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kamotoshi · 3 years

Text

reminders [fushiguro tōji x reader]

pairing: fushiguro tōji x fem reader

genre: fluff

warnings: a bit of swearing; brief mentions of past trauma, manipulation, and financial instability/struggles

word count: 2.3k

overview: a sunset picnic reminds him to stop for a moment and remind his wife how he truly feels about her

note: just another fic to serve as evidence for my obsession with making big, beefy 2d men with tough exteriors completely soft for their significant others (wives especially)

“Aren’t we just the cutest couple ever?”

Tōji’s eyes move from the spread of food laid out across the patterned blanket beneath the two of you over to either side of him, where a few other couples and families have set up their picnic spots for the evening, then, to your phone. A glance at the screen displaying the timed photo you’d just spent the past five to ten minutes setting the scene for and perfecting brings a smirk to his face.

“Just the right amount of nauseating.”

“Like, to the point where people are a little envious, but they don’t think we’re being too over the top, right?”

“Right.”

You hum in understanding as you pop a piece of fruit into your mouth.

“But, I would say err on the side of caution and don’t post the super lovey-dovey ones. Actually, please don’t. That’s a request now.”

Your hand flies to your chest to match the look of feigned shock on your face at his words. He doesn’t miss how the diamond on your finger sparkles in the amber glow of the setting sun. The thought crosses his mind that he wants to buy you a bigger one when he has enough money to set aside—something that would shine just a bit brighter. Almost as brightly as that beautiful smile of yours he had the pleasure of seeing each day, if he was lucky.

“You mean… I can actually post a picture that I took with my notoriously elusive husband?”

With a nod, he shifts his gaze to the horizon—or whatever he can see of it peeking around the sides of each building—for a moment. “Just know it’ll probably end my job,” is his response given with a sigh, “Nobody’ll fear me after they see that I enjoy sunset picnics with my adorable wife, now, will they?”

“Or,” you offer with a grin, scooting closer to him so his arm can snake around your waist, “it could give you an advantage, people thinking you’re kinda sweet. Like, oh, he’s a cold-blooded killer who takes care of business, but he’s got a soft side, too. And then, bam! You swoop in and they’ll never even know what hit ‘em.” Sweeping a hand dramatically across the landscape in front of you, as if you want him to picture the scene in your head, you add, “Suddenly, you’re the talk of the town. Women want you. Men want to be you. Hell, they’d probably want you too.”

“And that’s the story of how I end up on the front covers of magazines, right?”

“Exactly. This is just the start of your success story, baby.” Tenderly, you place a hand on the side of his face to bring it closer to your lips. After pecking him on the cheek, you whisper, “Just try not to forget about me when you’re famous, okay?”

He turns to look directly at you, his eyebrow raised with incredulousness in an expression you’ve seen many times before. “You kidding me? I would never. Be famous, I mean.”

The teasing smack you land on his chest doesn’t deter him from leaning down towards you to press a kiss against your lips that you readily return in spite of your complaints at his devious comment. He relishes in the sweet taste lingering on his tongue when he pulls away, and the affection present in your half-lidded gaze brings a comforting warmth over him akin to the feeling of finally crawling into bed after a long day. In his moment of distraction, you’re able to sneak in another meeting of your lips before grabbing one of the snack boxes you’d meticulously crafted and dropping it into his lap.

“Since I’m nice, unlike you, I’ll still let you eat the food lovingly prepared by your loving wife.”

“C’mon, baby,” he murmurs, giving your thigh an appreciative squeeze, “You know I love you.”

“I mean, I hope you do. You did marry me, and stick with me all these years, after all, you weirdo.”

He chuckles and pats your leg before shifting his attention to the delicious food you’d put together for the two of you, and you settle down beside him after collecting your own. His free hand plants on the ground beside your opposite hip, closing the gap between you.

Each day that he gets to spend with you he’s thankful for. But there’s something different about those where the sight of the sun slowly descending toward the horizon is beautiful enough to draw both of you out of the house to sit and watch it. He can’t quite explain it, but everything about these days feels different. The harshness of the city seems to fade away for a bit. The air smells sweeter. His breaths come a bit more deeply. The absence of your body against his in some way is felt more intensely.

In between gazing ahead at the sunset—allowing his eyes to flicker to his meal, the kids zipping past every now and then on their bikes, or other passersby—he finds his attention being drawn back to you. Each feature of your face bathed in the golden light of the sun’s last rays brings an unexpected flutter to his heart. He’s never surprised by how gorgeous you are, but, still finds himself in awe of just how lucky he is each time he stops to take it all in.

Lucky that he gets to wake up next to you and see you in those quiet moments of the morning when your eyes are still struggling to focus and your cheek is stamped with each wrinkle of your pillowcase, but you look beautiful all the same. Lucky that the arms and legs he has draped around him until you both wake up sweaty in the middle of the night are yours. Lucky to be offered a refuge wherever you are. Lucky you’re one he promised to love for the rest of his life.

In the busyness of your days, sometimes things are assumed rather than said. He assumes the parting kiss he presses to your lips each time he leaves the house translates into a small, “I love you, I’ll be back soon.” Just like he assumes the way he pulls you onto his lap while you’re sitting together, watching a movie, sends a small message of, “I need you here, close to me.” Or the pause he takes to gaze into your eyes after your more passionate displays of affection means, “I love you more than I know how to say.”

He realizes, given the risky nature of his work, that thought alone isn’t enough, though. Maybe he’s too afraid of saying something that’ll curse you for his lips to form the words he’s thinking as often as they should, but if he was one to let his life be ruled by fear, he wouldn’t be sitting with you in the first place. He would’ve let his family wreak havoc on him for the entirety of his life, weighing it down with constant reminders of his failures. He would’ve let his fear of being vulnerable keep him from getting close enough to you to fall in love with you.

Yet, here he is, making relaxed conversation with you—his wife—as the two of you sit together beneath a sea of brilliant oranges, candied pinks, and the gentlest hues of lavender. With the way you use your steadily built and strongly maintained trust in him to speak so freely and be so vulnerable without fear of judgment, he feels it’s only fair that he shows his trust in you by doing the same. That he reminds you of his feelings rather than lets the implications behind his actions speak for him.

When he decides to mention it, most of the sky has lost its fire and quite a few of the other picknickers have packed up and returned home. But the two of you choose to remain out just a bit longer in the warmth of the summer night, bathed in the sound of cicadas chirping incessantly. “Hey babe?” he calls, giving your hand resting in his a gentle squeeze as his cheek drops to the blanket so he can look at you.

“Mm?” You shift onto your side and scoot closer to him, moving your interlaced hands to your chest, holding the back of his against your gently beating heart. On instinct, your other set of fingers find his face to brush a few strands of dark hair away from his eyes, and he presses feathery kisses to your palm.

Sighing against your skin, he asks, “Do I tell you I love you enough?”

Without a moment’s hesitation, you assure him, “I know you do.”

“Because I say it?”

You hum with uncertainty, fingers gliding from the scar at the side of his mouth down his neck, and to one of his broad shoulders. “More because I can see it in the way you look at me. But, then again, I also see you look at a really good meal the same way. Makes me kinda jealous sometimes,” is your answer given with a small, teasing smile, “Besides, I feel like I can safely assume that you’ve stayed with me all these years because you love me, right?”

“Of course,” he says, the strength in his voice contrasting the subtle, pained look behind his eyes, “But I don’t say it enough, do I?”

There’s a short pause before you murmur, “Not usually unless I say it first. But it tends to be more of a reflex for both of us, anyway. Like, ‘I’m heading out now, love you!’ or, ‘Goodnight, I love you,’ y’know?”

A gentle tug on your wrist pulls you towards him, until you’re propped up on both elbows, body leaning over his. Wrapping an arm around your waist brings your chests flush against one another and your faces mere centimeters apart. The way he’s regarding you as nothing else is as important as you are to him in this moment has you melting into the kiss he plants on your lips.

“You’re the love of my life.” Heat radiates from your chest all the way up to your face at his tenderly spoken words accompanied by his thumb skimming along your cheekbone. “And you deserve to hear me tell you how much I care about you more often because you’re the only person who’s made me feel deserving of love.”

The hand on your back slowly moves up and down, his fingers tracing along your spine. It was once deemed as a mindless behavior in your eyes, but after many years with him, you’ve come to learn that sometimes it’s a means of comforting himself or finding the courage to speak about something that’s been on his mind. To reassure him, you place a soft peck against the corner of his mouth and run your fingertips across his jaw.

He seems to find the strength he needs to speak the rest of his truth, since he continues, “I remember being terrified when I first realized how much I loved you. Because here I was, thinking I was only gonna marry someone as a way of erasing my connections to my family, and that falling in love would weaken me—make me easier to be manipulated—but you changed my mind. And I don’t think there’s a damn thing that could ever happen to make me wish I did things differently, even though we got married young, when we barely had enough money to our names to get ourselves through the week.”

A pang of somewhat bittersweet nostalgia ripples through you at the memories of sleeping on the floor, clinging to one another to keep warm during the cold, winter nights. Of how you’d both worked so tirelessly to make a living that sometimes all you’d do was cry into his shoulder when you got home. But soon, there was a couch. A bed. A table. A lamp that didn’t flicker. Then, a new place in a safer part of the city, filled with all the furniture and appliances you could need. Jobs that paid enough for the tears to subside.

The impulsiveness the two of you had displayed in your early twenties had gotten you into a lot of sometimes unbearable situations, but you wouldn’t have changed a thing had you somehow been granted the power to alter the past. While unpleasant, those events had helped the two of you get to where you are today, happier and more in love than ever.

“After all we’ve been through, and that you’ve stuck with me through, I at least owe it to you to remind you how much you mean to me instead of just assuming you know. Because you really do mean the world to me. So, this is me telling you that I love and appreciate you a lot more than I might feel capable of saying sometimes, but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t try.”

With that same, bright smile of yours that he adores, you take your weight off your elbows to wrap your arms around him while he gives your body a tight squeeze in return. “I love you so much, Tōji,” you hum, heart swelling with joy.

“I love you too, sweetheart.”

There’s a few moments of peaceful silence while the two of you remain wrapped up in a tight and much-needed embrace. Eventually, a deep exhale fans across your neck before he mentions, “That was pretty cheesy, huh?”

“Just a bit. But I promise not to tell anyone you’re secretly a bit of a sap, okay?” you comment, sending the two of you into a small fit of snickers. Your tone is more serious, however, when you mention, “It made me really happy to hear, though.”

“Good,” is his response as he moves his head so he can press his mouth to your temple. His next words are spoken quietly, as if just to himself, and nearly lost beneath the layers of environmental noise surrounding you, but you’re glad you hear them.

“That’s all that matters to me.”

#jjk x reader #jujutsu kaisen x reader #fushiguro toji x reader #toji x reader #jujutsu kaisen fluff

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quadballz · 3 years

Text

𝐄𝐌𝐎𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐓; one

࿔*:･ﾟi.

next: ࿔*:･ﾟii. | table of contents

BOTH GIRLS sat in the lobby of the hospital, (y/n) still flipping through the pages of the book. "So, are there any clues as to who he is?" asked Yasuho as she rested her chin on the other girl's shoulder. (y/n) shook her head, scanning over the pages like she had been doing ever since they had found the man a day prior. "I want to say that he's a Joestar but I can't confirm anything unless we find a family tree or something," sighed (y/n), closing the book with a huff, "plus, once great-great-grandma passed away, my Kishibe-side put that motto in place so I doubt we have any recent information on the Joestars."

Yasuho pouted solemnly as her grip tightened around the two packages of Sesame Honey Dumplings. (y/n) looked at the other girl from her peripherals, with a soft smile. "I'm sure we'll figure out who he is," (y/n) paused to place a hand on Yasuho's shoulders, only for her to whip her head to look at her with a furrowed brow. "What even are the mottos you're talking about?" Yasuho asked while scouring the other girl's face for answers and only receiving a strained smile.

"Well, as a Kishibe, I was told to never trust a 'Jojo' but as a Speedwagon, it looks like I always have to help a 'Joestar'; and as you can tell, there's a 'Jo' in 'Joestar'," she explained to Yasuho who still wasn't too satisfied. (y/n) smiled and stood up, holding out a hand to the pink-haired girl. "Don't worry," she assured as Yasuho took her hand, "I'm definitely going to fulfill my role as a Speedwagon. Even if he isn't actually a Joestar." Yasuho gave her a smile that made her heart skip a beat and her ears burn.

After pulling Yasuho up, (y/n) turned away, looking at the passersby without a clue as to why she was doing so. "P-plus, it might take a while, but I'm sure he'll figure out who he is eventually! In the meantime, why don't you take those dumplings to him?" Yasuho looked down at her gift and (y/n)'s lack of one. "Hey, didn't you say you'd get him a get-well gift?" Yasuho questioned, while (y/n) gave a playful scoff. "Yeah, of course! I have it right-" (y/n) froze at the sight of her great-great-grandma's old notebook— she forgot.

(y/n)'s gaze robotically fell onto Yasuho's second box of dumplings. "Yasuho, darling," (y/n) began with a few 'seductive' blinks of her eyelashes and with an arm on the wall by Yasuho's head, "think I could have that second box of dumplings?" Yasuho's brow furrowed as she gave (y/n) a knowing look. "That won't work on me, honey. The other box is for Joshu." (y/n) groaned and put her face in her hands, hoping to cover her flushed expression. And also because, ugh, Joshu existed and she just had to be reminded.

"Ugh. Right. That asshole is here too," (y/n) groaned while Yasuho began pushing her in the direction of the gift shop. Yasuho seemingly didn't have a comment on (y/n)'s hatred for him but the girl was far too nice to ever really have such a strong opinion on someone. "Do I have to get him something?" (y/n) whined while Yasuho gave her a tight-lipped smile, "aww, but Yasuhoo, I don't wannaaaa." "If I had to, so do you."

After a reluctant trudge over to the shop, the two girls found themselves standing in front of a shirt with an out-of-date slogan on it. While Yasuho looked through other clothes, (y/n) looked at it with proud tears in her eyes. "I...I think Mr. Joestar would love this," she said with a smoldering look, "I think it would be good to see him in it as a reference for that character I was telling you about." Yasuho looked at the shirt and back to (y/n) with a raised brow, "oh, c'mon (y/n), don't use the poor guy as reference material."

(y/n) hummed and took one final look at the shirt before tilting her head to the side, a pout on her face. She was really hoping to use him as a reference but if Yasuho was telling her not to, she'd have to listen. Well, at least while Yasuho was around. As she put the shirt back, (y/n) saw a bright pink scarf with sequins on it. In an instant, it was in her arms— a tacky gift for a tacky guy by the name of Joshu.

"Is that for who I think it is?" Yasuho asked while stifling a laugh, "please tell me it is." (y/n) gave her a wide grin before showing it off. "If you must know, it is for our dearest friend Joshu who requires some sparkle to bring back his eyesight." Yasuho doubled over before taking hold of the fabric, "I can't wait to see his reaction." "What's he going to react to? The feeling of the scarf?" Yasuho was reduced to a giggly mess while (y/n) smiled and turned to look through the stuffed animal section.

"I think I'll get Mr. Joestar one of these cuties," (y/n) said aloud once Yasuho's laughter had died down. She had placed her chin on (y/n)'s shoulder while the girl picked up a fluffy blue bear. "Think he'd like it?" asked Yasuho while fiddling with the ends of the pink scarf. (y/n) hummed for a moment before scanning the shelves, spotting a yellow dog with a sailor hat. "Hey...doesn't it kinda look like Josuke?"

Yasuho stared at the puppy with a fond smile, making (y/n)'s face burn— up close, Yasuho was awfully pretty. "You know, that guy kinda reminds me of him too." (y/n) brushed off her thoughts and held out the stuffed animal to look at from afar. While squinting, she somehow saw the guy's face. "Heh, you're right-" Yasuho stepped back, leaving (y/n)'s shoulder uncomfortably cold, "-I think I'll just get him this." Once purchased, and despite (y/n)'s complaints, they were off to Joshu's hospital room.

"(y/n)~ Yasuho~ You've come to visit little ol' me~?"

(y/n) grimaced as Joshu puckered his lips and batted his eyelashes while Yasuho gave him a hesitant smile. "Y-yeah! Just making sure you were okay, haha," Yasuho had mustered out before handing him a box of dumplings, "oh, and I got these for you." "Thank you, my little straw~ber~ry~," breathed out Joshu while (y/n) was on the verge of throwing up, preferably aimed into Joshu's gross mouth.

"As for you my favorite otaku~ Did you get me a get-well-present?" Joshu asked with a pout while she gagged. Yasuho nudged her and (y/n) was left to reluctantly pull out the scarf she had been previously excited to give to him. Sadly, the fool still had his vision so the joke was way less hilarious than she had hoped the exchange would be. "A scarf." Before he could say another word, she had chucked it at him and dragged Yasuho out of the room.

His faint shouts were like music to her ears and the sound of nurses rushing to his room to stop him was like a symphony. "So, what room is Mr. Joestar in?" (y/n) chirped as if she hadn't left her childhood enemy screaming at her in a different room. Yasuho hummed and then pulled a slip of paper with a scraggly set of numbers on it. "326," she replied simply, taking the lead instead of (y/n) who had really only visited the hospital to sit in the lobby and draw people when Yasuho was off hanging with her (now) ex-boyfriend.

When they reached the room, however, it was empty. (y/n)'s brow furrowed as Yasuho scanned the room— she had finally met a descendant of one of the people mentioned in her great-great-grandma's diary and now she lost him. Sure, it wasn't like it was of utmost importance but it had been a great inspiration for her new manga. And now it was all gone. "Dammit!" "Ow." Yasuho and (y/n) shot a glance at the mattress where the mystery guy just so happened to be.

"Holy shit!"

The two girls grabbed at each other, screaming in unison as the guy stared at them from the least expected place. "What in the world are you doing?!" screeched Yasuho as (y/n) remained glued to her side. The guy gave them both a sleepy grin that made (y/n) look away while biting her lip— she'd be lying if she didn't say that the Jo-guy wasn't hot and at that very moment she had been thanking her ancestor for passing down such a motto. Helping him meant staying around a pretty face after all.

"Hey, what's with you?" questioned Yasuho as (y/n) was pulled from her fantasies, "what're you doing down there?" Yasuho was definitely the better of the two for asking these questions. "What? Just what it looks like. I'm sleeping. The people wearing white clothes said I couldn't leave for a while," he replied while (y/n) crouched down and placed her chin in her hands, "what Yasuho meant to ask is why you're under there in the first place." The guy raised a brow from under his mattress, looking between the two girls.

"You mean people sleep on top? How would they put pressure on their bodies then?" Yasuho turned to (y/n) who could only muster half a shrug. "Sounds like a fetish or something," (y/n) said halfheartedly, "I mean, my great-great-grandma's friend said her friend had a thing for mosquito bites." Yasuho cringed just slightly before turning to the guy and holding out a box of dumplings that was smaller than what she had given to Joshu.

"Here, I got you a present. I thought I'd bring you something since you were in the hospital. (y/n) did too." As if on command, (y/n) held out the stuffed animal with a lopsided grin, "it kinda looked like you. Yasuho thought so too." Yasuho smiled in agreement and then started rambling about Joshu, his injuries, and why the two had come to visit while (y/n) nodded intermittently and the guy started to slide out from under the mattress. As he did so, the hem of his pants slowly slid lower and lower-

Four balls.

(y/n) broke out into laughter and turned away while Yasuho grimaced and shut her eyes tightly, crying out for him to stop before any more of his pants could fall off. While her friend had spiraled into mumbling against the wall, (y/n) had turned back around to find him examining the stuffed animal. "Like it?" (y/n) asked as he held it out in front of him, letting its limbs flop around. "Yes," he answered, turning to look at her from over his shoulder, "what is his name?" (y/n) hummed aloud in thought while plopping down onto the mattress.

"Mmm...Rohan is a cool name," she said with a smile, "but it's yours to name." The guy looked at her and then at the stuffed animal, setting it down next to her thigh and letting it flop on its side against her. "I like that name too." (y/n) felt the tip of her earns burn— it wasn't as if he had just flirted with her but she found his actions somehow attractive. The guy had now turned to Yasuho's gift, turning over the box and opening it carefully. "What are these?"

Yasuho had turned back around then with a raised brow, walking up beside him, "never had one? Morioh is famous for them." (y/n) watched fondly as Yasuho began to break into detail about the origins of the Sesame Honey Dumplings; ever since they were little, Yasuho had always had an addiction to them which eventually spread over to (y/n) when they became best friends during middle school. "...there's a special way to eat them. You gotta make sure not to bite with your front teeth."

"Oh, don't forget about chewing with your back teeth on the first bite," (y/n) added while the guy tentatively placed a dumpling in his mouth, doing the complete opposite of what he was supposed to. The black cream shot out from the gap between his teeth she hadn't realized he even had. It was...cute. As Yasuho reiterated what she had been saying, (y/n) couldn't take her eyes off him, especially when his odd-colored eyes glimmered with surprise.

MAN, OH, MAN DID SHE HOPE HE WAS A JOESTAR.

this cuts off at a weird spot but i felt this was pretty long already so yeah...lol

#jojolion #jjl #jojo part 8 #jojo na kimyou na bouken #jjba x reader #gappy higashikata x reader #yasuho hirose x reader #joshu higashikata x reader #rai mamezuku x reader #karera sakunami x reader #kei nijimura x reader

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touyasdoll · 3 years

Note

It only took like 15 days about, but here’s part two for ya! 😅😅😐

Here’s a quick link to Part 1, for refreshers sake.

[NSFW - Todoroki Sibs x Reader - Smut]

—————

Todo-Orgy Snow Bunny Family Meeting 2

You briefly glanced at the nearest window and must not of been too subtle about it, because immediately Natsuo easily lifted you up and into his arms, holding you close and securely. You weren’t going to escape unless you fought your mate and you didn’t want to do that, to hurt him, no matter how something inside you screamed to “run”. Besides, the comfort his touch held was really needed right now, even if something bad was to soon follow it.

…you really hoped nothing bad was about to happen. Please, nothing bad!

“You’re shaking!” Natsuo stated in surprise as you trembled in his form. “What’s wrong? Are you feelin—“

“Did I mess up?” You couldn’t help but blurt out in an interruption, fidgeting in the hold of your largest mate (in some ways, at least). You worried your bottom lip, biting it as you wildly looked around from face to face.

Shock and concern. Everyone looked and smelt strongly of their surprise at your question and worry as their eyes assessed you. It was Fuyumi who spoke up, moving from the loveseat to on the couch next to Natsu. She began to run her hand through your hair, trying to calm you.

“What do you mean, Bunny? Talk to us, please.”

And you did, gripping ahold of the arm of Natsuo’s jacket as you spoke. You told them the whys behind your question and explained a little. Everyone let out a little exhale and their scents turned to reliefguiltprotect.

“No, babe, you’re not in trouble. C’mere,”Touya spoke, making a slight grabbing motion towards you that had you wiggling out of Natsuo’s loosening arms and into his. He settled you down, pressing a light kiss to your lips and another to your head as he made sure you were comfortable, laying against him, chin resting to his chest. He also ignored the little looks that you didn’t even see him receive for stealing you away. “We have something important to talk about, kinda serious but not anything bad.”

“Serious, but not bad,” you tasted the words as you spoke them, brow furrowing in confusion. Usually the two words went together. You had no idea what would cause them not to, but soon your other mate fixed that without even realizing.

“Yes. Are you okay with being impregnated by us?” Shōto, blunt as usual, got to the heart of the matter.

“…children?”, you asked in surprise and wonder, ignoring the punch Natsuo gave to his little brother’s arm — There was a reason that Shōto wasn’t often asked to start off important, delicate conversations. But, children! Kits! You turned over the words around and around in your head in quiet awe.

Touya inhaled deep and sighed with the exasperation only an elder sibling can produce. “You’re ours, we don’t want—“

“Can’t imagine,”Fuyumi quietly added, to Touya’s nod as he kept talking.

“—having anyone else in our lives. Not now, not later on, not when Shōto finally learns social graces. You’re it. You’re our girlfriend, mate, partner, whatever. For life.”

“And, well, we know you’ve talked about how you always wanted kids someday,” Natsuo took over, scratching the back of his head as he spoke. He smiled reassuringly, hopefully. “We do, too. All of us, actually, want kids. And we want them with you, which would be a lot on you and s—“

“Yes!”

You couldn’t help it. You had started to wiggle so much you were practically vibrating in Touya’s lap, causing him to tighten his grip on you, just a bit, eyes sparkling and the tail tip of your succubus traits hitting the cushion behind you in a happy wagging motion. Your mates! They wanted kits with you! They wanted you to have their kits!

“Whoa!” Touya gave a quick, surprised laugh at how suddenly you became excited to such a degree — he made a mental note to find a way to recreate you moving like this in the bedroom — and reluctantly loosens his grip so you could move more. Which you did by surging up to kiss him deeply before bouncing over to do the same to Shōto, who was nearest, then over to Natsuo and finally spinning around in nearly a full circle to slip into Fuyumi’s lap, straddling her in glee.

Fuyumi. Your girlfriend, your mate, partner, Mistress… and the only one who’s kids you couldn’t have. You stopped bouncing in her lap and drew back. Looking up into her eyes, you could tell she hadn’t seen a problem and that- that hurt a bit, but was something she probably never thought about so she wouldn’t feel the same. Probably.

She didn’t have the biological instincts and desires that your inherited quirks did. Succubus and Rabbit, both effecting your sexual desires, modestly (which there was a lack thereof) and socially, the relationship aspects. Natsuo had said that everyone wanted kids, but did she ever think of having them herself? A partner who could give her that one way or another?

Her eyes searched your frame, tone as concerned as the others looked at your excitement that had quickly waned. “Bunny?”

You smiled weakly, a sadly wistful look in your eyes and yearning tone in your voice. “…I wanna have your kits, too, Fuyumi. I wish I could. I wish I was good enough to be able to give you that.”

The sole Todoroki daughter (officially, so far (much to Mama Rei’s chagrin)) widened her eyes at the statement. It squeezed at her heart tightly, her heart that was already fit to burst with the love she felt for their Snow Bunny. Their Snow Bunny that was so excited by the question and happily included all her mates equally like she always did, with the thought of doing otherwise never even entering her mind, despite that her brothers would be the only ones providing her what she needed to become pregnant. She would be okay with being the cool Aunt to them instead of another mom because it might be too confusing for the babies, toddlers to separate everyone like that. But… what if…

Hmm. She had the beginnings of an idea stirring.

…but it could wait. Her little Snow Bunny needed reassurances and quickly getting to her feet, she set the other down to walk in front of her, pushing her ahead gently yet firmly, in a way that spoke that if she could teleport the two would already be there so.

“Wha—“

“Hey!”

“‘Yumi, we weren’t done!”

Fuyumi threw a look over her shoulder. “Details later. I’ve got a girlfriend in need of reassurance — or do you have a problem with that?”, she asked. Not that she stopped moving long enough to hear an answer, but the implied threat in her words has the others waving her off. Well, Touya and Natsuo waving her off, while keeping ahold of Shōto’s shirt so they could explain why going against Fuyumi when she was using that tone was not something he wanted to do. Ever.

