummer breathed quietly into your ear as you untangled a particularly large knot of baby blond hair.  

              “You should really learn how to do this yourself,” you remarked, brushing the soft hair away from his face, letting your fingers linger a little extra long on his skin.  

              “But you’re here.”  He put his hands on your waist for a brief moment before you grabbed his hand and headed for the door.  

              “I’m sure everyone’s waiting for us,” you said.  “Let’s go.”

                The cab ride with Queen was so much fun it completely wiped the horribly awkward one with Mark out of your memory.  You were basically sitting on Roger’s lap the entire drive because there was barely room for all of you inside.  Brian’s hair was taking up valuable real-estate and Freddie was having a great laugh trying to use some of Mary’s hair pins to keep it away from him.  Mary too was sitting precariously on Freddie’s lap as the cab twisted and turned down the streets of England.  You were thankful Roger had his arm wrapped around your waist because you almost went flying through the front window when the cab driver slammed on the breaks at a light.  

              Of course your struggle was keeping the drummer’s other hand on a reasonably low part of your leg.

              “Roger, we’re literally sardined in this cab, can you please not-“ you hissed in his ear, but he cut you off.

              “-do this?” his fingers pushed their way up your dress, causing you to slap his hand.  The smirk never left his face.  

              “Yes!”

              “Why, are you ticklish?” he teased, dribbling his fingers on your thigh.

              “Roger please, not here,” you whined, holding his hand still.  The drummer opened his mouth to make what you knew was going to be a lude comment, but the cab came to a stop first. Everyone squeezed out the door and John dug in his pockets for cash for the driver.

              “Here, mate,” the bassist said, passing the handful of money through the window.  With a friendly toot of the horn, the cab left the six of you on the curb outside a quaint café.  Hand in hand with Roger, you two were the last inside.  Freddie insisted on sitting next to the windows, so you all squeezed into the booth that ran underneath it.  Tucked away under the window with the sun beaming down onto your lap and Roger’s arm draped over your shoulder, you couldn’t think of another time in which you had felt so at home with people you had just met.  You realized you were starting to think of Queen (and Mary of course) as some of your close friends.  It had only been a handful of days, but watching them perform and spending the evenings with them had made you see that you had been missing out on a lot since moving from Canada.  

              “Whatcha ordering?” Roger asked you.  You let out a contented hum.

              “I’ll have whatever you’re having,” you answered, smiling back at him. You found it so easy to get enamored by his blue eyes.  Brushing a lock of baby blond hair from his forehead with light fingers, Brian’s cough interrupted your moment with Roger.  You blushed as you realized everyone was looking at the two of you.

              “Not Roger’s latest and greatest, huh?” Mary giggled.

              “I-“ you started, but didn’t know what to say.  You didn’t want to be one of Roger’s countless groupies, but it was so hard to ignore him.  You didn’t want to ignore him either.  

              “Is that what we’re calling my girlfriends these days?” Roger asked the band, cocking an eyebrow.  

              “I’d hardly call them girlfriends, Rog,” muttered John, pretending to be busy with one of the menus.  

              “Oi!” the drummer protested, kicking John under the table.

              “Do you even remember the names of the girls you brought over last week?”

              Roger made a face.

              “’Course I do,” he replied, sniffing.  The look on the bassist’s face said he didn’t believe him.  Your heart plummeted into your stomach when you realized what that meant.  You were probably just another girl to Roger, some random girl he met outside a club who let him take her virginity and brought her friends over to their hotel room for a fun evening of boozing and shenanigans.  Mary noticed your fallen face.

              “Hey, Y/N, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean-“ she started to apologize.

              “No, it’s okay, I should have… I should have remembered what kind of guys – excuse me,” you mumbled, getting up from the booth and heading for the bathroom. You had almost made it when you felt a hand grab your wrist.  

              “Y/N.”

              It was Roger.  Turning to face him, you wiped a tear from your cheek, hoping you weren’t ruining your makeup too badly.  

              “I’m sorry,” he started.  

              “You don’t have to be sorry, you’re just being yourself, I should have known better.”  You felt like an idiot.  Roger could have any girl he wanted, you had seen girls throwing themselves at him first hand.  You were sure you were just one of them, someone to fool around with while they were in town and soon as they left you’d be forgotten.  

              “Okay, yes, I… see a lot of girls.  But not since we met,” tried Roger again.

              “It’s been a few days, Roger.”

              “I know it’s hardly been a week, but I do like hanging out with you,” the blond promised, holding both your hands in his.  

              “I like hanging out with you and Freddie and Brian and John too, but-“

              “But what?”

              “You guys are leaving, you’re not going to remember me, I don’t know why I ever-“

              “Trust me, I am NOT going to forget the girl who broke up with her boyfriend on her birthday by shagging me behind some sleazy venue,” Roger assured you. “And it would be pretty hard to forget you if you’re along with us on tour.”

              You wiped your nose.

              “What?”

              “Do you want to come on tour with us?”

              “Are you serious?” you asked.  The blond nodded his head.

              “Dead.”

              “Like tomorrow?”

              “Yes, tomorrow.”

              You sniffled, smiled, and nodded your head.

              “Buuuut you can only come if you let me call you my girlfriend.”

              “Girlfriend,” you tested it out, nodding again.

              “That’s a yes?” he actually looked genuinely concerned that you wouldn’t say yes.  

              “Roger Taylor’s girlfriend, I think I can get used to that,” you said, giving him a big grin.  Tugging on his vest, you stood on your tip toes to kiss him.  “Want to help me pack?”          

***

Tag List: @fastnfearless

[janavoadalov]

Warming Up A Long Loner Heart, Ophidian Or Human

Janavo X Reader, Hurt/Comfort and fluff. A little bit of angst peppered in here and there. SFW, save for some tasteful make-out descriptions.

It is...long. Like, almost 4000 words. So, bloop, under a Read More.

It has been a few weeks since that mysterious encounter with that supposed “troll” you have found in the woods at a Halloween night. Not that you don’t believe his words, but...perhaps one of those candies you had ended up buzzing up your senses a bit, because you know...holidays and sketchy substances. Perhaps something you drank that night? Eh. That part of your mind insists on denying that the encounter ever happened. 

However that little piece of paper with his phone number that you oh-so-dearly kept on your drawer acts as a counterpoint. Fuck! You just remembered. Ever since that night, you never even tried to contact him. Not only because of laziness, but also that impending fear of your phone not being able to call that number. Not to mention that you’re not just talking with your regular run-off-the-mill human- but a literal alien. And a sexy one at that. Regardless, it every once in a while fills your heart with a sharp pang of guilt and neediness every time you imagine those big reptilian eyes of his gazing into yours, tongue flicking out his lips to sense every emotion of yours simply by your scent.

It gets to a point in which those thoughts are what forces you out of your bed and makes you walk up to your drawer and snatch out the paper slip with Jana...Janavo’s number in it. Was it Janavo? or Javano? Who cares, he’ll say it when he greets you. Or so you hope. Sitting down at your bed’s edge, you hesitantly hold up your phone and type in the number sequences and dial up. 

*beep...beep...beep...*

Fuck, is it really going to take that long? Will you have to literally go all the way back to the woods to yell his name at that...cave-den of his? Where does that guy even live in to begin with? You sigh and wait some more for him to answer, your foot tapping at the bedroom floor nervously. Tap, tap, tap...

When you, all of a sudden, notice the beeping stop. A deep, husky voice attends you, the closeness of his mouth to the microphone making the audio sound whispery. You shiver and feel butterflies in your stomach, body weakening and your voice trembles.

“Hello? Janavo here. Who is calling?”

Oh, okay, it’s not Javano then. You cough and try your best to answer him without stuttering. That would not be a good way to have your first formal interaction with that cutie, huh?

“Uh...hello, Mr. Janavo! I’m that little human you, uhm, met that Halloween night. You gave me your, uh, number, remember?”

Your heart was pounding loudly in your chest. Holy fuck. You’re talking to that big handsome alien guy you met. With your hardest efforts, you attempt to stop yourself from audibly breathing heavily in both anxiety and excitement.

Recognizing your voice, his tone becomes lighter and softer, and his speech becomes mixed with a happy, high-pitched trill from his chest. That was one of the cutest sounds you’ve ever heard, the audible representation of a smile. It makes you giggle a bit and your heart feels like it just melted.

“Awwww. Hello there, little one. I have been waiting for you to call for so long...sorry about my sudden disappearance that night...was scared someone had seen me.”

No! He doesn’t need to apologize for anything! He just did what you too would do it you were an 8-foot tall alien. Out of nowhere, you feel little droplets of guilt bead into your consciousness. Perhaps you shouldn’t have gotten upset at him leaving you like that. Fuck. You’re feeling shitty now.

“I-I understand! No need to say sorry for it! You just did what was needed” 

He senses the sadness in your voice and his voice softens even more. Perhaps you ended up making him feel worried about you..

“Are you okay, little one? You don’t sound so jolly. Do you need any help, or advice? Or just, you know, someone to distract yourself from it?”

You gulp. The last thing you would expect from an alien is for one of them to be so compassionate, like Janavo was at that exact moment. It makes your face flush a bit, and you can’t help but stutter.

“Y-yeah...I’ve been feeling, uh, very...um, lonely. It has been a few weeks since my parents have last visited me...they’re often so occupied with their businesses and errands, and no one else in here can come and give me company...so I could say that adulthood has been really harsh on me for the last few years...”

You truly have been noticing a sharp decline on your mental and social stability ever since you were deemed an adult by your family. Having to live in your own house, pay your own taxes, with the previous support of your parents slowly becoming lost in the fog of the past, makes you feel responsible and independent, but also lonely, as you have no partner to come and spend time with you, nor a group of friends to go on trips or dates with, as your personality is quite...eccentric, to say the least. It’s not everyone who just has a bunch of edgy paraphernalia on their closet and wears them to celebrate the spooky season.

Thinking about this, and remembering your recent meet-up with Janavo in the woods, leads your mind to a realization, that he is most likely what was missing from your life. That missing puzzle piece in your psyche. A loving, understanding individual who is more than eager to help you out and give you the attention you need. 

A concerned “hello?” snaps you out of your musings about your life and you, startled, apologize from the silence. The feelings overwhelm you and you sense yourself starting to break into tears. Some self-control would really come in handy right now. But bam, you lost it. Now you’re just a sobbing mess on the phone with a guy who you met once and you think of as a perfect boyfriend for your insecure ass. Shame washes over you, but you can’t do anything at the moment. You swear you could hear a sad little whine from Janavo as he listens to your emotional breakdown, unsure on how to help you.

“Little one...Shhh...Shhhh...It will all be okay. Wipe those tears. Take a deep breath. Would you like to have me come over? I am not sure on how to comfort you too well over a cellphone.”

He talks to you in a low, extremely worried tone. Almost as if you were going to make him cry too. Your thoughts manage to calm down a tad by hearing his voice and the idea of having Janavo come and see you in person both delights you and scares you, having in question the absolutely trainwreck of a mental state that you are in as of now. However your feelings speak louder than your logic and you wail a little “yes...please...” over the phone for him. 

He gently shoos away your stress and asks you for your address, soon hanging up afterwards. Shouldn’t take too long for him to come. He lives near your neighbourhood, after all, at some sort of shelter at the local woods. Maybe if he manages to go through the outskirts of this town, he can go pretty much unnoticed, even better knowing how it’s evening. People are already going inside their homes and all. Your feelings start to re-stabilize themselves until you hear loud thundering from the outside. That sound is like the doors of hell opening.

Fucking. Shit. It’s going to rain.

The thought of being stuck inside your house, crying yourself to sleep as the sound of rain acts as the soundtrack for your sadness comes off as way worse and suffocating when you are actually feeling that at the moment and not simply some mental image you come across while listening to screamo albums. The first raindrops hit the roof and you get worried for your lov-ahem, friend. Does he even have an umbrella? Isn’t he going to get, like, sopping wet? What about a cold? Is his body built to endure that? So many questions come to mind. 

Barely a few seconds after your hurricane of thoughts, the rain becomes heavier and heavier. from a peaceful shower to a vicious hiss of water and wind hitting your ceiling. Your windows are open and the curtains dance around from the storm. Forcing your body to get up, you soon close them, avoiding anyone from peeking at you and also your belongings from being drenched. It feels like this weather is only going to get worse. Throwing yourself at your bed, you grab your blankets and wrap yourself up in them while letting out a loud sob. Oh, how you needed him to arrive, so quick...you could feel yourself being dragged down by your anxiety again. And it’s not something you want to deal with alone.

The thundering outside nearly deafens you and makes the lights in your house flicker. He still isn’t there. Pulling up your blinds a bit, you can tell that not a lot of people are outside. The streetlights are on, but do little to properly illuminate the surroundings. At that moment, even a flashlight could do better. Creating those little observations and comments in your brain help diverge your consciousness from the dread and highly unlikely scenarios in your brain.

Minute after minute passes, and every second without hearing the doorbell ring burns away at your patience like a hot rod through your forehead. You tremble underneath the sheets, slowly letting go of the tiny remains of self-control you have left. Tears leak out of your eyes and leave dark stains on your pillow. 

Almost an hour after Janavo announced his departure, and no signals of his presence. You’re sleepy and your eyes are swollen and sore. Holding onto a nearby cushion, you bury your head into it, moaning out in a forlorn, raspy voice. 

“Janavo...”

At that point, you were ready to just snap into an unconscious state. Too much mental strain to be dealt with for such a young person like you. But, all out of a sudden, the sound you hear reverbs through your ears like a heavenly chime. 

Ding-dong!~

It’s him! He finally arrived...after that whole ride. You scream his name out loud. Agitation spreads through your whole body and thrusts you out of your bed. Unlocking the door, you see the figure you were longing for so much.

