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naompspsps · 9 hours

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The Vice Housewardens in the car with their lover who drives like a maniac.

Summary: Blame your parents for teaching you this. Now you can't stop driving like you're in a race with cars, so you're scaring the hell out of your boyfriend.

Ft. Trey, Ruggie, Jade, Jamil, Rook & Lilia x Gn!Reader [Seperate]

Established relationship for all<3 Trey foaming, Jamil being KAITO vibes and uh, Thas all. Rook being Rook.

A/n: Holy god YALL WERE SO SWEET WITH MY LAST POST ABT THE HOUSEWARDENS so with due happiness, Have a vice housewardens edition. (No ortho bcs uh, no)

! do not repost or translate my works anywhere. do not copy or use my works in any site, Reblogs are appreciated alot though !

Trey Clover

Worried. That's the only thing he has in mind.

He wouldn't try to be so worried, he would attempt to keep calm but end up being so panicked in life.

Who even opened your cage??

Well- Obviously it was him. He opened your cage and let him out to love so the blame is on him.

You just wanted to meet his family, You know, Get to know them before marrying him after you both graduate /j

Trey knew they would love you so much, You're sweet afterall.

Just uh.. Sweet in second place while recklessness goes in first.

So it's a weekend, And you plan to meet his family. But for a good first impression- You forced Trey to sit down on the fudging passengers seat before you whack him with a grandma's teeth.

That threat didn't scare him at all, btw. But when you mentioned you're gonna stop brushing your teeth guess who sat inside like a passenger princess

You obviously won't stop but you're happy it worked. Now you know what to use the next times.

To ease the tension between you both that happened for some reason, You laugh at him while driving.

Definitely laughing while calling him a princess.

"Hahahahaha princess Trey. Hahahahahah IWasAGirlInTheVillageDoingAlright----" coming out of your mouth

You love slandering Trey in a lovely way<3

Trey leans his forehead on the door, silently crying at the way you're teasing him for being at the passengers seat.

The muscular boyfriend being the princess was amusing your satisfaction of slander.

He'll definitely get you next time. He swears on that. (He will lose I swear)

You take a turn to the highway, catching a sign.

Ooh, shiny sign~

You stick your tongue out and start driving as if you were racing with these random cars.

What does Trey do?? Literally have a late reaction and press his back harder against the car seat, trying not to move alot.

He tries to speak the idea of menacing-ly driving out of you, but it fails to his ego.

It makes it even worse with the way you just gesture him to be quiet.

You laugh, Catching the sign you've always wanted to do again. You do this multiple times but.. Once a week isn't always hitting different. You press your feet against the pedal, pushing it as the car continued to speed faster. Trey stares at nothing before reacting startled in 2 seconds. He felt his soul disappear. What the actual cupcakes and cakes does he do?? Trey leans his back against the seat of the car, trying his best to not fall forward. "[Name]. [N-Name] please. [Name] Stop-" Trey begs, but you put up a hand infront of him. "Uh uh, Shut up, princess." "W-we can do that too.. That's fine- We're totally not gonna die. TOTALLY NOT GONNA D- [NAME]!!! THE CAR WAS ABOUT TO HIT US- STOOOOP-"

Spoiler alert: You don't stop.

Plus, It was just one car. You shrug, humming while taking rough turns.

Trey looks at you. Like, Girly pop- (even if ur not a girl, cater taught him those.)

Girly pop-- Why. Why are you being like this.

Trey smiles nervously, Totally not sweating from nervousness if you both are gonna die here.

He hasn't even given Riddle the best tarts ever, or say goodbye to his family.

You are ending his life right here right now??

From your rough driving, He's definitely about to faint. Never in his life has he seen a person drive like there's no tomorrow.

You take another rough turn, and another, and another. The way to his home has alot of turns..

You don't even know what you're doing and why you keep taking alot of turns but ok.

And plus, nobody seems to be complaining about a crazy mf driving so you're all good that's what you know.

So taking the last turn before driving to his home, you had to slow down as quick as you can and pull on the breaks.

Look at your right, babes!

Trey is dead :D

Trey is foaming :D

You literally just killed Trey and now he's foaming.

What do you have to say about that now??? You have killed your boyfriend just with the way you drive! :DD

You literally have millions to explain to Trey and his family.

Who tf taught you that, why, where, when and what.

It was fun but at what cost??

You take a turn, catching Trey's house in the distance. You press your foot hard against the pedal to slow down, then pulling the breaks to stop the car fron going any further. Lucky you, Your parents put doubke safety in the seatbelt so the people in the car including you won't go flying in the air! You lean your head on the head rest, laughing at the fun.

"Haha! Trey that was- TREY- HOLY F-" You see your boyfriend foaming, his head placed against the side of the head rest. He shakily nods, trying to get the seatbelt off of him before opening the door and falling flat on the floor. "TREY YOUR GLASSES-" Trey lays flat on the floor like a paper. "Goodness-" You laugh. "Well- I got alot of explaining to do. Tooooo your family..." You hop out of the car, locking the doors and lifitng Trey up, his arm around your shoulder as you guide him through the door of his house.

Ruggie Bucchi

It's a second years thing to feel horrified around you. Maybe 17 is a good age to be horrified with a driver lile you.

Also you cannot tell me this man isn't a vice housewarden he was in charge of the dorm in book 6 while leona was out doing flips

He knows he's done these kinds of things when he's on a broom, But he doesn't know you're capable of doing a cars version.

Listen, He just wanted to chill in Shaftlands because you were.. Well, A bit desperate to bring him to this one field of flowers.

The only reason he agreed was because he loves you and you said there were dandelions there.

Also, You said there's a repayment if he agreed. Who would say no to that??

Let me tell you one thing Leona witnessed, Ruggie choking on his water when he saw you in such a stunning outfit.

You already looked pretty to him in general, So you killed him double just by seeing you in an outfit you planned out.

You both arrive at your car, and you open the door for him before you enter the driver's seat.

There we go! Now you both just have to drive all the way there.

You felt Ruggie look at you, and look away. Look back. Okay, they know: look away. Waaait.. Look bac- Nevermind they're looking.

It was adorable at how his ears twitch when he got caught looking at you, as he casually looks out the window.

hand under his chin while the elbow is comfortably placed on a surface of the car door

If only you could take a picture of that. Ugh. The pain...

You chuckle then remember one thing.

Damn, How the heck did you forget about the snacks at the back seat.

You remind Ruggie and Swoop! The hyena is hanging on the side his car seat, trying to get a snack he wants to eat.

You see his tail when you look to your side. You try not to hold it, but intrusive thoughts win. And there, you booped his tail. He jumped and quickly looks at you.

He has questions, But you acted like nothing happened and continued looking at the road.

You hum, Still trying to think if you should take a picture of him. You're driving though.. You need the best view and quality if you're gonna keep it. You sigh. Guess you can't do it.. You focus back on the road. "I'm hungry." Ruggie suddenly says, Which makes you remember of something. "Oh yeah- Don't worry about that, There's food behind you." Ruggie immediately takes a look at the back seat. "Oh heck yeah! Food!" He slides in between the passenger and driver's seat, and your eyes only focus on his tail. You softly raise your hand, and hold it. "Ay! What're you doing?!" "Nothin. Just feeling~"

this crazy mf.

Ruggie takes chips, why not.

Oh, He also feeds you. You're just chilling, driving calmly that totally won't turn into a menacing drive in a minute or two.

He just passes you a chip. And if you refuse it, He will pull up the worst yet best threat.

"If you don't eat it after our date you'll find out the gasoline in your car is gone replaced with water in your gas, and the front is smoking from chips in the machines."

Oh damn. That hit your race car driver persona hard.

You slowly lean sideways to take the chip in your mouth.

Well, he certainly knows how to make you take the food he's feeding you.

While he eats, You see your buddy.

THE SIGN- THE SIIIIIGN

You tell Ruggie to buckle up and protect his chips. He doesn't know why you had to say that but he does it anyways.

You had to make sure Ruggie has his sealtbelt on, and his chips well-protected before speeding up.

Calm driver [Name] = Crazy mf [Name]

Now he knows why you told him.

He holds back, He tries to hold everything he sees, his chips- HIS CHIPS-

He pulls up the 'stop the car' phrase

You don't stop. Ruggie is now horrified and traumatized.

LEONA NEVER DROVE LIKE THIS???

do you perhaps need the therapist after this??

Why're you driving like a black hole is chasing yall????

Sigh. And he hasn't even said goodbye to his grandma 😧

He isn't reacting crazy like Trey, he's just.. laughing. (laughing like furina /hj)

Forget the Sheeheehee, He needs HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA???????!!!

You take the biggest turn ever, causing Ruggie to bump his head on the car window.

Then you stop the car

If you look, you just murdered someone.

Obvi ruggie isn't dead fr but he literally has his head low, the seatbelt holding him back from falling forwards and his chips.

Oh. Well..

Order of the court, [Name] is Guilty ☝

You see the field of flowers in the distance, You just need to take a turn... You hold the steering wheel tightly and turning it, making the rough turn. You slow down the car, before pressing on the breaks. "Aaand- Done! We're he- Ruggie??" You look at Ruggie. "Ruggie- Are you- RUGGIE???" You tap him, multiple times. And still won't wake up. "Ah.. I think I went too far.." "YA THINK??!"

Ruggie raises his head back up, startling you. "BITC- WE ALMOST DIED." "Yeah I know but atleast we're still alive??" You shrug. "WHAT EVEN WAS THAT???" You take the keys of the car in your hands. "Errr- No limit speed highway?" You answer. "WHAT IS THAT??" You open the car door, stepping out of the car. "Come on, I'll tell you about it, get outta the car with your snack." Ruggie leaves in a moment of silence. "I don't want to get out of the car..." "So you want me to carry you? C'mere Ruggie." "I want to get out of the car."

Jade Leech

Again, Horrified. But that's only when the process is happening, when it ends he's gonna be smug about it, shocked, but smug. And- He's never been in a car. And a driver who drives like a drunkard rushing to get home due to curfew.

He's glad he found a lover like you, caring, and even cares for the twin, not just him. But you focus on him more than Floyd.

That's just his biggest quality he loves about you, you care for his family but you still focus on him.

Like- Jade's hungry? You get him food but before going, you ask Floyd if he's also hungry and if he says no you make sure triple times he's sure of his answer.

If Floyd does say yes, You grab a snack and throw it at him without warning. It's just how you both bond with each other.

You're caring in Jade's perspective, Reckless, But caring. He has alot of likes about you.

Which is why in order to fulfill your biggest quality too; He asks you what you desire to do the most.

You tell him you like to drive.

So he asks you on a late night drive date.

You're incredibly happy. So happy you start flopping around your room /not literally but think what you wanna think

So now you both are in the car with a bunch of snacks in a basket on Jade's lap.

You're ready to drive!!

Jade would be amazed at the controls and ask they mean, so you answer while trying to find the beach that connects to the coral sea.

Because you want Jade to be happy that it's connected to the coral sea. Even if his home might be far away, you still want to do it.

Also, There's alot of sparkling stuff in the sand, It's a place you always went when it's your parents' anniversary.

You haven't really thought of what you both should do, but you thought of going to that one restaraunt near the beach.

And look at the views, stargaze.

It would also help with your assignment, it was required to look at the stars and study it anyways.

On your way, you see the no limit sign.

The happiness is inside you.

Also, reminder that Jade also does not know about these signs.

Probably knows the speed ones but doesn't know the no limit speed sign, or if it even exists.

Do these type of signs exist underwater??? Probably not.

So confusions just happened to stay inside of Jade, Wondering why you're driving faster. Alright, He's heard alot about speeding up and why driving fast is dangerous, That's just what he heard from other students.

So why are you speeding-

Your bestfriend appears infront of your eyes, oh, the no limit speed sign. "Buckle up, Jade, Things are gonna get messy." Jade looks at you. "What do you mean by that- Also, Why are you speeding??" He tries to read your body language, only to see your hands sturdy against the steering wheel, Your eyes narrowing at the road and foot pressed on the accelerator. "[Name], are you sure this is safe." "Yep. Trust me in this." "Are you sure. Double sure?" "Yep."

The more the car accelerates, the more Jade starts to get worried, but remain calm.

Overtaking cars and you aggressively turning the steering wheel is quite scary to him, for some reason.

Like he knows the possiblity of death if you crash into another car, so if you are a professional in driving, then why are you even driving like that as if you know those kinds of rules even exist-???

Forget confusions, His emotions turn into terror when you perfectly overtake another car that was also speeding, how???

Jade was amused, only for a second before you dodge a car that was in your way.

He felt that fear in his body. Definitely.

You remember the road leading to the beach, so you start to wonder: When tf will this no limit speed road end

i mean you don't want it to end at all, but you can tell your boyfriend is near vomitting.

Can't seem to stop though, the cars are also fast, so you can't slow down.

You see the sparkles of the sand, so you take a turn, and drove over a bump that caused Jade to hit his head.

You look for a spot to park in an instant, and drove to it before stopping the car.

Jade will definitely throw up. He will actually throw up.

He has to ask his questions though; He didn't know you would be able to pass through the speed without panicking.

Is he still up for eating?? Maybe, He'll manage to get over it.

You pull the breaks, making you both jerk forward a bit. You stare at nothing, slowly smiling to laughing. "Haha! Oh my goodness! That was so fun-" You lean your back against the seat and exhale a soft sigh. "Wasn't it Ja- Oh. A-are you okay??" You ask. "Just a bit sick. But it was quite impressive." Jade answers. "You know you could just throw up outside-" "No." "Uh.. 'Kay, If you say so.. There's a plastic in the trunk- You wanna-" "No." You sigh. And you did it again.

"Like I said, That actually impressed me. So no need to feel guilty." Jade smiles. "Oh.. Thanks?" "Though- How come you never told me you knew these kinds of tricks?" He leans closer to you. "Well It's not really what I'd call tricks- My parents just taught me this and now I consider it as my habit-" "Hmm.. Interesting. Interesting indeed." He nods. You also nod, but gulp from the sudden nervousness. "S-so you still up for food?.." "Yes." "You sure?" "Yes." "You sure you won't throw up?" "Yes I'm sure." "Okay.."

Jamil Viper

Save him. That's all I have to say. He starts apologizing to everyone, and thank everything when he's still alive.

He is the only person between you and Kalim that is sane. You both are an issue in his mind.

Atleast he still loves you, but sometimes he just has to have a crisis atleast twice a day with you and Kalim doing the craziest things known to humanity.

He fits every swearing memes because of you, He has to stop Kalim flying higher on his broom, and when he looks back at you, You plan to jump off the broom from high up.

You're one year older than him, Why are you being more troublesome than him?? (Well, Maybe because he's literally someone that doesn't want to mess up their hair because it took 1 hour to be styled that way.)

You have the full adult pass, but he feels like you need the kiddie pass.

Aside from crying over you and Kalim's stupidity, He still loves you alot.

Cooks for you, You help him with a homework if he doesn't know, And you teach Kalim about the lesson instead of Jamil because baby is stressed :<

He needs to have a break, so you're here teaching what you know from last year.

Reckless people can still focus on lessons well, yk?? Like Ace, Carefree, but good at math.

You always have to talk to Kalim in your own way, like the 'dinner tomorrow me' (tell me yall seen that meme before 😭)

And for that, Jamil needs to give you kissies because you literally helped Kalim understand.

After you go to him, He literally is laying on his bed (Ahem, You forced him to go take a nap. Knocked him out with a pan /j.)

He stares at you and the moment you say "all good he understands" He shouts a hard question to Kalim who is just by his door and Kalim just answers it correctly.

What does he do? Get up, Tell Kalim to close the door, and when he does..

Lifts you up, Throws you on the bed and jumps back on the bed, cuddling with you.

Just imagine him doing the cannonball thing and clinging on you.

While you both sleep together, He just whispers. "I wanna have a date with you tomorrow."

You snore in response. How tf is he gonna understand what you said

You open your eyes and nod, a yes.

Jamil thought you were about to say no but something kicked him and said you mf that was a yes

But with that, He smiled.

On the date you volunteered to be the one driving. The best places that Vil told you both were this one restaraunt with the best views.

You knew what he was talking about, But Jamil was a bit confused.

So you surprise him with it, He's wondering where you're planning to take him or if it's kidnapping, but meh.

While you two were just driving, You spot your bestie.

Oh bestie sign.. How much we miss you.

Jamil's heart races in an instant seeing the sign and the car slowly getting faster. speechless, then when you overtake the car for his first time he sees you do that,

and probably lets out a girly scream.

He apologize to everyone in the middle of his mumbles at this point.

You spot the sign, and smirk. Jamil hums and looks at the sign with the same moment as the car speeding. He looks at you, then infront of him that slowly starts to speed more. Speed more than what he thought. "[Name]- What are you doing. [Name]-- AAAAH-" He watches you overtake a car perfectly, He mumbles inaudible words, But you know it's about how worried he is. "And I am s- THE CAR- KALIM, I AM SORRY FOR PURPOESELY PUTTING EXTRA SALT IN YOUR BOWL, I WAS FORCED BY FLOYD, AZUL I AM NOT SORRY FOR THROWING YOU AND JADE I AM SORRY FOR COOKING YOUR MUSHROOMS-"

You definitely would laugh at him apologies, He did those??

You imagine yourself in a race, driving and trying to get in first place. If you want the perfect time to look at the view, You have to be early.

You gotta be, This is your boyfriend you're talking about.

Jamil be hitting that KAITO god is a woman scream, you could even play the background music in your head and listen to him hitting the high note.

It's not a too slow ride because you have absolutely no time for driving slowly, You need to get there in order to get the best seats for a view.

It's like trying to fight over the last stock of something.

Throw others and get the stock, buy it.

You finally take the stop, Jamil thanking Kalim, Floyd and Jade for forgiving him (As if they know he's apologizing 😭)

You look at him, and his gaze is piercing into your soul, so what do you do? Look at his nose and not his eyes because you can already tell he's waiting for you to look at him in the eyes.

Definitely to hypnotize you to drive slower, What else??

You tell Jamil you guys are already here though, so he looks away from you and looks at the restaraunt.

damn, that's one fancy restaraunt.

You pull on the breaks, exhaling a huff and smiling. "Satisfied?" Jamil breaks the silence, his voice a bit more.. Ehh, Threatening. You knew what it meant. He was staring at you. You look at him, your eyes moving to his nose. "Aahhh, Yeah.." You mumble. "You. Almost. Killed. Us." "Yeaahhh.. You may think that but-- My parents taught me well, I know how to handle that without dying!" You answer. "Don't care. You should've warned me." You sigh. "We're here though."

You point at the restaraunt, Jamil looks out the car window. "Dang, that's one fancy restaraunt." He whispers. "Yeah, Vil told me this is a restaraunt with the best views." You chuckle. "Reviews or literal views?" "Both, but what I'm pointing out right now are views. Like, a beautiful sunset by the window." Jamil hums. "I still don't forgive you for nearly giving me a heart attack, but alright." "Will you forgive me if I buy you curry? Extra seasonings." "You are forgiven, Let's go."

Rook Hunt

Unfazed. Because he knows everything. Everything and Everything about you. He's not even surprised at your skills.

Ever since he started dating you, the things he found out about you were the way you drive, and who taught you those.

Basically everything about you he knew, and you knew he knew because you heard of Rumors.

Rumors that he's a stalker :l

Did that rumor disturb you? No, Did it disturb other people that you didn't feel scared of the rumor about him?

Also no, Because they have no care in life of what could happen to you.

That's one thing he was glad, that you weren't afraid of him.