“Yumi, I—“

“—am perfect as you are, which I’m going to prove to you.”

“Bu—“

“Shush!”

You both reached her room in little time and before you could even say another thing, Fuyumi was on you, kissing you deeply as she multitasked by unbuttoning your shirt and stepping out of her own skirt. It took even less time than the walk over for her to strip you completely, hands cupping your breasts, thumbs brushing over your nipples, helping to draw out a moan that allowed her tongue to slip into your mouth, easily dominating. You’re not sure when you reached the bed nor when you both climbed into it or when she took her rightful place her atop you, but you certainly felt such a hand reached lower and fingers played with you, pinching your clit and making you buck your hips in response.

You both came up for air as you gasped from the sensation. “F-fuyumiiIIIII!”,you moaned as she gave your clit another pinch and then leaned forward, pressing you into the mattress, demeanor switching. You moaned again as you felt her breasts rub and press against yours. The stimulation from that alone could of sent you over the edge if things in the air hadn’t just changed.

—————

Gotta work on the third part now, yeah? Oy…

- InvisibleRibbitch

I see you’ve fed us Fuyumi simps 👀

#ir thirst #invisible ribbitch #snow bunny saga #minors dni

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suituuup · 3 years

Photo

pieces - epilogue

That’s it, folks! Thank you for coming along this journey. Huge shout out to @snowonebutyou and @lilhan, this story wouldn’t have been the same without their help.

ao3 link

“Come on Bean, you can do it,” Chloe encouraged, holding her arms out towards Marleigh as the one-year-old stood, Beca sitting behind her.

Marleigh grinned and took an unsteady step, then another one, before falling on her bum. She giggled and pushed back to her feet to make the remaining three steps to her mom, collapsing into her arms.

“Oh my goodness, you’re walking,” Chloe gushed as she peppered her face with kisses. “Where did the time go??” She set her back down, facing Beca. “Wanna do it again?”

Beca grinned, extending her arms this time. “Come to Auntie Beca, MJ!”

Chloe smiled, holding Marleigh’s hips as she spoke close to her ear. “Go to Mama.”

Beca froze and met her eyes, a silent question swirling in them as they simultaneously filled with tears. Chloe’s smile simply widened, and she glanced away from Beca to focus on Marleigh as she toddled to Beca, squealing as she did.

“You-- really?” Beca asked as she held Marleigh against her.

Chloe nodded. “You’re not her aunt, Bec. You’ve been there since day one, raising her with me. I know it can’t be official on paper yet, but to me, you’re Marleigh’s other parent.” After a pause, she added, “If you want that, that is.”

Beca visibly swallowed, and a couple of tears spilled down her cheeks. She cleared her throat, seemingly at a loss for words as she glanced at MJ, leaning in to kiss her chubby cheek.

Beca wasn’t a fan of the cold, but she had to admit that a white Christmas was pretty dope.

So was Christmas in the Beale fashion. They had spent the day before baking cookies, singing Christmas carols, and once it was dark, had gone out to Rockefeller to see the tree.

Beca woke to the sound of babbling through the baby monitor that morning, and after finding Chloe sound asleep, turned the device off and slipped from under the covers. She padded to the nursery across the hall and smiled at the sight of a wide-awake Marleigh staring up at her with those big blue eyes.

“G’morning, Bean,” she murmured, bending down to pick her up. Turned out Marleigh was still a bit sleepy, cuddling into Beca as soon as she was in her arms. Beca brushed a kiss to her forehead. “Merry Christmas.”

She walked down the hall towards the living room and turned on the tree lights, knowing how obsessed Marleigh was with the colors.

“Look at aaaaall the presents, Mar,” Beca said as she pointed to the various piles of gifts she and Chloe had hustled to wrap last night. “I think most of it is for you, baby.”

Marleigh babbled incoherent things, pointing to the tree. Her features broke into a wide smile as she looked at something over Beca’s shoulder, and Beca turned around to see Chloe padding over.

“Merry Christmas,” Chloe said, leaning in to kiss Beca’s lips, then Marleigh’s cheek.

Marleigh had a blast opening her presents, even though she looked definitely more entertained by the wrapping paper than the gifts themselves. Beca felt nerves sprout in her belly as she stood up to pour herself more coffee, plucking the small box laying under the tree and handing it to MJ.

“This is for Mommy,” she whispered, pointing to Chloe. “Can you go give it to her?”

“Ya!” Marleigh exclaimed and walked over to where Chloe sat.

Chloe glanced at Beca questioningly, then at her daughter. She took the box, her hand shaking lightly. “Thank you, baby.” Her eyes met Beca once more, then widened as she opened the box to find a sparkling diamond ring. Not any ring; her grandmother’s. “Beca…”

When she finally tore her gaze away from it, Beca had shuffled closer. “That business trip I took to LA a couple of months ago? It was actually to Portland. I wanted to ask your parents if they were okay with me asking you an important question, and your mom insisted I had this ring. Chloe…” she took a deep breath, shifting from a sitting position to down one knee. “You are everything to me. This past year and a half have been my happiest yet, and it’s all because of you. And I want to make this, us, to become a forever thing,” Beca paused, smiling as happy tears stung her eyes. “Chlo, will you marry me?”

Chloe choked on a watery chuckle. “Yes,” she whispered, crushing the distance between them to press a lingering kiss on Beca’s lips. “I love you.”

Beca beamed. “I love you, too.” She laughed when Bean crashed their embrace, wrapping an arm around her. Her heart felt fit to burst from happiness. “And you.”

They started house hunting as soon as Chloe secured a vet tech position in the clinic she was completing her internship in, in Stamford, Connecticut. After a couple of months’ search, they found a lovely farmhouse in Westchester County, just outside of Bedford, located an hour from Manhattan and thirty minutes from Stamford.

It was built in the 1900s in the New England housing style, complete with the traditional covered porch, metal standing seam roof, rafter tails, and barn-style garage. The interior had been fully renovated, giving way to a fresh and modern spin.

“There’s a greenhouse, too, and a cottage,” Chloe said with a soft gasp as they wandered about the three acres that came with the property after visiting the inside. Marleigh was just ahead of them, exploring. “We’d have enough space for a dog, and maybe some goats and chickens?”

Beca chuckled. “Goats and chickens? Since when are we having a farm?”

Chloe giggled, shrugging. “I really want Bean to grow up around animals.”

Beca smiled and kissed Chloe’s cheek. “Fine, we can have goats and chickens. I won’t be going around the chickens, though. They kinda scare me.”

“Really?” Chloe asked, unable to stop herself from snickering.

Beca glared. “Don’t make fun of me, Beale.”

“Mommy!” Marleigh called out, holding up what looked like a daisy. “Look. Pwetty.”

Chloe crouched down to her level, smiling. “Very pretty. Do you like it here, baby?”

Marleigh nodded her pigtails bouncing with the movement. She pointed to the swingset. “We go there?”

Chloe pressed a kiss to her cheek. “Go ahead.”

They signed the papers a few weeks later and were set to move there the following summer, after Chloe’s graduation.

All the pieces of her puzzle were finally coming together, and Chloe couldn’t feel happier.

“You ready to clap, Bean?” Beca asked as she and Marleigh sat in one of the back rows, among the other students’ families. “It’s almost Mommy’s turn.”

“Mommy?” Marleigh asked, pointing at the stage.

“Not yet,” Beca murmured, smiling at her impatience and brushing a kiss to her head.

Two students later, Chloe walked across the stage.

“Mommy!” Marleigh called out as the Dean handed Chloe her diploma. She clapped from her spot on Beca’s lap, beaming. Chloe waved and blew them a kiss before she headed down the steps leading off the stage.

The ceremony ended forty-five minutes later, and Beca and MJ met up with Chloe by the side of the stage.

“Congratulations, baby,” Beca murmured, kissing her softly. “I’m so proud of you.”

Marleigh dutifully gave her mom the flowers she and Beca picked up this morning. “Congwatulations, Mommy!”

Chloe bent down to pick her up. “Thank you, my love. I feel like this calls for ice cream. What do you say?”

“Yes! I want four scoops!” Marleigh declared, holding up three fingers.

Beca chuckled, holding up four fingers herself. “That’s four, Bean.”

Marleigh copied her, grinning “Four scoops!”

Beca tickled her sides, drawing a string of uncontrolled giggles from the toddler. They settled at the park with their ice cream, enjoying the warm June afternoon.

Chloe cuddled close to Beca as they watched Marleigh play with her toys ten feet away. “She’s growing up way too fast,” Chloe murmured.

Beca hummed. “Is that your subtle way of telling me you’re ready to have another kid, Beale?”

A giggle flitted past Chloe’s lips. “No. I think we’re just on the brink of getting a case of the terrible twos, so it’s probably best if we only have one kid to handle for now.”

Beca laughed. MJ was definitely showing some temper and had already given them a taste of what toddler tantrums could be like. “That’s probably wise. And maybe we could get married first, too?”

With the house hunting and Chloe finishing up her school year, they hadn’t really talked about it.

“Can we do it at home? I really want my dad to be there.”

Her father’s condition had stabilized over the last year or so. They had visited him a few times since MJ’s birth, and Beca could tell he was relieved to be able to hold his granddaughter and interact with her despite his condition.

“Of course we can,” she murmured, brushing a kiss to Chloe’s forehead. “I was also thinking… that we could stay there longer this summer? Two weeks is going to fly by, and if we stayed a month then maybe your mom could take some time off?”

Alice had been caring for her husband for the last five years, and Chloe had shared that she was worried it was taking too much of a toll on her.

Chloe lifted her head from Beca’s chest. “Would you really be okay with that?”

“Yeah,” Beca said, brushing a kiss to the corner of her mouth.

“Mama,” MJ called as she walked over, holding a rock. “Pwesent.”

Beca held out her hand, smiling. Marleigh had an obsession with rocks, lately. “Thank you, baby. I love it.”

MJ snuggled in between the two of them, curling up against Beca’s chest.

“You tired, Bean?” Beca asked softly, dropping a kiss on her hair. MJ didn’t answer, her breathing evening out a few seconds later.

Beca shared a look with Chloe and smiled. It felt odd to think of how, ten years ago, she was convinced music and success would be the key to her happiness. And it had been, for a good five years, up until Chloe came back into her life.

This, what they built together since then, brought Beca to another level of happiness she didn’t know was possible.

They got married on a warm September evening, at an orchard with the ocean as a gorgeous backdrop.

Marleigh was supposed to be the flower girl, but she changed her mind last minute, refusing to go first and clinging to Chloe, who ended up picking her up before she walked down the aisle alongside her father.

Beca’s father walked her down the aisle next, and Chloe heard Marleigh gasp. “Mama looks pwetty,” the two-year-old whispered.

“She really does,” Chloe agreed quietly, tears of happiness already filling her eyes as Beca came to a stop in front of her.

“You look…” Beca faltered, shaking her head as what looked like awe flashed in her features. “Incredibly beautiful, Chlo.” Her focus shifted to MJ. “And you’re the cutest flower girl ever.”

Marleigh giggled and motioned for Chloe to set her down, but she remained by Aubrey’s side. They recited their vows in front of their closest friends and immediate family, exchanging rings and somehow managing to make it through the ceremony without bawling their eyes out.

“I now pronounce you, wife and wife,” Aubrey said, a beaming smile breaking across her features. “You may now kiss.”

Chloe grinned and cupped Beca’s cheek, stepping closer and pressing a lingering kiss to her lips as their friends whistled and hooted.

“Yuck!” Marleigh exclaimed, and Chloe found her peeking through her fingers when they parted.

She laughed and picked her up, she and Beca kissing each cheek before they started down the aisle under the applause of their loved ones.

“Where we going?”

Beca smiled as she laced Marleigh’s shoes. “We’re going to the courthouse, Bean.”

“Wha’s that?”

“It’s where big decisions are made, by people we call judges. Today we’re meeting with a judge who will decide if I can become your real mom.”

They had tried to explain that to Marleigh since signing the petition for Beca to adopt her, but Marleigh had argued that Beca was already her Mama. It had been a long process since their wedding, with background checks and a visit from the child protective services.

“I hope the judge says yes,” Marleigh said as she swung her legs.

Beca smiled. “Me, too.” She kissed her forehead and picked her up, heading down the stairs. Part of her expected Marco to show up out of the blue, but she knew that was unlikely, as he probably didn’t know of Marleigh’s existence.

Nerves sprouted in Beca’s belly when they sat down for the final hearing. Marleigh sat on her lap, asking questions about the room they were in and being a welcome distraction as they waited for the judge.

“And that?”

“That’s a gavel,” Beca said. “The judge hits it when he makes a decision, or sometimes, when there’s a lot of people in the room and they’re talking too loud, the judge will slam it on their desk to request silence.”

They stood when the judge walked in, the middle-aged woman motioning for them to sit down while she reviewed their file.

“Mrs. Rebecca Mitchell, is it still your intent to adopt Marleigh Beale and become her other parent under the eyes of the law?”

“Yes, your honor,” Beca answered, her voice shaking slightly as emotions swirled in her chest.

“Mrs. Chloe Mitchell, do you still consent to Rebecca adopting your daughter and giving her, her last name?”

“I do, your honor.”

The judge motioned for them to come forward. “Sign here, and here.”

Beca sucked in a sharp breath, meeting Chloe’s eyes before she took the pen and scribbled her signature at the bottom of the document. Chloe did the same right after, casting Beca a smile.

“You say yes?” Marleigh asked, looking up at the judge. “Mama is my real mom, now?”

The judge chuckled, smiling warmly. “She is. Congratulations.”

Beca wiped a tear sliding down her cheek. “Thank you.”

She pulled her family into a long embrace as soon as they stepped out of the courtroom, basking into the moment.

“Can we go get ice cream, now?” Marleigh asked, breaking the silence.

Chloe smiled and kissed her daughter’s cheek. “I think that’s a great idea.” She slid her hand into Beca’s, raising it to her lips and dropping a kiss to her knuckles. “Come on, Mitchells. Ice cream’s on me.”

Fall was Chloe’s favorite season. It got incredibly beautiful in Westchester once the tree adorned their golden and scarlet leaves, and one of her favorite things to do was sit on the porch swing while nursing on a cup of coffee or tea, sometimes reading a book, other times watching her daughter play with her dad in the backyard, like today.

Her parents had moved to the East Coast six months ago, as they wanted to spend more time with Marleigh. It made sense that they moved into the cottage on Beca and Chloe’s farm, so Chloe could be around to help her mom out. They had fully renovated the interior, with a fully-equipped kitchen, master bedroom, and cozy living and dining room. Marleigh was thrilled to have her grandparents around. She loved to play games with her grandpa and do farm tasks with her grandma, like feeding the chickens and goats, collecting eggs, or gardening.

“Go fish.”

Marleigh made a disgruntled noise as she reached for another card. She huffed dramatically when Mike asked her for a card she had. “Grandpaaaa.”

Chloe looked over her shoulder when she heard approaching footsteps. She smiled at her wife as Beca sat down beside her, and reached over to stroke her growing belly.

Chloe released a content sigh. “Do you ever feel like… pinching yourself? Because this feels too good to be true?”

“Every morning when I wake up next to you,” Beca said, a teasing lilt to her tone.

Chloe giggled. “Corny.” She turned her head to look at Beca. “When I was at my worst, I thought my life as it was back then would be it. I thought that I was far too broken to come back from it,” she paused, glancing at Marleigh and her parents and blinking back the tears threatening to blur her vision. “And now I have all this, and sometimes I can’t believe that this is my life. I feel incredibly grateful and lucky. More than I can put into words.”

Chloe had been clean for nearly five years now. She hadn’t touched cocaine or alcohol since her first day of rehab and the cravings were no longer there. She sometimes thought about it on difficult days, but that’s all it was: a thought. It drifted away nearly as soon as it materialized, because Chloe was stronger now, and she knew how to handle the fleeting temptation.

Beca pressed a kiss to her temple. “You fought for that, Chlo. First by leaving Marco, then going to rehab, and being determined to keep your head above the water through the bad days that followed.”

Chloe’s free hand slid inside Beca’s. “Thank you for believing in me. For believing that there was still a piece of the Chloe you once knew in there.”

Beca lifted their hands and pressed a lingering kiss to Chloe’s fingers. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

Their peaceful, heartfelt moment was soon over when the tornado that was their four-year-old ran up to them.

“Mama,” Marleigh said as she settled on Beca’s lap.

“What’s up, Bean?”

“How did you and Mommy meet?”

Beca hummed. “We went to school together. Mommy forced me into joining this singing group.”

Chloe gasped. “I didn’t force you, Beca Mitchell.”

“You burst into my shower,” Beca muttered as Marleigh giggled.

“While you were naked?!”

“Yep,” Beca said, widening her eyes at their daughter. “Can you believe that?”

“Was it love at first sight?”

“No. It was something deeper than that. For me at least. Something that grew slowly in my heart. So slowly that it took years for me to realize it.”

“Years??” Marleigh gasped. “That’s a long time.”

“Yeah. I was an idiot.”

Chloe giggled. “We were both idiots.”

“But now you’re together, and that’s what’s important, right?”

Chloe narrowed her eyes at MJ and reached out to ruffle her red hair. “When did you get so smart?”

Marleigh shrugged, then dashed off to go back to her grandparents, drawing a chuckle from both Beca and Chloe. Beca glanced at Chloe, squeezing her leg. “You alright?”

“Mmm.” Chloe rested her head on Beca’s shoulder, her hand finding Beca’s stomach once more in hopes of feeling a kick or two. “More than alright.”

-fin-

#bechloe #bechloe fanfiction #chloe beale #beca mitchell

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chaoslynx · 2 years

Note

Hi! I'm curious, what's your art process like? I want to maybe learn some ways to learn better :') /gen /pos

Oh gosh, being asked this when I'm such a beginner is a little terrifying, but I'll try my best to answer!

Well, you see, my art process is quite complex but it all boils down to one thing: Ash Lynx. /j

Seriously though, here's kind of what I do! You can also see a timelapse of one of my first attempts at digital painting here on my Instagram (on the second slide)! I use a Wacom Intuos Small size tablet, and CSP on my laptop.

My first step is usually (not always) picking a reference. A couple of my pieces (like this one!) aren't from reference, but most are. I usually use stock photo websites like Unsplash to find references!

Say this is my reference. My first lines on the paper are to create a rough sketch based on it! Some of these end up rougher than others, but here's what my sketch looked like based on this image:

(Honestly, this is one of my nicer first sketches. Some of them are way rougher.) You can see that I didn't really want to deal with hands yet lol, so I kind of just roughed out where they are. Sometimes on the first sketch I'll rough out hair too, or other times I'll leave it like this.

If I'm trying a painting style, I make a more detailed first sketch, but skip the lineart step and go straight to color. I'm gonna discuss more about my lineart style here since I have more experience with it, but check out that Instagram post I linked to see kinda how I do painting!

Then I turn the sketch blue and do my lineart over it! Feel free to deviate from the sketch if things aren't working out. I often do lineart on several layers; like here, the eyes are on their own layer, as are the hands and camera. I think I overuse layers, though, so that's not for everyone lol. Here's what my final lineart looks like over the sketch!

Don't be afraid to redo lineart over and over. Sometimes I'll be like "maybe it'll look better with color!" and it never does 😭 So lineart is really important! It took SO many attempts to get his hands right on this one. I had the reference image open on my phone and was trying to draw pretty close to how the model in the stock image had her hands on the camera.

Next I hide the sketch layer and do flat colors. Sometimes I'll use the bucket tool for this, but a lot of times it doesn't work super well and I'll just color them in myself. Again I seriously overuse layers, so usually each flat color has its own layer. For black hair I usually switch the color wheel to blue, then pick something on the darker and grayer side.

Next up is lighting and shading! I have different strategies for this depending on the piece. Sometimes I use clipping layers over each color layer and just shade with the original color, shifted slightly on the color wheel. (I've been told not to shade in gray!)

For this one, though, I used a multiply layer for shading and an add glow for lighting. I knew I wanted to have a brick background, so I used an orangey-red color for the shading and lighting. I wanted my light coming from the upper left, so I kept that in mind. Then I lower the opacity on both until it looks decent! Here's with and without the lowered opacity. On this one I blended the shading and lighting layers in quite a bit, because I wanted it to look kind of soft.

On this one I also added blushies on his nose, ears, cheeks, and lips. I added a highlight on Eiji's hair (also on an add glow layer clipped to the hair color layer). I also put details into Eiji's eyes to make them sparkle! Here's zoomed in on his face so you can see the changes:

I added details on the camera to make it look a little more reflective and less boring, and to draw some attention to it.

For the background, I put a layer under Eiji and made it the dark red color I wanted. Then I put the bricks over it, blurred them, and reduced the opacity.

On this one I wanted the background to have kind of a grimy but ethereal effect, so I drew cracks along the bricks with reduced opacity, and drew specks of orange on an add glow with a really reduced opacity. I also added another lighting layer in front of Eiji but not clipped to him for the background lighting. Then I just added a noise layer with super reduced opacity, and put my watermark on it with an overlay layer!

Here's how the final piece turned out:

I hope this is helpful! I've only been drawing for a few months so I definitely have a lot to learn still. Let me know if you have any questions. (That's open to anyone!) Also if anyone has advice for me and/or this anon, I'm sure we'd both appreciate that! 💖💖💖

#answers #anon #art

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wiypt-writes · 3 years

Text

Stark Spangled Banner

Ch51: Captain America Homecoming

Intro: The team at the compound begin their experiment with the Quantum Tunnel, but it doesn’t all go according to plan. But just as everything seems lost, Tony appears having rethought his initial stance. And he has a little surprise for Steve.

Warnings: Bad Language words.

Pairing: Steve Rogers x OFC Katie Stark

A/N: I can’t give @angrybirdcr enough credit…she makes my images into, well, erm, images…

Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction and classified as 18+. Please respect this and do not read if you are underage. I do not own any characters in this series bar Katie Stark and the other OCs. By reading beyond this point you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer.

Chapter 50

Stark Spangled Banner Masterlist // Main Masterlist

Bruce needed a day to calibrate the computer and systems to the right configuration to use with Scott’s Quantum Tunnel (which was, amusingly yet completely unsurprisingly, in the back of his ugly brown van). Katie took the chance to head into the office to catch up and then inform Soraya she didn’t know how much she would be available in person over the coming week.

They had another day before they were due to collect Emmy from the train station, her five day trip to Philly was drawing to a close and when they had spoken to her last night she had been equal parts excited to come home and fed up that it was ending. But she would be back at school soon, and she had an important few weeks coming up as she was studying for her end of year exams. Neither of them were particularly concerned about that, however, as Emmy was a complete brainbox. Although she was only a freshman, she was taking APs in Human Geography and Psychology (having told her parents she wanted to be a Therapist) and was already being touted by her tutors as Harvard potential. Steve wasn’t overly keen about his daughter being in a different state, but all things considered, Boston wasn’t too far. And he knew he had to let her make her own decision so they’d cross that bridge when they got there.

For the time being, the only bridge Steve wanted to cross was the one he and Natasha were currently planning on making to reach out to the remaining original Avengers, Thor and Clint.

“Thor should be easy, surely?” Nat asked, swinging her feet up onto the table as she sat back in her seat. She looked to Steve for confirmation, but instead he sighed and shook his head.

“Has Katie not told you?”

“Told me what?”

Steve scratched at his chin. “He had a disagreement with one of the Elders about three months back. From what Valkyrie told Katie, there was a bit of an argument over the rebuilding of their army and the elder took a shot at Thor, saying he wasn’t fit to lead any kind of battalion as he had failed to keep them safe from Thanos.”

“That’s harsh.” Nat frowned.

“Yeah, I know.” Steve bit his lip. “I think it was more anger speaking than the guy actually thinking that, but it sent Thor into another downwards spiral and he’s ignored Katie’s attempts to reach out to him again so she’s given in.” “Okay, so, maybe a little harder than we anticipated.” “Least we know where he is. Any luck on Barton?”

“Rhodey thinks he’s targeting a gang in Hong Kong.” Nat sighed. “But I won’t know for sure until he arrives.”

Steve, nodded. “Well when we find out where he is we can scramble a jet and…” “No.” Nat shook her head “Not we, me. I’ll go alone.” “Nat.” Steve frowned “Clint, he’s been leaving a trail of utter carnage behind him, I don’t think you-“

“He wouldn’t hurt me.”

“It’s not him I’m concerned about, more the people he’s taking on.” “I can handle myself.” Nat replied, firmly as she looked at him. Her eyes were sparkling with that Black Widow venom Steve had to admit he had missed over the past few years. He took a deep breath and against his better judgement conceded.

“Alright. We’ll do it your way.”

Natasha frowned, and smirked. “Really? That’s it, no argument?”

Steve raised an eyebrow. “You want an argument?” “Not really.” She shook her head, smiling.

Steve gave a chuckle and then they were cut off by an incoming call springing up in front of Natasha. She swiped to her right and the hologram form of Rocket appeared on the desk.

“Hey Nat.” He nodded, turning to Steve, “Cap.We’re wrapping things up on that latest lead, then we have to nip to Contraxia as I need a few things,” he Raccoon explained, looking at them both, “should be with you day after tomorrow lunchtime, ish” “Rocket, you were close to Thor right?” Steve spoke, an idea coming to him.

“Kinda, why?” “We need him.” Steve stated simply. “He knows about the stones, but convincing him could be a bit of a task. So I was thinking maybe you could help and go with Katie to New Asgard.” The animal pondered for a while before he shrugged. “I can try.”

“That’s all any of us can do.”

The raccoon nodded again “Alright.” He turned to Nat. “We’ll see you soon.” And with that he disappeared.

Steve stayed at the compound until late afternoon, popping in to see how Bruce and Scott were getting on, before he made his way home. Katie and Jamie were already back and he could hear the two of them in the living room.

“Who’s that?” Jamie asked as he pointed to the photo in the album that his Mom had open on her lap.

“That’s your Uncle Sam.” She smiled at the photo of Steve and his best man at the reception of their wedding “You know you get your name from him, well one of them anyway.”

“Where is he now?” Jamie asked.

“He err…he went away” Katie said slowly as she tried to figure out how to explain this to a three year old. “You know how daddy has told you about his friend, Uncle Bucky?” “Yeah.” “Well, a few years ago, before you were born, The Avengers, well they had a fight, with a nasty man, and your Uncle Bucky and Uncle Sam, and one of our other friends, a lady called Wanda…they had to go away afterwards.”

“Was Uncle Tony in the fight?”

“Yeah, he was.”

“And Auntie Nat-Nat?”

“Yeah. And Thor. There were a lot of people involved?”

“Did you and daddy fight with the Avengers?” Jamie asked, his eyes wide.

At that point Katie looked up and saw Steve hovering in the door way. He swallowed and walked into the room.

“A long time ago buddy, yeah.” He nodded.

“Did you know Captain America?” Jamie’s eyes were now almost the size of dinner plates.

“I did yeah.” Steve nodded, kneeling down in front of his son. “But he gave up fighting.” Jamie pondered something as Katie looked at her husband. “Not for much longer though.” She locked eyes with him.

Steve took a deep breath and swallowed once more. He wasn’t sure he’d ever hold that shield again.