There stood, Janavo Adalov, holding above his head an enormous trash can lid, drops of rain falling in top of it and rolling off into the ground. Where did he even get that from? You don’t even bother thinking about answers. His body seems mostly dry, apart from his tail, boots and a little bit of his pants. Worry is visible on his eyes, glancing at you with wide pupils. His hair, from what you can see, is messy, while his head is mostly covered by his hood.

“Oh, my doll. I apologize so much from leaving you suffering like this. I wish I could have gotten here sooner...”

He drops the soaked lid to the side, wags his tail to get rid of the excessive water, and you gently call him into your home, watching him have to literally duck to get past the door thanks to his large size. As you both get into the living room, he kneels down and opens up his arms invitingly. Without a second thought, you wrap your own around his neck, and you feel him close his around your body, locking you both in a warm embrace. Quiet little sniffles come from you, and Janavo attempts to be reassuring by giving your back a couple light taps. Your head and hands were buried on the fabric of his hoodie, the soft texture soothing your senses. At this point you wish this moment would never end, being exactly what you’ve been desiring for years.

The two of you stay interlocked like that until you loosen your grip on him, letting him free. You wipe your face and nose with your sweater sleeve, and Janavo stands up and follows you as you guide him to your room. Some colorful decorations here and there seem to entice him, as he keeps his focus on them for quite a long time. 

You throw yourself on the sheets and watch your visitor sit on the edge of your bed before laying back and turning his face towards you. His eyes still have that telltale expression of concern, but less visibly now than before. His mouth is curled up into a smile at the sight of you so close to him and his sharp snaggle tooth is visible prodding underneath his top lip. Who knew such a big guy could be so adorable. 

Getting closer to him, you lay your head on his chest. Janavo starts to purr loudly when he notices, and places one of his hands on your hair, gently playing around with the locks. His sharp nails every once in a while scrape your scalp, making you shiver. You really needed this. A sigh comes from you and you reach out to hold his other hand.

“It will all be okay, sweetheart. I’ll stay here for as long as you want, or need.”

His eyes are closed, probably that prowl he went on for you was just as exhausting for him as it was for you as you waited for his arrival. You wouldn’t mind having him sleep with you, despite how big he was. Having him live with you, preferably forever, wouldn’t be something you’d mind either, if it wasn’t in reality your deepest wish...

Excusing yourself for a moment, you get off the bed, switching off the lights to add more to that precious moment. When you return, he had removed his boots and curled up into your bed, almost falling asleep. Poor guy. Throwing yourself by his side, his arms stretch out and grab you, bringing you close to his chest again. Oh, that purr! You could listen to it forever. 

“I’m pretty new here...as you may know, I’m not from this land. I’ve left my home planet, Alternia, when I was around 9 sweeps or so. Much younger than I am now. I’ve been sent to fight to dominate other lands in space with brutality. But I just could not do that ordeal. After one or two sweeps...I hijacked a ship and fled to any planet I could stumble upon. That planet was Earth. My ship fell on water and I had to swim my way to the shore. That’s how, over time, I found my home. This huge congregation of woods...where no one can find me. I’ve seen people strolling around that part of town, trying to find my den, thinking I was some sort of cryptid. For years, like you, I’ve felt alone and excluded from all forms of human interaction. I was seen as abominable. Eldritch. Until that night...I felt understood. “

So...he is just like you? A socially isolated hermit with no friends who just wants someone to love and care for? Your heart feels heavy, after he has told you his story his purring stops and his breathing becomes heavier. His irises glow a dim cyan as he turns you around to stare at your face. Small beads of cerulean start forming on his eye and he lets go of you to pull his hood over his eyes. It’s his turn to let those nasty feelings out, you see.

“I’m so sorry if I’m burdening you, little one...You just felt so right to me...Someone that knew how it felt to be left in the dust...to be different...”

Of course not! He’s not burdening you at all. Instead, it feels like the complete opposite. You were the one who kept whimpering for help out of nowhere in the middle of a phone call. But you just couldn’t help it. Neither could he. You try to calm his feelings by giving his horns a light caress. Seems like the less...awkward way to help him out. His hold on the hood loosens, and he makes a sound of relief, lifting his head slightly. Underneath his thick bangs of hair, you could spot his face flushed cobalt, and his blue tears dribbling from his eyes. Under your touch, he seems to relax completely. Does he really trust you that much in such a short period of time?

“Look, Janavo, I could literally not stop thinking about you ever since we met. You are what’s missing from my life. Do you want to help me become one, dear? Come stay with me for as long as time allows?”

His hands pull away the hair from his eyes and he gazes at you with big, melancholic pupils, still watery from his brief crying session. Sobbing quietly, his mouth slowly bares his teeth as he grins. He just looks so cute that way. Like an enormous puppy...or kitten. Kind of a mixture of the two. 

A pair of hands come and pull you down, aligning your faces together. They settle on your waist, a gentle cyan glow making the atmosphere romantic and placid together with the still-roaring storm outside. You lay your palm on his chest. There come the purrs again. 

“I’d be honoured to do so, doll...with all of my pleasure.”

Your heart explodes and you rub your forehead with Janavo’s. He sticks his tongue out goofily, as if trying to lick your face. You massage his ears a bit, which twitch at the heat from your hand. Those piercings of his seem pretty heavy. His eyes blink slowly as they gaze endearingly at you. A chuckle comes from his mouth, and his warm breath reminds you of how close your lips are to his.

Suddenly...you feel the urge to kiss him. Right when you had that idea flash through your mind, Jan’s hands go up your body to grip your shoulders, and gently pushes his head forwards to press his lips against yours. His lips are soft and warm, and the added texture of his stubble and mustache ends up tickling you a bit, but nothing that disturbs you at a large degree. You can feel him turn his head around a bit to deepen the kiss, purring loudly in your mouth. His sharp fangs poke at the edges of your mouth and nearly draw blood. 

Your hands that were previously holding his ears move to hold his jaw, in an attempt to let yourself take some control of the situation. Janavo lets out a breathy moan and manages to slip his tongue into your mouth, and pulls your body closer to his, to the point where you could feel his chest rumble through his hoodie. His tongue is bifid and has a pair of beads on its surface, which you feel clink against your teeth every once in a while as he explores the intricacies of your mouth. It’s his first kiss with a human being, after all. And he was already so damn good at it. At least through your eyes, since you’ve never kissed anyone before. Despite how large and powerful he was, he was strangely gentle.

Ecstasy overtook your senses as he moaned again, eyes closing and darkening the scene, arms wrapping around your torso and running up and down the fabric of your sweater. You decided to join in with your tongue, and you manage to slide yours inside his own mouth. This makes his purrs evolve into trills as your tongues run along each other and cause drool to leak from the corner of his mouth. You’re loving this so much. 

After what seemed like almost two hours of heaven, Janavo pulls away and licks his lips from the mess made by you two fooling around. Aw, was it just over like that? Your hands let go of his face as you make a little sad sound. In an attempt to satisfy you some more, he places his mouth on your neck and sinks his fangs into your skin slightly. It comes off as unexpected to you, and you gasp. But it feels so good. You don’t want it to end too soon. He suckles at your neck noisily, making you pant. A decent amount of time of that treatment ends in him pulling away and admiring the nice mark he left, and you would make every effort possible to show it off to people. 

The whole lovey-dovey stuff you two engaged in was undoubtedly tiring. You just feel like sleeping at the moment. And, from what you can tell from your friend-turned-lover’s body language, so is he. You sit on your bed and watch him stretch his back and arms while yawning. Holy fuck, those teeth. You really want them sunken into your flesh again any time soon. 

The rain outside has calmed down, from a merciless storm to a rather placid drizzle. Pulling up your sheets, you prepare yourself to finally rest after this whole ride. Not before you lift them and allow Janavo to slither underneath and knead the mattress below him. Sluggishly, he got comfy on his spot of the bed and reached his neck out to give your forehead a soft, sweet kiss.

“I think it’s safe to say this now, but...I love you, Jan.”

His tail curls behind you, and he reaches out to pull you into a tight embrace. You bury your face on the crook of his neck, and hear him purr again. It’s obvious how happy he is to be with you, with how much he loves having physical contact and making the whole live-in decision in just one night. Clearly you two are going to be incredibly happy together.

“I love you too, doll, all I have to do is move my stuff tomorrow morning from the forest den to here and we will be all set.”

Your brain still is so boggled while trying to process all of the events this afternoon. That huge monstrous guy you met in the woods once, who you first thought would maul you to pieces? And who turned out to be a huge softie in a tough shell? He’s going to live with you now. And what a better way to celebrate than with having him sleep with you for the first night? And the next one, and the next one, and the next one...creating so many good memories and feelings.

“Sweet dreams, little one.”

It doesn’t take too long for the both of you to drift off into a peaceful night’s sleep, to the calm sounds of each other’s breathing and the soft rain outside.

[amnachil]

The College Society Chapter 1 Part 8

A two weeks delay because I had stuff to take care of, sorry about that :x But here we are ! Hope you’ll like it.

Liam Friday October 20 – Saturday 21

"You should bring them both at the Donut's Place. They make quite good pastries."

The young lad nodded silently. He was enjoying his break after several hours fighting against the evil dishes in an epic advendure. (In order to be motivated, he created a whole world were he was the hero, and the dishes his monstruous ennemy). (We all do whatever we can to make the work less tiresome so don't judge). Because he explained to Judy the situation between Nick and Rebecca, which wasn't improving since this latter started to meet the University running team, his boss tried to find solutions.

"I'm not sure Rebbie likes pastries..." he whispered. "After all, she follows a strict diet."

"Damnit man ! How can they be friends if they don't share a single thing in common ?"

"I honestly don't know."

In fact, their friendship was weird. Nick was a geek, enjoying doing nothing and stuffing his face while playings videogames. Rebbie was a star athlete, living only for running. They couldn't be more different. Maybe this break-up was inevitable after all... Sometimes, things happens for a reason. However, Liam wasn't ready to let it go. He wanted to bring them back together at any cost. (Well maybe not any cost, but everyone understood his point). The young lad and Judy finished their meals before going back to work, but suddenly, the director showed up and stated :

"Liam, I want you to learn service. A trainee will take your place at dishes. Let's go."

It took time for the freshman to realise what the director asked him. Then, following Judy, he got the uniform (she mockingly commentated his body while he changed, and it became one of the most awkward moment of his life). Anyway, he then found himself in the restauration room, surrounded by customers. And he freaked out. At least mentally. What am I supposed to do ? I'm not even able to remember my last lesson, how can I memorize their order ? He timidly followed Judy towards a table, and decided to carefully watch how she was doing. Sadly, once in front of the patrons, he started to shiver. Why god decided to do this exactly ? Sitting right there were Colton and Barbara. And the blonde girl saw him despite the fact he tried to hide behind Judy. (He was taller and wider than his boss, so it definitely was useless).

"Welcome to Pasta's Place. I'm Judy and I will take care of you this evening. This is Liam, a trainee.  Let me give you the menu. Would you like an appetizer ?"

A gap followed. Colton stared at Liam, and whispered something like "sorry", while Barbara focused back on Judy.

"We'll take a glass of water I guess." she ordered. "We're celebrating our first year together, but I'm not a vine person, such a shame right ?"

"I'm sure this wonderful guy is not judging you for this milady." asnwered politely Judy. "We'll come back when you are ready to order."

The waitress left, followed slowly by Liam. This one was so stressed he almost knocked a table over, but Barbara was manifestly acting like if he wasn't here. What did I do to deserve this ? At first, he thought he would be stressed the whole evening, but quickly, he totally forgot about this. In fact, Judy and him had a lot of tables to deal with, and the young lad was just too busy to think. Besides, as he expected, he was clumsy, and his boss needed to help him for almost eveything.  He had difficulty to hold plates, to clear table and even sometimes to talk with the customers. Once, he literally forget a little girl and only took the orders of her parents. Such a shame. Thankfully, Judy was everywhere. She deserves congratulation, because serving plus helping the numty I am is definitely difficult.

"Liam, stop dreaming. Go clear table 12 and take their order for dessert."

"Aye ma'am."

The freshman obeyed, but stopped when he realised who the customers were. Barbara and Colton. Damnit. He discretly came closer and took their plates.

"Did you like it ?" he asked the lower he could.

"Yes we did." answered coldly Barbara. "Can we have another waiter please ?"

Surprised, Liam stared at her. Her eyes hid a glint of anger, and she definitely was disturbed by his presence. What the... Oh by the unicorns no please... Her attitude, this hate towards him... She must had heard about his break-up. She blames me... like the others. Suddenly overwhelmed by guilt, saddness and shame, the young lad lower his head and whispered :

"Of course you can. I'll ask Judy to come."

And then he left as fast as possible, without letting Colton speak.