Your efforts in trying not to blush when you saw a quick photo of him during first years, or the ones that Vil quickly showed you before Rook sees him showing you.

even if he was literally right behind you both.

It scared you a bit, but he was completely fine with you looking at his old photos that you definitely remembered.

You had to ask the world why his freckles had to go. Like if his fluffy hair is gone, then atleast bring back his freckles.

Also--- How did he manage to get your first year pics??

You kept that in your room!

Anyways, Enough about the past, y'all are def fond of having dates. Though, You never really have gone through a no limit speed sign.

That is, Until Rook thought you should finally meet his family. You both are gonna be in fourth year soon anyways.

So here you are, In sunset savanna, with your car. (Don't ask how it got there. Nobody knows how cars transport to another land too.)

Survive the heat babyyyy...

Lilia Vanrouge

Rook knows all about sunset savanna, even the places with the no limit sign. Literally where exactly you two are heading at right now.

Just as you were talking to Rook, listening to his stories about his family.

The moment you see it, Hallelujah, God answered your prayers. THE SIGN-

You see the sign, and you get so so so so so very happy.

Rook knew you were gonna have that reaction.

"Go take a right when you see two ways. Anyways- Then my mother was all--" You hum while Rook was your GPS, You take a right leading to a highway, As you saw a sign. Of course, To avoid getting stopped by a police, You look at the sign and see something very.. Unexpected. Rook chuckled. "Huh. [Name], Surprising right?" He smiles at you. "Go Crazy, Amour." Rook gestures you. You smile at him and snap your knuckles.

You do what he tells you to do, You went crazy on the highway. Driving, overtake, driving, overtake.

If someone asks you what your favorite words are, It would be Racing, Driving, And Overtaking.

Rook would chuckle at how professional you are. He was aware of your skills, but he's never seen it.

So now, He gets to see it.

While you drive, He grabs his camera and points it at you taking as much as pictures he can get to place on his wall inside that damn wallpaper 💀💀

You don't mind, Atleast it's you he's taking pictures of, not other people that might get you all jealous.

He literally does not care how aggressive you can go with driving.

Just as long as he has pictures of this lovely moment, that he can hold on for a long time.

When you finally spot the area Rook has been telling you about, You spin the steering wheel and slow down, to wait for Rook to tell you to stop.

Well, Damn, time to meet his family.

You laugh, The feeling of speed finally getting to fill in your oxygen! You spot the area Rook described once, and turned to it. You slowed the car down. "Rook, Hun, Tell me when to stop." You hum before looking at him. "Wait- Are you okay? I didn't scare you did I now??" Rook shakes his head. "No, you didn't scare me even once, Amour." "Good.. I thought I scared you as usual when I drive with my friends."

Rook leans in closer to you. "Oh, You don't scare me at all. In fact- I get really impressed with just a single act of yours." You gulp, Ah. Do. Not. Blush. You nod softly. "Please tell me when to stop already. My hands are shaking." "Heh, Well- It's right over... Here. Stop." You pull the breaks, turning off the engine of the car. Rook grabs you by the wrist gently. "Woah, Calm down, What's with the hurry, Cheríe?" "Nothing, I'm just trying to make a good first impression." "I'm certain you don't need to. Just act the way you are."

Unfazed aswell. He's gone to war before. That's worse than your driving skills. Just a bit startled at how sudden it was, but then got used and also decided to vibe with you.

Lilia is like the supportive bf, While you're a very.. Reckless lover.

But even with that, You still love to care. Like Silver! He Is just- Sleeping so you place your folded blazer on his head for a pillow.

And you always love to tap on Lilia's hair. Y'know, the part that stands up??

It's just so perfect.

how does it form so perfectly like that.

And he loves your reactions to whenever he scares you. That's amusing.

You always wonder why he never judges with how dangerous the situations are around you,

because he was a general, ykwim??

He's been in more dangers than you, and always nearly dying.

While you- Yeah okay you also almost die in all moments.

First of all, Who lets you have a skateboard and skate on bars that lead down the hill???

Second of all, Who just let you to jump off the balcony with your broom.

You are in such luck that every danger you stumble upon on, Lilia is always there to save you. (Xiao referenceee)

Oh, You're falling down the stairs? Coincidentally, Lilia was passing by the stairs and just catches you!

And he knows what you want. If you wanted to ask him on a date, He just looks at you and asks you first.

Happy, You nod and laugh crazily in your mind.

You wanted it to be a night drive, Because Lilia is not a morning person. That's what you took note of.

but..

Who's driving? You and Lilia look at each other. You volunteer, so Lilia just follows your orders and sits inside like a princess. (On purpose to make you smile.)

He has a princess pose, All elegant. (Definitely got that from Meleanore when they were kids)

You enter the car, asking Lilia if he wants to play music.

of course he does, why doesn't he want to.

You turn the music on, Vibing and screaming lyrics as you both just drive around.

Probably go stop to get food and stop driving for a while before going back to driving around.

While you two vibe, You both see the sparkling sign.

He knows what the sign means, And you do too.

So you step on the pedal as quick as you can.

it startled Lilia, But then got used to it as he started to vibe louder, making you want to shout out the lyrics too.

You see a sign in the distance, so you take a closer look at it and see; A white circle shaped sign with 5 black stripes. Where have this sign been your whole life. You look at Lilia for a quick second to make sure he has his seatbelt on tightly, and you step on the accelerator pedal. "Woah!- Well- Aren't you in such a mood." Lilia leans back on his seat, bringing his hand closer to the radio and putting the volume a bit more higher. You look at Lilia. "You're in a fun mood too, Ya know."

Empty highways with no limit speed rules are just the best to you both.

where you both can just scream out the lyrics and vibe.

There's more to the vibing, but the most things you both do is sing along.

Tell me when he would stop because he will never.

And tell me he won't vibe into That's what I like by Bruno Mars.

Because he would hear you vibe and he vibes aswell.

Ignore the scary and rough turns you do, he just loves the adrenaline run in you both as if you both share the same adrenaline.

Now this: This is the life with you both. It would've been more fun with cars were around where you could overtake them and laugh with Lilia, but I guess this is better than nothing.

"SAY YOU WANT A GOOOOOOOOOD TIIIIIIME" coming outta you and Lilia.

Trust me when I say when you both finally take a stop near a drive-thru, yall's voices are done.

The person speaking to take your orders might be wondering 'why tf are these two's voices so dry?? You both need like, free water or something??"

You pull the breaks, Cheering with Lilia. "WOOO!!" You yell. "Ahhh- What fun that was!" He stretches, turning the volume down. "This is probably one of the best dates I've ever had." You whisper. "Not the one where you managed to trick random people into thinking there's a mimic at the amusement park during midnight?" "Hey! That one goes in first."

"Hmm, You sure?" Lilia laughs. "Yes I'm sure now be quiet!" You cross your arms. "Ah, Our voices are so dry." Lilia points out, And you clear your throat. "Yeah Clearing our throat doesn't help at all. Luckily, There's a drive-thru right infront of us." You point at it. "Well that's a perfect moment." Lilia chuckles. After a moment of silence, Lilia breaks it. "....Can I be the one to drive now?" "Sure. Show me what you got, Bat." "Oh I will Darling."

Author's End Note: Hiiii This took so long because my tumblr was broken as heck (insert really cool end note)

! do not repost or translate my works anywhere. do not copy or use my works in any site, Reblogs are appreciated alot though !

#twisted wonderland #disney twst #gn reader #twst #twisted wonderland x reader #twisted wonderland x yuu #trey clover #trey clover x reader #ruggie bucchi #ruggie bucchi x reader #jade leech #jade leech x reader #jamil viper #jamil viper x reader #rook hunt #rook hunt x reader #lilia vanrouge #lilia vanrouge x reader

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wolfish-trickster · 2 days

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I want to choose you now

Gojo x fem!reader, Geto x fem!reader

Part 4

Previous part

Word count: 2K

Summary: Gojo comes to you to talk. You and him decide to have a serious conversation again. Both of you make some hurtful freudian slips, but Gojo still tries to win you back.

Warnings: bad grammar (possibly), typos, angst, very little comfort

Taglist: @ilovebattinson @catobsessedlady @tqd4455 @nanao4k

@abcdefghijklmmopqrstuvwxyz @username23345 @www-kiana-mp3 @wirwirfr

Gojo knocked on the old door with probably too much force but he didn't really care.

He was well rested, freshly shaved and nicely dressed. The sky was clear with birds chasing eachother in the air which smelled like fresh flowers. It was a beautiful spring day. If it wasn't for the anxiety and guilt crushing his chest he would call this the ideal weekend.

Some shuffling behind the door and a sound of key unlocking said door later and Gojo was met with his old friend's face.

"Hey Shoko," he tried sounding nonchalant but it came out forced and fake, "is Y/N here?"

"Yes," she said and stood firmly in the free space between the halfway opened door and the doorframe, "will you cause trouble?"

"Don't you know me?" he teased with a nervous smile. Shoko didn't smile. Gojo gulped. "I won't. Promise."

This made Shoko smile. A little bit. "Good, you can come in," she opened the door wider and stepped out of the way.

It's been a while since Gojo's been to this place. Most of his time lately has been devided equally between Geto's and his shared home with Y/N. Well, more or less equally. But even though some furniture got replaced and Shoko rearranged a decoration here and there he could still feel the remnance of the trio they once were. The framed picture of their highschool graduation above the fireplace. The almost unnoticible stain on the carpet from Gojo's messy way of drinking milk after Geto dared him to eat the spiciest chili they could buy. Shoko didn't even change the kitchen table. He could still see that little burned spot from Shoko teaching both Geto and Gojo how to smoke. Gojo smiled when he remembered how both of them coughed like crazy and Geto almost burned down the whole kitchen with his fallen cigarette, hence the burned spot. And right next to it sat...

"Hi," you greeted in a small voice. Even though you tried to have neutral face he could see the sadness behind your eyes. The dissapointment. It fueled Gojo to fight even harder to earn your trust again.

"Can we talk?" He said without a greeting.

You and Shoko exchanged a look he couldn't decipher.

"Is there something to talk about?" You asked in return. Your seemingly neutral expression turned hostile with your eyebrows lowering over your eyes creating a slight scowl.

He realized he should've greeted.

"Yes, there is," he said gently and slowly took a step towards the kitchen table. You didn't flinch or tried to move away from him, which he took as a good sign.

"Like?"

"Us."

You shook your head. "There is no us Gojo."

He felt mild anxiety before. Now he felt like he could throw up.

"You blew it Satoru," said Shoko from behind him, "apologize, make peace and go."

"Since when are you on her side?" He snapped without thinking.

"What the hell Gojo?" you half yelled at him.

His head snapped back at you. "I-I didn't mean it like that. I-" his head kept turning from Shoko to you. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He needs to play this right. He can't afford another fuck up. "I'm sorry. But can you leave me and Y/N alone for a while?" he turned to Shoko with a pleading look he knew will work on her. He has mastered it over the years. "Please."

Shoko pondered it for a while. In the end she closed her eyes and sighed. "I need to go to class anyways," she said as she passed him to get her phone from where she left it to charge in the kitchen. Neither of you corrected her it's weekend and therefore no school.

After changing from pyjamas she walked to the front door. "Don't wreck my house, okay?"

Gojo didn't know who was this sentence meant for but he still nodded and mouthed a 'thanks'.

The door closed. The air got even more tense somehow. Gojo wanted to say everything at once but he had no idea how to start.

He pointed at the chair that was next to you, question in his eyes behind his black shades.

You nodded.

He smiled in relief and and turned the chair so he was fully facing you but sitting on it backwards as well to have the backrest to hold onto.

"So," he started and pushed the lump in his throat as deep as possible, "I had a talk with Suguru and-" you squirmed in your seat.

"Let me finish!" he quickly said in panic you'd walk out again after mentioning his best friend. "Just please let me finish."

"I didn't say anything," you said calmly.

"Yes but," he realized arguing with you would make the already bad situation even worse. "Nevermind," he looked at the floor. He never realized how much it resembled the one at Suguru's.

"Go on. You talked with Geto and?"

"Right," he nodded, "I talked with him and he made me realize I don't want to loose you. You are very important to me and now I see why you were upset. I admit, I was really spending too much time with him. But, I'm willing to try minimize my time with him and maximize the time I have with you."

You scoffed and smiled, still avoiding looking him in the eyes. "So you needed a third person to realize something was wrong with you?"

Gojo frowned. "There's nothing wrong with me."

You nodded. "Okay, sorry. I worded it wrong. But you understand don't you?"

"Yes, I do," he didn't. But in fear of making it worse he left it at that.

"Good," you leaned back. "At least we're getting somewhere."

He nodded. "Look, Suguru told me there were two types of love, one for friends and other for lovers. All my life I thought there was just one type of love. I was really confused when I first started having feelings towards you. At our first anniversary I realized I even forgot he even existed," a sad chuckle.

"I think," he continued, "that was the point when I wanted to spend more time with him. As to not lose him," he clarified.

Your expression slowly turned from neutral to sad to heartbroken.

"But I'm willing to fix that! As Suguru said you should be loved in a way a girlfriend is and I'll learn just that!"

"Oh, so you only loved me as a best friend till now?" You snapped and finally looked at him.

"No, that's not what I said," he raised his hands, palms turned towards you, as if he was calming down a wild animal. "I just told you I'm willing to work for this and even that isn't good enough for you?"

"Gojo-"

"Satoru."

"Gojo," you frowned at him. "I don't want to be with someone who literally has to learn how to love me."

"But I can do that," he said softly. "I can do that for you. See?" He reached out to wipe the tear slowly making its way down your cheek. "I can-"

You slapped his hand away before it could even touch you. "Why?"

"Huh?"

"Why do you want to be with me so much? You're free to hang out with Suguru as much as you'd like now that you're not with me."

Gojo closed his mouth. Did he hear correctly? "Why did you call him Suguru and not Geto?"

"Oh my god," you rolled your eyes, "that's what stuck with you? Out of all..."

"Answer me! Why are you using his first name and not mine?"

"It slipped out! Don't avoid-"

"Slipped out, my ass," he rubbed the bridge of his nose under his glasses. "Do you like him more than me now? A guy you barely met versus a guy you've been with for three years!"

"Can you stop?!" you cried out.

"Oh, why? Because I hit a sore spot? Did you get bored of me and developed a crush on him instead? Is that why you caused this whole mess in the first place? To break up with me even though I try so-"

"Me?!" You asked in disbelief. "It was you who was never home! And now you're blaming me for that?" your chest kept rising and falling rapidly. You placed a hand on it to calmed it down.

"No, I'm not blaming you for anything. See it's not my fault you had no one but me to fill your time!"

Quiet. You leaned away from him deeper into the chair.

"Y/N, I-" he had no words. How does he fix this. "I didn't-"

"Can you just answer the damn question?" you wiped your tears and gathered enough courage to look him in the eye. "After all of this, why are you still here? Why do you want me back? Don't you hate me?"

He violently shook his head. "No, god no! I could never."

"Then why?"

"You mean a lot to me."

You raised your eyebrows. "And?"

"And..." he needed to buy some time to think. What did you want to hear from him? What words would make you believe he really wants to have you back? "And I love you?"

Sad chuckle. "You're not even sure about that yourself."

"I am!" He argued back and cringed. He must've sounded like a stubborn child to you. "I love you Y/N. I really do. And if you think I don't then teach me what kind of love you want me to have for you."

"I already told you," you groaned. "I don't want you to force yourself to love me. I wnat someone who will want to love me on their own."

"I don't force myself. I really do love you. But it's obviously not enough or the right kind. Please Y/N."

He reached for your hands and even though you pulled them away he still grabbed them and held them. They were cold as ice.

"We felt good together, right? We had fun, we went out, we talked all night long. Don't throw this away. I don't want to be alone."

His hands held yours as if his life depended on it.

"So you just don't want to be alone," you concluded and sniffled.

He shook his head. "No," he wanted to say more but he didn't know what. He wanted you back. To hug you as the two of you fall asleep. To cook with you again. Spend time with you. Even without Suguru. He was ready to try that. He'll be there, just as he said. Gojo tried telling his head and his heart it's okay to neglect Suguru now. Focusing on you will become his priority. He'll do better this time. He begged his mouth to say all of that. And yet.

No words fell. From you nor him.

Clock kept ticking. Sun shone through Shoko's replaced window and created a beautiful rainbow which fell on your joined hands. Gojo smiled. Then something fell on the back of his hand. A tear.

He looked up. You were crying, but your head was also pretty far away. The tear that fell was his. His head maybe didn't know yet. But his heart. It knew.

You freed one of your hands and wiped his cheek. "You know what's the worst though?" you asked through your tears.

"Hmm?"

"It's not how you refuse to aknowledge you were in the wrong. Or how you still want to force Suguru into all of this when it should be just the two of us. It's none of that," you stood up and for the first time someone towered over Gojo and he felt true fear of what was about to come. "It's how you talked so much and yet you never said sorry."

"You sure they won't kill eachother there?" Geto asked as he gave Shoko his own lighter. Shoko threw her old one away and gladly accepted her friend's.

"I hope they won't," she slipped a new cigarette between her lips and lit it. This must be her third one in this hour. Right after she left she called Geto to meet up. Gojo was a dear friwnd to both of them. But they took a liking to you too. It hurt Shoko to hear how much of an ass her good friend was but ultimately she sympathized with you more. She hoped Gojo would come to his senses and do the right thing.

"Besides," she breathed out some smoke, "Satoru is a little dense but he isn't stupid. I trust he'll say the right words."

Geto hummed and kept walking.

Shoko pitied him. She was in a fairly difficult position. Gojo was her friend, sure, but so were you. Geto though? Gojo was his best friend since forever and Y/N was the girl he fell in love with. She was there when Geto got drunk one night and blabbed about how much he liked you and how good you were. She only thought it was a cute little crush from his side but after he sobered up she knew. He was speaking nothing but truth.

Even if Shoko knew Geto was much more mature than Gojo and you would much more appreciate him in the future Geto kept telling her the same thing: he can't do that to his best friend.

But even though she knew all this, she couldn't help but tease him one last time. "And even if it doesn't work out you can at least get a shot," she playfully nudged him.

"So you're well rested now," smiled and rubbed his arm.

She cocked her head to one side. "What do you mean?"

"Last night," he explained but Shoko was still clueless. "We texted," he tried more but it still didn't ring a bell for her.

"I was sleeping last night, Suguru," she took a drag from the cigarette and blew out grey smoke.

Geto stopped in his tracks. "What did you say?"

"Eeeh, I slept?"

Geto shook his head. "No, I meant what did you call me?"

"Suguru? Like always?" she said and studied his face. It turned from realization to blush to pure horror.

"You've always called me Suguru. Not even when we first met you didn't call me by my surname," he muttered and fished out hsi phone from his pants. He quickly found Shoko's contact and scrolled to the messages he had with her. He slowly turned his phone for Shoko to see. She got so surprised her cigarette fell from her hand as she stared at the last message next to her contact picture.

Geto...

#gojo satoru x reader #gojo x reader #jjk gojo x reader #gojo x you #gojo satoru angst #gojo angst #jjk gojo satoru #geto x reader #geto suguru x reader #jjk geto #suguru geto angst

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penguwastaken · 2 days

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Nobody Understands Mukuro Ikusaba (aka Mukuro Character Analysis)

...except for the people that do (lol).

But first I want to clarify what I mean by this title and why I even wrote this thread in the first place. Mukuro is my second favorite Danganronpa character, only beaten out by Kyoko. There's a lot of reasons why I really like Mukuro, but one of them is her writing.