“Maybe.” he said, shrugging, before he stood up and settled on the couch at the other side of his son.

Jamie made to turn the page in the album and the next photo was one of Steve’s favourites and one they had a large framed version of on the mantel piece. It showed him and Katie at their first dance, heads pressed together, huge smiles on their faces as he held her close.

“Momma you look real pretty!” Jamie smiled and Katie dropped a kiss to his head.

“Thanks, Baby.” “Your momma always looks pretty.” Steve smiled “She’s the most beautiful girl on the planet.” “Charmer.” Katie looked at him as he stretched his arm over the back of his son and pulled her in closer.

“Only for you.” He winked, dropping a kiss to her cheek.

****** Tony stood at the sink, rinsing down the dishes from dinner whilst Pepper settled Morgan down for the night. He’d spoken to Kiddo earlier, she’d told him they were running the first Time Travel trial tomorrow. He’d managed to push it out of his mind for most of the afternoon but now, as he stood alone, he kept thinking about it over and over again. He knew Bruce was clever, but this really wasn’t his area…

What if something went wrong? Not his problem.

Tony’s grip on the attachment to the tap slipped and it jerked out of his hand, spraying water all over the place. With a sigh he turned it off and grabbed the tea towel, mopping up the water from around the sink and then the shelf which it had squirted all over. He glanced at the photos, and paused for a moment at the frame that was placed just to the right of the one which held a picture of his dad. He took a deep breath as he wiped the water off the faces- him and Peter Parker holding the fake Stark Internship Certificate upside down, each one pulling peace signs behind the other’s head. He swallowed.

“We can snap our own fingers. We can bring everybody back.”

Tony looked around his kitchen, his stomach turning slightly. Yes, he had something to fight for, something personal, the kid. They all had something personal right? Natasha had Clint’s family, Rogers and Kiddo had Barnes, Wilson and Wanda… Scott had his girlfriend, or whatever. But he couldn’t risk it. He shouldn’t risk it….

But they were going to risk it. He knew that. And they could, probably would, fuck it up without him.

“Damned it, Rogers.” He mumbled, placing the photo down and heading into the dining room.

Two hours later, Pepper was out in the greenhouse as she often was later at night and Tony was talking to FRIDAY, with whom he had been brainstorming a number of ideas for the past hour and a half. He looked the holographic model in front of him and tapped at the pad on the table.

“Look at a mod inspiration, let’s see if it checks out.” He instructed, watching as the image changed in front of his eyes. “So…” he pressed a few keys again, “run one last sim before we pack it in for the night,” he clapped his hands together and paced round the side of the table, “this time, in the shape of a mobius strip, inverted, please.”

“Processing.“ FRIDAY replied as Tony crossed his arms and watched.

“Give me that Eigen value,” he reached out to spin the image with his hand, “that, particle factoring, and a spectral decomp,” he grabbed the bottle on the side of the table to take a drink of the smoothie he had made, “that will take a second.”

“Just a moment.”

“And don’t worry if it doesn’t pan out,” he replaced the top on his drink and grabbing a blueberry from the packet he had been eating, “I’m just kinda…” he trailed off chewing the fruit, as he watched FRIDAY do her business.

“Model rendered.”

The red words ‘Model Successful’ with a rating of ‘99.987%’ flashed in front of his eyes and Tony felt his mouth drop open, utterly bewildered by his discover. He fell back into his chair, looking up at it and his mouth flew to his hand. He, Tony Stark, had figured out how to do exactly what Lang had proposed, how to safely travel time.

Despite himself, he felt a certain level of pride and smugness, and he threw his arms out to his side. “Shit!” He laughed out.

“Shit.” A voice spoke from behind him, followed by a giggle. He paused, and turned to see his daughter was sat on the bottom stair, grinning at him.

He held his finger to his lips and shook his head. “What are you doing up, little miss?”

“Shit.” She repeated again.

“No, we don’t say that. Only Mommy says that word. She coined it, it belongs to her.”

“Why you up?” Morgan looked at him.

“Cause I got some important shit going on here,” Tony jerked his thumb over his shoulder at the hologram, “what do you think?”

Morgan shot him a frown and he took a deep breath, when she pulled that face she looked ridiculously like her Auntie. ”No, I got something on my mind,” he explained in a softer tone.

“Was it Juice Pops?” Morgan asked, hopefully.

“Sure was.” Tony looked at the other side of the room before he turned back to his daughter, “extortion. That’s a word.” He stood up and looked down at her. “What kind you want?” He asked, taking her hand and she stood up. “Great minds think alike. Juice Pops, exactly was on-” he looked back to the model then turned towards the kitchen “-my mind.”

A little while and a juice pop later Morgan was back in bed, demanding a story.

“Once upon a time, Morgoona went to bed. The end.” Tony grinned.

“That is a horrible story.” Morgan looked at him with a glare.

“Come on, that’s your favorite story.” He grinned and as she rolled her eyes he smiled. “I love you tons.” He made it clear that was the end of the conversation by standing up, kissing her on the forehead.

“I love you three thousand.” Morgan looked at him and Tony smiled.

“Wow.” he said, quietly. His daughter had an ability, very like Kiddo, to say things that sideswiped him, and made his chest burst with love, and this was one of those moments. He contemplated that for a moment before he stood up and turned off her lamp. “Three thousand, that’s crazy.”

He walked to the door, and closing it behind him, still grinning he told her “Go to bed, or I’ll sell all your toys, night night.”

By the time he reached the living room Pepper was back inside, sat on the couch reading a book.

“Not that it’s a competition-” Tony spoke and Pepper looked up at him “-but she loves me three thousand.”

“Oh does she now?” Pepper smiled.

“You were somewhere on the low six to nine-hundred range.” Pepper laughed and turned back to her book. Tony, still chewing on the juice pop stick looked back to where the model was still projecting over his table.

“What you reading?” He asked, although he wasn’t particularly interested. His mind was racing once more.

“Oh, it’s just a book on composting”.

“What’s new with composting?” His eyes were still on the image. “Interesting science…” she began, but he cut her off.

“I figured it out, by the way.” Tony looked back at her, removing the juice pop stick from his mouth.”

“And, you know, just so we’re talking about the same thing –“

“Time travel.”

“What?” Pepper whispered as Tony glanced back at the hologram, arms folded. “Wow,” her gaze dropped down slightly, “that’s amazing, and terrifying.”

“That’s right.” He dropped down beside her, his left arm hanging over the back of the sofa.

“We got really lucky.” Pepper said, stroking his arm.

“Yeah, I know.”

“A lot of people didn’t.”

“No, but I can’t help everybody.”

“Well, it sorta seems like you can.” Pepper pressed again.

“Not if I stop.” Tony shrugged, and Pepper gave a small huff of a laugh. “I can put a pin in it right now, and stop.”

“Tony, trying to get you to stop has been one of the few failures of my entire life.”

Tony gave a soft laugh and his right arm gently rubbed the hand that was laid over his left arm.

“Something tells me I should put it in a locked box and drop it at the bottom of the lake, go to bed.”

There was a pause, before Pepper looked at him again, her eyes soft and her face rearranged into a knowing expression.

“But would you be able to rest?”

Tony didn’t reply, he didn’t need to. They both knew the answer was no. *******

“Alright, Emmy, remember what I said?” Katie looked at her daughter who was sat on the couch in the living room of their old quarters.

“Yeah, I can’t leave here until someone comes to get us.” Emmy nodded

“No matter what.”

“Yeah mom, I got it. We’ll be fine, wont we Jamie?”

Jamie nodded, grinning up at his mother “Yeah, fine.”

“Okay, love you both.”

With one last glance over her shoulder at her kids, Katie made her way back to the hanger.

“Breakers are set. Emergency generators are on standby.” She heard Steve call out as he strode back towards the computer. Katie couldn’t help but admire his ass, he looked pretty good in a pair of black denims, light blue shirt as always tucked in, belt circling his toned waist. He looked at her, raising an eyebrow with a smug smirk as he caught the expression on her face and she shrugged.

“Good, ‘coz if we blow the grid, I don’t wanna lose Tiny here in the 1950s,” Bruce said through gritted teeth, jerking his thumb at Scott, only his comment wasn’t quite as quiet as he thought. Scott, who was stood in his suit, fiddling with something on his helmet heard perfectly.

“Excuse me?” Scott glared at Banner as Katie and Steve exchanged a glance. .

“He’s kidding!” Natasha said in a playful voice, shaking her head as she tapped on the tablet she was holding which would be used to track Scott. She looked up with a smile, which Katie knew perfectly to be false and laughed. “You can’t say things like that.” Natasha looked at Bruce.

“Yeah, sorry, it was…just a bad joke.” He smiled as he looked at Scott. Scott nodded once as he walked back to the van.

“You were kidding right?” Katie looked at Bruce.

“I have no idea!” Bruce hissed. “We’re talking about time travel here, either it’s all a joke or none of it is!” He looked away from Katie and flashed Scott the thumbs up. “We’re good.”

Steve crossed his arms and let out a breath as Scott pulled his helmet on. He gave Bruce a double thumbs up and Katie smiled in what she hoped was a reassuring way.

“Alright Scott, we’re gonna send you back a week, let you walk around for an hour, then bring you back in ten seconds. Make sense?” Bruce asked as he tapped at the keys on his desk with a pencil

“Perfectly not confusing.” Scott shrugged.

Okay, so now Steve was nervous. He took a deep breath and looked at the man stood by the back of the van, his hands dropping to his hips.

“Good luck Scott. You’ve got this.” He refrained from adding I hope.

“You’re right. I do Captain America.” Scott grinned, proudly, as Bruce hit a button, sucking him into the tunnel.

“On the count of three-“ Bruce called, and Steve dropped his hands, his fists clenching, mouth open slightly as he watched . At the other side of Bruce, Katie and Nat shared a nervous glance. “Three… two…one…” Steve breathed a sigh of relief as someone appeared but it was short lived as he realised the person in front of them could be no older than Emmy. Katie frowned as did Natasha, confusion etched across her face and next to them, Bruce adjusted his glasses.

"Guys, something doesn’t feel right.” The boy informed them nervously.

“What’s going on?” Steve asked, as Bruce set about pressing a load more buttons. “Hang on…”

“Is that Scott?” Katie’s eyes grew wide as she looked at Bruce, who ducked down to hit something on the console, her eyes locking with Steve who looked as utterly perplexed as she felt.

“Yes, it’s Scott!” The boy exclaimed.

Teenage Scott was sucked back into the tunnel, Natasha watching Bruce as he straightened up and the four of them looked back to the tunnel to see another person thrown out, this time an elderly man.

“Ow, my back!”

“What is this?” Steve asked

“Can I…I need a little space!” Bruce demanded as he moved to his right.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Steve hastily moved out of the way and going to stand in between his wife and Natasha. “Can you bring him back?”

“I’m working on it.” Bruce hit one of the screens. Katie, Steve and Nat shared another panicked look as Old Scott was yanked back in only to this time reappear as…

"That’s a baby.” Steve deadpanned.

“It’s Scott!” Bruce defended.

“As a baby!” Steve snapped as the infant looked up at them wide eyed.

“He’ll grow!” Bruce said, attempting a joke.

“Bring Scott back!” Steve instructed sharply.

“Nat, when I say kill the power, kill the power!” Bruce called and Natasha ran off to the breaker at the side of the hanger.

Katie and Steve watched as Bruce jabbed more buttons, before he yelled out “Kill it!”

Natasha pulled the lever down and Bruce slapped a large red button. This time Scott Lang returned exactly as he had been before he left.

“Somebody peed my pants.” He called out loudly, standing stiffly still. “I don’t know if it was baby me, or old me. Or, just… me-me.”

“Time travel!” Bruce beamed excitedly, throwing his hands out to the side as Katie, Steve and Natasha looked at him. “What? I, I see this as an absolute win.”

Steve simply stared at Bruce in silence for a moment, before he shook his head, placing his hands on his hips. He looked down at the floor before he walked off, Katie watching him as he left the hangar and stepped outside.

“I think we should take a break.” Katie took a deep breath. “Nat can you check the kids, I’m gonna…” She jerked her thumb after Steve and Nat nodded.

Steve stood outside by the large metal pillar at the side of the building, hands still on his hips as he stared at the floor. What was the point of being able to time travel if you couldn’t control it? The worse thing being that he wasn’t even sure if they would be able to perfect it with practice, and was he willing to keep risking Scott to do that? They had been so close, but Tony was right, it had clearly been a pipe dream.

“Hey.” Katie’s hand fell gently to his elbow. “Honey, we knew it was a long shot.” “I know.” He sighed, looking at her. “But I thought it might have worked, you know. That we might have had a chance to…”

He was cut off as a loud engine growled in the distance. They both looked out over the compound to see a familiar Audi R8 speeding down the drive towards the hangar. Katie and Steve exchanged a glance as the car pulled up to where they were stood, but overshot their position slightly. Steve followed the car with his eyes as it backed up and Tony rolled down the window and looked at them both. Steve raised his eyebrows, looking away.

“Why the long face?” Tony asked, directing his question to Steve. “Let me guess: He turned into a baby”

“Among other things, yeah.” Steve replied, an edge of frustration in his voice as he looked back at Tony. “What are you doing here?”

Tony opened the car door and climbed out, walking to the back, completely ignoring Steve’s question as he spoke.

“That’s the EPR Paradox. Instead of pushing Lang through time, you might’ve wound up pushing time through Lang.” Tony looked at Steve “It’s tricky. Dangerous. Somebody shoulda cautioned you against it.”

“You did.” Steve deadpanned, not in the mood for a lecture.

“Oh, did I?” Tony asked, raising an eyebrow and Katie felt a grin cross her face at her brother’s sarcasm “Thank God I’m here. Regardless, I fixed it” Steve raised his eyebrows as he glanced at his brother in law who held up his right hand which bore what looked like a watch of some description. “A fully functioning Time-Space GPS.

At this Steve let out a genuine smile as he realised Tony was here to help. Tony returned it with one of his own

“I just want peace.” He made the sign with his fingers. “Turns out, being angry and bitter is corrosive, and I hate it.

“Me too.” Steve nodded softly, recognizing this for what it was. An apology for the other day, and he was happy to provide his own.

“Guys, we got a shot at getting these stones, but I gotta tell you my priorities.” Tony urged softly, looking from Steve to Katie and back again “Bring back what we lost? I hope, yes. Keep what I got? I have to, at all costs”.

“So do we, Tony.” Katie implored. “Our Kids, they’re the most important thing to us.”

“Nothing we do can jeopardise them.” Steve dropped his left arm round Katie. “Any of them.”

“And maybe if we could manage to not die trying, that would be nice.” Tony shrugged.

Steve smiled and held out his right hand. “Sounds like a deal.”

Tony shook it, before he smiled, cheekily, and headed to the trunk. Steve looked at his wife and she shrugged, before the two of them followed him, Steve watching curiously. Tony lifted something out, turned it upside down to dislodge the teddy bear sat on it and Katie’s hand flew to her mouth as she saw it was Steve’s shield.

Steve hesitated, taking a deep breath. “Tony… I don’t know..” He swallowed, the nerve twitching in his jaw. He wasn’t worthy of that shield, not anymore.

“Why? He made it for you.” Tony held Steve’s gaze. “Plus, honestly, I have to get it out of the garage before Morgan takes it sledding.” Steve looked over his shoulder at Katie, who was fighting back her tears and she gave him an encouraging nod. He lifted his arm and Tony slid the shield straps over his shirt and Steve looked down at it, taking a shaky breath. It felt like slipping into a familiar pair of sneakers.

“Thank you, Tony.” Steve looked up at his brother-in-law, his voice choked as behind him, Katie dropped a hand to his shoulder, pressing a soft kiss to the spot between his shoulder blades, her face resting on his shirt.

“Will you keep that a little quiet? Didn’t bring one for the whole team.” Tony hesitated for a moment. “We are getting the whole team, yeah?

“We’re working on that right now.” Katie moved so she could see Tony, before she heard a yell behind her.

“Uncle Nee!” Jamie shot straight by her and launched at his Uncle.

“Hey, Sport!” Tony grinned, picking him up. “What you been up to?” “Me and Emmy were colouring and making dinosaur models.” “Wow!” Tony nodded, turning to Emmy who was walking towards them.

“Mom?” Her voice was a whisper as she spotted what Steve was holding. “Dad’s…” “Yeah.” Katie smiled at her, dropping an arm round the teenager’s shoulders as she continued to glance at his shield. Never one to miss anything, Jamie glanced at his Sister, then his dad and his eyes widened.

“Why you have shield like Captain America?” Jamie frowned as Steve ran his fingers over the edge of the Vibranium before looking at his son as Tony placed him on the floor, struggling to find the words to explain.

Tony clapped Steve on the shoulder “Alright, I’ll leave that one with you. Time to go see what a mess of my compound Brucie has made. ”He walked passed Emmy, dropping an arm round her shoulders. “Walk with me kid, tell me about Philly.” He shot a glance at Katie who smiled as he steered the teenager back to the compound whilst she began excitedly telling him about her trip.

Steve turned to look Katie, his eyes glistening with emotion.

“Still suits you.” She smiled to him and he gave a little chuckle.

“Daddy!” Jamie insisted, tugging on his trousers, annoyed at his question being ignored.

“Sorry Pal,” Steve crouched down, shield still on his arm. “I have a shield like Captain America because I was Captain America.”

Jamie frowned before his eyes grew wide. An older kid might have laughed and told his dad to stop being silly, but Steve had never lied to Jamie before and it would never have occurred to the three year old to ever think he would.

“You were Captain America?” Jamie frowned. “When you fighted with the Avengers?”

“Yeah” Steve sighed, running his hand through Jamie’s golden hair. “I was.”

“Are you still Cap now?”

“I dunno.” Steve glanced back at his shield before he looked at Jamie, smiling gently.

“I think you are.” Jamie cocked his head to one side as his hand reached out to touch the shield. “Because Cap’s a hero and you’re my hero”

Katie saw Steve’s eyes water instantly as he pulled Jamie closer to him, dropping a kiss to the side of his head as the boy’s arms wound around his dad’s neck. He glanced up at Katie and she swallowed, leaning against the column to her left, wiping her eyes. It had been a long time since anyone had called any of the Avengers that, and to hear it from his son meant more to Steve than anything.

“Daddy?” Jamie mumbled against his dad’s shoulder, where his head lay.

“Yeah?” Steve cleared his throat.

“You got a helmet too?” Jamie pulled back to study his father’s face as Steve gave out a soft laugh

“Yeah buddy. I do.”

“And a uniform?”

“I have a few.” Steve nodded.

“Can I see?” Jamie’s face lit up and Steve glanced at Katie who smiled, nodding encouragingly.

“Sure… come on.” Steve stood up, Jamie easily lifted in his free arm. “You coming?” He stopped at his wife’s side as she reached up a hand to smooth down Jamie’s jumper which had ridden up slightly.

“I think this is a hero to son moment, don’t you?” She smiled, standing on her toes so she could give his lips a peck. “Besides, someone’s gotta stop Tony creating havoc in there.” “Good luck with that.” He muttered, giving her another kiss before he carried Jamie into the compound, striding through the hangar doors and across to the corridor. Katie waited for a moment, composing herself before she headed back inside.

**** True to their word, Nebula and Rocket arrived the following lunch and it wasn’t long after that Katie and Rocket headed off to New Asgard, along with Banner. Banner and Thor had shared a lot during the events leading up to Thanos’ attacking the Asgardian ship and Katie was hoping that together they stood a better chance of convincing the God to help. Katie sat in the passenger seat of the truck belonging to one of the Asgardians who had come to greet them. She couldn’t help but smile as they rolled past the sign at the side of the road WELCOME TO NEW ASGARD, PLEASE DRIVE SLOWLY. They stopped at the small port, and Katie hopped out of the truck, thanking the man, whilst Bruce and Rocket climbed out of the back.

“Kind of a step down from a golden palace for an Avenger highness and whatnot.” Rocket mused, looking around.

“Hey, have a little compassion, pal.” Bruce said gently. “First they’ve lost Asgard, then half the people. They’re probably just happy to have a home.”

Katie spotted Valkyrie who smiled at her, and then her face rearranged into surprise as she saw Bruce.

“You shouldn’t have come!” She warned as they approached her.

“Ah, Valkyrie! Great to see you, Angry Girl.” Bruce smiled.

“I think I liked you better either of the other ways.” She almost chuckled, taking in his appearance.

“This is Rocket.” Katie gestured to the raccoon.

“How you doin’?” He greeted her.

Valkyrie nodded at him before she turned to Katie. “He won’t see you.

“Still that bad, huh?” Katie folded her arms.

“We only see him once a month, when he comes for-“ she looked over to the pile of kegs on the side of the port, “-supplies.

“It’s that bad?” Bruce mumbled.

“Yeah.”

“We have to try.” Katie bit her lip, looking round before she turned to Bruce and Rocket. “Come on.” She led them down the side of the harbour and they walked up the small, cobbled street towards the fishing hut Thor was living in. Katie paused, and tried the handle. It opened and Rocket stepped in first. Instantly, Katie was hit with a smell that made her nose wrinkle. It was a combination of dirty clothes, stale beer and old take-outs.

“What the… woo!” Rocket grimaced, waving his paw in front of his nose. “Something died in here.”

“Hello? Thor?” Bruce called.

Thor’s voice rumbled through to them from another room. “Are you here about the cable?”

They made their way into the main room and Thor, who was shirtless, having definitely put on more than a couple of pounds since Katie had last seen him, was walking across the room gesturing to the TV.

“The Cinemax ran out about two weeks ago, and the sports are all kind of fuzzy.” He grabbed a beer from the ice bucket and Katie looked at Bruce who was frowning.

“Thor?” He asked, his voice disbelieving.

Thor turned and took a moment to look at the three of them, before his face cracked into a smile

“Boys!” He laughed out. “Little Stark! Oh my God! It’s so good to see you!” He crossed towards Rocket, trying to hug him, his knuckles rubbing the raccoons head. “Come here, you little rascal!”

“No, I’m good. I’m good. That’s not necessary.” Rocket groaned, wriggling away.

“Hulk, Little Stark, you know my friends, Miek, Korg, right?”

Miek and Korg were sat on a couch, the Rock creature in a Hawaiian shirt, play station controller in his hand playing what looked to Katie like Fortnite- one of Emmy’s favourites.

“Hey guys!” Korg raised his hand in greeting.

“Hey!” Bruce smiled. “Long time no see.”

“Beers in the bucket. Feel free to log on to the Wi-Fi. No password, obviously.” Korg said cheerfully as he turned back to his game, growing suddenly serious. “Thor, he’s back. The kid on the TV that called me a dickhead again.”

“Noobmaster.” Thor growled out as he spun round. Miek threw a piece of pizza towards the TV in disgust, giving a little click.

“Yeah, Noobmaster69. Called me a dickhead.”

Thor stomped over to Korg, took his headphones and spoke loudly into the mic.

“Noobmaster? Yeah, it’s Thor again. You know, the God of Thunder? Listen, buddy. If you don’t log off this game immediately, I am gonna fly over to your house, come down to that basement you’re hiding in, rip off your arms and shove them up your butt! Oh, that’s right. Yes, go cry to your father, you little weasel!”

Katie and Rocket exchanged a look as Thor returned Korg’s head set, before she glanced up at Banner who was watching, a look of disbelief on his face and Katie couldn’t help but echo his feelings. Seeing their friend, their once mighty Avenger partner, in such a state made her beyond sad.

“So you guys want a drink? What are you drinking? We have beer, tequila, all sorts of things.” Thor asked, using Stormbreaker to open a bottle of beer. Bruce walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Buddy, you all right?”

“Yes, I’m fine! Why, don’t I look all right?” Thor frowned.

“You look like melted ice cream.” Rocket crossed his arms, but despite his joke Katie could tell he was concerned.

Thor simply laughed and looked at them all. “So, what’s up?

“We need your help” Katie spoke gently “There might be a chance we could fix everything.”

“What, like the cable?” Thor burped. “Cause that’s been driving me bananas for weeks.”

“Like Thanos.” Bruce spoke and Katie saw Thor’s smile slowly disappear. He put a shaky hand on Bruce’s shoulder and pointed at him.

“Don’t you say that name.”

Behind Thor, Korg stood up, taking off his headphones. “Um, yeah. We don’t actually say that name in here.”

“Please take your hand off me” Bruce’s tone was quiet as he brushed away Thor’s grip on his shoulder. “Now, I know that… guy might scare you…”

“Why would, why would I be scared of that guy?” Thor scoffed, turning away. “I’m the one who killed that guy, remember? Anyone else here killed that guy? Nope. Didn’t think so. Korg, why don’t you, tell everybody who chopped Thanos’ big head off.”

“Umm… Stormbreaker?” Korg offered.

“No, who was swinging Stormbreaker?” Thor shot back.

“Thor.” Katie started gently. “I get it, we all get it. You’re in a rough spot right now-”

“I’ve been there myself.” Bruce picked up from her “You wanna know who helped me out of it?”

“I don’t know…Natasha?” Thor snorted and Katie rolled her eyes.

“It was you. You helped me”.

Thor walked back over to Bruce and pointed out of the window with the hand holding his beer. “Why don’t you ask the Asgardians down there, how much my help was worth?” he dropped onto the chair “The ones that are left, anyway.”

“We think we can bring them back.” Katie looked at him.

“Little Stark, please stop. Stop, okay?” Thor pleaded, opening a packet of M&Ms. “I know you think I’m down here wallowing in my own self-pity, waiting to be rescued and saved. But I’m fine, okay? We’re fine, aren’t we?”

He looked at Korg and Miek eating pizza and playing once more on the Playstation.

“Nah, all good here, mate!” Korg nodded.

Katie looked back at Thor as he stared up at her. “So, whatever it is that you’re offering, we’re not into it, don’t care, couldn’t care less. Goodbye.”

“We need you Thunder God.” Katie swallowed as she shook her head sadly. ”Please.”

Thor shook his head and ignored her.

“There’s beer on the ship.” Rocket broke the silence, crossing his arms.

Thor paused, and without looking up he spoke again, this time his words softer. “What kind?”

**** Chapter 52

**Original Posting**

#stark spangled banner #steve rogers #Katie Stark #steve rogers fanfiction #steve rogers x ofc #steve rogers x original female character #steve rogers fic #mcu #mcu fanfic #chris evans #chris evans characters

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sparkles-and-trash · 4 years

Text

modern!London Gaang/Zukka AU, part 1 ~ Zuko

based on a quick concept I wrote a while back, this may turn into a fic some day, but for now, have a bunch of headcanons!