This night, when he came home (in fact saturday early morning), Liam felt even more weary than usual. The service was exhausting, and despite being physically fine, he was breathless. Plus, his head was about to explode. And after this... cold reunion with Barbara, the only thing he wanted was to sleep. To be wrap up well under his sheet, and to not move until the end of the world. Nevertheless, something was wrong. Nick was used to be awake, playing videogames when Liam went back from work. Especially during the weekend, when they didn't have lesson the next morning. However, right now, the flat was plunged into total darkness, and there was an awkward silence. Curious and a bit frightened, Liam walked towards his roommate's bedroom and put his ear against the door. The only thing he could hear was a scaring muffled laugh. What the heck ? Right now, the freshman already invented thousands of scenario, and in all of them, Nick was dead. A hideous murderer was certainly enjoying his body, for sexual or cannibalism purpose. And Liam was probably the next. (He was wonderfully imaginative, but after all, it was 3 am, in a dark flat, and he was tired). (Cannibal murderer existed, he knew that). But could he abandon Nick without even a fight ? His dead body deserves proper funeral. You'll not kill me that easy dangerous monster. Now that he bucked himself up, Liam clenched his fist and opened the door. He glanced at his roommate : this one was sat onto his bed, near to the wall, and perfectly alive. Seing Liam, he frowned and his lips moved, pronouncing silently "what the fuck are you doing here ?". Seems like he's not in danger, after all. (Maybe Liam had a bit too much exaggerated the situation...) (Just a bit, okay ?). Anyway, he replied in the same way "what are you doing ?". Nick rolled his eyes and showed the wall. "I'm listening Rebecca and her friend discussion.". Surprised, Liam googled. Indeed, he could hear the girl and a boy speaking on the other side of the wall. The laughs came from them. Liam went closer and asked again in the same way "Why are you doing this ? Are they... sleeping together ?". His roommate replied suddenly way louder :

"Of course not, you moron ! They are just talking shits !"

Realising he just shouted, Nick put a hand on his mouth and glared at Liam like if everything was his fault.

"I was just curious." he whispered. "And just shut up dummy, or they'll hear us."

You're the one who is making noise. Liam took a place onto his friend's bed, and murmured :

"I thought you and Rebbie weren't friends anymore."

"Are you 8 year old spud ?" angrily replied Nick. "I told you I'm not sulking. They just caught my attention. And you should go to sleep, you look dead."

"Yeah, you're right. Good night, mister bad mood, see you tomorow."

Nick pouted just before Liam left in the direction of his own bedroom.

Rebecca Monday October 23

One week last before holidays... She couldn't wait to leave for New York, where she will be part of a national tournament. Bob and her trained as much as possible, and she felt ready to beat her own record. Thinking about the medal she would win, she entered in the amphitheater and headed towards Liam and Nick. Around 10 days after her... speech about this latter attitude, she still felt a bit guilty, but not that much. Besides, he ignored her anyway, so she decided to let him do. I don't have time for these craps. She sat next to them, and smiled to Liam (he was absently watching the board as usual).

"Hi dude. How was your weekend ?"

She noticed Nick glancing at her, but it was so fast she couldn't be sure. As for him, the brown lad didn't answer, certainly because he didn't hear her. This guy... He had big dark rings under his eyes, and a really bad face. Maybe some problems with his family again...

"Liam, are you there ?"

The boy jumped (she felt like a monster dragging him from a wonderful dream...) and eventually replied :

"Yeah sorry... Well the weekend went... fine."

He blushed slightly, and she figured out it was a lie. However, she felt more preoccupied by Nick, who again took a look at her discreetly. What the fuck does he wants ? As Liam went back in his waking dream, she wanted to say something, but the professor came in, and the lesson began. I wonder what Nick is thinking now... He's acting strangely...

Lunch came and after a whole morning cogitating about Nick's behavior, Rebecca was mad against him. (Yes, mad despite the fact he did nothing wrong). (After all even when he was doing nothing, he was irritating). Therefore, when they sat together, the atmosphere was super, super cold. (But no one's cared, because Liam was too busy couting the clouds, and Nick was just pigging out as always). Rebecca decided to eat as fast as possible, and then left the duo to start her afternoon training. She headed towards the lockeroom, and looked for her sports bag, but she couldn't find it. What the fuck ? I let it here like 5 minute ago. She angrily went out, and glimpsed some boys running away with her stuff. Assholes. It won't be that easy. Not losing any time, she started to run after them. Even in daily clothes, she was way faster than somes fucking boys, and she caught up with them rapidly in a path of the campus. She didn't notice it yet, but she was alone and surrounded by boys when she shouted :

"Give me my bag back, motherfuckers. That's not funny."

"Gorilla want her bag back." teased a voice she recognised. "Dudes, I think we should listen to her, she could be dangerous."

Around her, they all laughed. Rebecca angrily faced Matthew, and opened her mouth, but stayed quiet. The sophomore held a sort of gun, like several of his friends, and she started to worry. What is he doing ? She knew he hated her, but... Giving a signal, the lad started to fire, quickly followed by his mate. It was paintball, and she screamed both with rage and pain when they showered her as much as possible. In no time, she ended covered in bruises and paint. Can someone help me please. The only thing she could hear was Matthew and his crew laughing. She was unable to see, and she fell onton the ground loudly. Fuck you dude... She tried to speak, at least to insult him, but failed. And because they left her, she closed her eyes, and decided to wait until the pain went away.

Eventually, she woke up laying onto a bed, in a white room. What happened ? She remembered being dragged from a place to another, but nothing more. Where am I ? She felt quite well, but still confused. Prudently, she watched her body : she had bruises, especially on her arms and legs. Apparently, nothing too bad, but it was still painful. Those assholes... I knew he would do something but...

"Seems like you are awake." greeted her someone. "Welcome to the nursery, I'm a nurse trainee here to take care of you. Can you tell me how do you feel ?"

Rebecca blinked, and then grouched.

"Angry. I want to punch this..."

She stopped when she saw the nurse. Chelsea was Matthew's girlfriend, and a member of the running team she trained with those past few days. Damnit. Rebecca couldn't charge the sophomore... She'll never trust me. During the training, it appeared the blonde was a nice girl, athletic and friendly. Way more than her boyfriend.

"Don't worry Rebbie." stated Chelsea. "Everything is fine. You're safe now, and except the fact that you're rainbow-colored, you're not really injured."

"Yeah... Thanks... I guess I should thank the one who bring me here too, where is he ?"

"It was two guys. They left like an hour ago, once sure you were fine. One was playing at his gameboy, and the other looked a bit simple-minded, but they seemed to know you ?"

The black girl nodded silently. Yeah; I guess they do... The idea of thanking Nick made her sick, and she decided to stay in the nursery a bit longer.

Pete Wednesday October 25

The young lad sighed when they all bursted in laughter. I knew it would happen... Being in the culinary club had advantages, like the fact he could cook amazing plates with the greasiest foods. Nevertheless, it had also a major disadvantage : Damian Nicholas Smith-Carrey. (He had insisted to be called by his entire name, and because he was the head of the faculty's grandson, they all obeyed). The junior was an excellent cook, and usually made fun of them (even of their supervisor), making the session a true hell. And today, he manifestly decided to focus on Pete, and his growing waistline. To be honest, he wasn't the first to make comment about it : several friends and acquintances already noticed the change, but Damian Nicholas Smith-Carrey was the first to tease the freshman about it.

"Seriously dude..." continued the junior "According to studies, freshman 15 is supposed to be a myth, but you... We're in October and I bet you already burst it out."

Again, a lot of students laughed. They don't even find him funny, but they're scared by his reputation. Honestly, Pete was too, and that was probably why he didn't answer. Plus, he may have  actually exceed the freshman 15. Two weeks ago, he weighted himself at 75 kg (165 pounds), but since, he probably gained a lot. (Now that Theo came back in his life, he ate even more than before, and became quite... addicted to Mike's caloric poder). Of course, he wasn't that fat... He just had a little paunch, and his legs and arms were a bit rounder, but nothing too important. However, as he didn't found time to replace his wardobe, he wore too tight clothes. In order to button his jeans, he used an elastic trick, and his T-shirt was stretched at his maximum, emphasizing his belly. Needless to say, it was godsend for Damian Nicholas Smith-Carrey the jerk.

"You're not defending yourself ?" asked this latter. "Damnit that's so annoying. I'm done for today fatass. See you soon."

And with this threatening conclusion, the junior left the room and Pete could at last get back to work.

Evening came, and the young freshman got ready for a swimming session. Alone in the lockeroom, he put his swimsuit on, with a bit of difficulty. To be honest, it was slightly aching because it was compressing his waist. I knew I needed to change my wardobe... All his clothes were too tight, but Theo seemed to enjoy this, and Pete only wanted to please him.

"What are you doing my dear little sugar ?" asked suddenly someone behind him.

The blond lad turned over towards his lover, and smiled.

"I thought I would swim and..."

"Swim ?" cut off Theo. "No way."

Surprised, the freshman frowned, but when the handsome brown lad came closer, he just held his breath with excitation. A hand stroked gently his belly, making it jiggle. That's not wise... Anyone can come in. Pete wanted to say that, but he only moaned with a guilty pleasure when a second hand went slowly touch his crotch. It was so joyous. Bad, but joyous. In fact, the freshman realised a week ago taboo were a turn on. Being a lover, having sex in forbidden place and at forbidden time... It was the kind of thing he asked for. Besides, Theo had an experience more than useful. He knew some body's spots Pete didn't even imagine real. And he's hot... So hot... Suddenly, the two hands stopped their caress, and the blonde guy sighed with ecstasy. He was almost gone, but his lover just moved backwards and smiled.

"You can't swim. You're not physically fit for this." stated Theo.

The freshman opened his mouth, but said nothing. Eventually, right now, he only wanted the junior's touch. He was too aroused to think efficiently.

"It would be a shame for our team if a fatty is swimming with us." continued the dark-haired lad. "It's better if you stop coming here."

Pete nodded slowly. He started to calm down, and to consider his lover's words. He's kicking me. For a sec, the blonde boy felt ashamed, but he realised it mean nothing to him. After all, he joined the swimteam in order to get an eyeful of the guys. But now, he had one for himself. And the only thing I want is to be with him.

"Do you understand, Pete ?" asked Theo.

"Yeah, I do. And you're right, it was a bad idea to come. See you this night, I guess ?"

The junior smiled. A glint of lust twinkled in his eyes.

"Maybe. Being uncatchable is a part of my charm, isn't it ?"

To be continued

Sooo Barbara and Damian Nicholas Smith Carrey made their 1st official appearance ! They both are important for the main plot (Liam’s) and we’ll see them again soon :)

See you next week (I hope :x)

[korra-the-red-lion]

Unnatural Affairs. Chapter 21: The Banishment.

(Ally + Lyn + Michael)

Lyn.

“You’re going to training camp, aren’t cha, Lyn?”

I looked over at Matt who was hanging off the lane rope, water dripping off his beard. Andrew looked at me quizzically as well as they waited for my answer.

“Probably, yeah,” I said with a shrug. I’d totally forgotten about it, honestly. I’ve been so busy with all this spirit hunting junk that training camp just slipped my mind.

“Good. Kerry and I are going too.” Matt licked his lips. “So, you, Loryn, Kerry, Maddie, Thom, Ollie, and Will. Oh, and me!”

“I’m going to,” said Emma. “So’s Robin and Tams.”

“That’s not too bad,” I commented. “You only got like 7 people last year. You nearly got half the team. Wait, is Gunner not going?”

Andrew shook his head. “Me and Gunner are gonna go home together this year. I think he needs it.”

I looked over at Gunner, who just dove in the water for his heat. We were doing practice races today to work on our spirits and diving techniques. We got out of the pool since they started and walked over to the benches, where we sat and waited for it to be our turn again.

I rested my head against the wall and closed my eyes, thinking about all the shit we learned the last few days. I couldn’t believe that old prof was the killer. I didn’t like the guy, but I didn’t think he was capable of murder. Of course, not all killers looked like killers. That’s how Ted Bundy and Paul Bernardo got away with so many killings before they were caught.

We hadn’t told the police yet because we literally had no concrete evidence that he did it. We really only were going off what we’ve seen and what ghosts have told us and done to us. We couldn’t really say much in our defence. Whatever. Tomorrow we were going to get rid of the monstrous Fredrik Moore with the help of Katherine.

Ally told us this two days ago. Then she causally mentioned that she nearly got killed by Kinkly when she went to go speak to the ghost residing in the art building. I swear to God, between Ally and Michael, I was going to have aneurysm. Who the hell causally mentions they nearly died through a text message?? It was a little exhausting to keep up with, truthfully. I only understood so little, yet I was expected to keep up with all the crazy. I was definitely ready for it to be over.

Katherine had sent Ally a list of things that we needed for the ceremony tomorrow, or whatever you wanted to call it. I guess it was basic ghost hunting stuff like salt, iron or silver, special amulets. I didn’t really get it, but Michael was more than happy to find all that for us. Where he got it from, I didn’t really want to know.

“What’s on your mind, Lyn?”

Loryn’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts. I blinked back into focus. “Just some stuff.”

“Hm.” Loryn sat down next to me. “I can’t wait until this semester is over. I feel like once Christmas goes by, we’ll reset and refocus.”

“I agree.”

I watched Thom glance at Loryn as he walked up to the block. I wasn’t the most observant person on the planet, but I was starting to notice the looks he was giving her. I wondered if he had a crush on her or something. The thought of that brought a cheeky grin to my face.

“What are you doing for winter break, by the by?”

I shrugged. “Suffer until my flight, I guess.”

Loryn rubbed her hands together nervously. “Did you want to stay over at my place? We could leave together.”

“Loryn…” I stared at my friend, emotion building up in my chest. She was watching me with this stupid soppy look on her face too. “I can’t just impose on your family, especially not during the holidays.”

“And I can’t let my best friend go back to a place that makes her miserable,” countered Loryn. “C’mon, dad is totally okay with it. I just want you to think about for real, okay?”

“I will, I promise.”

She reached over and hugged me, and I hugged back. It really did mean a lot to me that she even asked. I didn’t know what I was going to do for winter break. I thought I’d just hang around here until then, but who knows, maybe the ghost problem was still going to be a thing then. I broke off the hug when I realized it was my turn to go up again. I patted Loryn on the head and headed over.

XXX

Michael.

I was so excited to see the list Ally had sent. I knew exactly where to get those things! As soon as my horrid math course ended, I raced down to the Dreaming Mythic. When I got there, Talia was in today. She smiled at me as I pulled off my hat and shoved it in my pocket.