I think she's one of the best written characters in the series. But unfortunately, she also happens to be one of the most misunderstood characters as well. Not even by the people who don't like her, but also by her own fans.

"Mukuro has incestuous feelings for Junko" "Danganronpa 3 retconned her character" "Mukuro was just a plot device" These are all claims that baffle me because simply just consuming the media will say otherwise.

To many, Mukuro is either a one note incest freak or a pure innocent cinnamon roll who did nothing wrong and both of those interpretations are wildly incorrect. I've been meaning to write this post for a while, but we're finally here.

Nobody understands Mukuro Ikusaba (a ""🧵"") (Spoiler warning for the entire series)

Story Overview

We don't actually know too much about Mukuro's backstory aside from the fact that at a young age, she was separated from her younger twin sister Junko. Before being taken away, she claims that she was homeless and after she was taken she was forced to become a member of the military group Fenrir.

So clearly Mukuro never really had the chance to have a normal life, and more importantly: never had a chance to feel the care of another person.

Her sister, who Mukuro had not seen in years, suddenly got in contact with her and called Mukuro over to participate in her plan to overthrow Hope's Peak Academy (and the world). Mukuro, who already felt bad for losing her sister and was desperate for any kind of affection, accepted and began working for Junko.

Junko took advantage of Mukuro's desperation and had her basically work as a servant to her plans. She started by having Mukuro wipe out the entirety of a middle school in order to prove Mukuro's skills and how far Mukuro would go for her.

With that out of her way, Junko made Mukuro obey like her servant in order to overthrow Hope's Peak and cause the tragedy. Mukuro did so without batting an eye and disregarding any second thoughts she might have had, all while facing Junko's abuse.

During her time attending Hope's Peak, Mukuro met Makoto Naegi. Unlike most of her classmates, Makoto was friendly to her and showed her compassion. This confused her as we already established that Mukuro wasn't used to affection. Because of this and her tendency to latch onto anyone who shows her even an ounce of care, she began to develop feelings for Makoto (that even Junko acknowledged).

In the past two years, Ikusaba had gained an interest in the world beyond her sister. And in that world, Makoto Naegi--the first person who smiled at her and bridged the gap between her and the world--had become like a sapling of sincerity taking root in her heart. -Danganronpa IF confirming Mukuro's feelings for Makoto

"Upupupu… I wonder what kind of fun you were having in the infirmary? Did you take care of your rival in love, or did you wish them a happy marriage? Either way, don't you think our nice guy Naegi standing side-by-side with Kirigiri makes for a wonderful picture? If this were a thriller, they'd be the last surviving couple!" "Upupupupu… Or how about just killing all of the others? If everyone but you and Naegi die, then the two of you can spend the rest of your student lives together! After all, we can't even hold a trial if there's only two people left. Maybe it'll be best if you just hole up here, safe in the building forever!" "And what're you going to do once he goes back to his old self? It's not as if you were dating Naegi, right? You were just watching him from afar all this time! Now this is a shock. You can shoot right through people's heads and hearts without even blinking, but you can't even steal away some skinny little boy's heart! You want me to tell you who Naegi had a crush on before his memories were erased? Upupupupu…" -Junko teasing Mukuro about her feelings as she aids Makoto in Danganronpa IF

Once the tragedy occured, Mukuro was locked inside of Hope's Peak with Junko and the rest of their classmates and she helped orchestrate the killing game. She disguised herself as Junko, under the impression that Junko would fake her death and they could spend the rest of the game together.

This is when the seeds of doubt began to sprout inside of Mukuro. I wouldn't say that she necessarily began to go against her sister, but she definitely was starting to get a little more hesitant.

"It was only recently that she began to question her mindset. Hearing about this plan from Junko and watching the world burn at the hands of people in Monobear masks did nothing to sway her, but when she heard that Junko was intending to plunge Naegi and the others into a game of murder, something within her began to move. The seed of doubt soon took root, sprouting into a thorny vine that twisted around her feet. And the moment she met her friends for the first time under the identity of Junko Enoshima and realized their memories were truly gone, the vines quickly tightened around her ankles." -Danganronpa IF describing Mukuro's feelings when the killing game began

To Makoto and the player who are under the impression that this is Junko, they assume that she's referring to not wanting to be a model anymore. But given her backstory of never being able to live a normal life and always having to fend for herself or follow the orders of others, we can infer what she actually means. She expresses disappointment in the fact that she never really had a chance to do what she wanted.

This all culminates in the moment where Junko was supposed to fake the death of Mukuro, but that isn't what happened. Instead, Junko killed Mukuro and betrayed her. To say that Junko felt no remorse from this action would be a lie, however. Junko only did this because she knew it would hurt both of them.

...but what if that wasn't what happened? What if Mukuro wasn't killed? What would happen then? That brings us to:

Danganronpa IF

Danganronpa IF answers the hypothetical question of what if Mukuro survived Junko's attack. Of course this means it isn't canon, but due to Kodaka being involved with its creation and its existence as an event that hypothetically could have happened, it is canon compliant. This means that while the events didn't happen in canon, they could have and things like characterization are all accurate. Think of it like an extended free time event. While the events themselves aren't canon, the things they say and imply are. I'll also be referencing Danganronpa IF a lot because since it's told from Mukuro's perspective, it gives a lot of insight on her thought process.

After regaining his memories, Makoto recognizes and rescues Mukuro seconds before her would-be death and he gets impaled by one of the spears. Mukuro rushes to save him, abandoning her disguise and goal.

During this time, Mukuro does a lot of thinking. Why did Junko try to kill her? For all the time they've been working together, Mukuro always assumed that her job was to prop Junko up and help her achieve despair.

It turns out that Junko didn't want Mukuro to obey Junko's every order, Junko wanted Mukuro to retaliate. She didn't want Mukuro to submit to her, but instead to fight back.

With this Mukuro changes her mind, choosing to fight Junko instead of assisting her. Not because she's on the side of hope, she never cared about hope or despair, but because she only wants what's best for the only person in her life who cared for her.

"'That's why… I'll take responsibility. I'll make you happy, Junko . I'll make youdespair. I'll save Naegi-kun… I'll make sure none of our friends die. I'll get them all out of here. And I'll kill every last one of the ones on the outside. You planned this for years and killed so many people to make this work… so I'll destroy every last trace of it.' She was not driven by resentment at the sister who abandoned her. Ikusaba would do all this for her sister's sake." -Mukuro changing her approach to making Junko happy in Danganronpa IF

Who is Mukuro Ikusaba?

Now this is the part where I finally exit the synopsis phase and finally get into the character analysis, explaining why Mukuro acts the way she does in all entries.

Now, I want to begin with a common critique of Mukuro's character, specifically one that's attributed to Danganronpa 3. The one that says that Mukuro's behavior is not only out of character, but also claims that she has romantic feelings for her sister.

First point out of the way, Mukuro's blushy and flustered attitude is nothing new when it comes to her character. It's been an aspect of her since the very beginning of her characterization.

"'I don’t know if… she attracts despair, or despair attracts her, but… she’s lived her whole life with despair by her side. She lived while immersed in despair. That’s why she began looking for despair in others; she began to enjoy pushing people into despair. But you know… that’s normal. It’s no different than someone cursed by misfortune falling into hatred for those who are better off than them. But what’s special about her was that… she learned to enjoy inflicting despair upon herself. That’s how the link to despair began: as she chased down despair, she pushed it onto others along the way. Doing so caused her to crave falling into despair even more… and because of that chain to despair, the Ultimate Despair was born.' While she spoke, it was like she fell into a fever; the expressions on her face slowly turned into ecstasy. It was so completely absurd that it would have been difficult for anybody to think of it as anything but a joke, but I could tell that this was real. It might have been the hazy memories of Junko Enoshima inside me that led to that conclusion. 'You don’t get it right? That’s fair, I don’t think anybody could… But you know, only I can understand it…' Consumed by ecstasy, even Ikusaba’s breathing had begun to turn ragged." -Mukuro describing Junko in Danganronpa Zero

The second (and more important) point to address is the one that Mukuro holds some kind of romantic feelings for her sister. Now, in all honestly, I can't hold this against anyone for thinking this even if I think it's a wild misinterpretation of her behavior. Danganronpa has a track record of using incest for comedic effect (to always poor results). However, Mukuro's relationship with Junko is not used to comedic effect and it's portrayed in a negative light. Not only that, we know that Mukuro does not enjoy behaving that way.

"'She hoped that, perhaps her sister on the screen would say something like 'Not! You seriously thought I'd say something that sappy? Jeez, you're annoying! Can't you just disappear forever or something?'. She hoped that Junko might criticizeher and call her useless. Ikusaba was no masochist, but she would have preferred to hear scornful laughter and be shot at rather than continue to endure this pain." -Danganronpa IF explaining Mukuro's "masochism"

Mukuro doesn't behave the way she does because she has feelings for Junko, she does so because she believes that's how Junko wants her to behave. Danganronpa Zero and IF makes it clear that Mukuro was wrong about how Junko wanted her to behave.

“'You don’t get it right? That’s fair, I don’t think anybody could… But you know, only I can understand it…' Consumed by ecstasy, even Ikusaba’s breathing had begun to turn ragged. 'Only I’m able to understand her… That’s why she needs me. She still hasn’t realized it, but… maybe she’s only pretending not to. Ufu… It’s because she’s so shy. Ufufufu…'” -Mukuro explaining that Junko needs her in Danganronpa Zero

"Ikusaba knew that not even she herself was her own ally. After all, despite the fact that Junko had betrayed her and very nearly killed her, Ikusaba still believed that she was the only one who could understand her little sister. And that was why she felt that she had to protect her. That's right… you were just being you, Junko. You just wanted despair, right? It's because you love me. You wanted to kill me and fall into despair. That must have been it" -Mukuro in denial in Danganronpa IF

"Ikusaba believed that she alone could understand the despair known as Junko Enoshima. It was a ludicrous notion. The moment Junko said, 'I love you', Ikusaba realized--to her agony--that she never truly understood her sister. Only now had she come to realize Junko's feelings." -Mukuro realizing that she didn't understand Junko in Danganronpa IF

Because of Mukuro's incorrect interpretation of understanding Junko, Mukuro believes that Junko expects her to respond to her abuse with acceptance and masochism. Even if she was uncomfortable to, as long as it made Junko happy, that's what mattered. Of course, we learn that Junko wanted Mukuro to respond her abuse with retaliation, and as soon as Mukuro realizes that her behavior immediately shifts. Mukuro holds a great deal of admiration for Junko, so much so that she only wants to do what would please Junko the most.

She does not have romantic feelings for her sister and to say so misses the point entirely. She isn't behaving that way because she's a masochist, she behaves that way because she believes it's how she's expected to, even if she's visibly uncomfortable. Once she learns this isn't what's expected, she immediately changes course.

Danganronpa 3 also has official relationship charts that depict the relationship between characters. In this chart, crushes or explicitly shown romantic feelings are labeled with a heart (as seen with Kazuichi's attraction to Sonia or Toko's attraction to Byakuya). Mukuro's relationship does NOT feature this heart. You would think that if Mukuro's very obvious admiration towards Junko was romantic it would have a heart, but it doesn't because it isn't. If what I said before didn't convince you, I think this itself is proof enough.

Mukuro's admiration doesn't extend to just Junko though. Due to her unfortunate upbringing, Mukuro has a tendency to get attached to anyone who shows her the affection she's desperate for. So much so that her behavior changes completely around the people she cares about.

"The mass of monochrome spun round and round, making it look as though they were projecting a hypnotic image from three directions, but Ikusaba remained expressionless. In fact, the bizarre sight unfolding before her compelled the Super High School Level Soldier to regain her focus. She was an entirely different person from the girl who had panicked at Naegi's injury in the gymnasium." -Mukuro while fighting in Danganronpa IF, behaving completely differently from when she panicked over Makoto's injury

"Not only that, if anyone who knew her as the Super High School Level Soldier and mercenary were to see her now, the difference in her attitude might even make her look like another person altogether. And Monobear continued to drive the girl into a corner." -Mukuro panicking over Makoto's injury in Danganronpa IF

"The mask of ice she wore around others was entirely unlike the face she showed her sister, making it almost seem as though she had multiple personalities." -Danganronpa IF explaining that Mukuro's behavior around Junko is different from her typical icey expression

This is why around most people, Mukuro has a pretty blank expression. However when she's around Makoto or Junko, the two people who she cares about, she displays a much more soft and emotional side.

That being said, an often overlooked aspect of Mukuro is that she actually has a slight ego and is proud of her skill. This is especially obvious in her fight with Peko in Danganronpa 3. Of course, if I spent years in the military without getting a single scratch, I'd probably have an ego too.

Mukuro is also capable of turning off her feelings and going into a "killing machine mode" whenever the situation demands it, mostly when she's carrying out some mission. It's not because she doesn't feel bad for what she's doing or isn't having any second thoughts, it's that she pushes any doubts to the side to focus on getting the job done.

"In battlefields, where she made her home, her main mission was to kill and survive. And in that setting Ikusaba was invincible. She could put her own emotions on a leash in order to become a killing machine." -Danganronpa IF explaining how Mukuro is capable of ignoring her own feelings

"With a single whisper that was drowned out by the sound of gunfire, Ikusaba went completely silent. Thanks to her status as a member of Super High School Level Despair, her heart was filling with joy. And as if to offset the sudden surge of emotions, the sparkle in her eyes disappeared." -Mukuro turning her emotions off while fighting in Danganronpa IF

So Basically...

Due to her upbringing Mukuro is someone who gets attached to people easily, particularly those who give her attention. Junko took advantage of this to make Mukuro essentially act as her servant. Believing that Junko expected her to return the abuse she faced with enjoyment, she forced herself to do just that. Even if it made her uncomfortable, making her sister happy at her own expense is better than being alone. She's capable of turning off and ignoring her emotions to following orders when necessary and is generally a proud and skilled soldier, though she has a softer side that she only shows to people who she cares for.

That is who Mukuro Ikusaba is.

Conclusion

There's a lot of reasons I really like Mukuro. I think she's silly and cute and I like her singing voice. But I also think her characterization is really good in all of her appearances. I think a lot of the critiques made towards her (especially towards her appearance in Danganronpa 3) are misguided or just a result of her being misunderstood.

She's not a plot device or a character exclusively there to act as an extension of Junko. She's filled to the brim with character depth and interesting writing and has plenty of characterization on her own. I'll admit that her presence in Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc is a bit limited, however she doesn't just become an important character in four other entries without getting some kind of development.

Many think her characterization is inconsistent or different across entries, but I honestly think it couldn't be any MORE consistent. The only times where I'd say she acts out of character is in the comic anthologies, but those are non-canon media that's kinda known for flanderizing characters for the sake of comedy.

Basically, I like Mukuro. I hope I managed to change some minds or shed a new light on her to anyone who didn't before. And if you already liked her, I hope maybe I could make you appreciate her a bit more or just help you explain her in some way.

anyways follow me on twitter cough cough

Also special thanks to Twitter user @LKSixtyfour for their tweets about Mukuro's characterization, many helped me organize my thoughts to form the thread that you just read.

Edit: didn't make any changes to the post, just fixed some typos

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howlonomy · 2 days

Note

Mother and child... They are nearly as tall as her because of their ears...

Also here's all the Steamworks Clovers, only for Pacifist/Neutral because I. just straight up forgot to work on No Mercy (yes, I know I'm taking a break right now, but this was very much required since otherwise I'd have a Demonic Goober right now (You're red now! That's my attack!))

Also I managed to change the palette to let Clover look like that in game, so once I make my Dunes Caves variant then I'll be good to go. Oh and the No Mercy Mask, I need that too. Anyways time to reset so I can get both done at once! Sorry Ceroba, but you will have no chance to save Kanako now (I managed to find a way to keep this save so I can always go back to it, I'll give you this chance again... maybe)

Oh yeah, another thing I might add, but I realized I'm basically gonna have to do a whole story rewrite since Clover's no longer a human, so that'll be fun. On the upside I also had the idea of letting you make the Acid again after you use it on the door (if you try drinking it beforehand, Flowey will just panic kill you instead of reloading like normal, death quote will probably be "Sorry! I panicked! Well, guess I have to reload now."), and it'll be a full heal like the Gunpowder. Clover's two most favoritest things to consume... Let's see if I can actually add it in

YOOO THEYRE PINK NOW!!! dude this palette looks so GOOD i love it so much

ALSO YOURE DOING A REQRITE OF THE STORY TOO!??? WHAT THE HELLL THATS SO MUCH….. ARE YOU SURE ABOUT THAT AGDHSJ

finally what we wanted. healing acid

#asked and answered #monster clover au #monster clover fanart

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reyl0ct · 3 days

Text

Possible DBD fanfic?

The Dead Boy Detectives now have a boss lady to answer to, The Night Nurse, and she is very strict about no magical beings inside her work place. Something about 'proper paperwork' And the boys are trying to respect her request, really they are, but they can't account for The Cat King who has no idea about the boy's new work situation.

It's a normal night, as the 3 return back to the office. Another case successfully closed as they shut the door and before they can even congratulate each on a job well done a familiar voice filters through.

"Thank Gods you're back I was so bored! You really should invest in some more interesting reading material, maybe some of those romance novels~"

All 3 of them snap their head in the direction of Edwin's chair, where an all too pleased Cat King sits with his feet propped on Edwin's desk.

Edwin is the first to speak "What are you doing here?" He can feel the panic already swirling. The Cat King merely grins his signature grin as he stands, graceful and effortlessly. The office is small, so it doesn't take much for the Cat king to make his way into Edwin's personal space as he always does. "Oh you know, I was in the neighborhood. Thought I'd come see how my favorite Ghosts were doing~"

"No, You really can't be here, you have to leave-"

Crystal and Charles here a noise come from outside the door and their eyes widened in panic.

"There's no time! The night nurse is here already!" Charles nearly squeaks. Crystal glances around and with quick thinking points to the closet. "Quick! Hide him!" Crystal and Charles are now holding the door to the outside in an attempt to give Edwin some time.

The Cat King seems puzzled, but before he can even ask who or what is a 'Night Nurse' Edwin has grabbed his wrist and pulled him into the closet with him. The night nurse is immediately forgotten in the Cat King's mind as his eyes glow in the dim light of the closet and a near feral Cheshire like grin spreads across his face.

"Oh Edwin~ have you finally decided to take me up on the offer of having some fun? Are we going to play 7 minutes in heaven?" he nearly purrs, once again invading Edwin's personal space. Edwin lightly slaps his wandering paws away and gives him a stern glare.

"No! and keep your voice down or you're going to get me in trouble with my superior!" Edwin whisper yells. Before the Cat King can add in any of his usual lewd commentary Edwin holds up a hand to silence him.

"We've made a deal with the Lost & Found department. The Dead Boy Detective agency is free to continue our work in solving cases and avoiding the afterlife as long as we are under proper management. The Night Nurse is our new Boss and she is very strict about her rules, especially 'No magical beings in the office'!"

Edwin turns his attention away from the Cat King, promptly ignoring how close they are in proximity in favor of trying to peak through the cracks and listen in on the conversation between his coworkers and superior. The Cat King only seems to be moving closer and Edwin is desperate to put some space between them.

"I can't know for certain what She would do to us or to you for that matter if you're caught here." why did he feel the need to include the cat king in that? Since when did Edwin start to care about his safety.

"Oh Edwin, I didn't know you cared so much~" The cat king purrs. Edwin doesn't have a chance to bite back a reply because suddenly the closet door handle is being turned....