Zuko’s family is all important, old money, classical Upper East Side of New York type of rich

they basically think they are royalty, only more important

Zuko never really fitted in with his family or their friends, tho

he always disliked crowds, parties, attention and empty small talk, which is all important in the socialite world

when he finishes High School, he gets in a huge fight with his father, and it ends with him packing his bags and hopping on a plane

he goes to London, to the only person he ever felt at home with; his uncle Iroh

Iroh runs a little café in the Marylebone area, close to Regent Park, and lives in a gorgeous little apartment over it

Iroh does well for himself, but isn’t nearly as rich as his brother, so Zuko has to learn how to be a Real Person™

boy has no idea how to cook, or take public transport, do normal grocery shopping etc

Zuko did use to spend his summers staying with Iroh tho, so he’s pretty good at working at the café

Zuko loves that café so much

he also comes to love London a lot, and after just a month there, he realizes it feels more like a home to him that NYC ever did

Iroh also notices, and so far he hasn’t really asked too much about why Zuko is there and what happened with his family; Iroh knows very well how his brother can be and doesn’t wanna push Zuko

but as summer nears an end, Iroh realizes that Zuko isn’t talking about his plans, and Iroh carefully suggests that he is very welcome to stay with him, as he enjoys his company so much and Zuko is a great addition to the café

Zuko 100% cries

Iroh pretends he doesn’t see it

but later that night Iroh may or may not wipe a tiny tear himself

Zuko hasn’t really thought out what he wants to do with his life, he always kinda figured he would have to follow is his father footsteps, but now, the world is suddenly all open to him

and it’s kind of scary?

but also amazing

for now, he decides that it’s enough to work at the café and maybe take some classes on the side

he kind of needs to learn how to live all over again

he signs up for some art classes, specifically photography

he loves photography and is pretty damn good at it

as he starts taking on a bigger role at the café, he starts noticing some regulars

mainly, it’s that one guy with dark skin and clear blue eyes, hair that falls perfectly around his chiseled face, or pulled up into a ponytail or bun to show off his strong jawline even more, with the big smile with a slight gap between his front teeth and always a sparkle in his eyes

...not that Zuko had really looked at him, or anything

the boy used to come in almost everyday and order chai tea to go, usually accompanied by his friend, a slightly shorter guy with messy brown hair, big cheerful eyes and a almost childlike positivity radiating off him

but lately he’s been spending more time there, coming in at early afternoon, and sitting in one of the tables by the window until closing time, either writing on his laptop or drawing in a sketchbook

Zuko is dying to know more about him and what he’s doing, but he’s always alone when he comes in to sit down, and it’s usually his friend that strikes up conversations

Zuko used to dislike people he didn’t know that just started talking to him, but the handsome boy’s friend, Zuko think he said his name was Aang, is just so genuine it’s hard to dislike him

he also talks very warmly about Iroh and the café, which is always a huge plus in Zuko’s book

one day, when the two boys come in together around noon, Zuko manages to catch that the handsome guy’s name is Sokka, and he can’t stop thinking about it

somehow, having a name to the face makes the boy seem more real

like he’s an actual person and not just a extremely attractive daydream

one time, Zuko mentions Aang to his uncle, trying to be all discrete and maybe get some information of Sokka, and Iroh gets very excited right away

he really wants to see Zuko make some friends there, and Aang and Sokka has been coming to his café for years now, and he feels pretty confident that they are good people

but Iroh mentions something about Sokka being very chatty, and Zuko gets a little drawn back after that, and Iroh finally manages to pry out why of him

and Zuko mutters something about how Sokka is never chatty with him

so he goes on to explain that he’s not rude or anything, but he seems to never look him in the eyes or talk in long sentences around him, and Zuko mutters that it’s probably his scar or something

and Iroh just ...

B O I

because Sokka did NOT use to spend hours sitting in that café on his own before Zuko started working there

and now Zuko is saying Sokka can’t seem to keep eye-contact with him without getting flustered

and Zuko is just so oblivious it’s insane

but, to be fair, so is Sokka

Iroh comes to find that out when he’s alone in the café one day when Zuko is starting the photography class, and Aang comes in alone

Aang kinda hints at something, thinking he’s clever, but is in fact very obvious

Iroh gets very excited lol

he tries to be professional and keep private life private, but...

in the name of love, he is willing to let that go a little bit

and, as it turns out, so is Aang...

this will be like 100 parts, won’t it?

I think it will

anyways, to be continued...

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tigerkirby215 · 3 years

Text

5e Gondar, the Bounty Hunter build (DOTA 2)

(Artwork made for Valve Software.)

And here you were thinking that I wouldn’t actually make a DOTA 2 build; that’s where you’re WRONG! While this is sort of meant as my April Fools joke build I did actually play DOTA before migrating to League. I still love all the characters and I do genuinely think the gameplay has some strengths over LoL. The community...? Well, it exists.

Regardless back when I played DOTA I mained Bounty Hunter, which is rather ironic given I fucking hate League’s counterpart Bounty Hunter of Pyke. Gondar (yes his name is Gondar) was an extremely fun stealth assassin with a very unique passive to keep tabs on enemies at all times and inflate his teammates’ wallets. And apparently they magnified that even further by allowing Bounty to steal other heroes’ gold now with Jinada? Sweet Zeus Valve calm down with the feature creep...

Regardless: happy 5 days after April Fools! Hoes mad that I’m acknowledging DOTA’s existence.

GOALS

You can't fight what you can't see - DOTA is a lot more willing to give people invisibility. Helps when you can buy a gem that lets you see all invisible enemies.

The realm's justice - Jinada, que pasa? We need to be able to do big damage to critical points that weaken our enemies in a fight.

You can run but you can't hide - Your ultimate ability will be to track people down like some sort of... person who tracks people down for money.

RACE

Back in the Warcraft days Gondar was a Goblin, so a Goblin he shall be! As a Goblin you get a +2 to Dexterity and a +1 to Constitution, and Nimble Escape to get half of what a Rogue can do with your Bonus Action to Disengage or Hide (but not Dash.) And you get a nice bonus to take down big bounties (big in the literal sense) with Fury of the Small, allowing you to do extra damage equal to your level to a creature that’s bigger than you once per Short or Long Rest!

ABILITY SCORES

15; DEXTERITY - Is your refrigerator running? Well you’d better go catch it, because there’s a bounty on its head!

14; WISDOM - Wisdom is tied to tracking, and spoiler alert? We’re going to be doing a lot of tracking.

13; CONSTITUTION - We kinda don’t need anything else so may as well use that +1 from our race to get a nice boost to our HP.

12; INTELLIGENCE - Practical intelligence never hurt when tracking down gods and demons.

10; CHARISMA - You need to be able to talk to the people giving the bounties.

8; STRENGTH - You’re a small man with small knives.

BACKGROUND

Man, if only there was a background for a Bounty Hunter! We’ll be going for Urban Bounty Hunter from the Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide because just because the name says “urban” doesn’t mean you can’t prowl around the Radiant jungle too. You can choose your proficiencies among a small list: I opted for Insight and Stealth. You also get proficiency with two musical instruments or gaming sets: I’d maybe ask about languages instead? But honestly pick your poison.

Your feature Ear to the Ground gives you plenty of information about whatever bounty you may be tracking, as you’ve got contacts in all places to slip you information about where a giant fishman may be. “The Tidehunter becomes the hunted.”

(Artwork made for Valve Software.)

THE BUILD

LEVEL 1 - FIGHTER 1

You level Shuriken first on Bounty, you go for CON saves first in D&D. Along with those CON saves you also get proficiency in two skills from the Fighter list: Acrobatics will help you survive and Survival will also help you survive! But it’s mainly useful for tracking.

As a Fighter you can choose a Fighting Style at level 1: for a quick Shuriken Toss Superior Technique will let you grab the Quick Toss maneuver as well as a d6 Superiority die to use on said maneuver. It doesn’t take a lot to push Q and click on someone. Remember that your superiority die come back after a Short Rest, as well as a long one.

Finally as a Fighter you can hold onto a Bottle to use for a bit of Second Wind, healing for a d10 plus your Fighter Level as a Bonus Action. “A prudent hunter knows when to strike.” This ability also resets after a Short or Long Rest.

LEVEL 2 - FIGHTER 2

Second level Fighters can up their APM with Action Surge, allowing them to take two actions in a turn. The Wiki says the trick of attacking people during Shadow Walk’s Fade Time is still a thing, so yeah pro tips from a League player!

LEVEL 3 - FIGHTER 3

Third level Fighters get to choose their Martial Archetype and truth be told I just want to be able to throw more shuriken, so Battle Master it is for four more Combat Superiority dice! You can also learn three more Maneuvers other than Quick Toss: Disarming Attack will let you knock an enemy’s weapon away with Heaven’s Halberd, and both Commander’s Strike and Distracting Strike are good to team up with your allies to play support. “My allies have earned their keep.”

But of course the most important feature is Student of War; no shmuck politician is going to hire you unless you have Calligrapher’s Supplies proficiency to fool a god to sign off his power to you!

LEVEL 4 - FIGHTER 4

How about we slow them down a bit? The Slasher feat will increase your Dexterity by 1 but also allow you to slow enemies hit by 10 feet. Additionally if you crit you cripple them, giving them disadvantage on their attacks! This only works with Slashing damage, so technically you can only slow in melee range with a Scimitar. But if your DM is cool I’d totally allow Darts that do Slashing damage to slow at range!

(”Twin Blades Assassin” set made by motenai and T_Vidotto. Made for YYF.)

LEVEL 5 - RANGER 1

First level Rangers get proficiency in one skill from the Ranger list: increase your map awareness and buy some wards for Perception. Additionally you get Deft Explorer from Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything, which grants you the Canny ability for two language proficiencies and Expertise in one skill of your choice. Your languages don’t matter too much but guess what? Survival is still used for tracking down bounties!

Speaking of those bounties you can mark them with not quite track thanks to Favored Foe. When you hit a foe you can choose to mark them and make them take an additional d4 once per turn for up to a minute! You need to concentrate on this effect though so you can’t just fire-and-forget like in DOTA, and can only use it a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus.

LEVEL 6 - RANGER 2

Second level Rangers get to choose a Fighting Style and you know what’s good for tossing shuriken? Thrown Weapon Fighting, letting you draw thrown weapons for free and giving you +2 damage to said thrown weapons!

But of course the main appeal of being a Ranger is the Spellcasting! You can learn two spells from the Ranger list: for a not quite stun that certainly isn’t mini Ensnaring Strike lets you throw a shuriken (or stab with your sword) to root an enemy in place. Alternatively if you want to track people super good Hunter’s Mark gives you advantage on Survival checks to track the person you marked, and also lets you do an extra d6 every time you hit the enemy!

It’s of course worth mentioning that both these spells require Concentration which means you can’t use them along with Favored Foe, but most of the Ranger spell list is Concentration.

LEVEL 7 - RANGER 3

Third level Rangers get to chose their subclass, and I hope you weren’t expecting Hunter just because the character is literally called “Bounty Hunter.” No we’ll be going for the Monster Slayer subclass, because certainly you only hunt monsters who have a price on their head for a reason, right? Regardless Hunter’s Sense will let you know what an enemy’s weaknesses are just by looking at them (and perhaps peeking at their inventory) with your Action. You can use this ability a number of times equal to your Wisdom modifier and regain all expended uses at the end of a Long Rest.

But what we’re mainly here for is Slayer’s Prey, for more tracking marks! As a Bonus Action you can put another mark on a foe within 60 feet to make them take an extra d6 the first time you hit them! You can only have one target marked at a time with this ability, and it ends if you take a Short or Long Rest. This stacks with both Hunter’s Mark and Favored Foe, so pick your poison to do as much as you can to your foes!

You can also learn another first level Ranger spell like Snare, to set up in advance for bounties you know are coming. You get a lot more magic too: Monster Slayer Magic provides you with the Protection from Evil and Good spell, which is helpful for hunting down demons and fiends. You can also cast Speak with Animals once per day thanks to Primal Awareness, just in case you’ve been hanging around with Enchantress.

LEVEL 8 - RANGER 4

4th level Rangers get another Ability Score Improvement, but we still kinda need to be able to turn invisible? Good thing Shadow Touched lets you increase your Wisdom by 1 and gives you the Invisibility spell along with one Illusion or Necromancy spell of first level.

What first level spell will we be taking you may ask? Why if only there was a spell to squeeze more gold out of your bounties. Oh wait! Distort Value from Acquisitions Incorporated, allowing you to sparkle up your bounties for more gold! You can cast both of these spells once per Long Rest without using a spell slot, and can also cast them freely with your spell slots.

(”Desperado in the Shade” set made by HeeJae.)

LEVEL 9 - RANGER 5

5th level Rangers finally get their Extra Attack. It’s about damn time to pick up some attack speed as a Martial Fighter.

You can also learn another spell like Locate Object, because sometimes items have bounties on them too. Speaking of spells Monster Slayer Magic gives you the Zone of Truth spell, and Primal Awareness gives you one casting of the spell Beast Sense, in case you want to ride along with Lifestealer.

LEVEL 10 - RANGER 6

6th level Rangers get Roving from Deft Explorer, increasing their movement speed by 5 and granting them a Climbing and Swimming speed equal to their walking speed, meaning you can follow your bounties through any terrain. Additionally Favored Foe increases to a d6 of damage, so while it’s still not really comparing to Hunter’s Mark it’s still helping!

LEVEL 11 - RANGER 7

7th level Monster Slayers have a Supernatural Defense against magic and crowd control. Whenever the target marked by your Slayer’s Prey feature forces you to make a saving throw or if you try to escape their grapple, you can add a d6 to your roll.

You can also learn another second level spell like Lesser Restoration, as a Dispel is never a bad thing to have.

LEVEL 12 - RANGER 8

Striking foes from the shadows is all well and good but you haven’t got many ways to keep yourself safe. (Other than using your Bonus Action to Disengage I guess.) The Mobile feat will speed you up and let you avoid hits after cutting a foe’s heels!

(“Giant Hunter” set made by Jigglypuff.)

LEVEL 13 - RANGER 9

9th level Rangers get third level spells! This means you get:

Magic Circle from Monster Slayer Magic.

Speak With Plants from Primal Awareness.

And Revivify from the Ranger spell list (thanks Tasha’s), in case you need to help someone Buyback their respawn.

LEVEL 14 - RANGER 10

10th level Rangers are Tireless thanks to Deft Explorer. You can recover Exhaustion on a Short Rest, and can use an action to give yourself a boost of Temporary Hitpoints a number of times equal to your Proficiency bonus, which resets at the end of a Long Rest.

You also get more ways to turn invisible with Nature’s Veil, which lets you turn invisible until the start of your next turn. Like Tireless you have a number of uses equal to your Proficiency bonus, which come back at the end of a Long Rest. “Unseen.”

LEVEL 15 - RANGER 11

11th level Monster Slayers carry a ministun to deal with casters. When you see a creature casting a spell or teleporting within 60 feet of you, you can use your reaction to try to foil it with Magic-User’s Nemesis. The creature must succeed on a Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC, or its spell / TP fails and is wasted. You can only use this ability once per Short or Long Rest however, so be sure to stop the enemy from using a teleportation scroll.

Additionally you can learn another spell like Nondetection, for protection against wards.

LEVEL 16 - RANGER 12

12th level Rangers can grab another Ability Score Improvement: even though we have an uneven Wisdom score I’m still going to suggest maxing out your Dexterity first for the highest possible AC, damage, and dodging skills.

(”Hunter with No Name” set made by BigTuna, Vermillion-Wlad, and Stefco. Made for Funn1k.)

LEVEL 17 - RANGER 13

13th level Rogues can learn 4th level spells. You get Banishment from Monster Slayer Magic, but much more importantly you get Locate Creature from Primal Awareness for some proper Bounty Hunting! We’ll also be taking Locate Creature as our learnt spell at this level: one may say that it’s not the most useful spell, but if you need combat magic you can upcast Ensnaring Strike for a chain stun or Invisibility to dust up.

LEVEL 18 - RANGER 14

14th level Rogues see Favored Foe increase to a d8. Is this way too late for a feature that’s still arguably doing less than Hunter’s Mark? Perhaps, but Favored Foe still doesn’t cost your Bonus Action nor a Spell Slot.

You do also get Vanish to hide as a Bonus Action but... you could already do that. Oops.

LEVEL 19 - RANGER 15

15th level Monster Slayers are masters at 1v1ing squishy spellcasters, as you master the Slayer’s Counter. If the enemy you marked with Slayer’s Prey forces you to make a saving throw, you can use your reaction attack them! You make this attack immediately before the saving throw, and if your attack hits you automatically succeed your saving throw.

You can also learn another spell but honestly? Pick your choice. We got just about all the character-accurate spells we could need as is.

LEVEL 20 - RANGER 16

16th level Rangers get their last Ability Score Improvement and while it’s probably late to do this the Resilient feat in Wisdom will make sure the enemy has zero chance to CC you.

WHY NOT ROGUE

There's several reasons I opted for Ranger levels instead of Rogue levels. Firstly Bounty Hunter can crit targets even when not stealthed, and Jinada is described as "preparing" the next attack which is much more in-line with Hunter's Mark and Favored Foe. Gondar's code language is most likely Goblin speak as opposed to Thieves' Cant. And of course Ranger was the only way to acquire tracking spells like Hunter's Mark and Locate Creature.

But above all else there were few Rogue subclasses that fit Gondar. Soul Knife is perhaps the only one that makes sense but ironically enough the unlimited nature of the Soul Knife Psychic Blades doesn't fit. (Also long-ranged teleportation doesn't fit either.) Monster Slayer meanwhile brings the backline counterplay to Gondar and allows me to work in a lot of Bounty Hunter's utility abilities.

FINAL BUILD

PROS

I didn't come here to see my enemies grow rich - You have many ways to get the upper hand both in and out of combat, with both spells and martial prowess to aid you in combat. Between invisibility, Hunter’s Mark, Ensnaring Strike, or just generally tracking your enemy down you have all the tools you could need and more to get the jump on your foes.

Watch your head! - You are very strong against magic users and other enemies who force saving throws, and you didn’t even need the Mage Slayer feat! Monster Slayer is exceptionally good at giving one enemy an incredibly tough time killing you, especially if they rely on magic to do so.

Impressive technique, but not enough - A little bit of Constitution goes a long way, and a +2 to CON along with a d10 hit die will give you quite a bit of bulk in comparison to others.

CONS

A wise hunter knows patience - It takes quite a bit to set up all your marks, with several bonus actions to operate at maximum effectiveness. In fact you have an absolutely excessive amount of Bonus Actions to choose from which can make picking the right one very tricky.

My target eludes me - You also have several Concentration spells, and while your CON saves are good many of your spells are utility based you still can’t turn invisible while tracking down your bounty.

That's going to come out of my pay, isn't it? - Your Wisdom isn’t terrible but it’s not good either, and while most of your spells don’t rely on saving throws many abilities such as Hunter’s Sense and Magic-User’s Nemesis do rely on your Wisdom. I’m not saying Point Buy would be better but your Intelligence really isn’t doing much to help you.

But a good hunter knows what tool to use in any situation, and you have the tools to take out any target... for the right price, of course. Stalk your foes, strike when they least expect it, and reap the rewards for your allies. And if they're the type to complain that you're not from Runeterra simply remember that DOTA is better than League, and a LoL player can't deny.

(Comic by Nerf Now!)

#dnd #dnd build #dnd guide #defense of the ancients #dota #dota 2 #yes really #DOTA 2 Bounty Hunter #bounty hunter #dnd ranger

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bittywitches · 4 years

Text

Kitty Love (Ethan Dolan Fanfic)

GIF credit *@ethanhes*

A/N: I wrote this sooo long ago (literally right after the first mini home video came out??) but it didn’t even end up being all that related to the vid in the first place....lol

Basically Ethan and Y/N are childhood bffs and Y/N has never really been away from Ethan for that long before and it starts to cause some ~tension~ when she comes to see how things are going on the van

Anyways, thanks for reading, ly <3

“It seriously should not have taken you that long to get here.” Ethan grinned when he saw Y/N walk into the room.

“Hey, lay off. I’ve never been here before, it took me a while to figure it out.” She smiled back at him, pulling the straps of her backpack closer to her back.

“Yea yea.” He stretched his arms out, welcoming her into his embrace. She walked into his arms and gave him a tight squeeze. “I’m so bored. Thank you so much for coming, I’d probably shoot myself by now if you didn’t show up.”

She grabbed his shoulders and looked over them, peering over at the others working on the van. Sawdust floated through the entire room, and there was overall dampness in the air that seems to come with all of the wood material around.

“Gray isn’t letting you do any work, huh?” She stepped back from him and was able to catch Grayson’s attention long enough to give him a quick wave. He smiled and waved back, then went back to sawing more wood pieces.

Ethan groaned. “Yeah.”

She shrugged. “Understandable. You can’t do shit.”

“Wow, okay. Fuck you too.”

She giggled and patted his cheek. “So, road trip, huh? Sounds pretty exciting.”

He grinned. “Yea. It’s gonna be so fun. We finally have the time to put more effort into something cool.” The next few weeks were pretty much booked solid for him, filled with one fun thing after the other. They’d take a Road trip to Jersey where he’d be able to hang out with his family for a bit, and then fly out to Australia. Sure, they were cutting it close, but that was all part of the excitement, right?

“Right. And clearly, you’re putting in TONS of effort.” She patted his chest with both hands, chuckling at him a bit. Her eyes seemed to sparkle a bit whenever she did that like there was some magic in there that came out of her with every smile. Maybe it was just the familiarity of her, but whenever Ethan saw her little dimples it sent a warm feeling throughout his chest.

Ethan and Y/N had been friends for almost forever, and she came over quite often. They’d met each other back in grade school, and became really close as they got older. He was fairly certain she wouldn’t have moved out to LA if the twins hadn’t decided to in the first place. He was confident enough to say she was his closest friend, after Grayson of course. She was his cozy place he could retreat to whenever he wanted.

Ethan rolled his eyes. “Are you just here to insult me?”

“Hey, you’re the one who called me!”

“And you somehow are making me regret it.”

“Shut up.” She shoved his chest, and he smiled at her.

“So, how are you doing?”

“You ask me that as if you didn’t see me just yesterday.”

“Oh my god, you’re so annoying.” He brushed a hand through his hair. “How're classes going n stuff?”

She sighed, rubbing her shoulders, which were peppered with freckles. They matched the ones on her face, and Ethan loved to run his fingers over them, dragging his finger across the freckles like he was connecting the dots to draw a bigger picture. “Alright, I guess. Everything’s been super boring lately. I just work, eat, go over to your house, and sleep.”

“Sounds pretty fun to me,” Ethan remarked.

“Yeah, well maybe you should take my classes for me and I’ll go on your little road trip.”

Ethan groaned, and she giggled. “Sorry. I don’t mean to complain.”

“No no I’m not annoyed.” He rubbed her elbow. “Maybe you SHOULD come with us. That seems like it’d be more interesting than your classes.”

She laughed. “I know you’re not serious because you’d never kick Kyle off the trip.”

“Who said we’d have to kick off Kyle?”

“That bed can not fit four people!”

“Who says? You can just snuggle up real close to me.”

“Hmmm.. while that does sound appealing...” she stepped closer to him then flicked his nose with her finger, making his heart flutter. “you know that’d never work. School and whatnot.” She slumped her shoulders.

“Yea..” Ethan sighed. “Wish you could though. I’m not gonna see you for so long.”

She looked up at him, head tilted, a gentle look in her eye.

“What?”

“Nothing.” It looked like she was holding back, but she gave that up and wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face into his chest. Ethan was caught by surprise a bit but loved the feeling of Y/N’s warmth all the same.

“You okay?” He rubbed her back gently, burying his nose into her hair.

“Yea.” She brought her hands down to rest against his chest, placing her ear next to his heart. “You won’t even be gone that long. Dunno why I feel like I’m gonna miss you so much.”

“E, come over here!” Grayson shouted from the table he was at.

Ethan groaned, annoyed that this was the moment Grayson finally decided he needed his help. “Hey, gimme a sec.” He untangled himself from Y/N, then grabbed her waist, hoisting her up onto the nearest counter. “Be right back.”

“Okayyy.” She dangled her feet, kicking them back and forth as she watched Ethan make his way over to Grayson. Her eyes lingered, as If she was trying to memorize his shape. She was right, he really wouldn’t be gone for that long, but something about not seeing his face every day hit her in a bad way.

Only then did she notice that there was a big white splotch of dust on the back of Ethan’s pants. She giggled, then yelled, “Ethan, when did you start powdering your ass?”

He turned around abruptly, looked down, and smirked as he wiped the dust off of himself. “Eyes up here, honey.”

She sniggered. “All right, hot stuff.”

“You know it!” He yelled when he turned his back to her to keep walking.

She laughed, her eyes following him somewhat wistfully.

He’s pretty cute, isn’t he? She thought.

Y/N took her bag off her back and set it down next to her on the counter. then brought her knees up to her chest and hugged them tightly. She found her eyes kept wandering back to the twins, one in particular. Ethan was wearing a loose sweatshirt and black shorts, and his hair was all ruffled up, a bit of sawdust floating around the top of his head. He had his hands planted on his hips, seeming to look deeply entranced in whatever Grayson was telling him. Y/N giggled, thinking that he probably had no idea what his brother was talking about. She loved Ethan, but his attention was all over the place. He’d never been able to keep his focus on anything for too long.

Except maybe on her.

Ethan wrapped up his conversation with Grayson and started to make his way back to Y/N. she was on her phone, kicking her feet back on forth and they were rhythmically tapping on the side of the counter. Her hair was tied back into a braid, and she was wearing a loose tank top and tights, her sweatshirt wrapped around her waist. She kept fiddling with the hair peeking out over her ear, and Ethan smiled. She seemed to always be fiddling with something, she could never sit still. It was like she could never calm herself down. She always had to be doing something.

Except maybe when with him.

“Hey, sorry about that.” He walked up to the counter.

“Oh, no problem.” She tucked her phone away into her pocket. “I’m sure you were doing something VERY important.” Her mouth quirked up.

He rolled his eyes. “I’ll have you know that this van wouldn’t be able to be built without my input.”

“Oh, yea? What was Gray asking you about?”

“...the colour of the floorboards.”

“Wow, I didn’t realize you were in a position to make such big decisions.”

“Shut up!” He shoved her shoulder, and she laughed.

“I’m sorry, teasing you is so fun.” She stretched her arms out for him, and Ethan boosted her off of the counter.

“Jesus, there’s so much dust everywhere.” She wiped the dust off her butt and thighs.

“I mean that’s kinda what happens when you sit on the dusty counter.”

“Which you put me on.”

“Same difference.”

“Wait, so you’re saying that your powdered ass was a result of you sitting around doing nothing while Grayson’s out here doing all the heavy work?”

“Oh my god, I’m done with you.” He walked off to the other side of the workshop and she laughed as she followed alongside him.

“I’m sorry, you make it so easy!”

——

It had been nearly an hour, and both Y/N and Ethan were bored out of their minds. They debated leaving to go hang out elsewhere, maybe go get coffee, but Ethan didn’t want to leave Grayson alone to be making all the decisions on the van. Like he was making any in the first place.

Ethan kept wandering around the room, looking around at what the others were doing, when he finally settled for a few minutes in one corner of the workshop.

“Y/N LOOK WHO I JUST FOUND.”

Y/N’s head perked up from her phone, looking around for Ethan but unable to catch his eye. “What??”

Ethan stepped around the corner, the biggest grin on his face and the cutest little kitten in his arms.

“Oh. My god.” Y/N jumped off the counter and ran up to him with a smile matching Ethan’s. “Oh my GOD he’s so cute!!”

“Right??” Ethan scratches him below the neck, causing the kitten to purr.