“Mr. Yamamoto! It’s been a while since I’ve seen you last.”

“Yup!” I walked straight over to where the bags of salt were. “I’m here to stock up today.”

“I figured you were,” she said softly as she drifted over. “Katherine told me that you asked her for help.”

I froze. I smiled guiltily at her as I reached for the salts. “Yea’ I did. I hope that’s okay with you. I just got really excited when I saw her reading the spell book.” I did feel bad that I asked her like that, it probably caught her so off guard.

“Katherine is an adult,” said Talia wistfully. “If she wants to help, then she can make that decision herself. I just hope that you children are going to be safe.”

I nodded as I poked around the amulets. “I hope so too. I think that if we get hurt again, Lyn might kill us. And trust me, she doesn’t look that strong but that’s only cuz she’s wearing sweaters right now. She could crush my head if she wanted to. Plus, I’m pretty sure I’m scarred for life now because of this, so I don’t really need to add physio on top of therapy.”

Talia walked into the back room as I continued to poke around. I wasn’t really sure where I was going to get any silver from, but maybe the weird antique store down the road had something. These small towns and their wacky stores, huh? You could always find the weirdest stuff. This whole town had proven to be p r e t t y i n t e r e s t i n g so far.

I walked over to the counter with an armload of things. One could never be too careful when it came to fighting a giant ghost monster that could totally crush you with one hand. Never. I dumped my stuff and tapped my fingers against the counter as I waited for Talia to return. I wasn’t in a rush, so I didn’t mind waiting.

When she came back out, she was carrying a bundle in her arms. I looked at it quizzically as she set it on the counter delicately. My jaw fell open when I saw what it was.

A gleaming silver blade.

“This belonged to my mother, who got it from her father and so on,” said Talia as she ran her fingers on the flat part of the blade. “It served them well. I would like it if you took this to protect yourself. It’s much more efficient than a baseball bat.”

“How…?” I was dumbfounded.

“Mr. Yamamoto, I’m aware of how the minds of you people work,” she said, her eyes twinkling. “Also, I was a student once too, in a house full of girls. We all had our own weapons of choice in case anyone ever tried to break in.”

I ran my hand over my head. “I feel bad if any person ever tried to, after seeing this guy.”

She slid it back into the sheath and wrapped it back up. She put everything in a paper bag and handed it all to me. “Please, be careful. Those are dark forces you’re dealing with. And…” she paused, her face thoughtful. “Never mind. Take care, Michael.”

“Thank you, Talia.” I squeezed the bag to my chest tightly. It meant so much to me that she’s been so awesome this whole time. I can’t think of anyone else who would go to such crazy lengths to help a practical stranger. She really was a great person, no joke.

I smiled one last time before leaving the store. I couldn’t help but feel the nerves starting to creep in. It was going to be really dangerous, we knew that. It’s been dangerous this whole time. I think only when Ally spoke to Amelia was the only time she didn’t get hurt. These ghosts mean business, and their business is to kill.

In some weird way though, we had to do finish it. We were the ones who started this whole thing, really. If we hadn’t bothered to dig around more, then we wouldn’t feel the sense of responsibility to help them all move on. No one else could do this job but us. Sure, it was terrifying and stupid, but I’m happy in a way. I’m happy that we’re going to make a difference. Especially since all the victims were people that thought no one cared about this. But there were people who cared, somewhere out there. I mean, hell, we cared!

I understood their anger, though. I’ve been there. People making offhand comments about me behind my back. Being a biracial kid in Victoria hadn’t been terrible, but there were times that I was all too happy to forget about. I’ve been pulled over more times than I care to talk about because of the colour of my skin. There were times were people asked me if I was visiting people from home, as if my family didn’t live here in Canada. I understood all that. That’s why it was so important to me to help them out. Because someone had to.

So yeah, I was nervous. I was nervous because there was so much more at stake than just stopping Kinkly from killing again. It was about telling these people that they mattered. Because for the love of fucking God, they do.

XXX

Lyn.

When I got back to my room, I was surprised to see a package lying on my bed.

Nura would pick up my mail for me sometimes because she was a sweet and wonderful person. I didn’t order anything for myself, so I wasn’t sure where it came from. With a confused frown, I dropped my bag to the floor, grabbed the package, and opened it up.

A letter fell out, landing gently on my bed. I picked it up, surprised to see Olivia’s name scrawled on the front of it. Feeling even more confused now, I opened the letter to see what she had to say.

Lyn,

I just wanted to apologize again for making you come home for Thanksgiving. It was wrong of me to make you promise something like that when you needed a ride to the hospital. I still don’t know the real reason why you needed to go, but hopefully one day you’ll be able to share the truth with me.

It’s a little early for Christmas, but I got you a gift. It’s not much, and maybe you’ll hate it. What you do with them is your choice, and I’ll be none the wiser on what you decide. Speaking of, if you would like, Travis and I would be happy for you to come and stay for a while. I know you’re probably flying off to Florida or wherever again for your winter training camp. I just wanted to let you know the offer is there for you to take if you wish.

Anyway, I hope that you’ve been well and that all your finals go as you expect. You always give everything 110%, so I know you’ll do amazing.

With warmest love and regards,

Olivia.

I sat heavily on the bed, my emotions conflicted. I reread the letter a few more times, making sure I didn’t miss a single thing. It absolutely meant the world to me that Olivia went the extra mile to apologize for making me go back there. She didn’t have to, but she did.

I reached for the rest of the package and pulled out the box that was inside. It was a shoe box for Converse, and when I opened it, a brand-new brand of blue-green high-tops rested inside. I pulled them gently and examined them. They were my size exactly, and there was another note inside the box.

I know you loved those black ones you have, but since they were bloody, I thought these would be a good replacement.

They were gorgeous. I loved them already. I wouldn’t be able to wear them for while because of the weather, but Olivia made an awesome choice.

I thought back to Loryn’s offer. Now I had two places to go for the holidays, meaning that I wouldn’t be spending them alone, regardless of my choice. I felt warmth blooming in my chest. Maybe later tonight would end horribly for us, but for now I was content to just sit here and be thankful for the people in my life.

XXX

Ally.

December 1st.

If someone had asked me at the beginning of the term what I would be doing 9 days before the first day of exams, I probably would have said pretending that relearning the entire course wasn’t stressing me out at all. Instead, I was going to go back to the swim team’s locker room for the third time this term to hopefully help a ghost move on from this plane of existence. You know, a typical Wednesday.

I stared up at the clouds as I sat outside on one of the benches scattered around campus. It was a really peaceful day. It was cold, and the wood was wet on my legs, but still peaceful.

The nerves I felt were not as bad as I thought they would be. Maybe because we’ve already been through so much already. Scarred, bruised, hurt, but alive. We lucked out twice already, and I know we’ll do it again a third time. If everything went according to our plan, it should be fine.

I laughed to myself. When has anything gone according to our plans?

Still, I dropped my head back, so it was dangling over the bench, we’ll be okay. I have to believe that. I don’t want anything to happen to them. I won’t let anything happen to them.

I wasn’t a physical fighter, but I was going to try my best to make sure we all made it out of here okay. I owed Michael and Lyn that much. I dragged them into this wild world, and I was going to be the ones to make sure they got out of it alive.

“You’re doing your thinking face.”

I smiled as I sat up properly. “Hey. Did you get everything?”

“I totally did,” said Michael as he sat next to me. “Now, don’t divert the convo. What cha thinking about?”

“Just everything, honestly.” I tucked my hands under my armpits. “You know my brain is always running, it never stops.”

“Ain’t that the truth,” he chuckled.

We sat there as I rested my head against him. He put his arm around my shoulders. We took comfort in each other’s warmth. The steady rhythm of his breathing added to the calm I was feeling. There was something about sitting with a friend on a cold winter day that was under appreciated.

The day slowly waned away as we sat silently. I don’t know what Michael was thinking about, but it was probably about tonight. I could feel the anxiety emitting off of him. He wasn’t biting his nail, but he was bouncing his leg away from me quite a bit. I reached down and squeezed his hand in comfort, causing him to look my way. I smiled at him and he returned the gesture.

“Do you really think we’ll be okay?” His voice was small.

“I do,” I said firmly.

He nodded slowly, staring off again. “Do you think it was a mistake to ask someone else to help? I feel more guilty the more I think about it.”

I frowned in thought. “I’m not sure, honestly. I do think that she would have said no if she really was against the idea, though. She’s got spirit, I think.”

“Okay.”

“Hey,” I looked up at him. “Michael, I know you. Don’t beat yourself up over this. We’ll make sure nothing happens, alright?”

Michael closed his eyes tightly. “Alright. I just…I don’t know if I would ever forgive myself if someone got hurt because of me.”

A flashback of Michael smacking into the wall and the blood flying from Lyn’s arm shot through my head. I swallowed thickly as guilt rested heavy in my stomach and said, “Yeah, I get that.”

The sun dipped below the skyline as it started to get dark. It was only 6:00 now, and we had to wait until closing. Stupid winter and shorter days. It was starting to get too cold for me to stick around much longer, so I gently pushed away from Michael and stood up, my body shivering from the loss of contact. I fiddled with my glasses anxiously.

“I’m going to head back to my room for a bit,” I said. “See you soon.”

“See you soon,” echoed Michael.

XXX

“Hey, Ally?” The RA leaned against my doorway. “There’s someone waiting for you outside.”

I glanced at Sarah before pushing myself away from my desk. The RA walked all the way to the door with me before leaving without saying a word. I pushed open the door and saw Lyn standing there, her cheeks pink from the cold.

“Hey! Why didn’t you just text me?”

“Left my phone in my room,” she said with a shrug. “I don’t really want it to get ruined.”

I stepped out of the way to let her in. She gave me an appreciative smile as she came in. I wasn’t sure where we should go, since Sarah was still in our room. I decided on the common area and led Lyn that way.

After a quick look around, I walked in once I saw it was empty. I sat down on one of the sagging couches and Lyn plopped down besides me. She slipped her hat off and ran her hand over her hair to smooth it down. She took my hand into hers, which was freezing, and gave it a quick kiss.

“Are you feeling nervous?” she asked, her eyes searching.

“I’m definitely feeling it, yeah.”

“That’s good,” Lyn laughed. “I’m scared shitless.”

I nodded in understanding. “You’re not alone in that feeling.”

Lyn ran her free hand over her face before squeezing her ear. “That’s great to hear. Like seriously, you do all this crazy shit, and it always amazes me. Well, it makes me want to kill you first, but then I’m amazed. I don’t know how you can keep it up.”

I mulled over that for a few minutes before saying quietly, “Because no one else can. I mean…yeah, I totally scared. I literally think I’m going to die each time we go out, or that I was so stupid for doing this, or for dragging you guys into this. But…” I frowned, scrubbing a hand against my eye, “someone has to do this. I would feel terrible if someone else died while I sat by and did nothing about it, you know?”

Lyn looked thoughtful as she nodded. She didn’t say anything else as she released my hand, instead slipping her arm around me and taking my other hand back. She kissed the top of my head and held me close. I closed my eyes, taking comfort in her presence.

To be perfectly honest, I never would have done this alone. It was only because I had Lyn and Michael that I was able to do this. Not even counting the close encounters, it was really traumatizing to see how someone died. They have been here for me this whole time, and for that, I’m forever grateful. Sure, we’ll all be in therapy because it, probably. But at least it won’t be alone. At least someone I know will always understand what I’m going through, on some level. And hopefully after this was all done, we could figure out a way to stop Kinkly once and for all. Then it would all be over, and we can go back to being normal students. Students who were worried about their exams, not about whether they’ll be haunted that evening while studying in the library.

We sat together like this until it was time to go. My stomach lurched as we stood up, the realization of what we were about to do catching up with me. Lyn squeezed my hand tightly, her jaw set determinately. I could see the fear dancing in her eyes, the way she kept cracking her fingers, but she was ready to go. When she caught me staring, she winked at me with an easy smirk.

“Hey, we’re the Spook Searchers, this is what we do,” she said jokingly. “We search for spooks.”

“I don’t think dealing with monsters and witches is part of the description,” I pointed out.

She rolled her eyes as she held the door open for me. Startling, the wind was ranging outside. Despites my protests, Lyn pushed my back to my room. She was firmly insisting (read: leaving no room for argument) that I put on a pair of pants. According to her, every time we’ve gone there, we’ve had to flee outside and that I wasn’t going to be freezing my ass off just for the sake of my style. She had a point, but that didn’t mean I agreed with her. However, I sullenly complied because it did make sense.

Finally, we left Lukas and made a painful walk to the Athletic Centre, hopefully for the last time. The wind was biting into my face. It felt like tiny little cuts were opening on my skin. The walk only lasted 5ish minutes, but it sure as hell felt longer than that. Michael and Katherine were there when we showed up.

Michael grinned when he saw us, though I could see the tightness in his face. Katherine wasn’t even attempting to smile, instead glaring at us moodily. I gave Michael a quick hug while I nodded to her. She just stared back. Yay, this was going to be really fun.

Lyn patted Michael on the back and gave Katherine a nod of acknowledgement as she pushed the door open. Her friend was sitting at the desk and looked up as we walked over. Apparently, she had spoken to him the other day and told him this huge lie about how she wanted to sneak us into the pool for a secret party. She told him it was totally safe and that she’d lock up afterwards. Her ability to come up with believable lies was really amusing to me. First a camping trip gone wrong now this.

“Just make sure you put everything back to where it belongs,” he said to her nervously as he handed over the key.

“I totally will!” said Lyn in a bubble-gum tone. “Thanks so much for doing this for me, Hassan.”