To be continued????

#dbd fanfic #dead boy detectives #edwin x the cat king #the cat king #edwin payne #charles rowland #fanfic #i've never actually written fanfic before so please don't judge me

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wardenparker · 4 hours

Text

Hummingbird Has Landed, ch 12

Marcus Pike x female reader Co-written with @absurdthirst

After the debacle of his failed engagement and relocating to Washington to take charge of his task force, newly minted Special Agent Marcus Pike is ready to get back out into the dating pool once more. A slew of bad dates has him feeling a little down, and he takes an old friend up on an invitation to get away and get his head on straight. Imagine his surprise when he finds not only fresh air, but his soulmate as well - hiding in plain sight but in the unlikeliest of places.

Rating: E for Explicit! 18+ Word Count: 12.4k Warnings: *Blanket warnings for this series: occasional mention of American politics, pregnant character, food/alcohol consumption, mentions of clothing/regulated dressing for occasions, mentions of therapy because we believe in self care here, reader is in a previous relationship, love triangle, reader is mentioned as turning 30 during the course of the story, dom/sub dynamics* Pregnancy. labor, childbirth, health emergency, hospital stay, talk of living wills and things going wrong, traumatic birth, mentions of death/possibility of death, reassurance, emotional hurt/comfort. Summary: Months after going public with your relationship with your soulmate, you and Marcus get the phone call you've been waiting for: Sydney has gone into labor! Notes: The migraines and the pain aren't gone but the story continues! This week is a rollercoaster, my darlings. I hope you enjoy 🧡

Ch1 ~ Ch 2 ~ Ch 3 ~ Ch 4 ~ Ch 5 ~ Ch 6 ~ Ch 7 ~ Ch 8 ~ Ch 9 ~ Ch 10 ~ Ch 11

The call came late on a Saturday night during the first full week of September. Busy getting ready to go out for a later-than-usual date, you had jumped straight up in the air when your phone started ringing. The words 'labor' and 'hospital' got you and Marcus moving instantly, and you were off to meet Juan and Sydney at Sibley Memorial Hospital faster than a heartbeat.

“Now, it’s gonna be awhile.” Marcus warns you, even as he speeds towards the hospital. “I might have to come back to get you some clothes.”

"As long as it doesn't take as long as Junie did to be born," you joke, trying to dispel your own tensions even as you fidget in your seat. "Mom was in labor for twenty-six hours. I think Syd will just reach in and pull the baby out before she waits that long."

“She’ll be yelling that she has a dinner menu to put out.” Marcus snorts, understanding how frustrated Juan has been when his wife refused to slow down until the very end.

"If she doesn't have her recipe notebook out within an hour of giving birth, I'll be astonished." She never slows down, your best friend, and you adore her despite it being worrying sometimes. At least you got her to agree to the more-than-generous New Parent Leave package the inn has adopted. They're both technically on your payroll so you know they'll be well taken care of.

“The new sous chef she hired to help the old one step into her shoes has worked out really well so far.” Marcus knows that talking about the inn will help you focus. Keep you from worrying yourself up into a state until you can lay your eyes on Sydney.

"She needed another set of hands anyway." Just because you know what he's doing doesn't mean you're not grateful, and you fidget in your seat before glancing down at your phone for the thousandth time. No new texts. You just have to remind yourself that that is a good thing. "Hopefully this new guy will work out and she'll keep him on long term."

“Yeah, it’s nearly a fully house every night in the restaurant.” Business in the inn might have taken a slight hit from the negative press, but the food was still bringing in the locals.

"Thank god for that." Over the last few months your bookings haven't been too stellar, but you've been making up for it with restaurant patrons and special event bookings. At least you had room enough to accommodate Marcus's parents when they came up in July. "I don't want to think about what would have happened if we'd lost restaurant sales along with bookings."

“I’m just happy that the ‘anonymous sources’ have tapered off lately.” The accusations are still out there but you and Marcus have been laying low for now.

“What I wouldn’t give for two seconds with our sniveling exes.” It’s obvious that it has been Sam and Vanessa feeding things to the gossip columnists, although technically all you have is your say-so. They’re being clever enough to make sure that there is no paper trail and nothing being said that marks them as the obvious source of the negative rumors. “Why do we have to be the better people?” You gripe with a pout. “We could just as easily say made up shit about them. For all we know, they were the ones having an affair and this is a whole situation of they doth protest too much.”

“I don’t think so.” Marcus would love for that to be the case. “That week of the state dinner, he was sick.” He reminds you. “I think Vanessa went over to his house and somehow discovered she’s his soulmate. She told me that she had just found out, not that she just met him.” He theorizes. “And now, they are twisting their own narrative, but I don’t understand why.”

“If they’re trying to discredit Mom through me, it’s not working.” Though your business may have taken a hit, your mother’s first term has been fairly impressive so far. She’s getting her legislation moving at a brisk clip and her focus on the economy is already strong. You sigh, though, pushing out the bad thoughts, and squeeze his hand over the gear shift. “They don’t get to ruin our goddaughter’s birth. That’s not in the cards.”

“Nope.” Marcus made sure to pack the gifts for mother and baby in the car while you were rushing around to get dressed. Both of you are excited. “Doesn’t matter, today is about Sydney and the baby.” He chuckles. “And poor Juan too. I know he’s a wreck right now.”

“He’s so excited and so nervous.” The clock on the dashboard reads ten minutes until midnight and you squeeze his hand again to relieve some of your own nerves. It’s not like you’re the one having a baby. There’s no reason to be nervous, but you are. For your best friend and your goddaughter and for Juan who is like a big brother to you.

“Yes he is.” Marcus tosses you a grin. “I know he’s supposed to be handing out cigars, but I managed to get my hands on a box of very nice ones. When the baby is born, I’m going to give them to him. To celebrate the important milestones with.”

“They’re the ones your dad smokes, aren’t they?” Beaming that grin right back at him, the conjured memory of the vanilla and spice scent of Matthew Pike’s favorite cigars is easy to conjure. “He’ll love that.”

“I hope so.” Marcus grins. “I can just imagine how proud he’s going to be. He’s going to be crying as he holds his child for the first time.”

“He’s going to be a leaky faucet by the time we get to the hospital,” you predict with an affection laugh. “They deserve this. They already love that little girl so much and they’re going to be amazing parents.”

“Yes they are.” He can’t help but be a little envious, although it’s not a sharp feeling because he knows it will happen for the two of you soon enough. He will be content with cuddling his new goddaughter.

There’s little traffic at this time of night, and before you know it you and Marcus are parking and heading inside to track down the room number that Juan texted to you. Sydney and Juan’s families will be alerted when the baby is born, but it was their wish to have you and Marcus in hand for the birth. You’ll be right there in the delivery room with Syd and Juan while Marcus keeps the families updated in a group chat. You’re co-captains of Team Moral Support and you’re excited for every second of it.

His hand is on your back as you stop in front of the door. “Are you ready, sweetheart?” He asks with a beaming smile.

“Nervous. Excited. Very ready.” You lean back to steal a kiss, warmed through by the comfort of having him by your side for this enormous step in the lives of your close friends. Your chosen family. “And…I can’t wait until it’s us.”

“Soon enough.” He promises. “Soon enough.” He pushed the door open and knocks with the back of his knuckles. “Knock, knock.”

“Oh thank god!” Comes the response from inside, and you’re laughing at the relief in Sydney’s voice when you and Marcus push inside. “The Godparent Brigade has arrived! Here to pump you up, handle your relatives, and fetch your sushi after the little peanut has arrived on the scene.”

“Get the sushi before anything else.” Sydney demands, rubbing her stomach and nearly salivating at the thought.

"I've already got your order in my phone, and Marcus will jet out to get it. You won't have to wait at all, honey." It doesn't surprise you in the least that Syd is thinking about one of her favorite foods, but you move over to her side in the bed as the two men hug and give your best friend a squeeze on her shoulder. "How are you doing? Do you want me to go strong arm a nurse for some ice chips?"

“Juan already has two cups of them, letting them melt down.” She grins at you and then winces when another contraction hits.

It takes everything you've got not to wince or cringe along with her, knowing that it won't do a single lick of good and won't help her feel any better. "How far apart are they?" You ask instead, rubbing her back in small, soothing circles.

“Twelve minutes, forty-seven seconds.” Juan tells you as he looks down at his watch and then back at his wife. “We are down from fifteen minutes.”

"Getting closer and closer!" Practically squeaking with excitement, you can see the same light in Juan's eyes despite the worry lines in his furrowed brow. He just wants everything to go well, and you can't blame him there.

Sydney huffs out a small laugh, knowing you are doing exactly what she had wanted you to. Cheerlead for her. “Did you happen to bring those hard candies?” She asks, her eyes wide and pleading.

"Yes!" Ready to dig into your purse immediately, you swirl around and grab your bag from where you had dropped it to one side when you came in the room. "I've got sour lemon and orange, and I've got the sweet strawberry ones. What are you feeling at the moment?"

“Sweet.” She practically moans the word and reaches out to you with grabby hands. “Don’t hold out on me now.”

"Here we go, babe." One of the candies is deposited in Syd's outstretched hands and a few more get tucked into the pockets of your cardigan to make sure you have one on hand for her at no more than a moment's notice. "Plenty more where that came from, I promise."

“You are the best.” She moans, popping the candy into her mouth and rolling her eyes in pleasure.

"Now how are you doing, Dad?" With Syd moaning over her small treat, you turn your attention to Juan.

“I’m hanging in there, but I think I forgot my bag.” He rolls his eyes and huffs. “Too busy making sure the car seat was secure.”

"Babe, you have a key to their place, right?" If not, you'll pull out your keys and send Marcus back to Alexandria with your spare house key instead. You would go yourself, but you vowed not to leave Sydney's side once you got to the hospital. The kind of vow that is definitely life or death and she will hold you to.

“Juan gave me one.” Marcus nods, and agrees with your silent plan. “I’ll run and get the bag. Pick up some coffee that’s better than the shit they serve here, yeah?”

"I have a feeling we're going to need it." Juan nods and claps Marcus on the shoulder gratefully.

"I'll call you if anything changes," you promise him, turning back to your own soulmate. "You're amazing, sweetheart. Thank you."

“I’ll be back as soon as I can.” He reassures you, leaning in to kiss your lips before hugging Juan and bussing Sydney’s cheek. “Ask for the good drugs, mama.” He teases with a wink, wanting her to laugh.

"You bet your ass!" She groans, wincing more heavily with this contraction than she had with the one before. "Get back here fast, Marcus. Speed. Lots!"

“I’ll use my badge if I get pulled over!” He calls back as he rushes out of the room.

"He'll be back in no time." Realistically you know it will take quite a lot of time, in fact, but your job tonight is not to be realistic. It is to be positive and upbeat. To keep spirits high. "I think Malachi is going to win the betting pool." You grin and stand up by the head of the bed with Sydney, right there to hold her hand if she needs you. "He had Monday – tomorrow, technically – as the day, but I don't think anyone had Sunday."

“Juan…” Sydney smiles. “Take a nap, baby. I know you are exhausted. You were about to go to sleep when my labor started. Birdie is here, so get some sleep.”

He raises an eyebrow, knowing his wife is in pain, but also knowing that a short nap will ensure he is at his best to help her. "We'll take shifts," he compromises, eyeing you just as much as his wife. "So someone is always here holding your hand and timing your contractions. Short naps only. I don't want to miss anything."

“I promise I won’t push her out without you.” She teases, leaning in and pressing her lips to his. “Go, it might be your last nap for the next eighteen years.”

"I love you, Warrior Queen." There are more kisses and more sweet words, and finally Juan crosses the compact hospital room to curl up on the Dad Bench and try to get at least a little bit of sleep before his baby girl enters the world.

“I don’t want to be horrible through this.” She admits quietly. “I’m hoping the labor progresses so I get an epidural quickly.”

"There is not a single person who is going to even blink an eye if you are upset during this labor," you promise her. She pats the side of her bed and you perch on the edge of the mattress, holding her hand all the while. "If you wanted or needed to rage through the whole thing, we would stand by your right to do so. But we'll also stand by your choice to do things any other way. Whatever way is going to be the best possible experience of bringing your first baby into this world."

“Will you do me a favor?” She asks quietly, eyeing Juan as he turns into the couch and gives you his back. He’s already snoring lightly so she’s not worried about him overheating. “If something happens…..” This is the first time that she’s ever said anything out loud and her eyes are anxious. “I’ve signed the paperwork already, but if something happens, I don’t want to stay on machines.” She whispers. “Promise me that you’ll help him let go. And if it’s me or the baby…you know what I want you to choose.”

“Nothing is going to happen.” As firmly and sternly as you can, you squeeze your best friend’s fingers in yours and bite back the instant tears that spring but behind your eyes. The fact that this conversation is even necessary is heartbreaking, but women die in childbirth every single day. Nothing is going to happen. You almost shake with determination but that isn’t what she needs right now. The person who means the most to you in the world besides Marcus is looking you in the face and asking you to be loyal to her. And you will. “I promise.” Two small, devastating words. But if she’s thought this far ahead, she’s also had another thought. “You have a will somewhere?”

“In the safe at home.” She nods, relieved that you are not fighting her and it’s obvious on her face. She had expected an argument, she knows she would have gotten one from Juan, which is why she chose you as her medical POA. “The papers are in an envelope in my bag.” She nods towards the incredibly organized hospital bag.

“Okay.” You nod, still holding her hands tightly. “I love you. I will honor your wishes. Now tell me which onesies you packed to bring her home in so you can get excited again.”

“All of them.” Sydney snorts, only half kidding. “There are twelve that I couldn’t decide between, so I brought them all. Figured we would decide which one looks best when we are holding her.”

“We can absolutely decide later.” She’s already a little sweaty at the top of her forehead from the contractions and you nudge a cup of melted ice chips toward her just to cool her down. “Do you have a top three?”

“The ones in the right hand pocket.” She takes the cup and starts to gulp down the cool water.

In the right hand pocket of Sydney’s neatly packed hospital bag, three folded baby onesies await their new owner: one from her mother in law covered in little surfboards and ocean waves and sunglasses to represent how much Juan had loved surfing when he was out in California. One from Syd’s sister AnnaLeigh with Once Upon a Time…a Heroine was Born written out like the beginning of an illuminated fairytale, and one from you and Marcus emblazoned with the logo of Syd’s favourite hockey team to get her baby girl started out right. “They’re fantastic choices,” you hum, looking at the clothes with misty eyes.

“You see why I couldn’t choose?” She laughs, shaking her head and setting down the rest of the ice chips to melt. Seriously not understanding why they just wouldn’t give her water. Labor is fucking thirsty work.

“I think I like AnnaLeigh’s,” you admit, before tucking them back into the bag as carefully as they had been before. “But we’ll see how she feels about them when she’s here. Who knows? She might come out the chillest baby in the world and then we now she matches Juanito’s surfer phase.”

“Juan actually likes that one too.” She admits with a grin. “He’s so fucking excited for this baby to come. He swears if he could carry her for me, he would.”

“He totally would have if he could.” The grin on your face breaks wider, and you sit back on the edge of Syd’s bed with her. “So would Marcus. In a heartbeat.”

“How did we get so fucking lucky?” Her eyes mist up, overwhelmed with the beautiful thought of both of you so happy and cared for with your soulmates.

“I truly have no idea.” The mist in her eyes halts for just a moment as another contraction hits, but it doesn’t fade. It doesn’t dim. Syd’s happiness is true, and you’re so grateful to see it. “Thank god they get along though. We’d be screwed if our soulmates weren’t friends.”

Panting, she leans back and rubs her belly. “We would make them be friends.” She jokes. “The most awkward small talk over beers until they find a common interest.”

“Lucky for us?” You sit forward and help her readjust her pillows from where they had fallen out of place. “They’re basically as inseparable as we are again.”

"Lucky for us." She agrees, leaning back with a sigh and smiling at you. "Thanks. You know what I need before I do sometimes."

“For most of the time we’ve known each other, I’ve been shocked that we aren’t soulmates.” At some point in your teenage years you had discussed it, but your appendicitis scar already existed and she has never born that. “I gotta be honest, I used to be bummed that we’re not. But when you met Juan, I understood why.”

She kisses the air in your direction. "Because you had Marcus waiting on you, too." She reminds you. "We are better than soulmates. We are sisters by choice."

“I would have waited forever for him.” She gets the same air kiss from you, and you descend into giggles together. “We really are lucky.”

The giggles are interrupted by another contraction, making Sydney hiss and squeeze her eyes shut as she tries to breathe through it. Coming out as more of a whine until the pain passes again. "They- They are getting closer." She huffs when she can talk again.

“We’re down to eight minutes and sixteen seconds apart,” you tell her, checking your watch. “You’re doing awesome, Syd.”

“I can’t believe it.” She grunts when she gets a foot in her rib. “I don’t know whether to be impressed that it’s going so fast, or cry because I’m not further along.”

"You're allowed to be both, you know." Frankly, you're both. She is progressing quickly but you know she would rather have just arrived fully dilated and ready to go. "Just remember. At least she's not dragging her heels like Junie did."

“I don’t know how your mom did it.” She huffs, thinking about your mother and how excited you had been for a younger sister. “She was still working while in labor.”

"My mother is some kind of weird combination of feral cryptid being and absolute machine," you chuckle, shaking your head. "If I'm trying to do bookings and make staff schedules during labor, please slap me."

Huffing out a laugh, she grunts and rubs her belly again on the side. “Done.” She pants. “But get me my notebook.” She points to her bag. “I just thought about a salted Carmel mocha crème brûlée.”

“I am only agreeing to this because it will take your mind off the pain.” Still, you dig into the pocket opposite the onesies she has earmarked as favorites and come out with her battered and beaten recipe notebook. “It sounds like it will be nice to send to your sous chef.”

“It sounds like something I want to eat right now.” She groans, flipping open the tatty cover and laying it on her baby bump to quickly write down her idea.

“You’re going to be a little distracted and busy for a while,” you remind her. Still you can’t help but grin at her tongue poking out from between her teeth as she scribbles.

“Doesn’t mean I’m not hungry.” She moans pitifully after finishing the notes. “I was in the middle of getting a snack.” The pout that pushes her lips out would be comical under different circumstances but she’s horribly disappointed to have not gotten to eat before being bustled into the car by her frazzled husband.

“What was snack time tonight?” It is absolutely always the way to distract her when she’s feeling bad, and tonight is All Sydney All the Time, so you’re focused in one her.

She groans and whimpers slightly at the food she had to leave on the counter. “Cottage cheese with fresh peach compote and balsamic glaze.” She pouts even more. “It was going to be amazing. But I had to tell Juan that I was cramping.”

“I’ll make sure there’s plenty in your fridge waiting for you when you get home.” You can promise her that, along with their fridge and freezer being fully stocked with ready-made meals and easy to use ingredients that should last more than two weeks. Between you and Marcus and Malachi and her staff, you’ve all been secretly helping prep for baby’s arrival for a week already. Even Agent Bailey made a contribution to the frozen meals and added some veggies from her garden.

“Thank you.” She smiles you softly. “I can’t believe that when I leave, I’m going to be holding her.” She admits with a grin.

“She’s almost here.” As if to affirm it, another swift kick to Sydney’s abdomen is brutally obvious, and you grin. “And she’s excited about it.”

The two of you settle into a comfortable silence. Broken by contractions and the quickening of their pace. Sydney trying to be quiet as she pants through them to let Juan sleep.