“Oh, you sweet little baby.” She ran her hand over his little head, scratching behind his ears. His nose twitched, and Y/N squealed in delight. “You’re a little cutie, aren’t you?” She said in a baby voice, and it felt like Ethan’s heart had doubled in size.

“Since when do you talk like that?”

“Since you started bringing me the cutest kitten ever.”

She was entranced with the little kitten, love, and adoration pouring out of her. God, she was so adorable. Ethan couldn’t help but feel like he wanted that kind of adoration from her.

“Yes, you’re just the most adorable thing ever.” She babied the cat, and Ethan couldn’t help but grin ear to ear.

“He’s so cute givehimtome.”

Y/N went to take the kitten from Ethan’s arms, but he pulled back for a moment, deciding he wanted to have some fun with Y/N for a bit.

“Hold on. This cat is precious. You have to be careful you know.”

“I know how to hold a cat!”

“This cat is a BABY. It’s our baby! I can’t be so carefree with my child!”

Y/N rolled her eyes. “He’s not our baby.”

Ethan gasped and cupped a hand over the kitten’s ear left ear. “Don’t you dare talk like that in front of our son!”

“Ethan come oooon I want to play with it too!”

“Our CHILD is not something to be played with, Y/N! He deserves the utmost care and to be fair I don’t think you can do it.”

“How dare you!” She lunged for the kitten but Ethan turned his back to her, holding the cat out of reach.

“Ethan careful you’re going to drop him!”

Although Y/N didn’t really think he would. To be honest, the cat seemed to be having a fun time, wiggling his tail about as Ethan held it in his arms.

“I am being careful, unlike you! You are a danger to this precious creature!”

“Ethan PLEASE! I want the fuzzy baby!” She grabbed his arm and tugged, making him turn around to face her.

“No Y/N, I can’t trust you. You need to calm down.”

“How am I supposed to come down when you won’t let me hold our son??”

Ethan immediately stopped the charade, blinking at Y/N. Y/N, surprised at Ethan’s abrupt stop, looked up at him expectedly with her arms outstretched. “Give him to me.”

He did so right away and watched how Y/N’s expression of annoyance quickly morphed into one of excitement.

“You called him our son.”

“I did what I had to do so I could hold him.”

“Uhuh. Sure.”

She rolled her eyes once more and turned her back to him. “I’m walking away now.”

“No you’re not, we need to discuss this! What does this mean for our son??”

“Ethan!”

——

Nearing the end of the day, the rest of the boys and Grayson were finishing up their work on the van.

“E, I’m so tired.”

“Mhm.”

Y/N rubbed her eyes and let out a yawn. “Let’s go home.”

“Come on...” he wrapped his arms around her shoulders and gave her a tight squeeze. “They’re almost done.”

“That’s what they say.” She groaned and leaned into his chest.

“C'mon. Let’s go.” She grabbed his sweatshirt and started to tug him.

“Y/N...”

“Pleaaaase.” She groaned. “I’m exhausted.”

He was tempted, but he knew he’d never hear the end of it if he left Grayson without saying anything.

“Okay... hold on.”

He shouted over to Gray. “Yo! Y/N’s tired, I’m taking her home!”

Gray shot him a thumbs-up, and Ethan turned back to her. “Alright, let's go.”

“Wait. Go where?”

Ethan blinked at her. “Are you high or something?”

“No!”

“You just asked if we could go home. So now I’m taking you home.”

“My home?”

“Okay, are you seriously alright? Did you breathe in too much sawdust?” He creased his eyebrows.

“Ethan!”

“YES, your home.”

“No wait, I meant your place. Let’s go to your place.”

Ethan raised her eyebrows at her. “This late?”

“I’ll just sleepover.”

“But you have class tomorrow morning.”

Who cares?

“You can drive me.”

“I don’t think I’ll have time to..”

Seeing her face drop made him change his mind completely.

“Yea. I can do that.”

She grinned and pumped her fists into the air. “Yusss, I’m gonna get cuddles.”

Ethan’s faces flushed, and he rolled his eyes. “Shut up.”

“Nope. You will drown in my cuddles.”

She grabbed his sweatshirt and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, her nose almost touching his. Ethan’s jaw had dropped just a tiny bit, not knowing what to do, being so close to her. His face heated up so fast, it felt like Y/N could almost feel it, but she laughed. “Carry me to the car?”

“Oh my god, you lazy ass.”

“Hmph.” She jumped up and wrapped her legs around his waist, then rested her head on his shoulder. Ethan grabbed her thighs and held her tightly, grinning like a fool.

“What’re you smiling about?” Y/N asked him slyly.

“Nothin’.” He said, making his way towards the car.

“Dumbass.” She murmured, smiling into his sweatshirt.

---------

“Open the door, it’s freezing.” Y/N shivered, retreating into the sweatshirt Ethan gave her while in the car.

“Okay, okay. Hold on.” Ethan’s hands fumbled in the cold, shoving the key into the lock and jiggling it vigorously before the door opened.

Y/n couldn’t help but giggle at his red-tinted ears and nose. She could tell he was cold, but he was trying to hide it. Though not very well, because along with his shivering fingers, him shifting his weight from side to side while searching for the key was a dead giveaway. She felt kind of bad taking his sweatshirt, but she also loved that he was willing to do that for her.

“Okay, it’s open.” He huffed.

“Finally.” Y/N ran into the house, kicking her shoes off at the door. “How can it be this cold in LA?”

“We’ve been spoiled by the heat.” He closed the door behind him, placing his shoes next to hers by the door. “Canada would make us it’s bitch.”

“Honestly, yea.” Y/N grabbed Ethan's hand to drag him to his room, but let out a small gasp. “Jesus, your hands are freezing.”

“Yea, because somebody stole my sweatshirt.”

“You gave it to me!”

“Whatever.”

She grumbled. “Okayyy I’m sorry. I’ll give you extra cuddles while we watch a movie to make up for it.”

“Hey, you have school tomorrow.” His eyes softened and he pulled her into his chest, and she huffed into his T-shirt.

“Whatever.” She mocked him.

“Dude, it’s late.” He looked down at her. “You’re not gonna be able to wake up in the morning.”

“Yea I will.” She shoved him gently. “We’ll watch it on your laptop, then I can just fall asleep on your bed.”

“Y/N…”

“Come onnnn.” She tugged on his arm, and he sighed in defeat.

“Okay! Just let me go make some tea or something.” She nodded, letting his hand go so he could leave for the kitchen. “My laptop is on my bed, just pick a movie, ‘kay?”

She gave him a thumbs-up, then made her way to his bedroom. She plopped down onto his bed, grabbing the laptop then throwing the covers over her. She sighed, relaxing her shoulders at the familiar environment of Ethan’s bedroom.

Although...

What am I doing here?

Y/N sighed, slumping down further into the mattress. What was she doing here? She had come over to Ethan’s house at midnight, in hopes of watching a movie with him on a weekday? With school tomorrow? What was she doing?

God, I’m so into him, aren’t I?

She groaned, pulling the covers over her head in defeat. The overwhelming smell of Ethan from the sheets only helped fuel her frustration. She grunted, throwing the sheets off of her, trying to free her nose of the scent.

“ETHAN!” She yelled for him.

“I’m coming, I’m coming!” She heard his voice echoing down the hall, followed by his footsteps. He pushed the door open with his side, both of his hands being occupied by two cups of warm tea. He sat himself down on the edge of the bed and handed her one of the cups. “Here.”

She looked at him warily, trying her hardest to take the cup without touching his fingers, which got a weird look from Ethan. She took a sip of the tea.

She groaned.

It was perfect. Exactly how she liked it.

“Oh my god, you suck ass.” She swatted his shoulder in frustration.

“What?” His eyebrows creased. “I swear I did the way you usually do. I soaked the tea bag for exactly three minutes, added the teaspoon of sugar before the milk, and then just one spoon of honey-”

“GOD, I hate you so much.” She shoved him in the shoulder again, groaning as she laid her head back onto the headboard.

Ethan raised an eyebrow. “What’s up with you?”

“Nothing.” Y/N mumbled.

“Are you mad at me or something?”

“No!” she said, flustered.

“Did I do something to upset you?”

“Ethan, NO!”

“Then what the fuck are you so pissy about?”

“NOTHING, okay?” She set her tea on the side table and pulled the laptop towards her aggressively. “Jesus.”

Ethan tilted his head at her. “Y/N?”

“What do you want?” She looked up at him menacingly.

Ethan rolled his eyes. “Will you just tell me what the matter is?”

“There is no matter to tell you.”

“If you don’t tell me I won’t watch the movie with you.”

“I have nothing to say!”

He took her hand. She almost flinched, his warm hand sending a shock throughout her entire body. She looked at him, and his eyes were concentrated on her. “Tell me.”

She lost herself in a few seconds of bliss, but then yanked her hand away. “Get out of my face.”

He huffed. “Okay, fine. You don’t have to tell me what it is, just tell me if I’m the reason you’re all grumpy.”

Are you kidding?

She groaned. “Ethan… please just watch the movie.” She shimmied over patting the seat next to her.

He shook his head. “Tell me first.”

She sighed. “Okay. fine.” She took a deep breath. “You are the reason.”

Ethan leaned back, seeming a bit bewildered. “Okay. don’t know what I was expecting you to say, but kind of didn’t want it to be that.” he waited for her to respond, to give him something, anything, but she just awkwardly stared at the laptop screen.

He sat there for a moment, wondering what exactly to say to her. He looked like he really wanted to ask her what this was all about, but he knew he couldn’t. He said that he wouldn’t.

“Okay then.” He got up. “Did you pick a movie?”

Y/N was so lost in her own thoughts, she had practically forgotten about choosing one. “Oh, yea. Sure. Just lemme check.”

“Alright, just let me text Gray real quick, okay?” She nodded. Ethan sat down at his desk chair, swiveling it around so he faced her. He took out his phone and began typing up whatever it was he was going to send to his brother.

Y/N watched him, warily from the bed. She didn’t know what to do. There were so many things going through her head at once. She wanted to tell him. She wanted him to know why she was there. She wanted him to know why she wanted to watch a movie. She wanted him to know how she felt. She wanted him to feel the same way.

She wanted him.

“Hey, E.”

“Mhm?”

“Look at me.”

He looked up at her skeptically, raising an eyebrow. “What is it?”

She looked at his eyes for a moment, the brown and hazelnut seeming to warm her from the inside. She took in every part of him. His eyes, his nose, his pesky hair that never stayed in one place. His beauty marks and almost non-existent acne scars, his sharp jawline and his stubble. His somehow still tinted ears, his dimples, his soft pink lips.

Huh.

“Kiss me.”

He didn’t react at first, not seeming to follow. Then a quick flash of a smile, thinking it was a joke. But as he realized she was serious, his eyes widened, the colour from his ears now flushing to his face.

“What?”

“Kiss me.”

He moved his mouth, but couldn’t seem to form any words. “I don’t-”

“Ethan kiss me before I change my mind.”

He seemed frozen for a moment, unsure of what to do. He didn’t seem to understand the words she had just said. He stared at her, running his eyes over her, landing finally on her lips. He’d tried so hard to keep his eyes away from them, but now he couldn’t help it. They were all he wanted.

She was all he wanted.

He got up, cupped her face with his hands, and pressed his greedy lips to hers. A moan escaped Y/N’s lips, and Ethan smiled against them when he heard that heavenly sound. Her face flushed, feeling the smile on Ethan’s lips, and she pulled away.

“I hate you.”

“I’m sorry. You’re fucking adorable.”

“God, I HATE you!” She wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him again. He leaned forward, pushing her all the way down so she laid down on the bed, and he held himself over her, propping himself up with his arms on either side of her. He deepened the kiss, not able to get enough of the taste of her lips. He pulled back, smiling at her.

“I thought you were mad at me.”

She glanced away from him. “Well, I was.”

He laughed. “For what?”

“For not taking a hint!” She couldn’t help but giggle.

“It’s not my fault that you’re 90% sarcasm.”

“It’s not my fault that you have such a thick skull.”

“You are so ruining this.”

“Shut up!”

He leaned down once more, kissing her again. She sighed, letting her arms make their way up his arms and back around his neck. He pressed a kiss to her cheek, then her jaw, then her neck.

She blushed, hard. “Ethan!!” she pushed him up so they were both sitting upright, sitting as close to each other as possible.

“Cmon, this is the least I can do for catching on so late.”

She smiled at him, then laid her head against his shoulder. “How about we just watch a movie instead?”

He grinned like a fool. “Sounds amazing.”

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cabin-13 · 4 years

Note

u said self indulgent nico hcs?? 👀👀

ajkdsjkkj when I say self-indulgent, it’s Self-Indulgent and i pretty much ignore richard’s canon / haven't reread the books from either series in a long time nor have i read toa but if ur really interested... (long post ahead, sorry!)

nb nico is top tier

goes by he/they pronouns

touristcore aesthetic that’s slowly encroaching into e-person territory

he’s The Blueprint

likes thorn from the hex girls (even the reboot ver.) but digs dusk’s look more

how is this related u may ask?

yeah, i answer

idc abt canon so he and drew are bitchy friends and drew rags on his appearance constantly while brushing his hair but throws in self-care tips btwn loving insults

nico: you know im not a boy right

drew: doesnt change the fact you look like a wet rat, sweetie <3

i will forever stand by reynico being (platonic) soulmates and im gonna b extra self-indulgent and say they were friends in previous lives too and that’s why they vibed w each other so well <3

speaking of previous lives, well.... heh..

(no but really, this hc is kinda embarassing but , if u want elaboration uhhhhhhhhhh)

i know nico only has like. a 5th grade education but i like to think he would be a good student ... if anything i think hades would at least homeschool him with the ghosts of (famous) teachers ??? he seems to be naturally curious and he’s kind of a smart ass (not in a mean way) in canon idk

polyglot nico! polyglot nico! polyglot nico!!!! he becomes the go-to translator at camp ( like he isn't already sjkjskjdk)

yes he would know asl. why? bc i said so and rick needs to include include some hoh/deaf characters within the greek/roman pantheon <3 (if there is, not counting hearthstone from mcga)

leo finds out abt nico knowing spanish bc he once snorted at a joke he said and now leo won’t stop telling him shit like “¿cuál es la fruta que más se ríe? .... la naranja, ja, ja, ja --”

ironically has the best hair at chb (rick once said the di angelos had silky hair in the titan’s curse i think + reyna said something abt his hair too in boo ?? i'll have to check...) once he cleans up and the aphrodite kids are seething

nico’s hair starting to gray at a young age is also an interesting concept ! i think tumblr user fuocogo drew something ft that and it stuck with me

really self indulgent but he’s roman at heart (maybe even Literally. i read somewhere that an italian fan said the di angelos fit the desc. of modern day romans better than venicians ?? if i find it, i’ll link it >>>)

i like to think his family are legacies of victoria seeing as he’s always one of the key pieces / an important informant for winning both wars ... plus his grandpa was a diplomat and uhhh idk where I was going w this ngl

speaking of family, I need to know if the di angelo bloodline no longer exists assuming maria was an only child and there was no mention of any other di angelos aside from her parents ..? i like the idea of nico finding out that he has more family tho !!

also I would love it if rick cleared up where and when he met maria pls and thank u <3

I MISS BABY NICO’S PERSONALITY SM ... which is why i propose that whenever one of his friend’s see his eyes sparkling and arms waving while he babbles abt whatever topic, they think it’s really cute !!!! like !! keep talking !!

he gets embarrassed when he sees his friends smiling at him but it kinda makes him a bit teary eyed bc it’s been so long since he was able to talk abt his interests without being shut down / forcing himself to keep quiet because he felt like he was being too childish/annoying

what im saying is that he should be able to act like a kid bc he is one !!!! he's 14 !!!!!

he either has the cutest laugh or the weirdest laugh and it strictly depends on who ur asking

i feel like he sneezes like a kitten...............he sneezes and everyone whips their head around to look at him and he’s never wanted to dig a hole and put himself in it more than now

i like the imagery of tinkling bells being associated with him so im gonna sayyy he would have a necklace with a little bell (something like this kinda ??) and yes, leo would’ve made it for him as a joke kinda but not really

valdangelo (either as a friendship or nah) is underrated

like ur telling me this kid has a metal dragon and builds the coolest things ever and nico doesn't even think it’s a little bit cool ?? nah. rr did them dirty.

the kids at camp love him and i won't take no for an answer

he brings out ye ol’ mythomagic figurines to explain/show them the monsters and gods of the greek pantheon

it’s a win-win situation bc he gets to babble abt his hyperfixation and the kids get to learn abt what they're gonna get into in a way that’s better than the camp orientation film (since nico’s literally the only one who’s seen it ((but i think the stolls wanted to check it out too ??)) )

they give him a “camp’s best counselor <3333” mug and he cries abt it to reyna and hazel

yes he’s wearing an unusual amount of friendship bracelets no he's not gonna take them off shut up

unfortunately im team short!nico bc i want 2 see him get engulfed by the hugs his sisters (yes this includes reyna) and friends give him !!!

he wears demonia platform sneakers / doc martens (and converse but that’s p much a given) thank you <3

piper/nico friendship ... I Need It

they borrow each other’s clothes constantly

leo and them clown on jason and jason is Suffering but he loves them all so it’s ok

piper could probably carry nico

nico stress bakes

yeah

he and clovis become good friends and hang out in the dream world and u know what, im gonna say they’re cuddle buddies too. clovis seems like he would give nice hugs !

im a sucker for nico having friends from different pantheons too !!! also becoming sort-of friends with gods/immortals of different pantheons !!

the underworld demigod discord gc is cursed; one moment they're all talking abt how they're pretty much fated to stay in the underworld while they're both living and after they die but the next moment someone says they want a hug and a chorus of “yeah...”’s follows.

nico was a momma’s boy most definitely

speaking of which, i like to think that while him and bianca looked like their dad and mom respectively, it would’ve switched when they got older ?? idk

autistic nico ..... rick make it canon and not btwn the lines......

idk how to explain this one bc it’s just Plain Weird but . i feel like . nico would like?? hang out under his bed ??? maybe i’ll draw a pic or something and edit this later sjjdjkddk

this is just me projecting but he hates looking at mirrors / seeing himself in photos bc the person he sees doesn't match the person he sees in his head ?? if that makes sense ??? like he doesn't look like the nico he used to be bc of how much his appearance changed ? idk

uhhh he sometimes hallucinates, esp when he was in tartarus and in the month after coming out of the jar

maybe i’ll elaborate on this later ..

i need more annabeth and nico friendship pls...... both of them like/liked percy and now he can't stop getting clowned

HOWEVER.... if I see one more “not his/my type” joke im going to delete my tumblr

speaking of which, i have a conspiracy theory abt Things, but i don't wanna get my ass sniped into next tuesday

introvert leo forcing himself to be the group comedian even though he’d much rather be with machines and extrovert nico who pushes ppl away so he doesn't get hurt but desiring the company of another type vibes. im not gonna elaborate.

his latest hyperfixation is pokemon and his favorite pokemon are gengar and skitty, but jirachi and mimikyuu are close seconds

has a crush on N Harmonia and a bunch of the male gym leaders no im not gonna elaborate

this isn't a hc but. rick u really gotta stop writing abt ppl automatically distrusting nico because of his appearance / godly parent (although some were kinda warranted based of their personal history even though nico still pulled through in the end) im getting tired of reading abt ppl wanting to like. hurt him or Actually hurting him for stuff he didn't have control of sjkjsjkdsjkdk (like wtf happened with frank when hazel got poisoned?? I thought frank actually liked nico ahjkjsjkf)

uhhhhh that’s p much it ?????? sorry for the long ass post .. maybe i’ll write abt him more if ppl really want me to...

#nico di angelo #pjo #please tell me to shut the fuck up #im mortified #null.txt

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inspired-by-the-music · 4 years

Text

For You: 4 O’Clock

Taglist: @jineunwootrash @jamies-kpop-reactions

A/N: This was originally the final chapter of this fic, but there will be more! Please bear with me on the completion of this story!

Chapter 13: Belong

The S.M. New Year’s party had been hosted at the same banquet hall for as long as I could remember. It was a fancy sort of place that made me feel out of place first as a child, then as a teenager, and then as an adult as I walked at Baekhyun’s side, heels clicking against the shining white marble floor.

My insecurity started to melt with the first whispers of, “Wow, is that Lei? She looks so grown up,” and, “She looks pretty.” Although flattered, I wasn’t vain enough to steal a glance at my reflection in the overhead mirrored ceiling. Still, I couldn’t quite bite back my smile as I brought my fingers up to graze the soft petals of my flower crown.

My smile didn’t falter until the whispers changed— dropped so that I had to strain to hear.

“Is she walking with Baekhyun?”

“Isn’t he a little too old for her?”

“They’re a bit bold, aren’t they— matching each other like that?”

“Anyway, they’re a very pretty couple, right?”

I stiffened at Baekhyun’s side because this was my old nightmare— being associated with a dating scandal— come to life. My steps slowed and then almost stopped altogether when I looked up at our reflections and saw what everyone else saw: Me and Baekhyun standing too close together, wearing clothes crafted from the same sparkling midnight blue material, donning similar silver masks, accenting our formal attire with white roses— mine atop my head, Baekhyun’s in the suit pocket over his heart. I had never been to a prom, owing to the fact that I had been homeschooled, but Baekhyun and I looked like what I imagined a prom king and queen would look like.

It wouldn’t have been so embarrassing had we made any deliberate effort to match. It wouldn’t have been so embarrassing had my heart not been swelling with the excitement of finding Taemin, who had planned to subtly coordinate his appearance with mine. It wouldn’t have been so embarrassing had I not devoted much of my free time leading up to that night to reading that story about Baekhyun. It wouldn’t have been so embarrassing had I not tripped, drawing a collective gasp from everyone in the room.

As if enacting a scene from a drama— or, worse, from that story— Baekhyun caught me around the waist and gently pulled me upright. While I tried (and failed) to fit my foot back into my shoe, Baekhyun kept his arm loosely laced around my waist, muttering, “You’re already tripping over yourself, and you haven’t even had anything to drink yet.”

His efforts to keep me on my feet and paint a smile onto my blushing face only fueled the spreading belief that we were attending the party as a couple. Because I was using Baekhyun as a crutch, I couldn’t flinch away from him as my instincts begged. I just had to set my jaw and brave the whispers.

From the other side of the room, someone bellowed, “Are you okay?” I didn’t have to glance over to see him, hands forming a megaphone around his mouth, to know that the voice belonged to Na Jaemin.

Humiliated beyond all comprehension by the attention, I retreated into Baekhyun’s embrace and quietly watched as he dismissed Jaemin’s concern with the wave of his hand. The SuperM table couldn’t have been more than five feet away, but the rest of that walk seemed to take a lifetime.

In that lifetime, I hadn’t gathered the nerve to speak before settling into the space next to Lucas. What little confidence I had recovered dissipated at the sight of Chanyeol, who stood, chortling with Ten. Ten, at least, once he met my eyes, had the decency to drop his laughter at my expense into his champagne glass. Chanyeol, emboldened by our longtime mutual hatred, made no effort to disguise his laughter.

My eternal complaint about the New Year’s party: there were no chairs at the tall tables. Mom explained again and again that the lack of seats was meant to encourage mingling among staff and artists. Anyway, being a lady wearing a dress, I couldn’t plop onto the floor to fix my shoe. I steadied myself against the table and, leaning into Lucas as he asked, “Are you alright, Lei? It kinda looked like your trip hurt,” I tried to secure the back strap of the shoe around my heel.

Voice snipped short by embarrassment, I hissed, “It did hurt,” which only tickled Chanyeol further.

I barely had the time to glance at Taemin (who I had been most excited to see) looking absolutely beautiful even in his white mask at Kai’s side on the opposite side of the table, before Mark demanded my attention. Panting after his sprint from NCT Dream’s table, he asked, “Yo, Lei, are you okay?”

Thinking that it would have been easier to overcome my burning blush and the faint throbbing of my foot if everyone could agree to a) stop asking if I was okay and b) stop laughing, I nodded. “Yeah, Mark.”

“Good.” Mark grabbed a champagne glass and chugged the drink in one sip. “You shouldn't be embarrassed, you know. Everyone has clumsy moments. Remember when I fell on my way to the bathroom during our flight to America?”

While Kai and Lucas, at Mark’s remark, joined Chanyeol and Ten in laughter, I shook my head, “No.” Even if I had remembered Mark’s fall, I would have lied. I could never really find the humor in that kind of embarrassment.

“You were a little busy,” Lucas acknowledged, draping an arm over my shoulders and glancing indiscreetly at Taemin (who stared at me and deepened my blush), “so let me tell you that Mark’s fall was, like, the funniest thing in the history of all time.”

Chanyeol snorted. “Look, there’s no way anything has ever been funnier than our princess—” he referenced my branding snidely— “nearly busting her ass in front of everyone.”

Earning a glare from Taeyong, Ten reasoned, “Actually, based on the trajectory of her fall, had Baekhyun not reached out as Prince Charming, the princess would’ve busted her face.”

There was an important distinction between Chanyeol and Ten: Ten was my friend, and Chanyeol was not. Ten’s teasing, although occasionally annoying, was harmless. Ten always had my back when it counted. Bearing that in mind, for Ten’s sake, I tried to repress the eternal urge to tear into Chanyeol. I just looked at Taemin, hoping that his small supportive smile would brighten the night.

Evidently determined to improve my mood, Mark smiled at me too. “You look really pretty, Lei.”

Baekhyun, bored with having been quiet for so long, leaned onto the table and asked, batting his eyelashes, “What about me?”

Wide-eyed, Mark realized, “Oh, wow! You’re matching!” which compelled everyone at the table to look at me and Baekhyun with renewed interest. Perhaps noticing that I squirmed with discomfort, fixing my eyes anywhere except Taemin and Baekhyun, Mark added, “There’s nothing wrong with that! I coordinated with NCT Dream to wear chewing gum pink!”

In the moment, I couldn’t even appreciate how cute that was. Nobody else responded to Mark either.

Poorly masking his smirk behind his glass, Ten stretched across the table to study Taemin’s reaction to his question, “What do you think about that, Taemin? Lei matching Baekhyun, I mean.”

Maybe Ten was disappointed that Taemin didn’t glance at him for even the briefest second, or maybe he was more satisfied that Taemin didn’t look away from me as he answered, “I think she looks beautiful.”

A collection of my thoughts in that moment:

Taemin was embarrassing me.

He was being way too obvious about our relationship— right in front of that idiot Chanyeol.

My heart was going to beat out of my chest if he didn’t stop looking at me like that.

I didn’t want him to look away.

This blush would never fade.

If Taemin was jealous of Jaemin’s earlier concern and my accidental matching with Baekhyun that was obvious enough for Mark to notice (and, knowing Taemin’s temperament, he probably was), I wouldn’t hear about it until later if (when) he climbed in through my bedroom window.

Taemin watched me, cocking his head aside, so I opened my mouth to thank him for the compliment, but before I could make our relationship any more obvious to onlookers, Chanyeol interrupted with his lack of manners. “Is that why you tripped over yourself, princess? Were you admiring your own reflection in the ceiling or the fact that you already have someone else to cling to?”