“You owe me one.”

She gave him a big hug. “Yup! Have a good night, buddy.”

A smile flickered onto his face. “Yeah, yeah, you too, Lyn.”

Lyn cheerfully waved to him as he left the building. After she was sure he was gone, she quickly locked the main doors. Her shoulders were tense with stress as she came back over to the three of us.

“This better go well,” she said as she pocketed the keys.

“I think it will!” said Michael with a fist pump. “I have a really good feeling about it this time. Plus, look at all this awesome stuff I have!” He held his bag open for us to look inside. I saw bags of salts, some knives, and amulets. Katherine stuck her hand in there and pulled out the necklaces.

“I need you guys to put this on,” she said as she handed one to each of us. Michael readily put his on while Lyn stared at hers skeptically. I understand why, since the last time we relied on jewelry it didn’t do much for us. I took mine from Katherine and slipped it on, the weight of it feeling a little strange. Lyn finally shrugged and put hers on as well.

Katherine stuck her hand into her coat pocket and pulled out a small object. I felt my brows raise in surprise as she flicked it open, revealing the blade inside. I winced as she sliced her finger open. Michael’s face went pale, and Lyn frowned, her ears lighting up. Katherine hissed as she pressed the bloody digit to the center of her amulet, and it started to glow brightly. She muttered something under her breath and the brightness dimmed, the necklace reflecting only a warm glow.

“Who’s next?” she asked with her hand outstretched.

Michael tentatively stuck his hand out. Katherine took his hand gently, before quickly nicking the skin open. Michael’s face scrunched slightly in discomfort but otherwise he said nothing. She pressed her finger on top of his before placing it on the amulet. The same light show happened before it dimmed down.

I was about to lift my hand when Lyn quickly thrusted hers out. Katherine glanced up at her before cutting her thumb open, causing Lyn to flinch. She had her eyes closed the whole time Katherine worked silently. After it was over, she sucked on the thumb as if that would help with the pain.

Finally, I was up, and I gave her my hand. Katherine’s eyes searched mine before she took my hand into hers. Her grip was surprisingly gentle as she looked at my fingers. She grabbed my ring finger and sliced the knife against the skin. I felt the tingling in my face from the pain as she pressed our fingers together. I only just noticed now that she used a different finger for each of us, as three of her fingers dripped with blood. Once she was done with me, she quickly stepped away and dug out a clean thing of gauze with her other hand. She ripped the thing open with her free hand and grimaced as she pressed her fingers into it.

“Here, let me help,” said Lyn. She reached over the desk and grabbed the first aid kit. She quickly wiped up the blood and wrapped each of them in a small gauze.

“Thanks,” muttered Katherine.

Michael fingered his amulet with a curious look. “So…what was the point of that?”

“Protection,” said Katherine. “Your blood mixed with a witch’s should be a much better protection against anything that might try to take your body from you. It will do little against physical harm, so you still gotta be careful.”

“Gotcha.” Michael smiled at me. “Should we head down, then?”

“If we’re all ready,” I said with a smile of my own. I certainly didn’t feel happy, but I didn’t want all of us to be freaking out, so I put on a brave face. I did a quick look around and when everyone nodded in agreement, we headed down.

The hall lights flickered on as we walked down the stairs. The pipes were moaning overhead as they settled. I could hear the fans working through the pool doors as we walked by. Michael handed Lyn something that was wrapped up in a bundle, causing her to look very confused.

“What’s this?”

“Something I think suits you best,” he said with a wink. I could see the trembling of his hands but he hid them behind his back so we wouldn’t see his fear.

She pulled the rope off the bundle and let the cloth fall to the floor. She gasped as she held out the sword in her hand. I was surprised to see a weapon like that too. I looked over at Michael with wide eyes, who just gave me a shaky thumbs up. Katherine was eyeing the weapon with a strange look before she looked away, wrapping her arms around herself.

“We should keep moving,” I said, my voice echoing into the darkness.

Our footsteps sounded incredibly loud as we approached the locker room. When we stood in front of it, Katherine frowned in trepidation. She poked around for a bit before sighing deeply through her nose.

“This is it, then?” she asked, looking at us.

Lyn nodded. “Yeah. This is where the big fucking angry ghost in. The other one is apparently in the mirrors where the bathroom and showers are.”

“’Kay.” Katherine shrugged her bag off. “This is going to be a very dangerous thing. Once I start, he’ll fight against me. He’ll probably attack us. I wouldn’t be surprised if the other ghosts around the area get involved. Are you all ready for that?”

I swallowed thickly and nodded. “We know what we signed up.” Ugh, my voice definitely cracked there a few times.

Katherine looked at me for several long seconds before turning away. “Alright. Just give me a few minutes to get ready then.”

Only a few minutes before shit hit the fan, oh boy. Those were going to be a long few minutes.

XXX

Michael.

Watching Katherine work was something weird for sure.

She sat down on the floor and poured a bag of her own salt around her in a protective ring. Next, she set up a few black and red candles around her. She pushed her bangs out of her eyes as she muttered to herself quietly. I wanted to ask what she was doing but I thought leaving her alone was the right move to make. I went over to where the others were leaning against the wall instead.

Lyn looked really pale as she watched Katherine. Her face was devoid of any showing emotion, but I could tell by the way she kept tugging at her ear that she was really nervous. Ally was biting her lip as she fiddled with the zipper of her jacket. She attempted to give me a smile when I stood next to her, but it came out looking grim.

“We’re going to be fine, Ally,” I said. I believed it, too. I had to.

She nodded slowly, her eyes unsure. “I think so too,” her voice was so quiet. “It’s just what happens after that I’m scared about.”

“Whattya mean?” I tilted my head.

“With Kinkly,” her voice cracked at the end. “Sure, we’re helping Fredrik here and that’s really awesome. But what about the actual murderer? We don’t exactly have tangible evidence that says ‘hey, this guy is the killer!’”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there.” We both were startled by Lyn’s sudden jump into the conversation. She tore her eyes away from Katherine and gave us a tight smile. “We’ve already done so many crazy things together, what’s one more? I’m sure that we’ll figure it out once we have time to think about it. But first, we gotta focus on this, you know?”

We both nodded in agreement. My heart was thudding rapidly in my chest suddenly. The temperature in the hallway started to drop and I looked over at Katherine. Her face was screwed up in concentration as she continued to mumble to herself. Her gaze lingered up and when I caught her eye, she nodded towards the door.

It was time.

Trying my very best to swallow my growing fear, I held out one bag of salt in one hand and an iron knife in the other. Lyn drew the sword smoothly from its scabbard and held it tightly in both hands, her knuckles white. Ally took a deep breath as she held onto her own knife. She reached for the door handle, but it ripped open before she could even touch it.

Fredrik in his monstrous form bellowed at us in the cramped space. Suddenly, I felt the floor shifting beneath my feet as the area expanded. I stumbled a little before getting my footing again. I wasn’t sure what happened, but this wasn’t the locker room anymore. It was, but it wasn’t.

The whole space was distorted. The lockers looked like they were curved and wider than they usually were. The tiles on the floor were red with blood and the walls moved as if they were breathing. The whole area felt alive. Fredrik stood in the middle of it, his mouth drooling bloody saliva. Fiona stood next to him, her expression dark and hard to read.

“You shouldn’t have come here,” she said grimly. “You’ve made a horrible mistake.”

Her face twisted horribly as her own body began to transform. My pulse was pounding in my ears and my hands shook violently. My eyes flickered to Katherine, who was chanting loudly now, her eyes glowing brightly. All we had to do was make sure nothing bad happened to her while she finished.

Fredrik lurched forward, his powerful legs carrying him forward. We scattered away from the attack. He whirled and immediately went towards Katherine. My legs felt like lead. I tried to move but I couldn’t. I looked down and saw that my legs were trapped in a gory cast. I yelled in surprise, stabbing at it with the knife. Katherine was in danger, and I was helpless to do anything for her.

I looked up when I heard Fredrik scream. Lyn stood in front of Katherine, her eyes wide in fear but she held her ground. Fredrik’s face was dripping with fresh blood and the sword glistened with blood.

“That’s for scarring me, asshole!” Lyn swung the blade heavily, causing Fredrik to draw back.

Quickly I cut myself out of the gore cast and was about to run over to where they were when Lyn pointed over. “Go to Ally! I’ve got this!”

That sounded like a lie, but I wasn’t going to argue once I saw that Fiona was swiping at Ally, who was trapped waist deep in a gory hold. I ripped open one of the bags of salt I had and threw it directly at Fiona. She shrieked as she tore at her face. Pieces of flesh fell to the ground with a sickening wet sound as the blood welled on her face. The salt that landed on Ally’s gory prison started to dissolve and she started tearing chunks off with her own knife.

“What is this stuff!?” Ally scrambled back so we were side to side.

“I have no idea, but it felt very…fleshy,” I said with a heavy swallow. I was not going to be sick here.

Ally looked sick at the thought but nodded. “Okay. Okay. We need to stop them from getting to Kat.”

I nodded in agreement. I handed Ally a bag of salt. She looked around before kneeling down and ran the knife through a puddle of something liquid. She stuck the knife in the bag and pulled it back out, the blade now covered in salt. Geez, that was so quick thinking. I was about to do the same thing when Fiona screamed at us.

“YOU ARE GOING TO SUFFER FOR THAT, HUMAN. I WILL KILL YOU!” Her voice was distorted, sounding like it was being layered with something else. Her back ripped open with a wet sound as a second pair of bloody arms grew from her back. Her head twisted with a vicious crack as her jaw opened widely like a snake’s, only it didn’t seem to have a stopping point. Ally and I stepped away in fear.

We ran away from her attacks, each punch pounding into the floor with a fleshy sound. The floor kept trying to get a hold of us with its gory prison. Bones grew from the floor like tree roots, and we had to dodge them so we didn’t trip. Fiona was howling behind us like wounded animal. I could see the pain in Ally’s face as she tried her best to keep moving forward. But no matter how far we ran, it was like we couldn’t get away.

I barely felt fear as we rolled away from a smash of her claws. My body was running on instinct to survive. There were nearly no thoughts in my head besides run, survive, get away, dodge. Fiona picked something up that suspiciously looked like a body without a head and threw it at us. I shouted as we fell to the floor. Hands with rotting flesh shot through the floor and grabbed at us, keeping us in place. I struggled against their slimy grip, sweat dripping down my face. Fiona leisurely approached us, her twisted features manic.

“You should have kept your nose of this, Ally,” she said quietly. I could see the pain in her eyes, the agony she was feeling. She raised one hand, claws ready to tear into us.

“I’m sorry.”

Her eyes widened in shock. I twisted around to look at Ally, who’s face looked utterly heartbroken.

“I’m sorry,” she repeated. “I’m sorry that you’ve been forced to become this thing, Fiona. I’m sorry that they gave up on you and your brother so easily. I mean it, and I meant it last time. What happened to you two was tragic and it’s so horrible that no one tried harder. I can’t imagine the pain you’re going through, I really can’t. B-but,” there were tears streaming down her face, “I know you don’t want to do this. I-I saw how David was being controlled.”

Tears sprung to my own eyes as Fiona hesitated. There was a battle of conflict playing out on her face. Ally closed her eyes and took a shuddering breath. “You are in control here, Fiona.”

Fiona’s face twisted as she howled. She brought down both arms.

XXX

Lyn.

The sword was heavy in my hands as I swung it.

I thought it would be like a baseball bat, but man was I wrong. This thing was wearing me down so quickly. I could hear Katherine behind me, continuing with the spell. The hair on the back of my neck and arms were standing on end as the pressure around us continued to increase.

There was blood dripping off the sword where I had sliced Fredrik. My hands were covered in it from the splash back. My chest was rising and falling heavily as I panted. My whole body was shaking from the effort of keeping her safe. My heart was racing from a mix of adrenaline and fear. My stomach felt like it was cramping shut.

I was so worried about Ally and Michael too. I saw Michael run off to go help Ally, but I haven’t seen them since. I really had no idea what was going on and it was freaking me out big time. This whole place looked like a fucked-up rejection from a horror movie or something. The walls moved away from you each time you took a step. The floor fucking looked like it was made of human bodies. If I stayed still for too long, rotten hands reach up and try to grab me, or some gory entity does.

Fredrik watched me carefully, circling around. I sluggishly followed him with my eyes, careful to have the sword pointed at him the whole time. He was waiting for me to let my guard down. That wasn’t going to happen.

Katherine gasped loudly behind me, causing me to look back. Fredrik screeched as he launched himself at me. I swore viciously as I tried to defend myself. I really didn’t want another scar to match.

“Step back and swing upwards.” A jolt of panic shot through my whole system.

I did as the voice said, and Fredrik’s claw missed my face by half an inch. I swung upwards and caught him by the chin, Blood sprayed all over me and I blinked it out of my eyes as I stumbled back.

“Duck, then thrust forward.”

Again, I did as it said. The sound of his claws rushing by filled me with dread as I took a huge step forward. I jabbed the blade into his belly. Fredrik shrieked in pain as he doubled over, stumbling away from us.

“Good job. Stay close to the witch now.”

“Who are you?” I asked into the wind.

“Someone trying to help you, darling. I know we’ve never talked before, but you have to trust me.”

I shook my head as I stepped back. I stopped next to Katherine, who was breathing heavily. She pushed sweaty bangs from her face and looked up at me, her face going pale as she took in my appearance. I felt disgusting, so I could only imagine what I looked like.

“Are you finished?” I asked, kneeling down next to her.

Katherine nodded quickly. “It should only take a minute for the effects to kick in now.”

“Thank God,” I muttered darkly.

“Are you hurt?”