Checking your watch again and finding nearly two hours have gone by, you tilt your head at your best friend and hand her another strawberry candy. "Marcus should be back soon, and your contractions are barely more than five minutes apart now. I think it's time to wake Dad up and call for the nurse."

Marcus has Juan’s bag in the backseat and he had cancelled the reservations he had made for tonight. They aren’t going to be used, and he had apologized profusely. Still, he stops at the inn to run up to the small gun safe, using the biometric lock to open it and reveal a small ring box. He had been planning to propose tonight, and he still can, it will just look different now.

"It's happening, isn't it?" On his one night shift per week, Malachi had seen you and Marcus hustle out the backdoor of the inn with bags in hand and seen not long after when Marcus reappeared in a hurry. Now he is waiting at the back door once again, but this time to snag Marcus before he can disappear in to the night.

“It is.” Marcus nods with a huge grin spreading across his face. “Juan forgot his bag. I’ll text you when she’s born.” All the staff are invested so he will be sure to let them know. “You’ve got the inn?” He checks, although he knows what the other man will say.

"That baby is your godchild." Malachi smiles surprisingly softly. "This inn is mine."

“I know.” He reaches out and squeezes Malachi’s arm. “Birdie trusts you with her most important treasure.” He praises.

"Not quite." He winks at the other man, considering him a friend now after many months of back and forth, and grins. "She'd never leave me alone with you."

Marcus snorts, well aware of the man’s proclivity to flirt. He matches that grin. “That’s because she knows how persuasive you are.” He jokes, winking at him playfully. “Besides. You are still yearning for your soulmate and will only be happy when he breezes into your life like he’s always been there.”

"Check all those doctors for my ankle tat, handsome." Malachi teases, shooing Marcus toward the door. "A man in scrubs is better than a man in uniform."

“I will.” He gives Malachi a salute and hustles out of the door to speed back to the hospital as quickly as he can.

It's on the heels of a nurse when Marcus comes back into the room, with Juan standing at Syd's side holding tight to your hand while you have been banished to the corner of the room so the nurse can do her work. "It's almost time!" You tell him excitedly, wrapping your arms around him the second he makes his way over to her.

“Holy shit, I made it just in time then.” He can’t believe how fast it’s gone, he had expects at least half a day or more of labor.

"Apparently Constance does not want to wait." The shine of tears in your eyes isn't going anywhere now that you're about to head to the delivery room with Sydney and Juan, but you hug Marcus fiercely. "And I can't wait to meet her. I'm so glad you made it in time."

“Me too.” Marcus presses his lips to yours, letting you cling to him for a second before you pull back. “Does she want me there for Juan or should I stay here?”

"Stay here and hold down the fort for us? She's going to be exhausted when it's all over but she's nervous about everything being okay in the room while we're gone." Wishing so dearly that this was your night only makes you smile because you know that it's only a matter of time.

“Absolutely.” Marcus nods and looks over at Juan and Sydney. “I’ve got everything here. You go meet your daughter.”

"We'll be back soon." Juan is beaming, practically hopping around, and looks like he might jump out of his own skin if given the chance. "She's almost here!"

Marcus laughs at the bubbly excitement, watching as the nurses wheel her bed out, with you and Juan right on their heels as she’s transferred over to the delivery room. “And now…” Marcus pulls out the ring box and flicks it open to look down at the gorgeous ring. “We wait.”

It's over an hour before anyone comes back into the room, and when it happens it's just you alone with a look of exhausted panic on your face. "Everyone's okay." The first words out of your mouth, but you murmur them while shaking slightly and bolting into his arms, so it isn't terribly reassuring.

That doesn’t sound reassuring, coupled with the desperate way you cling to him. Marcus folds you into his embrace tightly.

“She was breech…” Sniffling through the explanation and clinging to him even harder is about the best you can do right now. “And they couldn’t get her to turn. Then—then they did an ultrasound and figured out that—” The shudder that runs through you is all-encompassing. “She had her umbilical cord around her neck. So they had to do an emergency c-section.” The shaky breath you exhale as you lean back is enough to make him quake right along with you, but he holds you steady. “And then the placenta ruptured after they brought the baby out and—and Syd just kept bleeding—”

“Oh shit.” Marcus whispers in horror, his heart plummeting to his feet and he swallows harshly. “But they are both okay?” He had heard you say they were, but he needs the confirmation.

“They’re both okay.” You can barely manage to nod, tears spilling over for yet another time. “They took Constance to the NICU and Juan is with Syd in recovery until they okay her to come back here.”

“Thank God.” Marcus breathes out softly. “Hopefully Syd is asleep? I know she would be frantic if Constance isn’t with her after that.”

“Awake, but exhausted.” You’re still gripping his leather jacket, refusing to let go. It had been warding off the chill in the air conditioned room but now it’s your life line. “They let her hold the baby for a few minutes before they whisked her off to the NICU.”

“How is she?” Marcus asks quietly, worrying about the baby. “Could we sit with her in the NICU?”

“The doctor said not to worry.” Though you sniffle again, clearly very concerned. “That she’s seen babies in far worse condition come through it totally fine. But they wanted her in a place where they can help immediately if they need to.” Two tears leak from your eyes but you brush them away with the back of your wrist and try to breathe. “They’ll come down and tell us in a little while if she can come be with Sydney or if we’ll be allowed to visit the NICU. For now we just gotta—we gotta stay put. That’s why Juan wanted me to come tell you.”

“Then that is what we will do.” Marcus promises, rubbing your back gently. “I’ll wait to pick up her sushi, hmm?” He wants you to decide that is the best option because he’s not leaving you right now. Not for anything in the world. He’s already reached out to his team to let them know he’s out of pocket for right now.

“Until after she gets some sleep.” You nod against his chest and wrap your arms around his waist for a sturdy anchor. “This is…not a celebrating time. The only thing worth celebrating is the fact that they’re okay.”

The ring he had planned to give you tonight burns a hole in his pocket, but he hums in agreement, pressing his lips to your head. “I completely agree.” He murmurs softly. “We will just make sure that they are in perfect health.”

“I love you so much.” The sheer relief of having him in your arms now after nearly losing your best friend — both of them meaning more to you than life itself — is unspeakable. “And I’m so glad you’re here.”

“I’m not going anywhere.” He promises. “I think I’m going to text the group that mom and baby are resting comfortably and we will make the announcement later?” He asks. “I don’t want people to bug Juan or worry.”

“I think that’s probably a good idea.” The last that the baby arrival group chat had heard, Syd was being wheeled to the delivery room. They deserved an update.

“Why don’t you go into the bathroom and wash your face, sweetheart?” Marcus urges. “Change into your comfy clothes and I’ll send out a text.”

“I’m too anxious to sleep, but I’ll wash up and change.” It seems like it will make you feel less frazzled, and therefore more on your game to help your friends. “But if you need to lie down, you should. I’ll wake you up when the nurse comes in with news.”

“I won’t sleep.” Marcus is too focused on you, too in tune with your nervousness to ever nap. Not right now.

“Then change with me and settle in,” you suggest instead, knowing that if your positions were switched you would feel the same. “It might be a long night.”

Marcus nods. “I can do that.” He promises, rubbing your shoulders and moving towards the bags. “If you want to take a quick shower, no one would blame you.”

“I think I’ll save that trick for refreshing myself in a few hours from now.” Predicting that you’ll need it, you kiss him now and slip off to the adjacent bathroom with your overnight bag to change.

Marcus pulls out his phone and calls down to the florist department that is on the ground floor of the hospital, wanting Sydney to come back to a lovely bouquet.

Wash your face. Change your clothes. Try not to break out crying again that you almost had to put that conversation with Syd a few hours ago into action. By the time you come out of the bathroom in Marcus’s old FBI Academy sweatshirt and a pair of yoga pants, your shoulders are drooping and your feet are dragging but at least you’ve stopped crying.

“Oh sweetheart.” While you had washed your face, Marcus had changed out in the room. “Come lay down with me on the sofa/bench thing.” He urges, reaching for you again.

“The Dad Bench.” Curling up into his side immediately, you lay your head on his shoulder and breathe out another sigh. “After you left, she made me promise to make the decision if something went wrong,” you tell him quietly. “Juan would never be able to…and she knew…that if she made me promise. I’d do what she wanted.”

He had been stroking your arm, fingers freezing as he absorbs the implication of that statement. “I’m glad it didn’t come to that.” He closes his eyes and sends up a prayer of thanks and continued good health to whomever might hear him. He doesn’t wish that on anyone, least of all his soulmate and one of his best friends.

"It almost did." Tears come again, fresh and few, but they are definitely there. "The only other time I've heard Juan pray in Spanish was when his mother had a heart attack a few years ago."

“I would be praying in every fucking language I could if it were you.” Marcus whispers. “To every God ever imagined.”

"Everyone is okay." Having to remind yourself of it fairly often seems...fairly reasonable, all things considered. You had stood at your best friend's side and looked her and her soulmate in the eyes as the doctors worked to control her bleeding. As she lay on a table with the distinct reality that those would be the last moments of her life.

But no. Everyone is okay. And soon they'll send her downstairs so she can rest comfortably, and they'll bring little Constance to her to have joyous moments with her family instead of fearful ones.

“Everyone is okay.” He echoes softly. “But…I asked the nurse for a rollaway bed for you.” The nurse had slipped into the room to check on you while you had been in the bathroom, before he had changed. You had just walked into the other room and closed the door, in fact. He had thought it would be best to prepare for you to not leave this room anytime soon.

"Did she say anything else?" No news is good news most of the time when you're in a hospital, but if Marcus got to speak to a nurse you want to know everything.

“She said that momma and baby should be in here by the time visitor hours start.” He couldn’t get a timeframe beyond that, but he took what he could get.

"That's..." Turning your wrist to check your face, the dial reads just after four in the morning. "That's about four hours. And I know Juan won't be down without them. So...I guess we should settle in?"

“Of course.” He doesn’t move, just continuing to hold you. Feeling you relax against him slowly.

"I guess...rain check on date night sex?" You huff weakly, trying for a joke. By this time of night on a date night you would normally be fast asleep – and very naked – in each other's arms.

“A rain check with you is better than any legal tender.” He jokes back, smiling softly even though he had hoped it would be engaged sex.

"What a night." The longer that you sit with him, the calmer you get. It's such an enormous thing for you, to have someone to anchor you as well as he does, and you sigh again as you deflate just a little more into his side.

“Not exactly how I imagined the night going.” Marcus admits with a small sigh. He’s not unhappy, he just wishes the birth hadn’t been so traumatic for everyone.

"Tell me what we were going to do tonight." Thinking about absolutely anything else seems like a very good idea right now, and while you know it was already late when you were leaving the apartment, you also know that Marcus had made plans for tonight.

“I had booked us a late table at Kingbird.” He tells you, smiling at the fact that Sydney had pulled the strings to get the reservation. “It was supposed to be the last table of the night.”

"The restaurant at the Watergate?" Your eyebrows raise when you look up at him and you're practically pouting. "I've been dying to try that place."

“I know.” He had asked and there was a list of places, but he had chosen that one to immortalize as special for the two of you. “And booked us a room at the hotel.”

"Shit." The pout on your lips deepens when you realize how much work Marcus had put into the night, only for it to be interrupted. "I'm so sorry, love. We'll have to reschedule everything. It sounds like it would have been beautiful."

“This is more important.” Marcus insists. “Don’t apologize. This is where I want to be, with you.”

"I don't think I could make it through tonight without you." It would be too much to handle on your own. With such deep emotions entangled in every second of the night, without your anchor you might have just flown apart. "I don't like the idea of doing anything without you anymore."

“You would have, sweetheart.” Marcus knows that, you are so damn strong. So much stronger than you ever believe about yourself. “I know you would have, but you don’t have to.” He stresses. “I’ll be here for you. Support you, comfort you. Celebrate your success and mourn your losses with you. I’m right here.”

"There are no losses to mourn tonight." And you'll be thanking every deity out there for any part they may have had in it. And also making sure that you note down the name of Sydney's doctor for your own pregnancies, because that woman worked quickly and thoroughly and without hesitation to make sure that both mother and baby made it through a birth that would have killed them both in decades past.

“We celebrate life.” He agrees softly. “And love. That little girl is loved so much already.”

"She's beautiful." And of course, there's a sniffle again. At least this one is happy and relieved. "Syd's big eyes and Juan's dark hair."

“Juan is going to be miserable when she gets older.” He laughs quietly. “She’s going to be gorgeous.”

"If she's anything like her mom, she'll have her head too far in the clouds to notice any of the boys or girls chasing her," you laugh along with him, remembering Sydney in high school. "Syd never had any clue how sought after she was."

“She was waiting for Juan.” It’s a bit of a romantic stretch, but it could also be the truth. “Plus she was too in love with crème brûlée. No mere man could compare.”

"She was dreaming about a caramel mocha one while you were gone." The maddening fear is starting to subside, finally, and you sink ever more deeply against Marcus on the bench. "I swear I'll make them for her every day for the rest of her life after what happened tonight."

“See?” He smirks to himself. “She loves them and I’ll help you. I can take the next week off, help with the inn and let you focus on Sydney and co?”

"You don't have to do that." It's a lot to ask of him, and you know that even though he has plenty of vacation time, you were planning on taking a trip down to Texas to spend New Years with his parents. "It's a deeply appreciated gesture, though."

“I don’t mind.” He protests, although he had been certain you would not let him do that for you. “I hope you know that.”

"I know, my love." In his lap, your fingers find his and tangle your hands together. "Why don't we wait on that decision until we see how Sydney and the baby are doing? I don't want you to take extra days out when I know you had been wanting to do other things with them in the next few months."

“Alright.” He will do what you want, let you lead this but he won’t let you exhaust yourself trying to carry everything. “Hopefully they will deliver the flowers I ordered before Syd comes back into the room.”

“You ordered flowers?” Sometimes you really feel like the things he does are magic, from small to large the gestures of love and support are always so deep that it seems impossible for him to not be the Superman of emotional support. “Honey, you’re—you’re too good. Too all of us.”

Marcus snorts. “My mother insisted we order flowers from her and dad, before this all went sideways.” He adds. Wanting you to know the context. “But Sydney just went through a traumatic childbirth. Flowers are the least I could do in order to make her feel loved and special.” He had ordered the flowers his mother wanted and then ordered other arrangements, including a welcome bouquet for Constance herself.

“Everyone is okay.” More reassuring this time, the words still come out in a hush and your eyes drop from Marcus’s for a moment before fluttering back up. “Thank you for being you,” you murmur after a moment. Marcus is that supportive and bolstering friend and family member. This is just who he is. And you’re so entirely grateful to have him here with you, especially right now.

“I don’t know if I would thank me for that.” Marcus teases, leaning in and kissing your forehead again. “But you can always count on me, hummingbird.”

“I know I can. And I’m thankful for that.” More than you could ever say. More than any words you have.

“Close your eyes.” He orders softly. He knows you are exhausted and emotionally spent. You need the rest so you can care for Sydney, Juan and the baby when they are back in this room.

“I can’t guarantee I’ll sleep.” Though you’ll try, knowing that the nurse doesn’t expect Sydney or the baby to be able to come down for at least a few hours.

“I know. Just closing them will be good.” He murmurs softly, still rubbing your back when you shift to lay across him. “You’ve been crying.”

“You would have been proud of me,” you murmur, settling against him one more time and shutting your eyes. “I kept it together until after everything happened.” It was shock, probably, but you still managed it. “Therapy is going to be a doozy this week.”

“Yes it will.” He won’t deny that or try to minimize your feelings. “You don’t need to skip it.”

“I’m absolutely not going to skip it.” Not this week, of all weeks. Not at all. The heaviness of the night is tugging at you, not for sleep but for rest, and for the first time you think you actually might be able to calm down fully as long as you can stay in Marcus’s arms.

Humming in approval, he doesn’t speak, letting the silence draw between you and waiting for your breathing to start slowing down.

The nap lasts about two hours. Two hours held tight in Marcus’s arms on that padded bench, and when you shift against him the small sound of noncommittal discomfort and surprise is enough to tell you that he fell asleep too. Good, you think, rubbing the sleep from your eyes. Everyone deserves a reset tonight. Even little Constance.

Marcus wakes quietly, as soon as you move, and he slowly remembers that he’s not in your bed. Both of you are at the hospital. He hums and sighs softly, knowing it hadn’t been a long nap, but it will do wonders for the coming hours.

"Hey handsome." The room is quiet and so are you, sitting up to stretch beside him and bring your limbs back to life.

“How did you sleep?” Marcus asks softly, watching you through heavy eyes.

“Better than I thought I would,” you admit, though you have a feeling that’s only because you didn’t sleep deeply enough for nightmares to set in. “You?”

“Pretty good nap.” He yawns. “Although I know I’m going to have to get coffee for all of us.”

Checking your watch, you stretch again and knock against his side with a lopsided grin. “The cafeteria should be open soon. I have a map of the hospital in my bag so you won’t get lost.”

“Just for that, I’ll bring you two coffees.” He groans, standing up and stretching out. “I should get dressed.”

“I’m sure you wouldn’t be the only visitor to go get coffee in your jammies.” Far from it, if you had to hazard a guess.

He snorts slightly. “I don’t doubt it. But I would hate to steal any of Juan’s new dad thunder.” He jokes, winking at you.

“Juan will be doing everything in bespoke suits with giant buttons that exclaim New Dad! for everyone he meets.” It’s sweet to think about, now that the fear is mostly past. It won’t wither entirely until you get to see mother and baby, but that should be soon.

“Of course he will.” Marcus laughs. “He’s already got an app on his phone that is just for organizing pictures of the baby.”

“Make sure you get the name of it,” you tease, leaning over to kiss him and getting one last stretch in — right into his arms. “We’ll need that for our kids, I’m sure.”

“You know it.” Marcus grins. “I’ve already downloaded it. It also has a wedding portion of the app. Basically you can upload all your important moments in it.” He doesn’t mention that he had set it up for the proposal that didn’t happen last night.

“You think of everything.” He really does, so it’s barely even an embellishment. At this point you’re just relieved that you can think of small things again instead of the larger, overhanging fear of just a few hours ago.

“Not everything.” Marcus snorts, winking at you. “Otherwise, I would have had coffee delivered by now.”

“Mostly everything, then.” One more kiss and you pull back to get your things sorted out around the room. “I’m going to tidy up a little and get out a couple of comfort things for Syd. So when she comes down she’ll have her favorite cardigan and things like that.” Absolutely anything you can do to soothe your best friend’s hellish night, you’re going to.

“That sounds perfect.” Marcus agrees. “I’ll go grab the coffee. What do you want, sweetheart?”

“Just my usual.” Your hum of appreciation is more relaxed than it would have been earlier in the night. “I love you, baby.”

“I love you too.” He promises as he quickly starts changing into the clothes he had brought.

Marcus is gone for about a half an hour before the door to the room opens again, but when it does it's Juan there – holding the door open wide as one of the overnight workers from the transport department wheels Sydney's bed back into the room with her nurse hot on their heels.

“We are back.” His tone is exhausted but elated at the same time. It’s been a sleepless night for him. Afraid that he would close his eyes and Sydney would be gone.

"How are you feeling, honey?" You're at Sydney's side as soon as the nurse is done getting her settled. The woman has the patience of a saint and excuses herself to go retrieve Constance, who is being allowed to leave the NICU.

“Tired. Sore.” She admits with a quick, tired smile. “Impatient to hold my daughter.”

"She'll be down soon." Glancing at the door where the nurse has disappeared to bring around that same little girl, the warmth in the room starts to grow exponentially. "Marcus went to get coffees. And I'll bring sushi for lunch. Cross my heart."