Initially, I silently gasped at Chanyeol’s indirect reference Sehun— the first (and maybe only) person I had ever clung to without caring who saw. Then, I remembered that if Chanyeol was here, Sehun couldn’t have been far behind; they were always kind of inseparable. My blood went cold. My heart stopped beating.

No, I didn’t want to avoid Sehun anymore. I wanted to abandon that habit after he had been honest with me about his feelings. But maybe, I realized with a frown, he wanted to avoid me. Maybe he needed to avoid me for a while so that one day he could look at me without wincing. I understood— I avoided him because I thought that would lessen the pain in my chest— but I was still disappointed.

I must have looked as guilty as I felt. Chanyeol rolled his eyes at me and set his glass down with a thud. At my side, Baekhyun recoiled. Eyes fixed on the black table cloth, Baekhyun protectively reached for the glass and shielded it with his hands. Chanyeol didn’t care. Maybe he didn’t want anymore to drink. Maybe he didn’t even notice Baekhyun’s actions because his eyes— wide, protruding— were burning through me.

I won’t pretend to be an expert on Sehun, but I knew how he used to defend me from Chanyeol’s temper when I was a kid. I knew that the Sehun who begged me to admit just once that I loved him wouldn’t have encouraged Chanyeol to look at me and speak to me as if I were the cruelest person alive. Because I didn’t care what Chanyeol thought— I cared what Sehun thought— that fact comforted me.

Refusing to allow Chanyeol to drown me in guilt after I apologized to Sehun, after Lucas promised that I had done nothing wrong, when I was already sorry enough for the years wasted holding a grudge against somebody I loved without Chanyeol’s reminders, I returned his glare. He didn’t know what he was talking about, as usual. There was no doubt in my mind that Sehun, who struggled to reveal his heart to me, hadn’t bared his deepest feelings to Chanyeol, so I huffed, “Why don’t you just shut the hell up, Chanyeol? Isn’t there somebody else you can talk to?”

“Nope,” he retorted, knuckles turning white. “Not that it’s any of your business— not that you would even give a shit— but the only person I really want to talk to stayed home because he has ‘the flu.’”

My feelings, wounded by the confirmation that Sehun was avoiding me, were nothing compared to my concern for him. Blinking, I tried to dismiss the pain of knowing that there was nothing I could say to rush us through this period of healing. Blinking, I assured myself again and again that it was okay.

Although Sehun couldn’t hear me, I promised in the piece of my heart that he would hold forever that I wouldn’t hold any grudge. Without holding my breath, I would wait until he was ready to speak to me again. Before I fell in love with Taemin, I had abandoned the hope that things with Sehun would ever be like they once were. Before I fell in love with Taemin, I had outgrown the childish unreciprocated love for Sehun that defined much of my youth. I couldn’t have followed him forever.

However, I had recently adopted the belief that friendship with Sehun didn’t have to be confined to the past. No, I couldn’t love Sehun (or anybody) the way I used to, but I didn’t believe that such a pure love could ever fade forever. It would only grow into something better, something purer, something more infinite. Chanyeol’s rage couldn’t steal that belief from me.

Missing Chanyeol’s air quotes around the word ‘flu,’ Mark’s brow furrowed in genuine concern. Undeniably referencing Mom’s illness (which he hadn’t accepted was fake) that excused her from Donghae’s birthday party, he sulked, “Someone else has the flu?”

As if joking without the faintest trace of a smile, Baekhyun muttered, “It’s been an active flu season.” Because he spoke so quietly, I’m sure that I’m the only person who heard.

“See?” Chanyeol’s fists struck the table, and the glass would have fallen over had Baekhyun not held it secure in his hands. “You’re completely heartless, Lei! I’ll never understand what anyone sees in you!”

Those kinds of remarks— the kind that are meant to strike me silent— have always set me ablaze with burning indignation. Fitting my hands over my hips, probably transforming before Chanyeol’s eyes into the child he always despised, I scoffed, “Yeah, well, whatever will I do without your love and devotion, Chanyeol?” much to Ten’s delight.

Chanyeol’s jaw tensed. “You’ve always been like this— a total smart ass!” I winked, and he continued, “You just say what you want and do what you want without respecting your elders or caring who you hurt. And somehow, everyone around you thinks it’s endearing or some shit, but I’m here to remind you that it’s not.”

Cutting his eyes at Chanyeol as his grip around the glass tightened, Baekhyun started, “Look, whatever your problem is—”

But— surprise— Chanyeol wouldn’t let Baekhyun speak. Still glaring at me, Chanyeol challenged, “Aren’t you even going to try to deny it? I guess you can’t, but aren’t you even going to apologize?”

I shook my head. “The last time I checked, I hadn’t said anything to you that I regret.”

Chanyeol blinked at me. “So you don’t regret telling me to shut the hell up?”

“Nope.” Despite my annoyance, I smiled— the big, tooth showing sort of smile— and I understood why Chanyeol didn’t like me. “I stand by that and every other thing I’ve said in my life.”

That wasn’t true, exactly, but I tried to live with the satisfaction of having always said what I meant. Maybe I was prompted to say things that I would regret because I felt the remorse of having left some past truths unsaid. I could always apologize once I realized that I was wrong or I hurt somebody with my honesty; I could never turn back time and say what I wanted to say once the moment passed.

“There you go again,” Chanyeol huffed, “thinking that you’re infallible, failing to admit—”

“I’m not apologizing to you, Chanyeol, for telling the truth. I’m not apologizing because S—” I choked on Sehun’s name— “somebody else is hurt.” No, I wouldn’t tell Chanyeol that I had already apologized to Sehun. It wasn’t his business. “You’re not entitled to any fragment of my heart.”

Before I could brace myself for Chanyeol’s response, a cool, calm hand rested on my shoulder. It belonged to Suho, who asked first, “Are you okay, Lei?”

I didn’t know if he was referring to my earlier trip or the long-winded public scolding from Chanyeol, but the answer to both questions was the same. “Yes.”

I turned to catch Suho’s brief smile before his disapproving scowl settled on Chanyeol. “Don’t you think you’re being too loud?” His voice was quiet, but it held a gentle authority that instantly made me feel ashamed for responding to Chanyeol at all.

Although Suho’s question was not one that requested an answer, Chanyeol retorted, “I’m being just as loud as I want to be!”

It wasn’t until Suho’s hold on my shoulder trembled that I noticed them: Yesung and Siwon, scowling, followed closely by the evilly smiling Kyuhyun. There was something dangerous about the twitching of Yesung’s left eye as he descended on the table. Were it not for Suho’s protective grip and the crowd of spectators that gathered to watch me argue with Chanyeol trapping me in place, I would have run out of the banquet hall before Yesung started yelling.

“What the hell is going on around here?” Before Chanyeol could prove whether he was stupid enough to argue with Yesung, Yesung continued, “Who the hell do you think you’re talking to?” Yesung must not have been looking for an answer. Pointing at me without looking away from Chanyeol, he seethed, “She is ours—” he gestured to himself, Siwon, and Kyuhyun— “and if you have a problem with her, you have a problem with us!”

To demonstrate their solidarity, Siwon stood with his arms— clearly muscular under his fitted black button-down shirt— crossed over his chest, and Kyuhyun abandoned his smile to form his eyebrows into sharp angles. They meant well, I guessed, because Super Junior always meant well, but as I noticed the sea of spectators rising around us, I thought that if it were possible to die from embarrassment, I would have died in Suho’s arms.

Mom’s appearance interrupted Yesung’s futile efforts to force Chanyeol to apologize.

Having no sense of when to keep his mouth shut, Lucas leaned over to whisper in my ear, “Dude, at least Mom looks hot.” That was his version of finding the bright side, I guess.

I rolled my eyes, but Mom did look even prettier than usual. Her hair was shiny and sleek even in the dim lighting, and her lips were painted a pretty shade of scarlet that complimented her sparkly red pantsuit. It was too ambitious to hope that I would grow to be as beautiful as my mother.

“Are you okay, Lei?” She asked, tracing her fingers over one of the roses in my crown. “If your heel broke, or if your feet hurt, I have another pair of flats in the car.”

I shook my head. “I’m fine, Mom.” My voice sounded small compared to Yesung’s roar.

Nodding, Mom turned to Yesung and Chanyeol. “What’s going on here?”

Nobody got the chance to answer her, though. While Baekhyun whined to Suho, “I’m not trying to be dramatic, but I’m pretty sure Lei broke my big toe when she tripped over me,” and Suho responded, “I’m sorry you’re hurt, but I doubt it’s broken—” and Baekhyun retorted, “It’s throbbing, Junmyeon!” and Suho maintained, “You wouldn’t be able to stand if it were broken,” the other members of Super Junior arrived to sink the night further into the dark depths of chaos.

They were led by Shindong, who threw Taeyong and Ten aside to fill their spaces at the table while screaming, red in the face, “What the hell, Manager?”

Seeking some sense of comfort in this time of utter insanity, I glanced at Lucas only to find him looking from person to person, eyes round and jaw slack. I should have known that this wasn’t a time for him to spout unexpected wisdom. At least we were unified in shock.

Without allowing Mom the chance to ask him what was wrong, Shindong barked, “What’s this about you becoming EXO’s manager?”

Baekhyun, of course, perked up. He gawked at Suho. “Did you know about this?”

“Of course,” Suho said.

Perhaps genuinely offended, Baekhyun gasped, “And you didn’t tell me?”

Baekhyun’s frown deepened when Suho responded, “I know a lot of things that I don’t tell you.”

“Well,” Baekhyun wheezed, “we don’t want Momager!” He explained to my gasp, “We don’t want her if we’re running from Donghae. Tell her that we don’t want her, Junmyeon.”

“I will not,” Suho decided sternly without asking about Donghae, “and you better not either. Just be quiet— at least until this conflict passes.”

Appearing at Shindong’s side after shoving past Chanyeol, who responded by screaming, “OW!” Eunhyuk said, “Manager must have made her choice.” When Eunhyuk stared at Mom with narrowed eyes, it was obvious that he had stolen Donghae’s photograph and returned it to Mom. I tried not to glare at him.

Tucking hair behind her ear, Mom asked, “How did you find out about that, Shindong?”

Oh. Suho already confirmed that it was true, but I guess I didn’t expect Mom to sound so sad. That was the only logical reaction since she had worked on every Super Junior comeback for years, but I couldn’t seem to recover from Mom’s frown.

Leeteuk frowned, too, as he swore, “I didn’t tell him.” He must have been telling the truth; Leeteuk rarely missed an opportunity to stir up controversy as if all aspects of life were a live broadcast.

Suho told Mom, “I haven’t told anyone either, ma’am,” just before Shindong yelled, “Heechul told us!”

Never failing to appear at the sound of his name, Heechul pushed through the crowd to stand by Mom. Pointing a finger at Shindong, he demanded, “Keep my name out of your mouth, you filthy snitch!”

Shindong’s lips parted, I’m sure, to hurl an insult at Heechul as the other Super Junior members started voicing their disappointment at losing Mom to EXO, but Mom silenced them all with little effort. “SHUT UP.” She had to yell or else nobody would have heard her over their own voice.

Everyone watched with bated breath as Mom pinched at the bridge of her nose and released a ragged sigh. “Although I had no intention of announcing this at the New Year’s party, because of Heechul’s loose tongue—” when she cut her eyes at him, Heechul winked and wet his lips with his tongue— “I have to admit that I can’t be your manager anymore, Super Junior.”

Looking very much like a child, Shindong’s lower lip trembled. “Ever?”

I almost rolled my eyes and answered, “Nothing is forever, Shindong, but Mom will always be your manager,” so imagine my shock when Mom shook her head. Everybody gasped with me.

Baekhyun took advantage of the silence. In a crumbling voice, he cried despite his past schemes to secure Mom as EXO’s manager, “We don’t want you, Momager. EXO doesn’t want you, so don’t leave Super Junior.” He must have been moved by all of the broken-hearted faces.

Although something had been ripped from my chest, although tears were pooling and burning my eyes because my entire life had been me and Mom and Super Junior and now it was ending— no, not ending, just changing— but I didn’t want something so perfect to ever change— Mom grinned at Baekhyun’s outburst and patted his shoulders. When Mom smiled, even when it was that tired, teary-eyed smile, I had to smile too. It didn’t matter that everything in me wanted to cry.

It occurred to me that the sun was setting on the best days of my life. Although I had always been the kind of person who preferred the company of the moon and stars, nobody who takes the time to watch the sunset is ever ready for the sun’s rays to fade. I told myself what everyone says to comfort themselves on the brink of great change: it was beautiful while it lasted, the sun will rise again tomorrow, memories are forever.

I believed those things. I also believed that Super Junior would be a part of my life forever. Heechul wouldn’t stop coming over to watch dramas with me and Mom, Yesung wouldn’t stop calling me to chat about everything and nothing, Wookie would always want to have tea at least once a month. Super Junior was my family.

So why couldn’t I catch my breath?

Yesung asked Mom, “Why not?” As he bit back tears, the dimple in his chin deepened. “So you’ll work with EXO after you’re done with this SuperM stuff. Fine. That’s how it goes. But why can’t you work with us next time?”

Everybody looked to Mom for her answer, but she dodged the question anyway. After drawing a deep breath, she told every member of Super Junior what she loved them. It was clear that she had prepared her remarks beforehand. I wondered how she might have broken the news to everyone had she not been confronted at the party.

“Leeteuk, you’ve always been such a good leader. From day one, you made my job look easy. On stressful days, you never failed to comfort me with subtle smiles when you thought nobody would notice because you never wanted anyone to see me struggle. I always noticed, and I was always grateful.”

Leeteuk bowed, smiling despite the tears in his eyes.

“Heechul,” Mom’s voice wavered when she looked at him. “You always listen to me, and you never judge. Even when I’m wrong, you defend me to the ends of the earth.”

Slinging an arm around her shoulders, Heechul boasted, “That’s because you’re never wrong.” He made Mom smile. That was always Heechul’s gift.

Mom snaked an arm around Heechul’s waist and continued, “You have the best taste in everything. You let me cry when we’re watching dramas, and you never look at me or make fun of me for getting emotional. The most important part is that you’re kind enough to pretend that you don’t know why I’m so moved.”

Heechul patted Mom’s shoulder, encouraging her to say, “Yesung—”

Yesung was already in tears. There was nothing worse than seeing Yesung cry. Although there was barely any room to breathe, let alone take a step, I made my way over to him, linked my arm with his, and offered him a smile that made him laugh despite his tears.

“— you have always been like a brother. You aren’t just willing to fight anyone who crosses me; you’ve always protected Lei with your all. We can’t cry in front of you, though—” Mom winked at me— “because you threaten to beat people up, and you throw things in anger.”

Yesung wiped at his eyes with his free hand and chuckled. “Yeah, well, people should know better than to mess with you, then.”

I didn’t want to say anything to interrupt, so I hoped that my presence was enough of a comfort for Yesung. I didn’t want him to cry anymore.

“Shindong, you always make me laugh,” Mom said, “and you have always lightened the mood whenever things got awkward.” That was ironic, considering that we were all forced to be publicly emotionally vulnerable because of Shindong’s confrontation. “Thank you for fighting to have me on your team whenever SuJu has a comeback. Thank you for always telling people that I am the only one who can make the comeback successful. I owe so much of my career to your enthusiastic praise.”

“You’re welcome,” Shindong said as he bowed. “I only tell the truth, Manager.”

“Eunhyuk—” He stiffened at his name— “you always pick up the slack and take initiative without having to be asked. You always see where I am lacking, and you fill in the spaces that need to be filled. You are one of the most dependable people I have ever known.”

Eunhyuk could only blink at the compliment. His eyes were fixed on the floor, I think, because he didn’t like for people to see when he was emotional. His bow was more of a nod.

Until now, Mom had addressed the members of Super Junior in age order. After Eunhyuk should have been Donghae, but Mom skipped over him and effectively trapped my breath in my throat. I couldn’t even see Donghae. Had he stayed home to avoid Mom as he had stayed home from the Christmas party? Was he avoiding Mom the way Sehun was avoiding me?

No. He had to be standing somewhere not too far away. He promised that he would be there. He promised that he would give me that infinity bracelet. He was there; I believed it even if I couldn’t see him.

Mom still held everyone’s attention when she said, “Siwon, you are always a rock. You face everything— even challenges— with a smile. You turn every stranger into a friend. Plus—” Mom smiled— “you have always encouraged me and Lei to exercise, eat healthily, and participate in community service.”

Reddening at the compliments as his smile etched dimples around his lips, Siwon bowed.

“Wookie—” Ryeowook beamed at the nickname, sniffling— “thank you for always looking out for Lei and playing with her no matter how busy you were. Thank you for reminding me to find room for fun between jobs.”

“It has always been my pleasure,” Wookie promised as he bowed.

Kyuhyun smiled broadly when Mom turned to him. “I’ll never forget when you first joined the group. Lei was right— it was incomplete without you.”

I burned at the memory of my overenthusiastic embrace of Kyuhyun’s introduction to Super Junior, and Kyuhyun laughed as he playfully nudged my ribs.

“You have always been the kind of person who would give someone your jacket during a snowstorm, or let somebody keep your umbrella in a thunderstorm. You would turn the attention to yourself with a joke if ever I needed a chance to catch my breath, and I am beyond grateful. Thank you for being one of the most considerate people I have ever met.”

Rather than bowing like so many of the others, Kyuhyun responded with a wink and a salute.

“Donghae.”

This was it: the first time that Mom and Donghae had seen each other since their argument after the birthday party. My heart pounded against my chest, and I tightened my grip around Yesung’s arm when Eunhyuk pulled Donghae to his side.

Out of everybody, Donghae looked most miserable. He couldn’t lift his heavy gaze from the floor, where he must have met his frowning reflection. I had to look away; I couldn’t stand to see him looking like that.

“Yeah?” Donghae mumbled.

“You’re, um, persistent. You love purely, and you’re loyal to a fault. You— um—”

I had never known Mom to stutter, and apparently Donghae hadn’t either. He stared up at her, brow furrowed, and she hurriedly concluded, “You’re a good person.”

Compared to what she had said to everyone else, Mom’s goodbye to Donghae was a bit lacking. Not wanting to be overly critical in such a tense moment, I cast my glare down to my feet.

Still speaking almost too quickly to comprehend, Mom said, “I know that you probably think it’s your fault that I’m not managing Super Junior anymore, and it is—”

The room had gone quiet enough that I could hear the wheeze pass through his lips. It would have been obvious enough from the sudden sagging of his shoulders and downward twitch of his mouth.

“— but not for the reason that you think.”

Moments passed in silence as everyone tried to decipher the cryptic sentence’s meaning before Eunhyuk demanded, eyes piercing, “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

Heechul, who had the unfair advantage of knowing almost every thought that passed through Mom’s mind, belted, “It means that she’s in love with Donghae, you stupid ass anchovy! She can’t work with the person she’s in love with because she’s a professional!”

Eyes wide and full of color, Donghae gasped, “What?”

And before Mom could embarrass us all by stuttering her confirmation or denial of Heechul’s allegation, Changmin’s voice said through the speakers, “Uh, so, it’s almost midnight! Woohoo!” Receiving only grumbles from the party-goers who were too invested in Momhae to care about the arrival of the new year, Changmin continued flatly, “So grab whoever you want to kiss and head out to the terrace to watch fireworks!”

People exited slowly at first, and then, when I opened my eyes, the room was mostly empty aside from Mom and Donghae, who stared at each other in utter shock. I think I would have stood there all night, mouth agape, to watch the conclusion of fifteen years of unrequited love had Taemin not looped his arm around my waist.

“Didn’t you hear Max?” Taemin muttered into my ear. “He said ‘it’s almost midnight, so grab whoever you want to kiss and head out onto the terrace.’”

For a moment, I was so flattered by Taemin’s attention, I was so absorbed in his touch that the ache in my chest was soothed. The void was filled. Then I caught Lucas staring at Mom and Donghae with tears in his eyes. I know that he would have stayed there all night if I hadn’t grabbed his hand, mumbling, “Come on, Lucas. We have to give them privacy.”

Although he was too polite to admit it with his words, it was obvious from his closed-lip grin that Taemin had been hoping that we would run out to the terrace alone. Don’t misunderstand: I really, really wanted to kiss Taemin, but everything in the world came second to ensuring that Lucas was okay.

“Hey,” I said into the cool nighttime air.

No response.

I tightened my grip around Lucas’s hand and shouted his name.

Again, no response.

Spinning out of Taemin’s grasp, I placed both of my hands on either side of Lucas’s face and forced him to meet my eyes. “You’re scaring me, Lucas. Are you okay?” I guess the obvious answer was a sort of ‘no.’ Clearly, Lucas was in shock, and I couldn’t blame him for being unable to pick his jaw up from the floor.

At my touch, Lucas snapped back to life. “Mom loves Donghae!” He cheered loudly over the scattered whispers on the terrace. “Heechul said that Mom loves Donghae!”

Lucas’s excitement gave me permission to smile. “I know—”

Forgetting in his joy that I had a problem with being picked up, Lucas hooked his hands around my waist and spun me around, chanting, “I knew it, I knew it, I knew it!”

All I could say was, “Put me down, Lucas!” in a shrill scream as I slapped at his shoulders. It didn’t matter that I knew Lucas would never intentionally drop me; some primal fear seized my mind and left me trembling well after Lucas set me back onto my feet.

Much to Taemin’s delight, I dashed to his side and linked my arm through his to discourage Lucas from touching me again. “I know it’s all very exciting, but there’s no reason to pick me up. Ever.”

Looking back, I regret being so stern with Lucas in what might have been the happiest moment of his life, but he couldn’t have cared less about the scolding. He squealed, “I’m so happy!” before running off to find somebody (probably Mark) who shared his enthusiasm or to give Taemin the privacy he desired with me.

“You’re a little feistier than I thought,” Taemin teased once we were left alone— well, as alone as we could have been at a huge company gathering. “First, you argued with Chanyeol, and then you just hit Lucas.”

I reddened at Taemin’s brief recap of my temper throughout the night. In the immediate aftermath of my exchange with Chanyeol, I was embarrassed that Suho had been a witness; I hadn’t considered that Taemin had witnessed the very same exchange. For so long, I had been uncomfortably conscious of his eyes on me, but in those moments, I hadn’t felt his stare.

Did that mean that I was getting comfortable with Taemin? No matter how comfortable we were together, I never wanted him to witness my anger. That was probably unrealistic since anger is a natural emotion. It was probably impossible to always be happy around Taemin given his almost obsession with honest communication of feelings. It was probably impossible since our love had been born in the midst of sadness.

I apologized anyway, chewing on the inside of my cheek. “I’m sorry you saw that. I wish you hadn’t. It’s no excuse, but Chanyeol and I have never gotten along. And hitting Lucas was only an instinct because I’m afraid of—”

“Hey.” Taemin cut me off with a smile, and I was grateful that everyone else was too busy gossiping about Mom and Super Junior to see it written across my face that I was in love with him. “I’m kinda glad I saw that side of you.” He winked. “I kinda think your temper is cute.”

Taemin giggled at my blush as I mumbled, glancing away, “You have strange taste.”

Once he registered my words, however, he poked out his bottom lip in a childish pout. “That’s not very nice, jagi.” He whispered the pet name so nobody else could hear. “Stop being mean so I can show you something.”

When I asked what he wanted to show me, Taemin laced his fingers through mine and led me to an isolated area that wasn’t quite the terrace or the roof. There, we couldn’t hear the whispers scattered among the party. There, we could be free to act without the fear of attracting stares.

I stepped forward, careful not to trip over a checkered blanket on the floor, rested my hands on the railing lined with small white lights that resembled the twinkling stars above, and looked up at the glittering night sky. It looked so much like my memories of that night in the garden, but I knew that it couldn’t have been exactly as it had been in the past.

Again, it came to me— that dream about holding the moon— and all that kept me from reaching out was Taemin’s hand (soft and warm unlike the frozen rail) in mine. I didn’t reach out even after Taemin released my hand to unfasten his mask. The dream, for a moment, faded from my mind as I set to removing my mask too. The dream changed into something tangible when Taemin shed his jacket and held it out to me.

“Thank you,” I breathed as we dropped our masks at our feet. Fitting my arms through his jacket’s sleeves, I beamed at him. “It’s very beautiful up here, Taemin.”

“You’re welcome.” Taemin leaned closer and closer to me until his words ghosted against my lips and our breath met as a misty white cloud between us. Catching his bottom lip between his teeth as if to discourage my pulsating desire to just rush time, to just brush my lips against his once— quickly— before the fireworks gave us permission, Taemin asked, “What time is it?”

“Um—” My heart thundered, hands trembling, as I fished my phone out of my purse. “That can’t be right,” I argued with my screen. “Changmin said that it was almost midnight, but’s only 11:15.”

“What?” Taemin gawked at my phone screen. “Oh, great! And the SuperM group chat is blowing up too!”

Pouting, after he pulled his phone out of his pants’ pocket, Taemin plopped onto the blanketed ground. When he motioned for me to sit with him and I responded quietly that it wasn’t very ladylike, Taemin insisted, “It’s just us up here, Lei. I don’t think sitting makes you unladylike.” He patted the blanket and reasoned, “I put this up here so we could sit. Won’t your feet hurt if you just stand there all night?”

Frowning less because I was giving in (again) to satisfy Taemin and more because I realized that we had abandoned the perfect moment to share our first kiss— we had been so close, and now we were not— I sat at Taemin’s side and read through the texts.

Taemin, who had been giggling since his use of the sparkly heart emoji in the group chat, slung his arm around my shoulder. “What are you so happy about, Lei?”

Too happy to speak even to answer Taemin, I rose to my feet— now bare— and strained to watch Mom and Donghae walk out onto the terrace hand in hand. They couldn’t see me, but I could see them. Even from afar, I could see their smiles and their matching red thread bracelets. Even from afar, I could see the burden lifted from their shoulders, and all at once I was in danger of soaring too far up into the clouds.

From where I stood, I could see all of Super Junior unite to wrap Mom and Donghae into a hug whose warmth I could feel in my heart and all around me. In that embrace was fifteen years’ worth of love, and the child within me felt that I should have been there.

The child within me was silenced when Taemin wrapped an arm around my waist, laid his head on my shoulder to brush his lips against my cheek, and whispered, “I want to give you something.”

With the hand accented by my ribbon, he held out a single red rose.

Remembering the first broken rose he gave me in the garden, breathing in relief that this one was whole and beautiful, I accepted it with my hands. “It’s so beautiful, Taemin.”

All of the night’s emotions caught up with me at once and manifested as tears that weren’t quite heavy enough to fall from my eyes although Taemin’s hands were ready to catch them. “I just— I have nothing to give you, and you’ve given me so much.”

Not just tonight, I would have said had my throat not tightened around my voice. You have given me so many beautiful things. You have taught me so many lessons that I will carry into my day even when the sun rises, and I don’t know if I have given enough back to you.

Even if I love you for the rest of my life— and I can’t imagine the day that I will wake up without the warmth of loving you spreading through my chest and every thought in my mind— I never want to imagine such a day— could I ever repay you for all you’ve brought to my life? Can I ever thank you enough for having the voice that heals my every wound? Can I ever be grateful enough to live in this world where our paths crossed? Can I ever be thankful enough for every wound and joy that forged the heart you so carefully hold?