I glanced at my hands and shrugged. “I really couldn’t tell ya, honestly.”

“That’s…that’s fair.” She pulled her knees to her chest, her eyes wide with fear. “This place is so fucked. Is this what you’ve been dealing with the whole time?”

I shook my head. “Mostly just insane shit happening in the locker rooms. Though I took a lovely blood shower once,” I said sarcastically.

Katherine opened her mouth to say something when there was a huge roar that shook both of us to the core. Fredrik was writhing on the floor, clawing at his skin. Blood gushed from his self-mutilation. My stomach lurched from the display, and I looked away. But when I heard him howling, I found myself looking once more. Layers of flesh peeled away from his body. Bones became exposed as they crumbled away. Organs were exposed as they melted away into nothing.

“What’s happening to him?” I asked, my voice thick with fear.

“The monster is dying,” Katherine said flatly. “The human soul is becoming exposed.”

I watched in horror at the remaining parts of what was Fredrik dissolve into a frothy liquid. From the remains stood a boy, not much older than Ally or me. He looked scared and confused as he looked around. When he saw us, he tripped over the bones of the monster as he tried to walk over. He stopped a couple feet short of us and fell to his knees.

“You saved me,” he cried. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” said Katherine softly. “I hope you have a better time in the Shadow Lands, Fredrik Moore. I know this journey hasn’t been easy for you.”

He wiped at his eyes and nodded. “I hope so. Is…is my sister here?”

Katherine lifted her hand and pointed. Fredrik looked over and gasped when he saw his sister standing over Ally and Michael. I felt fear coarse through my veins as I saw her bring down her own claws. I screamed out their names as I tried to get to my feet. Tears left paths down my blood covered face as I stumbled over to where they were.

The plume of dust dissipated, revealing a very stunned Ally and Michael but otherwise unharmed. I collapsed next to them, grabbing a hand from each of them and trying to control my crying.

“We’re okay,” coughed Ally. Her eyes widened as she took in my appearance. “Are you okay?!”

I nodded as I squeezed her hand. “I think so,” I said with a hiccup.

Michael sat up, his face pale and ashy looking. “I’m okay too, in case you forgot I was here.” He said it jokingly, but I could hear how weak his voice sounded.

“I’m glad you’re okay too,” I sniffled as I gave his hand a good squeeze.

I stiffened when I saw Fiona approached us. She was no longer a monstrous version of herself, instead looking like a young woman. There were tears dripping down her face as she bowed her head. Fredrik put his arm around her and rested his head on hers.

“Thank you, Ally…for saving me. He was controlling me, and I couldn’t stop myself from hurting you.” Fiona wiped at her face.

Ally smiled tiredly. “You’re welcome. I’m just glad you are together again.”

Fiona grabbed Fredrik’s hand tightly as she looked around. Both her and her brother looked confused as to where we were. That was not a good sign. Even though my body was physically exhausted, the panic that was settling into my bones was causing me to feel twitchy.

Then we heard the slow clapping.

XXX

Ally.

I looked around, but I couldn’t place where the clapping was coming from. Fiona and Fredrik both looked terrified. Michael sat up straighter as he looked around as well. Lyn’s pupils were wide with fear. Katherine stood wearily next to us.

“You need to get out of here,” whispered Fiona. “He’s coming.”

The whispers of ‘he’s coming’ echoed all around us. I shakily stood up. Lyn and Michael did the same. We instinctually stepped closer to each other. Lyn reached out and even pulled Katherine a bit closer.

“I can’t believe you managed to pull that off, Alexandra,” said his voice all around.

“Pulled what off?” I called out, hoping my voice sounded stronger than it felt.

There was an unsettling chuckle. “Getting rid of me from Fredrik. That required a lot of power. I didn’t think you’d be able to find someone to pull it off. But you proved me wrong.”

“Show yourself, you monster!” I yelled.

The earth shook underneath our feet violently. Fiona and Fredrik ran away from our group, disappearing from sight. The ground split open to reveal beating organs beneath our feet. Michael finally couldn’t hold it in anymore and threw up. Lyn looked sick too, but she managed to keep it down. Katherine couldn’t tear her eyes away from the horror that we were standing on. When there was another chuckle, the ground shook again.

“I’ve been here the whole time, Alexandra. This is my body you’re standing on, after all.”

Shocked coloured my face. How was that even possible? I stepped away from the seeping wounds at my feet, trying to make sense of it all.

Then he showed himself.

Robert Kinkly looked just as he always did. Round glasses, frumpy sweater with crazy wispy silver hair. He smiled at us and gave a polite clap for us. Lyn gritted her teeth and hefted the sword back up. Michael held the knife high as well, his hand steady despite his fear. Katherine looked petrified as she stepped slightly behind us. I didn’t blame her at all. All I wanted to do was ran away and hide away forever.

“Honestly, I do have to ask, how’d you figure it all out?” He tilted his head in that way that he always did when he asked us questions in class.

“I’m not telling you,” I spat out. God, I was feeling a lot braver than I actually was.

He blinked owlishly. “Huh. Well, I suppose it doesn’t matter. I’ll just have to kill you three and make away with all that research you have. It will be tragic, three students losing their lives just before exams. But the roads are icy at this time of year, after all.”

“You’re a fucking psycho,” snarled Lyn. “I can’t believe you murdered all those people.”

“Language, Lyndsey. There is no reason for you to be speaking to me that way,” he scolded coolly. “Besides, I had to kill them. It was the only way for me to survive.”

“But why?” I cried out. “You died! I don’t understand how you’re even here!”

Kinkly held his hand up. “Patience, Alexandra. To be honest, I’m not quite sure myself. I remember when I died, and I remember begging for a second chance. The next thing I knew, I was alive and well. The only issue I ran into was my flesh began to rot away on me. However, I soon discovered I could stay alive so long as I could sacrifice someone else’s life in exchange for mine. And well…” he spread his hands out with a cold grin. “It was obvious who I was going to choose.”

“But…” Michael’s voice cracked with emotion. “How could you do that to innocent people? Amelia and the Moore siblings didn’t deserve that. Dahlia and Jamieson didn’t deserve that.”

Kinkly laughed with a shake of his head. “I didn’t kill Dahlia. She was already here when I died. But the others? Nobody cared when they were alive, and nobody cared when they died. Really, I may have been the way to swing the axe, but I wasn’t the one who killed them. Society did.”

I felt anger bubble in my chest as I took a step forward. “That’s a lie you tell yourself. These people, they had live. They had futures. You are the one who took that away from them, no one else!”

“Please, stop with the dramatics already,” he said with an eyeroll. “I told you so many times to keep to yourself and mind your own business. Really, your own death is on your hands. Shame, too. I thought you had potential.” His face twisted into something horrible. The grin was too large and stretched out, like it belonged on someone else’s face. His teeth were just slightly too pointed to be natural. He laughed loudly and the floor shook once more.

“Lie down and die for me, ALEXANDRA HOLLAND, LYNDSEY HART, AND MICHAEL YAMAMOTO.”

My whole body shook as panic shot through my brain. It was bad for a ghost to know your full name. It was really, really bad. But I didn’t really know why, I just knew it was. I could feel the power behind those words. I closed my eyes, ready for the end.

[wordsaremyenemy]

Hubcaps & Ashtrays [Loki X Reader] Part 1

Pairing: Loki x Reader Prompt: “The thing is, I wasn’t pretending." Word count: 2,300+ Summary: (Fake Boyfriend AU) You’re a school teacher, eighth grade ELA in fact. School isn’t even in session yet and you already want to rip your hair out. Good news, it’s right before Labor Day and there’s a four day weekend before school starts. Which means plenty of time to finish that pain-in-the-ass lesson plan that’s being avoided. Bad news, your family’s annual reunion is this weekend. Opting out really isn’t an option. Aunt Dot is turning 89 this year and even though it’s not 90 it’s still a big deal.

There’s no time to vet a decent guy before bringing him home, so looks like you’re going stag. Again. Which means Mom and all of your aunts are going to make damn sure that your love life is going to be center stage all weekend. Although, a night with friends might have the answer to all your problems in the form of Hallmark movies. A/N: Okay... so.... this is my entry to @justsomebucky‘s (to whom I apologize for taking so long, please don’t eat me) writing challenge from like months ago. Retail + Holiday season = no free time for little old me. Honestly it still isn’t finished, but I’m trying to get my ass in gear and do shit. I honestly shouldn’t even be doing this. I have laundry. And Christmas presents still to make. I have three done out of like twelve. (I’m crocheting and making dreamcatchers. I’m a mess right now.)

I have to give fair warning. This was the shameless self-insert I've been dreaming of. I still don’t think I’ve done it justice though. And though I kept the descriptions of the main character fairly... vague, or at least tried to. The readers aesthetic is very much what I consider my own to be. Meaning "Basic White Female Hipster" meets "Emo Punk Rock Queen." And honestly there's not enough love for punk. The title comes from Sleeping With Sirens’ “The Strays.”

Big thanks to the most amazing woman in the world, who’s read this more times than I have at this point, and very kindly beta-d this for me. I love you, babygirl. Thanks for calling me out on all my shit always.  Warnings: Mostly swearing

It all started Monday. You were running late, spilled coffee down the front of your brand-new cardigan, and remembered that you forgot to put deodorant on as you ran out of your Brooklyn apartment, nearly running over your neighbor-slash-best-guy-friend, Bucky. You end up fifteen minutes late to the very first staff meeting of the school year because you’d forgotten which way the conference room was. (It’s in a very peculiar place, okay? You would think it’s by the front office. It’s not. For some reason, it’s on the third floor right next to third-floor teachers' lounge.) At least you got to spend the rest of the day prepping your classroom.

Tuesday wasn’t much better. No big staff meeting, but you did have to meet with the two other eighth grade ELA teachers who were the co-chairs of the English department of the entire school. That was a trip and not in a good way. You’ve been teaching for four-going-on-five years. You knew what you were doing. Mostly. You liked to wing it the first week, get a feel for your students before you set down a structured lesson plan. Not that anyone really did anything that first week anyway.

Apparently, that wasn’t going to fly this year because Mrs. High-and-Mighty Jacobson and Miss I’m-so-much-better-than-you Atterbury insisted that everyone turn in their lesson plans for the first week by Monday. Great.

Wednesday started a little bit better. You remembered deodorant (you did on Tuesday, too; it’s the little victories). You didn’t spill coffee or run down Bucky. You actually had enough time to exchange pleasantries and be reminded to go over for your weekly movie night. There wasn’t a meeting, so it was pure setting up your classroom for the four classes you were teaching this semester. Of course, you agonized over that lesson plan but it was for the first week and you did just find out yesterday and surely it could wait until tomorrow, right?

Around lunch it gets hazy. Your mom texts you and reminds you of the upcoming plans you couldn’t escape that weekend.

It could be Aunt Dot’s last reunion, honey. You wouldn’t want to upset her, would you?

I told you last week, Ma, you text. I’m going.

You should bring that boy you’re always talking about. What’s his name?

You roll your eyes. Dirk. And we broke up months ago. I told you.

The next message comes a few minutes later. You pointedly ignore it and get back to your task at hand. Ironically, it’s also ignoring that lesson plan. Hopefully, there was going to be enough sangria at this weekend-long party to blur out the twenty questions that came with being single in your family.

You’re in the middle of packing for the weekend, jamming to whatever playlist you were last listening to on Spotify. It’s more on the punk side of your music taste than the pop side. There’s a knock at the door, causing you to jump.

“Y/N! Y/N, open up!” Bucky shouts from the other side of the door.

You pad barefoot to the door, clad in blue, fuzzy, penguin pajama pants and an old NYU tee that you definitely did not steal from Bucky a few heartbreaks ago.

“What?” you snap, opening the door in the middle of Buck’s persistent knocking. You’re surprised to find not only Bucky standing in the hall but Steve and Wanda too. Across the hall, Sam and Nat are standing in the doorway to Bucky’s apartment with their arms crossed. “Wait, shit. Is it that time already?”

Wanda grabs you by the arm with a playful smile and roll of the eyes, pulling you across the hall.

“No Vis tonight?” you ask, collapsing face first on the couch. Nat follows and flops down sideways in the armchair. You turn your head to watch Wanda as she answers.

“Vis is still away on business,” she explains with wistful eyes and a shake of her head. She was always like that when Vis was off somewhere that wasn’t wrapped around her.

“At least you have an excuse. I’m walking into this stupid reunion completely single. Again. And my mother is already on my case.”

Sam snorts, perched on the back of the couch by your feet. “Somebody needs a beer.”

“More like an entire bottle of wine,” Nat teases.

Bucky sighs from the kitchen, where he’s the sole person making pizza. “None of you are in here helping me make this pizza so I don’t want to hear anything from any of you if you don’t get something you like.”

That gets everyone up and around the island.

An hour later, everyone’s content and full of pizza. Even Steve, who always seems to be eating, has pushed his paper plate to the other side of the coffee table. Everyone’s gotten into their prime movie watching positions.

Nat is sitting sideways in the reclined armchair, bowl of popcorn sitting where her feet should go. Wanda’s on her stomach on the floor in front of her. Sam’s sitting on the end of the couch closest to them. Bucky’s on the chaise side of the couch; a picturesque view of relaxation. You’re in-between them, your head on Bucky’s lap, feet under Sam’s leg. Steve’s on the floor, between the couch and coffee table, leaning into the junction where your seat met Bucky’s.

They’re thirty minutes into the sixth episode of the Mystery Science Theater 3000 reboot, adding their own commentary to that of Jonah and his robot friends.

“So, whatever happened to that guy you went out with? The one that took you on a date to the opera?” Sam asks. "Why don't you just ask him to be your date? People do it all the time for weddings."