“I don’t know if I’m hungry.” Sydney admits with a slight shrug. She’s still a little disoriented from the drugs. “But coffee sounds amazing. I could sleep for days.”

"Then we won't worry about food right now. But Marcus is bringing back coffee for you, and he should be back very soon." You grin at your friends and send them both a conspiratorial shrug. "I sent him with a map, otherwise you know he would have gotten lost."

Juan laughs as he fuses over Sydney, hovering as if she might disappear if he steps too far away. “He should have been a Lieutenant in the military, as bad as he is.”

“I’ve just learned to always have a map for new places or to set up the gps in his car without asking.” It’s a quirk, and you all have them, but Marcus’s ability to get lost almost anywhere is a standing joke between the four of you and it’s so, so good to hear Syd laugh. Even if it’s only a little, it’s completely worth it.

The knock on the door comes just a moment later and Marcus pokes his head in. “Oh you’re here!” He brightens up and pushes the door open, the delivery person from the flower shop hot on his heels. “I was hoping to get all this inside before you did.”

“We just got back.” Syd is groggy for sure, but not so badly that she doesn’t register the tray of coffees and bag of food with the hospital’s cafe logo on it that you jump forward to snag from him and the delivery of flowers that comes in behind him. With the tension and fear of the last few hours and all the emotions and hormones still raging in her, Sydney is immediately in tears. “You—you got flowers?” She half-squalls like it’s the kindest and most loving thing any person has ever done in the history of time. For her, especially right now, it definitely feels like it.

“Ohhhh don’t cry.” Marcus frets slightly, even though he’s pretty sure that they are happy tears. “I wanted you and Constance to have a beautiful reminder of how loved you both are.” He walks over to the recovering woman, that he now regards as his friend, leaning down to kiss her cheek. “More are coming too.” He promises.

“It’s so sweet!” Syd huffs between large tears, hugging Marcus as tightly as her recovering body will permit. “You’re so sweet.” Even after we interrupted your plans, she thinks loudly, but manages not to say it. She knows what last night was supposed to be and she hated having to call when she knew Marcus was about to sweep you out the door.

“You deserve nothing but happiness right now.” He promises, looking over at Juan and squeezing Sydney gently before he pulls back and moves over to the new father. “Congratulations.” He is somber, aware of what the agony of the night had done to his friend.

“It was a hell of a night.” Juan pulls Marcus in for a hug — something the two men need right now for grounding, but Juan also murmur, “And sorry for the timing” to Marcus before pulling away.

“Don’t ever worry about that.” Marcus insists. “Doesn’t matter if I was in the middle of it, we would have been on our way.” Yes, proposing to you and giving you a beautiful moment is important to him; but some things are always much more important and this is at the top of that priority list.

“We’ll make it work.” Juan promises quietly, glad to see you absorbing Sydney in conversation while she marvels at the flowers that Marcus ordered.

“How’s Constance doing?” Marcus asks quietly, not seeing the bassinet in the room. “Will she be released from the NICU soon?”

“Our doc said she’s stable, so she can come down and have some family time and be fed.” As a brand new father of only about two and a half hours, that has Juan both puffing out his chest and teary with pride. “The nurse should be bringing her down now.”

“That’s great!” Marcus grins, knowing that both mama and daddy will feel better with their newborn daughter in their room.

Having settled Sydney with her coffee and treat — Marcus brought muffins back from the cafe — you excuse yourself to the bathroom and feel like you can finally breathe. Syd is here. You can hear her muffled laughing through the door. And the baby will be down soon. Everyone is okay.

“Looks Marcus…” Sydney’s voice is hushed and he can tell by her guilty expression what is coming. “Please, don’t apologize again.” He begs her softly. “There is nothing to apologize for.”

“I can call Kingbird,” she offers immediately. Explain it was my fault you had to cancel and get you a new reservation.”

“No.” He shakes his head and glances back at the bathroom. “I don’t think she’s going to be leaving your side for quite awhile and I cannot in good conscience try to convince her otherwise.”

He insists that she shouldn’t apologize more but Sydney still feels like she ought to, pursing her lips until she eventually tilts her head to look up at the men standing side by side at her bed. “You could still do it tonight if you wanted to,” she offers. It’s technically morning now — past six, anyway — but she hasn’t gotten any sleep yet so everything blends together. “It…” she blows out a sigh. “I know it wasn’t the easiest night.” For her especially. “But it would be nice to have Constance’s birth surrounded by happiness. Instead of what might have happened.”

Marcus considers it for a moment, frowning slightly and he bites his lip. “That is— are you sure?” He would never want to take away from Constance and her birth.

Sydney sits back in her hospital bed and takes Juan’s hand, letting him anchor her the way you always do with Marcus. “I don’t want the only thing I remember about the day my daughter was born to be that both of us almost died,” she admits quietly, knowing it’s a little selfish to ask him for this but also knowing that the happy memories you make together mean everything to the four of you.

He can understand that and he bites his lip. “Then….what do you think about me proposing here?” He asks. “It’s not the most romantic setting, but I think under the circumstances, it’s the best place to do it.”

“There’s flowers and best friends and I know you brought her back her favourite muffin.” Juan chuckles, feeling a bit misty eyed over more good things happening. “What’s more romantic than that?”

“Maybe we can do something that involves the baby?” Marcus suggests.

“I will squall.” Sydney warns, already tearing up all over again. “But quickly before she comes back…wrap the ring box in the baby blanket?”

“Perfect.” Marcus dives for the bag that had been packed for Constance and finds the soft baby blanket they had decided to wrap her in while in the hospital. “When the baby comes in, ask her to get the blanket for you.” Marcus tells Sydney.

“If we can keep a straight face,” Syd laughs, but agrees immediately.

Marcus hides the ring box in the folds of the blanket. “Are you sure you’re okay with this?”

“More than.” Sydney promises, right before the bathroom door opens.

You had washed up a little again, refreshing yourself and feeling a little more human while you were in the bathroom. “Did you manage to rest a little while you were upstairs?” Your focus is right back on Sydney but you take a second to give Marcus a kiss of thanks when he hands you your coffee.

“Yes.” She’s still tired and exhausted, but she smiles. “I did, you don’t worry about me.” She huffs, knowing that it won’t do any good. You will fret over her just like Juan will. “Looking forward to sushi later.”

“We’ll have a sushi party and baby girl can get milk drunk like a party animal.” Making the best of what had been a nearly calamitous situation is good for everyone’s spirits right now. You help the guys set up a little area as a breakfast ‘table’ for the three of you and set Sydney’s things on her tray. It’s about time for the morning shows that Juan loves so the tv goes on, and seconds later the nurse enters with her bundled up charge yawning as loudly as her little lungs can manage.

“Oh my god.” Marcus coos as soon as he sees the little angel in the flesh. She is perfect and nothing will convince him otherwise, falling in love with his goddaughter in a split second. “She’s so precious.”

“She’s perfect.” As expected, Sydney and Juan are both in tears all over again, and the nurse who helped Sydney get comfortable upstairs makes sure Mom and Dad have everything they need before bowing out to let the family bond.

“She’s beyond perfect.” It’s all you can do not to cry with them, looking at your best friend and goddaughter together.

“Isn’t she?” Sydney completely agrees as she finally gets to hold her newborn daughter. Completely in awe of how perfect she is.

The room is practically full of the sound of smiling, whatever that really is, but you end up half-laughing under your breath and looking to Marcus with fresh water behind your eyes. "I want one too," you laugh, overwhelmed with absolute joy and love.

He laughs at your eagerness, the yearning and knows that you are only partially joking. “I don’t know if we could top how perfect she is.” He admits with his own chuckle.

"Maybe not." The only possible place for you to be right now is snuggled into his side and you tuck yourself in there to just stare at your goddaughter together. "We can't know until we try, though."

Sydney spares a glance at Marcus, who nods as he holds you close. “We have to get through a few other things first.” He reminds you.

"I know." You hum when he presses a kiss to the top of your head and sigh again. "I just love her so much and I wanna give her everything. Including playmates."

Sydney coos at Constance and cuddles her closer. “Birdie, would you get me her baby blanket?” She asks softly. “From her bag? I want her in the things we picked out.”

"Yeah, of course!" You hop to immediately, slipping out of Marcus's arms to go to the bag Sydney packed. The baby blanket from Sydney's parents is folded near the top. It's a light thing, a beautiful hand knitted piece done in their chosen color of green and then embroidered with the initials CMB for Constance Marie Badillo.

The blanket slips a little in your hand when you pick it up, and when you go to right it a small but weighty something falls out from the center. The realization that it's probably something that Juan tucked away as a surprise for Sydney has you tucking it back inside quickly and handing over the blanket like you're suddenly holding a hot potato.

Sydney hadn’t been expecting you to hand over the blanket so fast so she pushes towards you again for a moment. “Hold it please.” She requests, knowing you will do anything. She has to give Marcus time to get into position.

"Of course," you agree again, bobbing your head on a nod. Glancing over at Juan makes you wonder if you should do something to help, like opening up the blanket so she can see the little jewelry box or something. Maybe hold it sort of presentationally? You can't quite make up your mind and end up clutching the blanket to your chest in surprise when you hear Marcus clear his throat and whirl around to see him down on one knee in the middle of the little hospital room.

That jewelry box was definitely not for Sydney...

“Before you panic, I have the happy new parent’s permission.” Marcus promises as he reaches for the hand that is not clutching the blanket protectively. “And today is a celebration. Of life, and love.” He tells you softly.

"Oh my god." It's just about all you can think to say as you choke on a fresh round of tears and tighten your fingers in his hand.

“I know.” Marcus flashes you a grin. “Sweetheart, there is no one else I want by my side, confiding in, planning for the future and sharing part of my soul with.” He promises you. “I love everything about you and there is not one thing that I could possibly imagine changing. I love your loyalty to friends and family, your work ethic and your tenacity. Your tender heart and your penchant for dreaming.” He takes a big breath, clearly saying your full name. “Will you marry me?”

He can barely finish the question before your thick, cracking voice is chirping endless yeses. Before you're crumpling to your knees to kiss him, cradling the blanket between you as delicately as if the baby was already wrapped in it. "I love you" gets mixed in with all the "Yes!" and more "Oh my god" as if you can't quite believe that it's finally happening. From the moment that the two of you individually became a unit, you've both known that this was the direction you were heading in. But now that you're here? It feels even better than you could ever have guessed.

He knew your answer, he’s known it, but he still giggles in relief and cupping your cheek to kiss you. “I love you.” He promises softly, pecking your lips again and again. He hears both Juan and Sydney sniffling happily and knows this was the right call.

For a moment the room is just happy tears and sniffles and giggling, and you’re both so jittery that you get a little mixed up in retrieving the ring box from deep inside the handmade baby blanket in your arms. Marcus had said he bought your promise and engagement rings together so they would match and of course his decision is perfect — the haloed diamond stands out over heart shaped stones of the promise ring he gave you months ago, and the fact that they’re from him makes them so perfect you could just fall apart right here in his arm.

“It was.” He admits with a modest tilt of his head. “But I think that this might be even better. “Your best friend and goddaughter got to witness it.”

“And your best friend too.” No one who ever ran into Marcus and Juan now would think they had spent so many years apart. They’re more likely to be mistaken for twins than anything else, and actually had been on a dinner out a few weeks ago.

“It makes it better than anything else.” He nods in agreement, looking over at your friends. “We are friends and family.”

“Matron of honor and best man?” It’s hardly a question, but Marcus has slipped the beautifully shimmering engagement ring onto your finger and you glance back over at your tearful friends with absolute joy. “And the tiniest, sweetest, most perfect little flower girl in the whole world?”

“The perfect flower girl.” Marcus agrees with his own emotional chuckle. “And of course they are our matron of honor and best man. What else could they possibly be?”

“Your caterer.” Syd half-complains with a pout, but it’s so half-hearted that she just ends up laughing through the tears. “Get over here and let us hug you two, and meet your goddaughter up close. Obviously we’re going to be whatever you want us to be. All three of us.”

“Not going to happen.” Marcus snorts, shooting Sydney a smile. “You’re going to participate in the reception. But…” he shrugs. “We will let you create our menu.”

“Here we go.” Juan teases, gently taking the baby blanket out of your arms to wrap up his daughter with the already precious heirloom. “Breakfast and wedding planning.” He grins down at Sydney. “I’ll get your notebook and take notes. You focus on our angel.”

Marcus laughs because he knows that’s exactly what will happen. Although there might be a little more cooing over the baby than anything else going on. As it is, he can’t wait to get his hands on her.

“I already know what wedding cake you want.” Syd grins, readjusting in her seat so this conversation can include food for everyone, including little Constance. She’s already gotten her little girl to latch once without a hellish amount of trouble so she’s hoping to do it on her own this time.

There has already been plenty of conversation about Sydney breastfeeding, but Marcus busies himself with his bag while she gets her daughter situated. It’s not because he’s weirded out, just a respect thing, giving the new mother time to get used to being exposed without feeling like she’s in a fishbowl.

“I’m covered,” Sydney assures him, after a few minutes of fussing where Marcus does anything but look directly at her. His respect level is top notch and she appreciates that about him. “Let’s talk food, please? And—” Before she can even ask, Juan is handing her a cup of water and she melts and murmurs a quiet “Thank you.”

“I just wanted to give you some time.” Marcus joins the small group, sitting down when you stand up and pulling you into his lap while Juan sits on the bed with his wife and child. “So right off the bat, what’s your first ideas?” He’s smart enough to know the final menu will be completely different from the first one.

“Americana.” You and Sydney grin at each other and you lean back in Marcus’s lap to sip your coffee while you talk. “Updated versions of classic American dishes.”

“What would that look like?” He asks, frowning in confusion. “Meat loaf?”

“Could be.” Sydney nods. “It could be things like gourmet versions of tv dinners.”

“Or it could be modern versions of older popular dishes,” you nod in agreement. “Like upscale Steak Diane or deconstructed chicken pot pie.”

“Finger foods?” Marcus asks. “I’m sure there will have to be a buffet of canapés.”

“Depends on the events.” Smiling around a sip of iced coffee, you press a kiss to Marcus’s temple a second later. “I’m thinking four.”

“Four events?” Marcus chuckles. “That’s bachelorette party, bridal shower, rehearsal dinner and wedding?”

“Maybe five,” you admit with a sheepish grin. “You said you wanted to have an engagement party.”

“I think that it’s a good place for the publicity your mom wants.” He reminds you.

“Five events is a lot, but if we space them out I think we can manage it.” Looking down at him with an absolute glow on your face, your brand new engagement ring catches the light and makes your chest swell. “What season do you want to get married in?”

“Any one you want.” It’s fair in his mind, he’s been married before and all that matters to him is that you repeat your vows in front of friends and family. What the weather is like doesn’t matter a lick to him. “I guess it depends on how fast we can get it planned?”

“Don’t do less than six months,” Juan warns. His cousin had rushed things to disastrous consequences.

“I wouldn’t.” You can totally agree to that. “My impulse would be to say a year but…I’ve kind of always liked the idea of a summer wedding.” Chewing on the idea, you turn your eyes back down to Marcus again. “Roses stop blooming at the end of the summer.”

“Early fall?” He suggests. “October? It gives us seven months. And you will more than likely have White House help.” He shrugs. “Along with mine, of course.”

“If we did October, maybe I can do a summer bridal shower in the White House rose garden?” Your eyes widen, practically begging. “I would really love to use the rose garden.”

“Then you better make sure your mom doesn’t book it for a tea party.” He teases with a wink, reaching for your hand that now holds his engagement ring. “I think October is perfect. Hell, we could do a Halloween rehearsal dinner.” He jokes.

“Don’t even tease me about that,” you huff. A Halloween event would be exactly your style. “Halloween next year is on a Wednesday, otherwise I would be begging you to get married on Halloween.”

“Baby, if that’s what you want….” He shoots Juan a grin and shrugs. “I’m okay with that.”

“I don’t want to get married on a Wednesday night.” No one parties deep into a Wednesday night in their thirties. It doesn’t feel as special to you. “How about we get married earlier in October and I talk you into visiting the Paris catacombs with me on Halloween night during our honeymoon?”

“That works for me just as easily as anything else.” Marcus promises. “Only thing I care about is you and I celebrating our love and making a public commitment to each other.”

“I love you, too.” If it were just the two of you, you would be getting dressed to run off to a soulmate chapel immediately. But promises have been made and they need to be honored, and every chance to declare your love for Marcus loud and clear is worth taking. “Any Pike family traditions we should keep in mind that I don’t know about already?”

Marcus smiles. “There’s a jewelry set that is passed down to be used in the wedding, if wanted.” He adds. “It was my great, great grandmother’s.”

“Really?” Your expression softens immediately, eyes widening a little, and you nod right away. There is no question in your mind that you’re going to wear it. “Your Mom swore to pass down some family recipes after the wedding but she never mentioned heirlooms.”

“It’s only ever offered after the engagement.” He explains. “We had a certain cousin’s wife - I’m sure you can guess who - think that it was for her to keep.”

When Sydney and Juan look equal parts amused and confused, you snicker slightly. “Hannah has very interesting thoughts about the family,” you tell them, glossing over the few less than kind things Hannah Pike had said either to you or that had been relayed to you. “Which reminds me. I’m absolutely going to ask Selena to be a bridesmaid.”

“Sydney, you will love her.” Marcus promises. “She’ll be flying out every other weekend to help you plan.” He warns you. “Or just staying out here, she can work from anywhere.”

“She’s been thinking about moving,” you admit, barely biting back a grin at how much fun it would be to have her nearby permanently. Marcus’s cousin has become one of your closest friends in the months since your first visit to Texas. “She said she wants to come see what winter is like here to make sure it’s not too bad, but her office is opening a DC branch and asked her if she would be interested in heading up the new team out here.”

“How do you know that and I don’t?” He asks, putting on a faux pout.

“Because she hasn’t told your aunt and uncle yet and she didn’t want it to get back to the family.” That grin of yours becomes full force and you kiss his temple again. “She was trying to save you from having to lie if you got asked.”

“Well, then, you didn’t say anything to me.” He mimes zipping his lips and locking them to throw away the key.

"Probably a good policy," you agree, snickering quietly even as you squeeze his shoulders tightly.

There’s a sense of lazy content in the room. Everyone slowly savors the baked goods that Marcus had brought and sips their coffee. The baby, Constance, is the noisiest of them all, her hungry sucking and grasping one that makes all the adults smile as they look at her every thirty seconds.

She is Sydney’s entire focus, and when the baby is done with her own breakfast there is a little fuss over making sure she’s burped properly before she cuddles up against her mother’s chest to have a post-meal nap. Something that makes Sydney sigh in relief and hold her close. “You’d never know how bad last night almost was by looking at her.”

“Children are resilient.” Marcus muses. “She will never remember her birth and be completely unaffected by it, while it will stay with us forever.”

“All the better.” Sydney soothes one hand over her sleeping daughter’s back.

Marcus watches the loving gesture, almost aching for the time where he can watch you soothe the children you will have together. Will you look as much like Madonna and Child like Sydney does now? He thinks it will be even more profound like undoubtedly Juan feels like it is.