I didn’t know how to say any of those things out loud with my fragile voice, so how could I have known any of the answers? All I could do was drop the rose from my numb fingers and throw my arms around Taemin, hoping that he would understand without words as he always had.

He caught me around the waist and held me close. I know this is wrong— I know this spits in the face of everything I learned in those few months that felt like a lifetime— but I never wanted that moment to end. I wanted to live forever with Taemin in the light of the moon. To the point of tears, I was happy that the stars kindly aligned to allow me to get this close to him.

“Lei,” he whispered, “why do you still not believe that your love is all I’ve ever wanted? Is it so crazy for me to believe that everything in life has led to our moments under the moon?”

“No.” I loosened my embrace to look at his frowning face. “No. Can’t you feel that I believe it too?” I reached for the ribbon tied around his wrist and, after struggling to undo the knot, watched the stars gather in his eyes as I raised his pulse point to meet my kiss.

“Yeah, I feel it,” Taemin admitted while I retied the ribbon’s knot, this time fully aware of its significance, this time believing with every fiber of my being that my soul loved Taemin’s in its entirety, this time understanding that he trusted me with his heart, this time promising to cherish it even should the sun set (or rather, the sun rise) on this beautiful day too. “But can you tell me what you feel sometimes anyway? Sometimes, I just want to hear it.”

Thinking that it was only right to tell somebody when your heart is swelling, I blurted, “I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you,” and he would have let me say it for the rest of the night had he not dropped his gaze down to the fallen rose.

“You know--” Taemin sat back on the blanket, and I followed him-- “none of this is going as I planned.” The pout returned to his lips. “I spent all week saying that I wanted to match you head to toe for the party, but Jongin was all like, ‘That’s excessive, Taemin. Do you really want everyone at the party to know that you’re a couple?’ And even though I told him that I don’t care who knows that I’m in love with you, he was like, ‘It’s still over the top!’ And then Baekhyun showed up, clinging to your arm, matching you down to the flower!”

I tried not to laugh at Taemin’s accurate imitation of Kai’s voice. To soothe his jealousy— which now made me want to burst into laughter— I traced patterns over his knuckles. “Baekhyun didn’t try to match me.”

“That makes it worse!” Taemin whined. “Anyway, that’s not all that has gone wrong. At the mall today, Jongin kept discouraging all of my amazing ideas. He told me not to buy that giant stuffed bear, and he told me not to get a dozen roses, and he told me not to buy a box of chocolates, and he said that people don’t serenade girls in real life, so I had to tell Henry not to show up with his violin, but Jongin wouldn’t let me bring my keyboard either!”

I nodded understandingly at first, careful not to mention that I agreed with Kai— left unattended, Taemin would have gone overboard— but my nodding ceased when he mentioned Henry. Obviously, I loved Henry to pieces, but having him as a witness for my first kiss with Taemin didn’t exactly sound like a dream come true.

“Jongin even told me that the lights I put up on the railing were too much! He said that all we needed was starlight! And now I can’t even kiss you yet because it’s not midnight, and—”

“Taemin,” I interrupted, knowing that he would find faults for the rest of the night unless I admitted, “I think everything is perfect.” When that didn’t satisfy him, I tried my hand at expressing wisdom. “I mean, when I left my house today, I didn’t plan to trip in front of everybody and Na Jaemin—”

An almost indiscernible smile tugged at Taemin’s lips as he rolled his eyes at Jaemin’s name.

“— and I didn’t want to see Chanyeol, much less talk to him! And I definitely didn’t want to see Yesung cry. Actually, I didn’t imagine that I would ever hear any of the things that Mom said to Super Junior. I never imagined there would be a day where she wouldn’t be their manager, but—” I sighed, accepting— “what’s done is done. Life doesn’t always go as planned, and I think that’s okay as long as you like where you end up.”

Taemin looked at me as I imagined I might have looked at him that night in the garden. I hoped that we would look at each other that way always. “Do you like where you ended up?” He asked, looking away as if he was afraid to pressure me into an untrue answer that would please him. “Up here with me?”

With ease, I spoke a truth that once would have been too embarrassing to utter. “Anywhere with you is where I want to end up.”

At that, Taemin smiled before checking his phone. It must not have been midnight yet; he flipped the phone over with a tired sigh. The night fell silent because I didn’t know what to say after being so honest, and Taemin was too busy caressing the roses in my hair to say anything.

Without warning, he brought the red rose in his hand to his mouth and gnawed at the stem. With wide eyes, I could only watch in utter confusion as he spat out green chunks. That moment was weird and kind of gross, to tell you the truth.

“Ow!” Taemin cried as a thorn pierced his lip.

I gasped, “Are you okay?” but he could only smile because he finally succeeded in separating the rose from the stem. That must have been his mission.

“It was just a pinch,” he claimed, probably oblivious to the thin trail of blood dripping down his chin as he tied his flower into my crown. “That stem tasted pretty terrible, though.” He stuck his tongue out.

I reached into my purse for a pack of tissues and a mint and offered them to Taemin. “Here.” He only opened his mouth, still focused intently on the crown, so I unwrapped the mint and fed it to him as if he were a child.

Would I go to any length just to see his smile? If so, I must have been disappointed when he grimaced as I gently pressed the tissue to his blood-stained lip.

Knowing that any pain was the result of his own weird, impulsive behavior, I muttered, “I’m sorry if it hurts,” as if it were my fault that he was bleeding. “But I can’t kiss your bloody lip, Taem.”

Taemin didn’t respond even after I retracted the tissue, balled it up, and tossed into the corner with the masks. He only stared at the crown, brow furrowing until lines formed in his forehead, and finally yanked the red rose away.

“Ow.” I wheezed although losing the rose hadn’t physically hurt. “Why did you take that?”

“It looked ugly,” Taemin answered, gripping the rose too tightly. Instantly, he remembered that flowers are fragile, and he held it tenderly, frowning down at it in his hand. “I was stupid to try to put it in your crown. Just look at it.”

Taemin must have been right. Aside from the fact that his red rose’s shade must have clashed against the crown’s blue baby’s breath, it was three or four times bigger than the crown’s white roses. Still, I didn’t think Taemin was stupid for wanting to make his mark on Baekhyun’s gift.

Knowing that it wouldn’t look right, believing that Taemin’s rose probably didn’t belong among Baekhyun’s roses, I begged, “Put it back.” Taemin shook his head, so I pointed out, “You gave it to me. It’s not yours to take, Taemin, so put it back.”

“No,” Taemin argued, jaw tense and face flushing an embarrassed shade of scarlet. “It looked really bad. I don’t want to ruin something as pretty as your flower crown with this stupid rose.”

“Stop talking like that.” Maybe it shouldn’t have been such a big deal, but it was. Who was he to talk down to that flower when I loved it? How could he believe that he was capable of ruining anything? “You’re not ruining anything. Please, Taemin—”

“It’s enough that you want it,” Taemin said when I first reached for the rose. “Thank you for lying to make me feel better, but I can’t focus on kissing you if this—” he shook the rose— “is in your hair.”

I wasn’t lying— not really— but I knew better than to keep trying to talk Taemin out of his perfectionist fit. “Fine.” I was about to ask him to return the rose so I could just hold it, but he suddenly rose to his feet and stood like he was going to launch it over the railing onto the street below.

“What are you doing?” I jumped up and tried to reach for the rose, but Taemin was too tall. “That’s mine, Taemin. I told you that I want it, so—”

“I bit the stem off like a moron,” Taemin quietly reminded. Looking back, I think he just couldn’t understand why I wanted it. “This rose is ruined. Let me throw it away, and I’ll get you a dozen others—”

My heart twitched. Afraid.

“I told you a long time ago that I don’t want another one,” I whined, burdened by the growing lump in my throat as I understood that I would never be tall enough to save the rose. I kept trying anyway, grabbing Taemin’s shoulder and rising onto my tiptoes, trying anything to grow just a little taller for a fraction of a second. “I told you that first night in the hotel, don’t you remember? I told you that I never want you to replace my roses, and you promised that you would never try to. You promised.”

Begging and fixated on the word 'promise,' I sounded like a child. Maybe that genuinely expressed desperation was what softened Taemin's features that wordlessly promised to return the rose. Knowing that the rose would ultimately be mine, I threw my head back, laughing, when Taemin jumped onto the tips of his toes, held the rose as high as he could over his head, and teased, "Hm? What do you want? Is it this?"

"Yes!" I participated in his game and, knowing that I could never pluck that rose from his hand just as I could never pluck the moon from the sky, I leaped anyway. Imagine my gasp of surprise, then when Taemin made a variation of my dream true by lowering his hand ever-so-slightly so I could reach it.

When the rose was finally back in my hands where it belonged, I greeted it as if it were the moon with a kiss— gentle to prevent the loss of any precious petals.

"Is that how you'll kiss me," Taemin wondered in a whisper that rode on the wind, "when the clock finally strikes midnight?"

Closing the space between us, he held his face as close to mine as he could without touching my lips just to make me conscious of each passing second. I could have cursed Taemin for encouraging me to wish our time away in pursuit of that quickly approaching moment when our lips would meet for the first time.

"I don't know," I shrugged, meeting his eyes although they would set me on fire. "I guess we'll find out then, right?

Taemin slanted his head to the side. "Does that mean you haven't imagined it?"

"Of course it doesn't." My flat denial earned Taemin's gasping laughter. Still holding the rose in my hand, I connected my hands behind his neck and said, "I told you, everything has led to this moment. I've imagined kissing you— my soulmate— every time I've looked up at the moon."

Perhaps to conceal the blush spreading across his cheeks, Taemin hid his face in the crook of my neck and whispered in my ear, "Everything you say is so precious." He breathed. Inhale. Exhale. Remember. "I do remember, by the way. I remember what you said that night— and every other day and night— in the hotel. I remember what you said in the garden. I remember what you said by the lake. I remember everything you said at practices, even though you weren't ready to speak to me yet."

I didn't know what to say. I never knew what to say when he started on those emotional speeches. Maybe there was nothing to say. Maybe the only thing to do was listen and promise to remember. Closing my eyes, then, I set to memorizing every word.

Ever undeterred by my silence, Taemin continued, almost singing despite Kai's warnings against serenades, "I have been clinging to your every word for as long as I can remember, and I think you should know that I will never forget a single thing."

"Taemin." His name fell from my mouth involuntarily, I guess, because it was what I wanted to say all my life.

He must not have heard or seen the fireworks bursting overhead. His grip around my waist tightened, but he didn't match his lips to mine. Remaining by my ear, he kept humming, "I remember every time you ever looked at me. I remember how you used to be so afraid that I would catch your glances. I remember that day on the SuperM set when you kept getting distracted by my laugh. I remember that morning when you tried to run away because I've spent every day happily because you came back and told me that you like me. I remember the first time I ever held you because I knew that I would never be able to let you go again."

I think I must have been crying at that point. I think I must have been crying before he admitted, "I remember every moment because I have known all along that I will love you forever."

Although Taemin and I were at the very beginning of our forever, I felt with the next breath that sometimes beginnings and endings feel very much alike. Maybe I knew that I was at the end of the childhood of following Mom as she managed Super Junior; maybe I knew that I was at the end of the days when Lucas was my only true companion; maybe I knew that I was at the end of all that was familiar. Maybe that was sad because although there had always been scattered moments of loneliness— although those moments were almost nonexistent now that I loved Taemin— those days were all I had known. Those days were happy even if they weren't perfect.

There is something terrifying about staring forever in the face, so I trembled when Taemin met my eyes and wiped the tears away. There was so much to look forward to with Taemin— so much I couldn't imagine yet— and I knew that even as I promised, "I remember too. I'll never forget anything either— I'll write it all down if I have to." As if saying so would help settle once and forever the fear that this, too, would end, I swore, "I'll write it all down if that's the only way to make our story last forever."

Taemin, who always understood forever better than I did, smiled at my futile efforts to contain eternity, but he said nothing to discourage me. He only reached to plant his hands between the lights on the railing behind me. Were he anyone else, that gesture would have made me feel trapped, but the sudden slow, forceful poundings of my heart as time stopped with each motion he took toward me were not at all afraid.

In those first few moments that there was no space between us, Taemin touched me only with his gentle, warm, cloud-soft lips that fit perfectly with mine. Those moments were unlike anything I had ever experienced— unlike anything I have experienced since— so I do not know the words to properly relate them to you.

He didn't have to peel his hands from the railing to press them against the small of my back; I wouldn't have gone anywhere. There was no place I longed to be more than in his embrace— whether we were in the garden, in our hotel room, in my bedroom, under the moon, or under golden blossoming fireworks.

Here, in this world where Taemin and I were in love— whether it was our secret or known to all— in this moment, is where I always belong.

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flightfoot · 4 years

Text

Ladycat Ch. 4

AO3/FFN

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Marinette bounded through the city, running over rooftops, falling to ground level to duck and weave through the city, then jumping up to roof level again when convenient.

The wind in her fur, the agility and grace in her feline form - she’d experienced it before while chasing after Chat, but couldn’t truly appreciate it with the cat brain she’d had.

Running over rooftops and swinging through the city had always been some of the funnest parts of being Ladybug (not counting getting to spend time with her partner of course). Getting to do it in an even more naturally graceful and acrobatic form was a real treat.

Not that she could do anything too crazy - not yet anyway. She was all too aware of the box clenched between her jaws - and the consequences if she lost it. Best not to repeat the Style Queen incident.

She hadn’t been the only one to lose a Miraculous that day at least, Chat had also lost… his Miraculous…

Wait.

WAIT.

Chat was Adrien. Adrien had been statuefied pretty much immediately.

He hadn’t lost his Miraculous; he just hadn’t had the chance to use it.

That little furball lied!

Oh she was gonna have some word for Plagg later! ...Once she could speak.

But that would have to wait another few days. Right now, she had more important things to attend to.

Nudging open one of the windows of the Cesaire residence, she crept inside.

Luckily the twins weren’t around, they would’ve been hard to avoid.

She padded up to Alya’s room, headbutting the door a few times. She’d mew, but she didn’t particularly feel like letting go of the box with the Fox Miraculous, not until it was safely in Alya’s possession.

“Would you two not-”

Alya opened the door.

Looked down.

And blinked.

“A cat?” she raised one eyebrow. “What’re you doing-”

Marinette could tell the exact moment Alya noticed the box holding her Miraculous. Not that that showed any special understanding of her; her face practically breaking in half with her grin and squealing just within the human hearing range (she assumed at least. Being a cat made things like that harder to judge) were pretty good signs.

Alya knelt down. “Is- is that-?”

Marinette gently set the box down and nodded.

Picking it up, Alya opened the lid.

Immediately a light shot out, darting around.

OOH LIGHT. PRETTY LIGHT. MUST CATCH LIGHT.

YOU WILL BE MINE.

“HEY, woah, stop it!”

NO. NO HUMAN STOP ME. MUST CATCH…

She froze, shaking herself.

“I guess her cat instincts are still pretty strong.”

Marinette looked up at the voice.

Trixx looked back at her, bemused.

“She’s not actually a cat I’m betting, is she?”

“Nope!”

“Then…”

Alya held out her arms. Marinette jumped into them, purring.

She looked more closely at Marinette’s neck. “That green pawprint… Chat Noir?!”

Marinette let out a startled meow. She guessed that made sense, but no. Just no.

Alya’s brow furrowed. “I’d’ve thought he’d be black though, not gray.”

“That’s because that’s Ladybug, not Chat!”

“WHAT?! Wait, that actually makes sense. So THAT’S why no one’s been restored!”

Glancing down, she noticed something on the floor. “Uh… Trixx? Could you maybe retrieve that piece of paper?” she asked, chagrinned. “My arms are kinda full of Ladycat here.”

Trixx chuckled but complied, holding it up so Alya could read it without needing to dislodge Marinette.

“Ladybug got turned into a cat and isn’t gonna be turned back for three more days,” she read out loud. “Which is bad enough, but we’ve got other issues. I know who Hawkmoth is, but he’ll also find out who I am very soon. I can’t go home, and… well, we’re gonna need Rena Rouge’s expertise for what comes next. Follow Ladycat, she knows the way.”

Alya blinked. “The way? The way to what?”

Trixx grinned. “The way to the Guardian of the Miraculous.”

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Marinette darted through the streets, occasionally pausing to allow Rena Rouge to catch up. Technically they both COULD have run across the rooftops to get to Master Fu’s place even faster, but that would’ve attracted a bit too much attention. She was pushing it before doing that as a cat, but with Rena in tow? Best not to risk it unless they had to.

Rena would arguably have attracted even more attention than that on the ground… if she had actually LOOKED like Rena Rouge. Before leaving she’d cast an illusion on herself, making her look like just another resident of Paris and definitely NOT Alya or Rena Rouge.

Unfortunately, that also meant sticking to plausibly human speed. She’d had to detransform twice already to feed Trixx, but hopefully this would be the last time.

She jumped onto Alya’s shoulders while they waited for Trixx to finish eating. With how small she was, she had plenty of room to perch on.

Alya laughed. “You know, you might call Chat a ‘silly kitty’ sometimes, but I don’t think you’re far behind him.”

She chuffed at that. That may be true, but she didn’t need to call her out like that.

She shifted slightly, brushing herself against Alya’s neck.

Alya let out an impulsive laugh.

Marinette’s eyes sparkled. REVENGE.

Quickly she brushed herself all over Alya’s neck, making sure her tail brushed just so, along with nuzzling into her neck.

And then had to quickly move as Alya sank to the floor giggling. “You- you win,” she gasped as she got ahold of herself after Marinette’s impromptu tickling. “You’re not nearly as much of a silly kitty as Chat. You’re sillier.”

Okay she should have expected that.

Brushing herself off, Alya got to her feet. “Hey Trixx, you almost done?”

The fox kwami looked down on them, bemused. “I finished eating half a minute ago, I was just waiting for you two to finish up.”

“Well, what are we waiting for? Trixx, Let’s Pounce!”

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Rena knocked on the door of the small shop. Didn’t exactly look like somewhere a ‘Guardian of the Miraculous’ might live, but that was the idea, wasn’t it? If Hawkmoth got his hands on this ‘Guardian’-

She shuddered. She may not know what this ‘Guardian’ did, but Hawkmoth getting anything or anyone Miraculous-related would be very, VERY bad.

A familiar face greeted her. She blinked.

“Adrien? What’re you doing here?”

“Uuuuuh, I’m not Adrien, no sirree, absolutely not!” he said hastily waving his arms. “I’m-”

Glancing around the room, his gaze landed on a teapot.

“I’m- I’m Earl. Just helping out my great-grandfather, you know how it is. Buuuut we’re busy, and closed, nice to see you please drop by some other time!”

Wow. He was not the best improv liar.

Not to someone who actually knew him, at any rate.

She caught the door before he could close it all the way - just long enough for Ladycat to slip through.

“Ladyb- Lady!” He cried out, obviously catching himself before he could blurt out her full name. “What’re you doing with this person - wait is he Rena Rouge?!”

She chuckled, releasing her illusion as she closed the door behind her. “The one and only. Also, that story’s not likely to work when you look exactly the same as usual. What’re the odds of you having a doppelganger?”

“I’ll have to show you pictures of my cousin some time.”

“Who?”

“Never mind.” His expression darkened. “He’s not the family member we need to worry about.”

“Can I punch your father? I’d really like to punch your father.”

Adrien - or Adrichat she guessed - grimaced. “You might need to, but I’d like to avoid a fight if we can.”

He stared at his hands. “I know he’s done a lot of terrible things, but… he’s still my father. He’s almost certainly going to go to prison, I can’t see him getting off for what he’s done as Hawkmoth, but I don’t want to hurt him if we can avoid it.”

“Plus there’s your mother to consider.”

She’d been pretty shocked when he sat down and explained everything - his secret identity (HA! She was totally right!), how he’d followed Ladycat into his father’s secret lair, and everything that’d happened there.

Emilie being alive, his father being more of an asshole than she’d ever conceived - this had been quite a day for Adrien.

Something that Ladycat sought to help with, purring in Adrien’s lap like a mini lawnmower, nuzzling him every time he started looking especially downcast.

She wished she could help Adrien more, but… well, they hadn’t really talked that much, one-on-one. Most of the time she was helping Marinette to try to win Adrien over or just chatting with him along with Nino - they were part of the same friend group, but they didn’t actually interact that much. When they did, it was usually because they wanted to help Marinette somehow.

No wonder Adrien’d never been able to decipher Marinette’s attempts at telling him how she felt! Knowing how up front Chat was with his affections, how over-the-top? Marinette’s mixed signals wouldn’t be the easiest thing to disentangle, if his normal perception of how-to-flirt was that blatant.

Plus, well… he already had his eyes on someone.

She smiled as Ladycat stood up and brushed herself all around Adrien. Didn’t need to be a cat to see what she was doing; letting him know she was there, she wouldn’t leave him, just giving him the physical affection he needed.

The bond between those two was hard to deny. It might not be romantic on Ladybug’s part (at least that she would admit; she’d noticed Ladybug being a little softer, a little gentler, giving him certain looks) but on Chat’s side? He seemed ready to melt into a puddle.

Though the looks he was giving Ladycat right now, those partly lidded eyes, that gentle smile - on Chat she may not have been able to draw the connection. But on Adrien?

They were just like his expression when he looked at Marinette.

And Marinette had been missing ever since Catwoman’s attack.

If Marinette and Ladybug turned out to be the same person, she wasn’t sure whether to laugh, cry, or scream about the universe’s ironic sense of humor.

The more she thought about it, the more certain she grew.

Strong sense of justice? Check.

Creative and good at thinking on her feet? Check.

Kind and willing to give second chances when need be? Check.

Not to mention her selecting Alya as the first temporary miraculous holder, and securing Alya that first-ever interview with Ladybug.

With herself.

No WONDER she’d been able to do that when no one else could!

Ooookay, calm down Alya. Still don’t know that for sure. It could still all be a coincidence.

...Probably not, but she didn’t actually need to know Ladybug’s identity right now. Chat’s identity coming out couldn’t have been reasonably avoided, not with needing to confront Hawkmoth, to confront his father, and him almost certainly knowing Chat’s identity.

She’d play along for now.

She really, REALLY hoped she was right though. Knowing that on all those missions they’d had together, every time she’d hung out with Ladybug, she’d been hanging out with her best friend? That she’d teased Ladybug about boy troubles, had slumber parties with her, had kicked her butt at Dance Dance Revolution (and gotten her butt kicked in turn at Ultimate Mecha Strike III)?

Just… knowing who she was as Ladybug, who she was as Marinette, and putting it all together?

It cemented Ladybug as human, as being a person and not some far away idol. She may not be perfect - far from it - but she tried her best. Sometimes she made a mistake, sometimes she got flustered and did something foolish, sometimes she made bad decisions, and sometimes she let her emotions get the better of her, like any other teenager.

But ultimately, she was still a hero. Still a Hero of Paris.

She didn’t need to be some godlike figure. She just needed to try her best.

Welp.

There went any hope of convincing herself that Marinette and Ladybug might not be the same person.

Hopefully Adrien figured it out soon too. She could keep a secret if she needed to, but if she had to watch those two moon around each other for much longer she’d be tempted to shove them in a panther cage until they figured out they liked each other already.

Hey it’d worked for her and Nino!

“Alya? Alya!”

She startled at Adrien’s worried tone. Even Ladycat (or maybe she should say Marinette? ...she’d stick with Ladycat for now, no need to remind herself of her revelation more than she already had) padded over to her and meowed, pawing at her face to get her attention.

“I’m fine, I’m fine! Just zoned out a bit. What were you saying?”

He gave her another worried look, but continued. “We’re gonna sneak back into his lair. I’ll distract Father and Mayura if she shows up while you cloak yourself, Fu, and Ladycat in an illusion to make yourselves as inconspicuous as possible - invisible preferably, but you’ll need to be careful not to trip over each other.”

She frowned. “You’ll take Hawkmoth and Mayura on by YOURSELF? You sure that’s a good idea?”

He grimaced. “No, but I’m used to handling myself while Ladybug figures out and implements a plan. I can manage for a little bit. And anyway, it’s only just long enough for Fu to examine my mother and figure out what he can do for her, if anything. Then we can retreat and regroup.”

Glancing down at the kitty in his lap, he smiled. “Besides, I’ll still have my partner there. She may not be able to fight quite like normal, she’s still Ladybug, and she still has superpowers. We don’t need to be able to talk in order to fight together.”

Considering the videos she’d seen of the Frightingale fight, with Chat and Ladybug dance-fighting in synchrony while RHYMING? No doubt about that.

Oh hell, Adrien’d been forced to dress up as Chat and Marinette volunteered as Ladybug.

“HA!”

She quickly got ahold of herself, but not before Adrien looked at her worryingly again. “Uh… you sure you’re alright, Alya?”

She waved him off. “I just thought of something funny, that’s all.”

Seriously, Marinette and Adrien could change their body language so heavily that even though they looked practically identical to how they did as Ladybug and Chat (minus the masks, which she suspected they ‘lost’ on purpose), no one else had a clue they were one and the same, even with seeing Ladybug and Chat Noir minutes later? She’d never make fun of Clark Kenting again.

She softened her voice. “You ready to face your father now?”

He took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. “...Yeah. I think so. Let’s do this.”

#miraculous ladybug #ml fanfic #alya cesaire #adrien agreste #ladycat

15 notes · View notes

floralseokjin · 5 years

Text

;my type (m)

you take the college nerd’s virginity

pairing | kim seokjin x reader genre/warnings | smut; kissing, hand stuff, oral, unprotected sex, soft because that’s what i am for this seokjin (just seokjin in general really)… jin is in glasses! words | 6,119

“Hmfgh.” Seokjin makes a sigh of pleasure slash discomfort under you. It’s probably because he’s sporting the hardest erection that you’ve ever felt. It’s trapped in his slacks, pressed against your underwear as you grind on it in tight circles.

A peculiar predicament to be in for a Tuesday afternoon. It’s definitely not a regular one anyway. You’ve been a constant in Seokjin’s bedroom a couple of days out of the week for a month now. Busy working on a very important class assignment worth 40% of your grade. You’d been paired up to complete it together, but thiswasn’t part of it.

Kim Seokjin had never been a guy you found yourself particularly giving any attention to until then. You knew him by class association, but he had his friends and you had yours. They didn’t really mix. Seokjin was, for lack of a better word, a nerd, which doesn’t bother you in the slightest. It just meant your lives rarely merged. Until a month ago, of course.

You soon found out he was insanely funny, a bit of a goofball who wasn’t afraid to act an idiot in front of you, and, most shockingly to you, how incredibly attractive he was. You’d never noticed how much his eyes sparkled, hidden by his glasses. The way they blinked slowly when he was concentrating, or how beautiful his smile was… how cute his nose was, especially when it wrinkled absentmindedly.

Your attraction to him came as a surprise, mainly because how hadn’t you noticed how good looking he was before?! Maybe it was the different coloured sweater vests he chose to wear each day that were unappealing? But anyway, you chose to ignore the draw to him. Nothing would ever really come of it, so what was the point? At least you’d obtained a friendship through it, one you hoped lasted long after the class project—even if it was just over social media or a short hello in passing.