You make a face that doesn’t last long because Bucky’s doing that thing where he plays with your hair and make you fell all warm and cozy inside.

“Wasn’t her type,” he replies for you. He’d heard all about the disaster that was that date. Just like he’d heard all about the ones before it, too. From the day you moved in across the hall, you and Bucky had been inseparable. He was your best friend. Hardly a day went by that two of you didn't share your daily torments with each other.

It was actually Natasha you’ve known the longest. She’d been your roommate when you first started at NYU. It was rough at first. You were the furthest from a city girl, having grown up in farming community, but it was under Nat’s wing that you grew to love the city.

You’d met Steve shortly after, literally running into him one day as he was on his way to class. Turned out he was in one of your Education classes. You’d just never paid attention.

Funnily enough, Steve really made your connection to everyone else in the room. It was Steve who found you the job at the school he was teaching at. He’d graduated the year before, miraculously found a job, and was already the students’ favorite art teacher.

It was through Steve that you met everyone else, but it was fate that you met Bucky. You'd been looking for a place of your own and he'd happened to know one with affordable rent that wasn't far from work at all. The rest was history.

So, Bucky had heard all about the failed blind date with Loki Laufeyson.

You'd been set up by Nat. After getting tired of hearing about your lack of love life after you'd ended the only serious relationship you'd had since moving to New York, she'd taken it upon herself to set you up with the occasional guy to get you to stop bellyaching. There'd been decent guys. Each one was better that the last, like Natasha was getting better about picking out these guys.

Loki had seemed like exactly your type. Tall, dark-haired, and handsome. Proclivity for the color black.

And, okay, to say it failed...is a little harsh.

It was actually a little bit cool. You dressed up in your best date dress and did your hair nice. Went above and beyond on your makeup. He was actually early picking you up at the agreed upon place. (There was no way you were giving him your address.) He was a gentleman and opened doors, pulled out your seat at dinner.

There was just something about him. The first thing you noticed was his accent. (He was British, which gave you shivers.)

The second was that he was more slick-looking than the guys you usually fall for. More eloquent, too.

Honestly, it wasn't his fault that your heart refused to fully give up your teenage crushes on the likes of Andy Biersack (Mostly now -- Juliet Simms was a lucky woman) or Ronnie Radke (more circa "Situations" from his Escape the Fate days, or maybe even early Falling in Reverse -- though you had to admit, Coming Home was a bomb ass album.)

You just liked musicians. It's a thing. Everyone you've ever seriously dated was in some kind of band.

Loki was hot and he had the looks...but the aesthetic just wasn't there.

Back to the really cool part. The opera.

You legitimately had never been to an opera before. So, you hadn't known what to expect. What you got, however, was a heart wrenching tale in sung Italian. You didn't have to understand what they were saying to understand what was going on. But the story had been amazing. So much better than anything you could've read out of a book.

But there was just no chemistry between the two of you.

Which you'd told Bucky.

What you hadn't told him was there was a second date too.

That one was a little bit better. Loki seemed more relaxed than the time before. Just a button down and slacks compared to the full-on suit and tie this time. You'd gone with a skater dress and Vans instead of the heels from the last time too.

It was just a dinner this time. Not as fancy as the last place, but still expensive. You actually struck up a decent conversation. It was mostly about how you'd both been forced to go on awful date after awful date by friends (or family, in his case). He didn't like disappointing his mother.

By the end of the date, you were sure there wasn't going to be a third. It seemed as though you were wrong originally. Loki looked the part, but in reality, he seemed to be like everyone else before him. There was just something missing.

You're brought out of your head by Nat's annoyed voice.

"I really thought he'd work out too. Have to admit, even I didn't see the opera thing."

"What about Bucky?" Wanda asks. There's a knowing grin on her face like she knows something you don't.

You look up at your best friend to find him smiling like he's holding back laughter.

"Yeah, what about Buck, Y/N? You guys have always been really close," Steve adds.

This time, you do laugh with Bucky joining in. "Do you want to tell them or should I?"

"You can," he says sobering up.

"We've tried that," you explain. "Very early on. Before I even met Dirk. It was actually really fun. We went to a Panic! concert. It was great. We even kissed. But guys, we're just friends."

"What do you mean you kissed?" Natasha hisses.

And that's when everyone's attention turns from the movie to you and every minute detail about your date with Bucky.

It's only a couple hours later that you're standing in the kitchen washing dishes as Bucky picks up the living room. Everyone's gone home for the night.

"You could always hire someone," Buck suggests, as he sets a couple of glasses beside you to be washed.

"Do I look like Deborah Messing? This isn't one of your rom-coms, Buck. Stuff like that doesn't really happen in real life."

He laughs. "Come on, Y/N. You know I'm only joking."

"Face it. There's no way for me to find a date for the weekend. Not this late anyway. Besides, I'd rather not be that person that brings a different date to every family function."

"Why is this such a huge deal anyway?" Bucky wonders.

You stay quiet for a second, wondering that yourself. It wasn't that you weren't happy with your life. Honestly, you didn't think you cared that much about your relationship status. But then again...

"I'm almost thirty," you point out as you rinse the pizza pan in your hands. You can feel his eyes on you, like he's about to ask you how your age has any relevance to the conversation at hand. "I know, I know. But it's different for guys. Women have a prime window for creating a family. And I know I don't have to, that women shouldn't be expected to have children -- yada yada. I'm about all that. But I want to. I had a plan. And it sort of fell apart, I guess. And my mom is on me all the time now. And maybe I'm not really all that happy with where I'm at anyway."

You wash and rinse the two cups and you're done, draining the water and drying your hands off on a dish towel draped over the oven handle.

Bucky gives you a gentle smile and pulls you into a warm hug and kisses your temple. "Hey. It's no time to give up. You might not find a date for this weekend, but that doesn't mean you won't find a date for the rest of your life, Doll."

You lean into him and breathe deep. Sometimes it sucked that you and Bucky weren't meant to be.

[girls-scenarios]

With You, My Future

Idol: Krystal (f(x))

Prompt: Scenario // f(x)'s Krystal x Fem!Reader // Idol & Soulmate AU // Angst & Fluffy ending tho // Heterochromia - you have one eye of your soulmates eye colour and when you meet you get your own eye colour instead of having two different eye colours.

Writer: Admin Kiwi

A/N: This is LONG. I never expected it to get so long, I swear, but words kept on coming out. I just couldn’t think of a good title. I guess my creative skills end there. I hope this is what you wanted. I also hope that everyone enjoys!

Krystal had always known she was broken. She’d known since the day a kid in her 2nd grade class told her that her eyes were weird and she’d looked into the mirror, finally noticing that she was the only kid she knew with eyes like hers. Eyes that were both the same color. That was the same year that they learned about soulmates. The teacher had explained that everyone had their soulmates eye color in one eye, and the other students had looked back at her and whispered behind their little hands as she tried to cover her face with her arms.

“Listen, Krystal. There’s nothing wrong with being different,” her mother had told her, running her thin fingers through Krystals hair as she cried into her pillow. But Krystal knew she didn’t mean it. She’d noticed the worried looks her parents threw her way whenever the soulmate issue came up. That fact just made her cry harder, and the next day, she asked if she could move schools and buy contacts. Her parents said yes.

14 years later, Krystal had long stopped wearing the contacts. She’d gotten used to the looks she got from other people, used to the way her employer had looked at her relationship status and then back up to her eyes. Used to the way that she was treated like a mystery. Used to the way the press always wanted to make a big deal out of it. People couldn’t tell if she was taken or not, and being an idol, being taken was a big subject. She was always ignored at clubs and parties by people she didn’t know. People who were looking for their soulmate.

It was the same drill as always. Krystal had agreed to go with her friends to a house party, because it was the end of their promotions and they’d made it. She was leaned up against the wall with a red solo cup in her hand, absentmindedly swirling her drink as she watched her sister Jessica flirt with the girl who was refilling the alcohol. Amber and Luna had disappeared off somewhere as soon as they’d arrived, and Victoria was busy making sure one of the girls she knew didn’t throw up on the new carpet.

“Why do you keep coming t’ parties if you’ve already found your soulmate?” Her eyebrows shot up and she turned her head to see a younger guy squinting at her, swaying slightly on his feet.

“Excuse me?” He rolled his eyes, and she took a swig of her drink, feeling like she was going to need it.

“You’ve got a soulmate, doesn’t that mean you shouldn’t come t’ parties like this? Where is he?” She let out a sigh and shook her head.

“I don’t have a soulmate, buddy.” He stopped swaying for a second as he processed what she said. Then he leaned closer, alcohol so strong on his breath that Krystal had to hold her breath.

“What’cha saying? Your eyes are th’ same color.” He squinted even more than she’d thought would be possible. “Are you messed up or somethin’?” Even though she’d heard the words many times, they still stung. She swallowed the angry retort that rose up in her throat, but before she could come up with a nice way of telling him to fuck off, Amber was standing in front of her.

“Hey, what the fuck, dude,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at him. “Mind your damn business. Don’t ask people shit like that.” He wobbled backwards, and another guy, looking extremely embarrassed, grabbed him by the shoulders.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry. He doesn’t have any kind of filter when he’s drunk. I’ll take him away.” Amber gave the drunk guy one last glare before turning her gaze to the man behind him. Krystal recognized him, he’d been over to Amber’s at some point to play basketball.

“It’s okay, Chanyeol. Just. Get him away before I punch him.” Chanyeol sent an apologetic look at Krystal as he shoved the other man, who had started staring at his cup, away.

“I’ll make sure he apologizes, I swear. I’m so sorry.” She waved her hand and shook her head, shrugging her thin shoulders.

“Don’t worry about it, man. Happens all the time.” She took another swing of her drink as Chanyeol apologized yet again before disappearing with the other man in the crowd. Amber knocked her shoulder with her fist.

“You should really stop being so nice about it. Those kind of questions are just plain rude. It’s none of their business.” Krystal looked down at the remaining alcohol in her cup. She really didn’t know what she was even drinking.

“I’m just used to it at this point. People don’t always have bad intentions, they’re just confused. Most people have never met anyone like me.” Amber stomped her foot slightly and pulled Krystal away from the wall.

“Still. It pisses me off. Come on, I need a drink, and you’re coming with me.” Krystal whined as Amber grabbed her hand and pulled her away.

“But it’s a flirt fest over there,” she said, looking at her sister, who was now standing beside the girl instead of across the bar from her. Amber didn’t seem to care, walking right up to the counter and grabbing herself a cup. Within seconds, she’d downed the alcohol and was wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, sighing happily. Jessica laughed when she threw the cup at the trashcan and missed, and Luna appeared behind them, eyebrows furrowed.

“Amber, remember what happened last time you kept drinking like that?” Amber shrugged her shoulders and grabbed another cup, leaning into Luna’s side as Luna wrapped an arm around her to steady her.

“I don’t care. We’re here to have fun and it was spoiled by Chanyeol’s dumbass friend being rude to Krystal.” Immediately, Luna’s face changed.

“Where’s the little shit at, I’ll beat him with my high heel.” Krystal laughed awkwardly and grabbed a cup for herself, downing it like Amber had and coughing as she threw it towards the trashcan. It went in, and Jessica and the girl beside her cheered.

“It’s fine, really. Chanyeol took him away, I’m okay.” Luna looked over at her with soft eyes.

“Are you sure?”

“Positive,” Krystal replied. “Now can we please move on from this and enjoy the night?” She looked over Luna’s shoulder at Victoria, who was holding back someone’s hair as they puked into pink trashcan. She was pretty sure the girls name was Sunny, and that she’d met her at the last party in a situation exactly like this. “On second thought, I’m gonna go ahead and just go back to our dorm.”

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Jessica said, leaning forward over the counter. Krystal nodded.

“I swear, guys. I’m just a little drained right now.” She smiled. “I’ll see you all tonight. Oh, and Jessica?” She turned back to look at her sister. “Good luck.” Her sister’s face bloomed into a red color and Krystal laughed as she walked away, pushing her way through people to get to the door. As she was slipping on her previously discarded shoes by the door, Sulli appeared by the door, smiling widely.

“Let me walk you back. You’re drunk.” Krystal snorted and looked up at her.

“And I can never tell if you’re drunk or not.” Sulli laughed, and reached down her hands to help her up.

“I only had one drink tonight, I’m pretty much sober.” Krystal let her help her up and Sulli looped their arms together as she pulled open the door.

“I guess I’ll let you walk me home, then,” Krystal said. Throwing one last look over her shoulder, Krystal stepped outside and let the door slam behind her. Sulli leaned her head against her shoulder as they began the short walk to the elevators. Their dorm was only a few floors above.

“I know you’re sure that you’re okay, but I’m going to give you some ice cream that I’ve been hiding in my mini freezer anyway, okay?” Krystal chuckled and let her head fall on top of Sulli’s.

“Thanks.”

When Krystal woke up the next morning, the calendar beside her bed was glaring at her. Christmas was right around the corner. She typically didn’t like going out during the holiday season all that much. People assumed she had a soulmate and it made her a target whenever she went out alone. When Amber had proposed the idea of them going shopping together a few days earlier, Krystal had scoffed.

“Two people with matching eyes? We’re basically asking to get attacked.” Amber rolled her eyes. 

“Well I can’t go with Luna, I’m buying a present for her. And it would have the same effect.”

“You could bring Sulli or Victoria. Or literally any of your guy friends, since they’re all hopeless.” Amber scoffed.

“I’ll have you know that Kibum just found his soulmate. It’s a guy named Minho, and he’s very sweet.”

“One down, how many more to go?” With a sigh, Amber leaned back on her bed.

“Listen, I’ll ask other people to go with us too. If we go in a big group, I can bring Luna and you guys can distract her while I get a gift. Just come out with us.”