______

Master Tags: @pixiedurango @chattychell @winter-fox-queen @lady-himbo @artsymaddie @princess76179 @paintballkid711 @missminkylove @pedrosbrat @ew-erin @sarahjkl82-blog @sharkbait77 @justanotherblonde23 @lv7867 @recklesswit @mylittlesenaar @f0rever15elf @gallowsjoker @steeevienicks @athalien @sherala007 @skvatnavle @thatpinkshirt @jaime1110 @girlimjusttryingtoreadfanfics @goodgriefitsawildworld @greeneyedblondie44 @littlemousedroid @harriedandharassed @churchill356 @ajathegreats-blog @haylzcyon @beardsanddetectives @kirsteng42 @ladykatakuri @adancedivasmom @madiebear @tanzthompson @emilianamason @bigsdinger @xocalliexo @pedr0swh0r3 @avaleineandafryingpan @charlyrmv @avidreader73 @iceclaw101 @loveslide @elegantduckturtle @becsworld @julesonrecord @its-nebuleuse @itsrubberbisquit @mikeyswifie @guelyury @lizzie-cakes @for-a-longlongtime @vabeachazn @purplerain04 @weho2kcmo @madnessofadaydreamer

HHL: @haileymorelikestupid @anoverwhelmingdin @storiesofthefandomlovers @missladym1981 @babeincolor @angelofsmalldeath-codeine

My Masterlist!

#Pedro Pascal #Pedro Pascal character fanfiction #Pedro Pascal fanfic #Marcus Pike #Marcus Pike x you #Marcus Pike x reader #Marcus Pike x female reader #Marcus Pike x f!reader #The Mentalist #soulmate au #First Daughter reader #Juan Badillo #Graceland #Juan Badillo x f!OC #Juan Badillo x OC #pregnancy tw #childbirth tw #traumatic birth

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jjkamochoso · 2 days

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The Perfect Fit

Overview: Levi Ackerman begrudgingly finds himself falling in love with the Survey Corps’ seamstress. Will they be able to own up to their feelings for each other? Or is their love doomed to fail before they discover the truths of each other’s hearts? This slow burn reader insert story will be filled with angst, yearning, and a bit of mystery as we slowly unravel the truths behind Y/N’s past… and explore her and Levi’s future!

Chapter 11

Chapter 10 linked here

Chapter 12 coming soon!

Levi Ackerman x female reader

Warnings: cussing

You looked at Levi expectantly. "What do you say, Captain? Ready to run away with me?"

Levi couldn't deny that he was craving a change of scenery as well. With his injuries, he couldn't participate in training and the four bland walls of his office combined with never ending paperwork was enough to make even the most sane man mad. He also really liked the way those words sounded coming from your mouth. He knew he had a duty to humanity and could never drop his responsibilities to run away from it all and live a more peaceful life, but boy, he'd enjoy playing pretend with you for a little while, focusing on humanitarian duties rather than fighting for once.

"I'm ready to leave right now if you are."

You broke out in a smile, relieved that he still wanted to help you give away blankets and clothes to people in the unfortunate areas of the interior.

"Good. I am too, but the paperwork that allows us to take leave and horses isn't. I have to talk to Erwin and see when we can go. I'm thinking as long as you're cleared by the doctor, we can head out in 3 days' time. Is that alright?"

Levi nodded yes and you told him to get some rest before leaving to find your oldest friend, the commander. When you knocked on the door, he granted you entry and you closed the door behind you.

"How's my dearest friend been holding up lately?" Erwin asked you as you two shared a hug before taking a seat.

"Oh, I've been alright, nothing too crazy," you answered. "How about yourself? You've got a lot more going on than I ever have or hope to."

He took a sip of the drink on his desk and you wouldn't be surprised if it was some sort of alcohol.

"It's as much to be expected for the man in charge." His blue eyes danced around the room, not meeting your own. "It's nothing I can't handle. It's... a lot sometimes, though. I become afraid that no matter how much I try to do, it's all futile. I have so many goals that I can't-" He cut himself off as he swallowed another drink and you took notice of the deep eye bags he was sporting. You knew he had a lot riding on him, but he usually handled (or hid) it so well. You reached out to grip his hand as a sign of affection.

"I know you're in charge, but you're not the only one who should be held accountable for any failings, so stop blaming yourself. What you guys do is a thankless job but you're not without so many accomplishments. It seems like it's always one step forward, three steps back working here, but if there's anything I learned from you, it's that you have to keep walking. So Erwin." He looked up at you. "You have to keep moving forward. You're the heart of the Scouts. You're the only one who's faith has never wavered. We all believe in you."

Erwin let out a deep sigh and squeezed your hand back. "Thank you. I needed that. This is why I keep you around."

You chuckled, happy that you were able to lift his spirits a little bit.

"I know you didn't come here to see me wallow in pity, so what is it I can do to help?" he inquired.

"I'm planning on leaving for Wall Sina to do my charity work in a few days and I was wondering if I could borrow a cart and horse. I'd be gone about 10 days, 4 days traveling each way, 1 day passing everything out, and an extra in case something goes wrong. I was also coming to put in my request for leave, as well as Captain Levi's since he'll be accompanying me."

Erwin's eyebrows raised at the sound of his close friend's name. "Levi, huh? I've noticed that you two have gotten pretty close but he wouldn't leave work with just anybody, you know. He must think you're pretty special."

You felt embarrassment worm its way up your body as Erwin tried to contain his teasing smile. The commander's two closest friends couldn't fool him--Levi hadn't been this outwardly affectionate since he had shown up with Isabelle and Furlan all those years ago and you hadn't been this smiley with anyone, ever-- but he found the whole thing endearing.

"I'm not trying to embarrass you, y/n. I think it's nice that he's found something with you, whatever it is. I haven't seen either of you this happy in many years, or ever. This trip of yours will be good for the both of you to get out and do something for the betterment of humanity. It would bring some much needed positivity to you and the captain, I'm sure. I'll process the papers and send you on your way in no time."

You thanked him as you heard a knock at the door. Another soldier had told Erwin it was time for a meeting so you thanked him for his help and waved goodbye. You were held up at the door by the sound of his voice once more.

"Hey, y/n. Where exactly in Wall Sina are you going?"

You tilted your head in confusion. "There's the shelters in the capital that house citizens from the Underground until they can safely leave for Wall Rose. They're the same ones you and I usually go to. Why?"

He halted for a second, choosing his words carefully. "Well, with Levi there, I don't want... Just try to avoid the Underground. I don't want you two getting hurt."

You didn't understand what he was trying to get at, but you figured it wasn't the time for you to probe him. If the chance arrived, you would have to ask Levi exactly what Erwin meant. You thanked him for his warning and left, wracking your brain on what that enigma of a man was going on about.

Several days after your meeting with Erwin, he had told you everything got approved and Levi told you of his clearance from the doctor. You were to leave in a few hours so you began packing, your stomach fluttering with anxiety. You always got nervous before a trip but this one was stressful because of its unknowns. You had never traveled between walls without Erwin and his words hadn't left your mind. Why did he mention you getting hurt? You'd been there plenty of times prior with the blonde man, none of which had gone wrong, so why was he being cryptic about Levi? You tried to shake it from your head. Erwin had been under tons of stress lately so you chalked it up to him still reeling from the losses of the expedition. You had just thrown the last of your shirts in a bag when you heard a knock at your door. Levi was there, a duffel on his arm and a surprisingly pleasant look on his face.

"I'm ready if you are."

You were. You had already brought outside the bags of donation items so all that was left was your personal bag. You went to pick it up from the bed but Levi beat you to it.

"Aren't you still nursing broken ribs?" you asked, watching him in amusement as he shuffled down the hallway with both of your belongings.

"The doctor cleared me for all activity. I would be training shitty cadets to be less shitty right now if it weren't for you."

"Should I be saying you're welcome that you're not?"

Levi pondered for a second. "Four eyes is always saying I need a vacation."

"Their wish is now granted. So you're welcome," you replied, giggling a bit. When you stepped outside, you were expecting to be greeted by an open air cart, but instead, you were face to face with a fancy contained carriage. You thought maybe it was for someone else, but when Levi started loading your things inside, you knew it was for you.

"Did you know about this?" you asked him, flabbergasted. He put away the last of the bags as he answered you.

"The weather's supposed to be bad in a few days. I didn't want you catching a cold on our trip so I made Erwin reserve this instead."

Levi never failed to surprise you. He was so kind the way he thought about you and made your life so much easier. You nearly kissed him on the spot but didn't want him to keel over and die before you could get anywhere. The raven haired man wouldn't look you in the eye as you climbed inside the carriage, presumably shy about his caring so much about your wellbeing. The carriage driver took off and you two left the castle walls. You kept your eyes pointed out the window, not wanting to miss the opportunity to watch the foliage pass you by. It was your favorite part about riding in a cart or on a horse while holding onto someone else. Seeing the trees fly by you in this area almost reminded you of Levi taking you home that one day all those months ago. This carriage should have brought up that same feeling of freedom, but this time you were heading toward a place that had held you in its wretched confines for far too long. As you rode further and further away from your home and closer to your family in Mitras, you felt like you were starting to drown in a deep ocean of melancholy and stress. As you were lost in your own world, you didn't notice Levi staring at you from his bench across from yours. He was thankful that you were day dreaming because it meant he could observe you without hesitation. You normally looked very beautiful to him, but today, in your civilian clothes and more relaxed hairstyle than usual, you looked absolutely stunning. Even though this trip certainly wasn't just for pleasure, he was looking forward to a short break from the woes of every day life. He was hoping you were, too, but he saw your eyebrows furrow and you had a sad glint in your eye.

"Wanna talk about it?"

Levi's voice brought you out of your daze.

"Hmm? Oh. No, I just-- I get nervous on trips, that's all," you said. If Levi could tell you weren't giving him the whole truth, he didn't say anything.

You sighed, opting to speak your mind a bit more. "When I leave my home and head into the city, I get hit with this indescribable sadness. I think it's because I see people who have literally nothing and I can't help but think I'm not doing enough for them when I have so much."

"Don't be stupid. The fact that you're going out of your way to show kindness when others don't is a testament to your character. What you're doing will be appreciated by those who need it most. Trust me."

He spoke with such conviction that you wondered if he was ever one of those people who needed help. You didn't give it much thought since it was rude to make assumptions about someone's past.

"You always know exactly what to say to make me feel better, Levi. Thank you."

He scoffed. "I think you're the only person that's ever said that."

"That makes it all the more special then, doesn't it?" you asked, making him roll his eyes but you knew he agreed.

The carriage continued on its fast pace while you two sat in silence, both reading books. You kept peeking your eyes over the pages, taking the time to appreciate how Levi looked today. He never looked anything less than handsome to you, but him out of a uniform made your heart beat faster. He was wearing a long sleeve shirt with black pants and both items highlighted his frame perfectly. You loved the way he looked with the cravat but you were mesmerized with the graceful way his neck craned without something covering it up. He shifted in his seat and you quickly averted your eyes, hoping he hadn't seen you checking him out.

"Is your book that boring you'd rather look at me?" he asked, his gaze staying on his own unturned pages.

"Boring, no. Rather look at you, definitely," you said, taking the fact that you got caught in stride.

"Tch. Have some shame, brat," he chided, a faint blush showing up on his cheeks. You found it fun to tease Levi here and there. You wanted to keep showing him that you found him desirable so he wasn't left wondering if you still liked him romantically or not. Not that physical looks mattered to you two anyway, but you figured it didn't hurt to flirt with him every once in awhile to keep him on his toes. Afternoon turned to night and it got too dark to read, opting to leave the gas lamp off for now to conserve it in case of emergencies. The carriage slowed to a halt and the driver let you know that you were stopping for the night at a local inn. You and Levi exited the carriage, Levi taking your bag once again, and made a plan with the driver to meet up in the morning to set off. A room wasn't ready yet when you checked in so you and Levi went to the restaurant to partake in a nice warm meal. Conversation flowed easily between you two as you tore into the bread and meat you were served. When you finally got a key to your room, you opened the door and immediately frowned. You were supposed to get a room with two beds, but there was only one. You looked at Levi who didn't even seem to notice as he was already inside and discarded the bags in the corner of the room. You followed him in, confusion taking over you.

"There's only one bed," you said, stating the obvious.

"It's fine. I'll sleep on the floor," he replied, grabbing the extra blanket from the bed and laying it out. You stomped over to him, grabbing the soft textile.

"No way, especially not when you're still healing. I can go downstairs and talk to the owner, there has to be another room."

There wasn't. You and Levi had booked the last available room and the one with two beds that you had requested when you had gotten there was previously reserved. When you got back to your room, Levi had already laid down on the floor in an attempt to rest for a little while. You stood over him, your arms crossed.

"Get up, idiot. You're not sleeping on the floor."

"I don't sleep much anyway, idiot. Go to bed."

"If you don't get up, I'm sleeping on the ground, too."

That got Levi's attention, prompting him to sit up. "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard and I'm around teenagers all day."

"Look," you said, defeated, "the bed is more than big enough for the two of us. You'll have your personal space and I promise I won't invade it on purpose."

Levi took his sweet time thinking about what he was going to do while you were loving life on the plush mattress, your pajamas on, and cozy under the covers. You heard the mattress creak as his body took up the spot next to yours.

"Finally decided to join me, loverboy?" You were joking with him to cover up the fact that you were nervous about sharing an entire sleeping space with the love of your life. Normally, sharing a bed with someone wouldn't be a huge deal, especially when that someone was a person who you trusted with your life, but Levi was a special case. You never wanted to push him into doing anything too fast or make him uncomfortable and you knew that relationship things like this could easily freak him out.

"I will not hesitate to snuff out your life with this pillow."

Well, at least he was acting like his normal self. He was, up until you heard shuffling under the sheets and felt the mattress dip down closer to you. It was nearly pitch black in the room so you couldn't see anything, but you felt your breath hitch in your throat as Levi scooted close enough to your face where you caught a glimpse of the faintest reflection of moonlight in his eyes. His breath was barely fanning over your arm that was lying next to your cheek on your pillow. All of a sudden you felt his hand on yours as he interlaced your fingers. It was a good thing that the room had no light because you were both flustered messes.

"Is this okay?" he whispered.

"Very," you whispered back, brushing your lips over the back of his hand like a kiss from a fleeting ghost. Even though Levi barely slept that night because of his ever present insomnia rearing its ugly head, lying next to you, with your bodies eventually intertwining, he found himself more rested than he ever knew could be possible.

Chapter 12 coming soon!

Taglist: @blueeclipsepaperstudent @raginginferno267 @come-away-with-me87

#levi ackerman x reader #levi x reader #levi ackerman #levi ackerman x you #levi ackerman x female reader #levi angst #levi fluff #levi aot #captain levi #levi ackerman x reader angst #levi ackerman x reader fluff

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nerfpuncher · 1 day

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HAPPY MAY THE 4TH Y'ALL!!

I'd like to tell yall a story.

As well all know, 3 years ago today The Bad Batch premiered. We were in the thick of Tritcale Harvest (like we are now lol). I was too excited to wait till I got home to watch. So I propped my phone up on the tractor steering colum, used my head phones, and watched the pilot while driving tractor. It was wonderful.

At the same time, my big red mare was over due to foal by two weeks. She could release the hostage at any time. I had checked on her at 4am when I left for the field, she showed no signs of foaling.

A surprise bout of rain at 10am shut us down that day. So I went home and drove out to check her just in case.

This is what I found

He was dry, standing and nursing. I'm guessing she had him not long after I had checked in the morning.

A perfect clone of his mother right down to the star on his head. After a few days, when he mother would nicker, he would too.

So of course he had to be named Echo❤️

In the same way I have loved this show over the past 3 years and watched the fandom grow, I watched Echo grow as well.

He is curious and kind. First to meet you at the gate when called. He is playful by nature, stealing hats, gloves, or anything else left unattended.

He is a fast learner with more try than any other horse iv started (and iv started a lot of colts)

Anyway

A few days ago, I once again left my house at 4am, propped my phone up on the tractor steering colum, and watched the series final the same way i did when it first aired. It was so bitter sweet.

Then as if it was meant to be, a suprise bout of rain hit at 10am, and shut us down again.

I figures I only had one choice.

A few days shy of his 3rd birthday, I put the first ride on my ARC trooper in training. I felt how he moves under saddle for the first time.

He is a horse that very few ranchers get to ride in their lifetime. He is brave in the face of the unknown. Calm in the chaos. Everything I want in a cow horse and then some. I can only imagine him 5 years down for road

My how he has grown into his name

Why did I feel the need to write all this?

While our favorite show has ended, Echo here will live another 25 years with me if I'm lucky.

And every time I swing my leg over him, I'll think of this wonderful fandom iv come to be apart of. Of the artists and writers who put their hearts and souls into their work for us to enjoy. I'll think of the amazing people I got the privilege to know and call friends. ❤️

I'll think of all the Echo posts. Funny and angsty alike.

So while the show my have come to a bitter sweet end.

I'll have my sweet Echo to remind me of why I fell in love with the show and fandom in the first place ❤️

#the bad batch #star wars #the clone wars #tbb echo #the bad batch fandom #has been a blessing to me #i need everyone to know this #yall are amazing

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kimbappykidding · 2 days

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Part One Here

It had been weeks since your collaboration performance and you’d not seen Jeonghan once, which was odd considering you shared a work building. You figured he was avoiding you but heard he’d been on several more dates with Bomi. You were confused because she didn’t report him suddenly changing now he no longer had to make you jealous and then it dawned on you that Jeonghan’s bad behaviour might’ve just been about you. Did you just bring out the worst in him or something? Was the person he was with Bomi actually the real him?

Confused you started seeing Joshua and you enjoyed it. He was nice, charming and hot but in a very different way to Jeonghan. While Jeonghan had been slender and soft Joshua was muscular and masculine. Both were good but you weren't sure which you preferred. You liked the security of dating Joshua though and he made you feel good about yourself which you needed after Jeonghan.

When the other members found out you and Bomi were both dating members of the same group but never hung out together they found it funny. They teased the two of you about it until one-day Bomi admitted it upset her because in any other situation the two couples could’ve gone on couple dates but because you and Jeonghan hated one another she didn’t feel comfortable even bringing him round to your house. You immediately felt bad your vendetta was affecting Bomi that way and sought to take some steps forward. So you told Joshua about it and that you’d be open to double dating if he was. "Really?” he asked "you know that’d mean Jeonghan being there right?". You laughed "yes but we're all adults, I think I can be civil plus it's about time we bury the hatchet". Joshua smiled "that actually makes me really happy to hear, Jeonghan's one of my closest friends and I know you’d get on if you tried". You smiled "well for you and Bomi I can certainly do that" and you kissed him softly. You figured with Joshua and Bomi there it couldn’t be that bad.

The date was arranged and you and Bomi came together. You were slightly nervous and she noticed. Bomi took your hand "thanks for doing this". You smiled at her "it's fine, I want us to become closer too". She shot you a huge smile that made it all worth it...then you saw Jeonghan. He looked good but then again when didn’t he? He seemed tense though. While Joshua grinned when he saw you Jeonghan looked down. Joshua was definitely the more welcoming whereas Jeonghan just muttered a hello and didn’t look at you or even really Bomi.

”Well you both look lovely” Joshua smiled “did you struggle getting here?”. You shook your head “no parking was easy”. “That’s lucky” Jeonghan said looking at you and you flushed but figured mentioning your driving was a coincidence so you didn’t comment. “It’s so cold though!” Bomi said and Joshua nodded chatting to her about it.

You could tell Jeonghan didn’t want you here. You could feel the angry energy practically radiating off him and anytime he looked at you there was nothing but coldness there. He spoke to the others fine but his words to you were sharp and passive aggressive. You’d only been there 10 minutes and it was already grating on you.