But somewhere down the line, you think you began flirting with one another. You were definitely flirting with him anyway, unable to stop, it came naturally. Deluded maybe, it seemed he did the same. He purposely joked around with you because he knew it made you giggle. He liked that sound. He told you numerous times. He sat close, on his bed where you’d long ago found yourself getting comfy, nudged you with his shoulders, leant in to view what you were working on, the scent of his cologne making you light headed in the best possible way. He ordered your favourite take-out, offered to drive you home, text you random jokes that were without a doubt the shittiest to exist, but because it was him, you found them hilarious. Everything he did made you smile. It was a little embarrassing. You were soon realising Kim Seokjin was just your type.

And that’s how it all accumulated, building up and up, until there was nowhere for it to really go apart from this.

Here. Now. You sat in his lap, arms wrapped around his neck, his around your middle as you made out heavily. Well... of course there were other ways it could’ve gone. You could have spoken clearly and obviously about the obvious flirtation between the two of you. Perhaps shared a kiss, made plans to go on a date. But the air around you was too heavy, steam well and truly needing to be blown.

So here you are. The why and how absolutely hilarious. Twenty minutes ago Seokjin had received a message from his friend, Yoongi. Your eyes were never supposed to see it but his phone was left unlocked by your side, Seokjin distracted as he wrote his notes. You were so shocked to see the blatant porn link light up the screen your eyes had bulged and you’d blurted it out before you could stop yourself. Seokjin had never moved so fast, lunging forward to grab the device, tops of his ears red. But it was too late. Not that there was any need for embarrassment. You don’t particularly know how it happened. How the teasing and jesting turned to kissing. But it did and neither of you were complaining.

“Put your hands on me,” you murmur, lips sticky, grabbing one of his hands to lift under your tank top.

In the forefront of your mind you're hyper aware of one thing. Seokjin is a virgin. He wasn’t particularly bashful to admit that when the topic of college dating life and parties arose weeks ago, and you haven’t really given it much thought since. You know plenty of people who haven’t had sex yet. It’s just now...is kinda a different story. You don’t know where this is heading, but it’s getting harder to ignore his boner with each passing second.

His hand freezes around you, unsure how to continue. “Seokjin, they’re just boobs. They won’t bite.” You giggle slightly, covering his hand with yours over the fabric of your top to press him down. “Squeeze them.”

He obliges, reaching up to meet your lips again, and soon you’re kissing like you’ve never stopped. His other hand slips under too, cupping the soft flesh, thumbs catching your hardened nipples before he’s curiously toying with them.

That feels good, and you moan sweetly, circling your crotch a little harder into his. He breaks away to eye you curiously. “Do you like that?” To stress, he pinches the left nub slightly. You jerk, nodding your head. He looks ecstatic.

“God,” you groan. “I want you.” The pressure between your legs is getting a little difficult to ignore.

“You have me,” he replies simply. Almost as if he’s puzzled. Your belly does a little jump in excitement. He’s giving you the go ahead, right? To take this further.

You drop your mouth to his ear the same time one of your hands slides to his crotch, cupping his erection. The fabric of his trousers is a little damp. Your doing. Whoops. You feel him hold his breath. “Seokjinie, you’re so hard.” That does it. Has some type of effect on him. His much-needed breath hitching.

You’ve always found it cute how he refers to himself as the nickname online, and you’ve always wondered how he’d react if someone else called him it. Someone like you. You have your answer. Only it’s a little heightened seeing as his dick is getting touched right now.

“Should I take care of it for you?” You ask, pulling back, his blonde hair tickling your nose as you go.

“Y-yeah,” he nods, seemingly eager. “Yes, please.”

You laugh a little. “There’s no need to say please.” He stays quiet, distracted with how you’ll move next.

Your fingers brush over his fly front ever so carefully, and he looks down, making something of a whimper when he sees the darkened spot where you’ve soaked him. You shrug a little shyly. “The grinding made me a little wet.” His eyes inadvertently drop to your skirt. He nibbles on his lower lip.

“Are you definitely sure about this?” You press, needing to absolutely make sure he wants this and wouldn’t regret it ten minutes from now.

He nods resolutely. “If you stop now I’ll actually spontaneously combust.”

You try to suppress a grin but fail. “Well, I wouldn’t want that...” You really have no other choice but to undo his zipper...

You lift his shirt from out his trousers before sliding them down around his butt, a little down his thighs, so you can see his underwear and ever so eagerly remove his dick. Nothing can prepare you for the surprise. It shows on your face as you freeze, eyes glued to what’s wrapped in your fist.

“What’s wrong?” He almost panics, attempting to sit up straighter.

You stop him. “Jin.....” You awe, blinking up at him. “You’re so big.”

A blatantly easy move in normal circumstances, but you aren’t even lying. How is he still upright with a thing so thick and long in his pants?!

He opens his mouth then closes it. Like a goldfish. He tries again. “I didn’t... I didn’t realise.”

Cute. “How will I stop myself from jumping your bones?” You say candidly.

“Don’t stop yourself,” he blurts. Almost cocky, before he corrects himself. “I mean. I honestly wouldn’t mind.”

You smile and squeeze your fist around the base of his length. “Oh.” He lets out, rigid at the sudden pleasure.

“Let’s take it one step at a time,” you tell him, running your palm along him once. “You could still spontaneously combust at any moment.” You add, teasing him.

He is silent for the most part, jaw slack as he watches your hand glide up and down him slowly. The foreign touch of someone else’s hand rendering him speechless. Like you can’t help it, you reach forward to connect your mouths again, loving it when he lets out a shaky exhale. You use your thumb to circle the precum that has collected along the tip, making him groan. He seems to like that; an extra lubrication. It gives you an idea.

“Hang on,” you pause, pulling away to hitch your other hand up your skirt, dragging a finger inside your underwear.

“What are you doing?” He asks, eyes wide, head almost moving side to side to get a better look. The action makes you almost giddy.

“Getting you wet,” you smirk, now smearing your coated fingers into his dick. The sensation makes his hips jump, and you jerk your fist tighter. A little faster. He moans. “Does that feel good?” You cock your head to the side.

“Yeh...” He breathes. He reaches for your mouth this time, his hands coming out for your hips as his tongue parts the seam. Your thighs squeeze around his, steadily picking up your pace until he’s getting distracted and can no longer concentrate on kissing you. You both breathe heavily, faces close together.

“Your glasses have steamed up,” you giggle, amused at the sight of the foggy lenses. He chuckles quietly but it tapers into a broken sigh. His thighs are stiffening underneath you and his dick is hot to the touch, pulsing in your hand with each pump. He’s close. You can tell, and maybe your intention was once to stop and take it one step further, but he looks so good right now, lips puffy and pink, eyes half shut, expression distorted from the sheer pleasure you’re giving him… It feels amazing to make him feel so good… Turns you on even more.

“I’m...” He attempts, twisting in your grip. “I’m...g-gonna–” His words are cramped, and he doesn’t even get to finish his sentence before you feel the hot liquid spurt down your fingers and hand. You keep pumping him through it, making sure to get every last drop out, to extend his indulgence. And yours. His face looks so pretty when it’s dazed like that. You slowly come to a halt, but keep your fist at the base, his cum now congealing against your skin.

“Awh, shit,” he exhales, out of breath, voice thick, as he looks down at the mess. “Sorry.”

“Don’t apologise,” you shrug, pecking his mouth. Most if not all, landed on your hand. It could’ve definitely been worse. “Was it good?”

“Yeah, it was amazing,” he beams, your cheeks heating up when he reaches to cup one gently. “You’re amazing.” He kisses you. Gentle, but pretty hard. If that’s possible. He makes it possible.

“Do you have a tissue?” You whisper, feeling him finally soften fully in your hand, and you want to let him go but you also don’t want to get his cum on his clothes.

“Oh–yeah...” He remembers, sounding awkward. He struggles to reach over to his nightstand, shuffling you with him until his fingers grab for his top drawer and he reaches inside. You let him clean you both up, his hands pretty shaky. Maybe he’s embarrassed, maybe he’s still on a come down. Either way it’s cute. He’s cute.

“Gross,” he cringes at the soiled tissue, reaching to make aim for the trashcan. He hits it perfectly and then puts his dick back in his underwear quickly.

“Noo,” you insist, noticing he’s left a little spot on side of your thumb. You bring it to your mouth, sucking it off. His eyes widen. He looks like he wants to choke, fidgeting under your body again.

“Can I...” He starts, trailing off as he shakes his head. He sounds determined when he rewords. “I want to make you feel good too.”

Your heart flips. A part of you didn’t expect that, even though you want nothing more. Does this mean he could potentially like you? Why else would he be so eager right now? You regard him almost shyly. “What do you want to do?”

He shrugs a little. “Touch you, kiss you...I don’t know. It’s only fair.” He sounds like he’s trying to bargain with you. As if he has too…

“I’d like that,” you nod, rolling to the side and onto your back. Your own eagerness probably showing, but you don’t care.

“Yeah?” He blurts, before composing himself. “Yeah,” he repeats more certain, probably psyching himself up.

He rolls over too, body hovering over yours and you wind your arms around his middle, pressing him into you, loving the warmth of his body. He quickly attaches your mouths, tongue curling against yours. He’s really finding his way now, exploring your mouth, exploring your skin as he trails down your chin. When he finds your neck you instantly squirm, hands running up his back, locking in his hair. It feels so amazing you can’t help but moan.

He takes his time with you. Probably more so for his benefit. Getting used to how this feels. You don’t mind being his experiment, especially when his lips are now kissing and nibbling across your chest. “Is that good?” He asks, hearing you moan a little again.

“Sogood,” you nod, letting your eyes close when he hums in happiness, hands now absentmindedly dipping up his shirt, fingertips digging at his lower back. The skin is smooth and a little clammy. God, you really want him right now, losing yourself with the sensation of his wet mouth.

You come to when you feel a little pain. “Seokjin!” You exclaim, eyes shooting open. “Are you sucking a hickey on my right now?!” You laugh, trying to push at his shoulders to stop him. It’s no use, he’s too strong. “How will I hide it tomorrow?”

He pulls away, admiring his handy work. “Just don’t,” he shrugs. “It’s no big deal.”

No big deal? It’s as if he wantsyou to tell people. What if your friends see it and ask questions? He won’t mind if you tell them? You’re thinking too much. Especially now that his mouth his kissing across your fabric cladded breasts. Your nipples are hard already, visible even with your bra and tank top, and he takes one in his mouth, sucking through the material. “Oh, god,” you sigh when he moves to the next one, his hands tightly gripping your waist, weighed you to the bed.

He pulls away again to see his damage. You do too. Two darkened splodges sit where your nipples are. “That looks ridiculous,” you laugh. You hope it dries by the time you have to leave.

He watches you hesitantly, a hand sliding up your body for his finger to play with your top strap. “Can I... Can I pull it down?” You nod enthusiastically. He does so quickly, your pink lace bra coming into show. You can tell he likes what he sees, but he’d rather it be your bare breasts. “This too?” He nudges the lace. You reply with an impatient squirm.

He likes your nipples. He goes to suck them like he had been doing over your top, but you’re too sensitive, so he slows down, swirling the buds in between his tongue before flicking them rapidly. “Shit,” you gasp, before whining his name. He looks up at you questioningly. “Seokjin, touch me.”

You can’t take much more. You’re a mess, nipples hanging out of your bra flushed and wet. There’s an inferno between your legs, skirt ridden up, panties on show, pressing against his thigh to try and alleviate some of the pressure. You’re two seconds away from flat out grinding against him. “Please,” you implore, grabbing one of his hands and lowering it down your stomach. His pupils widen, and then he moves on his own accord, lifting under your skirt, bypassing your underwear to dip inside it.

Ever so gently his fingertips caress your folds, exploring you with a timid curiosity. It feels so good after all this waiting. “You’re so wet,” he murmurs, voice a little croaky. You are. You can hear it as he brushes up and down. Your hips jerk when he unintentionally finds your clit. He freezes, slowly repeating the motion. “Like this?” He wonders.

You nod again, kinda lost for words right now. He zones in using a circular motion, pleasure tingling your toes. Your opening clenches though, a little desperate for more of him. “You can...” You stop yourself, unsure how to word it without sounding crude. “You can put your fingers inside of me too.”

He swallows almost comically, but slowly slides a finger to your entrance. He’s hesitant when he pushes inside, unsure what to do to make you feel good. You rock your hips into his hand to show him, giving him the motion to follow. “Okay?” He asks after a moment, finger following the curve of your walls as he strokes you into a boneless mess. “Is this fine?”

“Yeah,�� you smile lazily, sated from the buzz.

He smiles back and looks between your legs, shifting on his knees as he sighs. “Can I just–” He cuts himself off, removing his hand from your underwear to tug them off. Down the side of his bed. “Getting rid of these stupid things.” You giggle at his determined attitude.

Which all turns to shit when you spread your legs and reveal your centre to him. “Oh, Christ,” he awes, jaw slack. His thumb finds your clit this time, rubbing little figure eights and you moan in shock when he pushes two fingers inside you. He moans back, looking up at you before crawling up your body, finding your mouth. Either your vigorous hip jerking helps, or he just really wants to make you feel good, but soon enough he begins thrusting his digits in you. Your moans encouraging him to continue. He kisses you messily, probably having trouble doing two things at once, but you don’t care. You kiss him back just as disorderly, hands running all over his back. If only you could get him out of his clothes…

His pace gets a little messy as well after a few minutes. He keeps pulling away from your mouth to look down your body. When you meet his eyes, he’s out of breath, cheeks red, lenses of his glasses smudged. “God, I…” he almost whines, looking conflicted.

“What’s wrong?” You demand, kind of worried.

He shakes his head. “I want to know... I want to know what you taste like…” Your heart skips a beat, centreclenching around his knuckles.“Will you let me?”

“Y-yeah,” you stutter, leaning up on your elbows. “Yes!” Okay, maybe you’re coming off as too eager, but like you said, you don’t mind being his experiment. You’re having too much fun. Getting intimate has never felt so natural.

You watch as he scoots backwards on his knees, hunching over before he looks up your body. He shakes his head, getting back up to slide your skirt from your hips. “Take this.” You take the garment quickly, dropping it down the opposite side of the bed to your underwear. He wants to see up your body. That just gets you even hotter. “I’m taking this shit off too,” he exclaims, grabbing his glasses and throwing them to the pillow next to you.

You giggle, but soon shut up as he gets back down, spreading your legs a little to fit his shoulders between them. You take initiative and fling them over the horizon. He wastes no time. Placing a delicate kiss to your clitoris. He does so a second time. A third, and then you feel the warmth of the tip of his tongue against you. You close your eyes, really wanting to watch him between your legs but would rather not put him off.

You wonder if you should help him out, give him pointers, but it seems all that porn watching paid off. You’d tell him that if you weren’t so speechless. He works diligently and patiently at first, finding out what you like. What each brush of his tongue does to you, and where to do it. He finds the sucking method gets you particularly rowdy. Always has. But not quite like this. He latches on, despite your hips wriggling about, one large hand flattening you to the bed no matter how hard you try to squirm. He uses the other to finger you again. Quickly getting ahold of the multitasking life. He flicks his tongue as his lips stay suctioned around you, and embarrassingly, or maybe not so, he gets you to cum soon after that.

You’re loud. But he likes that. He’s loud too, as he hums into your heat, vigorously eating you out as you howl your cum chant. You have visions of that time he ate cheesecake in front of you. Your mind had drifted to the x-rated even then, and now it definitely is. He eats pussy just as good as he eats desserts. Amazing.

“Oh,” you utter when he finally pulls away from you, intent on getting every last drop of your excess arousal. “Fuck, Jin,” you exclaim, running a hand through your hair as he kneels up. You’re gobsmacked. Who’s the virgin here?

He crawls back up your body, kissing your forehead quickly. The action is full of affection. You’re flustered. “We should be quiet,” he murmurs. “My roommate is home.”

Oops. “Sorry,” you apologise. “Sorry, that was just so good.”

He can’t stop his smile. “It’s okay. I forgot too… I hope he didn’t hear us.”

You’re hardly listening, which you feel guilty about, but you’re still on a high and you’re babbling, wanting him to know how amazing he is. “You made me cum so good. With lips like that why am I surprised,” you giggle breathlessly, ghosting over the stained pout with your fingertips. He smiles again, this time a little shy, burying his face into your hand and soon enough your neck.

You lie there for a moment, catching your breath, until you feel his lips against your skin. His chin is sticky with your arousal and you can smell yourself. Just the fact he hasn’t wiped his face makes your chest feel weird. He’s just happy to do whatever. And he does.

He spends the next ten minutes kissing and touching your body, and you let him explore, because it feels nice, almost like you’re in heaven. Every kiss and caress of you breasts, stomach, thighs… It’s all amazing.

“I’m...” He speaks for the first time in a while, hovering over your body again, dropping his head to nudge the side of your neck with his nose. He seems bashful, talks with a pout. You wrap your arms around him. “I’m hard again. You made me hard again.”

You squeeze him tightly, making him pull back to see your reaction. “What do you want me to do about it this time?” You grin, absentmindedly sweeping his hair from his eyes.

He looks you in the eyes for this, despite the nervousness in his tone. “Will you... Will you have sex with me?” Your eyes widen. Yes, that’s what you want. So badly. But a part of you is still hesitant, this being Seokjin’s first time and all. He carries on. Maybe he thinks he has to persuade you, who knows. Or maybe he just wants to keep talking. Reliving the afternoon. “You felt so good around my fingers. I want to know...”

He trails off, not really needing to explain. He wants to know what it feels like. What youfeel like. “Are you sure?” You ask him softly.

“More than sure,” he replies, kissing you. You kiss him back. “I want you.” His face is just as serious as his voice, and well, you can’t say no to that. He wants you like you’ve wanted him this past hour or so. Wanted him probably longer… Just your conscious wouldn’t let you think it.

“Okay,” you nod, unable to stop the smile and the the giggle that leaves you. You feel giddy. You reach for the bottom of his sweater vest, pulling to tug it off. How is he not boiling to death?! Although his hair is a little plastered to his forehead by now, ends curling by his nose.

He pulls the thick fabric up over his head, quickly moving to meet your lips and you kiss him greedily. He wants this. You want this. There’s nothing holding you back. He wants to share this moment with you. Your heart feels weird. Your fingers shake as you take the buttons on his shirt lose. You get half way but his lips are making you dizzy. You settle for hands caressing his skin, feeling his body. He’s lean, toned, hot, and you need more.

“You sounded so hot just now,” he rushes between each brush of his mouth. “I can still hear it.” You moan, struggling with his shirt still. It’s half way off his shoulder, locked in place. You grunt, settling for running your palms along the broadness. “Want to hear it properly again,” he whispers against your mouth.

Fuck it.You’re impatient. As much as you love kissing him, you can’t wait any longer. Nor can he. You flip him over surprisingly easy. Must have taken him by surprise. His hair spreads against the pillow like a golden halo. He looks like an angel. A very disheveled, but beautiful angel. “How do you want me?” You purr.

He looks equal parts amazed and nervous. “Any way,” he breathes.

“Want me to ride you?” You’re speaking without a filter and he as good as splutters. You love it. You dip your head, mouth against his ear. “Seokjin, you want me to ride that big dick of yours?”

He groans. Whimpers. Grunts. All three. Gripping your elbows as he lifts you up to view your face. “Don’t say shit like that. You’ll make me cum in my pants.”

You grin, shuffling away from him. Backwards, down his body. “I’ll just make you cum again. It’s okay.” He makes a noise. Quieter this time, watches you as you drag his trousers down past his knees. You follow with his underwear, before tearing them both off his feet. You keep his socks on. The image is funny. Besides, you still have yours on too.

Next you go for his shirt again. This time sane enough to unbutton it fully, revealing his beautiful chest. Does he work out? Why hasn’t he ever brought it up in conversation? Although, this month of getting to know him has taught you he doesn’t like to brag. If anything he gets shy when he gets attention, so this must be torture for him… But just imagining Seokjin in the gym does things to you…

He shrugs the garment from his shoulders, letting you paw at him. “You’re so hot,” you utter, staring down his body as you kneel over him.

He chuckles. “I think you’re stupefied.”

“Definitely not,” you insist, tugging at his hands. “Sit up!” He obeys, learning his back against the headboard. Where you’d both started off over an hour ago. You lift your tank top over your head. Unhook your bra, until you’re just as naked as him. He views your body in admiration.

You reach behind you, taking the base of his dick in your palm, stroking him a couple of times to get him ready, only to realise something. “Oh–shit. Wait,” you stare wide eyed at him. “Do you have condoms?”

Of course he wouldn’t. Stupid question. His eyes widen too upon realisation, forlorn as he shakes his head. “I can ask my roommate,” he suggests, but you shake your head. His roommate has probably been able to hears bits and pieces of what’s been going on, so you don’t want to mortify Seokjin even further. Not that he should feel mortified, but it’s his moment. So he can feel whatever he wants.

“It doesn’t matter. We’re both good.” You’re so desperate right now you don’t care about safety too much. You’re clean and Seokjin’s a virgin. As long as he doesn’t cum inside you, you’d be fine. (Not always, but your rationality ignores that…). “Just tell me when you’re about to cum.”

“Yeah,” he nods, a little distracted because you’re jerking him again. With intent, hovering over him, ready for landing. “Will do.”

He’s breathless already and you’re holding yours, wondering if your vagina can cope with this type of girth. You sink down, taking the tip and then the head. Seokjin watches wide eyed. Literally watching his dick disappear inside of you. You slowly fuck yourself down on him, taking him inch by inch. Giving him a show because he needs to enjoy his first time. But mostly because he’s so thick and long you’re afraid you’ll feel him in your guts. He grips the sheets to the side of you the whole time, stomach muscles flexing with each movement from you. “Ffuck,” you huff when you finally fuck yourself all the way down, walls spasming around him.

“You okay?” He asks, visibly concerned, reaching to hold your hips.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” you smile. “Just, your dick’s a work out.” He looks smug at that. “Enough about me,” you rush, ignoring the burn in pelvis. “Just sit back and enjoy the feeling.”

You push at his chest and he listens, sliding his hands to your thighs as he stares between your legs again. Where he ends and you begin. Or where you end and he begins. Either one sounds good. “Oh, God,” he mutters. His cheeks are flushed, tip of his nose shiny.

You want to fuck him slow. Make him realise what all the talk about sex is about. You want to make him feel as good as possible. You want to make him moan. You want to make him cum. You want him. You want it all. You have him.

You hold onto his chest as you go, feeling it continue to flex underneath you. “Seokjin,” you moan, eyes half closed. “You feel so good inside of me.” He does. He grazes every nerve inside you, gets so deep he could hit your g-spot repeatedly with some speed, but now’s not the time for that. It’s his time. You lean frowned, kissing him chastely. “What do I feel like?”

“Amazing,” he breathes, fingers digging into your thighs. “Soft. Warm. Wet.”

You whine at that, glad he’s having a good time, but also glad you’re the one givinghim the good time. “You can touch me all you want,” you tell him, noticing how impatient his limbs are. “I like it.”

He listens, letting his hands roam your body. He goes for your hips first squeezing them tightly as you bob up and down his length, then your stomach, sitting closer so he can kiss you. His fingers find your nipples, rolling the sensitive flesh between the pads and you give him a sweet moan in return. He likes that. Kiss turning hungry. That’s when his hands find your ass. The first time. He likes what he feels. He squeezes the cheeks tightly, the fingers on one hand dropping downwards to find the base of his dick. He feels himself entering and leaving you for a few moments, moaning loudly, almost purposefully.

“This is like my wildest dream come true,” he confesses out of breath. His eyes are glassy. Drunk on the feeling.

You want to exclaim a really?! That makes you the happiest, but the truth is you don’t have enough mental capacity to do so right now. You can always talk later. You have so much you want to say.

“This is v-very unexpected for me,” you manage to get out instead. Wanting to give him something at least.

He raises an eyebrow, looking worried. His hands hold your back now. “Bad unexpected?”

“Goodunexpected,” you correct, leaning forward to kiss him. “Like, verygood unexpected.” He grins into your mouth, holding you tightly. You’re glad because you’re getting tired now, and if you grind a little in circles like you begin to do so right now, it feels just as good. For him too. He moans into your mouth.

“Can you see?” You giggle, remembering he still has his glasses off.

“This close, yes,” he grins, cupping your face to look at you. “You’re beautiful.”

You smile bashfully, never quite feeling this exposed and vulnerable before, but it just feels right. This allfeels right. You kiss him, grinding quicker, overcome with a sudden sensitivity, a sudden urge. You’re able to use his pubic bone to get yourself off, wet noises between you as you stick to him. You cum still attached to his mouth, pulsing around him, his hands now holding the back of your head, fingers weaved in your hair. It takes you a moment to realise he’s speaking again, so punch drunk with your own pleasure as a panicked hand pushes at your hip.

“I’m g-going to a-again,” he blurts, and you come back around immediately, pulling off him just as the first spurt of cum shoots out. It paints his stomach. Quickly followed by a few more, making a mess of his beautiful body. “Oh, fuck,” he exclaims, a little dazed. He gives you a goofy smile. “Okay, that went everywhere.”

“It’s fine,” you laugh, reaching for a tissue now that you know where he keeps them. He looks so good right now lying on his bed, dick softening against his stained stomach, you almost don’t want to clean him up. But you’re still all warm and tingly from your orgasm. He is too, and you want to cuddle. Once you’re done you aim for his trashcan. You miss.

“You cold?” He asks, not bothering to wait for an answer as he reaches for a blanket at the foot of his bed. “Here.” He says, wrapping it around your shoulders.

“Thanks,” you smile, immediately going to lie down to share it with him. He pauses when he feels you cuddle up to his arm, maybe in shock, but quickly lifts it so you can snuggle against his armpit. The blanket drapes over his crotch, and you run your fingers along his stomach. You dowant to talk, but this feels so good. The silence is a perfect one, and then he ruins it…

“Give me 20 minutes and I can go again.”

You laugh loudly in disbelief, lifting your head to look at him as if he’s mad. “I don’t want to kill you!”

He shrugs. “I wouldn’t mind.”

“I would!” You argue. You’ve only just had a piece of him. He gives you a lazy smile and it’s almost crazy how seductive it is. You’re broken. “Okay,” you say, rolling away to reach for your phone on the nightstand. He waits patiently but curiously as you bring up Google and begin typing. “While you’re collecting yourself, choose one,” you tell him once you’re done, handing him the device.

He looks at the screen, eyes nearly bulging out of his head at the numerous different sex positions that greet him. He still scrolls though, back and fore until he settles on something to your surprise.

He rolls on his side, watching you fondly. “I kinda just want... I want to be the one in control…”

He passes you back your cell and you eye the screen expectantly. You smile when you see the big lettering spell out ‘missionary.’ “Fine by me,” you tell him, stealing a kiss because you reallycan’t help it.

He rolls on top of you, blanket forgotten. You don’t really need it anyway. You have his body warmth, wrapping your arms around his middle to conserve it.

Somewhere in the back of your mind, you make a note to remind Seokjin to thank Yoongi for that porn link…

#seokjin smut #bts smut #jin smut #jin fanfic #bts fanfic #floralseokjin:writings #fic:my type #jin has a big dick in every fic #it's cannon

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