“Why? The only people I need to buy presents for are you guys, and you’ll all be there.”

“Because it’s Christmas, Krystal. And Christmas is a time when friends hang out together.”

“We hang out all the time anyway,” Krystal pointed out. Amber stood from her bed and crossed her arms.

“Oh come on, Krystal. Just come. Please?” Amber gave her some of her best puppy dog eyes, and Krystal caved.

That was how she ended up standing here at the entrance to the mall, glaring down at the phone clutched in her freezing fingers and trying to psych herself up enough to step inside and make the trip alone to the food court where everyone would be waiting. Just the thought of it made her shiver.

“Krystal, hey Krystal!” She turned around to see a familiar face heading towards her. And behind him, an unfamiliar face.

“Kibum. Man, am I glad to see you.” He grinned as he walked up to her, opening his arms for a hug that she gladly accepted. When she pulled away, she locked eyes with the other man and he waved.

“Krystal, this is Minho. My soulmate.” She smiled and stuck out her hand, and he shook it.

“Nice to meet you. I really never thought Kibum would meet his match. You truly are a brave man.” Kibum let out an embarrassed whine and hit her lightly on the shoulder, making her laugh.

“We haven’t seen each other in weeks and this is the welcome back you give me?” He huffed and grabbed his soulmates hand. “I guess we’ll just let you walk through the mall alone then.”

“No, no, I’m sorry, Kibum.” He laughed and nudged her shoulder, and Minho, although he probably didn’t really understand, laughed as well.

“Like I’d ever actually do that. Come on, let’s go find the others.”

The others were standing in front of the pizza parlor, Sulli with her face pressed against the glass looking in, drooling a bit. Amber waved her hands wildly when she spotted them, and Luna tried to hide her face with a hand over her eyes. Victoria laughed, and tried again to pull Sulli away from the window. Chanyeol stood behind them, standing out with his tall and gangly frame. Beside him stood a tiny man that Krystal remembered as Kyungsoo, and the quiet guy named Mark was leaning against the window beside Sulli, looking at him phone.

“I thought you guys would never get here. We’ve been waiting for ages,” Amber said, putting her hands on her hips.

“More like minutes,” Luna added.

“And we’re hungry,” Sulli said from where Victoria had finally managed to detach her from the restaurant window. Victoria shook her head.

“You’re the only hungry one, Sulli. How many times do I have to tell you to eat your breakfast before you go somewhere?” As Victoria spoke, Krystal looked around at the group.

“Wow, you really got everyone that you could.” Amber grinned.

“And Jackson’s not even here yet. Maybe this way we’ll intimidate the kiosk people,” Amber said. Luna rolled her eyes, but said nothing, wrapping her arm affectionately through Amber’s.

“So are we not ready to go yet?” Chanyeol asked from behind Amber. When his eyes met Krystal’s, he smiled sheepishly, but she gave him a smile to know that there were no hard feelings.

“Not yet,” Mark said as he moved away from the window. “Although Jackson’s inside the mall, so he should be here any second.”

“Knowing him, he’ll probably get lost or get into some kind of trouble,” said Kibum. Then he pulled Minho forward and smiled proudly. “Everyone, meet my soulmate.” With a laugh, everyone cheered.

“So you’re in third place,” Chanyeol teased. “Amber and Luna are first, and Kyungsoo and I are second.” Since when had Chanyeol had a soulmate? Krystal looked over the tiny man beside him and her eyebrows went up in wonder. Who would have thought?

“Jackson got distracted by a toy store. We might as well head that way and meet him there,” Mark said, shoving his phone into his pocket. Amber threw her free arm up in the air and whooped.

“Let’s go, everyone! Operation Christmas Friendship is in session.” Sulli looked at Victoria in confusion.

“Since when are we on an operation?” Victoria shrugged.

“It’s Amber, we might as well just go along with it.” Krystal ended up falling in line beside Victoria as Sulli ran ahead to talk to Mark. The mall was packed with people everywhere she looked, and she felt a little bit more comfortable standing beside her longtime friend.

“How long do you think it’ll take us to all get split up somehow?” She asked her, keeping her eyes on Amber’s newly dyed blonde hair. Victoria looked down at her watch.

“I’m going to bet on 30 minutes, tops.” 

“I’m saying more 20 minutes. Chanyeol and Kyungsoo look restless, and Kibum and his soulmate are giving each other heart eyes.” Kibum, from behind Krystal, shoved her shoulder a bit, making her laugh.

“Why are you being mean to me today, Krystal?” He whined, pouting.

“Because I love you a lot and I’m happy for you, Kibum.” He rolled his eyes, but seemed to accept her answer.

“Whatever. Walk faster or we’re going to lose everyone else.”

20 minutes later, Krystal had grown bored of dodging the press and listening to Amber babble about something with Mark, and had wandered into a little store with cute clothing and things with cats on them. Victoria had told her where the group was going next, so she wasn’t that worried about catching back up with them. She also wasn’t worried about press or kiosk owners, because it was just something small, with no advertisements directed at soulmates. As she wandered around the store, smiling at the wallets and purses with cats embroidered on the front, someone at the checkout desk caught her eye.

You stood behind the desk looking down at what was probably your phone, hair falling down over your eyes. You seemed just as bored as Krystal felt, and Krystal understood why. The small store looked like it didn’t get too busy, even with the rush of customers milling around outside. You were wearing a sweater that was a bit too big, and the sleeves hit your mid palms, and she felt warm just looking at you. Subconsciously, she looked into one of the little jewelry mirrors to make sure that she looked okay, even though she knew that her stylist would never let her go out looking anything less than perfect.

You glanced up at her when she walked near the desk, and your eyes made contact. Immediately, you put down your phone and smiled.

“Hello, can I help you with anything?” Krystal shrugged her shoulders, looking around and trying to be nonchalant. It was weird, being flustered over someone. She wasn’t one to get flustered.

“Oh, not really. I’m just looking around. Some of my friends dragged me here and I can’t leave until they do.” You looked at her as she got closer, and your eyes widened in recognition.

“Oh, you’re...” Krystal put a finger to her lips and winked.

“Let’s not let the press figure out I’m here, yes? It’ll be our own little secret.” You nodded, still looking a bit shocked, and Krystal began to play with one of the cat plushies near the register.

“Um, but why are you here? If you don’t mind me asking, I mean.” Krystal let out a quiet laugh as she looked down at the cute cat face in her hands.

“I needed a break. It’s nice and quiet in here, and the press followed all my loud friends instead of hounding me. And there aren’t any soulmate kiosk workers in here.” You leaned your elbows against the counter.

“Soulmate kiosk... Are you taken?” Krystal shook her head quickly, squeezing the plushie in her hand a bit tighter.

“Nope. Just born this way, with two of the same color eyes.” The calculator that had been sitting on the counter by your elbow clattered to the floor as you stood up straight, eyes wide.

“What?” Krystal jerked her head up, surprised by your reaction.

“I’m sorry?”

“You too?” Krystal stared at you, mouth slightly open.

“You mean you were born like this too?” She asked, and took a closer look at your eyes. It was true. They were like hers, both a dark brown.

“I didn’t think there was anyone else,” you said, hands fisting around the ends of your sweater. Krystal dropped the cat back into the tray it had been in.

“Me neither. I didn’t know. I was told it was a once in a million thing.” You slowly brought a hand up to your eyes, touching the slight bags underneath them and staring into Krystal’s. Her throat suddenly felt a bit too small.

“Could this mean...?” Before you could finish your sentence, Amber burst into the store, calling Krystal’s name. The two of you jumped, and Amber’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion when she saw the look on Krystal’s face. Still, she grabbed her wrist.

“Come on, Krystal. We have to go. The press has pretty much stormed the area, and our manager called. He’s pissed at us for going out without security,” Amber said, tugging Krystal away.

“But- Wait, Amber. I mean, we have Chanyeol and Mark.��

“Not enough. We gotta go now.” You stood silent, shell-shocked, and Krystal looked over her shoulder as Amber dragged her away. She really, really didn’t want this to be the end of it, but all she could manage to do was raise a hand and wave in goodbye. After a second, you waved back.

It didn’t hit her what had happened until she was being escorted into a car by her manager and Amber. Then it hit her so hard that her knees buckled as she climbed in the van and she ended up on the floor. Amber grabbed her by her shoulders to keep her from face-planting into the floor and stared, worried. Already in their seats, Victoria and Luna were leaning forward, asking her if she was okay.

“Oh my god, Amber. Oh my god,” she gasped. Amber tried to pull her into her seat, eyes wide.

“Oh my god what, Krystal? You’re not making any sense.” 

“Oh my god. Amber, I think that was my soulmate. You just dragged me away from my soulmate. Oh my god, what if I never see her again.” Sulli was suddenly sitting beside Krystal, leaning in close. Krystal hadn’t even noticed her getting in the car.

“You met your soulmate?” She asked, and Krystal put her head in her hands, covering her eyes, letting out a pained groan.

“I don’t know. I think so. She- she had the same eyes as me. They were the same, but she said that she was born like that. Like me.” Luna shot a look at Victoria.

“You really think...?” Victoria kept her eyes on Krystal, gaze sharp.

“Maybe. Actually, probably,” she said. Amber slumped into the only seat left and clutched at her hair.

“Had I known, I wouldn’t have pulled you away like that. I’m so sorry.” Krystal whimpered and Sulli rubbed her back, while Victoria reached up to pat Amber’s shoulder.

“Don’t feel bad, Amber. There’s no way you could have known. Plus, if they’re soulmates, they’ll find each other again. Right?” Krystal couldn’t listen anymore and closed her eyes tight, trying not to think about her absolute bad luck keeping the only hope of normalcy away from her.

It was a whole week later when it finally happened. All week, Krystal had been nervous and restless, always tapping her feet and biting at her lip so much that she’d torn it and her stylist had reprimanded her. Amber had been apologetic the entire time as well, but Krystal had stopped being angry at her seconds after it happened. Now she was just scared.

“What happens if I never see her again?”

“You can always go back to the mall with a body guard,” Luna said as she fixed her bangs in the mirror. Victoria nodded in agreement, making her stylist wrinkle her nose and tell her to sit still once again. 

“At least you know where she works. You can go back and visit her. And I’m sure she knows who you are,” Victoria said. Krystal sighed and looked down at her newly painted nails. She just wanted to pick at the polish, but she knew they had to stay intact until at least the end of the fanmeet. Amber noticed her fingers itching to pick and reached over, holding her hands in her own.

“The soulmate thing isn’t just going to leave you in a lurch. The fact that you’re feeling restless right now is proof that you’re soulmates. When Luna and I first met, I felt anxious just leaving her for a second. Then we noticed that our eyes matched, and when that happened, our eyes went to our normal color and I stopped feeling anxious.”

“I’m not going to have any proof, though. Our eyes... they’re the same.” Amber sighed and pulled Krystal closer. 

“It’s not as much about the color of your eyes, but how it feels inside. I swear, Krystal. You’ll just know.” Sulli, who sat on the other couch, reading a magazine, nodded along to Amber’s words.

“Well,” she said, flipping the thin page. “I don’t know what it’s like to have a soulmate yet, but I figure the whole thing will work itself out. I mean, people with soulmates in different countries have met, why should yours be any different.” Krystal smiled weakly at her bandmates.

“Thanks, guys. I feel better.” Sulli kept nodding her head, and Luna smiled at Krystal widely.

“Don’t worry. You’ve got this, tiger.”

“Girls,” their manager interrupted, “it’s time to get ready to go onstage. Is everyone ready?” The stylist let the last curl fall into place on Victoria’s head, and then they all stood, shuffling towards the door and adjusting their outfits to make sure they fit right. As their manager opened the door, and they heard the sounds of their fans calling their names, Krystal felt her chest squeeze ever tighter in her chest. And then she stepped onstage, plastered on a smile, and waved.

Fansigns were easy. Krystal loved connecting with the fans, and she’d long memorized the words to say and how to quickly put her signature on whatever they wanted her to sign while happily accepting their gifts. So there was no reason she should feel uneasy, but she did. Her stomach felt tight, and even after the first line of people, it wasn’t getting any better. In fact, it was only getting worse. Just as she was about to ask her manager if she could step offstage to regroup herself, a familiar face stepped in front of her, and the pain vanished.

“Hello again,” you said, giving her a shy smile. Krystal’s mouth fell open and stayed that way for a good two seconds before she could process that you were real and standing in front of her.

“H-hello. Where did we leave off last time we saw each other?” Her throat was dry, but she couldn’t swallow, and her heart was trying to climb out of her chest. You looked around at the other people around you and lowered your voice.

“I think we were saying that we might be soulmates.” Immediately, Krystal’s heart melted. The room stopped doing cartwheels and everything that she’d been so worried about earlier disappeared, leaving her feeling warm and giddy. She couldn’t help the smile that spread over her face.

“Well, I sure hope so.” You slid a piece of paper over to her with your number on it, and with it, the plushie cat she’d been looking at, and smiled.

“Text me, soulmate?”

“Of course. I can’t wait.” The line had to move again. You lifted your hand and waved, and Krystal waved back, watching as you walked down off the stage until the next person in line cleared their throat and she was back. Back to their normal fansign. But now the pain was gone, and she felt completely and utterly at ease. She smiled easily, and signed the next album.

After the signing was over and they were behind a closed door, Krystal immediately pulled out her phone and the little piece of paper from you that she’d slipped into her pocket when no one was looking. Quickly, she typed in your number, then a message, and hit send.

Hey, this is Krystal. Your soulmate.

Seconds later, a reply.

Hello soulmate, this is (Y/N). I can’t wait to love you.