Joshua asked how the interview you’d done as a group earlier was. You and Bomi began to explain how one of the hosts was really rude. “He kept insulting up but in that backhanded way you can’t really accuse him of anything” you explained. Joshua groaned “I hate that”. Bomi nodded “and he was so rude to Y/n. She kept defending us and answering him back and he called her unlikable! Can you believe it?” she cried angry for you. You smiled at her when Jeonghan ruined it with one word. "Yes" he muttered and you all froze.

You were caught off guard and a little hurt. "I didn’t mean..." Jeonghan said noticing how everyone went quiet but you weren’t having it. "I think it's exactly what you meant" you replied and stood up "I'm going to the bathroom please excuse me". Joshua went to follow you when Bomi stood up "let me" and she glared at Jeonghan before rushing after you. "What the hell?" Joshua asked the second she left "can’t you see how hard Y/n is trying?". "Maybe that’s the problem?" Jeonghan replied "why does she always have to be a perfect princess pretending everything is okay?". "You know I always thought this was two-sided but now i’m thinking you’re the one with a problem not her but I can’t for the life of me work out why" Joshua glared "what has she ever done to you? Is this all because she almost scratched your car months ago?". Jeonghan sighed "no". "Then what is it? What’s so bad that you couldn’t put aside one night of being petty for Bomi and me?". Jeonghan shook his head in disbelief at what Joshua was encouraging him to tell. "I...I should just go. Tell Bomi I'll call her later" he said and he left some money before leaving. Meanwhile in the bathroom you felt awful. Jeonghan was obviously more hurt than you were about what had happened but you had no idea what to do about that. Then Bomi came in and you wiped your eyes “i’m fine I just need a second”. “No you’re not, come here” she said and wrapped you in a hug. “I’m sorry I just wasn’t expecting it” you admitted. Bomi nodded “he was horrible and I could see you trying so don’t you dare apologise”. “But I wanted to put this all behind us for you” you admitted and Bomi shook her head “you tried. You did that for me, it was him that didn’t and don’t worry I’ll deal with him. The way he spoke to you was not okay”. You went to brush it away but Bomi shook her head “no I’m not letting it go. You don’t have to be best friends and maybe double dates were a bit unrealistic but he won’t be rude to you like that. You’re my friend and I love you” Bomi said and you almost cried again. “I love you too” you smiled and she took your hand “now dry your tears and let’s go have a nice night. I bet Jeonghan’s left so we can have a chill night just me, you and Joshua. Okay?”. You nodded and followed her out of the bathroom.

Joshua was just as apologetic about what happened. You told him not to worry about it but he wouldn’t take that and was determined he’d get Jeonghan to apologise to you. You hoped it was going to be one of those promises that nobody ever mentioned again but then your leader texted you telling you, you’d be doing another performance with Seventeen. Apparently the first one got a lot of views so your management had arranged a second one. You’d be seeing Jeonghan first thing on Monday morning.

Great.

The second you walked into the dance studio Jeonghan noticed you. His eyes shot to you and then he looked reluctantly to Joshua who was across the room. You pretended like you hadn’t seen him and didn’t know he was coming over. He greeted Bomi and then called your name “Y/n can we talk outside for a second”. You paused “if this is about the other night you don’t have to...” when Bomi interrupted “go with him Y/n, please?”. You couldn’t say no to her so you nodded and Jeonghan led you from the room. “There a small room we can use down here” he said and you just nodded. You tried not to think about how it was the practice room you first slept together in and just looked at the floor. Once inside Jeonghan closed the door firmly and turned to you “i’m sorry for what I said to you the other night”. You shook your head “it’s fine, there’s history here so forget it”. Jeonghan frowned “but I don’t like how I acted and as you said what happened between us is in the past. There’s no need for me to keep punishing you for it”. You looked at him confused “what made you have a change of heart? Three days ago you hated me”. Jeonghan sighed “I know but see I was so angry at you because I realised...you were totally right. The way we were around each other wasn’t good. Sure it was hot but it wasn’t healthy and the weird thing is I've never been like that around anyone before" Jeonghan admitted. You nodded "me either...I guess we bring it out in each other?". He nodded "yeah we definitely seem to". You sighed "but I don’t want to. It's so tiring hating someone and being angry at them". Jeonghan nodded "I agree but it doesn’t have to be that way right? We can decide to stop it?". You nodded “right?". “Okay so starting today it is a fresh start, there was no car incident, no...us, no terrible meeting in the restaurant. It’s a blank slate”. You smiled “I like the sound of that.

The two of you managed to keep your word and this time around the collaboration was so much better. No arguing or glaring, just hard work and dedication. You and Jeonghan actually talked to one another and had a lot in common. There was already an air of familiarity between you so you found it easy to talk and get to know each other. You were actually starting to become friends. You realised you were very similar, stubborn schemers who thought they knew everything and you found it funny how you’d never noticed that before. You actually looked forward to seeing him at work and soon got a reputation for distracting one another with your joking around.

You were learning the choreo for the end part of the number where you were all on stage together. Jeonghan was on the row in front of you and you had to weave in and out of one another for this section of the dance. The only problem was you were terrible at it and kept elbowing Jeonghan in the stomach. This time you elbowed him in the stomach AND stood on his foot. Jeonghan let out a dramatic cry and pretended to fall to the floor. In response you stepped on his other foot and Jeonghan let out another loud cry making everyone laugh while you insisted he was fine trying to yank him onto his feet. The choreographer was used to this but had the wrong idea. "I know you're dating but stop flirting for one minute and focus" she joked and immediately everyone froze. "Erm no we're not together..." Jeonghan said and you nodded "yeah he's with Bomi and I'm with Joshua". "Ow I just thought because you had so much chemistry and got along...I'm gonna shut up now".

While several of the members laughed it off you and Jeonghan shot away from one another, you couldn't look at each other the rest of the day. Both Bomi and Joshua noticed and they thought it was odd. So they started paying more attention to the two of you and noticed there was something there. Something familiar in the way you interacted. Something that didn’t seem quite like a work relationship. It began to raise questions in both of their heads and suspicions began to form but nothing burst until the night after the performance.

Your second collaboration went incredibly smoothly and to celebrate Seventeen invited your group over to their house to celebrate. You all went and everyone was in pretty high spirits toasting to a job well done. Then the drinking games started and you started playing never have I ever. Some of them were pretty basic never have I ever forgotten a partner’s birthday, lied to another member etc and you were having fun. Especially when people started cheating. Dk had one finger left up but when the question was “never have I ever fallen asleep while eating food” he didn’t drink. This went unnoticed until 3 turns later when Woozi spotted it and they were currently debating if to give Dk another chance or not. You watched amused, thinking you’d gotten away with your own cheating but of course you hadn’t.

"Well considering Y/n lied and didn't drink when you said the tattoo one I think DK should be excused" Jeonghan called and everyone turned to you. "You lied!" Dino asked and you laughed "I...might've just not have drunk and I thought nobody noticed". The group laughed and Dk was very much forgotten in this new turn of events. Mingyu looked at you "okay so what's the tattoo of?". "The sun" you replied and he smiled "and where is it?". You blushed and everyone began laughing. "Maybe we should change the subject?" Scoups asked and Joshua went to nod when Jeonghan laughed "come on Y/n it's not that bad just tell them". You rolled your eyes at him but nodded "it's on the centre of my back, like right below the shoulder blades". The others all nodded finding nothing weird about it but Joshua did.

"How do you know that?" he asked and the room went quieter. "What?" Jeonghan asked smiling uncertainly but Joshua didn’t smile back "Y/n never shows that tattoo off because she hates it. I didn't even see it until we'd been dating for a few weeks so how do you know she has it?". Jeonghan realised his mistake and he looked at you "I er...she told me about it". "Even though she denies it exists passionately? I'm not buying it, how do you really know". "Joshua..." you tried but he shook his head "no what's going on, is there something the two of you need to tell me". You went to explain when Jeonghan sighed "no Y/n let me...look it's no big deal just me and Y/n hooked up a couple of times".

The whole room's atmosphere changed and everyone was shocked. You didn't know what Joshua had been expecting but it wasn't that. "What!" he cried looking at you "when?". "Ages ago! Before he got together" you told him and Joshua shook his head "how long is ages ago? How long before we got together?". You paused and Joshua repeated himself "how long?". "I called it off two days before our performance" you said quietly and Joshua's eyes widened "two days before...that wasn’t even a year ago! We went on our first date like a week later but neither of you thought to tell me?". "It meant nothing that's why we didn't say!" Jeonghan said "it was just sex but Y/n called it off and we stopped straight away". "Wait...but you asked me out before the performance" Bomi spoke up in a quiet voice that chilled the whole room "were you seeing both of us?". "No!" Jeonghan cried "I promise once I was with you we stopped". "But Y/n said it was two days before the performance, we went out the week before" Bomi said realising something was up. "Well yeah she didn't break it off until then but we never slept together in that week". "But she broke it off, her. Not you, would you have even stopped it if she hadn't?". Jeonghan sighed and decided to be honest "no...I told her to carry on but Y/n said she wouldn't do that to you". Bomi slapped Jeongahn harshly and everyone gasped "we're done!" she cried and rushed from the room. You stood frozen unsure what to do. Someone needed to comfort Bomi but surely you'd be the last person she'd want to see. You were about to go to your leader and ask for her help when Joshua stormed out the other side. You made eye contact with your leader who nodded “go we’ll take Bomi home”. You thanked her and rushed outside. You followed the general direction Joshua had stormed off in and soon found him outside. He was standing staring out into the garden with a dazed expression on his face. “Joshua” you said when you reached him “i’m so sorry you found out that way but you have to know it is ancient history! It was so long ago and nothing happened since I swear”. "Do you feel anything for him?" Joshua asked cutting you off. You paused "what?". "Do you have any feelings for Jeonghan?" he repeated with a gaze so cold it made you freeze. You blinked "I...I'm dating you! I want you". "That's not what I asked" Joshua said and you looked down "I...it was difficult. I'm still not sure what was going on with Jeonghan but it's over. I just want to move forward please Joshua believe me when I say it’s over". Joshua shook his head sadly "but see I don’t believe you. It’s not over and I can tell by the way you both look at each other. I always just assumed I was being paranoid or misinterpreting it but there is clearly something between you and it’s better than what we have. So I'm sorry Y/n but it’s over".

Joshua walked away but you stayed put. You couldn’t face going back in so you sat on a wall outside and cried. A few minutes later you heard a voice and Jeonghan appeared "Y/n? Are you okay?". You shook your head "no...he broke up with me". "Joshua did?" Jeonghan swore "I'll go after him and tell him it was all me! I won’t ruin this for you". You shook your head "it won’t work, he doesn’t believe me and all the trust is gone...I've ruined it" you sobbed "I had the perfect guy! He was polite, sweet, and kind...he never ever hurt me and he was always so sensitive to my needs. He was attractive and charming and so beautiful but I ruined it". Jeonghan sighed and sat next to you "I'm sorry Y/n" and he wrapped a coat around you. He comforted you while you cried. "For what it's worth Y/n it will get better. I know you're sad now but you won’t feel like this forever and Joshua isn’t the only great guy who will want to worship you". "Because I'm a spoilt princess who needs worshipping?" you could help asking. Jeonghan shook his head "because that's what you do with goddesses. You love, cherish and worship them" he corrected you "it’ll get better I promise" he said hugging you tentatively and you leaned into him.

Once you’d stopped crying you paused "so what happened with Bomi?". "Ow she dumped me straight away". "She didn’t let you explain?". He shook his head "what could I ever say? I wanted to cheat on her and there was no recovering from that. It was clear she wasn’t my priority and I couldn’t lie to her". You paused letting his words sink in "I'm sorry". He shook his head "don’t be...I only ever dated her to make you jealous". You smiled despite everything "finally admitting it?". Jeonghan laughed dryly "yeah might as well". You nodded "I dated Joshua to try and forget you". Jeonghan paused scared if he said anything you’d stop talking and he really wanted you to keep talking.

"After we broke up I just felt so...weird. I wasn’t happy but I was also relieved because I knew we weren’t good for each other. Still that didn’t help the jealousy, I knew you were still with Bomi and she’d tell me about all the things you did for her. How gentle you were with her, how loving you were, how you’d hold her afterwards like she was the most precious thing in the world...it made me mad but also sad. It made me wonder why I wasn’t good enough for that. Why wasn’t I worthy of that treatment. It messed with me and I think that’s what drew me to Joshua. I wasn’t as attracted to him but I wanted a gentleman. Someone who would be kind to me and treat me nicely...that’s why I dated him".

When you’d clearly finished Jeonghan frowned "Y/n i’m so sorry for how I treated you. It was never because you weren’t worthy it was more I was insecure so I treated you badly to make myself feel better". You shrugged "it’s okay I know I encouraged it with how I treated you and responded". "Yes but I still could’ve stopped it and I didn’t so I'm so sorry. I meant what I said earlier. You deserve so much love and care...i should've worshipped you and maybe things would've been different". "Do you wonder that?" you asked. Jeonghan nodded and your eyes widened in surprise “do you think about it often?”. "Almost every day" he replied and that shocked you. "Every day?” you asked and he nodded "you could’ve been the greatest thing that ever happened to me but I let my anger push you away". "But I'm right here" you said softly "I haven’t gone anywhere". Jeonghan looked at you "that's true". You stared up at him and Jeonghan waited for you. He felt his heart hammering and time seemed to take forever but then you moved. Slowly you sat up taller and brought your lips together. You kissed him softly and Jeonghan melted into it. It was the familiar kiss he’d missed but was also so different now after all the time that had passed. He sunk into it and immediately loved it. Then he could taste your tears and that made him upset. He pulled away and kissed your forehead "I want this but we’ve both just been through a lot. Why don’t we wait to see how we both feel after we’ve had time to recover". "Okay" you nodded and he held you softly. You rested against him eyes closed and realised this was the first time you’d properly held one another. It felt nice. After a while you went home and just got a taxi straight there not wanting to go back inside. Jeonghan however lived there so he had to go back inside and the atmosphere was cold. Scoups smiled half-heartedly at him "you okay?'. Jeonghan nodded "where’s Joshua?". "Upstairs". Jeonghan nodded and went up to find him with Dk and Seungkwan. "Hey can I speak to Joshua" he asked. The two looked at Joshua who nodded and they left the room. Jeonghan closed the door "so I want to apologise. There are no excuses for my actions and i was a complete and utter dick. I was selfish and just took what i wanted without thinking of you. You have every right to hate me". Joshua was quiet for a while before he spoke "do you love her?". Jeonghan was shocked at the question "my feelings for Y/n are no excuse for how I acted". "You're right but if you did all this because you're in love with her...well that makes it hurt a little less" Joshua replied. Jeonghan blushed "I don’t know...I’m not sure I even know what that feels like but if I’m going to feel it for anyone I think it’s her" Jeonghan admitted, surprised at how nervous that made him. Joshua seemed satisfied with that and nodded "okay then, things won’t be the same between us and I'll need time to be around you again but I can live with it" and he walked out the room. The next day Jeonghan's first thought was you. He wanted to call you but also wanted to give you space. If you decided not to carry this on he’d respect that. Downstairs things were tense. Joshua was understandably very quiet and wouldn’t even look in his direction. Jeonghan stayed quiet too to show he was sorry and the whole thing had a damp feel. They managed to get through their usual schedule and when it was done everyone began leaving not wanting to stay. You didn’t call him that day or the day after that. He wondered if you’d got back together with Joshua but he didn't hear anything. Jeonghan was upset but more than anything he just wanted you to be happy. Part of him was even a little relieved because this way he definitely couldn’t hurt you anymore. You were safe from him. He hated himself for how he treated you and kept reliving it in his head, wishing he’d treated you differently. A week later he got a text from you. You told him you were still thinking. That you liked him but wanted to make sure you were in a healthier place this time and that you didn't have any feelings left for Joshua. You apologised for taking too long and having such a precarious reply. Jeonghan told you it was fine. He told you to take as much time as you needed and was surprised he meant it.

Jeonghan saw you a month later at an award show and he felt himself sighing without meaning to. Dk smiled beside him "you okay?" and Jeonghan nodded. "Has she spoken to you since?". He shook his head "no so I guess she still needs time or she’s changed her mind". "For the record I think the two of you did the right thing not rushing into anything". Jeonghan nodded "yeah but if I'd have just treated her right in the first place nobody would've got hurt". Dk wrapped an arm around him and sighed "there's nothing you can do to change that but you’ve got your whole future to make it right". Jeonghan nodded “if she lets me”.

Jeonghan wasn’t sure if you’d seen him yet but judging by your reaction he was pretty sure the answer was a no. He’d left the guys to go to the toilet quickly and while walking backstage you appeared coming towards him. You spotted him and stopped dead in your tracks, making your members bang into you. They paused and asked you what was wrong when they spotted Jeonghan. He didn’t know if to turn and run away or walk passed you and was debating the former when you whispered something to your members and walked towards him.

“Hey” you said softly and Jeonghan was momentarily stunned by how good you looked. Of course he knew you were beautiful but he hadn’t seen you in weeks and you looked stunning tonight. “Hi” he replied “how are you?”. “I’m good...how are you?” you asked and Jeonghan nodded “good thank you”. “Can we talk?” you asked him “I know this is an awkward place but I don’t want to wait until later”. Jeonghan nodded “of course!” and heart pounding led you into their empty dressing room. He waited for you to speak and the seconds seemed to turn into hours before you started.

“I’ve been wanting to contact you pretty much since it happened but knew we both needed time to think about this and really think about it. Bomi has forgiven me and I know Joshua’s too kind to hold a grudge but this is still a huge thing to just jump into”. Jeonghan nodded “of course” and prepared himself for the breakup line. He should’ve known better than to assume you’d do what was expected of you.

“But I think you’re worth the gamble” you said and Jeonghan paused “what?”. “I want to try with you...if you still do?” you asked getting suddenly bashful and Jeonghan nodded “of course I still do!” and he wrapped you in a hug. “I haven’t stopped thinking about you for weeks and promising myself that if I got another chance with you I wouldn’t blow and I mean it Y/n. Things are going to be better this time and I’m going to treat you like a....like a...”. “Like a princess?” you asked and Jeonghan laughed “only if you’re happy with me calling you that”. “It’s kind of grown on me” you admitted and kissed him. Jeonghan could feel the passion and chemistry between you both again and it was intoxicating. He let himself revel in the moment and held you closely. He wanted you...but he wanted things to be different even more. "Y/n" he said pulling away softly "i think we should wait to be together again". You looked at him a little shocked "really?". He nodded "not that I don’t want to because God knows how much I want you but I just think we should wait. Slow it down a bit. I'd quite like to take you out to dinner first". You smiled up at him "I like the sound of that, so we'll get dinner first” and you kissed his cheek "text me when you're free and we'll try this dating thing". Jeonghan laughed “I’ll text you as soon as I get back to my phone” and you smiled “cool, so i’ll see you out there”. He nodded “you will” and your smile got even brighter. You waved to him and then disappeared out of the door. Jeonghan sunk in the sofa and let out a happy cry. Dk’s words about the future came back to him and he was determined to make them count. You might’ve had a rocky past but he was going to ensure your future was fit for royalty.

__________

Okay so I don’t know if this is a concept but I really love the toxic to healthy relationship stories!

I always try and reflect healthy relationships in my writings so quite enjoy turning a not so healthy couple into a loving and supportive one like this :)

#jeonghan #jeonghan imagine #jeonghan fic #jeonghan x reader #jeonghan seventeen #seventeen jeonghan #svt #svt imagine #seventeen x reader #seventeen fic #seventeen imagine #joshua #scoups #dk #seungkwan #kpop #kpop fic #kpop imagine

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